Smart charging on Surface

Smart charging is a feature that helps protect your Surface battery against conditions that may accelerate battery deterioration or lead to expansion. Smart charging is always active and turns on automatically when it detects your device is plugged in for prolonged periods or used at elevated temperatures.

When smart charging is turned on, your battery discharges and limits its maximum charge to 80%. A heart icon will appear over the battery icon in the system tray to let you know smart charging is active and on. You might notice reduced battery life as a result.

When you discharge your battery below 20% or use your battery often, smart charging will automatically pause and allow your device to charge to 100%.

Depending on which Surface you have, additional options for managing Smart Charging are available in the Surface app. For example, when you need a full battery, you can manually pause smart charging in the Surface app. Smart charging will turn on again when needed, based on your battery use patterns.

Note: Not all Surface devices have options to manage smart charging. To see compatible devices, go to Caring for your Surface battery.

When to charge your battery to 100%

Smart charging is always active on your Surface. When it’s turned on, it’s recommended to keep it turned on. Here are some instances when you might want to pause smart charging to ensure a full battery charge:

While traveling, like on a long-haul flight
When attending long meetings
Going to a coffee shop or restaurant
Any time you think you may need to use your battery’s full charge and an outlet may not be available

How to charge your battery to 100%

If your Surface device can pause smart charging, here's how:

Select Start and open the Surface app.Open the Surface app

Tip: If you can't find the Surface app on your Surface, you might need to install it from the Microsoft Store. Get the Surface app
Depending on which Surface device you have, use one of the following options:

Select Battery & charging and from the Smart charging section, select Charge to 100%. Smart charging will be paused and allow a full battery charge until your Surface needs to turn it on again.
Select Battery & charging and from the Charging mode section, select Charge to 100%, then select the period of time that you would like it to pause for. After the selected period of time has been met, Adaptive charging mode will again be enabled. At any time, you can also set the Charging mode to Adaptive to enable smart charging sooner. Once Adaptive charging mode is enabled, smart charging will turn on automatically when your Surface needs it.

It may take several days before smart charging turns on again and limits your battery capacity to 80%. Open the Surface app at any time to see the status of your battery charge.

Tip: Remember to charge to 100% several hours before it is needed. If you do it much sooner than it's needed, it might automatically turn on again.

How to manually limit your battery to 80% charge

Not all Surface devices support this option. If you have a Surface device that can limit charging to 80% manually, here's how:

Select Start and open the Surface app.Open the Surface app

Tip: If you can't find the Surface app on your Surface, you might need to install it from the Microsoft Store. Get the Surface app
Select Battery & charging and from the Charging mode section, select Limit to 80%.

Your Surface will be limited to 80% charging until you change the charging mode in Surface app to either Adaptive or Charge to 100%.

When to charge your battery to 100%

How to charge your battery to 100%

How to manually limit your battery to 80% charge

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