POWER ISSUE: cord attached but periodically stops charging

[osirisdean]

hi gang,

i typically keep my SP4 (i5/256/8) plugged in when in use. every so often (once per night, maybe every other night), and seemingly randomly, the power cord LED will turn off and the tablet will stop charging. i don't think i've caught it as it happens; i just notice the next time i look at either the power cord LED or the battery indicator in the system tray, and the tablet isn't charging (even though the cord is still magnetically attached to the SP4 and it's plugged snugly into the wall).

at first i thought it might be an issue with wall outlet, so i purchased a power strip that has a lit blue LED when it's receiving power from the wall. most recently, when the tablet stopped receiving power, the blue LED on the power strip was still lit, implying that my house was still providing power. what i've tried in troubleshooting:

• disconnecting the magnetized end from the tablet and reconnecting does not "reacquire" and fix the issue.
• unplugging at the wall and replugging would not work unless i flipped the plug, i think. (strange, i know.)
• unplugging from the power strip and replugging seems to work but i only tried it once.
• disconnecting the power brick from the other half of the SP4's power cord and reconnecting (while still plugged into the wall) DID work. (again, only tried once.)

so... do i have a bad power cord? i purchased under a year ago (from best buy), would this be covered under warranty? do i talk to BB or to microsoft? (side note: i am worried due to the sporadic nature of the issue that this will be virtually impossible to duplicate in front of someone.)

any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Luinwethion]

Is difficult to know, but I would guess that it's a problem if the charger.

The charger is really underpowered, and I found out that connecting a my phone to charge on the USB of the charger will makes the surface stop charging (light in the indicator going out).

About the warranty you should check with Microsoft, they usually change your items for a refurbished one, it's faster.

Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[osirisdean]

thanks for the reply, i'll get in touch with Microsoft about a replacement.

a little more information:

twice tonight, both seemingly when the SP4's screen turned off due to inactivity, the LED on the power cord's magnet connector turned off. unplugging from my power strip and replugging worked. the second time, unplugging at the power brick connection and reconnecting also worked. i've had the tablet plugged in all evening, so presumably all this happened on a full 100% charge.

i wonder if when it goes to sleep on a full charge, it automatically disconnects from power for some reason, then has difficulty reacquiring when it wakes up? (is there a setting somewhere that would affect this?)

 

[Luinwethion]

I don't think so, because I had to sent the surface I just got back to MS I can't tell you, but k recall that someday I woke up and the battery was surely 100℅ charged and I put the surface somewhere else because the light was annoying me.

Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[osirisdean]

another update.

closed the SP4 and let it sit, unplugged. pretty sure it went to sleep after 15 minutes (per my settings). plugged in the power cord to my power strip, attached the magnet to the tablet. no LED, and it's not charging now that it's awake again.

this is quite frustrating.

 

[osirisdean]

welp...

i talked to microsoft warranty support (phone). they expect me to either:

• travel ~1.5hrs to the nearest microsoft store to do a swap for the power supply, or
• ship them mine FIRST then wait EIGHT TO TEN DAYS AFTER THEY CONFIRM I SHIPPED MINE before they send me a replacement, all the while not having a way to charge a $1500 tablet with a proprietary power connection.

i have dealt with both hp and dell (and dell/alienware) professionally and for home use, and they offer to ship first for warrantied parts that cost WAY more than an $80 power supply. with no questions asked. dell even offers to send an installer.

i love the surface, but that kind of warranty support is a complete joke. (keep in mind, we didn't even actually solve the problem or confirm it's a faulty power supply.)

apologies for the mini-rant.

 

[jamesk]

I had my charger replaced 3 times and I never had to send mine in first or at all. I talked to the reps over chat and they said they will send me a replacement right away..

