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

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
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.

Was this answer helpful?

100+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

1,459 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-17T23:08:33+00:00

    I bought my surface 5/23/15 and loved it up until a few days ago.  Funny how these batteries fold up just after the warranty expires.    

    COMPUTER NAME SURFACEPRO3
    SYSTEM PRODUCT NAME Microsoft Corporation Surface Pro 3
    BIOS 3.11.1150 12/09/2015
    OS BUILD 9600.18378.amd64fre.winblue_ltsb.160611-0600
    PLATFORM ROLE Slate
    CONNECTED STANDBY Supported
    REPORT TIME 2016-07-1716:33:58

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER 1167530500
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 144 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 286
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 42,308 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 40,464 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-20 - 2016-04-03 35,692 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 30,584 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 36,497 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-24 37,293 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-24 - 2016-05-01 39,350 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-01 - 2016-05-08 35,651 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-08 - 2016-05-15 32,524 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 27,003 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 23,326 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-05 20,748 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-05 - 2016-06-12 14,542 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-12 - 2016-06-19 11,254 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-19 - 2016-06-26 8,457 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-26 - 2016-07-03 4,705 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-04 3,686 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-05 3,686 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-06 3,686 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-07 3,669 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-08 228 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-09 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-10 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-11 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-12 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-13 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-14 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-15 144 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-16 144 mWh 42,157 mWh

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2016-07-17T21:51:43+00:00

    Anybody else find that once the battery was below 1000mwh they could not use the SP3 even docked because once the CPU and fan got going the device would shut off?

    Also - my device was docked most of the time - is this the same for everyone else?

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-17T15:36:44+00:00

    Here's mine...even further gone. An this the second battery. First one was "battery not detected" on a nearly new unit unit replaced under warranty.  This the replacement about 16 months old now, but you an see it starting to fail near the en of February, 2016.

    Steve

    Battery report

    COMPUTER NAME SCS-SP3
    SYSTEM PRODUCT NAME Microsoft Corporation Surface Pro 3
    BIOS 3.11.1150 12/09/2015
    OS BUILD 10586.306.amd64fre.th2_release_sec.160422-1850
    PLATFORM ROLE Slate
    CONNECTED STANDBY Supported
    REPORT TIME 2016-06-15 12:20:46

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER 1163663876
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 790 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 139

    Recent usage

    Power states over the last 3 days

    2016-06-12 12:26:00 Connected standby AC 100 % 1,277 mWh
    12:55:23 Active AC 100 % 1,277 mWh
    13:10:56 Connected standby AC 100 % 1,277 mWh
    13:14:54 Active AC 100 % 1,277 mWh
    13:38:39 Connected standby AC 100 % 1,277 mWh
    13:38:40 Suspended 100 % 1,277 mWh
    2016-06-13 03:00:22 Active AC 68 % 616 mWh
    03:18:06 Connected standby AC 100 % 912 mWh
    03:32:20 Active AC 100 % 912 mWh
    04:17:40 Connected standby AC 100 % 912 mWh
    13:21:13 Active AC 100 % 912 mWh
    13:53:04 Connected standby AC 100 % 912 mWh
    13:57:20 Active AC 100 % 912 mWh
    14:53:26 Connected standby AC 100 % 912 mWh
    2016-06-14 00:05:54 Active AC 100 % 912 mWh
    00:34:45 Connected standby AC 100 % 912 mWh
    00:34:45 Suspended 100 % 912 mWh
    17:02:55 Active AC 100 % 790 mWh
    17:43:46 Connected standby AC 100 % 790 mWh
    2016-06-15 09:19:41 Active AC 100 % 790 mWh
    09:37:50 Connected standby AC 100 % 790 mWh
    11:22:17 Active AC 100 % 790 mWh
    12:11:01 Connected standby AC 100 % 790 mWh
    12:13:45 Active AC 100 % 790 mWh
    12:19:00 Report generated AC 100 % 790 mWh

