Battery sudden drain 65%-0%

[rcwilkinson]

Hi Guys

Another post about batteries/charging, I’m afraid!

Thanks for taking the time to read the below:

BACKGROUND
Yest morning, I used laptop for couple of hours in lectures. Went from 100% to 67%. No problem with that – was quite an intense 2 hours of typing / web browsing.

I then shut down laptop, for 20mins.

ISSUE1
I then booted up laptop, it reboot with circa 65% battery juice. I noticed is was a bit laggy, so decided to restart it (just 10mins or so after booting up with 65% battery juice).

*Laptop wouldn’t restart, it showed the large ''low battery' icon in the middle of the screen when attempting to boot up*

Question – should I be concerned that the laptop went from 65% to, seemingly, 0% in a matter of minutes? Could this be a hardware failure?

Question – will my battery running to ZERO cause damage/shorten its life?

ISSUE2
Anyway, I plugged in the powersupply after seeing this big battery icon.

*Laptop booted up, but said ‘plugged in, not charging’. I couldn’t get the laptop to charge, no matter what plug socket I used.*

Question – is this also a concern?

Anyway, I turned off laptop, and left on charger for an hour. When I turned back on, it had charged, over the course of hour, to 62%

Overall - Should I put the 2issues above down to an anomaly, or is something more sinister happening?

With many thanks

Ross

p.s battery report with commentary attached

 

[rcwilkinson]

Here is a screenshot of the 'energry drained' stats for the time just before the laptop wouldnt restart....

It proves that the laptop lost all its power over a matter of minutes...

 

[rcwilkinson]

Sorry, me again!

In addition to the above q's, I was wondering if anyone knew why there are a number of 'battery changed' entries, in my first screenshot of the batter report?

 

[dcoplien]

Is this for a Surface Pro4 or a Surface Book? I only see "battery changed" from my SB which has 2 batteries.

 

[rcwilkinson]

This is for my SP4....

Yea, battery changed baffled me....maybe it says that after it's completely drained...?

 

[DavidZ]

It's not possible that your SP4 battery went from 67% to 0% in 15 minutes. Nor is it possible that it went from 0% to 65% in the next 7 minutes.

Clearly, for some reason, the CPU lost contact with the battery and the regained contact within a few minutes. What's not clear is whether the cause of the disconnection is hardware- or software-related.

I would be very concerned about this behavior. My guess is that it's more likely than not to recur. I suggest you contact Microsoft ASAP. One reason to contact them soon is to get the problem on record with them during the warrantee period. Your documentation is good. I presume they will learn something from it.

How old is your SP4? If your SP4 is within the return period (less than 30 days old), I would return it ASAP and buy a new one. If not, MS will probably offer you a refurbished SP4. Good luck.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Thanks so much for the reply, that's very helpful

My surface is approx 3months old.

So MS will only offer me a refurb? Not a new one? Would you recommend I take the refurb?

With many thanks

Ross

 

[DavidZ]

Thanks so much for the reply, that's very helpful

My surface is approx 3months old.

So MS will only offer me a refurb? Not a new one? Would you recommend I take the refurb?

With many thanks

Ross

I would argue for a refund or brand new SP4, but if not successful, would take a refurbished one. I'd rather have a refurbished SP4 than one that has exhibited the behavior you documented.

 

[rcwilkinson]

I would argue for a refund or brand new SP4, but if not successful, would take a refurbished one. I'd rather have a refurbished SP4 than one that has exhibited the behavior you documented.

Thanks David, I'll request a new replacement - hopefully they'll be favourable. Thanks very much for your input. Ross

 

[rcwilkinson]

Hello all

I'm planning on contacting MS support. Was just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on the above? I want to be prepared as I speak to them.

Ross

 

[DavidZ]

There's no way to know for sure how a company, or even a particular representative, will respond to a given situation. Nonetheless, your story coupled with your documentation paint a pretty clear picture of what happened. I guess I'd be somewhat surprised if they didn't offer to replace your SP4.

If there's a Microsoft store nearby, I'd opt to go there rather than doing it over the phone. I don't know whether you can or should make an appointment.

Good luck! Let us know what happens.

 

[rcwilkinson]

Hi guys

Just a quick update. The issue reoccured today - the laptop wouldnt turn on, even though it 100% battery....the big battery symbol just displayed.

I got around to phoning MS support - they said they would send a replacement. But it would most likely be a refurb. I'm not too happy about that. I've asked for my case to be escalated as the device was only bought in June.

Thanks for your help

Ross