Another battery question

[next_milenium]

We know the battery is capable of certain number of "cycles". Mine says I've used it for 10 cycles (I've owned mine a little over 2 wks).

If we use SP3 connected to the charger, doe it mean the "cycle" count does not increase? I'm just curious to know if we use SP3 connected to the charger that will increase the battery's life.

 

[VickiFL]

We know the battery is capable of certain number of "cycles". Mine says I've used it for 10 cycles (I've owned mine a little over 2 wks).

If we use SP3 connected to the charger, doe it mean the "cycle" count does not increase? I'm just curious to know if we use SP3 connected to the charger that will increase the battery's life.

One of the techs at the Microsoft Store told me that I could leave it plugged in to prolong battery life. Just drain it down to 10% a couple times a month.

 

[next_milenium]

One of the techs at the Microsoft Store told me that I could leave it plugged in to prolong battery life. Just drain it down to 10% a couple times a month.

That's good to know. Although I feel like I'm being OCD.

 

[bluegrass]

Whenever possible I leave mine plugged in. I don't even know where you could look to tell the number of charge/discharge cycles. Not something I need to know, really. When it dies it dies and than it's in Microsoft hands to figure out what to do. Anyway if a discharge to 5o or 60 percent and than it gets plugged in and charged, is counted as a cycle than I have a bunch.

 

[GreyFox7]

Yes and no...
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

Its good to fully discharge a couple times a month or so. Otherwise a partial discharge appears to be best... my laptops complain if I leave them connected and 100% charged all the time and request to go into extended battery mode where the charger stops and lets the battery discharge to 40-60% (depending on the vendor).

Bottom line a battery has a finite life.
Things that are not good:
100% charged all the time
Leaving it sit discharged
Constant or frequent Full Cycling, fully charged to fully discharged.

Things that are better
Moderate regular usage not any extremes.

The battery should last 3 years give or take.

 

[next_milenium]

Whenever possible I leave mine plugged in. I don't even know where you could look to tell the number of charge/discharge cycles. Not something I need to know, really. When it dies it dies and than it's in Microsoft hands to figure out what to do. Anyway if a discharge to 5o or 60 percent and than it gets plugged in and charged, is counted as a cycle than I have a bunch.

Run as admin "powercfg /batteryreport" without the quotes inside a command prompt and this report will tell you the number of cycles your battery has so far.

 

[VickiFL]

That's good to know. Although I feel like I'm being OCD.

I have OCD too, and like you, just want the battery to last as long as possible.

 

[MikeB]

Seems like what we could really use is an easy way to plug the Surface in but only charge the battery up to the 50% level. That's optimal for storing the battery, assuming we knew that we'd be staying plugged in and not need to have a fully charged battery.

 

[next_milenium]

Seems like what we could really use is an easy way to plug the Surface in but only charge the battery up to the 50% level. That's optimal for storing the battery, assuming we knew that we'd be staying plugged in and not need to have a fully charged battery.

It'd nice to know if it's been fully charged also. Currently, there is no way of knowing if SP3 is turned off and charging whether or not charging is completed.

On my Dell venue 11 Pro, there is a small white LED that turns on when charging and turns off when completed.

 

[bluegrass]

You can let it charge the Surface while logged in and you can click on the battery icon in the task tray and see when it's fully charged. The problem with what MikeB suggested is that the Surface will charge till it full while you are using it.

BTW I did the "powercfg /batteryreport" that you suggested but when I clicked on the html file it created it said it couldn't find the URL where the report was.

I'm not familiar with the OCD is.. Is it a term for someone who is paranoid about a lot of stuff.

 

[GreyFox7]

You can let it charge the Surface while logged in and you can click on the battery icon in the task tray and see when it's fully charged. The problem with what MikeB suggested is that the Surface will charge till it full while you are using it.

BTW I did the "powercfg /batteryreport" that you suggested but when I clicked on the html file it created it said it couldn't find the URL where the report was.

I'm not familiar with the OCD is.. Is it a term for someone who is paranoid about a lot of stuff.

OCD Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

 

[next_milenium]

You can let it charge the Surface while logged in and you can click on the battery icon in the task tray and see when it's fully charged. The problem with what MikeB suggested is that the Surface will charge till it full while you are using it.

BTW I did the "powercfg /batteryreport" that you suggested but when I clicked on the html file it created it said it couldn't find the URL where the report was.

I'm not familiar with the OCD is.. Is it a term for someone who is paranoid about a lot of stuff.

Hm... not sure why you are having issue with opening the battery report. I normally type "cd.." twice in the command prompt to change the directory where the report will be saved to before I run the report (it's easier to access it later).

As far as knowing when the SP3 is fully charged, sure you can tell when it's on but when it's off, you have to turn it on to see how much it's been charged. I think that's an oversight on Microsoft's part.