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Battery won't charge to 100% any more

Recently, my Surface Pro 3 has stopped charging to 100%.

For example, last night, I powered it off (used Shut Down from the Start Menu, not simply closing the keyboard case or putting it in sleep mode) and left it on the charger for 9 hours. It was at 90% this morning when I booted it up while still on the charger. No, we did not lose power last night.

This morning, I powered it on and put it back on the charger. It's currently at 94% and indicates that it's stopped charging:
bpUW3Dk.png


The same thing happens when it's in the Surface dock at work, which has its own charger.

When the device was new, I recall routinely seeing 100% after a good charging time.

The only recent change was a clean install of Windows 10, as in wiping the device and installing Windows 10 from the ISO. Since the problem happens even when it's shut down (i.e., no OS running even in connected standby mode), I don't think it's OS-related.

I am used to other PCs that do have a small range near 100% where charging will stop but pick back up when it falls below a certain threshold, like a kludgey trickle charge mode. Those happen in a much smaller band than 10%!

Sometimes I need every last bit of power from this device, and starting with 10% depleted is not good.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Shut it down completely, then do the 2 finger power up by holding the volume rocker up and pressing the power button, when the Surface Logo comes up let go of the volume rocker. Exit UEFI without making any changes and allow it to reboot.

This typically fixes it.
 
OP
A

Authorized Customer

New Member
Shut it down completely, then do the 2 finger power up by holding the volume rocker up and pressing the power button, when the Surface Logo comes up let go of the volume rocker. Exit UEFI without making any changes and allow it to reboot.

This typically fixes it.
Nice, didn't know about this BIOS setup feature. I did see the screen, but it had no effect unfortunately. It's not clear to me why this would cause what you're talking about since none of the options on it appear to be related to charging.

It could be calibrating the battery is needed.
How to Calibrate Your Laptop’s Battery For Accurate Battery Life Estimates
If it doesn't charge to 100% what ever the max is will do, then run to shutdown.
I did that, too. Here's the icon I saw when trying to power it back up after full power rundown:
a8yhf98.png


Unfortunately, after charging it back up for several hours, I get this:
iFNcjcg.png


So it's still not charging to 100%.
 

GreyFox7

Super Moderator
Staff member
Might be a battery or charging circuitry problem, if you have warranty left contact MS about replacement.
 
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