Surface Pro 3 battery degradation

Anonymous
2016-05-11T07:37:37+00:00

I've been using Microsoft Surface Pro 3 for a year, and shortly after the warranty expired I noticed my Surface Pro 3 can only last about 1-2 hours after a full charge. At first I thought this was a problem with background process draining the battery so I disabled everything running in the background. It didn't helped. Then I found out about the powercfg utility and run powercfg /batteryreport on it, and this was the result:

A full charge capacity has degraded by over 80% in just few weeks and continue degrading. I tried to "recalibrate" the battery by doing full charge then full drain multiple times, and it didn't helped. Talk with Microsoft via chat support and they insist this was a software problem and reinstalled the driver and asked me to wait few days to see if things improve. Not only it didn't improved, but now my Surface can only last 30 minutes.

Few days after chat (today), I called Microsoft support and they were being extremely unhelpful. Insist that this was a software problem (which the chat support person already did) and it's "perfectly normal" for battery capacity to degrade. I insist that I've already done the software "fixes" and it didn't work and tell them this is definitely hardware problem, but the person on the phone tell me there's nothing I could do except to order the out of warranty exchange (which cost about $560 in my local currency). 

Is there anything else I should do? My country has no Microsoft Store which I could take the machine for them to take a look. Phone/online support were the only option, and none of them could understand the issue.

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
2016-07-26T21:31:16+00:00

Hello everyone,

Thanks for your continued patience here. We have now completed our testing of the update and it has passed our quality assurance process.

The update, “System Firmware Update - 8/29/2016”, is now available to install from Windows Update.

Before installing this update, ensure that your Surface Pro 3 is plugged directly in to AC power using the standard AC power adapter (do not use the Surface Docking Station), disconnect any USB devices or external monitors, and check that Windows shows a 40% charge or greater when you hover over the icon in the taskbar before you begin.

Once you install the update, please select Restart now (do not shutdown). After your Surface restarts, please manually restart it a second time to complete the process. For more information, please see our Surface Pro 3 Battery FAQ article.

If you’re having trouble charging your Surface, you get a low-battery error, or your Surface turns off when you unplug it, the steps in our Surface battery won’t charge article can help you pinpoint the problem. Should you need any further assistance, please contact us. 

Thanks again.

Greg

Updated 8/29/16.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

1,459 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-21T06:49:36+00:00

    Hahhhahahaha - I like the part where he demonstrated utmost generosity. MS is taking us for fools buddy. It's something like a conversation in corporate environment with the boss. You know he is BS-ing and he knows that you know, but still have to put up with it... It's kind of sad though, all it would take is to

    1.) apologize big time

    2.) acknowledge (more or less happened)

    3.) ensure swift resolution (either fix or rather exchange given a lot of us have been using our SP3's as desktop for months)

    4.) keep the user base updated to make sure they will remain MS customers in the future

    5.) apologize again

    Most importantly MS do not try to cover up make promises you cannot keep and take your customers for fool in the internet era as it will all blow up into your face.

    This is client servicing 101 and does not take a high corporate title to understand.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-21T04:11:58+00:00

    Decided to walk over to the Microsoft store in San Francisco at the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall to try my luck on getting a replacement for my out of warranty SP3 (warranty expired March 1st, 2016).

    I had scheduled an appointment online first, with the issue stated as "SP3 with SIMPLO battery degradation" and included the link to this thread. When I met with the associate, he claimed to not be aware of any official MS memos about the battery issue. I told him that I was no longer able to boot up my laptop, and if it did, it would immediately shut off. I told him I had my SP3 charger, but he started looking around until he pulled out an SP4 charger.

    This made me think he was probably aware of the issue, since the SP4 charger is the only way to make sure the SP3 will turn on and stay on if the battery is completely shot. He clicked around a lot and declared that my battery was indeed dead and that the standard MS replacement would be $450. I replied that I thought it was unreasonable that a laptop would only last 15 months before the battery completely failed. He agreed with me and said, "For your situation, I am going to give you a replacement SP3, however the warranty will no longer be applicable."

    This was the best case scenario I was hoping for, so I was totally ok with this solution. I appreciate that he was willing to replace my SP3 with a refurb unit (LGC battery - I checked before I left the store). I tried to make sure I was friendly and reasonable with my requests for a replacement unit, I'd like to think that helped. Associate was super friendly throughout the interaction and we chatted about lots of other random MS and xbox stuff while we were waiting for the paperwork. All in all, good service and really friendly associate.

    TLDR: Went to SF MS Store. Requested refurb unit and was given one.

    Glad it worked out. Keep checking your battery report, you never know.

    Seems like he acted kind of shady at first though. I hate to believe he was being disingenuous. Why they would they act this way if such a small amount of people are affected is beyond me. My rep said he had attended multiple conf calls where the SIMPLO battery issue was discussed (though he minimized it's scope).

    I'd suggest others point them to Panos and Brian Hall tweets, then this thread.. If still nothing, I'd insist on rescheduling an appointment with someone who has been informed (ie qualified to support the product).

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-21T02:29:50+00:00

    Decided to walk over to the Microsoft store in San Francisco at the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall to try my luck on getting a replacement for my out of warranty SP3 (warranty expired March 1st, 2016).

    I had scheduled an appointment online first, with the issue stated as "SP3 with SIMPLO battery degradation" and included the link to this thread. When I met with the associate, he claimed to not be aware of any official MS memos about the battery issue. I told him that I was no longer able to boot up my laptop, and if it did, it would immediately shut off. I told him I had my SP3 charger, but he started looking around until he pulled out an SP4 charger.

    This made me think he was probably aware of the issue, since the SP4 charger is the only way to make sure the SP3 will turn on and stay on if the battery is completely shot. He clicked around a lot and declared that my battery was indeed dead and that the standard MS replacement would be $450. I replied that I thought it was unreasonable that a laptop would only last 15 months before the battery completely failed. He agreed with me and said, "For your situation, I am going to give you a replacement SP3, however the warranty will no longer be applicable."

    This was the best case scenario I was hoping for, so I was totally ok with this solution. I appreciate that he was willing to replace my SP3 with a refurb unit (LGC battery - I checked before I left the store). I tried to make sure I was friendly and reasonable with my requests for a replacement unit, I'd like to think that helped. Associate was super friendly throughout the interaction and we chatted about lots of other random MS and xbox stuff while we were waiting for the paperwork. All in all, good service and really friendly associate.

    TLDR: Went to SF MS Store. Requested refurb unit and was given one.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-21T02:17:38+00:00

    Yea... stuck at a certain battery level (mine was something like 92% and 84%) with plugged in and not charging seems to be a precursor to this battery degradation. I didn't pay too much attention back then when it happened because when shut down it would charge to full 100% and also, I wasn't using the SP3 outside or in the filed. So when I realized that **** hit the fan it was too late.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments