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Question about included power supply

dman27

Active Member
Can anyone tell me if their SP4 power adapter will charge a Samsung S5 or Galaxy Note 6?

When plugging in the cable to my phone, the phone will cycle on/off the charging. With the Samsung S5 the SP4 will cycle on/off from charging state to not charging.

I took the adapter back to the Microsoft store for an exchange. One of the techs (helping someone else) looked over and said "oh, the adapter is not setup to charge devices like phones." This was a surprise to me, as I have charged every phone I've had with every version of the SP line from SP(1) to SP3.

He said it will not provide enough power to charge this phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 6) and the USB is only intended to be used for external CD drives. ?????

Sounds like BS to me, but wanted to check with you guys, as the MS website clearly states the opposite:

"Snap in the versatile 65W Power Supply and power up Surface Book, Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 quickly while you work. Made exclusively for Surface1 and designed to match the look and feel of your Surface, the 65W Power Supply quickly recharges the battery, while the USB port allows you to charge another device at the same time" Buy the 65W Power Supply - Microsoft Store
 

Amar95353

New Member
Can anyone tell me if their SP4 power adapter will charge a Samsung S5 or Galaxy Note 6?

When plugging in the cable to my phone, the phone will cycle on/off the charging. With the Samsung S5 the SP4 will cycle on/off from charging state to not charging.

I took the adapter back to the Microsoft store for an exchange. One of the techs (helping someone else) looked over and said "oh, the adapter is not setup to charge devices like phones." This was a surprise to me, as I have charged every phone I've had with every version of the SP line from SP(1) to SP3.

He said it will not provide enough power to charge this phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 6) and the USB is only intended to be used for external CD drives. ?????

Sounds like BS to me, but wanted to check with you guys, as the MS website clearly states the opposite:

"Snap in the versatile 65W Power Supply and power up Surface Book, Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 quickly while you work. Made exclusively for Surface1 and designed to match the look and feel of your Surface, the 65W Power Supply quickly recharges the battery, while the USB port allows you to charge another device at the same time" Buy the 65W Power Supply - Microsoft Store

Im not too sure about the 65w charger but the ones that come in the box with the pro 3 and pro 4 have always only been able to provide 5v at 1 amp through the usb i have never been able to charge my phones through that port because it simply cannot supply enough power to charge the surface and the phone at the same time or even the phone on its own for that matter if the phones require more than 1 amp at 5v.

On a sidenote I had loads of trouble getting my note 5, had to import it becuase it isnt available here in the UK but may I ask where did you get the note 6 from even though it hasn't been announced or released yet lol.

Anyway if you look at the bottom of the power brick of the surface charger it should state what voltage and amperage it can provide the surface and device through the usb port.
 
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hughlle

Super Moderator
Staff member
i charge everything from my phone to my surface 3 off the power brick. always works flawlessly.
 

Zkyevolved

Active Member
I have the same issue. I think it MIGHT be the cable. It is designed to charge a phone, BTW. Haha.

My cable was for a Samsung device BTW. I tried ANOTHER cable, and it worked! But then I tried ANOTHER cable, and it didn't work... So... I don't know... I tried charging my LG G4, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, and Amazon Basics 10,000 mah battery.
 

Amar95353

New Member
I have the same issue. I think it MIGHT be the cable. It is designed to charge a phone, BTW. Haha.

My cable was for a Samsung device BTW. I tried ANOTHER cable, and it worked! But then I tried ANOTHER cable, and it didn't work... So... I don't know... I tried charging my LG G4, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, and Amazon Basics 10,000 mah battery.
Zkyevolved which surface charger do you have. I have the normal 36 watt charger and I am unable to charge my phone from it, I have the note 5 and when I plug it in it does charge the phone but it keeps switching on and off and it also does the same to the surface you can see the connector light on the side of the surface it just keeps blinking. The only thing I am unable to charge is my bluetooth headset and my logitech mx master mouse that's it so pretty much any low powered device. It was the same when I had the pro 3 and used its charger.
 

Mike007

Member
I have found that the standard 36w power adapter is not sufficient to even power the i7 at full load. It needs to use the battery to get the remaining power required which causes the battery to drain even when plugged in when under load.
So if I have a device plugged into the charger and run something intensive on the surface, it will stop the charge of the plugged in device and won't restart the charge until I unplug/replug the device into the block.
Maybe this is what is happening on some of yours?
 

sharpuser

Administrator
Staff member
I have found that the standard 36w power adapter is not sufficient to even power the i7 at full load. It needs to use the battery to get the remaining power required which causes the battery to drain even when plugged in when under load.
So if I have a device plugged into the charger and run something intensive on the surface, it will stop the charge of the plugged in device and won't restart the charge until I unplug/replug the device into the block.
Maybe this is what is happening on some of yours?

You are asking about the Surface Pro 4.
I have an i7 Surface Book - and the 36w mains power adapter is just barely enough for full load. So, yes, the 36w is insufficient at constant full load. The 65w dock supply is plenty enough, though.
 
OP
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dman27

Active Member
Apologies, I meant the Note 5 of course. Ok, it seems the consensus is that the included charger will not charge the latest phone.
 

Amar95353

New Member
Apologies, I meant the Note 5 of course. Ok, it seems the consensus is that the included charger will not charge the latest phone.
Yep that's just how it is would be better if it could supply at least 2 amps that way we would only have to carry around one charger for a phone and the surface. Microsoft should make a charger that can output 2 amps for us to buy or maybe make an upgrade in the pro 5 charger.
 

Chris Grew

Member
Interesting to see folks who have not experienced problems with the SP3 standard power supply.

I've had my power supply replaced four times so far and I only bought it about a year ago! Each time, I was trying to charge or run something else off the power supply USB output. Decided in the end, that it is of no use to me so don't use it.

Just bought the SP4 and will ignore the USB output on that as well.

Regards

Chris
 
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