Surface Pro 6 Expansion Slot

1. Expansion Slots Define
2. Surface Pro 6 Expansion Slot Machines

Microsoft Surface is a great piece of hardware that has a beautiful 2-in-1 form factor, great performance, and the most cutting-edge technologies. When it comes to storage options you will be limited to choose from some preset configurations that sometimes don’t fit your needs. Fortunately, most Microsoft Surface models except the Surface Laptop are all come with an SD or MicroSDXC card slot that you can use to expand your device’s storage.

Does the Surface Pro 6 have a slot for SIM CARD Mobil Networking? – Learn about Microsoft - Surface Pro 6 - 12.3' Touch-Screen - Intel Core i7 - 8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive - Black with 2. Tablet Dock Station Expansion For Microsoft Surface pro5/6/ Laptop2 dock book 2. Condition is 'Used'. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail. Microsoft Surface Dock For Pro 6, 5, 4, Book-Docking Station Display Ports Parts. For Microsoft Surface Pro. Microsoft Surface Pro 6 Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Transmission rate: 480Mpbs Material: Aluminum Alloy Interface: 2x USB 3.0, 1x HDMI (4K), 1x Micro SD Card slot, 1x SD Card slot, 1x 10/100 Mb/s Ethernet port Support: SD/SDHC/SDXC/Micro SD Compatibility: Surface Pro 6, Surface Pro 5, Surface Pro 4, USB 3.0 2.0 1.0, SD SDHC. (Featured image via iFixit) With a super-slim bezel screen on the Surface Pro X or the tall 3:2 aspect ratio on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, we found that there’s quite a lot to love about two.

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MicroSD card buying guide

There are several things to consider when you’re choosing a MicroSD card for your device. MicroSD card’s capacity, speed, type, and price are the most important things you need to know about when it comes down to the final decision.

1Speed Class

According to the SD Association, here we have an overview of memory’s sequential write speed information for different speed classes of MicroSD cards.

*UHS = Ultra High-Speed

Expansion Slots Define

2App Performance Class

There is also another standard that is being used for application performance classification. This standard will show you the random read and write performance as input/outputs per second (IOPS).

3Capacity Standard

You might want to know as well about what is the maximum MicroSD card capacity that your Surface can support. Here is the SD card capacity standard.

Since all Microsoft Surface devices are using MicroSDXC host controllers, so your Surface technically can support a MicroSD cards with a capacity up to 2TB. Learn more about Microsoft Surface specifications by downloading the Microsoft Surface RT User Guide.

Now you have a better understanding of the MicroSD Card’s speed and capacity standard. Here, we have round up the best MicroSD cards that are compatible and work well on Microsoft Surface.

Our Picks: Best MicroSD Cards for Microsoft Surface

To learn more about individual Micro SD card, here we have listed the specifications and our thought on each item here:

SanDisk Ultra Micro SDXC UHS-I A1 Card - 256GB

A perfect Micro SDXC card with an A1 rating for Microsoft Surface

Surface Pro 6 Expansion Slot Machines

Not all Micro SD Card made for the same purpose, in this case, the reason you want to expand the storage on your Surface devices might not just to store only documents, photos, or videos. You probably want to store your applications and games that will require a specific SD card with better random read and write performance as input/outputs per second (IOPS). That's why you might want to pick up this A1 app performance card from SanDisk. It promised to deliver up to 1500 IOPS random read speed and 500 IOPS.

This Micro SDXC card features an Ultra High-Speed (UHS-I) and a class 10 speed rating. With the latest version, it now can support faster data transfer speed up to 120MB/s which is great for playing large videos. This Sandisk MicroSDXC also has great protection with waterproof, temperature proof, shockproof, X-ray proof, and magnet proof.

• Available Storages
• Speed Metrics
  Class 10UHS-IFull-HDU1A1
• Product Features
  • Data transfer up to 120 MB/s.
  • Load apps faster with A1 app performance class up to 1500 read IOPS and 500 write IOPS.
  • Waterproof, temperature proof, shockproof, and X-ray proof.
  • Included SD adapter.
  • 10-year manufacturer warranty.

SanDisk Extreme Micro SDXC UHS-I U3 A2 Card - 256 GB

Fast Apps & Games Load Time with 160 MB/s Max Read Speed

Need a high-performance Micro SDXC card with better apps and games optimization for your Surface devices, this SanDisk Extreme® PRO microSDXC™ UHS-I Card is what you need. With SanDisk engineering and UHS-I enabled Surface devices, it supports data read speed up to 160 MB/s which is faster than the standard UHS-I speed of 104 MB/s. On top of that, it also supports UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and video class 30 (V30) that can maintain a stable 30MB/s for real-time 4K video recording.

You can expect faster apps and games load performance with this card rated with A2 app performance that supports random read and write speeds up to 4000 IOPS and 2000 IOPS respectively. It also has great protection with waterproof, temperature proof, shockproof, X-ray proof, and magnet proof to secure your data from accidentally damaged.

