K3 battery time worse when using 3G and wifi?

twister · 10-07-2010, 10:57 AM

I did a search and did not find an answer.

I have a K3 3G/wifi model and have noticed my battery only lasts about a 6 days (charging now and fully charged last Friday). I read about 2 - 3 hours a day. I always have wireless on. I do not use the web browser. I have 2 blogs that update multiple times daily. This is far short of the 3 weeks with wireless claim by amazon. I have it connecting to wifi with router at work and home. Am I getting less than a week of battery time because I'm using 3G and wifi? Would I get better battery life if I only used 3G? Has anyone compared battery time on 3G model with 3G only vs. 3G and wifi?

I read a few threads where people disabled wifi. I'm not sure how that is done. Would I just have Kindle forget my 2 routers?

Thanks!

kindlekitten · 10-07-2010, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twister

I did a search and did not find an answer.

I have a K3 3G/wifi model and have noticed my battery only lasts about a 6 days (charging now and fully charged last Friday). I read about 2 - 3 hours a day. I always have wireless on. I do not use the web browser. I have 2 blogs that update multiple times daily. This is far short of the 3 weeks with wireless claim by amazon. I have it connecting to wifi with router at work and home. Am I getting less than a week of battery time because I'm using 3G and wifi? Would I get better battery life if I only used 3G? Has anyone compared battery time on 3G model with 3G only vs. 3G and wifi?

I read a few threads where people disabled wifi. I'm not sure how that is done. Would I just have Kindle forget my 2 routers?

Thanks!

yes!. you should keep it of when not using it

DiapDealer · 10-07-2010, 11:19 AM

Don't forget that battery life is going to vary wildly based on your 3G signal strength. A weak signal will drain your battery quicker than a strong one.

twister · 10-07-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

yes!. you should keep it of when not using it

Keep wifi off when I'm not using it? That really is not what I'm asking. Is battery time improved dramatically using only 3G instead of 3G plus wifi?

DiapDealer · 10-07-2010, 11:53 AM

I would guess the battery time gained by using 3G only as opposed to 3G+Wifi would be very minimal... considering that 3G is the much larger "drainer" of the two.

TomF · 10-07-2010, 12:01 PM

With the Kindle 3G (Wi-Fi & 3G), when you turn wireless on it will search for a previously set up Wi-Fi connection. If it finds one, it will turn 3G off and use the Wi-Fi connection. If it doesn't find one it will leave 3G on. You can't explicitly turn on one or the other and you can't explicitly turn off one or the other. If wireless is turned off, both 3G and Wi-Fi are turned off.

3G uses more battery power than Wi-Fi. So the best power savings will be to leave Wi-Fi off. If you have a wireless connection in your home and set it up on your Kindle, then leaving wireless on when in your home will automatically use the Wi-Fi connection and give you better power consumption than using the 3G connection.

In terms of what Amazon claims for battery usage, for both the 3G and the Wi-Fi (only) models they claim up to one month with wireless off. For the Wi-Fi model they claim up to three weeks with wireless turned on. For the 3G model they claim up to 10 days with wireless turned on. It is clear from this comparison that the best power savings is with wireless off. For the 3G model, connecting to your home network every time you turn wireless on should get you nearly the three weeks of battery usage claimed for the Wi-Fi model.

Piper_ · 10-07-2010, 12:21 PM

6 days is pretty short, even with wireless on, unless you have really poor signal.

Are you also adding books to your Kindle during those days? Indexing them sucks battery life, so I plug mine in whenever I add a new books.

Other than that, do you use the Kindle cover with the built-in light? It will also chew through your battery.

twister · 10-07-2010, 02:25 PM

I'm not buying books very often. I'm not using light. Very odd. I truly think I'm getting worse battery life on my K3 than I did on my K2 with wireless on. I'm going with only 3G when I get a full charge to see if it is better. I will update when I have some info.

Another thing I have noticed with K3 is that it says EDGE instead of 3G which is on my K2. Is my K2 also on EDGE but lists it as 3G? I wonder if EDGE eats up more battery than 3G...

cvkemp · 10-07-2010, 02:59 PM

The best thing to do is not have either on when you do not need it. Both wifi and 3g has a transmitter and a reciever that is going to drain the battery. I only have my wifi on when I need it. And I do not yet have my cover with the light but I got my k3 9/14 and I have not had to recharge the battery yet.

