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New Surface Pro 2017 - Getting awful battery life (4 hours) & overheating

Anonymous
2017-07-13T12:41:50+00:00

Hi,

As the title suggests, i am experiencing really poor battery life on my new surface pro i5 model. I regularly get 4 hours, the very max i've experienced is about 5, on top of this, the device seems to run really hot most of the time, and performance isn't quite what i'd expect. I had to stop using atom because the surface pro couldn't handle scrolling on some of the files i was working with!

Any ideas what could be going on here? Is it a defective unit? I suspect the performance issues are due to throttling when overheating, but the device really should be able to handle running a code editor and a browser. The battery life is a mystery, even when im just browsing in chrome (i know chrome isn't the most efficient, but ive removed all hungry extensions and turned off background use) i still get poor battery life and can visibly see the battery level dropping minute by minute. It's just not good enough.

I have produced a battery report, which i can upload to a server if needed (probably a bit too long to post here?)

Please help, i love this device and would hate to have to send it back!

EDIT

I have supplied the battery report in the comments below; I think the most telling stat of the lot is this part;

Current estimate of battery life based on all observed drains since OS install

Since OS install 4:08:19 718820:54:32<br><br>- / 16 h 3:56:27 684446:29:08<br><br>- / 16 h

***Subject edited for clarity by the moderator.***

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-07-16T08:44:54+00:00

    I have achieved 14.5 hours battery life on a Surface Pro 2017 i7 model using the "non-real world" video loop test similar to Microsoft.

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/6nky6y/surface\_pro\_2017\_i7\_battery\_145\_hours/

    You can check the settings in that test and try bringing down as many options as you can to a low energy state. But general the following actions should improve your battery life:

    -use Edge as your default browser

    -turn off unwanted background apps in settings > privacy > background apps

    -turn off unwanted notifications settings > system > notification and actions

    -turn off touch cover backlight

    -turn off auto-brightness in display settings and adjust brightness to lowest possible

    -use the battery usage by app option in the battery settings and find out what apps are using too much battery and kill them

    -turn off Cortana, or simply use the battery saver power mode which turns her off. Oh, and the battery saver mode is a real life saver. 

    -go into standby mode when you are not using the device on your daily usage. The battery life during standby is really good.

    -monitor your battery usage after these changes with the command "powercfg /batteryreport" in the command prompt and read the generated battery report file

    If you try all of these options, you should definitely get 6 to 7 hours of battery life, which on a normal 8 hour workday should be enough to get you through without the charger.

    Remember the estimate given by the battery report is based on your usage. If I was for example gaming all day at best performance battery setting all day since I received the device, then the report would probably state only 2 hours of expected battery life while the maximum charged capacity of the battery hasn't really changed.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-07-13T12:54:30+00:00

    you can break up the text into a couple of chunks and use multiple replies.

    >>I have produced a battery report, which i can upload to a server if needed (probably a bit too long to post here?)

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-07-13T13:08:52+00:00

    Battery report

    COMPUTER NAME DESKTOP-NVP1R6S
    SYSTEM PRODUCT NAME Microsoft Corporation Surface Pro
    BIOS 231.1662.769 03/30/2017
    OS BUILD 15063.0.amd64fre.rs2_release.170317-1834
    PLATFORM ROLE Slate
    CONNECTED STANDBY Supported
    REPORT TIME 2017-07-1313:30:06

    Installed batteries

    Information about each currently installed battery

    NAME M1009169
    MANUFACTURER SMP
    SERIAL NUMBER 7236755715
    CHEMISTRY LION
    DESIGN CAPACITY 45,000 mWh
    FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 47,180 mWh
    CYCLE COUNT 17
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  3. Anonymous
    2017-07-13T13:11:31+00:00

