Surface Pro 4 battery drain while OFF

Anonymous
2017-07-05T14:02:24+00:00

I have a HUGE battery drain while power off (not hibernating)  at least 5-10 percent per day.   I windows updates done.   I used to think it was because of the keyboard being attached. but I have switched to a Brydge Keyboard.  Does anyone else have this issue or know how to fix?

Thanks!

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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Anonymous
2017-08-04T04:59:28+00:00

Thanks Victor_S

Another solution I've found is to shut down the computer the old way - regular shutdown instead of hybrid shutdown.

You can use this shortcut:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /s /t 3 /c "Full Shutdown"

  • shutdown.exe can execute the various sleed/hibernate commands, including the regular shutdown.
  • /s means "shutdown". If we shutdown the normal way, it is a hybrid shutdown (/hybrid)
  • /t 3 means after 3 seconds. If you skip this it's 30 seconds by default.
  • /c "Full shutdown" is a simple comment that will appear in various places as the reason for your shutdown.

Keep in mind it takes a little longer to shutdown this way, and it takes a little longer to start afterwards, but I think the computer doesn't keep some systems active, thus you should see almost no battery drain, even for prolonged times.

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Anonymous
2017-07-05T14:59:17+00:00

That is a good question because the screen will be off.  Before shutting down and all programs are closed, you can do a CTRL+ALT+DEL and select the task manager and look at the processes that are still running at that moment and you may find 'something' but doubtful.

The power sub-system could also have a defect causing that as well and not actually shutting off the machine when it is supposed to be off.

The task manager may give you a clue when all programs are shut down.  If you can't find anything listed, it is possible you may need to contact customer support to get the machine swapped out.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T14:23:50+00:00

    It has been mentioned in this thread several times.  A 1% battery drain while in Modern Standby is expected.  The way to stop that drain is to allow the system to doze to hibernation, at which time the drain should stop.

    On my system, I notice a Realtek audio device is keeping the system from going into Drips (powercfg /requests).  Probably due to Cortana but I disabled the microphone and the drain went from 3% per hour to 1% per hour and the HW drips percentage went up to 98%.

    Of course, using a battery drain percentage is related to the capacity of the battery, which can skew the way the numbers appear.

    I do strongly feel that any computer which is Modern Standby capable should be made known to potential buyers along with a reference as to normal expected operation.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T14:05:31+00:00

    Potential buyer alert. 

    1. Bad aftersale service
    2. Irresponsible seller
    3. overpriced machine due to subpar stability.
    4. battery drain issue can never be solved or never bother to solve. 

    I am the owner of SP4 i5

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T13:52:19+00:00

    In case it should come up, I noticed that Microsoft released a firmware update for the Surface Pro 4 in which Microsoft states the following...

    Surface UEFI – Firmware 108.2318.769.0 improves battery stability for devices not in use.

    In light of the battery drainage issue that me and many, many others are experiencing with the Surface Pro 4 units while the device is off, I tried out the firmware update to see if there would be any improvement in the retained charge of the device.  After having the device charged at 100% and then having shut down the unit, I then had it off of the charger for 16 hours and then checked it afterward.  When I powered on the SP4, the charge was at 86%.  So a 14% charge drop in a 16 hour time span, and absolutely zero improvement in the SP4 retaining the charge.

    Quite honestly, Microsoft deserves to be ridiculed for their support of this issue.  A very pricey device with multiple reports of this battery drainage problem from many others, and very unsatisfactory support from Microsoft relating to this issue.  I noticed that they have an announcement coming up in a few weeks in which I'm assuming that they will introduce a new Surface device.  They're not getting my business in light of their awful support of this battery drainage issue with the SP4.  If you're considering buy a new Surface device from Microsoft (present or future), buyer beware.

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