Short Battery life

[tmpsv]

Hello, I have used SP3 always without net (with the airplane mode), with brightness to zero and with just a program at a time (or just to read PDFs or just write in OneNote) ... It turns out that even with this basic use the battery is always about six hours... this is normal? Thanks

PS: I have the i5/128Gb version

 

[jonypx09]

Hello, I have used SP3 always without net (with the airplane mode), with brightness to zero and with just a program at a time (or just to read PDFs or just write in OneNote) ... It turns out that even with this basic use the battery is always about six hours... this is normal? Thanks

PS: I have the i5/128Gb version

How long have you had your unit? Give it a few more days for the system to complete any remaining optimizations (i.e. indexing, installation of updates, etc.). Also, there's a guide in the forum that offers tips for improving battery performance, so you might want to check that out. I too use my SP3 for OneNote (MUI), web browsing (IE MUI) and word documents. I average around 8.5 hours of battery life.

 

[GreyFox7]

Definitely not normal, in fact almost unbelievable. Check Task Manager or Resource Monitor for high CPU users.

 

[kevinlevrone]

Mine barely lasts 4.5 hours with standard usage. I could stretch it to 6 hours but no more than that. The SP2 had better battery life.

 

[bluegrass]

Hello, I have used SP3 always without net (with the airplane mode), with brightness to zero and with just a program at a time (or just to read PDFs or just write in OneNote) ... It turns out that even with this basic use the battery is always about six hours... this is normal? Thanks

What I don't understand is how you can even do anything with your brightness set to zero. As for as battery time, I have heard that it should last an average of about 7 or 8 hours. I have never tested to see how long mine lasts so I can't give you my battery stats. Since I usually have AC where I use my Surface, I keep it plugged in most of the time. I'd just bring up a video in the Microsoft Media Player and put it in a loop and check it every hour or so and see how long the battery lasts.

 

[GreyFox7]

Mine lasts 8-9 hours with standard usage browsing the web and forums. I have stretched it to 10.5 on several occasions, 10:56 for the max in airplane mode. It's not what I'm doing it's what you're doing or what you're doing it with (Chrome sucks the life out of batteries), my Display brightness is 48% and I have never had it below 40%

 

[tmpsv]

It has about 15 days.... In the first times I used the wireless to do the updates (in the first cycle it drained 30% in 15 min), but now I only use Reader or OneNote... The only software I have besides the ones that came is Office... So, I imagine that with web browsing or other programs the battery will last for much less than now... However, it is still in the "evaluation" period so, if this is a defect, I can go to the store and try to get a new one...

 

[GreyFox7]

You could try a Reset/Refresh, maybe something got fubar on initial setup. Afterwards install all updates then charge it overnight, if you still get same results get a replacement.

 

[Liam2349]

It has about 15 days.... In the first times I used the wireless to do the updates (in the first cycle it drained 30% in 15 min), but now I only use Reader or OneNote... The only software I have besides the ones that came is Office... So, I imagine that with web browsing or other programs the battery will last for much less than now... However, it is still in the "evaluation" period so, if this is a defect, I can go to the store and try to get a new one...

Have you calibrated your battery? You should run it down until the device shuts off and then charge it fully without using it. If you haven't done this yet in the 15 days you have owned the device, you might even have to do it twice. Honestly, I've written this so many times now that someone should sticky it.

Start with one run and then run a battery report. Run Command Prompt as admin and then change directory to your user area by typing 'cd c:\users\user'. So for me I would type 'cd c:\users\liam'. This changes where your report will be saved - as the default is system32 and you can't open things there without moving them.

Now type 'powercfg /batteryreport' - this will show your battery usage and after calibrating your battery, it will show your correct battery capacity.

If you are still having issues after calibrating, you should also run another command, after changing to your user area (only have to change directory once each time you run the command prompt) - type 'powercfg /energy' - this will check the efficiency of your system.

It's also possible that you could have some third party software installed that is killing your battery, so let us know what you have installed.

Also check that your device is updated. Connect the cover and run Windows update.

 

[tmpsv]

Thank you for your reply yes I have calibrated the battery.... I always let it run down and then fully charge it without using... I run the battery report but it is a little strange because it says that I have used the device in periods that it was off... I didn't understand it very well :/

 

[next_milenium]

This is very strange unless your device is defective.

When you are using it, do you feel warmth behind the unit? Is the fan blowing? For your usage cases, the fan should not be blowing and the back of the unit should not feel too warm (lukewarm is ok).

Also, like others mentioned, check the task manager to see if your CPU AND Disk usage drops to zero when you have everything closed. I've found that the Windows Installer can get out of sync and run continuously (CPU and Disk usage high) draining the battery.

Please report back your findings so we can have a better idea.

 

[tmpsv]

It is always lukewarm, and the fan just blowed once, during onenote... the task manager reports 0% to CPU and disk when everything is closed... maybe the best is to run the battery down again, charge it and then generate a new report...