Troubleshooting HELP!! Kindle DX Graphite Battery Drains Issue

[benong]

I have read the earlier thread on this subject and follow every methods memtioned but I'm still having this problem:-

My Kindle DX Graphite is only about half a year old and is running version 2.5.8. Every time I charge it full (usinng household main power with the supplied Amazon charger/USB cable for overnight) and the battery lasted less then 2 days, with probably 2 hours reading each day. All this while 3G is off and I hardly use the search/find function. Even with the Kindle DX switch-off (blank screen instead of sleep mode), the battery is discharging! I have changed to a new battery (purchased from protaTronics.com) but the same thing happens. Therefore, I doublt it is the faulty battery problem.

It seems to me that some processes are always runing irrespective of where the machine is in sleep-mode or completely switched off!
So far, I have tried Restart and Reset to Factory Default (from the menu) several times but the problem persists. I have also did search for non-existence word but always return with "0 find" and it is not showing any reindexing at all. Also, there are only about 10 books (including some in PDF) in my Kindle DX.

I am desperately in need for someone to help me solve this irritating problem of having to charge it every couple of days. If possible, also how to identify what processes are running in the background and how to kill them off.

Your experience and help will be grately appreciated.
I really look forward to a solution so that I can start enjoying this wonderful reader as it should!

[ThomasC]

I had a similar thing happen to me earlier this year after I accidentally let my DX run too long and got a low battery alarm, then shutdown. When I got home I charged it up overnight and it seemed fine the next morning.

However, I then started to notice the battery bar going down a lot faster than normal and like you I seemed to need to recharge it at least every 2 days, or even 1 day if I had been using 3G.

I tried a few things but what seemed to work for me was to charge it up overnight, take it off the charger in the morning, do a menu/setting/restart, then put it back on the charger all day till I got back from work. Then I took it off the charger, did a menu/settings/restart and read for a while (hour or 2). I then put it back on charge overnight, repeating the process....

After a few days doing this, my DXG seemed to be back to normal battery life. I only need to charge it every couple of weeks, maybe once a week if I've been using 3G a bit.

Another thing I've noticed with my DXG, from the start, was that if you just charge it until the green light goes on, I don't think it's really fully charged. It always seems better for me to leave it hooked up to the charger for a few more hours (or overnight) even after the green light just goes on.

If you cannot sort it out, give Amazon CS a call but maybe don't mention that you've replaced the battery (unless it was done by an approved Amazon repairer). Good luck with this.

Cheers,
Tom

[benong]

Thanks Tom! I'll start doing it like you descibed from today and hope it works. I'll certainly keep the forum inform of the outcome after a few days, maybe a week!

[GerZah]

Hi, sorry for unearthing such an old thread, but as I stumbled across the very same problem and found this thread via Google, I'd like to add what worked for me:

The problem seems to be a energy saving bug in software version 2.5.8. Once you use 3G, and even it you deactivate it, it will still drain your battery, leading to a "Battery Critical" in less than a week.

What seems to work is: After switching off 3G, reboot the DX, and it will hold its battery level for a long time.

... I wrote this down in a blog post as well (both in German and in English).

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by GerZah

Hi, sorry for unearthing such an old thread, but as I stumbled across the very same problem and found this thread via Google, I'd like to add what worked for me:

The problem seems to be a energy saving bug in software version 2.5.8. Once you use 3G, and even it you deactivate it, it will still drain your battery, leading to a "Battery Critical" in less than a week.

What seems to work is: After switching off 3G, reboot the DX, and it will hold its battery level for a long time.

... I wrote this down in a blog post as well (both in German and in English).

I have 2x DXG's (with 2.5.8 firmware) and neither goes into critical battery level after 1 week. This would happen only if I left the 3G = on. With it turned off it lasts a long time.

My older backup DXG retains ~80% charge when left unused for 1.5 months. I just top it off every couple of months.

One thing I have found that saves a little battery power is to go to the aa font menu and switch the bottom screen orientation from auto (where it goes to after a restart btw) to upright (or whatever you like). This disables the built in screen sensor and may result in a little power saving.

[Zimmy]

My DX has done this since day 1 no matter if I have 3G on or off.
The battery last longer with 3G off but nowhere near the level of my Kindle Touch or Paperwhite.

I'll give these instructions a try. Thanks.

[GerZah]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

I have 2x DXG's (with 2.5.8 firmware) and neither goes into critical battery level after 1 week. This would happen only if I left the 3G = on. With it turned off it lasts a long time.

Exactly. Currently I'm in a cycle where I used the DXG (I suppose that means Kindle DX / Free 3G) last Friday a lot, like 6 hours, two days of standby Sat/Sun, plus I've used it Mon-Thu this week for 2-3 hours per day – and it's still at ~50%. — No noticeable drain during standby; that is after rebooting that thing after the last use of 3G.

My older backup DXG retains ~80% charge when left unused for 1.5 months. I just top it off every couple of months.

That's certainly what one would expect, and what I receive from my Kindle 3 (3G/WiFi) with wireless turned off.

All I can say is: My experience is that (at least on my DXG) the 3G mobile won't fall back into powerless hibernation when being turned off – but only by a manual reboot.

One thing I have found that saves a little battery power is to go to the aa font menu and switch the bottom screen orientation from auto (where it goes to after a restart btw) to upright (or whatever you like). This disables the built in screen sensor and may result in a little power saving.

I figured that, too. It totally makes sense that when silently reading a page, the activated sensor will still check the orientation at least once a second to do its magic. Certainly no big deal on a phone with an illuminated screen, but useless power consumption on an e-ink device that sits on a reading desk.

I'd love to turn this off permanently, but it's always back on after a reboot.