Surface Pro 4 travel power supply

DrNitun

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Hello,

What are you using to charge your Surface Pro 4 while travelling (ex: In an international flight)??

I went to my local Microsoft Store and an employee said that is something the Pro 4 does not have due to the power out out consumption.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
 

ttsoldier

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Hello,

What are you using to charge your Surface Pro 4 while travelling (ex: In an international flight)??

I went to my local Microsoft Store and an employee said that is something the Pro 4 does not have due to the power out out consumption.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

I've never been on an international flight where my surface needed charge.

Sounds like you're looking for some sort of portable power source/charger thing?
 

Chintan Gohel

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Hello,

What are you using to charge your Surface Pro 4 while travelling (ex: In an international flight)??

I went to my local Microsoft Store and an employee said that is something the Pro 4 does not have due to the power out out consumption.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

check your charger for the sp4, if the charger says input voltage of 100-240V, then it can work in any country as long as you can get the adaptor to use your charger with the local socket types eg British 3 pin, European 2 pin, Indian 3 pin round etc
 

DrNitun

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Ttsoldier,

Correct, I am looking for a power source/charger thingy :).

Chintan: I am sure all our (latest) devices will work in other countries provided we have the right power convertor adaptor! Darn the UK right? ;-p.
 

Chintan Gohel

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Ttsoldier,

Correct, I am looking for a power source/charger thingy :).

Chintan: I am sure all our (latest) devices will work in other countries provided we have the right power convertor adaptor! Darn the UK right? ;-p.

I'm in Kenya so we use the UK type of plug/socket which works for me.
 

Chintan Gohel

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Ttsoldier,

Correct, I am looking for a power source/charger thingy :).

Chintan: I am sure all our (latest) devices will work in other countries provided we have the right power convertor adaptor! Darn the UK right? ;-p.

so you don't have the charger? How did that happen? You'll need a charger that matches the specifications of the original surface pro 4 charger. But the charger is pretty unique so it would be difficult getting an alternative charger
 

buzzard75

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I think what he's looking for is an alternate power source (i.e. a battery pack) for when plugging it in is not an option. With devices that use USB to charge it's easy enough and I believe they have those on some international flights, but that's the trick with the Surface that I haven't figured out yet. How do you charge it on the go when you can't plug it in? I'll be watching out of interest.
 

Chintan Gohel

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I think what he's looking for is an alternate power source (i.e. a battery pack) for when plugging it in is not an option. With devices that use USB to charge it's easy enough and I believe they have those on some international flights, but that's the trick with the Surface that I haven't figured out yet. How do you charge it on the go when you can't plug it in? I'll be watching out of interest.

I believe you're right, thanks for the clear up. Since the charging pin is different, that's tricky
 

seremify

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There are battery packs which have ordinary power sockets (i.e. like a wall plug) but they're big, heavy and not necessarily efficient... and not something you want to carry when travelling.

Better solution would be to try and align your flights with planes which have in-seat AC/DC power to charge laptops.

Alternatively think of other devices to spread workload over e.g. iPad Air (I use this for reading/reviewing PDF and some Office 365), or maybe consider using something like one of the more recent 2-in-1s (i.e. Surface Pro clones) or tablets (e.g. Asus Transformer series, Surface 3, etc) which allow charging via Micro USB/USB-C.
 

ttsoldier

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There are battery packs which have ordinary power sockets (i.e. like a wall plug) but they're big, heavy and not necessarily efficient... and not something you want to carry when travelling.

Better solution would be to try and align your flights with planes which have in-seat AC/DC power to charge laptops.

Alternatively think of other devices to spread workload over e.g. iPad Air (I use this for reading/reviewing PDF and some Office 365), or maybe consider using something like one of the more recent 2-in-1s (i.e. Surface Pro clones) or tablets (e.g. Asus Transformer series, Surface 3, etc) which allow charging via Micro USB/USB-C.

Or use battery saver.
 

becosemsaida

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I aso would like to know how can we have an alternative power supply for our pro 4's..... With the "excellent" (5-7H is what people get around) battery this is an important question.

I still have an Android tablet that has a very nice autonomy, beats the s*** out of the surface....... And that is the only reason i still carry my android with me and leave the surface at home ....

Beco
 

Chintan Gohel

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yes, but can your android tablet do the things your surface can? Run full applications with all the power of windows OS? The pro 4 has a better processor and screen, doesn't it? So for the same size of battery, can we expect same battery life? I don't know which tablet you have so I can't comment further on comparing the two
 

becosemsaida

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Two diferent SO's, two diferent machines. No comparrison between them possible but if i need to power up my droid i just connect a powerbank and i will have two or more hours, on the surface this isn't yet possible.

I do like my surface and take it with me whenever i can but i could do with more stamina of the batt. Other problem i have with ALL devices is that i buy it for the specs and what it can do so i use it all (BT, Wi-Fi, brightness on auto, etc. etc. ) I never was a person that would compromise on usage of the device for what it is designed and should be used for. So all the topics about battery saving and turning of features are just plain waist of time for me. I do this with all my devices and my opinion is that the device is to work, not to be limited to squeeze 5 min of extra batt. If i wanted that i didn't buy top end tech stuff !!!! Think what you want, i buy a device to use in full power :)

beco
 

Chintan Gohel

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Two diferent SO's, two diferent machines. No comparrison between them possible but if i need to power up my droid i just connect a powerbank and i will have two or more hours, on the surface this isn't yet possible.

I do like my surface and take it with me whenever i can but i could do with more stamina of the batt. Other problem i have with ALL devices is that i buy it for the specs and what it can do so i use it all (BT, Wi-Fi, brightness on auto, etc. etc. ) I never was a person that would compromise on usage of the device for what it is designed and should be used for. So all the topics about battery saving and turning of features are just plain waist of time for me. I do this with all my devices and my opinion is that the device is to work, not to be limited to squeeze 5 min of extra batt. If i wanted that i didn't buy top end tech stuff !!!! Think what you want, i buy a device to use in full power :)

beco

Your surface pro 4 is more like a laptop than a tablet and I haven't seen power banks for laptops, have you? :wink:
My surface 3 could charge using a power bank because it's charging port is a microUSB port,. I can't charge my laptop though since it uses one of the common charging ports for laptops. The surface pro 4 has a different charging port

However, I decided to search for power banks and what do you know: https://www.amazon.com/Qi-infinity-Upgraded-Powerbank-Surface-MacBook/dp/B0183UJ2SY

And this: Top 10 Must Have Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Accessories | 1 more Tech Blog
 

ttsoldier

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Your surface pro 4 is more like a laptop than a tablet and I haven't seen power banks for laptops, have you? :wink:
My surface 3 could charge using a power bank because it's charging port is a microUSB port,. I can't charge my laptop though since it uses one of the common charging ports for laptops. The surface pro 4 has a different charging port

However, I decided to search for power banks and what do you know: https://www.amazon.com/Qi-infinity-Upgraded-Powerbank-Surface-MacBook/dp/B0183UJ2SY

And this: Top 10 Must Have Microsoft Surface Pro 4 Accessories | 1 more Tech Blog

Whoa...

*Adds to favourites*
 

Chintan Gohel

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We as Windows device users are sometimes too pessimistic and don't believe apps and products can be available for our use - but they can be there, we just need to look :wink:
 

DrNitun

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Hello,

I too went and bought a third party power bank and my plane ride was bearable as a result! I purchased, from Amazon, a Lizone power brick.
 

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