Surface Pro 3 wont Power on. LED Turns off / on when pushing power button

[bradlyJames]

Well, I just got a used Surface Pro 3 and it looks like I might have been 'taken'. lol
It is what it is so I'm going to try and make lemonade out my lemon.

I have the exact same issue that was posted here:

Solved - Surface Pro 3 won't power on, charging LED turns off

Hello, unfortunately my first post is going to be one where I am requesting help. I purchased a used surface pro 3 about 2 months ago, and up until today it had been working great. Well after I installed the update last night my tablet would never come out of sleep mode. I was able to get it...

www.surfaceforums.net

I am performing the solution that worked for the original poster and am hoping it works. The machine worked for a bit when I first got it... Then wouldn't turn on... Then did turn on with the 2 button reset procedure... Now won't turn on again. (Same as the post above)

I've got the Power Button taped down which appears to be a way to drain the battery completely. You can't tell from the surface, however, it is turning on for about 7 seconds and then turning off for about 9 seconds. When the power button is held in, I can only assume the purpose is to drain the battery.

We'll see how this draining the batter goes.

Can anyone tell me what the underlying problem might be? Do I need a new battery? Possibly something else?

 

[bradlyJames]

Well, the suggestion in the original post worked. I ended up using rubber bands rather than tape, but it worked.
I also believe that my original theory about draining the battery is not accurate. I left it with the power button pressed down for about 4 hours.
I then noticed that my external hdd was no longer turning on. I plugged in the SP3, took off the rubber bands, hit the power button and voila! It turned on.
After it turned on, I noticed my battery was near the level it was when I lost it... So it didn't drain.

Not sure what holding the button down does, but it works!

 

[bradlyJames]

Well, the issue is now back... I tried using the 'Hibernate' function and this cropped up again right away...

I've been trying the suggestion in my post above and it's not working as of yet... We'll keep it going tonight and see how it works.

 

[bradlyJames]

My initial attempt at this failed as the battery went dead over night. So, last night I fully charged the battery and then attempted it again. After about 30 minutes it started turning on and showing the 'Surface' logo. I removed the rubber bands, boot it, and it came up.
It did mention that it removed some updates as part of it's recovery (Could this have been the issue?).

Back up and running for now!

 

[sharpuser]

My initial attempt at this failed as the battery went dead over night. So, last night I fully charged the battery and then attempted it again. After about 30 minutes it started turning on and showing the 'Surface' logo. I removed the rubber bands, boot it, and it came up.
It did mention that it removed some updates as part of it's recovery (Could this have been the issue?).

Back up and running for now!

You may have saved that machine, @bradlyJames . Yes, some failed updates may have been the problem. Probably not the updates themselves, but the sequence or conditions during the install.

 

[bradlyJames]

You may have saved that machine, @bradlyJames . Yes, some failed updates may have been the problem. Probably not the updates themselves, but the sequence or conditions during the install.

Another change that I made to the machine shortly before the issue, was I set it to 'Hibernate' when closing the lid or pushing the power button.
When I first purchased the machine and this happened, I was convinced it was because of the 'Sleep' function. I read a few things online that led me in that direction but could never conclusively prove it.
Once I got it up and running again, I set it to not do anything with the power button or closing the lid. We then ONLY shut it down when we were done using it. No sleep or hibernate.
After a couple months of success I decided to try the 'Hibernate' again. 1 day later... The problem cropped up again. Could it be the 'Hibernate' that caused it?

 

[sharpuser]

Once I got it up and running again, I set it to not do anything with the power button or closing the lid. We then ONLY shut it down when we were done using it. No sleep or hibernate.

Interesting you say that. Both of my Surface Book 2 units are set to do NOTHING when I close the lid. I have never used Hibernate functionality, because it started out buggy with Windows 10. Maybe it still is.

 

[bradlyJames]

Interesting you say that. Both of my Surface Book 2 units are set to do NOTHING when I close the lid. I have never used Hibernate functionality, because it started out buggy with Windows 10. Maybe it still is.

That's what I'm going with. We are going to avoid using Hibernate or Sleep and stick with power on/off and see how it goes. It powers on quickly enough that it isn't a big deal. I'll update here in a few months.

 

[bradlyJames]

Well, just an update here. In the last couple of weeks this has been happening again. It's happening with standard 'soft' and 'hard' shut downs. Not sure what the deal is. Seems like a hardware issue that I have been unable to identify... Strange...

 

[sharpuser]

Sorry to hear that.

Obvious question: Does the power button seem unusually "loose"?

 

[bradlyJames]

Sorry to hear that.

Obvious question: Does the power button seem unusually "loose"?

It appears and feels normal. Doesn't seem to be loose at all.
New development from yesterday... I was in the middle of setting up windows after a PC Reset, and it did it again. No power, soft or hard, was pressed. Super wierd.