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
    2016-08-13T23:33:32+00:00

    I also have the issue.  I use my surface pro 3 connected to a docking station most of the time.

    The use of a docking station seems to be mentioned quite frequently in this topic which has me wondering if that is possibly part of the problem; not the docking station itself but the discrepancy between the power it supplies and what the Surface Pro 3 draws under load. Perhaps that has confused the charging state of the battery, in software, or perhaps resulted in the early demise of the physical batteries.

    I use the docking station with my SP3 most of the time. Shame we can't create a survey in this topic to find the ratio of docking station users with this problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-13T20:54:53+00:00

    I just spoke with Surface support on the phone. The agent gave me the option to have a replacement unit for $450 out of my pocket.

    He did verbally confirm that Microsoft knows this issue is affecting a "minority" of the surface pro 3 users, and that the Microsoft engineers believes a software update will fix this issue.

    I asked when is the expected fix coming. He said he doesn't know but usually MS releases the updates on the second Tuesdays of the month.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-13T19:50:40+00:00

    It is recommended to maintain battery life, to have a battery fully discharge, then fully charge before using. Recharging from half empty, shortens battery life. Charging a battery very frequently, but in short amounts, shortens the lifespan even further.

    You need to go back and do more reading on batteries.  Different battery chemistries behave differently.  There is a website called "Battery University" I think that has a lot of good information.  And it is consistent with the manufacturer's literature and research papers that I've read.

    That said, I do think that Microsoft has a tough technical problem. I've already mentioned in an earlier post the fuel gauge IC that has its own programming.  It is sealed up in the battery pack and typically there is no way to reprogram it. If you go to the iFixit website and see their teardown of the SP3, you'll see that the battery pack is glued into place.  Highly unlikely that a repair is practical.  More probable is a full replacement which is what MS is probably gagging on right now.  Their lawyers are trying to get Simplo to foot the bill but that is probably like getting blood out of turnip.  One option they may be considering is credit toward a new SP4.

    Ok, I'll go with your FUD.  But not because the battery is wearing out.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-13T19:50:25+00:00

    I also have the issue.  I use my surface pro 3 connected to a docking station most of the time.  The only reason I uncovered the problem is because it keeps shutting down while the surface is docked - why the surface pro should require the battery while it's in the docking station is beyond me.  The only way I can have it running continuously is by having it plugged directly into an outlet.  However with that I lose wired Ethernet and a second display.  Hopefully Microsoft makes this right soon because I use this for development and the poor wireless performance and loss of a display does effect my productivity.  I have no problem paying a reasonable price for a battery replacement (100-150) but $500 for a refurbished product is not an option for me.  I could also live with it functioning correctly in the docking station.

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