My item arrived and did not work..the dreaded BATTERY PLUGGED in but not charging problem that seems to be common with the Surface products.

I can only guess one of two things is wrong: either battery is defective or the charger is defective.

battery drains fast overnight even when turned off

I went with the surface 3 barely because of its portability, excellent sound, good battery life.

The battery was so drained, that I was unable to get past the battery icon until the unit charged for a while.

I would suggest taking the mouse apparatus out of it when you store it because it drains the battery fast!