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
    2017-11-06T18:37:32+00:00

    Chris,

    Not yet. I’ll probably attempt a factory reset before a swap out as my warranty has expired. I was kind of hoping it was due to a dodgy update or something and might be corrected in future. I guess that’s wishful thinking...?

    Andy

    Andy,

    That's exactly what I am hoping the cause is!  It's just driving me nuts that I can't unplug what is essentially a tablet from mains power without it dying instantly.

    If I have a spare few hours one weekend I'll try a factory restore, as I have full System Image backups which I can (hopefully) restore afterwards in the event that a factory restore does nothing to fix the problem.

    If I come up with anything interesting I'll post back here.

    Cheers,

    Chris.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-11-08T21:40:33+00:00

    Chris,

    I’ve just attempted a re install but it seems the power supply is’nt enough and it fails half way through. Thankfully it has reverted to pre attempt windows from backup but it suggests this isn’t a potential solution.

    Andy

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-11-10T15:48:13+00:00

    Chris,

    I’ve just attempted a re install but it seems the power supply is’nt enough and it fails half way through. Thankfully it has reverted to pre attempt windows from backup but it suggests this isn’t a potential solution.

    Andy

    Andy,

    Are you saying that you cannot to a restore from the recover partition using only the mains power?  Are you saying that part way through the restore what Windows works out the battery isn't charging and aborts the recovery process?

    If that's the case, this is madness from Microsoft.

    Also, this doesn't shed any light on whether this is a true hardware fault or if the software has somehow been corrupted.

    Chris.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-11-13T09:43:50+00:00

    Chris,

    All I know is that during the two times I've attempted a factory restore from the mains I've ended up with a blank screen and had to reset. The system then reloads to the previous installed version.

    My instinct suggests this is due to an excess power demand that should be briefly topped up by the battery, but I could be wrong. Maybe this symptom points to something else? Sometimes when using Windows normally with mains only (since the battery stopped charging) the system crashes to the blank screen.

    I'd be interested to know if you've had the same experience.

    Many thanks,

    Andy

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