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
    2016-08-12T17:11:18+00:00

     I think the bug will be fixed, but by the time the fix is applied, flat batteries that are charging to 144 mWh are irreparably damaged and the fix will remove the cause, but won't undo the damage.

    And what are you basing this on?

    The software that is measuring and estimating the battery capacity is lying.  Microsoft confirmed that.  But you have no idea what part it is lying about.  You're guessing the 144 mWh capacity part is correct when it is one of the most likely numbers to be in error.

    The iFixit teardown someone linked to revealed a fancy "fuel gauge" IC with a lot of black magic in it.  That is probably where the problem is.  Until there is more information, the FUD is not helping.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-12T15:49:14+00:00

    What's the latest on this, is it really truly a dvr/fw issue, as MS officially claimed at one point, & if so when the heck is it going to be fixed?!?

    I can't wait much longer, going to go through a return process soon, already teed it up, but thought I'd wait over the weekend before executing it all.

    Not happy, they can't guarantee a new unit*, only a refurbished one, it better bloody be in pristine condition, & not a much older LOT/Batch number!

    Thank-you.

    *my SP3's WELL within warranty

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-12T15:29:21+00:00

    I'm not an expert on the matter but what I understand is that they can recover the loss in battery life. They may be working on some kind of battery re-calibration software to recalibrate the battery....who knows.

    Thats what I understand!

    But it might be a matter of chemistry now? A Lithium Ion battery run dry and cycling to the minimal charge, every time you plug it in, might be damaging to the battery itself, so when the software fix is released, the batteries ability to be charged would be gone, because the chemical properties of the battery are now at a state that's the equivalent of many years of use and hundreds of charge cycles? In other words, this issue might be accelerating the aging process of the batteries.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-12T14:25:34+00:00

    flat batteries that are charging to 144 mWh are irreparably damaged and the fix will remove the cause, but won't undo the damage.

    I just want to confirm.  We can sign up for a class action suit against Microsoft here?

    If that is the case, everyone in this forum should get in immediately before Microsoft screws us more.

    You can register with the law firm ( Migliaccio & Rathod LLP ) and there's no guarantee it will result in a class action law suit, but considering the overwhelming evidence and pattern of battery drain, I'm sure Microsoft will get sued, even after they've applied a fix, because of the loss of income and damage to business users productivity and reputation when using a Surface Pro 3 as an business tool. Loss of revenue as a result of a manufacturers defect, on such a large scale will inevitably lead to people wanting to be compensated for the loss of immediate and future revenue as a result. A Sales person who loses a multi million dollar contract because their Surface pro dies mid presentation, is going to be pretty pissed and if proven the device resulted in the loss and Microsoft is at fault, that loss of revenue can be reclaimed from Microsoft. A lot of people use the pro 3 as a business tool, because of the Microsoft pitch of it being a laptop and a tablet.

    Personally, I'm not convinced that a software/firmware upgrade will resolve it. I think the bug will be fixed, but by the time the fix is applied, flat batteries that are charging to 144 mWh are irreparably damaged and the fix will remove the cause, but won't undo the damage.

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 144 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 345

    So I'm screwed?  My device shuts down randomly now docked making it unusable.  I may take back to store and see if they can help me.  With the dock hdmi casting plug and extra chargers I'm out $1500. Support wants $99 just to tell them about the problem so why would I give them another $99?  I feel so wronged.

    According to Microsoft reply about 2 or 3 weeks ago they said that they believe the cells are not the problem is a software issue. 

    I'm not an expert on the matter but what I understand is that they can recover the loss in battery life. They may be working on some kind of battery re-calibration software to recalibrate the battery....who knows.

    Thats what I understand!

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