A feature common in many popular tablets and 2-in-1s is microSD card expansion. This lets you expand your storage space for photos, videos, and documents at any time without paying for extra storage when buying your device. So, with the Surface Pro 9 being the newest tablet in Microsoft's family, you might be wondering if it has a microSD card slot. Unfortunately, the answer is no. However, there is a way to get more onboard storage. It just requires a little technical know-how.

Why the Surface Pro 9 doesn't have a microSD card slot

Microsoft removed the microSD card slot from the main Surface Pro lineup with last year's Surface Pro 8. The last model that had a microSD card slot was the Surface Pro 7+, released back in 2019.

There's one big reason that the Surface Pro 9 doesn't have a microSD card slot. Its newer, slimmer design means it has a removable solid-state drive (SSD) instead. You can buy your Surface Pro 9 with a smaller SSD and then upgrade later to one with higher storage. Of course, Microsoft suggests you upgrade the SSD through a repair technician, but you can actually do it on your own if you have the right experience.

The Surface Pro 9 has an M.2 2230 PCIe SSD, which is much smaller than the traditional M.2 2280 SSDs found in many laptops or desktops. It's also replaceable. There's a door for the SSD under the kickstand that you can release with a SIM ejection tool. Once the door is removed, you can begin the process of removing the drive. You unscrew the old drive, then remove the original thermal pads, reapply the pads to the new drive, then screw in and place your new drive. All you have to do then is boot it up with recovery media to reinstall Windows 11.

So, that's the reason that the Surface Pro 9 doesn't have a microSD card slot. It's because Microsoft lets you replace the SSD instead. If you really do want to use microSD cards with your Surface, though, you can check out some adapters, including the one we highlighted below. With it, you can plug your microSD card into the adapter, then plug the adapter into one of the Surface Pro 9's USB-C ports. Of course, this isn't ideal, but if you must use a microSD card slot, it will have to do.