    Battery usage

    Battery drains over the last 3 days

    - - - - -

    Usage history

    History of system usage on AC and battery

    2015-12-07 - 2015-12-14 0:54:46 25:33:29 4:14:57 130:41:03
    2015-12-14 - 2015-12-21 0:06:24 6:33:05 0:49:03 83:17:56
    2015-12-21 - 2015-12-28 1:09:55 42:05:49 6:56:18 42:45:48
    2015-12-28 - 2016-01-04 0:00:27 171:10:53 - -
    2016-01-04 - 2016-01-12 0:00:47 0:00:01 3:56:56 31:07:02
    2016-01-12 - 2016-01-18 0:21:17 130:39:40 0:01:07 0:00:03
    2016-01-18 - 2016-01-25 0:00:28 58:10:50 3:54:42 33:00:18
    2016-01-25 - 2016-02-02 0:42:56 3:15:10 5:32:18 111:30:32
    2016-02-02 - 2016-02-08 0:42:06 5:03:47 5:54:27 100:35:52
    2016-02-08 - 2016-02-15 0:39:48 21:14:32 7:23:59 110:23:27
    2016-02-15 - 2016-02-22 1:12:36 5:41:48 6:57:26 25:11:38
    2016-02-22 - 2016-02-29 3:01:21 90:01:49 6:05:21 63:48:27
    2016-02-29 - 2016-03-07 0:24:06 0:09:02 24:54:27 85:55:23
    2016-03-07 - 2016-03-14 2:07:11 10:18:49 10:55:39 103:36:54
    2016-03-14 - 2016-03-28 4:04:52 12:24:57 20:44:58 216:05:32
    2016-03-28 - 2016-04-04 2:15:49 6:20:30 8:34:11 123:12:51
    2016-04-04 - 2016-04-11 0:04:27 104:39:36 0:58:51 32:45:20
    2016-04-11 - 2016-04-18 - - 2:13:23 9:20:29
    2016-04-18 - 2016-04-25 - - 1:01:43 43:36:25
    2016-04-25 - 2016-05-02 0:47:23 0:23:41 1:28:00 58:56:25
    2016-05-02 - 2016-05-09 0:00:04 - 5:31:31 75:00:03
    2016-05-09 - 2016-05-16 3:05:19 0:09:53 5:05:14 136:03:32
    2016-05-16 - 2016-05-23 0:22:54 13:24:47 3:45:58 135:36:41
    2016-05-23 - 2016-05-30 0:44:02 0:05:55 4:18:22 104:09:46
    2016-05-30 - 2016-06-06 0:16:52 - 11:32:28 112:36:44
    2016-06-07 0:01:49 - 0:26:22 -
    2016-06-08 0:00:18 - 0:51:40 0:58:47
    2016-06-09 0:00:40 - 1:41:36 11:20:28
    2016-06-10 - - 1:20:56 4:51:45
    2016-06-11 - - 3:47:18 20:12:15
    2016-06-12 - - 1:22:46 12:15:39
    2016-06-13 - - 2:30:58 18:28:17
    2016-06-14 - - 1:09:39 6:22:01

    Battery capacity history

    Charge capacity history of the system's batteries

    2015-12-07 - 2015-12-14 40,523 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-14 - 2015-12-21 40,152 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-21 - 2015-12-28 40,425 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-28 - 2016-01-04 40,941 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-04 - 2016-01-12 41,003 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-12 - 2016-01-18 41,063 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-18 - 2016-01-25 41,063 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-25 - 2016-02-02 40,574 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-02 - 2016-02-08 40,956 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-08 - 2016-02-15 42,194 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-15 - 2016-02-22 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-22 - 2016-02-29 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-29 - 2016-03-07 40,864 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-07 - 2016-03-14 36,580 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-14 - 2016-03-28 31,270 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-28 - 2016-04-04 25,919 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-04 - 2016-04-11 22,764 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-11 - 2016-04-18 20,794 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-18 - 2016-04-25 20,257 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-25 - 2016-05-02 19,065 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-02 - 2016-05-09 17,183 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-09 - 2016-05-16 13,618 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-16 - 2016-05-23 10,775 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-23 - 2016-05-30 6,568 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-30 - 2016-06-06 3,787 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-07 2,054 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-08 1,826 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-09 1,710 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-10 1,597 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-11 1,277 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-12 1,277 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-13 957 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-14 876 mWh 42,157 mWh

