Battery issues anyone?

cjp · 10-11-2008, 06:31 PM

Is anyone else having battery issues with their new DR1000S? I am.

The battery initially fully charged and I could see it as full by the icon. However, since I turned it on today, the light at the top has stayed orange and the battery icon only shows about 2/3 full. I unplugged it and replugged in it. It stayed the same.

Later, I turned it off, then after awhile turned it back on. For about 6 hours or more the light remained orange and the battery icon did not change.

I then tried removing the SD card and shutting the DR1000S down. Later I put in a new (formatted and unzipped Companion contents) after starting the Reader up. Everything is fine EXCEPT the charging light at the top remains orange and the icon only shows 2/3 full.

The light has stayed orange for the last 11 hours.

What seems to be the matter?

allovertheglobe · 10-11-2008, 06:44 PM

Haven't run into that yet. Did you try an alternate way of charging, if available (Wallcharger, other computer)?

cjp · 10-11-2008, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

Haven't run into that yet. Did you try an alternate way of charging, if available (Wallcharger, other computer)?

No, I do not have a wall charger (does one even exist for the DR100s?), but I will try your suggestion to try to charge to another computer. Thanks! I check back later.
CJP

Mr. Goodbar · 10-11-2008, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjp

No, I do not have a wall charger (does one even exist for the DR100s?), but I will try your suggestion to try to charge to another computer. Thanks! I check back later.
CJP

Any usb wall charger is supposed to work for charging.

cjp · 10-12-2008, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

Any usb wall charger is supposed to work for charging.

That's a good thing to know! Unfortunately, I changed the computer for the USB connection to charge, and no change. I also shut the DR1000S down while the DR1000S charged. When I fired it up a few minutes ago - with high hopes - the light at the top remains orange and the battery charge remains at 2/3 - 3/4 charge. There still seems to be a problem.

Any ideas as to what I should do? (As a doctoral student, I have limited time and funds and both I have sacrificed for this seemingly terrific Reader of PDF's.) Should I contact iRex because it does seem to be a real issue, or is there something else I can try to make this work?
CJP

flyingtablet · 10-12-2008, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjp

That's a good thing to know! Unfortunately, I changed the computer for the USB connection to charge, and no change. I also shut the DR1000S down while the DR1000S charged. When I fired it up a few minutes ago - with high hopes - the light at the top remains orange and the battery charge remains at 2/3 - 3/4 charge. There still seems to be a problem.

Any ideas as to what I should do? (As a doctoral student, I have limited time and funds and both I have sacrificed for this seemingly terrific Reader of PDF's.) Should I contact iRex because it does seem to be a real issue, or is there something else I can try to make this work?
CJP

Dont just change computer. Try a standalone charger.
I seem to notice that computer USB does not charge my smart phone
as good as a standalone charger.

Good luck.

SteveD · 10-12-2008, 12:42 AM

I had one side's buttons stop working; a power off and on did not fix it but a reset did.

allovertheglobe · 10-12-2008, 02:48 AM

Did you try to let the battery run down completely? I.e. until the LED turns red then after another 1/2 hour hour or so even that will turn off and the battery is completely empty.

Then try connecting it, reset it and wait for it to hopefully recharge completely.

(I had my own scare earlier when the above happened to me, and it just wouldn't turn on again even with the charger plugged in

Turns that the fuse of that outlet had popped unbeknownst to me... phh... had a vision of brickage for a second there...)

Before that, the battery LED was acting up as well, being stuck on blinking green, but the reader was locked up, and after a reset it turned instantly red: the reader couldn't power back up, thus the above recharging attempt.

Re: Charger. Besides the Garmin one (A/C straight to mini-USB) I also have successfully used the TEKKEON MP1600 I got for $13 from Newegg.com. This one is used with the USB cable that came with the reader.

cjp · 10-12-2008, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

Did you try to let the battery run down completely? I.e. until the LED turns red then after another 1/2 hour hour or so even that will turn off and the battery is completely empty.

Then try connecting it, reset it and wait for it to hopefully recharge completely.

Before that, the battery LED was acting up as well, being stuck on blinking green, but the reader was locked up, and after a reset it turned instantly red: the reader couldn't power back up, thus the above recharging attempt.

Re: Charger. Besides the Garmin one (A/C straight to mini-USB) I also have successfully used the TEKKEON MP1600 I got for $13 from Newegg.com. This one is used with the USB cable that came with the reader.

Thank you so much for the good advice. I turned it off and let it charge over night. I then unplugged it, waited a bit, then turned it on. All though the buttons and folders respond, I too got the dreaded blinking green light now, and find that battery still remains at 2/3. When I plugged it in (I only have the USB charger that came with it) the light at the top turns orange - meaning it probably is not holding or giving a charge.

