Touch Kobo Touch battery issues - some concerns.

Tintin · 10-05-2012, 08:39 AM

Thought I'd share some experiences with you in the hope that you can counsel me or offer some advice!!
I've had my Kobo Touch for about five months now and have been pretty much in love with it.
Recently however, a few little niggles have raised their heads and they may or may not be related.
Firstly, my battery seems to be losing it's charge in hours rather than days now and I am most concerned.
I usually charge the battery on a standard charger bought for purpose on eBay and have had no previous issues. Then the device will also charge briefly when I connect it to my laptop to load and synchronise etc, usually every other day.

I have wifi switched off - the ikon at top shows greyed out bars with x beside it.

I have page refresh at every 5 pages.

I read about an hour a day, at different intervals and usually put in sleep mode afterwards.

Basically I have tried every optimum setting as suggested in these forums (thanks.)

Result - higher than average battery drain!!

My books are from all over the place - Kobo Store, Google, previous ereaders. The book I am currently reading sometimes sticks - could this be relevant??

My other niggle is the hit and miss experience with synching but I have always put this down to my BT Infinity Wifi and its vagaries. I was in Vietnam recently, and was able to sych effortlessly using free hotel wifi connections for goodness sake! This I have learnt to live with but could it affect battery life in long run even though I keep wifi disabled?

Questions:

Could someone advise me if a factory reset might help? Maybe some corrupt epub files might be causing problems?

If I reload my books, should I use Calibre or drag and drop?

I have about 300 books on my device. Is this affecting battery? Is there an optimum amount in anyone's experience?

Could a reset help my wifi issues? My wife has a Kobo Touch bought at same time and has no problems, damn her impudence!! Me, I'm a bloke and like to play around with it a bit more.

Please please share your experiences with me and offer me help in my hour of need. Mmmm, Kobo Glo looks good!
Thanking you in advance...

feenix1363 · 10-05-2012, 11:55 AM

My first guess would be that it's a corrupt EPUB file. I've known issues like this myself when using 'dubious' EPUBs.

An easy way to test it is to remove your library and just keep one book on there, if it still drains try a different ebook. If it still loses its charge over two different ebooks then I'd lean towards suspecting the device itself.

Tintin · 10-05-2012, 12:57 PM

Thanks Feenix - I was afraid you might say that! Dubious indeed! I think I will take your advice and try removing some suspect epubs!

davidfor · 10-05-2012, 09:02 PM

I think what Feenix has suggested is a good starting point, but wanted to make a couple of other comments. Also, if it doesn't work, then try the reset.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tintin

Firstly, my battery seems to be losing it's charge in hours rather than days now and I am most concerned.
I usually charge the battery on a standard charger bought for purpose on eBay and have had no previous issues. Then the device will also charge briefly when I connect it to my laptop to load and synchronise etc, usually every other day.

The Touch uses a Li-Ion battery. These gradually lose capacity, but it should only lose about 20% after the first year.

Quote:

My other niggle is the hit and miss experience with synching but I have always put this down to my BT Infinity Wifi and its vagaries. I was in Vietnam recently, and was able to sych effortlessly using free hotel wifi connections for goodness sake! This I have learnt to live with but could it affect battery life in long run even though I keep wifi disabled?

I have been getting some problems on my home network but zero at work. Signal strength is about the same, but I am using a different router at home. The only other difference is that my home connection is less than 4Mbps vs the 50Mbps at work. I have the feeling that sometimes the connection to Kobo times out, and it decides the WiFi is at fault and askes to reconnect.

Quote:

If I reload my books, should I use Calibre or drag and drop?

I would suggest calibre, but some might say I was biased

Quote:

I have about 300 books on my device. Is this affecting battery? Is there an optimum amount in anyone's experience?

Well it will have an affect because every time you use the library it opens the database of books. And the more books, the longer any queries against the database will take and use more power. But I wouldn't think that 300 books would be enough to make noticeable difference.

