Why is my Surface not charging despite reporting that it is charging?

Kimberly Sangwin-Remesnik 0 Reputation points
2026-09-06T03:38:20.01+00:00

Today I watched as my Surface drained all the way down to 6%, all while connected to the charging cable it came with. The charging cable was plugged in securely and the magnetic connector had its LED light up, which I believe indicates that it's supplying power.

Screenshot 2026-09-05 202824

My surface settings consistently showed that it was "Charging" for the several hours today while that charging cable was plugged in, but the battery just went down until it reached 6% and then the OS warned that it might shut off soon.

At this point, I power cycled the Surface and upon reboot it actually began taking a charge.

Is it possible that there's a bug in one of the drivers that causes the surface to refuse to charge? And that resetting my Surface restarted the driver?

I opened a different question related to this last year when I noticed the same behavior but with the USB-C port. I was hoping to use USB-C to charge my Surface at the time and saw it report charging but not charge. At the time I chalked it up to maybe an issue in the cable spec not supplying enough voltage. But now I'm using the charge supplied by Microsoft, and it began working again after a reboot, so I think this may be a Windows issue.

I'm using a Microsoft Surface Pro, 11th Edition. Windows says my software is up to date as of today.

Surface | Surface Pro | Power and battery
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  1. AI answer

    2026-09-06T03:38:44.3766667+00:00

    Yes. The documented behavior matches a power or battery detection issue that can sometimes be cleared by a restart.

    What the current symptoms mean:

    • If Surface shows Plugged in, charging but the battery still drops, Surface is detecting the power supply and trying to charge the battery.
    • If a restart made charging begin normally again, that is consistent with the documented step to restart Surface when charging behavior is abnormal.
    • If the charger LED is lit, Surface Connect is receiving power, but that does not guarantee the battery is actually charging correctly.

    Recommended checks for this exact scenario:

    1. Confirm the power supply is the one designed for the Surface
      Surface works best with the power supply designed for that model. If power is insufficient, Surface may receive power but not charge properly.
    2. Disconnect high-power accessories
      Remove any attached accessories that draw power and check whether charging resumes normally.
    3. Restart or force restart Surface
      Since a reboot already restored charging once, this is a valid troubleshooting step for recurrence.
      • Select Start > Power > Shut down.
      • Wait briefly.
      • Press and hold the power button for 20 seconds.
      • If the logo appears earlier, keep holding until it appears again.
    4. Check for updates in the Surface app
      Open the Surface app > Help & support. If updates are available, select Check for updates to open Windows Update and install them.
    5. Reinstall the battery driver
      This is the documented step when Surface is plugged in but not charging.
      Warning: Do not do this on Surface Pro X. On that device, uninstalling drivers may require a full reset to restore them.
      Steps:
      • Plug in Surface.
      • Open Device Manager.
      • Expand Batteries.
      • Open Microsoft Surface ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery or Surface Battery.
      • On the Driver tab, select Uninstall device > OK.
        Alternatively, right-click the battery device and select Uninstall device.
      • In Device Manager, select the computer at the top of the list.
      • Select Action > Scan for hardware changes.
      • Restart Surface.
    6. If charging through USB-C, verify charger wattage
      For USB-C charging, the charger must be a USB-C PD charger that provides at least the same wattage as the power supply designed for the Surface.
    7. Clean the Surface Connect pins
      If Surface shows charging but behavior is inconsistent, clean the connector pins:
      • Unplug the power supply from the wall.
      • Clean the pins with a pencil eraser.
      • Use a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol on the connector pins.
      • Let the pins dry fully, then reconnect.

    When to suspect hardware instead of software:

    • If the issue keeps returning on both Surface Connect and USB-C.
    • If Surface eventually shows Battery not detected or turns off immediately when unplugged.
    • If the charger LED is on but the battery repeatedly drains while Windows reports charging.

    If the problem continues after the steps above, the documented next step is to submit a service order or use available repair options.

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  2. Clary-N 17,335 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-09T04:52:04.0666667+00:00

    Hi Kimberly Sangwin-Remesnik,

    Thank you for providing the detailed screenshot. In addition to the recommendations already shared, I suggest running the Surface Repair Tool to check the battery’s charging and discharging behavior, power delivery and reporting accuracy. If possible, run the test while the issue is occurring and save or capture the results before restarting the device.

    You can also expand Battery information in the tool and compare the Full charge capacity with the Design capacity. This can help determine whether the battery’s current capacity may be contributing to the behavior.

    Additionally, please press Windows key + R, enter winver and share the Windows version and OS build shown. It would also be helpful to know whether this started after a particular Windows or firmware update.

    As a separate test, note the current battery percentage, shut down the Surface normally, leave it connected to power for about 30 minutes and then turn it back on. Please let me know whether the battery percentage increased while the device was turned off. This test may help narrow down whether the behavior occurs only while Windows is running.

    I hope these additional checks help identify the cause. Please share the diagnostic results, battery information, Windows build and the outcome of the powered-off charging test when convenient.

    If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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