Surface Pro 4 "Plugged in, Not Charging"

Anonymous
2016-03-16T13:08:47+00:00

So I did a search and found a lot of similar issues with the Pro 2, but nothing that really fits what I'm dealing with regarding my pro 4.

I've already swapped it out once before for this same issue, so I don't believe this is just a one off issue.

I have a Surface pro 4, i7, 256gb, 16gb RAM. I use the Surface pro 3 docking station with insert and have connected through the dock the following:a Single Dell 24" monitor off the displayport out of the docking station, Satellite/sub sound system, wireless keyboard, wired mouse, and a bluray drive. So that's the setup.

here is the issue. When ever I attempt to do anything that is somewhat power intensive, I get the  "Plugged in, Not Charging" issue. For instance if I play "Call of Duty: Heroes" which is a download from the app store it stops charging. Doesn't matter if I have the surfaced docked or connected directly to the supplied power cable.

The batter charges, it lasts 4-5 hrs when not on the charger. If I'm just doing word processing or watching a video, if I'm not compiling code, digital circuits, or playing a very very very low demand game it works just fine.

Anyone with a similar issue? Anyone able to get this resolved?

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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Anonymous
2018-03-15T15:48:24+00:00

Here's what worked for me just now.

I've got a Surface Pro 4 i7/16GB  with the Microsoft Dock, and it stubbornly refused to charge.

I went into Device Manager, ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/1f924923-6af6-422b-8472-31c1b800abbc?platform=QnA and for each of the "Microsoft AC Adapter" and "Microsoft Surface ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery" devices, I selected them, right-clicked, "Uninstall Device", then went to Action, Scan for Hardware Changes, and it re-appeared.  After doing that to each of them, my SP4 started charging again.  No reboot necessary.

More info can be found in the Surface battery won’t charge troubleshooting article.

Hope that helps someone out there.

Your mileage may vary.

-KwM-

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-01-03T16:04:27+00:00

    Thanks for the tip

    I'm going to try it out and hopefully it will solve the problem.

    THIS SHOULD NOT BE NECCESSARY!

    Please MS be more responsible. 

    Don't act like a hi-jacker!

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-04-17T08:35:49+00:00

    Okay even after limiting the processor speed the plugged in not charging happened again but less frequently, like daily.

    I then used alcohol wipes and very carefully cleaned the power connection slot on the side of the Surface and did the same with the plug that goes into the slot.

    It's been 2 weeks now and the problem has not reoccurred.

    Try cleaning the power plug and socket and see how that works for you.

    Regards,

    Hoag

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-03-25T06:27:56+00:00

    Like everyone else I've had the "Plugged In, Not Charging" problem with my Surface Pro 4.  It seems whenever the CPU is slightly challenged this can occur.  Even idling on a web page can cause it.  I started watching the performance with Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) and whenever "Power Limit Throttling" kicks in the "Not Charging" issue always occurs.  Sometimes even when the processor is in turbo mode before power limiting "Not Charging" can occur.

    I figured if I could stop "Power Limit" I might get somewhere.  I found the following link about extending battery life by limiting Max CPU to 99%.

    Restore_Maximum_Power_State_to_Surface_Pro_4

    I installed this regedit and set the Max CPU to 99% even when plugged in.  I fired up the XTU again and started a 5 min CPU stress test.  Previously about a minute into this it would "Power Limit" and kick in and out of "Not Charging".  In this case the CPU Freqs limited at 2.1GHz and the temps never got above 55C and the Package TDP stayed at 8W and below.

    And best of all the battery stayed in charging mode throughout the stress test!

    Microsoft still owes us a real fix, but I think I have a band aid for now.  Let me know  if this helps anyone else.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-02-22T04:55:20+00:00

    So is the intel i5 chip simply not powerful enough to run a facebook app? That's disappointing if true. 

    I have the top of the line i7 and I find it to be a dog, just 20-30% cpu and the fan goes nuts and gets hot. To be honest I blame Windows 10, i use it with 3 additional monitors and it struggles at times doing that and running apps. I had the top of the line SP3 before it running Windows 8 and had no issues with the same setup running the same number of apps. My SP4 ran much smoother with the anniversary update, both creators updates have been annoying to use.

    As for my "plugged in not charging issue" it went away when i replaced the SP3 dock with the one for the SP4. Microsoft sent me a replacement Surface because of that issue plus other issues i had with the creators update, made no difference.

    I like the look of the Surface and the craftsmanship seems top notch but combined with Windows 10 it's the worst PC I've ever used. I'll probably go back to Dell after this.

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