TenaciousBadger · 10-07-2010, 03:21 PM

i read on my Kindle an average of 5 hours a day, give or take. after 7 days the battery is way past the halfway mark. my wifi is off. i have over 100 books on it.
i think it's safe the month long things was an advertising smoke screen. it'll probably last 1 month if you just look at how pretty it is in its case on the shelf

but i can't say i'm disappointed. one week is plenty of autonomy.
too bad you can't take it on a desert island. __sigh__

Piper_ · 10-07-2010, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twister

Another thing I have noticed with K3 is that it says EDGE instead of 3G which is on my K2. Is my K2 also on EDGE but lists it as 3G? I wonder if EDGE eats up more battery than 3G...

That sounds very odd.

I'm not knowledgeable enough to answer you, but I'll bump it for those who are...

TomF · 10-07-2010, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twister

I'm going with only 3G when I get a full charge to see if it is better. I will update when I have some info.

As indicated above in several posts above and by Amazon's stated battery life expectations, using 3G will burn the most power. There is no need to test "only 3G" to see if it is better because it is not.

You will get the best power consumption with wireless on if you have a Wi-Fi network at home and connect to it or only turn it on when you are within range of a Wi-Fi connection and you connect to it. You only need to do this once. Each and every time after that it will connect automatically.

You will not get the best power consumption with "only 3G" on. If you take your Kindle out of the house with wireless on it will most certainly revert to 3G, thus using the most power. If you want the best battery consumption just leave wireless off when you don't need it.

twister · 10-07-2010, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomF

As indicated above in several posts above and by Amazon's stated battery life expectations, using 3G will burn the most power. There is no need to test "only 3G" to see if it is better because it is not.

You will get the best power consumption with wireless on if you have a Wi-Fi network at home and connect to it or only turn it on when you are within range of a Wi-Fi connection and you connect to it. You only need to do this once. Each and every time after that it will connect automatically.

You will not get the best power consumption with "only 3G" on. If you take your Kindle out of the house with wireless on it will most certainly revert to 3G, thus using the most power. If you want the best battery consumption just leave wireless off when you don't need it.

While I agree with your logic I'm still going to try 3G only. As I stated I get better battery time on K2 with wireless (3G) than I do with my K3 with wireless (3G and wifi). It makes zero sense. The K3 is supposed to have better battery time than K2. Understand as well that on a typical work day with my K3 I'm on wifi at least 20 out of 24 hours (with router at home and at work that K3 connects to).

Thanks!

sirmaru · 10-07-2010, 07:24 PM

I leave WiFi on all the time on my Kindle WiFi 3 since I sync between my PC Kindle application and the K3 all the time. I read about 2 hours per day.

I also play MP3 songs after reading my K3 bible each morning.

I got 20 days for my first battery charge after receiving the low battery notice.

TomF · 10-08-2010, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twister

While I agree with your logic I'm still going to try 3G only. As I stated I get better battery time on K2 with wireless (3G) than I do with my K3 with wireless (3G and wifi). It makes zero sense. The K3 is supposed to have better battery time than K2. Understand as well that on a typical work day with my K3 I'm on wifi at least 20 out of 24 hours (with router at home and at work that K3 connects to).

Thanks!

If this is the case you should just call Kindle CS and ask them for a replacement. The other logical answer is that it's faulty. You don't need to "prove" this to Amazon, you just tell them what's happening. Chances are they'll overnight one to you (depending on which country you're in).

10-07-2010, 10:57 AM	#1
twister Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 and 2	K3 battery time worse when using 3G and wifi? I did a search and did not find an answer. I have a K3 3G/wifi model and have noticed my battery only lasts about a 6 days (charging now and fully charged last Friday). I read about 2 - 3 hours a day. I always have wireless on. I do not use the web browser. I have 2 blogs that update multiple times daily. This is far short of the 3 weeks with wireless claim by amazon. I have it connecting to wifi with router at work and home. Am I getting less than a week of battery time because I'm using 3G and wifi? Would I get better battery life if I only used 3G? Has anyone compared battery time on 3G model with 3G only vs. 3G and wifi? I read a few threads where people disabled wifi. I'm not sure how that is done. Would I just have Kindle forget my 2 routers? Thanks!

