Microsoft Surface Pro, without a doubt, is the best Windows powered tablet out there. Its elegant and sturdy design, kick-stand, stylus, and the powerful specification easily make it the most desirable Windows tablet.
As Surface Pro includes a powerful Intel Core i5 processor (3rd generation), 4GB of RAM and runs Windows 8 Pro OS, it’s obvious that this tablet requires more battery power compared other ARM-chip powered tablets, including its sibling Surface RT.
If you own a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet and would like to extend the battery life, we have some basic but useful tips for you. In this guide, we’re going to share some tips that help you extend your Surface’s battery life by a few minutes.
1. Reduce screen brightness: One of the best ways to significantly boost the battery life is to reduce the screen brightness to a level that you’re comfortable with. As you know, display uses more battery power than any other part of your Surface.
To change the brightness, open Settings charm either by clicking Settings on the Charms bar or by using Windows + I hotkey, click on the brightness icon and then move the slider up or down to increase or reduce the current brightness. The other way is to right-click on the battery icon in the system tray area of the taskbar and then click Adjust screen brightness.
2. Reduce turn-off display time: Configure the power plan to turn off the display after a minute of inactivity. Generally, a pre-selected screen saver gets activated or Windows dims the display after a specified time of inactivity but it’s always a good idea to turn off the display after a minute of inactivity. A shorter time period will certainly stretch the battery life.
Press Windows + Q keys to open Search with Settings filter, type Choose when to turn off the display, and press enter key see required the option.
3. Select Power Saver plan: The Power Saver plan not only automatically reduces the screen brightness but also takes other necessary actions to get the maximum battery life. You can alter the default settings of Power Saver plan by right-clicking on battery icon, selecting More power options and then clicking Change plan settings next to the Power Saver.
4. Turn off Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi uses significant amount of battery life and should be turned off when it’s being used to preserve the battery. Open PC Settings, click Wireless option in the left pane to see the option to turn on or off the Wi-Fi.
5. Disconnect external devices that aren’t in use: Safely remove peripherals such as USB flash drive or other external storage devices that aren’t being used.
6. Close unused programs: Programs that need significant amount of system resources indirectly drain out the battery. So, make sure that you’re running only programs that you’re using for the moment. We advice you close unwanted tabs on your web browser as desktop version of web browsers are always take significant amount of system resources.
7. Operating temperature: This is one of the lesser known facts. Your Surface (or devices that use Lithium-ion battery) is sensitive to high and low temperature, and drains out faster when you aren’t using it in the operating temperature range recommended by the manufacturer. According to Microsoft, Surface is designed to operate between 32°F and 95°F (or 0°C to 35°C).
8. Use a program that helps you preserve the battery life: There are plenty of free and paid software available to monitor battery performance. BatteryBar Pro (paid) and Battery Care (free) are two of the best programs available to extend your Surface’s battery life.
9. Disable visual effects: Even though Aero isn’t part of Windows 8, there are other visual effects that you can turn off to stretch the battery life. To turn off visual effects, press Windows + Q keys to open Search charm (with Settings filter), type Adjust the appearance and performance of windows, and select Adjust for best performance option from the available four options.
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r sloss says
questions:
1. When using on desktop, is it better to leave power cord plugged in or not and simply recharge when battery level is low?
2. My Surface Pro 8 bought new 8 months ago and used in desktop mode i.e., external monitor powered separately, and running on home router DSL connection has about 2.5 battery hours from full to empty operating in this mode. When new, it was about 4 hours. Never has been anywhere near the 16 hours advertised. If I send it to Microsoft for warranty battery repair, will I get a new battery or just a someone else’s refurbished Surface Pro 8?