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
    2016-08-20T04:14:26+00:00

    Hello Greg, question related to this. My SP3 has been in this condition now for two to three months. I'm assuming the battery has been in a mostly depleted state as it can't survive off power for even one second. Lithium ion batteries generally degrade much faster if left at full charge or fully depleted. Can we be expecting further battery degradation even with the fix? Should we be seeking replacement regardless of the availability of a software fix?

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-20T05:17:18+00:00

    We can now confirm that this Surface Pro 3 battery capacity question is not a hardware issue, but one that can be addressed with a software update. Our team has been working on, and is now testing, an update that will address this. We’ll publish the update as soon as it has passed our quality assurance process. For now, you should not consider replacing your device as an update is pending.

      

    Greg -  

    My SP3 has hit the magic capacity level of 144 mWh and now, even when plugged in, will only run for a few minutes before it hibernates. By the time MSFT finishes testing the fix, my SP3 won't be able to stay on long enough to download the software update. Many of us are in that situation now because a fix has taken too long.  Any suggestions for how we are supposed to install the fix?  We can't even take our SP3 to the stores for help because... the MSFT Stores and even Support on Twitter seem to have **NO** idea about this issue or the fact MSFT announced at the end of July that it's a software or firmware issue and not a problem with the battery.

    Is MSFT going to get ALL of their Support Folks and MSFT Store Employees on the exact same message RE:

    * What the problem is with the SP3?

    * Which SP3 users are impacted?

    * How they can help us to fix it the problem - EVEN if our warranty has expired and they won't make us pay $99 to extend the support after the complete run-around we've all gotten?

    I just don't understand why this has been an issue for months and the resolution to this documented matter (even to this day) varies from... you must pay for a replacement... or you must pay $99 to MSFT for help to even talk with you... or the MSFT store employee will talk to you but then tell you there is nothing that can be done [enjoy your new SP3 "doorstop"]... or folks getting refurbished SP3 machines (will these also suffer the battery drain in 12 months down the road)?

    Your CUSTOMERS need your support for a mistake that was made by someone in the food chain.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-20T06:40:25+00:00

    Think a lot of users are unaware. Average user may notice that something is not quite right but will definitely not run a powercfg report. What I did was start an online chat with support which was followed by remote assistance. Just be adamant that MS is at fault, which they are and refer back to this growing forum. They are trying to mitigate reputational risk and handle demanding/most disappointed customers in an isolated way. Tweets hold out hope and give themselves an out - and that is referred to **** usually. Not to mention the additional damage the batteries may have suffered in such a state for months.

    As a holder of MSFT shares I find handling this issue outrageous. Will not be stupid to sell as they do well in the cloud biz, but even the biggest apple ipad pro (which MS like to bash in funny commercials) sells better that surface. MS should man up and should start that by looking at client services. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that they are handling it in such an amateur way.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-08-20T09:46:53+00:00

    Yeah, I am asking in forums in Singapore and doesn't seem anyone have this problem, or no one bother to reply me there. Is yours SIMPLO batteries? If yours is still under warranty, have you tried contacting to Microsoft yet for replacement?

    My SP3 is out of warranty and can't even detect a battery. I didn't try contacting MS Singapore phone support yet. Earlier the SP3 was showing battery status as plugged in not charging. Then I tried a ticket for repair but it was asking me to pay SGD 790 for a replacement which I obviously rejected. In the same page it suggested a reset which I did, got 8.1 with no battery detected and this status of no detection stayed after I updated to 10. Only then I came across this forum through Verge.

    How to find the battery model now? Any print on the slate or the box to show it?

    Thanks.

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