Dell XPS 10 with keyboard dock - battery management when in keyboard dock is flawed and counterintuitive

[KevinN206]

I just bought the Dell XPS 10 refurbished from a deal a few weeks ago. I believe there is a flaw in logic in the way the tablet battery and the keyboard dock battery are managed when the tablet is placed in the keyboard dock. It's so counterintuitive, I don't really know how such a design got through to consumers.

I found an issue with the way the keyboard dock battery and the tablet battery are managed. Apparently, when the tablet is docked to the keyboard, the battery within the tablet is FIRST depleted THEN the battery in the dock is depleted. This creates a huge problem. If you are using the tablet docked to the keyboard for like five hours, then you have been using five hours of the tablet’s battery. Obviously, if you were to remove from the dock on-the-go, then you NO LONGER have full battery on the tablet. In fact, you have only 3-4 hours of battery left in the tablet.

This is a huge flaw in the way battery is managed. Apparently, Asus Vivotab RT did the docking correctly. The battery in dock is FIRST discharged then the battery in the tablet. This way, you are guaranteed to have the longest run time even after you undock.

Please offer a firmware, software, BIOS, or whatever it is to change the order in which the battery is used. The keyboard dock's battery should be discharged FIRST then the battery in the tablet. This will maximize the useful time of the tablet if the user decides to remove from docking. If not, this will be the last product I will buy from Dell.

Quick scenario why the current design is very flawed:

1. Both batteries in tablet and dock are fully charged (assume tablet is good for 8 hours and dock for 10 hours)
2. Use tablet in docking mode for 5 hours
3. Hours remaining in tablet = 3 hours (40% remaining)
4. Hours remaining in dock = 10 hours (100% full)
5. User remove tablet from dock to go out on a trip where the dock is not needed
6. Battery life in the dock is totally wasted unused while battery in tablet is now only 3 hours (40% remaining)
7. Instead of getting 5+8=13 hours of usage time, the user gets only 8 hours = terrible, terrible logic = almost 40% less running time

[MeridianTim]

I had found the same issue and called it into to Dell. I recommend that everyone with a dell xps10 call it in and ask the dell representatives to place a work request to fix the issue. the more call the sooner it will be fixed.

[MeridianTim]

another thread with this issue.

en.community.dell.com/.../20365130.aspx

[KevinN206]

Well. It just got worst. I experienced a continuous flicker on the screen. It may the tablet not usable. I had to shutdown, and it appears to function properly now. The screen flickers like crazy similar to this video:

I also took a few pictures and video of my own just in case. Sometimes I think the "refurbished" should have been a big red flag. I bet someone ran into something similar and returned this tablet. I now don't have much confidence in this tablet.

[dxps10]

I also have the same problem. The battery of the tablet is first depleted until there is about 6% and THEN the Keyboard dock is depleted.

I was actually really happy with the device but this just makes me angry. emoticon.Angry.title

[mikers223]

Exactly the same problem here. I hoped they would fix it with the new firmware update, but nothing changed here... I would be really happy if it would work like:

Deplete the dock first then the tablet ...

[RichinSB]

When I thought about it I do understand the reasoning somewhat as you can effectively 'work' on your tablet + dock for the maximum battery time - 16 hours straight - whereas reversed you'd be forced to stop typing after 8 hours when the dock ran out first. 

IMO what screwed it up is having the tablet deplete so far down before draining the dock that it basically dies when you remove it. Even given the above focus on duration of 'work' functionality, the dock should kick in when the tablet gets to 25% at absolute minimum ( 2 hours of tablet usage left)

In an ideal world I'd like a utility with a slider where you could set the degree of tablet  drain before the dock kicks in to whatever you want. 

If that's not possible though I'd at least like to see a choice, call it 'Work' and 'Play' modes where on the former you could choose to get 25% tablet battery before going to the dock (giving you 14 hrs of typable time) and the latter reversed so the tablet drains 25% before you get the dock drain (10 hours typing time - still plenty!). 

I don't expect either to happen, but once I got my head round why I think they did it I am a *little* more tolerant of this tablet's 'unusual' battery approach.

[KevinN206]

What you are suggesting adds complexity that is not needed for this tablet even with the bundled Office 2013. I don't think any user is going to spend 16 hours continuously typing on this tablet. I would rather write for 16 hours on my big laptop and not a 10.1" tablet that's meant to be a tablet. Its highest priority is mobility and by designing the tablet + dock as it is now, it has severely compromised a tablet's intended purpose.

Image that you are playing a game with the dock attached so that you can use your USB game controller for 3 hours. Now, you go to a friend's place but you don't need the dock since you'll be using it to browse the Internet only. Instead of having the full 8-10 hours, you now have just about 5 hours. This is all while the dock's 100% battery stays wasted at home. The design priority was misplaced.

[xbalance]

I agree completely!  The battery management between the tablet and the dock on the XPS 10 is backwards and should be changed to charge the tablet first and use the dock first.

[DiesIrae]

I like the tablet, but count me with those who are disappointed with how they implemented the dock / tablet power management (backwards...)