Surface 3 Charging

[colvill]

I think I might grab the Anker 40W 5-port. http://www.ianker.com/product/71AN7105SS-BMA

I can easily change the power cable and it means I can charge my wife's phone and kids tablets too.

 

[Dmcgrath009]

Thanks to a genius suggestion from a member of another forum I have found a simple travel charging solution....

Plug MS USB charger into the Surface 3.
Plug phone into the S3 USB port.

I just tried this and it's working. S3 is closed and sleeping plugged into it's MS charger. Note 4 plugged into USB port on S3 and charging. I'll have to experiment a bit and make sure this works when both devices are flat before I can rely on it.

The MS charger is beefy but smaller than carrying 2 x USB chargers.

the Samsung Note 4 will not charge at a normal rate while charging from the S3 the usb port will only supply 5v at .5 amp the normal charger for the Note 4 is 5v at 2 amps. and it has a quick charge feature that uses 9v at 1.67 amps.

s3 charger - 2.5 watts
note 4 standard charge - 10 watts
note 4 "quick charge 2.0" - 15.03 watts

 

[mousi]

Has anyone tried charging it with the EC Technology charger (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F5Q4F0U)? Do you think that will work?

 

[GreyFox7]

Has anyone tried charging it with the EC Technology charger (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F5Q4F0U)? Do you think that will work?

My experience so far would lead me to be skeptical. some of these "intelligent" devices say iPad @2.4A and if it doesn't recognize an iPad you don't get 2.4A. If you already have one or plan to get one test it thoroughly and return it if it's not working well.

If it will deliver 2.3A which is as much as Surface 3 will ask it should charge from flat or below 10% in about 4 hours while the Surface 3 is shutoff.

If you install BatteryBar (free) and you observe negative charge rates while Idle it's not working.

Under load you may see negative charge rates at times however it should still charge slowly even under load. If it's not you are not getting the full output from the battery.

If you see Batterybar switch from A/C or charging blue bar to battery green bar while it's plugged in it's failed and shutdown.

Unfortunately these "intelligent" devices have some quirks and might enter a mode in which it's supplying minimal power and not actually charging and the casual user has no way of knowing it.

 

[GreyFox7]

Another disappointing event. The dreaded 0.54A mode.

I charged overnight and everything went normally up to achieving 100% charge and observed about 200ma (0.2A) usage while still shutdown.

I started my day and left the Surface 3 plugged in, the charger did not increase to full power but went to 0.54A where it has stayed throughout the morning while battery level has decreased to 88%. Things I would normally do that would draw 2.3A from the charger just drain the battery faster while we remain stuck in 0.54A micro USB Charging HELL.

Decisions decisions should I let this play out to the eventual system shutdown or shall I disconnect and reconnect the charger to reset.

Seems worthy of a full on investigation by Microsoft.

Note: This was using the Anker charger. I'll try to reproduce this using the MS charger although it may take several days to determine the outcome.

 

[hughlle]

Another disappointing event. The dreaded 0.54A mode.

I charged overnight and everything went normally up to achieving 100% charge and observed about 200ma (0.2A) usage while still shutdown.

I started my day and left the Surface 3 plugged in, the charger did not increase to full power but went to 0.54A where it has stayed throughout the morning while battery level has decreased to 88%. Things I would normally do that would draw 2.3A from the charger just drain the battery faster while we remain stuck in 0.54A micro USB Charging HELL.

Decisions decisions should I let this play out to the eventual system shutdown or shall I disconnect and reconnect the charger to reset.

Seems worthy of a full on investigation by Microsoft.

Do you reckon this is something that can be fixed through software or is it a somehow unforeseen hardware issue? definitely not good though. Micro usb charging should be micro usb charging. The MS store even has a Q&A stating that you can use any usb charger and battery pack, but that charging time may vary. Not that it will discharge.

 

[GreyFox7]

Do you reckon this is something that can be fixed through software or is it a somehow unforeseen hardware issue? definitely not good though. Micro usb charging should be micro usb charging. The MS store even has a Q&A stating that you can use any usb charger and battery pack, but that charging time may vary. Not that it will discharge.

What is to be determined is if it's an MS issue, in which case Id expect a firmware update would resolve it, or if it's a USB Power spec design flaw in which case there may not be a fix possible or perhaps MS can issue a reset and clear the condition. Would need to dig into the spec and observe the communications between the charger and the chargee.

 

[Pippin96]

Hey, I'm traveling next week and would love another power supply. Can someone please do a simple recommendation. Like XX from Radio Shack or order XX from Amazon... or is this power thing so bad that we should consider sending it back. I guess I'll know after next week on the road.

 

[GreyFox7]

Hey, I'm traveling next week and would love another power supply. Can someone please do a simple recommendation. Like XX from Radio Shack or order XX from Amazon... or is this power thing so bad that we should consider sending it back. I guess I'll know after next week on the road.

When you say another power supply what use case do you have in mind? Just a spare? Something that handles foreign power connections? A battery pack?

In general something that's 12W 2.4A rated should work. Lessor capable units will be suboptimal although they might charge fine while powered down. The trouble is you cant tell from casual observation what the state is.

The Anker Charger and Battery packs mentioned above work the best of the things I have tried. There's a lot I'll will never be able to try. In the case of post #89 that condition can be cleared simply by disconnecting and reconnecting.

 

[Pippin96]

So something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Charger-Folda...621838&sr=8-1&keywords=Anker+wall+charger+usb

Then, there's the question of the micro usb cord not being adequate. Is there one recommended?

 

[GreyFox7]

I have not tried as many USB cables, trying to keep the variables down. I have used the flimsy cables that came with s couple battery packs and they worked fine, although kinda short.

Two I did use were Anker cables, both 6 footers.

Anker 6ft/1.8m Nylon Braided Tangle-Free

Anker 6ft / 1.8m Extra Long Premium Micro USB

OTHER Brands NOT TESTED, I generally have had good luck with are AmazonBasics and Cable Matters.

 

[TPadden]

My take is most charging problems are most likely a firmware problem that will be fixed. To reduce charging cycles the battery isn't charged when plugged in and the charge is 92% or better. I think although the charging should begin once the battery drops below 92% that doesn't always happen for my S3 unless the charger is unplugged and replugged.