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
    2016-07-25T13:57:19+00:00

    But look at where most people had the issue, January 2016.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-25T13:56:52+00:00

    My battery report.  Like many others I started seeing rapid degradation starting in April.

    Battery report

    COMPUTER NAME ELF-SURFACE
    SYSTEM PRODUCT NAME Microsoft Corporation Surface Pro 3
    BIOS 3.11.1450 05/27/2016
    OS BUILD 10586.494.amd64fre.th2_
    PLATFORM ROLE Slate
    CONNECTED STANDBY Supported
    REPORT TIME 2016-07-25 09:49:05

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER 1165761028
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 144 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 105

    Recent usage

    Power states over the last 3 days

    2016-07-2210:24:00 Connected standby AC 100 % 144 mWh
    10:58:15 Active AC 100 % 144 mWh
    14:27:00 Suspended 74 % 106 mWh
    19:46:57 Active AC 16 % 23 mWh
    20:08:42 Connected standby AC 100 % 144 mWh
    2016-07-2316:01:03 Active AC 100 % 144 mWh
    16:01:37 Connected standby AC - -
    16:06:11 Active AC 100 % 144 mWh
    16:06:44 Connected standby AC 100 % 144 mWh
    21:09:47 Active AC 100 % 144 mWh
    2016-07-2416:55:06 Connected standby AC 90 % 129 mWh
    16:55:14 Active AC 90 % 129 mWh
    17:25:01 Connected standby AC 85 % 122 mWh
    18:27:00 Suspended 85 % 122 mWh
    2016-07-2509:06:26 Active AC - -
    09:49:00 Report generated AC 32 % 46 mWh

    Battery usage

    Battery drains over the last 3 days

    - - - - -

    Usage history

    History of system usage on AC and battery

    2015-12-27 - 2016-01-03 1:53:37 3:27:56 111:21:16 42:38:22
    2016-01-03 - 2016-01-10 1:48:22 9:02:15 42:51:20 102:55:01
    2016-01-10 - 2016-01-17 10:18:03 42:56:30 24:54:24 72:02:28
    2016-01-17 - 2016-01-24 1:29:24 30:17:43 21:31:02 90:31:54
    2016-01-24 - 2016-01-31 2:21:42 0:49:51 45:15:38 119:50:20
    2016-01-31 - 2016-02-07 3:09:27 82:06:46 15:39:29 66:30:16
    2016-02-07 - 2016-02-14 4:54:40 81:53:07 9:30:05 49:38:08
    2016-02-14 - 2016-02-21 6:03:58 42:37:59 32:15:46 55:06:38
    2016-02-21 - 2016-02-28 1:12:43 1:05:09 71:23:27 93:14:21
    2016-02-28 - 2016-03-06 - - 105:12:13 62:31:28
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 0:36:51 3:13:40 88:00:22 72:49:45
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 0:04:34 0:00:05 73:22:11 94:52:34
    2016-03-20 - 2016-03-27 0:01:37 0:00:02 82:14:01 85:31:46
    2016-03-27 - 2016-04-03 3:10:04 0:00:10 199:42:25 298:01:37
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 7:06:54 5:36:25 296:24:00 350:40:40
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 - - 117:37:18 49:26:40
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-24 0:34:23 0:08:38 226:08:55 107:41:31
    2016-04-24 - 2016-05-06 0:01:55 72:11:15 56:02:17 24:44:27
    2016-05-06 - 2016-05-08 - - 22:53:27 20:07:51
    2016-05-08 - 2016-05-15 - - 68:29:28 99:41:27
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 - - 68:46:32 99:05:57
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 0:00:20 - 65:33:41 33:12:08
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-05 - - 58:08:51 109:48:11
    2016-06-05 - 2016-06-12 0:00:05 0:00:11 83:02:25 84:51:09
    2016-06-12 - 2016-06-19 0:00:03 0:00:05 65:35:14 102:17:24
    2016-06-19 - 2016-06-26 - - 70:42:01 97:14:46
    2016-06-26 - 2016-07-03 0:12:41 0:00:15 50:14:35 32:05:34
    2016-07-03 - 2016-07-10 0:08:11 4:01:11 17:48:32 99:21:06
    2016-07-10 - 2016-07-17 0:00:02 - 14:53:27 152:57:13
    2016-07-18 - - - 23:59:36
    2016-07-19 0:00:07 0:00:10 0:01:16 16:06:23
    2016-07-20 - - 2:32:47 8:06:13
    2016-07-21 - - 4:47:30 19:01:20
    2016-07-22 - - 3:50:59 14:40:59
    2016-07-23 - - 2:51:16 21:08:23
    2016-07-24 - - 17:24:40 1:02:06

    Battery capacity history

    Charge capacity history of the system's batteries

    2015-12-27 - 2016-01-03 41,276 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-03 - 2016-01-10 41,276 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-10 - 2016-01-17 41,482 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-17 - 2016-01-24 41,101 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-24 - 2016-01-31 40,151 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-31 - 2016-02-07 41,135 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-07 - 2016-02-14 40,656 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-14 - 2016-02-21 40,775 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-21 - 2016-02-28 40,770 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-28 - 2016-03-06 40,640 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 40,962 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 42,556 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-20 - 2016-03-27 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-27 - 2016-04-03 42,574 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 42,576 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 40,448 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-24 38,357 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-24 - 2016-05-06 33,457 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-06 - 2016-05-08 31,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-08 - 2016-05-15 30,911 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 28,105 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 26,152 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-05 26,152 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-05 - 2016-06-12 17,147 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-12 - 2016-06-19 10,943 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-19 - 2016-06-26 9,188 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-26 - 2016-07-03 9,188 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-03 - 2016-07-10 4,155 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-10 - 2016-07-17 2,174 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-18 2,174 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-19 2,174 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-20 2,174 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-21 2,174 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-22 424 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-23 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-24 144 mWh 42,157 mWh