10-07-2010, 12:01 PM	#6
TomF Kindle Enthusiast Posts: 243 Karma: 1818 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Device: Kindle 3G Graphite, Kindle Fire	With the Kindle 3G (Wi-Fi & 3G), when you turn wireless on it will search for a previously set up Wi-Fi connection. If it finds one, it will turn 3G off and use the Wi-Fi connection. If it doesn't find one it will leave 3G on. You can't explicitly turn on one or the other and you can't explicitly turn off one or the other. If wireless is turned off, both 3G and Wi-Fi are turned off. 3G uses more battery power than Wi-Fi. So the best power savings will be to leave Wi-Fi off. If you have a wireless connection in your home and set it up on your Kindle, then leaving wireless on when in your home will automatically use the Wi-Fi connection and give you better power consumption than using the 3G connection. In terms of what Amazon claims for battery usage, for both the 3G and the Wi-Fi (only) models they claim up to one month with wireless off. For the Wi-Fi model they claim up to three weeks with wireless turned on. For the 3G model they claim up to 10 days with wireless turned on. It is clear from this comparison that the best power savings is with wireless off. For the 3G model, connecting to your home network every time you turn wireless on should get you nearly the three weeks of battery usage claimed for the Wi-Fi model. Last edited by TomF; 10-07-2010 at 12:05 PM.

10-07-2010, 02:25 PM	#8
twister Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 and 2	I'm not buying books very often. I'm not using light. Very odd. I truly think I'm getting worse battery life on my K3 than I did on my K2 with wireless on. I'm going with only 3G when I get a full charge to see if it is better. I will update when I have some info. Another thing I have noticed with K3 is that it says EDGE instead of 3G which is on my K2. Is my K2 also on EDGE but lists it as 3G? I wonder if EDGE eats up more battery than 3G... Last edited by twister; 10-07-2010 at 02:39 PM.

10-07-2010, 07:24 PM	#14
sirmaru Wizard Posts: 2,426 Karma: 6561538 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Kindle PW 2013, HDX 2013, Galaxy S5 2014	20 days for me I leave WiFi on all the time on my Kindle WiFi 3 since I sync between my PC Kindle application and the K3 all the time. I read about 2 hours per day. I also play MP3 songs after reading my K3 bible each morning. I got 20 days for my first battery charge after receiving the low battery notice.

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10-07-2010, 11:19 AM	#3
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,551 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Don't forget that battery life is going to vary wildly based on your 3G signal strength. A weak signal will drain your battery quicker than a strong one.

10-07-2010, 11:53 AM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,551 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I would guess the battery time gained by using 3G only as opposed to 3G+Wifi would be very minimal... considering that 3G is the much larger "drainer" of the two.

10-07-2010, 12:21 PM	#7
Piper_ ~~~~~ Posts: 761 Karma: 1278391 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle 3, Sony 350	6 days is pretty short, even with wireless on, unless you have really poor signal. Are you also adding books to your Kindle during those days? Indexing them sucks battery life, so I plug mine in whenever I add a new books. Other than that, do you use the Kindle cover with the built-in light? It will also chew through your battery.

10-07-2010, 02:59 PM	#9
cvkemp Loving life Posts: 1,412 Karma: 7991496 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas Device: PaperWhite 5,iPhone 13, IPad, MacBook Air	The best thing to do is not have either on when you do not need it. Both wifi and 3g has a transmitter and a reciever that is going to drain the battery. I only have my wifi on when I need it. And I do not yet have my cover with the light but I got my k3 9/14 and I have not had to recharge the battery yet.

10-07-2010, 03:21 PM	#10
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	i read on my Kindle an average of 5 hours a day, give or take. after 7 days the battery is way past the halfway mark. my wifi is off. i have over 100 books on it. i think it's safe the month long things was an advertising smoke screen. it'll probably last 1 month if you just look at how pretty it is in its case on the shelf but i can't say i'm disappointed. one week is plenty of autonomy. too bad you can't take it on a desert island. __sigh__

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