Surface Pro 3 battery degradation

Anonymous

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.

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Anonymous

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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1,459 additional answers

Anonymous

2016-08-29T13:26:16+00:00

I'm currently on Windows 10 V 1607 and still having the battery drain issue. Any solutions or further fixes in the near future?
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Anonymous

2016-08-29T11:17:44+00:00

I have tried all of these "fixes" as well. Startup is NOT the issue. It starts up with either the original power cord or a docking station. It works fine as long as it is connected to a power source. It "dies" once it is disconnected with the battery now lasting less than 15 minutes!

I'm SHOCKED that Microsoft isn't stepping up to HELP!

Time to buy a product from another manufacturer.
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Anonymous

2016-08-29T10:11:28+00:00

First, you should be able to power on using the power adapter that came with the

SP3 (but possibly not in the dock).

If the battery is not being detected, you may have a different issue. Can you

power up from AC and run

powercfg /battery report

and post the results here.

Second, at this point, I would not advise applying the battery regedit at all.
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Anonymous

2016-08-29T05:57:57+00:00
are you in a dock? I was told that if you don't dock and use your original

power cord it should boot.

do you have access to the more powerful power supply for a Surface Book?

if you are near a physical retail Microsoft Store, when the fix is available,

they have the more powerful adapters and they will apply the fix for you.

H Barb,

I have noticed that you are taking exceptional care and interest in this issue, hence my question.

I want to apply the registry tweak(earlier suggested) so the device can function at 65% power input. But currently the battery is not even detected . What is the best way to apply this tweak. How do I at least get the slate to show a battery is installed?

I m not powering it on for the fear of getting it completely bricked without being able to apply any fix.

Thanks in advance.

A SP3 user in despair.
All of these issues and "fixes" have been addressed at various points in this thread and none of them work. I'm not using the do know and mine doesn't work either. The registry tweak doesn't help either. This issue is starting to also appear in SP4 threads as well. The more powerful adapter only delays the issue. The Microsoft stores aren't being helpful or cooperative at all. Also, while they have recently admitted it was a software issue and stated a little over a week ago a fix was in the works this is following months of going from denying the problem all together, blaming it on the battery/hardware/customer, to denying it was a large scale issue, to charging 500 dollars for REFURBISHED, to where we are now. I have little faith or confidence left in them to do the right thing.
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