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
    2016-08-19T20:00:03+00:00

    I agree, Greg's update is largely the same as the earlier one weeks ago.  No real substance. We'd like actual, usable information with a date where there is commitment a functional fix or a free replace our SP3's will be provided.  this is crazy.

    Chuck

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T21:13:27+00:00

    Ya'll  have a right to be upset..  BUT ... sometimes it takes time to identify, remediate, test and deliver a fix. 

    So Greg doesn't get thrown under the bus.. you all can go to TWITTER  and see that Panos Panay himself tweeted the fix is close and is a SOFTWARE fix...

    Likely this issue is with the interaction between the system firmware and how it reports and reads the battery level during charging.  So I would expect the fix would yes return the battery to full capacity as it would both properly report the battery level AND initiate charging properly based on the correct level.

    Sorry you all have had SP3 issues I am in IT and we buy lots of SP's (3's and now 4's) and have very few with this issue.

    Regards,

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-19T23:00:39+00:00

    Success!!!  No, not with the battery, but with support processing a replacement ticket for me.  I did the online support chat, connected with a tech, provided him the battery report and explained that it no longer would run on the Surface dock, only with the power cord.  He processed the service request.  I go to the local Microsoft store - Park Meadows here in Colorado - and should be handed a replacement device tomorrow.  I'll post an update if this happens as seamlessly as it appears to be headed.  In the mean time, I'm buying a lotto ticket on the way home.

    Eric

    I hope this worked for you.  I went into the Park Meadows store today (my second trip) and they refused to do anything.  The most they would do is print up and estimate to "fix" (trade for a refurbished machine) so I can submit something for an extended warranty claim through my AMEX.

    The guy I talked to was really nice, but didn't seem to have an issue with the unit lasting 18 months.

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