Old Kindle e-reader not showing battery charge

darkthings · 03-07-2020, 05:14 AM

I have a 4th generation ereader. i got in 2011. It works fine. But now if I plug it in the battery always shows charged . The icon battery always shows charged even when it is dead or dying. Is there something I can do about this?

mergen3107 · 03-11-2020, 01:18 AM

Looks like your old battery deteriorated so bad, that its *full* charge now is at about 1-2% of designed capacity. Or maybe battery controller gone mad. Try replacing the battery.

stumped · 03-11-2020, 02:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mergen3107

Looks like your old battery deteriorated so bad, that its *full* charge now is at about 1-2% of designed capacity. Or maybe battery controller gone mad. Try replacing the battery.

unless it has sentimental value- replace the whole thing, and be glad it lasted 9 years
it would cost as much or more, to replace only the battery, and the chances of finding one that is compatible and genuinely new, is remote
even the basic 2019 kindle will outperform what you had, noticably

darkthings · 03-13-2020, 12:36 AM

Oddly enough I have not replaced it because the battery stays charged. For a couple of weeks. Its only died once since xmas. Its just odd that I cannot tell when it needs a charge or is done charging. The icon is full all the time on screen And light just stays green. Even when it actually died it did this. I was just wondering if there is a fix for light or icon.

stumped · 03-13-2020, 02:36 AM

doubtful - it will not be a faulty led, it will probably be a fault in the circuitry that detects and measures battery charge.
if you want to keep it, you could just establish a routine of charging it once per week anyway , and ignoring lights and icons.
never letting it go down to zero may prolong battery life

Quoth · 03-13-2020, 04:53 AM

It's about €14 to €16 for a battery on ebay. I think almost all the Kindle batteries are available though I've no idea how good they are. Match the long model number on the battery. There is a controller in the battery pack. Unlike some gadgets it's not glued and comes apart. Two screws mount battery connector. No soldering.

The symptoms are that of a worn out battery. Soon it won't start. If it's 3.4.x FW or later it will display publisher font and azw3/kf8.

stumped · 03-13-2020, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

It's about €14 to €16 for a battery on ebay. I think almost all the Kindle batteries are available though I've no idea how good they are. Match the long model number on the battery. There is a controller in the battery pack. Unlike some gadgets it's not glued and comes apart. Two screws mount battery connector. No soldering.

The symptoms are that of a worn out battery. Soon it won't start. If it's 3.4.x FW or later it will display publisher font and azw3/kf8.

at that price, go for it.

that's much cheaper and simpler that the equivalent job on an amazon fire tablet

and if the "new " battery is crap, swap the old one back in and claim a paypal refund

Quoth · 03-13-2020, 01:41 PM

I've two now dead KKs here. One mine and one a friend's. I ordered a battery coincidentally a few days ago. Another 2 to 6 weeks and I'll report how it goes and if worth ordering a 2nd one.

So far the oldest thing I've repaired is a 1929 "portable" radio. I have the bits of a rather older style 1928 model someone dismantled. There was a huge rate of change from 1922 to 1934 on radios.

stumped · 03-13-2020, 01:51 PM

The risk is if the batteries on eBay are not actually newly made , but old stock that have been gathering dust in storage for years. Because li on batteries deteriorate, more so if not kept charged.
PayPal is good protection though and if one install is as easy as stated then low risk

Quoth · 03-13-2020, 02:03 PM

The long term solution is to figure if the controller has a cycle life counter or is dumber. If it simply measures the cell then taking the pack apart and putting the small control PCB on suitable size newly made LiIon cell is the solution. At least the Kobo uses a bare cell, not a pack with integral controller.

stumped · 03-13-2020, 02:24 PM

maybe a bit off topic but I would be interested to see a wider list of what amazon devices are relatively easy to fix/change battery in ( ease of opening case, soldering required?, availability of parts...) and which are not. I did look into replacing a fire tablet battery last year and that looked way beyond my competence level.

so is it the same for all kindles, or easier for older ones....

Quoth · 03-13-2020, 02:51 PM

The DXG is very easily opened.
The Keyboard B008 model seemed easy to open for me.

Newer products generally are harder and use more glue. Exception is Kobo Original H2O (uses single piece double sided tape on front bezel, really tricky, esp to reassemble) vs the much newer Kobo Libra (back pops off really easily).

Apple stuff is mostly dreadful. Many lesser name brands and no name brand tablets can pop apart with a guitar plectrum.

Older laptops pretty easy. Newer ones ghastly. One model had the keyboard panel affixed to front panel by melting all the plastic studs that passed through it. It took some care and ingenuity to fit the new keyboard. Clip in LiIon packs have been replaced by glued in pouch types to save money and a little weight. My previous laptop was in used solidly from April 2002 to November 2018. Obviously it had the battery pack replaced quite a few times. Keyboard replaced once. Screen hinges repaired once. Finally the case began to disintegrate. I got a lesser spec different model with faulty screen, no battery and no HDD for £10 on eBay because it was actually the same case/body. It was always easy to work on. The scrap model donating case happened to also have a x2 better graphics card with x4 RAM and amazingly three DELL model ranges took same case and could interchange the graphics.

The worst value is the All-in-one Desktops. Garbage quality using customised laptop motherboards. Easier to get replacement laptop screens & parts. Cost more yet no UPS (the battery in a laptop is a free UPS worth over $150!). Cheaper to buy a screen, keyboard and laptop than a poorer spec all-in-one. Docks are also a waste of money. Save little time and a source of incompatibility and crashes.

I'm glad I don't work in IT any longer!

texasnightowl · 10-05-2020, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quoth

I've two now dead KKs here. One mine and one a friend's. I ordered a battery coincidentally a few days ago. Another 2 to 6 weeks and I'll report how it goes and if worth ordering a 2nd one.

