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
    2016-08-02T13:27:20+00:00

    always plugged ever since I realized this problem. No sign of recovery, steady decline by 300mWh per day.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-02T13:19:04+00:00

    To save some people a little time in reading the 40 previous pages, I think we can sum up the thread thus far as :

    "More Bricks, No Fix"

    I know this has been said before but let's keep this in perspective.  I have no doubt that Microsoft will fix this, either through software or via an extended warranty replacement (similar to what they did for the Xbox 360), so it's a matter of "when" not "if".

    The frustration I have isn't with if this will be fixed it is the lack of communication which I find disrespectful and unforgivable considering these devices cost upwards of £1,500 so we deserve regular updates.  I also feel they should be doing an open email to all owners, theses devices are registered after all (same way they contacted us about the power cable recall), informing people that there is an issue and that they are working on it.

    The fact that telephone support are still suggesting customers pay to replace the battery is disgusting.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-02T13:08:56+00:00

    Frank - the Syracuse store was the one I dealt with back in April that was completely unwilling to go out of their way for me. You might try making the drive up there, and perhaps they will do something now that this issue is known to be widespread, but I think your best bet will be to hold tight if you can.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-02T13:00:12+00:00

    I have tried calling the Microsoft Store in Syracuse many times to see if the 70+ mile drive (one way) would yield a solution to the Simplo battery problem. I was not able to speak in person to any customer service rep; I was put through a series of loops and disconnected before being able to speak to a rep.  Will now have to take the time for the drive to see if there is any solution.

    Microsoft should have stuck to producing software. The time and aggravation this issue has taken has soured me on any Microsoft tablet or computer. I work at an educational institution and have made sure we are now purchasing Chrome Books. In the long run this will cost Microsoft much more than if they confronted the issue and provided a timely fix.

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