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The Surface came with a power adapter which is not very convenient for people like me that always on the road. Now that it is a propitiatory adapter, I can't share it with other devices, so there is one more bulky thing to carry. Is there a way I can charge the device via a USB based charger so I use it in a car?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
This is correct. The Surface requires a 12 VDC feed to charge, a USB port is 5VDC. Although it may technically be able to build some sort of converter, it would require more current that a USB port could provide anyway.
MS currently also does not sell the charging cable as a separate piece, it is built into the transformer.
Either way, you'll never be able to charge the Surface off a PC.
You can however charge your phone, tablet, BT headset, or other devices using the Surface's USB port.
Greetings Kburgoyne,
You are correct, the new car charger adapter that was announced with the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2, will work with ALL V1 & V2 Surface devices.
(moderator edit)
Surface 3 and Surface Pro 3 have different power connectors
Greetings Cat2k1
Thank you for reaching out on us. Please continue to check Surface homepage, the Microsoft Store and your local retailer.
Thank you for posting and please let us know if you have anymore question, it would be our pleasure to assist you.
There is one available specifically for the Surface here: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Microsoft-Surface-Car-Charger-with-USB-Port/productID.291671000
Hope that helps.
Boz9
Try this ...
▶ Microsoft Surface Car Charger with USB port via Microsoft Store
I hope this helps!
David
Greetings all you frustrated Surface users who want a car charger. Go onto the main Microsoft web site and look at the accessories for the Surface Pro 2. There is a car charger listed. I have no doubt it'll work for the Surface Pro 1. Plus a car charger that works for the Pro should work just fine for the RT. It also has a separate USB connector for charging a separate device that uses USB charging -- like your cell phone.
Greetings Leslie,
Sorry, there is currently no USB or Car charger designed for Surface. Thank you for the feedback, I will pass the info to the appropriate team.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Thank you for posting.
Thanks for the response. I know this sounds dumb... but could i plug the USB from the wenger into the surface power charger and then connect it via the magnet to the surface? i know it will take forever...but there is not many options for using either smartphone or tablet--no electricity...
You cant... That wont work. You need to connect the 5V from the USB directly to the surface.
To do that, you have to know which of the 5 pins of the surface is + and -. Then you have to read the USB specifications to find out which pin is + and -. :) And so on and so fort...
Just ask someone that know a bit about electronics to make an Surface-RT-to-USB-Power-Adaptor for you :)
If you have a power inverter in your car, that works. I just tested it as I had a drive to do and plugged it into my inverter during the drive and it charged just fine.
Not sure how well one of the smaller inverters would do as I have had bad luck with those in the past charging electronics but my 400 watt one worked just fine.
As there are no alternative devices with the magnetic power connector needed the standard 110-240V AC adapter is the only option.
This in turn only leaves the option of a mains inverter in the car plugged into the lighter/accessory socket. At only 34w for the PSU the smallest inverter will do and as the PSU is a switched mode device a true sine wave inverter is not required.
No intelligent device with a USB "A" port such as in the Surface is able to be powered or charged by it. The devices you describe are fitted with USB "B" interfaces and are designed to take power from the port. The only exceptions are battery packs which frequently use the same port to be charged on as is then uses to power the USB device
You could plug something in to the Surface and it might charge it, not the other way round. What is actually lacking at the moment is an alternative to the supplied PSU which can connect to the magnetic power connector on the side of the Surface. As far as I know it is specific to the Surface and as such there would be copyright issues if a 3rd party charger was made and the use of one would probably invalidate the Warranty.
Ipads etc. can be charged via USB because the voltage requirements are defined by the USB standard, are not Host devices and the Surface is.
To put it simply, no.
Okay. This falls under the "USB Power Delivery" spec which permits 12VDC, and not "normal" USB which is only 5VDC. It can work in theory, but it's also a hack for which the SP3 wasn't really intended. I would recommend monitoring some things very carefully.
#1. That your charging power supply isn't heating up in the case of a wall unit.
#2. That whatever adapter you're using to plug the USB into the car's power (cigarette lighter) port isn't heating up.
#3. That neither of the connectors on the cable or the cable itself is heating up whether using a wall charger or the car.
#4. No hot spots are forming around your SP3 while charging. The SP3 has enough surface area that it likely won't heat up in its entirety. So you'll be wanting to wipe your hand all around the surfaces of the SP3 looking for any isolated spots of heating.
I definitely wouldn't leave the equipment unattended until you've gained a lot of experience during long-term charging with it.
You've basically got some concerns. Since the SP3 design needs to draw more watts than the USB Power Delivery spec permits, most likely it wasn't designed to monitor/negotiate USB Power Delivery. The cable does not appear to have any smarts in it. So there's nothing telling the power supplying side to protect itself from too much current draw, and there is nothing telling the SP3 side to not draw too much current.
Just because somebody made a cable like that doesn't mean (or not) that they bothered doing the full testing to see if its safe. They may have, or it may just mean their uncle knows somebody who makes cables.