Note A2 performance only available on 64GB - 1TB cards. For 32GB cards support only A1 app performance with 1500 IOPS and 500 IOPS read and write speed.

• Available Storages
• Speed Metrics
  Class 10UHS-IU3V304KA2
• Product Features
  • Sequential Read Speed: 160 MB/s.
  • Sequential Write Speed: 90 MB/s.
  • Load apps faster with A2 app performance class up to 4,000 read IOPS and 2,000 write IOPS.
  • Waterproof, temperature proof, shockproof, and X-ray proof.
  • Included SD adapter.
  • Manufacturer lifetime warranty.
• Available Apps

Samsung EVO Select UHS-I U3 Micro SDXC Card - 128GB

Reliable Speed with U3 - 4K UHD Capability

The Samsung EVO Select UHS-I U3 card is one of the best Micro SDXC cards available that offer great and reliable performance at a very affordable price. It is also able to record the 4K UHD video recording and handle most apps and games without any problems. It does come with a MicroSD card adapter so you can use it on any computer with a full-size SD card slot.

It can transfer up to 100MB/s for the read speed. While the write speed varies by the size of the card, in this case, the 128GB card supports up to 60 MB/s write speed. If you want a faster write speed, the 512GB card supports up to 90 MB/s write speed.

• Available Storages
• Speed Metrics
  Class 10UHS-I4KU3
• Product Features
  • Read speed: 100 MB/s
  • Write speed: 60 MB/s
  • Reliable storage for storing and playback 4K UHD videos.
  • Waterproof, temperature proof, shockproof, and X-ray proof.
  • Included SD adapter.
  • 10-year limited warranty

Lexar Professional 1800x Micro SDXC UHS-II Card - 128GB

SuperSpeed UHS-II/U3 with 270 MB/s Card

If you need the fastest expansion storage on your Microsoft surface devices especially for the Microsoft Surface Book series that comes with UHS-II capable SD card reader, you can count on this Lexar Professional 1000x. It uses the latest UHS-II/U3 technology that can deliver the fastest transfer speed up to 270MB/s read speed and 150 MB/s write speed.

It will let you work on big documents or projects file that needs the high speed of both input and output. It’s verified to work great with GoPro cameras for capturing 4K UHD videos.

• Available Storages
• Speed Metrics
  Class 10UHS-IIU3V903D4K
• Product Features
  • Read speed: 270 MB/s
  • Write speed: 150 MB/s
  • Using high-speed UHS-II (U3) technology.
  • Verified to be compatible with GoPro cameras.
  • Can read can capture 4K UHD and 3D video.
  • Included a MicroSD UHS-II reader for the best possible transfer speed.
  • Lifetime limited warranty.

BASEQI Aluminum MicroSD Adapter for Surface Book 1-3

Turn a MicroSD Card into a Permanent Expandable Storage for Surface Book

If you are looking to expand the storage of your Surface Book, the only thing you can do is using the SD card slot. Since it is a full-sized SD card slot, you will need a full-sized SD card or SD card adapter. However the depth of the slot is about half-length of the card, so it’s not a good idea to use the full-sized SD card as a permanent solution to expand the storage.

Fortunately, there is a MicroSD Adapter made by BASEQI that is firm and nicely fit the Microsoft Surface Book card slot without sticking out. With that said, you can now use any microSD card to expand the storage on your Surface Book. It has the same color and aluminum designed just like the Surface Book’s chassis.

• Product Features
  • Designed for Surface Book 1-3.
  • Made from aluminum material.
  • Easy to insert/remove.
  • Supports UHS-I.
• Supported Model
  • Adapter Model 350A
    Surface Book (1st Gen) Surface Book 2 13.5”Surface Book 3 13.5”
  • Adapter Model 351A

Conclusion

Those are the best MicroSD cards in terms of capacity, speed, and price. If you want the most affordable large MicroSD card, we recommend the Sandisk Ultra 200GB Micro SDXC UHS-I card or Samsung 128GB EVO UHS-3 MicroSD card. If speed matter to you the most the Lexar Professional microSDXC is what you should consider. Finally, if you have Microsoft Surface Book you will need an additional special MicroSD adapter made specifically for Surface Book.

How to upgrade the SSD in the Surface Laptop 3 or Surface Pro X

Both the Surface Laptop 3 and the Surface Pro X don’t have expandable storage. Here’s how you can swap out the SSD instead.

1. On the Surface Pro X, prop out the kickstand, and pop open the sim tray, and then unscrew the SSD.
2. On the Surface Laptop 3, pry off the rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop, and unscrew the Torx screws. Then, lift the top of the keyboard deck off the chassis. You can then unscrew the SSD on the top left corner.

Applies to

With a super-slim bezel screen on the Surface Pro X or the tall 3:2 aspect ratio on the 15-inch Surface Laptop 3, we found that there’s quite a lot to love about two of Microsoft’s newest Surface devices. However, there is one disadvantage. Both the Surface Laptop 3 and the Surface Pro X don’t have expandable storage. This means you won’t be able to prop a MicroSD card or SDcard in either device to get a bonus storage space.

