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SP4 Shuts Down W/out Power Cord

rusty904

New Member
My Surface pro 4 is 16 months old and has worked very well up until this point. A couple weeks ago, it shut off when I unplugged it from the charging cable and now it shuts down every time power cord is removed. The battery life indicator says "Fully Charged 100%". It functions 100% perfectly aside from this issue and is in perfect shape cosmetically as I am very careful with it.

I took the device into my local microsoft store. They ran diagnostics on it and told me the battery was at 92% of it's original capacity and fully charged, after that they installed all of the latest software updates. Finally, they said they did not know whether it was a hardware or software issue and that they had seen similar problems but the device had always indicated a battery error, or the battery refused to charge. The staff were very courteous and apologetic and told me it was a device failure and not my fault, but that it was un-serviceable. They then offered to sell me a new device at full cost minus my 10% student discount.

So I wanted to see if anyone has had this issue and could offer a possible solution. I love the SP4 but I definitely wasn't planning on dropping another $1k on a new one 16months after my original investment. It seems like there should be some way to fix it or at least a better explanation as to what caused the issue.
 

BubbaUK

Member
Sounds like the symptoms of a dead battery. Do you notice any swelling of the case - that often can accompany properly defunct batteries?

I'm amazed Microsoft consider it unserviceable - I'd call the support line and explain the symptoms to them for a second opinion.
 
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rusty904

New Member
Battery itself is fine according to the diagnostics. The microsoft store said the battery was operating at 92% of its original capacity and was fully charged.
 

Cuchulainn

Member
Longshot... but have you gone into Device Manager, uninstalled the battery drivers, scanned for hardware changes and rebooted?
 

Cuchulainn

Member
They probably have, but you never know. Does it still do that when you are in the BIOS? If so, it likely *is* a hardware issue. Maybe an issue with the battery connector, if the battery is charging? But then again, if it is showing battery status, that is probably not it either. I am assuming you don't have Complete coverage on it?
 
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rusty904

New Member
They probably have, but you never know. Does it still do that when you are in the BIOS? If so, it likely *is* a hardware issue. Maybe an issue with the battery connector, if the battery is charging? But then again, if it is showing battery status, that is probably not it either. I am assuming you don't have Complete coverage on it?
No I do not, I bought it at Costco so it wasn't sold to me up front. I meant to buy it after the fact but totally forgot, regretting that now obviously.

Yeah that's why they were confused at the store. All signs point to a hardware issue but the device doesn't seem to think it is.
 

Cuchulainn

Member
Yeah, I think MS gives you 45 days after purchase, but you're obviously well beyond that. Costco does a Square Trade Warranty, but I believe that has to be done at time of sale.

How did you purchase it from Costco? American Express for one, has Extended Warranty protection that can provide "up to one extra year added to the original U.S. manufacturer’s warranty," and up to the dollar value you paid for the device.

Other cards may do similar, worth checking. Unless of course you paid cash...
 
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