    Recent usage

    Power states over the last 3 days

    2017-07-1014:36:00 Connected standby Battery 95 % 45,860 mWh
    14:45:05 Suspended 95 % 45,730 mWh
    14:55:45 Connected standby Battery 95 % 45,600 mWh
    14:55:45 Active Battery 95 % 45,600 mWh
    14:55:45 Connected standby Battery 95 % 45,600 mWh
    14:59:05 Suspended 95 % 45,550 mWh
    20:43:04 Active Battery 94 % 45,270 mWh
    20:48:27 Connected standby Battery 91 % 43,900 mWh
    20:53:20 Active Battery 91 % 43,840 mWh
    20:53:21 Connected standby Battery 91 % 43,840 mWh
    20:53:23 Active Battery 91 % 43,830 mWh
    20:55:30 Connected standby Battery 90 % 43,220 mWh
    21:26:05 Suspended 90 % 43,080 mWh
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  4. Anonymous
    2017-07-13T13:12:32+00:00
    2017-07-1100:55:03 Connected standby Battery 89 % 42,890 mWh
    00:55:03 Active Battery 89 % 42,890 mWh
    01:00:07 Connected standby Battery 86 % 41,410 mWh
    01:00:08 Active Battery 86 % 41,410 mWh
    01:00:21 Connected standby Battery 86 % 41,300 mWh
    01:00:22 Active Battery 86 % 41,300 mWh
    01:04:22 Connected standby Battery 84 % 40,240 mWh
    01:04:22 Suspended 84 % 40,240 mWh
    01:05:19 Connected standby Battery 83 % 40,120 mWh
    01:05:19 Active Battery 83 % 40,120 mWh
    01:07:11 Connected standby Battery 82 % 39,600 mWh
    01:09:06 Suspended 82 % 39,480 mWh
    03:25:28 Connected standby Battery 82 % 39,290 mWh
    03:25:28 Active Battery 82 % 39,290 mWh
    03:25:28 Connected standby Battery 82 % 39,290 mWh
    03:55:27 Suspended 81 % 39,140 mWh
    10:05:44 Connected standby Battery 80 % 38,470 mWh
    10:05:44 Active Battery 80 % 38,470 mWh
    10:18:16 Connected standby Battery 74 % 35,440 mWh
    10:48:21 Suspended 73 % 35,170 mWh
    11:56:00 Connected standby Battery 73 % 35,070 mWh
    11:56:00 Active Battery 73 % 35,070 mWh
    11:56:00 Connected standby Battery 73 % 35,070 mWh
    11:58:05 Suspended 73 % 35,060 mWh
    18:27:26 Connected standby AC 74 % 35,450 mWh
    18:27:26 Active AC 74 % 35,450 mWh
    18:27:48 Connected standby AC 74 % 35,530 mWh
    18:34:53 Active AC 80 % 38,380 mWh
    18:38:17 Active Battery 81 % 39,120 mWh
    18:38:17 Connected standby Battery 81 % 39,120 mWh
    18:38:37 Active Battery 81 % 39,120 mWh
    19:06:19 Connected standby Battery 68 % 32,690 mWh
    19:06:27 Active Battery 68 % 32,590 mWh
    19:12:08 Connected standby Battery 65 % 31,310 mWh
    19:12:10 Active Battery 65 % 31,310 mWh
    19:24:42 Connected standby Battery 57 % 27,460 mWh
    19:25:29 Active Battery 57 % 27,390 mWh
    19:33:27 Connected standby Battery 53 % 25,250 mWh
    19:33:38 Active Battery 52 % 25,110 mWh
    20:03:20 Connected standby Battery 35 % 16,750 mWh
    20:33:24 Suspended 35 % 16,600 mWh
    22:09:55 Connected standby Battery 34 % 16,390 mWh
    22:09:55 Active Battery 34 % 16,390 mWh
    22:19:43 Suspended 28 % 13,420 mWh
    22:22:22 Active Battery 28 % 13,010 mWh
