Surface Pro 3 battery degradation

I'm in the same situation; where previously I was in a position to use the surface only on AC power and wait for Microsoft to issue a fix or a recall, it's now at the critical stage where my Surface sometimes won't even stay on while in the AC dock. I suspect at this rate of decline, it will be unusable within a week. This means

-not being able to download and update if MS do release a fix (a possibility that is looking ever more unlikely)

-not being able to work, as this is my work computer. The process of buying a new laptop, installing all the various software, and therefore accepting the financial liability for MS's inability to fix the problem, is huge.

Please would it be possible for MS to issue some kind of response to the situation beyond 'we think we might know maybe, we're looking at a fix sort of'. For affected users, the problem has become critical, and we need to know some sort of timescale over which this may be solved.

Hi Greg,

I can not detach from the powerplug in the wall and when executing CPU hungry applications, it just shuts down the SP3.

Examples are Bing Maps or Google Maps. Lowering the screen intensity, I was able to use these sites.  And my sight is not that good to view information at 25% brightness.

One thing is: Microsoft is aware and the other is: estimated timeframe towards a solution. 

Just because I am part of a limited number of customers, does this problem get the needed attention to be solved promptly? 

Thank you.

Hello Greg,

can you please respond, or if you have been gagged by your management, escalate the issue so someone responds with an update?

I have 4 Surface Pros (Pro 1, Pro 2, 2x Pro 3) - the Pro 1 & Pro2 still maintain their charge despite being quite old now. Both Pro 3s have the same issue and now can only be used when connected to the charger.

I just got of chat with Microsoft Support and they "acknowledge" that there is an issue with the batteries, and offered me replacement units at a cost of £333.33 each (I am in the UK). However they could not confirm if the replacements units would not have the same issue, and actually said there is a likelihood of them having the same issue and best to wait for a fix. They have received several of my battery reports confirming the degradation over the last few weeks as evidence.

Now I am a supporter of Microsoft and love the Surface, and would rather wait for a fix, but you (or your management) really need to get ahead of this and give some indication of a fix. It will put the community's fears to rest if you do. The silence, as you can see from these posts, means people who reply on their Surface are now very worried they have invested in the wrong item.

As I said a fix is preferred, if that is even technically possible.

We all look forward to your reply.

N.

I think it's important to understand the distinction between a normal Windows Update and a Windows 10 Feature Update (The 1607 / Anniversary Update is the latter).  In the Windows 10 era a Feature Update is a full build of Windows, like installing an upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 8 for example), and causes your Windows folder to be renamed Windows.old and then a new Windows folder is created from decompressing the new WIM (Windows Image) file before finally merging your settings, etc.  That is why your old history has been moved.

This is why, since the Windows Vista/7 era, it is no longer necessary to do a "clean" install since essentially every Windows upgrade is now a new installation but with your personal files and folders (and most customisation) is retained and merged back into the new installation so it appears like an upgrade.

While it is easy to roll out the tin foil conspiracy theories there is a rational explanation for your experience.  Steven Sinofsky did a blog post on this new upgrade experience in the Building Windows 7 blog which is still discoverable today.  People like to hate on Vista but actually while the OS was troubled it was the beginning of many technologies that makes Windows 10 as secure and componentised as it is today.

End of history lesson. :)

EDIT: Found the link which is actually about Windows 8 but explains how Windows 7 copied retained files back into the new installation which is different to how Windows XP and before did upgrades: https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/b8/2011/11/21/improving-the-setup-experience/

All you're really explaining is how Microsoft have configured their system so badly, there's no separation between data and executable binaries in how they've structured their file storage. There is no reason why configuration files, log files etc get wiped out, even though many of these are in the Windows and System32 folders and subfolders, yet event logs and history data need to be erased when the Windows folder gets replaced? If the folder is being renamed and replaced, then like other files that are clearly copied / merged to the new instance, so can the rest of the important data.

Apart from keeping these important artifacts separate from each other, like *nix systems do, Windows upgrades clearly retain some of the original installation, otherwise, files such as described above would be lost too. 

Example: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

I assume Microsoft keep the renamed folder, because they like a rollback plan that involves bloating the file system with duplicate copies of files and an entire OS folder is too big, not to miss the opportunity to fill the storage space with.

I also don't think your best pitch is to tell me how good Windows 10 is. I've been developing software since DOS 5 and know just how crappy the entire Microsoft line of operating systems have been. Personally, Windows 7 was the best so far, from a user experience and Windows 10 is just a crappy hybrid of 7 & 8, that I get by with, by installing a custom 'Start' menu