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Microsoft to release software fix for Surface Pro 3 battery issues

Microsoft is to release a software fix to address a long-standing issue with its Surface Pro 3 tablets which caused the batteries to lose charge much quicker than usual.

The company confirmed it had ruled out hardware problems as the cause of the issue in a post on its support forums.

A representative from the company said in the post: “We can now confirm that this Surface Pro 3 battery capacity question is not a hardware issue, but one that can be addressed with a software update.

“Our team has been working on, and is now testing, an update that will address this. We’ll publish the update as soon as it has passed our quality assurance process.

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Surface Pro 3

Microsoft also advised Surface Pro 3 owners should not consider returning their devices, as the software update should address the issue when it is released.

In May, many users began reporting a problem with their tablets losing charge at a much higher rate than they should, but it remained unclear whether the problem was related to software or hardware.

The uncertainty prompted fears that Microsoft could recall the tablets, but, as complaints only began in May, it seemed likely the trouble was down to a particular batch of the devices which could have received faulty batteries.

A lot of users reporting problems had batteries manufactured by SIMPLO installed in their Surface Pro 3s. Some versions of the tablet have batteries produced by LG, which for the time being, seem to be unaffected by the drain issue.

This latest announcement from Microsoft should come a welcome news to those who feared they would have to return their devices.

We’ll update you once the patch goes live.

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Let us know if you’ve been affected in the comments.

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