Kindle 3 Battery Performance vs K2

[wlaine]

Since I saw an "old thread" notice advising me to start a new one, I skipped the previous discussion of K3 battery performance.

One of the main reasons why I sold my K2 & bought a K3 was the better performance of its battery, but I have seen no improvement over the K2.

I get about 12 hours of reading with my K3 if I let it discharge until the warning appears. After reading so many complaints about the amazonkindle hinged unlighted cover causing problems, I returned my original K3 & cover. However, I get no longer battery performance with the replacement & a cover without hinges. I use WiFi just long enough to download a few books or samples. I use the third smallest font. I have about 600 items on my K3. I have frequently checked for items stuck indexing & found none. I underline & make notes frequently. I also use the cursor to define words.

These are the same habits I had with the K2. If Jeff Bezos' claims are true, how could I not be able to read longer on a charge than with the K2?

[Piper_]

It sounds like you covered the usual bases - cover, wifi, indexing. The only other things I can think of is temperature - either too heat or cold - and a few reports that topaz books can get stuck and/or don't show that they're indexing.

I can read for 12 hours straight on my K3 3G+wifi at medium font and only lose 1/4 to half my battery.

If it were me, and I knew temperature wasn't an issue, I would try these fixes, in order from least to most desperate:

• A full reboot
  
• Allow it to run down as far as I could, then charge it overnight - or at least 8 hours
  
• Delete any topaz books
  
• Delete indexes
  
• Do a reset to factory conditions

If none of those worked, I'd call and have them send me a new one.

Good luck.

[abookreader]

Just wondering - how many books do you have stored on your Kindle? A complete re-index was recommended for my K3 but since I have over 1000 books on there and it will take some time, I haven't done it yet. I expect it to take about 12 to 13 hours and I didn't want to be Kindle-less for that long. These were the instructions sent.

Please use the following instructions specific to your device:

On a PC:

1. Connect your Kindle to your computer.
2. [Windows XP: In Windows Explorer, select Tools -> Folder Options.] [Windows Vista/7: Click Start, select Control Panel, and select "Folder Options" from the Control Panel menu.] 3. Select the View tab.
4. In the View List, select the radio button to Show Hidden Files and Folders and uncheck Hide Protected Operating System Files if available.
5. Deselect the checkbox to Hide Protected Operating System Files. (You may want to re-enable this after re-indexing your Kindle.) 6. Open the Kindle internal memory on the PC.
7. Open the System folder on the Kindle disk.
8. Open the Search Indexes folder inside the System folder.
9. Select all files inside the Search Indexes folder and move them to the Recycle Bin.
10. Disconnect the Kindle from the computer.
11. Connect the Kindle to a power source.

On a Mac running OS X:

1. Connect your Kindle to your computer.
2. Open the Kindle internal memory on the Mac.
3. Open the System folder on the Kindle disk.
4. Open the Search Indexes folder inside the System folder.
5. Select all files inside the Search Indexes folder and move them to the Trash.
6. Disconnect the Kindle from the computer.
7. Connect the Kindle to a power source.

The indexing process will be complete within 24 hours. Please leave the Kindle connected to a power source for this time frame. Once the process is complete, your device will return to normal battery life.

If the problem persists, please contact us for further support at 1-866-321-8851 or 1-206-266-0927 so we can better determine how to assist you.

If you do need to contact us again, please have your Kindle fully charged and connected to the charger when you call.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Kindle.

Thank you for your recent inquiry. Did I solve your problem?

[wlaine]

Thanks, Piper, for the advice. I keep my Kindle at room temperature. I have tried the full reboot, in vain. I don't think I have any topaz files. If you mean letting the battery run down after the warning message, I haven't tried that yet. Is it safe? I haven't tried deleting the index files & re-indexing. I'm afraid of re-setting to factory defaults without knowing how much information I'd lose, like notes, bookmarks, clippings & my place in various books. Perhaps, all of this could be backed up.

Thanks, abookreader, for the instructions for re-indexing.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by wlaine

Thanks, Piper, for the advice. I keep my Kindle at room temperature. I have tried the full reboot, in vain. I don't think I have any topaz files. If you mean letting the battery run down after the warning message, I haven't tried that yet. Is it safe? I haven't tried deleting the index files & re-indexing. I'm afraid of re-setting to factory defaults without knowing how much information I'd lose, like notes, bookmarks, clippings & my place in various books. Perhaps, all of this could be backed up.

Thanks, abookreader, for the instructions for re-indexing.

Sure, wlaine.

The easiest way to tell if you have topaz files is to hook up the usb and look at the file names. Extensions of .tpz or .azw1 are topaz. (There might be another. If you see anything other than azw, .mobi I'd question it.)

As for letting the battery drain below the warning level, I'm not sure enough to tell you. I've seen conflicting advice on that.

Yes, if you reset to factory defaults, you'll have to restore those files from a backup. (Copied to your computer over usb)

It's a pain, and you should restore the books gradually, and while plugged in to AC, as it will have to re-index each book.

But all of these steps are easier than having to re-download each book to a new kindle if you get a replacement. A backup of files downloaded to one Kindle won't work on any other kindle if it has DRM.

If your Kindle is otherwise good, I would do all I could to keep it.

[bZkindle]

Originally Posted by Piper_

[*]Delete any topaz books

Why would topaz format cause the battery to run down? I don't think I've heard that before.
I don't get all that great battery life on my K3 either. Perhaps that's my issue as I know I do have a couple topaz books.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by bZkindle

Why would topaz format cause the battery to run down? I don't think I've heard that before.
I don't get all that great battery life on my K3 either. Perhaps that's my issue as I know I do have a couple topaz books.

It does sound weird. The only explanation I've seen is that topaz is more likely to get stuck indexing and not show up as still indexing when you do a search.

Who knows. Just figure it's worth a try.

[HarryT]

You definitely have an issue; I only recharge my Kindle every few weeks. The K3's battery life is (for me) significantly improved over that of the K2.