Surface Pro 3 with Simplo Batteries Are Responsible For Microsoft’s Latest Surface Headache

If you have a Surface Pro 3 and your battery life has been failing to live up to expectations, you are not alone. Based on a thread in the Microsoft Answer forums and a few tips from readers, those who have devices with the Simplo batteries in them are quickly finding themselves with devices that barely hold a charge.

The problem is that starting after one year of the device being used, consumers are reporting that their battery life is a small fraction of what it was when they purchased the device. While battery degradation is expected of these devices as all batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time, what is happening with the Simplo batteries is far outside the normal wear and tear of these devices.

Several users in the Answer forums have posted the battery report from their device and it clearly shows how these batteries have collapsed in terms of functionality. The problem is quite obvious but it’s when it finally shows up is the problem; this flaw does not show up until the device is outside the standard warranty period which leaves the user on the hook for a repair which will cost upwards of $500.

Image Credit: Kridsada Thanabulpong

Microsoft has acknowledged that they are looking into the issue, which is a good sign for those who have been impacted by the problem but with no timeline for resolution, it leaves those with the issue stranded. The question becomes should you wait to see if Microsoft is going to act upon the issue or do you need to replace the device now and not waste time sitting idle while a potential solution is researched.

To see what battery you have in your Surface Pro 3, you can run the following command from command prompt: powercfg /batteryreport.

Those in the forums who have the issue stated that they were told it is a hardware failure and that a software fix will not resolve their problem which means your only hope at this point is that Microsoft will extend the warranty on these devices. If the company does not, and they likely have no legal requirement to do so as this is not a safety issue, then you are out of luck.

But, if the company wants to keep its good faith with consumers, and they find that the Simplo battery is flawed and fails consistently outside of the warranty period, it would be in their best interest to offer those impacted a reasonable solution.

For those who are affected, your best bet is to let Microsoft know you are seeing this hardware failure so that they can better understand the scope of the problem. You can do this by contacting support directly and I’d also recommend posting in the Answer forum as well.