    Battery life estimates

    Battery life estimates based on observed drains

    2015-12-07 - 2015-12-14 6:35:06 108:51:34<br><br>15 % / 16 h 6:51:02 113:14:56<br><br>14 % / 16 h
    2015-12-14 - 2015-12-21 4:49:03 10:17:52<br><br>155 % / 16 h 5:03:29 10:48:43<br><br>148 % / 16 h
    2015-12-21 - 2015-12-28 4:25:12 92:13:36<br><br>17 % / 16 h 4:36:34 96:10:41<br><br>17 % / 16 h
    2015-12-28 - 2016-01-04 2:22:49 368:16:42<br><br>4 % / 16 h 2:27:03 379:13:00<br><br>4 % / 16 h
    2016-01-04 - 2016-01-12 - - - -
    2016-01-12 - 2016-01-18 3:40:18 231:27:50<br><br>7 % / 16 h 3:46:10 237:37:50<br><br>7 % / 16 h
    2016-01-18 - 2016-01-25 13:53:09 207:54:27<br><br>8 % / 16 h 14:15:21 213:26:48<br><br>7 % / 16 h
    2016-01-25 - 2016-02-02 2:54:02 - 3:00:49 -
    2016-02-02 - 2016-02-08 6:48:46 317:04:04<br><br>5 % / 16 h 7:00:46 326:21:56<br><br>5 % / 16 h
    2016-02-08 - 2016-02-15 5:19:48 226:20:13<br><br>7 % / 16 h 5:19:31 226:08:18<br><br>7 % / 16 h
    2016-02-15 - 2016-02-22 6:19:47 50:20:18<br><br>32 % / 16 h 6:15:59 49:50:05<br><br>32 % / 16 h
    2016-02-22 - 2016-02-29 11:23:45 233:58:47<br><br>7 % / 16 h 11:16:55 231:38:20<br><br>7 % / 16 h
    2016-02-29 - 2016-03-07 2:29:17 17:14:00<br><br>93 % / 16 h 2:34:00 17:46:43<br><br>90 % / 16 h
    2016-03-07 - 2016-03-14 2:33:20 11:05:08<br><br>144 % / 16 h 2:56:43 12:46:33<br><br>125 % / 16 h
    2016-03-14 - 2016-03-28 3:09:43 40:53:52<br><br>39 % / 16 h 4:15:46 55:08:12<br><br>29 % / 16 h
    2016-03-28 - 2016-04-04 4:40:33 43:57:39<br><br>36 % / 16 h 7:36:20 71:30:06<br><br>22 % / 16 h
    2016-04-04 - 2016-04-11 - 111:57:31<br><br>14 % / 16 h - 207:20:16<br><br>8 % / 16 h
    2016-04-11 - 2016-04-18 - - - -
    2016-04-18 - 2016-04-25 - - - -
    2016-04-25 - 2016-05-02 2:20:29 17:42:24<br><br>90 % / 16 h 5:10:39 39:09:13<br><br>41 % / 16 h
    2016-05-02 - 2016-05-09 - - - -
    2016-05-09 - 2016-05-16 2:42:08 20:57:51<br><br>76 % / 16 h 8:21:57 64:53:56<br><br>25 % / 16 h
    2016-05-16 - 2016-05-23 1:37:29 68:39:29<br><br>23 % / 16 h 6:21:25 268:37:27<br><br>6 % / 16 h
    2016-05-23 - 2016-05-30 1:18:36 12:13:13<br><br>131 % / 16 h 8:24:34 78:26:12<br><br>20 % / 16 h
    2016-05-30 - 2016-06-06 0:26:30 - 4:55:02 -
    2016-06-07 0:28:55 - 9:53:41 -
    2016-06-08 - - - -
    2016-06-09 0:01:37 - 0:40:12 -
    2016-06-10 - - - -
    2016-06-11 - - - -
    2016-06-12 - - - -
    2016-06-13 - - - -
    2016-06-14 - - - -

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

    Since OS install 0:06:02 2:43:53<br><br>586 % / 16 h 5:22:34 145:45:23<br><br>11 % / 16 h

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2016-07-17T01:15:07+00:00

    The slide down is in progress here.

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME X898289
    MANUFACTURER SIMPLO
    SERIAL NUMBER 1181359620
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 42,157 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 21,523 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 311

    Battery capacity history

    Charge capacity history of the system's batteries

    2015-11-22 41,541 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-11-22 41,541 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-11-22 - 2015-11-29 41,385 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-11-29 - 2015-12-06 41,130 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-06 - 2015-12-13 41,087 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-13 - 2015-12-20 40,728 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-20 - 2015-12-27 40,654 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2015-12-27 - 2016-01-03 40,604 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-03 - 2016-01-10 40,543 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-10 - 2016-01-17 40,579 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-17 - 2016-01-24 40,774 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-24 - 2016-01-31 40,785 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-01-31 - 2016-02-07 40,789 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-07 - 2016-02-14 40,896 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-14 - 2016-02-21 41,012 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-21 - 2016-02-28 40,916 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-02-28 - 2016-03-06 40,810 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-06 - 2016-03-13 40,720 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-13 - 2016-03-20 40,725 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-20 - 2016-03-27 40,898 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-03-27 - 2016-04-03 40,838 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-03 - 2016-04-10 40,935 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-10 - 2016-04-17 40,647 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-17 - 2016-04-24 41,883 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-04-24 - 2016-05-01 41,258 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-01 - 2016-05-08 42,579 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-08 - 2016-05-15 41,929 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-15 - 2016-05-22 41,677 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-22 - 2016-05-29 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-05-29 - 2016-06-05 42,583 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-05 - 2016-06-12 42,503 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-12 - 2016-06-19 39,724 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-19 - 2016-06-26 35,256 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-06-26 - 2016-07-03 30,672 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-04 27,413 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-05 27,181 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-06 26,503 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-07 26,038 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-08 25,283 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-09 24,407 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-10 23,896 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-11 23,639 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-12 23,216 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-13 22,698 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-14 22,108 mWh 42,157 mWh
    2016-07-15 21,839 mWh 42,157 mWh

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments