Troubleshooting Kindle Keyboard Won't Charge

Kasrielle · 03-05-2013, 11:10 PM

Hi all,

I tried to search the forum but couldn't find a thread that addressed my issue. I've had my kindle keyboard for exactly 2 years (ordered in Feb 2011) and have had few issues until now. Today I noticed the battery was just under 50% (and it's been losing a charge more rapidly lately, but still I can read for several hours a day for a week on a charge) so I plugged it into my desktop usb hub and did some housework through Calibre while it was charging. The yellow charge light come on and stayed on, so I didn't think there were any problems.

So I leave it charging and come back several hours later. The charging light is still yellow, but I didn't really worry, because the charging light means it's charging - right? Wrong. I ejected it the exclamation point low battery warning came on. So apparently they yellow charging light means nothing...

I got online and restarted the device as recommended by several threads. No change. It's now plugged into my tower (instead of usb hub) and yellow light is still on (and lightening bolt shows in battery icon,) but I have no confidence that it's charging.

Some extra info: I don't keep the wifi on except when downloading from amazon - it isn't on now. I've never used a wall charger except for the Kindle charger that I ordered from amazon. Lately it has charged much better using usb than through the wall charger.

So, wise ones - any suggestions? I'm I just SOL? I did break down this afternoon and order a paperwhite from amazon.ca - is my keyboard jealous and on strike?

HarryT · 03-06-2013, 04:10 AM

Sounds like a dead battery. It's not too difficult to replace the battery in a K3, I believe, should you wish to do so.

hawhill · 03-06-2013, 04:12 AM

Both Hub and PC most probably only deliver a minimal amount of charge. Keep it charging there for at least a day - and try turning the device on. The "empty battery" screen might still be showing when the device is powered off completely. That might have happened when you connected it for the first time. Software glitches can make the Kindle consume much more power than both Hub or PC can deliver (not so for the wall charger, though). It will turn off and you need to manually turn it on again.

Since you said that the wall charger didn't work well lately, though, there is a good chance that the battery is now below the limit of the charging circuitry and won't be charged anymore, i.e. it might be finally "dead" now. Don't expect the Kindle's battery life to continually fade out to zero. It will just drop dead below a certain threshold.

You could still try to sell it on ebay. Other people have Kindles and break their screens, cases, etc. - and might use yours for spare parts. Or you could decide to buy a replacement battery, but a fair warning: it's not for the unexperienced. Not too hard either, I think.

HarryT · 03-06-2013, 04:25 AM

To see if replacing the battery is something you feel you could tackle, take a look at this video. It doesn't look too bad to me.

hunnymonster · 03-06-2013, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

To see if replacing the battery is something you feel you could tackle, take a look at this video. It doesn't look too bad to me.

Trickiest part is parting the back panel from the frame. It seems to me that the graphite ones are simply clipped (9 out of 10 times for me)... the white ones (2 from a sample of 2) are also lightly glued.

Kasrielle · 03-06-2013, 10:04 AM

Plugging the cord into the tower instead of the usb hub after restarting seemed to get it charging again, and after a couple of hours it was charged to around 50%. I'll try again today at work and see if it continues charging. I suppose it makes sense that these batteries eventually die, and I have used to unit fairly regularly since I got it... It just seems to be getting more and more finicky about charging coupled with not holding a charge as long...

hunnymonster · 03-06-2013, 10:52 AM

The batteries degrade over time. Its an inevitable fact...

HarryT · 03-06-2013, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hunnymonster

The batteries degrade over time. Its an inevitable fact...

They do, but you'd be unlucky to have a battery die after 2 years.

hunnymonster · 03-06-2013, 02:06 PM

Depends how its been used though and cheap batteries fail sooner (I make the distinction between "cheap" and "inexpensive" )

HarryT · 03-06-2013, 02:15 PM

A battery failing in a 2-year-old Kindle Keyboard is NOT normal. You have only to read this forum to know that. I can't remember the last time we had a similar report.

GoSharks · 03-06-2013, 03:37 PM

My K2i's battery died after a little over two years of use....when I went looking for a replacement, the impression I had (at other forums) was that it was not unusual. The replacement battery I installed was DOA but the replacement's replacement is still going strong. FYI.

hunnymonster · 03-06-2013, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

A battery failing in a 2-year-old Kindle Keyboard is NOT normal. You have only to read this forum to know that. I can't remember the last time we had a similar report.

And there will always be statistical outliers (the 120 year old light bulb for example) too... Someone has to have them. Never suggested it was normal, only that it wasn't unreasonable that it might be the case.

Kasrielle · 03-06-2013, 06:06 PM

Well, I was able to attain a full charge today at work by plugging into my work tower. I just need to keep a good eye on it. Hopefully after Friday I won't be so dependent on this one as I should be receiving my PW...

evwool · 04-20-2013, 07:37 AM

When my first Kindle Keyboard didn't charge properly it turned out to be the USB cable itself - the connection on the end of the cable wasn't plugging in properly. I thought it would be something more serious like the slot in the Kindle itself but a new cable from Amazon solved the problem completely. Many items don't charge properly via USB hubs because their slots aren't as firm as the old desktop slots. The fact that Kasrielle's Kindle did hold its charge once she managed to charge it fully, indicates that it possibly isn't a battery problem. I was lucky enough to get a charging plug with my Kindle 3 Keyboard and that is invaluable.