I will try as you suggest - let the battery run all the way down and then somme, Then reconnect it, reset it and wait for it to recharge completely.
I'll check back later today. (And I check out Newegg's charger - I wanted one for when I'm at the university. Again, thank you!
CJP

cjp · 10-12-2008, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by allovertheglobe

Re: Charger. Besides the Garmin one (A/C straight to mini-USB) I also have successfully used the TEKKEON MP1600 I got for $13 from Newegg.com. This one is used with the USB cable that came with the reader.

I just ordered the TEKKEON MP 1600, $12.95 PLUS free shipping. I've ordered from them before, good company! Thanks a bunch for the tip.

pthwaite · 10-12-2008, 01:58 PM

Right,
As my battery has never shown anything above 3/4 I left it charging all day (unit off) yesterday (from a wall charger) then disconnected the charger. Switched on the unit (shows 4/4 full) at 11:30pm and left it on all night. This morning it was completely dead. Hd to leave it connected for a few minutes before it would then boot up & sure enough battery showed empty.
It has now been charging all day (switched off) from a wall charger & the battery still shows only 3/4 full & orange LED.

At this stage I'm not too concerned as you do need to cycle batteries a few times before they operate to their best. So I'll do so for the next day or 2.

Howard

flyingtablet · 10-12-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pthwaite

Right,
Switched on the unit (shows 4/4 full) at 11:30pm and left it on all night. This morning it was completely dead.

Howard

Seems a Samsung UMPC can work longer(6-7hours with std battery,
11-12hours with large battery) than Irex Reader.

Feel disappointed with Irex.

cjp · 10-12-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pthwaite

Right,
As my battery has never shown anything above 3/4 I left it charging all day (unit off) yesterday (from a wall charger) then disconnected the charger. Switched on the unit (shows 4/4 full) at 11:30pm and left it on all night. This morning it was completely dead. Hd to leave it connected for a few minutes before it would then boot up & sure enough battery showed empty.
It has now been charging all day (switched off) from a wall charger & the battery still shows only 3/4 full & orange LED.

At this stage I'm not too concerned as you do need to cycle batteries a few times before they operate to their best. So I'll do so for the next day or 2.

Howard

I let it run down completely as you and AllovertheGlobe suggested - that took only 3 hours! Yes. Three hours. The functions all worked and I read several long journal PDF articles. It shut itself off (as though I turned it off) at 12:37pm. At 1:10pm I plugged it in, waited for it to start (no SD card in it now) and then reset it. I waited for it to reboot - the device shows up on my computer.

It has been charging for more than one hour now. So far, the battery icon still remain completely blank (but there is a lightening bolt over it) and the top light is orange. However, since I read your response above, I went ahead and shut it down. I will wait until at least 5pm to unplug it and start it up as you did.
I will keep you all posted - hopefully the advice to let it run completely down, reconnect and reset it will fix the issue. If I experience the same as you have, I will continue to do this for another couple of days to completely re-cycle the battery. But then, if I can only read articles for 3 hours and it doesn't seem to hold a charge, I probably will need to contact iRex. But I will give this a try first.
CJP

pthwaite · 10-12-2008, 04:01 PM

Hi CJP,
I'm in the midle of a charge -recharge too. I staretd the latest at 7pm local time, it is now 9:00pm and it's down to 2 bars, so I suspect Im going to get longer than 3 hours, but them I'm not "using" it.
iRex did say that they will be getting another software release out to improve things, ie standby mode, reduced processor speed etc. But, 3 hours is low. I too hope things will improve. I'll get a better feel over the next few days.

Howard

allovertheglobe · 10-12-2008, 06:21 PM

OK, today I tried to keep track of the usage: I got about 5 1/2 hours of continuous use out of it with the tablet functionality turned off for the most part. It was on all the time, but I didn't constantly switch pages. It went from solid green / 4 bars (full charge) to red / no bars (low battery) It actually shut itself down normally instead of just hanging like last time.

Considering that for now there is little to no power management, I think that's pretty good for the general snappiness of the reader. I can live with that, even if I have to turn it off for an extended break. Not that this should be an excuse for iRex to drag their feet on some proper power management & suspend mode.

I also want to clarify that 4 bars on the battery meter didn't last for more than a few minutes before it went down to 3 and stayed on the remaining bars (3,2,1,0) for a long time each. No bars still gave me a considerable amount of usage (at least 30-45 min.) before the LED turned red and I got the low battery warning.

