:help:
My battery life disappears for no apparent reason. Even with Whispernet turned off and the Kindle power turned off, I woke up this morning to find that the battery had dropped down to no power, needing to be charged. What could be going on?

First off, when was the last time you charged it? Was it low before you turned it off?

That's really weird.

A few things:
A) The Kindle does use energy when it is just sitting there contrary to press statements
B) The Kindle's battery indicator is... well.. not at all reliable.

Also, it could be another issue. My Kindle had a problem similar, and was fixed by reflashing the firmware. I don't remember how to do this, but you may be able to find instructions online or call Kindle support and get instructions. Fixed mine and no problems since.

If it is like the Sony, then the battery meter may need a few cycles before it calibrates itself accurately. I'd experiment with a couple of evernight charges and see if things improve. Then contact Amazon if they don't.

First off, when was the last time you charged it? Was it low before you turned it off?

Well it was down to about 1/4, maybe less, by the meter. Still that should be good for hundreds of more page turns at that point.

Yeah, that's enough... the battery display is just not reliable. Once you get to that point, you can almost expect it to go off at some point. If you're actually reading it'll give you a warning, but the meter is primitive.

DeusExMe, all batteries, even this, lose some charge even when idle. I always charge when the meter gets down to one bar, and never lost it all yet in six months.

The thing to consider is how much you have read before it does get down to one bar. With Whispernet turned off, you should be able to go about a week, depending upon how much you read, before needing a recharge. I read several hours a day, and still go a week.

If it gets low with only a day or so of use, then call Amazon, and if the battery is defective, they'll replace it with no problem.

Well it was down to about 1/4, maybe less, by the meter. Still that should be good for hundreds of more page turns at that point. Nope -- once it drops below the 1/4 mark, plan on charging pretty soon. I did run mine to the point where it flashed a warning that the battery needed to be charged. I didn't -- just put the thing to sleep with the Alt-Aa key press, thinking I'd just use it later until it quit. Next morning, it was dark. Recharged & it wouldn't power on until I used the forced reset with a paper-clip.

But -- with the antenna turned off and reading from 2-6 hours a day, I easily get 4-8 days on a single charge. Turning on the antenna means needing to charge every-other day, but I don't try to use the Kindle to surf the net. I only use the antenna for deliberately downloading content from Amazon, MobileRead, or Feedbooks.

Next morning, it was dark. Recharged & it wouldn't power on until I used the forced reset with a paper-clip..

:help:
This is interesting to me because I have another concern too.

A couple of times now, I believe both of them following recharges, the Kindle would not power back on at first. Today, I pushed the power button into the up position and....nothing. Then I had my wife plug the thing in again and it turned right on.

Could this be systematic of deeper issues? Should I contact Amazon?

A couple of times now, I believe both of them following recharges, the Kindle would not power back on at first. Today, I pushed the power button into the up position and....nothing. Then I had my wife plug the thing in again and it turned right on.

Could this be systematic of deeper issues? Should I contact Amazon? You could. I didn't. The only time the unit has bricked is when I let it run all the way down so far that there wasn't even the "lock up screen" being displayed. After a recharge, it wouldn't turn on -- and I assumed it was because the machine had gotten confused when the battery died. A quick press with the end of a paper clip in the "reset" hole under the cover and the Kindle came right on. It's never shown any bad behaviour except when I mistreated it.

:help:
This is interesting to me because I have another concern too.

A couple of times now, I believe both of them following recharges, the Kindle would not power back on at first. Today, I pushed the power button into the up position and....nothing. Then I had my wife plug the thing in again and it turned right on.

Could this be systematic of deeper issues? Should I contact Amazon?

I would doubt if there are deeper issues. It is likely the unit is getting confused when the battery is really low. It is trying to work without enough juice. It is not a good idea to just run down the battery. (except once or twice to help calibrate the meter). It is better to keep it topped off. Lithium ION batteries prefer to be topped off. Just charge it and keep it charged when you are around home and then if you need to go somewhere you will know you have maximum power available for the trip.

Dale

I noticed that mine froze when it got down to one bar. It was while my neighbor was borrowing it, and she was afraid she had broken it.

However, I just recharged it and then hit the reset on the back, and it was just fine. Since then, I plug it in while I'm at my desk, or if I plan to use it as a browser for any length of time.

Although, I have found that if I'm browsing a specific site (like the tv listings) I can leave it in Whispernet mode just long enough to allow the page to load, and then I can turn it off and flip between the pages of the site while they are still in memory.

I recently discovered that leaving the unit in Alt-aA mode and leaving it with its buttons pressed (like the embrace from a bag's zipped net pouch) will drain the battery in a few hours.