Quote:

Could a reset help my wifi issues? My wife has a Kobo Touch bought at same time and has no problems, damn her impudence!! Me, I'm a bloke and like to play around with it a bit more.

My wife won't let me touch her laptop. For some reason she thinks I am more likely to break things. Of course, if something does go wrong, guess who's fault it is.

Quote:

Please please share your experiences with me and offer me help in my hour of need. Mmmm, Kobo Glo looks good!
Thanking you in advance...

Ahh, now we get to the real reason for the post. OK, how about this diagnosis:

Your Kobo Touch is kaput. It is obvious you will need to replace it by buying a nice new Kobo Glo.

Does that work for you?

Tintin · 10-06-2012, 03:40 AM

Thank you also Davidfor. Me wanting a Glo? Whatever gave you that idea??!!
Not long to Christmas!

murg · 10-06-2012, 03:42 AM

Christmas is coming early this year?

Katel · 10-06-2012, 04:51 AM

Does anyone know how long the battery should last before needing recharge? I've only had KT for a few weeks but find it needs recharging every few hours. It's no big deal, but I just wondered.

taming · 10-06-2012, 04:56 AM

I read 2-3 hours a day minimum and top up my KT every couple of weeks. It's never out of juice when I do it. If you can only go a few hours, Katel, perhaps you should think about returning it under the one year warranty for manufacturing defects.

Katel · 10-06-2012, 06:20 AM

Thanks Taming, what I better do then is let it run right out then see exactly what
charge I'm getting out of it. There will be no problem with returning it (Officeworks) but with a new device then do I have to re-register and so on? In all other ways it works well, and I love it.

taming · 10-06-2012, 06:47 AM

You can use the same Kobo account, but you will have to go through the setup process again.

davidfor · 10-06-2012, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katel

Thanks Taming, what I better do then is let it run right out then see exactly what
charge I'm getting out of it.

The Touch uses a Li-Ion battery, so it doesn't need to be conditioned. But, the "fuel gauge" can get out of sync and report the charge level incorrectly. A couple of full discharge/recharge cycles might fix this. If it still discharging in the time you are seeing, then it is faulty and you should take it back.

Katel · 10-06-2012, 10:27 PM

OK, thanks davidfor.

Tintin · 10-07-2012, 05:55 AM

Update. I deleted two files of "dubious" origin (both coincidentally by the same author.( When I was reading these books, the screen sometimes froze and did not respond to touch so something was seriously rotten in Denmark.
Since deletion, I have gone two days since previous charge, reading maybe a hundred pages a day, and the battery indicator has only gone down slightly.
Fingers crossed.

TonyToews · 10-07-2012, 05:26 PM

TinTin, very interesting and good to know that wonky books might be the cause. I have 700 or 800 books in mine with only a bit of sluggishness when viewing the list of books and startup time.

Tintin · 10-08-2012, 07:41 AM

To TonyToews - 700+ books?? I thought I was bad! It's the kid in the sweetshop scenario, I know I will never read them all unless I vecome a hermit but it's a nice feeling that you have them there!
that said, anyone like to say what the optimum number of books is for the device?

