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

2016-08-13T02:08:47+00:00

I was just mocked by the Tier 1/2 Surface support rep about this.
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Anonymous

2016-08-13T14:39:22+00:00

Yeah, I've called Tech support 3 times and they keep telling me that its a $500 replacement cost. I heard some people had luck brining it in to a Microsoft store and getting it replaced for free but for me the nearest store is 2 hours away. I'm not sure if I'm ready to drive 2 hours to possibly only be told that they have to charge me $500 too.
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Anonymous

2016-08-13T14:48:00+00:00

I am under the extended warranty - so I was made fun of -- even though I should really have a no-questions-asked replacement option (certainly not my preferred choice).

It would be my sixth replacement -- two of the refurbs I received (one in store and one in the mail) had physical damage. I've always felt treated pretty well, but last night was salt in the latest wound. I'll have to go in next week - I'll be sure to post what I find out. (I'll put in a good word for everyone.)
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Anonymous

2016-08-13T15:11:21+00:00

I think the bug will be fixed, but by the time the fix is applied, flat batteries that are charging to 144 mWh are irreparably damaged and the fix will remove the cause, but won't undo the damage.

And what are you basing this on?

The software that is measuring and estimating the battery capacity is lying. Microsoft confirmed that. But you have no idea what part it is lying about. You're guessing the 144 mWh capacity part is correct when it is one of the most likely numbers to be in error.

The iFixit teardown someone linked to revealed a fancy "fuel gauge" IC with a lot of black magic in it. That is probably where the problem is. Until there is more information, the FUD is not helping.

What the cause is and the actual charge is, is no longer relevant to whether the battery is damaged or not. What is relevant is whether the battery cycling at whatever the real charge is, has permanently damaged the battery or not. Repeated undercharge can be damaging and overcharge can also be damaging and potentially life threatening, if over charging causes a battery fire.

It is recommended to maintain battery life, to have a battery fully discharge, then fully charge before using. Recharging from half empty, shortens battery life. Charging a battery very frequently, but in short amounts, shortens the lifespan even further. A battery charging very little and going from 0 to 144 mWh in a minute, then 'draining' and recharging constantly when you're using the sp3 on ac power, can only shorten the battery life.

It's not FUD, it's reasoning.

Microsoft provided the Fear, when the device shuts down randomly and you hope you've not lost anything.

Their lack of response provides the Uncertainty.

The lack of a fix, after such a long time, has provided the Doubt it can be fixed.
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