Surface Pro 6 restarts with 75% battery level

[leerandall]

Sigh. I charged up my SP6 to 100% yesterday, then shut it down and unplugged the charger. It's been sitting shut down and off the charger for about 24 hours now, so I just fired it up. The battery level after boot-up is now 73%.

 

[sharpuser]

So it seems to me that this is a case of battery level sensing, not actual battery level.

How long does it take to charge back to report “100%”?

 

[leerandall]

To be honest, I didn't notice. When I saw it was at 73% after starting it up, I was a bit angry. I closed the keyboard cover and put it back on the charger and didn't look at it again until later. I'll try the process again when I get some time to do it.

 

[sharpuser]

Interesting that the number 75% is so common, despite different intervals of shutdown.

Sounds like software/sensing indeed, not the actual battery level.

 

[leerandall]

So it seems to me that this is a case of battery level sensing, not actual battery level.

How long does it take to charge back to report “100%”?

When I turned it back on this time, it was at 72% after being shut down and unplugged for a day and a half, and it took over an hour to charge to 100%. So the "72%" number was accurate. Therefore, the "fix" I performed earlier in this thread was not an actual fix for this issue.

 

[Kanguru]

My SP6 is core i7/8/256. When battery full charged, I unplugged ac and shutdown after a while then restart the battery was drained 25%. But it was fixed after update new batch on 26 Sept.

 

[Jeff Chapman]

My SP6 is core i7/8/256. When battery full charged, I unplugged ac and shutdown after a while then restart the battery was drained 25%. But it was fixed after update new batch on 26 Sept.

Which update did you install? The latest firmware I can see on the MS Site is still Sept 6th? Will be very happy if this is resolved!

 

[Jeff Chapman]

I have tried everything from disabling standby, tried the fix earlier in the thread about deleting the batteries from device manager and running down and letting sit for 10 hours. Nothing worked. I never had mine set to completely 'shut down' only had my SP6 hibernate when I hit the power or closed the lid and the same issue happened. It didn't matter whether it was 1 min or 2 hours. It always came back up with 75% or 73% power. There is no way an app can drain the battery that fast so it is def a software issue. However it did take the normal time to charge back up, but again it has to be a software issue. One thing that DID work as a workaround for me was moving everything to sleep. I.e. Hitting the power button and closing the lid is now set to 'sleep'. This does a slight battery drain when it is off for a while but no where near 25% that we are seeing in this thread. If someone has a link to a new firmware patch that fixes it, please post as the only one I am seeing is the Sept 6th on the MS site and that didn't work. Thanks all

 

[sharpuser]

It is strange that 75% or 73% are commonly quoted here. It is as if either there is true battery use down to that level (75%), then the software truly shuts down, or that there is an error in sensing after restart, and it takes the recharge logic and circuitry the normal time back to 100% from 75% through extra slow recharge.

Strange. What firmware or software has messed up, subsequent firmware or software should be able to remedy.

thanks for joining up, @Jeff Chapman .

 

[Jeff Chapman]

It is strange that 75% or 73% are commonly quoted here. It is as if either there is true battery use down to that level (75%), then the software truly shuts down, or that there is an error in sensing after restart, and it takes the recharge logic and circuitry the normal time back to 75% through extra slow recharge.

Strange. What firmware or software has messed up, subsequent firmware or software should be able to remedy.

thanks for joining up, @Jeff Chapman .

Agree... a patch should be able to fix. The reason I am about 99% positive it is a software related issue is because I have tested where I will unplug at 100%, walk down to my basement with my laptop and open it back up and it is at those levels. This is happening in about 5-10 min max. I haven't seen a program yet that could chew through a battery at that level. Plus the only thing I have running is MS products (outlook and teams) in most all cases. Very odd indeed... but again the sleep setting is a for sure workaround that has helped. I just don't hibernate or shut down at all any more.

 

[Turbo4AWD]

So crazy that this keeps happening to more users. I have yet to experience this after almost a full year with my Surface Pro 6 and I have been installing every update when it becomes available too. I guess because it's not a business device I probably don't put my Surface Pro 6 through the same rigors as those people experiencing the issue.

 

[leerandall]

Setting my power button and keyboard closing to sleep mode does not work around this problem for me. It still drops down to 73 or 75% in a very short time. I had it plugged in for more than a day yesterday and hadn't used it for just as long, and when I woke it up, even though it had been plugged in (and still was plugged in) for hours and hours, it came up at 73%. And yes, the light on the plug was lit all that time. I unplugged and re-plugged it in and it was back to 100% in an hour or so.