Battery Life... really?

[HarleyB]

I am finding it difficult to understand how one person can get 4 faulty Kobos and I really think there must be a problem with the way your Kobo is being charged.
I know you are leaving it plugged in for 3 or more hours and you are getting the blue light but I don't think your Kobo is really fully charged if you are only getting 1 day of reading out of it.
I have a few questions for you:
1. Does your computer go to sleep while you are charging? I've had my Kobo for a year now but when I got a new computer a few months ago (which was set to go to sleep after 15 minutes) my Kobo wouldn't charge properly via USB. Incredibly it took me quite a while to work out what the problem was.
2. If your computer doesn't go to sleep have you tried a different USB port and a different cable? There are a couple of posts here about people who have had charging problems related to faulty USB ports and cables. Any USB to micro USB cable will do and most computers have more than one USB port. Although presumably with your 4 Kobos you have used 4 different USB cables?
3. Do you have a wall charger? I normally use my iPhone/iPod charger with the Kobo USB lead plugged into it but there are lots of wall chargers that are compatible. The wall charger does a faster and better job than the USB to computer charge - and I don't have to change my sleep mode settings on the computer! In fact quite a few posters here recommend charging via a wall charger rather than the USB to computer.

Good luck! I know how frustrating charging problems can be as my first Kobo was exchanged due to a faulty battery back in May 2010. When I had the computer sleeping problem earlier this year it was a dreadful sense of deja vu and for a few days I thought my beloved Kobo was dying!

[smoggy]

My computers are working 24/7/365. I don't like "sleep Mode" on my computers
they're there to work, and unlike me, don't need coffee breaks.
I reboot once a week.

I haven't gone for the wall charger yet, again, all those accessories
shouldn't be necessary if this thing would perform any where near specs.

I really do likethe Kobo, but I'm beginning to think the only viable solution
is to find my receipt and return this thing to Kmart.

I found another usb cord and am trying it again with a different port.
I'm going to bed, and we'll see in the morning how it goes.

Thanks


Frustrating but Kobo's techs diagnosed them as battery issues.

[smoggy]

Just for the sake of trying, I tried a new
USB cord and an Diffferent USB port.
There is no difference in the usability.

[smoggy]

HarleyB: I was just over to

http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...s-of-problems/

And I am not the only one with issues with multiple Kobos.
And there seems to be a trend when you are escalated to tier 2 support,
don't hold your breath. It seems at this point we are ignored, and the hope
is that we go away.

There is one fellow on his third. one fellow awaiting his fourth
and a bunch that gave up & returned them.

I'd post them here, but why waste the space just to prove a point?

Kobo tech support - If you really Do read these
What is going on with the dead silence at tier 2 support?

Do you really want to alienate your users that badly?

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by smoggy

HarleyB: I was just over to

http://goodereader.com/blog/electron...s-of-problems/

And I am not the only one with issues with multiple Kobos.
And there seems to be a trend when you are escalated to tier 2 support,
don't hold your breath. It seems at this point we are ignored, and the hope
is that we go away.

There is one fellow on his third. one fellow awaiting his fourth
and a bunch that gave up & returned them.

I'd post them here, but why waste the space just to prove a point?

Kobo tech support - If you really Do read these
What is going on with the dead silence at tier 2 support?

Do you really want to alienate your users that badly?

While I agree their tech support is lacking, you do realize the "news" on that site you just posted is from over a year ago and is refering to the original kobo; The issues he's mentioning were fixed back in June of last year, and there has been since another firmware update that brought it up to par with the Wifi in november (minus the wifi portion of course). While I understand the need to prove a point, at least use information that is current

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by smoggy

My Kobo History
(I've taken this of my "support" page at KOBO,)
(The only editing done was to remove my address & phone #)

The last time I wrote to Tech support I asked them
to take the time and ensure the Kobo would perform
for the battery life as advertised.

The tech that answered me assured me he would.

I had my Kobo given me new as a gift for Christmas.
It was returned to Kobo Toronto with battery issues.
They replaced it with a well used unit, and the battery
performance was no better.

That one was replaced with a new unit, and again
the battery life was no better than three days.

It was replaced with another Kobo, in a New Box,
with a refurbished sticker on the bottom of
the back panel.

Battery life appears to be 1 1/2 days.

Received 4'th Kobo (3rd replacement),
Tuesday Afternoon, May 17.

Kobo Log: Tuesday Afternoon, May 17

I immidiately Charged the battery
and allowed it to connect and update
its software.

I loaded my current library and started reading.
My current book is titled Darkwar: 02 - Into A Dark Realm.
The book shows as 280 pages. I set the font size
to give me a real page for each page turn.

Last night, I read in bed for a while and then put
the Kobo away & turned out the lights.

Thursday May 19.
I awoke at 8:00 am, and went to cook my breakfast.
I looked at the book and the low battery/charge battery
page was showing.

I connected the Kobo to charge the battery & left it alone.
MY page count was displayed as 132.

At 2:30 pm I returned to my Kobo,
and disconnected it from the usb cable,
the blue light in the upper right corner
showing a full charge.

Saturday, May 21, 10:00 am, upon awakening,
Kobo displayed recharge battery page.

At this point, even though I like the Kobo reader,
Kobo is 4 for 4 in failures to come close to their advertised specs.

The original was bought at Walmart Campbell River
It was bought shortly before Christmas as a Christmas Gift.
We've been through 4 0f these and still there are issues
with battery life.

The last time through support, I was assured this unit
would be thoroughly trested before being sent.

If you can't provide an e-reader that meets Your Advertised Specs,
Please forward to me, my Purchase Costs of $149.xx plus HST.

Im' not angry here, but I am very disappointed.
I've told hundreds of people how wonderful your product is,
but this is outright terrible.


Hello John,

Thank you for contacting Kobo customer service about the battery life of your Kobo not being satisfactory.

I will need to escalate this issue to our next level of support and they will determine what can be done at this point.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

The Kobo Team

May-22 2011 09:35



Hi,

There is a number of things you can do to help the battery last longer:
If you have a Wifi ereader, turn the Wifi off,
When not reading turn the ereader off, don't just put it on standby,
Store it in room temperature (not direct sunlight)

The eReader's battery will last different amount of time depending on the amount of usage. However if you are unhappy with the product and looking for a refund you will need to contact the store where you purchased the ereader.

Sincerely
The Kobo Team

May-25 2011 10:20


Or - we can continue excahging these until I actually get one that performs as advertised.

MY ereader is NEVER in the sunlight, and never in a hot place.
And I never use WIFI. I shut it off immidiately.

If you are now claiming I need to power this down every time I go on to another task,
I think the number of renboots I would have to do in a day would eat the battery by lunch time.
As a silly question here, how much power does this use to boot, vs the amount of power in sleep mode?

I see you have halved you original advertised specs.
"Battery Life 10 days or 10,0000 Page Turns"
BUt I have never got anywhere close to that. Closer to 15% of your spec.
Your tech guys promised they would ensure this one met the advertised standards.
It hasn't even come close, it has the worst perfomrance of the 4 I've experienced.

Guys, I'm not looking for confrontation here, I'm only looking for the "advertised performance"
4 out of 4 ereaders have failed to come close.

Next?


May-25 2011 13:00



Hi,

There is a number of factors that can affect the life of the battery. The advertised 10000 page turns for the Kobo Wifi is a maximum battery life for the eReader and many things cause this amount to be reduced such as; using an SD card, using wifi, opening and closing books, turning the eReader on and off, the number of books you are reading, room temperature, leaving it on etc. Please note that all batteries do discharge even when they are not being used.

It is very unlikely that you have had four eReaders all of which have a faulty battery. Please try fully charging the eReader (this takes around three hours) and try reading you book, taking into account the points made above, ensure the wifi is off, don't use an SD card.

Hopefully this clears up and explains the battery concerns you have. Please let us know how you get on.

Sincerely
The Kobo team

May-27 2011 09:54



Sir: I have a maximum of 25 books in internal storage. And have never used a SD card.
I do NOT use wifi, it is turned off. I've tried it with AND without screensaver enabled.
The first thing I did when I took delivery of this one, was to fully charge the battery.

My use has continually been 1 1/2 days, 120-150 pages.

Your opening and closing books comment sounds a bit like
Steve Jobs with the Iphone Antenna fix.

I've been through your tech support suggestions for 4 of these now,
and it has always been your techs suggestion that the batteries are bad.

To now suggest it is something I am doing wrong?
IT would be very easy to be insulted by that.
How much battery is being used to reboot from a shut down?
How much battery is being used to "sleep for a couple hours?

And - How is it, when I specifically ask that the battery life
is checked to ensure it meets specs before the unit is shipped,
that unit has the absolute worst battery life of the four?

Do you want me to power off every time I put this down?
I take this with me every where I go.
If I go for coffee, I either have a hardcover book or my KOBO.
IF I go to the bank or grocery shopping, I have my KOBO fo waiting in lineups.
IF I'm waiting for my Wife from some appointment, I have my KOBO.

I would rather leave it to go to "sleep" mode or screensaver during the day,
and power it off when I sleep.

At what point is letting it go to screen saver more economical for battery life,
rather than constant rebooting?

I'm not trying to be difficult here, your suggestion
I'm doing something wrong brings up those questions.

Your telephone agent told me - with 6,000,000 units sold,
we're bound to run into some problems.

I'm serious here with my questions.
I like my KOBO, but this is getting extremely frustrating.

John
May-27 2011 15:18 John Kervin As an addendum. I fully charged this Saturday May 28, 2:00 pm.
I read off & on through the evening.
I shut it off - powered down at 9:00 pm.



Today, Sunday May 29, 9:48, it is displaying: Battery is low, Recharge.

I can't see that I've done anything to run a "full Charge down like that!

Serial RKBN647142B01462

WIFI
Black

May-29 2011 12:50



John Kervin 10 days later, still no reply, no response.
NO Idea what is going on, I'm just left hanging.

Jun-06 2011 12:20

you know what? your a proffesioanl belly acher complainer. The likely hood of you having 4 units with defective batteries is well highly improbable. Seems to me you just like to complain and well thats a fine hobby to have the real world just goes on with or without your input.

good luck

[smoggy]

I had some good news today, so In good conscience I though I should post this update.

