505 Battery Life - And Sony Support

Canterbury Tail · 01-13-2009, 09:37 PM

Okay. I've had my 505 since about August I believe, and I've always thought the battery was going down fast. Now the battery was dieing after 3 weeks, and 800 page turns. I just flipped the power switch after reading (never the full shutdown from the menu), and sometimes it would be sitting a few days between usage.

My wife also has one, she uses it the same way, but manages to get about 3,000 page turns out of hers and it lasts much longer.

Thinking mine really wasn't operating to spec I took it back to Sony Style in Toronto and they sent it off to be looked at. What came back was "battery up to spec, suggest customer checks USB port or buys AC adapter." Needless to say I wasn't happy about this as my wifes is charged the same way and it seems to be operating fine.

So I've brought it back, it's been plugged into my machine constant for 28 hours now (though the light has been off since I checked it this morning.) So lets see shall we.

Has anyone else been having similar really low battery lifes? I'm not a fast reader, so I'm reading usually only one book on a charge. I'm not changing font sizes, and not reformatting the book constantly. I've never used the audio features.

lilac_jive · 01-13-2009, 09:46 PM

Are you listening to music at all? That tends to drain the battery.

dordale · 01-14-2009, 12:52 AM

Also--Do you have an SD card or a Memory Stick in your reader? If so, try taking it out to see if that helps your battery life.

You might als try resetting your reader.

dordale

FizzyWater · 01-14-2009, 02:56 AM

Another thing I notice is a charge-eater is that I don't use the Sony software any more to move the books to SD card, so if has to paginate/format the book the first time I open it.

astra · 01-14-2009, 03:14 PM

3 weeks on the shelf + 800 pages = normal

Canterbury Tail · 01-14-2009, 03:48 PM

Don't use audio. Don't use SD cards or other memory cards. Plus 800 pages and 3 week for full discharge isn't normal, as said my wifes lasts about 3,000 pages over a much longer time used the same way.

yekim54 · 01-14-2009, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canterbury Tail

Don't use audio. Don't use SD cards or other memory cards. Plus 800 pages and 3 week for full discharge isn't normal, as said my wifes lasts about 3,000 pages over a much longer time used the same way.

This is just a wild guess on my part, but maybe it's your wife's electric personality that allows her Reader to maintain a longer charge. Or perhaps she is just better grounded than you are.

Canterbury Tail · 01-15-2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yekim54

This is just a wild guess on my part, but maybe it's your wife's electric personality that allows her Reader to maintain a longer charge. Or perhaps she is just better grounded than you are.

Actually she tends to fry things.

Problem is we use them back and forth at times, but my unit (we know the serial numbers) consistently performs at around 1/4 the battery capacity of hers.

jedavis1 · 01-16-2009, 08:11 AM

Are you saying that your wifes PRS505 will last for a couple of months on a charge? As Astra pointed out, the shelf life of the rechargeable batteries in the PRS505s seem to be between 3-4 weeks weather you use it or not, they aren't like alkaline batteries that can sit on shelfs for years at a time without much drainage... While I may get a month out of a charge, I too only read about 800-1000 pages per charge... I don't read more than an hour or so a day, sometimes not for a few days. But I would say that it isn't unusual to get 3 weeks and 800 pages. Now if you were only getting 800 pages in a week before the battery was gone, that would be not right...

astra · 01-16-2009, 10:07 AM

Sony Reader, unless completely shut down via menu, is always ON. When you push power button, all you do is activating a "hold on" button. It clears the screen and will disables all buttons. However, the main CPU keep on running. That's the main reason, why Sony Reader will have a flat battery in 3-4 weeks time even though it was not used much or was not used at all.

so as I said, 3 weeks and 800 pages is a perfect battery life for the reader. How your wife manages to prolong it, I am not going to speculate. I don't know. I am sure I and quite probably you as well, don't know all the details.

Canterbury Tail · 01-17-2009, 08:06 AM

Okay, guess I'll have to accept that the second one in the house is a freak of technology and lasts much longer. As said we tend to use each others as well and one consistently outperforms and lasts about 5-6 weeks and a few thousands of page turns without a charge. And I'm the only one who charges them.

HarryT · 01-17-2009, 09:06 AM

No Sony Reader will last 6 weeks on a charge unless you do a full "shut down" after reading. As Astra said, the normal "power switch" does nothing other than to blank the screen and disable most of the buttons; the machine is still running and will drain its battery in around 3 to 3 and a half weeks if left unused.

Canterbury Tail · 01-17-2009, 05:44 PM

I don't know what to say then, but one definitely lasts for a few thousand page turns and goes around 5-6 weeks between charges, while the other about 1/3 the page turns and half the time. Maybe it is a freak one, but it definitely does last and neither of us do more than rock the power button when we put the book away.

astra · 01-17-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canterbury Tail

I don't know what to say then, but one definitely lasts for a few thousand page turns and goes around 5-6 weeks between charges, while the other about 1/3 the page turns and half the time. Maybe it is a freak one, but it definitely does last and neither of us do more than rock the power button when we put the book away.

See? Rejoice!
This is good news, isn't it? You were in dismal mood, with a heavy weight on your heart informed us that one of your reader is faulty.