I know this is an older thread, and you may have posted about this elsewhere, but how did the replacement battery work? I'm looking for a battery for one of my KKs...who did you order from?

JSWolf · 10-05-2020, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasnightowl

I know this is an older thread, and you may have posted about this elsewhere, but how did the replacement battery work? I'm looking for a battery for one of my KKs...who did you order from?

I recommend NewPower99 for a new battery. They even have a video on how to replace the battery. It will cost roughly $30.

https://www.newpower99.com/Amazon_Ki...20keyboard.htm

texasnightowl · 10-05-2020, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I recommend NewPower99 for a new battery. They even have a video on how to replace the battery. It will cost roughly $30.

https://www.newpower99.com/Amazon_Ki...20keyboard.htm

Are NewPower99 batteries newly manufactured? I don't want to buy a battery that has been sitting on a shelf for 5+ years.

03-07-2020, 05:14 AM	#1
darkthings Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: kindle	Old Kindle e-reader not showing battery charge I have a 4th generation ereader. i got in 2011. It works fine. But now if I plug it in the battery always shows charged . The icon battery always shows charged even when it is dead or dying. Is there something I can do about this?

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03-11-2020, 01:18 AM	#2
mergen3107 Wizard Posts: 1,506 Karma: 5000046 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Canaveral Device: Kindle Scribe	Looks like your old battery deteriorated so bad, that its full charge now is at about 1-2% of designed capacity. Or maybe battery controller gone mad. Try replacing the battery.

03-13-2020, 12:36 AM	#4
darkthings Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: kindle	Oddly enough I have not replaced it because the battery stays charged. For a couple of weeks. Its only died once since xmas. Its just odd that I cannot tell when it needs a charge or is done charging. The icon is full all the time on screen And light just stays green. Even when it actually died it did this. I was just wondering if there is a fix for light or icon.

03-13-2020, 02:36 AM	#5
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	doubtful - it will not be a faulty led, it will probably be a fault in the circuitry that detects and measures battery charge. if you want to keep it, you could just establish a routine of charging it once per week anyway , and ignoring lights and icons. never letting it go down to zero may prolong battery life

03-13-2020, 04:53 AM	#6
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,035 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	It's about €14 to €16 for a battery on ebay. I think almost all the Kindle batteries are available though I've no idea how good they are. Match the long model number on the battery. There is a controller in the battery pack. Unlike some gadgets it's not glued and comes apart. Two screws mount battery connector. No soldering. The symptoms are that of a worn out battery. Soon it won't start. If it's 3.4.x FW or later it will display publisher font and azw3/kf8.

03-13-2020, 01:41 PM	#8
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,035 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	I've two now dead KKs here. One mine and one a friend's. I ordered a battery coincidentally a few days ago. Another 2 to 6 weeks and I'll report how it goes and if worth ordering a 2nd one. So far the oldest thing I've repaired is a 1929 "portable" radio. I have the bits of a rather older style 1928 model someone dismantled. There was a huge rate of change from 1922 to 1934 on radios.

03-13-2020, 01:51 PM	#9
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	The risk is if the batteries on eBay are not actually newly made , but old stock that have been gathering dust in storage for years. Because li on batteries deteriorate, more so if not kept charged. PayPal is good protection though and if one install is as easy as stated then low risk

03-13-2020, 02:03 PM	#10
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,035 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	The long term solution is to figure if the controller has a cycle life counter or is dumber. If it simply measures the cell then taking the pack apart and putting the small control PCB on suitable size newly made LiIon cell is the solution. At least the Kobo uses a bare cell, not a pack with integral controller.

03-13-2020, 02:24 PM	#11
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	maybe a bit off topic but I would be interested to see a wider list of what amazon devices are relatively easy to fix/change battery in ( ease of opening case, soldering required?, availability of parts...) and which are not. I did look into replacing a fire tablet battery last year and that looked way beyond my competence level. so is it the same for all kindles, or easier for older ones....

03-13-2020, 02:51 PM	#12
Quoth Still reading Posts: 14,035 Karma: 105092227 Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Ireland Device: All 4 Kinds: epub eink, Kindle, android eink, NxtPaper	The DXG is very easily opened. The Keyboard B008 model seemed easy to open for me. Newer products generally are harder and use more glue. Exception is Kobo Original H2O (uses single piece double sided tape on front bezel, really tricky, esp to reassemble) vs the much newer Kobo Libra (back pops off really easily). Apple stuff is mostly dreadful. Many lesser name brands and no name brand tablets can pop apart with a guitar plectrum. Older laptops pretty easy. Newer ones ghastly. One model had the keyboard panel affixed to front panel by melting all the plastic studs that passed through it. It took some care and ingenuity to fit the new keyboard. Clip in LiIon packs have been replaced by glued in pouch types to save money and a little weight. My previous laptop was in used solidly from April 2002 to November 2018. Obviously it had the battery pack replaced quite a few times. Keyboard replaced once. Screen hinges repaired once. Finally the case began to disintegrate. I got a lesser spec different model with faulty screen, no battery and no HDD for £10 on eBay because it was actually the same case/body. It was always easy to work on. The scrap model donating case happened to also have a x2 better graphics card with x4 RAM and amazingly three DELL model ranges took same case and could interchange the graphics. The worst value is the All-in-one Desktops. Garbage quality using customised laptop motherboards. Easier to get replacement laptop screens & parts. Cost more yet no UPS (the battery in a laptop is a free UPS worth over $150!). Cheaper to buy a screen, keyboard and laptop than a poorer spec all-in-one. Docks are also a waste of money. Save little time and a source of incompatibility and crashes. I'm glad I don't work in IT any longer!