 

[Luinwethion]

welp...

i talked to microsoft warranty support (phone). they expect me to either:

• travel ~1.5hrs to the nearest microsoft store to do a swap for the power supply, or
• ship them mine FIRST then wait EIGHT TO TEN DAYS AFTER THEY CONFIRM I SHIPPED MINE before they send me a replacement, all the while not having a way to charge a $1500 tablet with a proprietary power connection.

i have dealt with both hp and dell (and dell/alienware) professionally and for home use, and they offer to ship first for warrantied parts that cost WAY more than an $80 power supply. with no questions asked. dell even offers to send an installer.

i love the surface, but that kind of warranty support is a complete joke. (keep in mind, we didn't even actually solve the problem or confirm it's a faulty power supply.)

apologies for the mini-rant.

Yeah, I feel your pain.

My surface that I bought in June was having all kind of issues, and I had to send it to Germany via UPS, and because the closest UPS pick up point closes at 5 pm, I had to leave work earlier on a Wednesday to sent it, and they shipped on Friday, on weekend they couldn't deliver it because they were closed, when it arrived on Monday they sent a new one on the next day, just for me to get it back on Wednesday and have to send it back because the kickstand wasn't working properly.
When it was closed it wasn't flush with the body and it would get stuck when I try to open it.

So back to Germany again.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[osirisdean]

I had my charger replaced 3 times and I never had to send mine in first or at all. I talked to the reps over chat and they said they will send me a replacement right away..

may i ask:

• how recently was this? (that is, was this before or after the recall on SP1, 2 and 3 power cords?)
  
• was your surface under warranty?
• was it for a surface pro 4?
• do you live in the US?

i'm just trying to arm myself with as much information as possible. i was told emphatically by the service rep on the phone as well as the highest manager in her office (so they say) that they cannot and will not send first. they offered to look into cross shipping (which would still leave me a few days without a way to charge my SP4), but who knows if i'll ever hear back.

 

[osirisdean]

just spoke with someone on their chat page. his words:

"On how I see it base on the description, it is possible that the reserve power on the charger has died and a sudden surge of power (replugging) would help it wake up."

and

"Before, about 3 months ago we do send the replacement firs, however, the policy for replacement changed after that, and our tools for processing requires us to have the defective one shipped first before having it replaced."

in other words: my surface is under warranty, microsoft admits it's a defective/broken part, they used to ship replacement parts first, but now they just can't seem to be bothered.

the chat rep said he would escalate the issue and get back with me on monday. and to his credit, he was polite and attempted to be helpful.

but this is some serious bs. i'll update and give them kudos if they agree to ship first, but i shouldn't have to fight this hard for what other companies offer right out the gate, especially for such a premium product.

 

[osirisdean]

more info:

i left the sp4 on, closed (with typecover attached), and plugged into power for over an hour. the LED on the cord was lit the whole time. when i came back and opened it, the LED *immediately* turned off. sp4 did not immediately wake up, so i hit the power button, which i think prompted a boot. logged in. battery icon shows 100%, so it *was* charging/maintaining that whole time.

so waking the sp4 up seems to be the trigger for the power cord to start screwing up.


current power & sleep settings

• screen:
  • on battery, turn off after 5 minutes.
  • when plugged in, turn off after 10 minutes.
• sleep:
  • On battery, pc goes to sleep after 15 minutes.
  • when plugged in, pc goes to sleep after 1 hour.
• "save me power when my device knows i'm away" is off (though this happens when on, also)
• network connection: "on battery power, stay connected to network while asleep" is on.
• when i close the lid:
  • on battery, sleep
  • plugged in, sleep

 

[osirisdean]

one more update:

my power cord is officially dead. LED does not come on at all, does not charge my tablet at all.

i borrowed an identical power cord from a buddy who also has an sp4 (same specs as mine, for what it's worth). his cord works on both his and my tablets. my cord does not work on either of our tablets, so i think it's safe to say that the problem is the power cord and not something else.

awaiting response from microsoft rep tomorrow, but at this point "who sends first" is irrelevant since i officially don't have a way to charge my sp4 now.

sigh....