Why do batteries drain so fast on shutdown Surface Pros?

[MuppetThumper]

Hey folks - yet another battery complaint. I have a SPro4 i7, lightly used, free of bloatware and I have gone through all the common tips on the net (turning off fast start up etc) to slow battery drain. And yet, if I don't use it for longer than about 5 days (which is common as it's not my main work PC) it will be completely drained of power when I come to use it again even if the battery was 100% at point of full shutdown.

What gives? If you're a casual user it strikes me these Pros are just unusable. Tablets and the like can retain charge for months if they are powered off, other laptop manufacturers last weeks. This is so infuriating it makes me seriously want to consider the competition...

 

[Wayne Orwig]

Are you putting it to sleep when it is unused, or powering it off? I assume you are just putting it to sleep. My batteries last a LONG time if I do a full power off, but they only last a couple of days when asleep. That is by design because it maintains ram and more when asleep, so it comes out of sleep quickly when you hit the power button. It takes a good while to power on, if fully powered down.

My Android devices do about the same. Tap the power button, and a few days later the battery is dead. Hold the power button and do a full power off, and the battery is good for months.

If you enable HIBERNATE mode in the power settings, you may be happier. I use it on my portable machines. You set a timer, say 1 hour. If the device it unused (asleep) for 1 hour, it saves the current machine state, and does a full power down. A month or three later, you tap the power button, and it restores the machine state. Not a real fast power up, but fast enough for me. Some people have issues with it not properly restoring the machine from hibernation, but it works well for me.

 

[sharpuser]

@Wayne Orwig is precisely correct. I own and use two Surface Book 2 15" machines - which use lots of power. When I merely put these to sleep, the battery goes from fully charged to empty in about 36 hours. But a shutdown (power off) keeps power for a few weeks - though I have not tried beyond that.

 

[MuppetThumper]

@Wayne Orwig is precisely correct. I own and use two Surface Book 2 15" machines - which use lots of power. When I merely put these to sleep, the battery goes from fully charged to empty in about 36 hours. But a shutdown (power off) keeps power for a few weeks - though I have not tried beyond that.

Sorry for delay in responding I forgot to turn on email notifications. If I do a full shutdown, the battery will still only last a week. Trust me I am not being dumb. Can only assume its a dud battery if no one else has this issue

 

[MuppetThumper]

Are you putting it to sleep when it is unused, or powering it off? I assume you are just putting it to sleep. My batteries last a LONG time if I do a full power off, but they only last a couple of days when asleep. That is by design because it maintains ram and more when asleep, so it comes out of sleep quickly when you hit the power button. It takes a good while to power on, if fully powered down.

My Android devices do about the same. Tap the power button, and a few days later the battery is dead. Hold the power button and do a full power off, and the battery is good for months.

If you enable HIBERNATE mode in the power settings, you may be happier. I use it on my portable machines. You set a timer, say 1 hour. If the device it unused (asleep) for 1 hour, it saves the current machine state, and does a full power down. A month or three later, you tap the power button, and it restores the machine state. Not a real fast power up, but fast enough for me. Some people have issues with it not properly restoring the machine from hibernation, but it works well for me.

I shutdown via the Start Menu. I don't put to sleep. I also wouldn't use Hibernate mode as experience in years gone by has shown me this is more of a hassle (and resource consumer) than its worth. Perhaps Windows 10 is better at it. But either way, if the battery lasts less than a week with the device fully powered down on a fully charge, Hibernate is going to be pointless anyway. Thanks for your response though.