    22:30:52 Connected standby Battery 21 % 9,830 mWh
    22:33:02 Active Battery 20 % 9,680 mWh
    22:46:58 Connected standby Battery 11 % 5,380 mWh
    22:47:54 Connected standby AC 11 % 5,300 mWh
    22:47:54 Suspended 11 % 5,300 mWh
    2017-07-1208:48:39 Connected standby AC 99 % 46,950 mWh
    08:48:39 Active AC 99 % 46,950 mWh
    09:05:09 Connected standby AC 99 % 46,950 mWh
    09:06:25 Active AC 99 % 46,950 mWh
    09:19:55 Connected standby AC 100 % 47,230 mWh
    09:37:50 Active AC 100 % 47,230 mWh
    09:47:57 Connected standby AC 100 % 47,230 mWh
    09:53:53 Active AC 100 % 47,230 mWh
    10:08:48 Active Battery 100 % 47,230 mWh
    10:19:05 Connected standby Battery 90 % 42,760 mWh
    10:20:32 Connected standby AC 90 % 42,690 mWh
    10:20:33 Active AC 90 % 42,690 mWh
    10:20:33 Connected standby AC 90 % 42,690 mWh
    10:34:01 Connected standby Battery 96 % 45,420 mWh
    10:34:01 Active Battery 96 % 45,420 mWh
    10:34:23 Active AC 96 % 45,420 mWh
    10:34:24 Connected standby AC 96 % 45,420 mWh
    10:35:20 Connected standby Battery 96 % 45,440 mWh
    11:05:26 Suspended 96 % 45,310 mWh
    13:12:17 Connected standby Battery 96 % 45,170 mWh
    13:12:17 Active Battery 96 % 45,170 mWh
    13:12:17 Connected standby Battery 96 % 45,170 mWh
    13:19:41 Active Battery 95 % 45,100 mWh
    13:19:41 Connected standby Battery 95 % 45,100 mWh
    13:30:49 Active Battery 95 % 45,050 mWh
    13:31:19 Connected standby Battery 95 % 44,990 mWh
    14:01:35 Suspended 95 % 44,860 mWh
    15:09:52 Connected standby Battery 95 % 44,720 mWh
    15:09:52 Active Battery 95 % 44,720 mWh
    15:09:52 Connected standby Battery 95 % 44,720 mWh
    15:39:55 Suspended 94 % 44,600 mWh
    17:01:20 Connected standby Battery 94 % 44,460 mWh
    17:01:20 Active Battery 94 % 44,460 mWh
    17:01:20 Connected standby Battery 94 % 44,460 mWh
    17:31:24 Suspended 94 % 44,340 mWh
    17:57:49 Connected standby Battery 94 % 44,190 mWh
    17:57:49 Active Battery 94 % 44,190 mWh
    17:57:49 Connected standby Battery 94 % 44,190 mWh
    18:04:41 Active Battery 93 % 44,150 mWh
    18:04:42 Connected standby Battery 93 % 44,150 mWh
    18:04:44 Active Battery 93 % 44,150 mWh
    18:05:15 Connected standby Battery 93 % 43,980 mWh
    18:31:06 Active Battery 93 % 43,810 mWh
    18:31:07 Connected standby Battery 93 % 43,810 mWh
    18:31:47 Active Battery 93 % 43,760 mWh
    18:36:53 Connected standby Battery 90 % 42,340 mWh
    18:36:58 Active Battery 90 % 42,340 mWh
    18:39:13 Connected standby Battery 88 % 41,470 mWh
    18:39:13 Suspended 88 % 41,470 mWh
    18:40:59 Connected standby Battery 87 % 41,250 mWh
    18:40:59 Active Battery 87 % 41,250 mWh
    18:48:54 Connected standby Battery 82 % 38,610 mWh
    18:55:06 Active Battery 81 % 38,510 mWh
    19:00:10 Connected standby Battery 79 % 37,300 mWh
    19:01:47 Active Battery 79 % 37,150 mWh
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