There's apparently a very small number of people who really want one but not enough to make it a profitable accessory to produce.
How to charge SP4 via portable powerbank?
- Thread starter WebGeorge
- Start date
If they did come out with one I would definitely be getting one as many others but I understand what your saying and you would have thought Microsoft to have made one becuase of the bad battery life on the pro 4 and also the decrease in battery size from the pro 3 which also was not that good in the battery department
Let's hope these upcoming updates sometime next year can sort out the battery issues of the pro 4 becuase atm I am only getting about 4 to 5 hours out of it
Zkyevolved
Active Member
The keyboard costs 150 euros here in Spain, I'd be willing to pay 200 for a type cover with a battery in it.
That seems reasonable but knowing Microsoft they would take advantage of the users who really want the product. Here in the UK the type cover is about 109 pounds but seen as though I'm in college I got a discount so I ended up paying 99 pounds. My price range for the power cover would be about 180 pounds no more. It would make the pro 4 the perfect device for me becuase atm the battery is putting me off from using it as my college laptop if they can't get it sorted out I might just give the pro 4 to my brother and just go back to my hp spectre x360 great battery life on that laptop on average i get about 11 hours of usage.
Zkyevolved
Active Member
I hear you. I was in the same boat as you. Then I saw how flimsy the touch screen was and how it bounced. I really use the touch screen of the surface. I recently tried a forum post from Windows Central, let me get it for you.
NO MORE THROTTLLE OR FANS surface pro 3/4 - Windows Central Forums
I'm easily getting a third more. I set it to minimum 5% for both battery and plugged in. And max 50% for both again.
Try that out. I made a new power plan for this. If I ever want to go to basic again it's just there a click away, and the same for battery saver.
I love my sp4. I think it's a superior device to the spectre in every way except for write speeds on the SSD and battery life. But this closes the gap a lot! Try it out
I allready have this done it does not make much difference I also did the on my pro 3 to reduce heat and fan noise it made a difference on the pro 3 not so much on the pro 4 the battery drain is the same for me no matter what. I also tried turning connected standby off and using the power saving plan and all that does is make any type of video on the pro 4 very laggy and changing the graphics options with the intel driver change nothing either soo I'm pretty much at a brick wall with the surface pro 4 its a great device I don't have any of the overheating or fan noise issues I had with my pro 3 which is great but the battery is much worse compared to the pro 3. Ohh and I only use the touchscreen on the spectre when it's folded all the way to the back so pretty much in tablet mode so doesn't bother me much.
Zkyevolved
Active Member
Really? I am getting 1/3 more, easily, with the settings I mentioned... Hmm...
I think the Spectre is neat, but it's much thicker, heavier and from what I have read from other forums and people who have had both, they heat up all the same, fans kick on about the same... And let's be honest, it's no Surface! Not to say that anything is wrong with the HP, but I have had my SP2 for over 2 years now, and it has been working LIKE A DREAM! It still does! My brother got a Dell in late 2014, well after I got my SP2, and he BARELY touches it and it's in horrible shape. In fact, in the year and a half, the HDD has .1TB written to it... That's how little he uses it! I spent 9 hours yesterday cleaning the HD, reinstalling windows, downloading drivers, calling tech support, etc. It was a NIGHTMARE. People stay with what works for them. Surface works for me just fine
It's a work horse. But I was seriously considering the Spectre x360 until a few days ago.Really? I am getting 1/3 more, easily, with the settings I mentioned... Hmm...
I think the Spectre is neat, but it's much thicker, heavier and from what I have read from other forums and people who have had both, they heat up all the same, fans kick on about the same... And let's be honest, it's no Surface! Not to say that anything is wrong with the HP, but I have had my SP2 for over 2 years now, and it has been working LIKE A DREAM! It still does! My brother got a Dell in late 2014, well after I got my SP2, and he BARELY touches it and it's in horrible shape. In fact, in the year and a half, the HDD has .1TB written to it... That's how little he uses it! I spent 9 hours yesterday cleaning the HD, reinstalling windows, downloading drivers, calling tech support, etc. It was a NIGHTMARE. People stay with what works for them. Surface works for me just fine
Yes the spectre does fulfil my needs but it would be better if the surface pro 4 had a better battery life and also my unit had some backlight bleed which shows up while watching videos.
Ohh and I will admit the fans do start to ramp up quite often but it's bareable so not too bad and it never really got hot for me works perfect in my opinion. So I will carry on to use the spectre unless the pro 4 is fixed.
I really wish it didn't have these issues. I also encounter at least one bsod every day which is very annoying and sometimes lose work which is why I can't use it as my primary device for college I know the hp isn't the ideal device but I'd does not have these types of issues. If Microsoft can fix these asap then I will in a heartbeat change over to the pro 4 but right now it is sitting in the draw most of the time.
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battlezone
New Member
I can confirm that the m3 version can charge on 12v as well. I have been using an Aukey powerbank and a SP3 charger to charge mine.
It would be extremely dumb of Microsoft to ship the m3 version with the same charger plug but at 15v and not have it work on 12v as well. That would mean that anyone who buys a replacement charger would likely toast their SP4 m3.
I have an energizer 18000 battery that has ports for 16-20 and 19 volts. The unit has a XPAL label as well as TennRich 18000A and will do 2 Amps at 12 Volts and 3.5 Amps at 19 Volts. As I am a dumb ME and don't know where the voltage/ current regulator is located in units like my Surface Pro 4, is it the cable or the tablet?, I worry about over voltage etc. frying a zener diode, I realize that the cable must conform at both ends but can you give me an idea about the cables that would use, if any?
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