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
    2016-08-06T23:20:44+00:00

    Purchased min at ABT and this is their stand on the situation:

    [Chynna G.] I spoke with our manager of this department and he said that he has not heard of any retailers that are issuing refunds or returning the product for the customer, at this time. He does know that Microsoft has stated that it is a software issue and not a hardware issue as of earlier this year. At this time we would not be able to issue a refund or return the product for you. If there is ever a recall we will reach out to you to set up the process to get an exchange or return on the product but that is only if a recall is issued from Microsoft. You can bring the unit in to Abt and we can take a look at the unit at no charge for you, but if any parts need to be replaced we would not be able to cover the cost of those parts since the unit is out of warranty.

    Unless you subscribed to an out-of-warrantee service or replacement option, I don't know how BestBuy has provided the credit. I guess their manager may have been more generous than the one at ABT. Either case, Microsoft could use that as a way out and offer a buy-back or something similar, as local vendors are hit-or-miss.

    [Chynna G.] I understand but Abt and best buy are 2 separate companies, the only way to check on why you are having this issue is to bring it in and our techs can take a look at it for you

    [Maciek Niedorezo] Your offer to help is generous. I will try to stop by in the coming week to have it looked at, possibly have something in writing I can issue to Microsoft. Again thank you for your help with this.

    [Maciek Niedorezo] See you in the week. And thank you.

    **[Chynna G.]**Not a problem. Have a great rest of your day

    I am hoping that at least their techs will look at it and troubleshoot, and I may get something in writing stating the problem if there is ever a class action lawsuit or if Microsoft requires proof. Guess you got very very lucky with BestBuy on this one.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-06T23:01:24+00:00

    I'm sure Microsoft's appalling customer service will backfire on them. The following is from another website:

    Surface Pro 3 is the one where the problems started. This means the problem could affect Surface Pro 4 and surface book as well if the batteries share the same supplier or driver scripting, but they are too new for the problem to have revealed itself yet... So it's all a bit of a gamble.

    I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable buying any current surface computer until microsoft come clean with the reason for the battery problems in the Surface Pro 3

    They are doing a pretty good self-destruct job of their hardware business by staying silent and not addressing this issue.

    Shame.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-06T22:06:33+00:00

    After the latest firmware the battery stopped degrading. Stuck on 266.

    Support hangs up on me. Microsoft store rep shrugs shoulders. Seriously?! I regret not purchasing an extended plan.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-06T21:59:06+00:00

    Do we leave it unplugged?

    I am down to 200mWh.  I don't know if it will stay on long enough to install any updates.  Even plugged in it shuts donw

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