Leaving the wireless on can drain the battery very rapidly if the Kindle winds up in a wireless dead zone. The unit doesn't seem to be incredibly clever about backing off on trying to reach the network to save the battery.

I've also noticed that large books eat the battery like candy as the Kindle works to index the book after download. Purchase several tomes at the same time and you can lose a bar off the meter over the next hour even with the unit otherwise completely idle.

Every time I flattened my Kindle's battery (testing the buttons) I had to reset it to recover it. Having designed portable battery operated devices myself I can attest that a solid self-reset from a battery drain with Intel CPU's is tough. They just seem to need an extra whack to get them to start working again.

Does Kindle recharge when connected to the USB port of your computer like Ipods do?

Does Kindle recharge when connected to the USB port of your computer like Ipods do?

It does trickle charge ... but it won't charge from a completely spent battery through USB.

Just FWIW, I've never let my Kindle get below a half charge and it's never frozen on me.

If you really want to charge your Kindle from your PC then buy a Palm Zire USB cable. It has two tips that split off the main cable. One is your USB small device plug and the other is a power tip that is perfect for the Kindle. I haven't used the wall charger since I bought this. And I use the USB to sync with my PC and the USB plug also will charge other devices so I leave this cable hooked up to my PC and and use it with my camera, MP3 players, Kindle, and compatible phones.

I found my cable for less than $5 shipped off of eBay. This was the single best accessory I purchased for the Kindle.

If you have dl'd some large files recently, such as the MobiPocket Guide from here, then the CPU will be indexing while idle. This uses a lot of charge and may give you aberrant results.

Oh yeah, indexing eats batteries. I loaded a couple of hundred books and the battery was totally dead the next morning.

Out of paranoia, I bought a spare Kindle battery but can't figure out how to remove the original so as to charge the spare! Does anyone have a tip for taking out the battery?

The manual makes it sound so easy to pop out but I can't make mine budge. If it's this hard to exchange batteries, getting a spare may not be worth it....

Out of paranoia, I bought a spare Kindle battery but can't figure out how to remove the original so as to charge the spare! Does anyone have a tip for taking out the battery?

The manual makes it sound so easy to pop out but I can't make mine budge. If it's this hard to exchange batteries, getting a spare may not be worth it....
The little pin thingie with all the wires can be prised out with a finger nail. A bit of wiggling back and forth usually does the trick for me.

If you really want to charge your Kindle from your PC then buy a Palm Zire USB cable. It has two tips that split off the main cable. One is your USB small device plug and the other is a power tip that is perfect for the Kindle. I haven't used the wall charger since I bought this. And I use the USB to sync with my PC and the USB plug also will charge other devices so I leave this cable hooked up to my PC and and use it with my camera, MP3 players, Kindle, and compatible phones.

I found my cable for less than $5 shipped off of eBay. This was the single best accessory I purchased for the Kindle.

Thanks for that tip! I just ordered the Zire Cable.

Books can be stored internally or on SDHC.

Does reading a book stored on the SDHC run the power down faster than reading the same book stored internally?

Books can be stored internally or on SDHC.

Does reading a book stored on the SDHC run the power down faster than reading the same book stored internally? So they say. I haven't tested it.

Books can be stored internally or on SDHC.

Does reading a book stored on the SDHC run the power down faster than reading the same book stored internally?

Yes, it does.

Honestly, I don't see much of a difference reading off the SD card.

Honestly, I don't see much of a difference reading off the SD card.

That might depend on the specific card, undoubtedly some burn more juice than others. Checking the web I found the power used by some were 35-80mA for writing.

I've learned that the Kindle indexes new books. I had loaded 80 or 90 all at once and put them on the SD card.

I'm wondering how long it would take to index those books. This would keep the CPU and the SD card active, and if the indices were being written to the SD card - That would use the most power of all.

Ok, Something new to add with respect to low battery life.

I found my Kindle depleting in a day or less, with wispernet off. Charging it overnight didn't get the battery filled.

I tried:

Switching it off and on.
Resetting it.
Then thought to remove the battery to let it fully expire.
When I removed the battery, the plug, unexpectedly, slipped out of the socket without any effort. The wires didn't even stretch out.

That was odd!

:smack:Then I recalled having fumbled my Kindle the day before. The drop was from about waist high onto a solid floor. No damage, but I'm guessing the battery plug was loosened, just enough to cause a problem with the battery meter reading correctly.

So if you are have a sudden loss of battery life, I suggest checking to see that the battery plug is solidly seated. :2thumbsup