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

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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.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T06:30:03+00:00

    I have never seen anything handled this poorly. Shame on you, Microsoft!

    It doesn't help that essentially Microsoft are not getting any negative press about this which I suspect is because it is the previous generation and so the ones likely to report it are now using a Surface Pro 4 and so aren't feeling the pain directly.  The amount of negative coverage around the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book was very high because the press were actively using them.

    Sadly this is not the first failure by Microsoft with the Surface brand given the Surface Pro 2 had firmware released that stopped it charging and Microsoft thought it was ok to leave it that way over the Christmas holiday period (although they did have a change of heart following some negative press).  This was followed by the wall of silence surrounding the SP4/Book firmware issues relating to power management but because those were new devices the levels of negative press forced them into action.

    Sadly I feel we are a low priority with the team focused on the Surface Pro 5, Surface Book 2 and a possible Surface Phone.  The question is will they have any customers left who would trust them enough to purchase one as I suspect each will have their own set of launch issues.  The Surface team talk about their passion for engineering excellence but the reality is they just don't have the experience of a long term OEM like HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc.

    This has taught me one thing though and that is my work device must have a user replaceable battery and that a tablet should be just that and not some fancy 2-in-1 device.  Better to get a device that has been designed and built to be good at one thing not just alright at two things.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T04:55:46+00:00

    I've been having a discussion with Barb Bowman on twitter around the SP3's that are so low on capacity that they no longer function when docked.  Are there SP3 owners on this topic that are also finding that the SP3, when at it's lowest capacity, is also unable to stay on even using the supplied power supply?  I'm sure some people said that was the case but we want to be sure.

    Yes!  This just started happening with mine this week.  Battery drain issue began in May 2016, but now even plugged in I can only get a few minutes of work before it shuts down. This was my latest battery report from Aug 15.  

    What began as a great portable device, became a "desktop" always tethered to the wall, and now to something completely unusable even plugged in. I'm going to have to replace it before MSFT finds a fix - if they are even really working on it. Guaranteed the replacement will be a non-MSFT product after this entire support Bull Sh*t.  I have never seen anything handled this poorly. Shame on you, Microsoft!

    ![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=381b7600-1b14-4575-a2d8-06f9fdb697bd)

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T01:28:56+00:00

    I used to love my Surface Pro 3... until May 2016. That is when issue started. At first I'd go from 100% to low battery in <2 hours. Then it was within a few minutes... now it won't even last 1 minute.  Here is what I've tired with no success:

    * Cleaned the charger contacts.

    * Made sure the charger light was on.

    * Made sure I had all of the latest software updates: Settings>Updates&Security>Check for Updates

    * Installed latest Firmware updates (latest was Aug 1, 2016) and confirmed it successfully installed: Settings>Updates&Security>Update History

    * Restarted Surface Pro 3.

    * Shut down the Surface Pro  and then let it charge for over an hour. Turned it back on. 

    * Did a Two-Button shutdown: With surface on... Hold power button for 30 seconds & release it. Hold down the power button & volume up button at same time for 15 seconds & release it.  Waited 30 seconds and then restarted Surface Pro 3.

    * I also ran the battery report.  I have the battery that everyone has been complaining about - SIMPLO.  

          At 07:38:36... I was at 100% battery and I unplugged the charger

          At 07:38:50... I was at 90% battery capacity remaining

          At 07:38:52... I was at 6% battery capacity remaining.

    So my I can run on battery for SIXTEEN SECONDS.   Seriously?!

    NOTHING has fixed the issue.  I have a Surface Pro 3 that can ONLY be used if it's plugged into the wall.  Kinda defeats the purpose of why I bought this machine.  Started in May and I'm sitting here in August with an unusable PORTABLE device!!

    When will MSFT have a fix?  Since I'm not the only one with this issue I'm NOT paying for a fix!!  My business will simply go elsewhere.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T00:08:56+00:00

    I completely understand that, i was explaining that the microsoft supporter person I spoke with, when questioned, explained that my replacement surface would not have any warranty past the date of my original device's warranty. He did not mention the 90 days. I in fact raised issue and he said that was how it was. When i checked my account however, the extension in the warranty does show.

    I may be using that warranty, after seeing that my replacement unit's battery capacity has gone down 2000mAh after one day.

    I am not pleased.

    just to add, I have just got off chat with Ms and they told me my warranty had been extended for my new device until November 2017!!!

    That's great news. Similar to my experience. 

    Not to sound cynical but I would encourage you to check their work - If you haven't, go to the surface support site, register your replacement surface and review the warranty expiration date. First thing I did when I got mine replaced.

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