10-11-2008, 06:31 PM	#1
cjp Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Saint Louis, Missouri USA Device: HP Slate 500, Sony PRS-505, Kindle 3G+Wi-Fi, Droid	Battery issues anyone? Is anyone else having battery issues with their new DR1000S? I am. The battery initially fully charged and I could see it as full by the icon. However, since I turned it on today, the light at the top has stayed orange and the battery icon only shows about 2/3 full. I unplugged it and replugged in it. It stayed the same. Later, I turned it off, then after awhile turned it back on. For about 6 hours or more the light remained orange and the battery icon did not change. I then tried removing the SD card and shutting the DR1000S down. Later I put in a new (formatted and unzipped Companion contents) after starting the Reader up. Everything is fine EXCEPT the charging light at the top remains orange and the icon only shows 2/3 full. The light has stayed orange for the last 11 hours. What seems to be the matter?

10-12-2008, 12:42 AM	#7
SteveD Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Oregon, USA Device: iRex DR-1000s, Sony 505	Might try a reset I had one side's buttons stop working; a power off and on did not fix it but a reset did.

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10-11-2008, 06:44 PM	#2
allovertheglobe Grumpy Old Man Posts: 267 Karma: 30194 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: L.A., Euro ex-pat Device: Kobo, Nook Classic,Color,ST/Glow, iRex DR1000, Sony 505, REB1100&1200	Haven't run into that yet. Did you try an alternate way of charging, if available (Wallcharger, other computer)?

10-12-2008, 02:48 AM	#8
allovertheglobe Grumpy Old Man Posts: 267 Karma: 30194 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: L.A., Euro ex-pat Device: Kobo, Nook Classic,Color,ST/Glow, iRex DR1000, Sony 505, REB1100&1200	Did you try to let the battery run down completely? I.e. until the LED turns red then after another 1/2 hour hour or so even that will turn off and the battery is completely empty. Then try connecting it, reset it and wait for it to hopefully recharge completely. (I had my own scare earlier when the above happened to me, and it just wouldn't turn on again even with the charger plugged in Turns that the fuse of that outlet had popped unbeknownst to me... phh... had a vision of brickage for a second there...) Before that, the battery LED was acting up as well, being stuck on blinking green, but the reader was locked up, and after a reset it turned instantly red: the reader couldn't power back up, thus the above recharging attempt. Re: Charger. Besides the Garmin one (A/C straight to mini-USB) I also have successfully used the TEKKEON MP1600 I got for $13 from Newegg.com. This one is used with the USB cable that came with the reader.

10-12-2008, 01:58 PM	#11
pthwaite Fanatic Posts: 597 Karma: 430 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ellesmere Port, UK Device: DR1000S Sony PRS505 iPad iPhone	Right, As my battery has never shown anything above 3/4 I left it charging all day (unit off) yesterday (from a wall charger) then disconnected the charger. Switched on the unit (shows 4/4 full) at 11:30pm and left it on all night. This morning it was completely dead. Hd to leave it connected for a few minutes before it would then boot up & sure enough battery showed empty. It has now been charging all day (switched off) from a wall charger & the battery still shows only 3/4 full & orange LED. At this stage I'm not too concerned as you do need to cycle batteries a few times before they operate to their best. So I'll do so for the next day or 2. Howard

10-12-2008, 04:01 PM	#14
pthwaite Fanatic Posts: 597 Karma: 430 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Ellesmere Port, UK Device: DR1000S Sony PRS505 iPad iPhone	Hi CJP, I'm in the midle of a charge -recharge too. I staretd the latest at 7pm local time, it is now 9:00pm and it's down to 2 bars, so I suspect Im going to get longer than 3 hours, but them I'm not "using" it. iRex did say that they will be getting another software release out to improve things, ie standby mode, reduced processor speed etc. But, 3 hours is low. I too hope things will improve. I'll get a better feel over the next few days. Howard

10-12-2008, 06:21 PM	#15
allovertheglobe Grumpy Old Man Posts: 267 Karma: 30194 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: L.A., Euro ex-pat Device: Kobo, Nook Classic,Color,ST/Glow, iRex DR1000, Sony 505, REB1100&1200	OK, today I tried to keep track of the usage: I got about 5 1/2 hours of continuous use out of it with the tablet functionality turned off for the most part. It was on all the time, but I didn't constantly switch pages. It went from solid green / 4 bars (full charge) to red / no bars (low battery) It actually shut itself down normally instead of just hanging like last time. Considering that for now there is little to no power management, I think that's pretty good for the general snappiness of the reader. I can live with that, even if I have to turn it off for an extended break. Not that this should be an excuse for iRex to drag their feet on some proper power management & suspend mode. I also want to clarify that 4 bars on the battery meter didn't last for more than a few minutes before it went down to 3 and stayed on the remaining bars (3,2,1,0) for a long time each. No bars still gave me a considerable amount of usage (at least 30-45 min.) before the LED turned red and I got the low battery warning.

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