    Battery life estimates

    Battery life estimates based on observed drains

    2015-12-27 - 2016-01-03 3:51:16 3109:39:29<br><br>1 % / 16 h 3:56:12 3176:01:51<br><br>1 % / 16 h
    2016-01-03 - 2016-01-10 4:38:00 371:54:57<br><br>4 % / 16 h 4:43:56 379:51:15<br><br>4 % / 16 h
    2016-01-10 - 2016-01-17 3:58:37 278:58:58<br><br>6 % / 16 h 4:02:30 283:31:21<br><br>6 % / 16 h
    2016-01-17 - 2016-01-24 7:04:47 29:54:31<br><br>53 % / 16 h 7:15:42 30:40:38<br><br>52 % / 16 h
    2016-01-24 - 2016-01-31 3:42:28 91:23:38<br><br>18 % / 16 h 3:53:34 95:57:36<br><br>17 % / 16 h
    2016-01-31 - 2016-02-07 4:02:25 264:41:24<br><br>6 % / 16 h 4:08:26 271:15:58<br><br>6 % / 16 h
    2016-02-07 - 2016-02-14 6:45:57 196:25:54<br><br>8 % / 16 h 7:00:57 203:41:02<br><br>8 % / 16 h
    2016-02-14 - 2016-02-21 3:07:09 158:29:38<br><br>10 % / 16 h 3:13:29 163:51:57<br><br>10 % / 16 h
    2016-02-21 - 2016-02-28 3:18:12 70:09:27<br><br>23 % / 16 h 3:24:57 72:32:39<br><br>22 % / 16 h
    2016-02-28 - 2016-03-06 - - - -
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 5:55:19 149:54:18<br><br>11 % / 16 h 6:05:41 154:16:41<br><br>10 % / 16 h
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 - - - -
    2016-03-20 - 2016-03-27 - - - -
    2016-03-27 - 2016-04-03 3:57:39 - 3:55:20 -
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 4:07:18 152:32:15<br><br>10 % / 16 h 4:04:52 151:02:11<br><br>11 % / 16 h
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 - - - -
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-24 3:15:38 19:05:50<br><br>84 % / 16 h 3:35:01 20:59:21<br><br>76 % / 16 h
    2016-04-24 - 2016-05-06 35:37:31 84:54:03<br><br>19 % / 16 h 44:53:21 106:58:41<br><br>15 % / 16 h
    2016-05-06 - 2016-05-08 - - - -
    2016-05-08 - 2016-05-15 - - - -
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 - - - -
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 - - - -
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-05 - - - -
    2016-06-05 - 2016-06-12 - - - -
    2016-06-12 - 2016-06-19 - - - -
    2016-06-19 - 2016-06-26 - - - -
    2016-06-26 - 2016-07-03 0:18:23 2:33:08<br><br>627 % / 16 h 1:24:20 11:42:37<br><br>137 % / 16 h
    2016-07-03 - 2016-07-10 0:17:16 6:38:08<br><br>241 % / 16 h 2:55:12 67:19:33<br><br>24 % / 16 h
    2016-07-10 - 2016-07-17 0:00:35 - 0:11:31 -
    2016-07-18 - - - -
    2016-07-19 0:00:49 0:00:35<br><br>164571 % / 16 h 0:16:07 0:11:33<br><br>8312 % / 16 h
    2016-07-20 - - - -
    2016-07-21 - - - -
    2016-07-22 - - - -
    2016-07-23 - - - -
    2016-07-24 - - - -

    Current estimate of battery life based on all observed drains since OS install

    Since OS install 0:00:50 0:26:12<br><br>3664 % / 16 h 4:07:40 127:51:33<br><br>13 % / 16 h

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-25T13:32:52+00:00

    I have been experiencing this same issue now for a month or two.  At this point I cannot be off of power for longer than 15 minutes.. will go from full charge to dead.

    Battery Name: x898289

    Battery Manufacturer: SIMPLO

    Serial Number: 1165761028

    Full Charged Capacity: 144mWh

    Discharge Cycles: 105

    This is unacceptable for 1 year old hardware.  Microsoft needs to immediately acknowledge this issue and provide a fix. Has anyone heard any rumblings of a Class Action Lawsuit around this situation yet?  I refuse to pay 50% of what the hardware costs 1 year later to repair the battery.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-25T06:09:35+00:00

    If you guys look at everyone's charts, it seems to be a problem in 2016. The past years in those charts seem fine, but if you look at 2016, there's a huge degrade. I'll safely assume it's due to Windows 10 or the firmware updates.

    Also, it like it not a thing for the SP4.

    Note: I don't own a Surface at the moment but i'm for sure getting a SP4 later this week. 

    I doubt that. My SP3 is 9 months old, have Win10 from day 1, no degradation of the SIMPLO battery. I think it is tied to the amount of time used, not the OS itself.

    Anyways, the OS cannot kill the battery itself, only do a high battery utilization, but I am getting good usage times.

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