PRS-650 No love for my PRS-650

fafaforza · 04-04-2011, 11:29 AM

Seems like since installing the update, I'm having battery issues.

Charged it up fully via USB on Thursday. Still had 4 bars on Sunday. I did fully shut it down in the morning, and started it up in the afternoon.

On Sun, I read maybe 100 pages. So let's be optimistic and say 200 page turns, plus startup. I read some between Thurs and Sun. The battery dropped to 3 bars when I put it away at around 5PM.

Get on the train today to read the newspaper and I have 1 bar. $*&%$!

It's happened to me before once and I was stuck looking at the wall on the other side of the subway car, so I was not impressed.

Do I have a dud and should engage in the dreadful process of calling Sony (purchased Oct 2010)? Or should I try going back to the previous firmware, if even possible? I don't see anything new in the new one anyway.

I did see other posts about charging with an AC adapter, but the reader said "Charge complete" on thursday. People also have recommended restarting it fully, which I did on Sunday. And some said the readout can be deceiving. But c'mon, ~400 page turns tops? I'd get better life out of an LCD tablet.

igorsk · 04-04-2011, 01:07 PM

This was for the old touchscreen but maybe it's the same issue. Check that the edges of the screen are clear. Some people had crumbs/dust there and it was triggering touchscreen and the processor was spending much less time in sleep.

elemenoP · 04-04-2011, 01:34 PM

I have read on here that it takes several charge cycles for the battery life display to be accurate. and yes: do try a wall charge instead of a usb charge. Even if it says "charging complete" it will keep on charging for a while after that. I wouldn't give up on it just yet.

And I see you are in Brooklyn. Definitely get a BPL card and check out ebooks! It's the best!

Oh I just noticed about the update, I thought you had a new reader. Oh well, I would still try a wall charge and a few more charge/discharge cycles. Haven't seen others with charging issues after an update, but I will keep an eye on this issue! (haven't done the update myself yet).

eP

eP

azlkk · 04-04-2011, 01:39 PM

I've had the same problem twice with two different Readers right before trans-Atlantic flights, first on my old PRS-700 and then on the PRS-650 replacement. Four bars the night before and right before getting ready to leave zero.

I wish I knew why they do it, but after my experience with Sony tech support on three different Readers I've quit calling them.

fafaforza · 04-04-2011, 02:49 PM

Does the reader still process touch events if it is in the "half" off mode with the screensaver image on? If this is a charge issue and it's simply misstating the charge level, then I don't think I've ever had a device this bad in displaying charge level, and would venture to say that the device itself is defective.

I'm finding that I have to charge this thing as often as I do my blackberry, and the phone is on all the time...

And I guess I wasn't unreasonable in thinking the worst about calling Sony. I'd probably just sell it than try to get a replacement.

kartu · 04-05-2011, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Does the reader still process touch events if it is in the "half" off mode with the screensaver image on?

No, it doesn't.

But read what igorsk said. Most of the time when you read the book, device should be in sleep mode.

200-400 pages is way to low.

meerkat · 04-05-2011, 07:29 PM

If you charge the reader via computer usb, and later software shutdown/sleep your machine (without totally disconnect computer power source) and leave the reader still connect to the computer, the reader will keep displaying the "charge complete" or "charging", but the reader battery may becomes a power source. a lot more intensive power drain (than reading) may pour from reader battery to the computer motherboard. By the time you unplug usb (which may showing charging completed) to read, your reader may have lot less battery than than you think.

My PC can drain my fully charged reader to 2 bars in around 15 minutes.

fafaforza · 04-08-2011, 12:52 AM

Yeah, I've had the drain happen to me after I'd unmount the reader (might have been with the 505) and keep it connected to USB, so I am very careful when I plug in to USB since then. But the charge happened on my work laptop which stays on all the time, and I made sure not to eject the reader.

I cleaned out the edges with compressed air. Will see if that helps. But I think the thing in common (with a sample size of two) is that the drain seems to have happened right after I fully powered down then powered up the reader. Been reading a bunch of pages since the weekend and still full charge, only plugging it into USB to transfer newspapers/mags.

I guess I'll just keep a closer eye on the charge, and maybe get a wall charger for the times when it ends up being completely drained half an hour before I wanna leave the house.

04-04-2011, 11:29 AM	#1
fafaforza Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 26780 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Device: Aura ONE	No love for my PRS-650 Seems like since installing the update, I'm having battery issues. Charged it up fully via USB on Thursday. Still had 4 bars on Sunday. I did fully shut it down in the morning, and started it up in the afternoon. On Sun, I read maybe 100 pages. So let's be optimistic and say 200 page turns, plus startup. I read some between Thurs and Sun. The battery dropped to 3 bars when I put it away at around 5PM. Get on the train today to read the newspaper and I have 1 bar. $*&%$! It's happened to me before once and I was stuck looking at the wall on the other side of the subway car, so I was not impressed. Do I have a dud and should engage in the dreadful process of calling Sony (purchased Oct 2010)? Or should I try going back to the previous firmware, if even possible? I don't see anything new in the new one anyway. I did see other posts about charging with an AC adapter, but the reader said "Charge complete" on thursday. People also have recommended restarting it fully, which I did on Sunday. And some said the readout can be deceiving. But c'mon, ~400 page turns tops? I'd get better life out of an LCD tablet.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Ended PRS-650 Red Trade For PRS-650 Black (Vancouver B.C.)	Loose_Appeal	Flea Market	0	12-29-2010 04:10 AM
love my Sony prs-650	ValH	Sony Reader	6	11-21-2010 12:53 AM
Do Kobo books need tweaking before loading to a PRS-350 or PRS-650?	stodge	Sony Reader	9	11-07-2010 02:30 PM
Prs-900 vs. prs-650 vs. prs-600	fyre182	Sony Reader	12	09-29-2010 02:48 PM
PRS-650 PRS-350 Please report eventual fading under direct sunlight of new models	sigmax	Sony Reader	11	09-26-2010 12:50 AM

04-04-2011, 01:07 PM	#2
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	This was for the old touchscreen but maybe it's the same issue. Check that the edges of the screen are clear. Some people had crumbs/dust there and it was triggering touchscreen and the processor was spending much less time in sleep.

04-04-2011, 01:34 PM	#3
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	I have read on here that it takes several charge cycles for the battery life display to be accurate. and yes: do try a wall charge instead of a usb charge. Even if it says "charging complete" it will keep on charging for a while after that. I wouldn't give up on it just yet. And I see you are in Brooklyn. Definitely get a BPL card and check out ebooks! It's the best! Oh I just noticed about the update, I thought you had a new reader. Oh well, I would still try a wall charge and a few more charge/discharge cycles. Haven't seen others with charging issues after an update, but I will keep an eye on this issue! (haven't done the update myself yet). eP eP

04-04-2011, 01:39 PM	#4
azlkk Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Phoenix, AZ USA/Ashkelon, Israel Device: PRS-650, PRS-600, iPad	I've had the same problem twice with two different Readers right before trans-Atlantic flights, first on my old PRS-700 and then on the PRS-650 replacement. Four bars the night before and right before getting ready to leave zero. I wish I knew why they do it, but after my experience with Sony tech support on three different Readers I've quit calling them.

04-04-2011, 02:49 PM	#5
fafaforza Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 26780 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Device: Aura ONE	Does the reader still process touch events if it is in the "half" off mode with the screensaver image on? If this is a charge issue and it's simply misstating the charge level, then I don't think I've ever had a device this bad in displaying charge level, and would venture to say that the device itself is defective. I'm finding that I have to charge this thing as often as I do my blackberry, and the phone is on all the time... And I guess I wasn't unreasonable in thinking the worst about calling Sony. I'd probably just sell it than try to get a replacement.

04-05-2011, 07:29 PM	#7
meerkat Member Posts: 18 Karma: 22522 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Bay area, CA Device: prs-650BC (was prs-600), ipad, kindle PW1,Google Nexus7 (2013)	If you charge the reader via computer usb, and later software shutdown/sleep your machine (without totally disconnect computer power source) and leave the reader still connect to the computer, the reader will keep displaying the "charge complete" or "charging", but the reader battery may becomes a power source. a lot more intensive power drain (than reading) may pour from reader battery to the computer motherboard. By the time you unplug usb (which may showing charging completed) to read, your reader may have lot less battery than than you think. My PC can drain my fully charged reader to 2 bars in around 15 minutes.

04-08-2011, 12:52 AM	#8
fafaforza Zealot Posts: 140 Karma: 26780 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY Device: Aura ONE	Yeah, I've had the drain happen to me after I'd unmount the reader (might have been with the 505) and keep it connected to USB, so I am very careful when I plug in to USB since then. But the charge happened on my work laptop which stays on all the time, and I made sure not to eject the reader. I cleaned out the edges with compressed air. Will see if that helps. But I think the thing in common (with a sample size of two) is that the drain seems to have happened right after I fully powered down then powered up the reader. Been reading a bunch of pages since the weekend and still full charge, only plugging it into USB to transfer newspapers/mags. I guess I'll just keep a closer eye on the charge, and maybe get a wall charger for the times when it ends up being completely drained half an hour before I wanna leave the house.

Advert

Advert