But, if you’re technically savvy and have experience fixing or playing with laptops, you can upgrade your storage space by swapping out the SSD in your new device. This is one of the most major changes with these Surface devices this year, and in this guide, we’ll show you how you can do just that.

Before we proceed, we’d like to mention that Microsoft recommends all SSD changes be done through an authorized retailer only. While you can swap out SSDs, by doing so yourself, you’re risking voiding your warranty or damaging your device.

Additionally, once you put in your new SSD inside your device, you’ll also need to ensure that you have your recovery and installation media ready to boot from to re-install Windows 10. Removing the SSD also removes the operating system. Here’s a helpful guide on how you can get recovery media and how you can restore your Surface device. Again, please, proceed at your own risk.

Update: Check out our guide on how to upgrade the SSD in the Surface Laptop 3!

The type of SSD, and the price to pay and buy

Another point to note here is that the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X are not equipped with a typical SSD. While the SSDs in these devices are indeed in the smaller M.2 style found in most modern laptops, they’re both using the newer M.2 2230 standard.

This means that your typical M.2 SSD, which you can usually find on Amazon for cheap, won’t work on your Surface. You instead need to buy an M.2 2230 SSD. As pointed out on Reddit, some of these drives have slightly faster read and write speeds than the Microsoft SSD. We’ve listed some suggestions below the section on the required tools.

You’ll also want to buy a T3 screwdriver ($6 at Amazon,) an opening tool ($7 at Amazon) as well as T2 ($6 at Amazon) and T5 screwdriver ($6 at Amazon.) For long term repairs, we recommend this $60 repair kit from iFixIt. It is completely optional but has all the screwdrivers and tools you need for future repairs on iPhones, laptops, and more.

Here’s a look at where you can buy the M.2 2230 SSD.

As you can see, these are all well within the $100 range. That is a bit costly, but it is significantly less than what Microsoft charges to change up your storage space. However, it is noteworthy that the more expensive Surface devices do typically come with more storage and better processors and more RAM, with the exception of the Surface Pro X.

With Surface Pro X, the introduction model comes with a 128GB SSD for $999 at the Microsoft Store. Jumping the storage up to 512 GB to match these SSD sizes comes in at an extra $800.

The Surface Laptop 3, meanwhile, starts at $1,000 for 128GB SSD, but jumping up to 512GB will get you a faster Intel Core i7 processor would cost you a full $1,000 more. So, if you’re a bit bold enough to replace your SSD on your own, and don’t want to spend for a better processor or memory. you could be saving big.

Swapping out the SSD on the Surface Pro X

If you’re now ready to swap out the SSD in the Surface Pro X, we have some good news for you. It’s a lot easier than swapping out the SSD on the Surface Laptop 3. The process is foolproof, and you can follow our step by step instructions. You also can see a quick guide from iFixit by clicking the video below.

1. Grab the SIM ejector tool included with the device.
2. Prop your Surface down on a table with the screen facing down, and pull up the kickstand on the rear.
3. Pop the tool in the hole next to the right side areas of the kickstand.
4. Prop off the black cover.
5. Grab the T3 screwdriver, and unscrew the screw holding down the drive.

There you go. In just six simple steps, you’re now ready to put the new SSD in! Screw it in, and follow the steps in reserve to close it back up! You’re now free to re-install Windows 10 with your installation media, and then store all the files, photos, videos, as you please, without worrying about storage space.

Swapping out the SSD on the Surface Laptop 3

Now, for the Surface Laptop 3. Unfortunately, swapping out the SSD on the Surface Laptop 3 is quite a task. You’ll first need to carefully pull out and remove the rubber feet on the bottom of the laptop. They’re glued in, but a great tool for this is an iFixIt opening tool, which we linked to above. Once you do that, follow these steps below. Fell free to watch our video on it below.

1. Once removed, use your Torx screwdriver and unscrew each of the screws under the feet.
2. Turn the Surface Laptop 3 back how you would usually rest it on your table or lap
3. Take the opening tool and run it across the seam between the side corners of the keyboard, and the bottom of the laptop.
4. You should notice some lifting, as the keyboard is held in place with a magnetic connection. Lift the keyboard deck off.
5. Try to set the keyboard deck down, but be careful not to damage or bend the ribbon cable
6. You should see the SSD in the top left corner of the laptop
7. Unscrew it with a T3 screw, and place the new SSD inside.

You can then follow these steps in reverse to seal back up the Surface Laptop 3. You might be able to glue the feet back in place if you didn’t damage it. You’ll also need to insert a USB-drive and re-install Windows 10, as we mentioned above.

What will you do now that you have more storage?

Now that you’ve upgraded your storage on your Surface Laptop or Surface Pro X, there’s quite a bit you can enjoy. First of all, you might be able to get slightly faster read and write speeds, based on SSD you ended up buying. If you’re thinking of gaming, this might be an advantage for you. You’ll also have more storage space for your important documents. Do you think you’ll upgrade your SSD? Let us know in the comments below.

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