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
    2016-08-08T23:35:51+00:00

    Greg,

    Thank you for your note that a solution is being worked out. I also have a Surface Pro 3 that is suffering from the same problem. Will you be able to let us know when a solution is available? Any idea when that might be?

    (Or will you just work this into a standard software update?)

    Thanks,

    Jeremy

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-08T19:34:50+00:00

    Add me to the growing list of people expeeriencing problems with the SIMPLO battery on a Surface Pro 3.  I can no longer unplug my SP3 without it shutting down immediately.  My warranty expired 3 months ago - on May 6.  It's time for Microsoft to step up and rectify the problem.

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER 1167071748
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 266 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 122

    Battery capacity history

    Charge capacity history of the system's batteries

    2015-12-20 - 2015-12-27 40,502 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-27 - 2016-01-04 39,838 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-04 - 2016-01-10 39,463 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-10 - 2016-01-17 39,857 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-17 - 2016-01-24 40,087 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-24 - 2016-01-31 40,217 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-31 - 2016-02-07 40,246 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-07 - 2016-02-14 39,476 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-14 - 2016-02-21 39,633 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-21 - 2016-02-28 39,877 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-28 - 2016-03-06 39,443 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 39,587 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 39,649 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-20 - 2016-03-27 39,648 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-27 - 2016-04-03 39,603 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 39,783 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 39,756 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-25 40,835 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-25 - 2016-05-01 41,916 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-01 - 2016-05-09 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-09 - 2016-05-15 39,775 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 35,312 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 30,726 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-06 28,095 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-06 - 2016-06-13 22,029 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-13 - 2016-06-20 18,501 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-20 - 2016-06-27 14,851 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-27 - 2016-07-04 11,193 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-04 - 2016-07-11 7,606 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-11 - 2016-07-18 5,985 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-18 - 2016-07-25 3,320 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-25 - 2016-08-01 1,471 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-02 1,034 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-03 1,034 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-04 1,034 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-05 617 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-06 415 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-08-07 274 mWh 42,157 mWh

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-08T18:44:13+00:00

    So I've been using the process outlined by juanmac way back on page 15 (running the battery to almost dead and then recharging), 

    Do you mean to almost dead or 50% as he outlines? Also, do you unplug after reaching 100%?

    Thanks.

    I run it to almost dead, usually under 10% remaining.

    I don't always unplug right when it hits 100% because I'm usually at work at the time. Sometimes it will sit on the dock fully charged for a full day before I unplug it.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-08T18:31:18+00:00

    This is 100% through the SP3 docking station. In fact, I have literally never used the supplied power cord with my SP3, I have always charged it with the docking station.

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