Microsoft Refunds Surface Pro 3 Owners That Paid For Out Of Warranty Battery Swaps
All is well that ends well for Surface Pro 3 owners, it just took a little bit of time to get there. Various battery issues have plagued the tablet for several months, and with its latest firmware release, Microsoft thinks it has finally solved the problem for good. Microsoft also made the decision to refund users the cost of a replacement battery if they purchased one for the Surface Pro 3 beyond its warranty period.
"We’ve gathered additional details about which customers were affected and are committed to making sure that the people who experienced this issue are taken care of. We have reached out to those customers and all refunds were processed in October 2016," Microsoft stated in an FAQ on the topic.
Anyone who is eligible should have already received an email from Microsoft notifying them that their refund is being processed. Microsoft says it should take around two to three billing cycles to process the refund, assuming it is able to process it directly to the user's credit card. In other cases, Microsoft will cut a check, though it didn't say how long that would take.
For anyone that feels they are eligible but never received an email, Microsoft advises contacting customer support for Surface. The agent will ask for the user's Microsoft account and the service request number from the original out-of-warranty Surface Pro 3 battery swap.
As to the underlying issue that caused the latest round of battery woes for Surface Pro 3 owners, Microsoft says there was an "error condition" that caused the full charge status to be misreported to the operating system and BIOS. When that happens, the battery is unable to be fully charged and the Surface Pro 3 won't even function on battery power.
There is an update available now to fix the issue. Microsoft suggests applying it even if no symptoms are present. To do so, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates. Install the "System Firmware Update - 11/7/2016" patch and restart the Surface Pro 3 (don't shut it down). Once it has been applied and boots into Windows, Microsoft says users will need to perform one final restart for the new battery logic to take effect.
"We’ve gathered additional details about which customers were affected and are committed to making sure that the people who experienced this issue are taken care of. We have reached out to those customers and all refunds were processed in October 2016," Microsoft stated in an FAQ on the topic.
Anyone who is eligible should have already received an email from Microsoft notifying them that their refund is being processed. Microsoft says it should take around two to three billing cycles to process the refund, assuming it is able to process it directly to the user's credit card. In other cases, Microsoft will cut a check, though it didn't say how long that would take.
For anyone that feels they are eligible but never received an email, Microsoft advises contacting customer support for Surface. The agent will ask for the user's Microsoft account and the service request number from the original out-of-warranty Surface Pro 3 battery swap.
As to the underlying issue that caused the latest round of battery woes for Surface Pro 3 owners, Microsoft says there was an "error condition" that caused the full charge status to be misreported to the operating system and BIOS. When that happens, the battery is unable to be fully charged and the Surface Pro 3 won't even function on battery power.
There is an update available now to fix the issue. Microsoft suggests applying it even if no symptoms are present. To do so, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates. Install the "System Firmware Update - 11/7/2016" patch and restart the Surface Pro 3 (don't shut it down). Once it has been applied and boots into Windows, Microsoft says users will need to perform one final restart for the new battery logic to take effect.
