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
    2016-07-29T16:11:15+00:00

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-29T16:10:19+00:00

    Add me to the list as well.  The drain on mine started in May, and is now this:

    2016-07-28 733 mWh 42,157 mWh

    I have the SIMPLO battery, and it's cycled 162 times.  Full charge capacity is 502 mWh.  

    Bought it in February 2015, so I'm out of warranty, but infuriated at the thought of paying $99 just to speak with someone about it.  Insane!!!  I understand there is a firmware fix that should take care of it?  I downloaded and installed new firmware today, so we'll see if this is the touted fix.  

    Thanks Microsoft. . .

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-29T15:35:43+00:00

    Hi, I have a Surface Pro 3 which went out of warranty in February of 2016.  The Battery Report indicates as follows:

    2016-07-28 733 mWh 42,157 mWh

    Clearly the battery is dead.  How do I contact Microsoft to discuss replacement of the battery?  Do I have to pay $99 just to speak with someone about replacing the battery?  How much does the replacement cost, what is the process and what is the timeframe?

    Thanks!!!

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-29T14:33:18+00:00

    I have a MS Surface 3 with a Simplo battery. I have had my device for 18 months and the battery now holds a charge of 10 minutes or less. Waiting for Microsoft fix. Luckily not someone charged $99 for a service call or someone who paid $450 for a new battery. When is the software fix going to be available. Device now basically useless.

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