[lexmarq]

Hi all,

I saw this over at SurfaceForums.net and wonder how is everyone's surface battery charge doing.

You can do it via this step:

1. Run "powercfg /batteryreport" in non-elevated CMD
2. Look at the report in C:\Users\*username*


Here's mine:

Screenshot (5).png

[pedenske]

Well this is fairly useful. Here is mine



Screenshot (6).png

[shn'g]

thanks for the info on doing this. here's mine. so what does it mean?

Screenshot (4).png

[johninsj]

Mine is unchanged (12/17 to now)

The rule for LiOn batteries: don't deep cycle them, or you will reduce the capacity.

[inteller]

this is useful to know, just ran mine and it said 30,412...BUT

last night I charged it. It had suspended cause battery got low. After being on the charger for several hours I disconnected it. It was still off, but today I turned it on and battery was at 32% so either it didn't charger properly or it drained for some crazy reason afterwards...

[Derausgewanderte]

here are my 2 cents I also posted at the surface forum.
DESIGN CAPACITY 31,502 mWh
FULL CHARGE CAPACITY 28,712 mWh
CYCLE COUNT 19

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

Since OS install

9:45:12

capacityhistory.jpg

I believe what we are seeing here is probably normal. the capacity decrease will initially be steep and level at longer usage times (probably exponential decay). So, while the initial drop may look substantial, if you check again after another 2 months it may only be a total drop of 14% (wild guess). I also believe that the actual initial capacity is not the same for all batteries. the value of 31,502mWh is "Design" and what we see has been normalized to this value, irrespective of the actual battery capacity. A comparison between different Surface RTs would therefore show slightly different decays over time.
Also, we may know that deep cycling isn't recommended. However, many times that is something we can't always control.

Good to see we can follow this via the cmd.

[inteller]

Wow this is a super report. It is basically telling me I can barely get through a day of active use. I've had some 10 hour days and some 6 hour days. Microsoft really really really needs to get the 5th tegra core active and stretch the battery some more

[pedenske]

Wow this is a super report. It is basically telling me I can barely get through a day of active use. I've had some 10 hour days and some 6 hour days. Microsoft really really really needs to get the 5th tegra core active and stretch the battery some more

I cant agree with you more about the tegra optimizations they need to do.

[msdugn]

I'm having the same decay as others. Adding mine as a reference - and to check back on this thread in a few months...

battery.jpg

[realwarder]

You are doing pretty good. Mine is down to 26055 with 49 cycles.

but oddly it looks like it started at 29200 even though design capacity is 31502.

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

This is ridiculoius as mine is reading 25,xxx with 22 cycles. And I've never let it drain fully. Mine also doesn't read the manufacturer, it says "Unknown"
Screenshot (1).png

[stephen_az]

Wow this is a super report. It is basically telling me I can barely get through a day of active use. I've had some 10 hour days and some 6 hour days. Microsoft really really really needs to get the 5th tegra core active and stretch the battery some more

1) If you have had some ten hour days and some six hours days the you are getting the same performance as just about every tablet on the market. So what is the issue?
2) People are deluding themselves if they think Surface RT will ever use the fifth core. It wasn't done on release and they never talk about it. What would lead anyone to think it is on the table?
3) Powercfg has never been the most reliable tool in any version of Windows so I would hardly get upset it the battery life itself remains unchanged.

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

1) If you have had some ten hour days and some six hours days the you are getting the same performance as just about every tablet on the market. So what is the issue?
2) People are deluding themselves if they think Surface RT will ever use the fifth core. It wasn't done on release and they never talk about it. What would lead anyone to think it is on the table?
3) Powercfg has never been the most reliable tool in any version of Windows so I would hardly get upset it the battery life itself remains unchanged.

Should I get upset if mine doesn't even read the battery information correctly? I just spoke to Microsoft and they are willing to replace my device if I do a hard reset to ensure it isn't software related.

Screenshot (2).png

[ZombieBacchus]

I got my Surface on the release date and my cycle count is 59. What is the expected life cycle count for the battery. 59 seems high but I do use this thing all the time. My current estimate of battery life isn't that great either.

Current estimate of battery life based on all observed drains since OS install Since OS install 7:45:47

[Alex Rodriguez Jr.]

I got my Surface on the release date and my cycle count is 59. What is the expected life cycle count for the battery. 59 seems high but I do use this thing all the time. My current estimate of battery life isn't that great either.

Current estimate of battery life based on all observed drains since OS install Since OS install 7:45:47

What is your current max capacity?

[nasellok]

My battery capacity lost 25% in 25 cycles, MS has agreed to send me a new unit - now....my real question is - do I exchange the new unit at MS store and pay the extra $ for the Pro??

This seems to be a major issue - I was only getting 6 hours of battery life, and the fact that the Pro version that can run everything gets 4-5 hours doesn't seem that far off after all. I did go to Staples and play with it, its a bit bulkier, and was hot (but probably because its always plugged in and set to never turn off / demo mode). What is to say the brand new unit wont do the same thing? Standby time is nowhere near my Ipad2 - that thing will last weeks in standby - that being said, the ipad2 is nowhere near the device that the Surface RT is.

My laptop is dyeing on me, so I need a new computer / laptop at home (note - my current laptop has left my desk at home maybe 6 times in 3 years). My other options are to keep Surface RT, and get a new Desktop computer for around 1000$ - use Surface RT for remote access - or sell / return the Surface RT and go out and get a new hybrid replacement for my Laptop - Thinkpad Helix with Core i7 processor or Surface Pro with Core i5. I do use graphic intense software, and fear that the hybrid devices with only Intell 4000 Graphics wont be able to run my software efficiently - AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe Suite, etc.

Anyone have any thoughts?

[benryder]

My battery capacity has gone back up..?!
Screenshot (2).png