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

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.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

8 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

2 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

300 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2018-09-16T11:29:39+00:00

    Same here, battery drain is about 10% a day (Pro4 i5 4gb) with connected standby disabled

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T18:15:42+00:00

    Agreed Jeff,

    I've also implemented every suggested "fix" and while slight improvement is noticed, still have severe drain.  It absolutely negates having a lithium ion battery as they don't lose power ANYWHERE near that rate (1% per hour).

    I suspect it's board/CPU level which is why MS isn't fixing....because that can't other than refund money.  

    And Billy boy isn't going to do that.  That's like asking Zukerberg to stop tracking users...show me the MONEY!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2018-09-14T16:24:55+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.

    In response, earlier in the thread, months ago, I indicated that I disabled modern standby.  It's still disabled as of right now.  Also, I tested this issue via both a full shutdown (modern standby not in play) and also putting the SP4 into hibernate.  Same battery drainage issue.

    This is NOT a modern standby issue.  This is a hardware issue with the SP4, and Microsoft's latest firmware update still doesn't address this.  This is Microsoft's fault, and many others are reporting this exact same issue.  Considering that Microsoft has not provided a sufficient fix for this, others need to be aware of this (especially if they are considering purchasing a present or future Surface device).

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments