Forma Sudden Battery Drain Syndrome - Page 2

ownedbycats · 01-23-2023, 03:41 PM

In Calibre, I have a custom #kobocoll column populated from a template (not composite, though; I like to be able to make tweaks when needed).

enuddleyarbl · 01-24-2023, 07:46 PM

Reducing the number of collections didn't help. With the battery above 50%, I get my "normal" ~10% battery loss per hour. At about the 50% mark, I can watch the electrons spill out of the device and puddle on the ground. I read for half an hour and lost 30%. Right now, I've pulled up the battery indicator and am watching it decrease roughly 1% a minute. Oh, well. Time for some kind of new device.

EDIT: seconds after I finished the above, the battery went to 11%. Moments later, the 10% "charge your battery" warning came up. Almost instantly, the device shut down.

Haesslich · 02-09-2023, 10:53 PM

I had to do a factory reset to fix my sudden drain issues. I suspect it was trying to constantly sync or index a file, which caused issues. I've noticed it happens more with sideloaded ePub or CBZ files.

Keeping the number of non-Kobo files to a minimum seems to be helping avoid this for me and my Forma. I suspect that it's a badly coded ePub or something else causing the Forma to hang while sorting its DB.

gauchomigo · 02-17-2023, 01:29 PM

I am having the same drain issue, and I keep at the most 20 books on the device. It is also freezing up on me, and the only way to get it to wake up is to plug it into the computer and do a power+page turn reset. Disappointed in the Forma. It has the worst power button in existence, and now this. Probably my last Kobo.

Quoth · 02-17-2023, 03:06 PM

I've over 4000 ebooks on my Kobo Sage, most are PD, about 30 our own copyright, 1 bought from Kobo and some bought elsewhere. Battery life is fine, though not as brilliant other Kobos.

Granddaughter has over 1000 PD ebooks on a Nia.

Aleron Ives · 02-17-2023, 06:27 PM

I just had a similar experience with my Libra. I opened it to start reading, and the battery was at 30%, which is about where it was yesterday. After a few minutes of reading, I got the "low battery" alert, and the meter said 8%. I plugged it in, and after 20 minutes of charging, it's magically back to 46%. The battery meter is just picking random values to display, I guess.

It doesn't seem to have any idea how battery voltage correlates to remaining capacity.

Rid · 02-17-2023, 08:21 PM

I think it has happened too many times on Mobileread to be a coincidence. I have had it with firmware 4.34 & 4.35. I refuse to do a factory reset again as it seems to be random.

Cootey · 02-18-2023, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rid

I think it has happened too many times on Mobileread to be a coincidence. I have had it with firmware 4.34 & 4.35. I refuse to do a factory reset again as it seems to be random.

Using Calibre, you can make a backup of your database, then attempt a factory reset to see if that fixes the problem. If it doesn't, you can restore the database.

You can also pop open your Kobo, pull out the internal SD card, then mount it on your computer to create a full backup image of the entire Kobo SD card, including the hidden partitions that don't mount when you plug your Kobo into your computer. Then you could experiment with the factory reset and restore things from your backup image exactly as if you had never reset.

For me, the basic factory reset fixed this problem. Hasn't returned in months. Reimporting all my sideloaded books and reorganizing the collections was a pain, but not as much of a pain as my Clara HD being dead every time I went to use it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Rid · 02-18-2023, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cootey

You can also pop open your Kobo, pull out the internal SD card, then mount it on your computer to create a full backup image of the entire Kobo SD card, including the hidden partitions that don't mount when you plug your Kobo into your computer. Then you could experiment with the factory reset and restore things from your backup image exactly as if you had never reset.

Awesome did not know this!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cootey

For me, the basic factory reset fixed this problem. Hasn't returned in months. Reimporting all my sideloaded books and reorganizing the collections was a pain, but not as much of a pain as my Clara HD being dead every time I went to use it.

I do use Calibre. But I might be the only person on this forum that could not care less about reimporting books and collections etc. Just have to wait for the synch...

jblokzijl · 02-18-2023, 10:51 AM

I think Kobo shipped a bunch of Forma's with defective batteries. I had the same problem, and after much debating, Kobo replaced mine under warranty, and the new one is steady as a rock!

Readirect · 02-18-2023, 01:04 PM

I've had 2 different issues with battery drain on my Forma. The first was caused by the Kobo sleep cover. When I switched to a 3rd-party cover, the problem went away.

The second issue occurred some time later and was very much like yours; the battery suddenly began draining rapidly. A manual reset fixed the issue and now it's back to about 14 hours.

gauchomigo · 03-03-2023, 03:46 PM

I had the same issue with my Forma - sudden battery drains. Same cover as I've used for a year. Then it started freezing up, and would only "wake" on the computer. Then it froze solid in sleep mode and nothing will wake it.

fogice · 03-16-2023, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Readirect

I've had 2 different issues with battery drain on my Forma. The first was caused by the Kobo sleep cover. When I switched to a 3rd-party cover, the problem went away.

I also had a battery drain from sleep cover issue with my Libra 2. I found a suggestion that I add a strip of 8-folded aluminum foil between the back of the reader and the inside of the case, at the spot where the sleep/wake magnet is located. That solved the issue.

Cootey · 03-18-2023, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gauchomigo

I had the same issue with my Forma - sudden battery drains. Same cover as I've used for a year. Then it started freezing up, and would only "wake" on the computer. Then it froze solid in sleep mode and nothing will wake it.

That sounds like much more than a battery draining issue.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Janet56 · 03-27-2023, 07:14 PM

I have the same problem with my 32 gb Forma (the 8 gb one is fine). The battery drain is terrible. It goes to sleep and I can only wake it by plugging it in. So I thought I would set it to power off after 10 minutes to save battery power. It was at 91% battery when it turned off. Today I tried to turn it on and nothing until I plugged it in and it came on - and the battery was down to 0. It is now plugged in and hopefully charging. I'm not sure as it won't wake up from sleep mode. I got this as a refurbished unit just over a year ago and it has been nothing but headaches. And just to say - I don't do collections and there are about 80 books on it. I'm going to try one more factory reset on it and if there is no improvement, it's going to go to the electronics recycle place!
That said, I love my older Forma and my Sage. And my Libra. And my Glo HD! LOL

01-24-2023, 07:46 PM	#17
enuddleyarbl Guru Posts: 769 Karma: 1537886 Join Date: Sep 2013 Device: Kobo Forma	Reducing the number of collections didn't help. With the battery above 50%, I get my "normal" ~10% battery loss per hour. At about the 50% mark, I can watch the electrons spill out of the device and puddle on the ground. I read for half an hour and lost 30%. Right now, I've pulled up the battery indicator and am watching it decrease roughly 1% a minute. Oh, well. Time for some kind of new device. EDIT: seconds after I finished the above, the battery went to 11%. Moments later, the 10% "charge your battery" warning came up. Almost instantly, the device shut down. Last edited by enuddleyarbl; 01-24-2023 at 07:48 PM.

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01-23-2023, 03:41 PM	#16
ownedbycats Custom User Title Posts: 10,601 Karma: 74166147 Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H2O, formerly Aura HD	In Calibre, I have a custom #kobocoll column populated from a template (not composite, though; I like to be able to make tweaks when needed).

02-09-2023, 10:53 PM	#18
Haesslich Fanatic Posts: 567 Karma: 1138182 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Kobo Touch,Glo,Mini,Aura/HD/One,H20, Sony PRS-300/600, Kindle 3-PW	I had to do a factory reset to fix my sudden drain issues. I suspect it was trying to constantly sync or index a file, which caused issues. I've noticed it happens more with sideloaded ePub or CBZ files. Keeping the number of non-Kobo files to a minimum seems to be helping avoid this for me and my Forma. I suspect that it's a badly coded ePub or something else causing the Forma to hang while sorting its DB.

02-17-2023, 01:29 PM	#19
gauchomigo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 19588 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Florida Device: kobo forma/aura	I am having the same drain issue, and I keep at the most 20 books on the device. It is also freezing up on me, and the only way to get it to wake up is to plug it into the computer and do a power+page turn reset. Disappointed in the Forma. It has the worst power button in existence, and now this. Probably my last Kobo.

02-17-2023, 03:06 PM	#20
Quoth Still reading Posts: 13,653 Karma: 103503445 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I've over 4000 ebooks on my Kobo Sage, most are PD, about 30 our own copyright, 1 bought from Kobo and some bought elsewhere. Battery life is fine, though not as brilliant other Kobos. Granddaughter has over 1000 PD ebooks on a Nia.

02-17-2023, 06:27 PM	#21
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,645 Karma: 16302664 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	I just had a similar experience with my Libra. I opened it to start reading, and the battery was at 30%, which is about where it was yesterday. After a few minutes of reading, I got the "low battery" alert, and the meter said 8%. I plugged it in, and after 20 minutes of charging, it's magically back to 46%. The battery meter is just picking random values to display, I guess. It doesn't seem to have any idea how battery voltage correlates to remaining capacity.

02-17-2023, 08:21 PM	#22
Rid Addict Posts: 207 Karma: 20980 Join Date: Oct 2020 Device: Kobo Aura One, Aura HD (R.I.P.) :(	I think it has happened too many times on Mobileread to be a coincidence. I have had it with firmware 4.34 & 4.35. I refuse to do a factory reset again as it seems to be random.

02-18-2023, 10:51 AM	#25
jblokzijl Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2013 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I think Kobo shipped a bunch of Forma's with defective batteries. I had the same problem, and after much debating, Kobo replaced mine under warranty, and the new one is steady as a rock!

02-18-2023, 01:04 PM	#26
Readirect Zealot Posts: 134 Karma: 20456 Join Date: Apr 2014 Device: KPW1	I've had 2 different issues with battery drain on my Forma. The first was caused by the Kobo sleep cover. When I switched to a 3rd-party cover, the problem went away. The second issue occurred some time later and was very much like yours; the battery suddenly began draining rapidly. A manual reset fixed the issue and now it's back to about 14 hours.

03-03-2023, 03:46 PM	#27
gauchomigo Member Posts: 22 Karma: 19588 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Florida Device: kobo forma/aura	I had the same issue with my Forma - sudden battery drains. Same cover as I've used for a year. Then it started freezing up, and would only "wake" on the computer. Then it froze solid in sleep mode and nothing will wake it.

03-27-2023, 07:14 PM	#30
Janet56 Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 542 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: Kobo Glo HD, Forma, Sage, Kindle Oasis	I have the same problem with my 32 gb Forma (the 8 gb one is fine). The battery drain is terrible. It goes to sleep and I can only wake it by plugging it in. So I thought I would set it to power off after 10 minutes to save battery power. It was at 91% battery when it turned off. Today I tried to turn it on and nothing until I plugged it in and it came on - and the battery was down to 0. It is now plugged in and hopefully charging. I'm not sure as it won't wake up from sleep mode. I got this as a refurbished unit just over a year ago and it has been nothing but headaches. And just to say - I don't do collections and there are about 80 books on it. I'm going to try one more factory reset on it and if there is no improvement, it's going to go to the electronics recycle place! That said, I love my older Forma and my Sage. And my Libra. And my Glo HD! LOL

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