BOOM!

Instead you learn that one of your readers is perfectly healthy pup while another reader(freak) works himself out into berserked monster that no one else is lucky to have.

There is always other side of the coin

zelda_pinwheel · 01-17-2009, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

See? Rejoice!
This is good news, isn't it? You were in dismal mood, with a heavy weight on your heart informed us that one of your reader is faulty.

BOOM!

Instead you learn that one of your readers is perfectly healthy pup while another reader(freak) works himself out into berserked monster that no one else is lucky to have.

There is always other side of the coin

01-13-2009, 09:37 PM	#1
Canterbury Tail Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony Reader	505 Battery Life - And Sony Support Okay. I've had my 505 since about August I believe, and I've always thought the battery was going down fast. Now the battery was dieing after 3 weeks, and 800 page turns. I just flipped the power switch after reading (never the full shutdown from the menu), and sometimes it would be sitting a few days between usage. My wife also has one, she uses it the same way, but manages to get about 3,000 page turns out of hers and it lasts much longer. Thinking mine really wasn't operating to spec I took it back to Sony Style in Toronto and they sent it off to be looked at. What came back was "battery up to spec, suggest customer checks USB port or buys AC adapter." Needless to say I wasn't happy about this as my wifes is charged the same way and it seems to be operating fine. So I've brought it back, it's been plugged into my machine constant for 28 hours now (though the light has been off since I checked it this morning.) So lets see shall we. Has anyone else been having similar really low battery lifes? I'm not a fast reader, so I'm reading usually only one book on a charge. I'm not changing font sizes, and not reformatting the book constantly. I've never used the audio features.

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01-13-2009, 09:46 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Are you listening to music at all? That tends to drain the battery.

01-14-2009, 12:52 AM	#3
dordale Wizard Posts: 1,731 Karma: 3472866 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony PRS-650 & 350; Kindle Voyage; Kobo Aura HD, Aura One, and Forma	Also--Do you have an SD card or a Memory Stick in your reader? If so, try taking it out to see if that helps your battery life. You might als try resetting your reader. dordale

01-14-2009, 02:56 AM	#4
FizzyWater You kids get off my lawn! Posts: 4,220 Karma: 73492664 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Columbus, Ohio Device: Oasis 2 and Libra H2O and half a dozen older models I can't let go of	Another thing I notice is a charge-eater is that I don't use the Sony software any more to move the books to SD card, so if has to paginate/format the book the first time I open it.

01-14-2009, 03:14 PM	#5
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	3 weeks on the shelf + 800 pages = normal

01-14-2009, 03:48 PM	#6
Canterbury Tail Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony Reader	Don't use audio. Don't use SD cards or other memory cards. Plus 800 pages and 3 week for full discharge isn't normal, as said my wifes lasts about 3,000 pages over a much longer time used the same way.

01-16-2009, 08:11 AM	#9
jedavis1 Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 148 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Huntington, IN US Device: Sony PRS-505	Are you saying that your wifes PRS505 will last for a couple of months on a charge? As Astra pointed out, the shelf life of the rechargeable batteries in the PRS505s seem to be between 3-4 weeks weather you use it or not, they aren't like alkaline batteries that can sit on shelfs for years at a time without much drainage... While I may get a month out of a charge, I too only read about 800-1000 pages per charge... I don't read more than an hour or so a day, sometimes not for a few days. But I would say that it isn't unusual to get 3 weeks and 800 pages. Now if you were only getting 800 pages in a week before the battery was gone, that would be not right...

01-16-2009, 10:07 AM	#10
astra The Introvert Posts: 8,307 Karma: 1000077497 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United Kingdom Device: Sony Reader PRS-650 & 505 & 500	Sony Reader, unless completely shut down via menu, is always ON. When you push power button, all you do is activating a "hold on" button. It clears the screen and will disables all buttons. However, the main CPU keep on running. That's the main reason, why Sony Reader will have a flat battery in 3-4 weeks time even though it was not used much or was not used at all. so as I said, 3 weeks and 800 pages is a perfect battery life for the reader. How your wife manages to prolong it, I am not going to speculate. I don't know. I am sure I and quite probably you as well, don't know all the details.

01-17-2009, 08:06 AM	#11
Canterbury Tail Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony Reader	Okay, guess I'll have to accept that the second one in the house is a freak of technology and lasts much longer. As said we tend to use each others as well and one consistently outperforms and lasts about 5-6 weeks and a few thousands of page turns without a charge. And I'm the only one who charges them.

01-17-2009, 09:06 AM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	No Sony Reader will last 6 weeks on a charge unless you do a full "shut down" after reading. As Astra said, the normal "power switch" does nothing other than to blank the screen and disable most of the buttons; the machine is still running and will drain its battery in around 3 to 3 and a half weeks if left unused.

01-17-2009, 05:44 PM	#13
Canterbury Tail Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony Reader	I don't know what to say then, but one definitely lasts for a few thousand page turns and goes around 5-6 weeks between charges, while the other about 1/3 the page turns and half the time. Maybe it is a freak one, but it definitely does last and neither of us do more than rock the power button when we put the book away.

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