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
    2016-08-05T18:36:04+00:00

    It might be a good idea for everyone to contact the law firm that is investigating the possibility of a class action.  I did and all they are doing for now is taking down basic information (when purchased and from whom, purchase price, where I live, and contact information).

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-05T18:18:40+00:00

    I'd like to add my voice. Have a SIMPLO battery and it's degraded to useless. 3 months past warranty - right on queue.

    Microsoft's response is outrageous for such an expensive machine. I would characterize it as unethical, if not outright fraud. Microsoft - you fix this or you will lose many very loyal customers  who will be shouting your disgrace.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-05T16:31:29+00:00

    Just taken my SIMPLO affected Surface into PC World for assessment.

    My Pro 3 is basically close to being a brick...strange things started happening over the last few months but when it went downhill it went down fast..so if you are reading this thread for the first time because yours is doing strange things make sure you dive in and make a backup quickly.

    I also got a quote for repair from a different independant repair shop. 370 quid plus VAT.. Expensive because the screen will probably crack during the repair. These things were obviously never meant to be taken apart, so it would be reasonable to expect that the battery should last for the expect useful lifespan of the machine.

    I'm hoping that PC World do the right thing and replace or repair. It's only a few months out of warranty....this machine should have been good for years.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-05T15:18:04+00:00

    Hi Greg

    If it a software rather than a hardware issue, what happens to those like myself with a Surface Pro 3 that no longer charges or powers up? The battery is stone cold dead and even when plugged into the electrical supply now remains dead - no backlight, nothing. It's impossible to startup despite all the troubleshooting info on the Microsoft Surface website. Microsoft Support are appalling as this issue occurred in very early July a few weeks out of warranty.

    Exactly. Software fix depends upon working hardware.

    Add two more surface pro 3s to the list of those that no longer work when docked. They just all of a sudden turned off. 

    So now I have surface devices that will only work when plugged directly into power cable (likely soon to be bricked), and costly docks that are also useless paper weights.

    Wonderful!

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