crich70 · 04-23-2013, 12:57 AM

You might want to invest in one of these. Mine came with my original K3 and it works perfectly well with the PW as well so it can be used to charge both.
Adaptor for Kindle

03-05-2013, 11:10 PM	#1
Kasrielle Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast BC, Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Keyboard	Kindle Keyboard Won't Charge Hi all, I tried to search the forum but couldn't find a thread that addressed my issue. I've had my kindle keyboard for exactly 2 years (ordered in Feb 2011) and have had few issues until now. Today I noticed the battery was just under 50% (and it's been losing a charge more rapidly lately, but still I can read for several hours a day for a week on a charge) so I plugged it into my desktop usb hub and did some housework through Calibre while it was charging. The yellow charge light come on and stayed on, so I didn't think there were any problems. So I leave it charging and come back several hours later. The charging light is still yellow, but I didn't really worry, because the charging light means it's charging - right? Wrong. I ejected it the exclamation point low battery warning came on. So apparently they yellow charging light means nothing... I got online and restarted the device as recommended by several threads. No change. It's now plugged into my tower (instead of usb hub) and yellow light is still on (and lightening bolt shows in battery icon,) but I have no confidence that it's charging. Some extra info: I don't keep the wifi on except when downloading from amazon - it isn't on now. I've never used a wall charger except for the Kindle charger that I ordered from amazon. Lately it has charged much better using usb than through the wall charger. So, wise ones - any suggestions? I'm I just SOL? I did break down this afternoon and order a paperwhite from amazon.ca - is my keyboard jealous and on strike?

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03-06-2013, 04:10 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Sounds like a dead battery. It's not too difficult to replace the battery in a K3, I believe, should you wish to do so.

03-06-2013, 04:12 AM	#3
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	Both Hub and PC most probably only deliver a minimal amount of charge. Keep it charging there for at least a day - and try turning the device on. The "empty battery" screen might still be showing when the device is powered off completely. That might have happened when you connected it for the first time. Software glitches can make the Kindle consume much more power than both Hub or PC can deliver (not so for the wall charger, though). It will turn off and you need to manually turn it on again. Since you said that the wall charger didn't work well lately, though, there is a good chance that the battery is now below the limit of the charging circuitry and won't be charged anymore, i.e. it might be finally "dead" now. Don't expect the Kindle's battery life to continually fade out to zero. It will just drop dead below a certain threshold. You could still try to sell it on ebay. Other people have Kindles and break their screens, cases, etc. - and might use yours for spare parts. Or you could decide to buy a replacement battery, but a fair warning: it's not for the unexperienced. Not too hard either, I think.

03-06-2013, 04:25 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	To see if replacing the battery is something you feel you could tackle, take a look at this video. It doesn't look too bad to me.

03-06-2013, 10:04 AM	#6
Kasrielle Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast BC, Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Keyboard	Plugging the cord into the tower instead of the usb hub after restarting seemed to get it charging again, and after a couple of hours it was charged to around 50%. I'll try again today at work and see if it continues charging. I suppose it makes sense that these batteries eventually die, and I have used to unit fairly regularly since I got it... It just seems to be getting more and more finicky about charging coupled with not holding a charge as long...

03-06-2013, 10:52 AM	#7
hunnymonster Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 1252022 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: K3 wifi, K3 3G, K Touch, K Paperwhite	The batteries degrade over time. Its an inevitable fact...

03-06-2013, 02:06 PM	#9
hunnymonster Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 1252022 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: K3 wifi, K3 3G, K Touch, K Paperwhite	Depends how its been used though and cheap batteries fail sooner (I make the distinction between "cheap" and "inexpensive" )

03-06-2013, 02:15 PM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A battery failing in a 2-year-old Kindle Keyboard is NOT normal. You have only to read this forum to know that. I can't remember the last time we had a similar report.

03-06-2013, 03:37 PM	#11
GoSharks SQUIRREL!! Posts: 1,636 Karma: 8400000 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: California Device: K-Fire, PW2, PW3	My K2i's battery died after a little over two years of use....when I went looking for a replacement, the impression I had (at other forums) was that it was not unusual. The replacement battery I installed was DOA but the replacement's replacement is still going strong. FYI.

03-06-2013, 06:06 PM	#13
Kasrielle Enthusiast Posts: 36 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Sunshine Coast BC, Canada Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Keyboard	Well, I was able to attain a full charge today at work by plugging into my work tower. I just need to keep a good eye on it. Hopefully after Friday I won't be so dependent on this one as I should be receiving my PW...

04-20-2013, 07:37 AM	#14
evwool Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 16252 Join Date: May 2009 Location: UK Device: Palm M515, Palm VX, Kindle 3 WiFi	When my first Kindle Keyboard didn't charge properly it turned out to be the USB cable itself - the connection on the end of the cable wasn't plugging in properly. I thought it would be something more serious like the slot in the Kindle itself but a new cable from Amazon solved the problem completely. Many items don't charge properly via USB hubs because their slots aren't as firm as the old desktop slots. The fact that Kasrielle's Kindle did hold its charge once she managed to charge it fully, indicates that it possibly isn't a battery problem. I was lucky enough to get a charging plug with my Kindle 3 Keyboard and that is invaluable.

04-23-2013, 12:57 AM	#15
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	You might want to invest in one of these. Mine came with my original K3 and it works perfectly well with the PW as well so it can be used to charge both. Adaptor for Kindle