Surface Book 2 Battery Drain while Plugged In

Question

Hello,

I just got my Surface Book 2 15" (i7, GTX 1060, 16gb, 512gb)

Great laptop but lacks new features for a 2 year cycle. 

Anyway, I can't seem to run any intensive software without the battery discharging.

The battery drains until the laptop throttles the GPU to stop the drain.

The laptop will start to throttle performance after Battery 2 hits 10%.

I tried finding out more information, it seems like everyone is aware and is accepting this defect and is moving on.

I contacted Microsoft support but never replied.

I spoke to a Microsoft Rep, who suggested to try out the Surface Dock as it carries more power. I'm using it now, it didn't work, battery still drained.

I don't understand why there isn't more of an outcry regarding this.

How was this laptop ever released to the public when it can't even function properly.

This is a $4,000 dollar laptop. I'm baffled I have to write about this problem.

Microsoft decided to do 2 things to save money on their laptops.

1. Not include a surface pen
2. Use the same power brick for all the Surface line.

One size does not fit all.

You are advertising this laptop as a power house, gaming, all in one, etc.

This is false advertising, your showcasing theoretical power of the system due to its internal components. But real life usage is very much different.

The fact that I have to plan when to use my laptop to avoid it throttling on me is outrageous. 

If Microsoft doesn't have a proper solution for this in the next month I'm going to return this abomination.

Answer 1

Thank you for providing more details, Richie. 

It would be best for you to send your Surface for service or bring your Surface device to the closest Microsoft Store for further evaluation and immediate support. Please choose whichever works best for you.

Also, you may contact our Global Customer Service if you wish to get additional support about your concern. 

(Note: Please include the power supply if you chose to send them for service or bring them to the physical store.)

We also encourage you to use the Windows Feedback Hub app to share your Power and Battery experience with us. This provides the Microsoft team with additional information and insight to improve the performance of the device.

1. Select the Start button, and then open Feedback Hub.
2. Select Feedback from the menu.
3. Select Add new feedback next to the search bar.
4. Tell us whether you’re sending a problem or suggestion.
5. In the Summarize your issue box, provide a concise but clear title for your problem or suggestion.
6. In the Give us more detail (optional) box, you can give us more specific information, like how you encountered the problem.
7. Select the Power and Battery category and then select a subcategory that most closely matches your problem such as: Fast drain screen off, Fast drain screen on, or App energy consumption.
8. If possible, step through the problem while capturing the steps so we can see what happened.
    
   1. Select Recreate the problem (recommended).
   2. Select the type of problem you’re having, and select Start capture.
   3. Do the steps that led to the problem.
   4. When you’ve completed the steps, select Stop capture.
9. When you’re satisfied with your feedback, select Submit.

Let us know should you have other questions or concerns.

Answer 2

Hi Richie,

We need to collect a bit more data to help you better. Please help us answer these questions: 

• Are you charging with the Surface power supply that came with that device?
• When did this behavior start to occur?  Did the frequency increase over time?
• Are you connecting the Surface power supply directly into a wall outlet or into a power strip?
• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?
• Have you tried installing Surface and Windows updates?

Please keep in mind that there are factors that affect the battery/power performance of your Surface device. Lower than expected battery life could be due to software settings, improper image configuration, high CPU utilization, accessories plugged into the Surface, and more. A firmware update could resolve a Surface that does not charge or won’t hold a charge. 

We suggest that run a Powercfg Energy Report - an Energy Report is useful in determining the energy efficiency when the Surface is being used on battery.

Open a command prompt and run the following command to run an energy report for 5 minutes.  You should use the device like they normally would, during that time: powercfg /energy /duration 300.

To generate the Powercfg Energy Report, follow these steps:

1. Open a command prompt.
2. Run the following command to run an energy report for 5 minutes: powercfg /energy /duration 300.
3. Use the device like you normally would, during that time.
4. Look for the file name energy-report.html (the file is located in whatever directory you were in when you ran the command).

Let us know how things will go.

Answer 3

• Are you charging with the Surface power supply that came with that device?

Yes, I tried the original charger as well as the Surface Dock charger.

• When did this behavior start to occur?  Did the frequency increase over time?

This happens consistently when I run intensive applications on “Better or Best Performance” options.

• Are you connecting the Surface power supply directly into a wall outlet or into a power strip?

Both, this doesn’t change anything. My multi-meter shows I’m getting the same power

• What troubleshooting steps have you tried so far?

Nothing, because the problem is obvious.

• Have you tried installing Surface and Windows updates?

Yes it’s all updated.

I ran the Energy Report, there's nothing wrong with the laptop.

High power consumption = high power draw.

The draw is higher than the power supply is rated for. 

This problem is obvious, please let's not beat around the bush. The supplied power brick is not delivering enough power to keep the battery from discharging.

This is really embarrassing.

I took a screenshot right after the laptop throttled performance and closed out the game I put on.

  

Please reach out to someone that can do something about it and let them know we'd like replacement power supplies.

I have already bought a surface dock charger, a case, surface pen, vinyl wrap for scratches for a laptop I don't want any more.

If this laptop was just released, I'd have more hope for you to solve this problem, but I realize now that we had just recieved it in Canada and this problem has been appearent for awhile since the initial release months ago in the U.S.

There isn't some magical registry error that's making my computer unable to maintain a charge. 

I put up with the first surface book because it was a first generation product. But this is a 2nd generation with a 2 year cycle. 

I'm trying to be respectful but this is so baffeling to me. I can't believe I've spent 4 thousand on a laptop that can't keep a charge. We're the real idiots for buying your products.