Through trial and error, I was able to figure out the Kobo CEO's Email address.
I emailed him with a short description of my problems, my support # and
my desire to have some idea of what is happening.

I got an email back this morning, and this afternoon I got a call from
the Lady in charge of Tech support. An engineer is now testing a new unit
to ensure it meets specs, and when he is satisfied, it will be sent to me
at which time, I can try it out and return my problem unit.

I still love this unit, my issue has all along been poor battery life.
And of course, the escalation team ignoring me for 20 days.


When I get the good working unit I will be one happy camper

Thank you to the KOBO senior management.

[Lordvic]

That sounds like what I thought was happening the first few times i used my Kobo.

I thought i was charging it fully with my netbook. I'd plug it in. Leave to charge. Come back a few hours later, see the blue light, unplug it and run.

1 day, maybe 2 tops and it was reporting battery issues.

tried again. happened again.

I decided to charge it the next time while i was actually using the computer. Using only "sleep" mode, i got easily 7 days and 2 novels worth of charge. ( I read the first 2 books of Song of ice and fire on a single charge).

So i did my netbook while i was away again. 1 day.

something didnt seem right to me. so i experimented. What i discovered was perhaps a bug. If you shut off your computer, or let it go into standby mode, or anything in which the USB ports stop providing power, The light on the Kobo automatically turns to blue, and stays blue until you start to use the device.

This could easily be confused for a "full charge" when in all liklihood you have received a partial charge, at most.

Perhaps it's something for Kobo to fix. that blue light should only stay solid for a 100% complete charge. not if power is removed before fully charged.

[moffattm]

What would really be handy is a percentage indicator to be shown while it's charging, rather than just relying on the red/blue light.

[smoggy]

Originally Posted by jackastor

you know what? your a proffesioanl belly acher complainer. The likely hood of you having 4 units with defective batteries is well highly improbable. Seems to me you just like to complain and well thats a fine hobby to have the real world just goes on with or without your input.

good luck

Only because of your rude reply, will I bother responding to you.

First off you are living up to your username.

I posted some comments on poor tech support, because I saw some Kobo people responding to some comments, and I thought it was worth a shot.
Because of that post, I came back to comment on the positive resolution.

Secondly, if you look around different forums, I've found half a dozen people
with the same issues. I've seen the same issues on the Kobo support forum archivers. I've also seen posts from people so frustrated with support that they've thrown out their Kobo & bought another brand.

4 units, 4 short battery life, 4 KOBO techies diagnosing it as battery failure,
and you in your flatulent wisdom - know better? You obviously seem satisfied with a product that gives 10% of its advertised performance.
Good for you. Get yourself a hero cookie.

The world gets along just fine without your smart assed rudeness also.

[Sregener]

Since I started this thread, let me follow up a little. By powering the unit off, I have gotten the battery life I expected. I am confused as to why sleep mode uses so much power, since it was my understanding that eink only uses battery power to refresh the screen. I don't have any battery-sucking settings turned on. But for whatever reason, just turning it off saves the juice.

[ltr]

Originally Posted by Sregener

..I am confused as to why sleep mode uses so much power

Yeah, so am I.

I expected the sleep mode would consume less power as the internal computer doesn't have to run through its power consuming boot routine every time.

I guess that's not the case though, because sleep definitely lowers battery life. I certainly get 100% of the Kobos advertised battery life when I use power off each time and stay away from the WiFi.

ltr

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by moffattm

What would really be handy is a percentage indicator to be shown while it's charging, rather than just relying on the red/blue light.

I think a battery indicator with a percent would be nice as well much like what the iphone has.

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by Sregener

Since I started this thread, let me follow up a little. By powering the unit off, I have gotten the battery life I expected. I am confused as to why sleep mode uses so much power, since it was my understanding that eink only uses battery power to refresh the screen. I don't have any battery-sucking settings turned on. But for whatever reason, just turning it off saves the juice.

Could it be that the wifi is still on? Although I notice that it appears to be off as there are no bars indicating connection. That said even if the wifi was not connected but still on it would be a drain to the battery. its just an educated guess but i do know wifi activly drains power, not sure what the power consumption would be in idle mode, food for thought at any rate.

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by smoggy

Only because of your rude reply, will I bother responding to you.

First off you are living up to your username.

I posted some comments on poor tech support, because I saw some Kobo people responding to some comments, and I thought it was worth a shot.
Because of that post, I came back to comment on the positive resolution.

Secondly, if you look around different forums, I've found half a dozen people
with the same issues. I've seen the same issues on the Kobo support forum archivers. I've also seen posts from people so frustrated with support that they've thrown out their Kobo & bought another brand.

4 units, 4 short battery life, 4 KOBO techies diagnosing it as battery failure,
and you in your flatulent wisdom - know better? You obviously seem satisfied with a product that gives 10% of its advertised performance.
Good for you. Get yourself a hero cookie.

The world gets along just fine without your smart assed rudeness also.

your entitled to your opinion. we are entitled to our opinion. whether you like it or not.