10-05-2012, 08:39 AM	#1
Tintin Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 4158 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Lisburn Device: Kobo Glo	Kobo Touch battery issues - some concerns. Thought I'd share some experiences with you in the hope that you can counsel me or offer some advice!! I've had my Kobo Touch for about five months now and have been pretty much in love with it. Recently however, a few little niggles have raised their heads and they may or may not be related. Firstly, my battery seems to be losing it's charge in hours rather than days now and I am most concerned. I usually charge the battery on a standard charger bought for purpose on eBay and have had no previous issues. Then the device will also charge briefly when I connect it to my laptop to load and synchronise etc, usually every other day. I have wifi switched off - the ikon at top shows greyed out bars with x beside it. I have page refresh at every 5 pages. I read about an hour a day, at different intervals and usually put in sleep mode afterwards. Basically I have tried every optimum setting as suggested in these forums (thanks.) Result - higher than average battery drain!! My books are from all over the place - Kobo Store, Google, previous ereaders. The book I am currently reading sometimes sticks - could this be relevant?? My other niggle is the hit and miss experience with synching but I have always put this down to my BT Infinity Wifi and its vagaries. I was in Vietnam recently, and was able to sych effortlessly using free hotel wifi connections for goodness sake! This I have learnt to live with but could it affect battery life in long run even though I keep wifi disabled? Questions: Could someone advise me if a factory reset might help? Maybe some corrupt epub files might be causing problems? If I reload my books, should I use Calibre or drag and drop? I have about 300 books on my device. Is this affecting battery? Is there an optimum amount in anyone's experience? Could a reset help my wifi issues? My wife has a Kobo Touch bought at same time and has no problems, damn her impudence!! Me, I'm a bloke and like to play around with it a bit more. Please please share your experiences with me and offer me help in my hour of need. Mmmm, Kobo Glo looks good! Thanking you in advance...

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10-05-2012, 11:55 AM	#2
feenix1363 Lost and clueless Posts: 194 Karma: 233336 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Glo, Kindle for Andriod, Kobo for Android	My first guess would be that it's a corrupt EPUB file. I've known issues like this myself when using 'dubious' EPUBs. An easy way to test it is to remove your library and just keep one book on there, if it still drains try a different ebook. If it still loses its charge over two different ebooks then I'd lean towards suspecting the device itself.

10-05-2012, 12:57 PM	#3
Tintin Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 4158 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Lisburn Device: Kobo Glo	Thanks Feenix - I was afraid you might say that! Dubious indeed! I think I will take your advice and try removing some suspect epubs!

10-06-2012, 03:40 AM	#5
Tintin Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 4158 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Lisburn Device: Kobo Glo	Thank you also Davidfor. Me wanting a Glo? Whatever gave you that idea??!! Not long to Christmas!

10-06-2012, 03:42 AM	#6
murg No Comment Posts: 3,238 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	Christmas is coming early this year?

10-06-2012, 04:51 AM	#7
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Does anyone know how long the battery should last before needing recharge? I've only had KT for a few weeks but find it needs recharging every few hours. It's no big deal, but I just wondered.

10-06-2012, 04:56 AM	#8
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	I read 2-3 hours a day minimum and top up my KT every couple of weeks. It's never out of juice when I do it. If you can only go a few hours, Katel, perhaps you should think about returning it under the one year warranty for manufacturing defects.

10-06-2012, 06:20 AM	#9
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Thanks Taming, what I better do then is let it run right out then see exactly what charge I'm getting out of it. There will be no problem with returning it (Officeworks) but with a new device then do I have to re-register and so on? In all other ways it works well, and I love it.

10-06-2012, 06:47 AM	#10
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	You can use the same Kobo account, but you will have to go through the setup process again.

10-06-2012, 10:27 PM	#12
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	OK, thanks davidfor.

10-07-2012, 05:55 AM	#13
Tintin Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 4158 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Lisburn Device: Kobo Glo	Update. I deleted two files of "dubious" origin (both coincidentally by the same author.( When I was reading these books, the screen sometimes froze and did not respond to touch so something was seriously rotten in Denmark. Since deletion, I have gone two days since previous charge, reading maybe a hundred pages a day, and the battery indicator has only gone down slightly. Fingers crossed.

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10-07-2012, 05:26 PM	#14
TonyToews Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 351398 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kobo Vox and Glo	TinTin, very interesting and good to know that wonky books might be the cause. I have 700 or 800 books in mine with only a bit of sluggishness when viewing the list of books and startup time.

10-08-2012, 07:41 AM	#15
Tintin Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 4158 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Lisburn Device: Kobo Glo	To TonyToews - 700+ books?? I thought I was bad! It's the kid in the sweetshop scenario, I know I will never read them all unless I vecome a hermit but it's a nice feeling that you have them there! that said, anyone like to say what the optimum number of books is for the device?