Are you receiving erratic low-battery errors on your Microsoft Surface Pro? Or perhaps experiencing significant battery capacity issues? Don’t worry, you are not alone. In recent years, many folks around the world have turned to social media to air their grievances about frustrating battery problems. Firmware updates aside. Many times, our battery performances tend to be hampered by bad habits.
If you’re looking to prolong your Microsoft Surface Pro’s battery life, perhaps it’s time to break out of little bad habits and follow these tips:
1. Stop Leaving It to Charge Overnight
We cannot stress this enough – while leaving your Microsoft Surface Pro to charge for extended periods does not lead to battery overcharging or damages, this may not be the best idea if you are looking to optimise your battery life. The reason is simple. Lithium-ion batteries don’t require a full charge for use, and high voltage actually wears them out eventually. To get the most out of your Surface Pro’s battery life, the general rule of thumb is to keep it around the 40% to 80% range.
2. Charge Your Surface Pro Before It Dies
Are you one of those people who scramble to charge your device when it is at 1%? If your answer is an unswerving ‘yes’, it’s about time to kick this bad habit as it is doing some serious harm to the lifespan of your device’s battery. Some batteries are pre-programmed for a certain amount of full charging or discharging cycles (when the device goes from 100% to 0% and vice-versa). After a specific number of cycles, the battery life will begin to deteriorate. Therefore, you should attempt to charge your Microsoft Surface Pro when the battery level is at 20% or above to avoid draining it entirely.
3. Don’t Leave Your Device in High Heat
Just like us, our devices are sensitive to the changing climate and temperature of the environment. If you’ve not heard of all the urban legends about devices getting destroyed under direct sun exposure or during a winter blizzard, here’s a revelation: Overheating or overcooling from the environment affects the battery of your devices the most. Leaving your device in the cold or heat for a long time will not only cause damages to the battery, but the display too.
While there isn’t winter in sunny Singapore, it is very common for us to leave our devices out in the scorching sun while we are at the beach or at a barbeque. Now that you know, we’d highly recommend making a conscious effort to keep your Microsoft Surface Pro out of direct sun, if possible.
However, if you do leave your device in the heat unintentionally, always let it cool down before attempting to use it.
The Power Plan for Longer-Lasting Batteries
With the above tips and tricks, you should be able to extend the longevity of your tablet’s battery. Now that you are not worried about its performance, it’s time to focus on extending the battery life on your device. How can you go about this?
Well, perhaps no one has ever told you this – but there are a few simple tricks that you can do (in just the click of a button) to maximise your battery’s life. Here goes:
- Reduce your screen brightness at Settings. Having a dim screen can save a good amount of battery. For Surface Pro, it’s highly recommended to keep the brightness at 25%.
- Create a balanced Surface Pro optimisation power plan: Right-click on Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Click “Create a power plan” on the left navigation panel > Select ‘Balanced’.
- Turn on Battery saver (this feature is only available in Windows 10): Go to Settings > System > Battery Saver > Battery use > Change background app settings.
Can I Do Anything About a Faulty Battery?
Unfortunately, in the event of a faulty battery, your best bet would be to visit a repair centre where you can get a professional technician to replace the battery for your Surface Pro.
