Why doesn't Microsoft sell separate dongles for its wireless products?

[hugosdz]

It's 2021, we're close to 2022, but Microsoft insists on selling wireless products with receivers that cannot be replaced.

I currently have a Sculpt comfort mouse and keyboard combo, the dongle was broken and searching online, I found that microsoft doesn't sell replacement parts.
This doesn't make sense, here where I live (Brazil), a mouse and keyboard combo is extremely expensive, not having replacement parts is something ridiculous that you shouldn't have.

 

why don't people talk about it?
how many tons of e-waste are generated each year because of these nonsensical policies that companies have to make products without spare parts?

as much as i like microsoft products, from now on i will no longer buy electronics that are not easy to fix.

[Mihle]

I dislike it too, Sadly, Microsoft is not the only one that have done that. My Logitech G700S is the same, tho older mouse, dongle is impossible to get separate. Tho in my case, even tho it broke for me might have been partly my fault(tho not fully), it was in warranty, Logitech just sent me a hole new mouse.

 

As of why people don't talk about it, your spesific product may not be the most popular (?), and there seem to be other things people complain about like right to repair, and reparability of phones and laptops, that people would consider more important.

[pythonmegapixel]

In answer to the thread title question, because it makes them more money to sell you a new keyboard and mouse than a new dongle. Don't forget a substantial proportion of the market for replacement dongles will be people who've lost theirs and feel it's their fault - as such, they will probably be willing to buy a new mouse/keyboard if that's what it takes, but if the dongle on its own is offered to them they'll take that.

 

(Being cynical, I've wondered for a while if that is why they keep making wireless dongles smaller and smaller for no good reason - the smaller they get, the more likely you are to lose them, so the easier it will be to sell you a new one a few years down the line)

 

I do agree, though, that from any rational perspective other than that of Microsoft it's a stupid state of affairs.

 

Just out of interest - if you don't already have a spare dongle, how do you know the dongle is actually at fault and not the keyboard itself?

[Mihle]

2 minutes ago, pythonmegapixel said:

In answer to the thread title question, because it makes them more money to sell you a new keyboard and mouse than a new dongle. Don't forget a substantial proportion of the market for replacement dongles will be people who've lost theirs and feel it's they're fault - as such, they will probably be willing to buy a new mouse/keyboard if that's what it takes, but if the dongle on its own is offered to them they'll take that.

 

(Being cynical, I've wondered for a while if that is why they keep making wireless dongles smaller and smaller for no good reason - the smaller they get, the more likely you are to lose them, so the easier it will be to sell you a new one a few years down the line)

 

I do agree, though, that from any rational perspective other than that of Microsoft it's a stupid state of affairs.

 

Just out of interest - if you don't already have a spare dongle, how do you know the dongle is actually at fault and not the keyboard itself?

Also, making a keyboard or mice without pairing function, so that a dongle and mice/keyboard is linked together, might save little bit if production/design cost, even if it probably isn't much.

 

And if they are linked together from factory and don't have a pairing function, what's the point of selling dongle separate?

[Kilrah]

-> Moved to Peripherals

 

Because everybody else does the same... only exception I know is Logitech with their Unifying stuff, but unsurprisingly buying the receiver alone costs the same as buying their cheapest keyboard that comes with one.