Surface Laptop 3's SSD is replaceable but not upgradeable according to Microsoft Store agents

What you need to know

• The Surface Laptop 3's SSD can't be upgraded right now, according to Microsoft Store agents.
• The Surface Laptop 3's SSD is serviceable, but that is seemingly just for replacing or fixing the SSD.
• The Surface Laptop 3's SSD is not user-removable, according to Microsoft's website.

The Surface Laptop 3 is the first Surface device to have a serviceable SSD, but according to Microsoft Store agents that spoke to PC World, that doesn't mean the SSD is upgradeable. It seems that the intention of the SSD being easily accessed is to allow technicians to repair or replace an SSD, not to allow people to upgrade a device's SSD.

When purchasing a Surface Laptop 3, adding more storage is very expensive. Moving from the Intel Core i7 version with 256GB of storage to the Intel Core i7 version with 512GB of storage costs an additional $400. It's tempting for a person to purchase a cheaper model and to use the increased SSD access to add more storage when a person can afford it. But based on PC World's discussions with multiple Microsoft Store agents, that isn't possible, at least for now.

A technical support staffer told PC World that the Surface Laptop 3's SSD isn't upgradeable. It's unclear if this is a technical limitation or simply a choice by Microsoft. A Microsoft Store staffer told PC World that there's nothing preventing a person from upgrading a Surface Laptop 3's SSD, but that the person risks voiding the device's warranty "if something goes wrong."

Microsoft Chief Product Officer, Panos Panay, told people not to try to swap the SSD themselves, saying, "Don't send me the tweet that says I tried to rip the top off and now it's broken, and it's your fault. So do not do that."

PC World emphasized that Microsoft Store agents often used the phrase "for now." This could mean that the Surface Laptop 3's SSD could be upgradeable in the future, but it's unclear if Microsoft will ever make that possible.