Latest Surface Pro 3 update fixes battery problems
If your Surface Pro 3 has been plagued with battery issues, Microsoft has some good news for you -- there's now a fix available. Not that there was actually a problem in the first place, you understand...
While many people were under the impression that their Surface Pro 3 had developed a physical battery problem, an issue with the firmware was preventing it from being fully charged.
Microsoft has already explained that the problem is software rather than hardware related, but it has now updated its FAQ on the issue. It is only the Surface Pro 3 that is affected by the issue, which made it appear as though the battery was draining faster than would ordinarily be expected.
Explaining the problem, Microsoft says:
On a limited number of Surface Pro 3 devices, an error condition occurs that causes the full charge capacity of the battery to be misreported to the operating system and device firmware. When this condition occurs, the system no longer charges the battery to its full actual capacity, and the Surface is unable to function on battery power.
Think of this like a fuel gauge in a car, where the car looks to the fuel gauge to determine how much to fill the tank. In this case, if the fuel gauge isn't working right, the car would also not be able to fill the tank -- even though the tank is fine.
The explanation is all well and good, but the great news is that:
An update is now available to correct this issue. This update corrects the logic in the firmware component that functions as the "fuel gauge" for the Surface Pro 3 battery, so that the actual battery capacity on devices with this particular part is accurately reported. This allows the Surface to once again leverage the maximum charge capacity of the battery.
Once this fix is applied to a Surface Pro 3, the reported full charge capacity will self-correct over the next several charge and discharge cycles. Surface Pro 3 devices that previously experienced the problem can now operate on battery power, and the issue won’t occur on devices that haven't experienced the issue.
So... check for updates right now and you should find that your battery woes gradually start to sort themselves out.
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