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
    2016-08-17T19:09:26+00:00

    Just got back from the Microsoft Store in Christiana, DE to see what they could do with my completely dead SP3 with SIMPLO battery that had been operating with charger at 144 mWh battery until it failed to boot a week ago. A two hour ride for nothing. The store was pretty much empty so I was waited on immediately. The Microsoft tech at the store actually told me that the tablets and laptops were only designed to last two years and if I had gotten the extended warranty I would have been ok. To add insult to injury he also stated that because I was a Microsoft Preview Insider, that if I had read the small print, I would know that it automatically invalidated my warranty if I had a warranty. The only thing that he was  authorized to offer me was another out of warranty unit for $450.00. I turned it down. The interesting thing that I noticed in the Microsoft store was that most of the tablets and computers in the store were DELL. Maybe the Microsoft store realizes that the handwriting is on the wall for Microsoft hardware products.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-17T19:18:38+00:00

    This is very good news indeed. I wonder if this mean a fix will bring our batteries back to a higher capacity or just stop the degradation.

    For many of us, without the former, the latter is irrelevant.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-17T19:46:33+00:00

    Just adding my name to the dissatisfaction with my SP3.  Love love loved it when I got and it was the perfect tool for a freelance writer.  

    Now, a charge doesn't last more than about 20 minutes with the percentage counter going all over the place until it shuts itself down (even if it still has "time" left).  

    I can't afford to replace it and it's quite frustrating that my "mobile" option is the clunky laptop I was trying retire.  

    I keep watching the news for a class action suit because it's got to be coming...

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-17T19:57:23+00:00

    Just adding my name to the dissatisfaction with my SP3.  Love love loved it when I got and it was the perfect tool for a freelance writer.  

    Now, a charge doesn't last more than about 20 minutes with the percentage counter going all over the place until it shuts itself down (even if it still has "time" left).  

    I can't afford to replace it and it's quite frustrating that my "mobile" option is the clunky laptop I was trying retire.  

    I keep watching the news for a class action suit because it's got to be coming...  

    Already here. Lawyers waste no time when they smell blood.

    http://www.classlawdc.com/2016/07/26/migliaccio-rathod-llp-investigates-microsoft-surface-pro-3-battery-failures/

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