Leaving Wi-Fi Off over time is fine for the PW4?

Paperbackstash · 05-28-2020, 05:06 PM

I keep having random issues with my PW4 since last year, but also with other e-readers (a PW3 and Kindle Fire). I always leave Wi-Fi off except for random updates -- I turn on to load in new books purchased, and once those are downloaded, which can be an effort, I turn the Wi-Fi back off

My question is, could I be causing myself issues by doing this? I used this PW4 a lot, pretty much daily, could I be wearing it out more or inadvertently causing more glitches by doing this with the Wi-fi?

rem736 · 05-28-2020, 06:31 PM

i do this all the time with my voyage and oasis. i only turn on wifi to check for updates. no issues. you didn't describe what your random issues are.

Sirtel · 05-28-2020, 06:59 PM

I turn wifi on perhaps once a year, if that. That goes for all my Kindles, the Voyage and the Oases. No issues.

Paperbackstash · 05-29-2020, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rem736

i do this all the time with my voyage and oasis. i only turn on wifi to check for updates. no issues. you didn't describe what your random issues are.

Main bug is downloading issues. The book will say it's downloaded, but then keeps redownloading after saying queued when I click to open it. The problem isn't every time, but it's often enough, sometimes taking over 30 minutes to get a book. That gets frustrating to say the least. I have this problem on both paperwhites, although it's worse on the 4, so I was wondering if perhaps the device gets confused if I keep switching the Wi-Fi on or off.

Sirtel · 05-29-2020, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

Main bug is downloading issues. The book will say it's downloaded, but then keeps redownloading after saying queued when I click to open it. The problem isn't every time, but it's often enough, sometimes taking over 30 minutes to get a book. That gets frustrating to say the least. I have this problem on both paperwhites, although it's worse on the 4, so I was wondering if perhaps the device gets confused if I keep switching the Wi-Fi on or off.

Yeah. That's why I sideload, since the downloading problems have existed for 10 years if not more. Really, Amazon.

JSWolf · 05-29-2020, 07:12 AM

And don't forget, syncing can also cause your cover thumbnails to be lost if you have side loaded books not from Amazon.

Paperbackstash · 05-29-2020, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah. That's why I sideload, since the downloading problems have existed for 10 years if not more. Really, Amazon.

Ugh, I may have to do that more. I do sideload books but usually when they are sources other than Amazon. I subscribe to KU and that especially I use the Wi-Fi download option. I was without this bug until last year, but it gets to the point where if you only have 30 minutes to read and it takes 30 minutes to get that book to download, then it's defeating the point of e-reader convenience

Sirtel · 05-29-2020, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

Ugh, I may have to do that more. I do sideload books but usually when they are sources other than Amazon. I subscribe to KU and that especially I use the Wi-Fi download option. I was without this bug until last year, but it gets to the point where if you only have 30 minutes to read and it takes 30 minutes to get that book to download, then it's defeating the point of e-reader convenience

Ah well, with KU you have to download, of course. KU is not available in my country. I've actually tried it with the help of perhaps not-so-legal means, but as my Kindles are registered in my own country, it would be just too much bother to maintain a regular subscription and authors might not get paid.

shalym · 05-29-2020, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah. That's why I sideload, since the downloading problems have existed for 10 years if not more. Really, Amazon.

Interesting. I've never had an ongoing problem with downloading books or updates. Once or twice I've had a book appear to get stuck on a particular device and had to reboot, but as soon as the device is rebooted the book finishes downloading with no problem.

I do always leave wifi on, though, so maybe that *does* make a difference?

Shari

Sirtel · 05-29-2020, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shalym

Interesting. I've never had an ongoing problem with downloading books or updates. Once or twice I've had a book appear to get stuck on a particular device and had to reboot, but as soon as the device is rebooted the book finishes downloading with no problem.

I do always leave wifi on, though, so maybe that *does* make a difference?

Shari

The problems were intermittent, not exactly daily. Had I completely relied on Amazon, I probably would just have grit my teeth and endured. But I used Calibre for managing my books anyway (I have always bought from various stores, not only Amazon) and so I just started to populate my Kindles from Calibre too. End of problems.

The troubles were not only with stuck downloads, but also books not always opening or stuck indexing, and collections glitching, and possibly other bugs I no longer remember. Not every day or every week, but often enough that it annoyed me.

Paperbackstash · 05-30-2020, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shalym

Interesting. I've never had an ongoing problem with downloading books or updates. Once or twice I've had a book appear to get stuck on a particular device and had to reboot, but as soon as the device is rebooted the book finishes downloading with no problem.

I do always leave wifi on, though, so maybe that *does* make a difference?

Shari

That's what I was wondering. I turn mine on when I buy new books, or "rent" new books, which is semi often. So I'm turning it on usually every other week, sometimes weekly, but I don't leave the wi-fi on long --- only enough to download the books, unless I forget for a bit. I'm wondering if this is confusing it over time since I now have downloading issues with two devices.

I may be completely off base, though.

I am going to do testing later today to see if it's something with my internet. There's no way I can change my internet, and nothing ELSE besides Amazon seems to have issues with it, but I have on rare occasions downloaded a book using phone data through hotspot, and I don't think the issue was as bad with that. This shouldn't affect it but who knows. I know my Echo Show and Echo Dot will not do multi-room music either, I've been on the help desk and amazon forums and there are others reporting this bug for 2 years without any answer from Amazon - I think the bug is not frequent enough for them to worry about it.

Just curious if the downloading issue persists when I try with my phone later if it's not downloading over regular wi-fi. I'm also going to download with the PW4, then the PW3, and then the fire to see if one struggles more than the other. This problem is annoying.

Paperbackstash · 05-30-2020, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

The troubles were not only with stuck downloads, but also books not always opening or stuck indexing, and collections glitching, and possibly other bugs I no longer remember. Not every day or every week, but often enough that it annoyed me.

I don't have the issue with stuck indexing. I check it every so often to make sure when I get frustrated at slowness or delays with the PW4, just checked a few days ago because it was frustrating me.

Another reason I leave Wi-Fi off is it speeds up my device a little, and I already find the paperwhites painfully slow in general if you're doing something other than reading a book that's already open.

Due to the speed and frustration, I don't mess with collections at all on the device.

DuckieTigger · 05-30-2020, 03:48 PM

@Paperbackstash, the last few weeks my internet is flaky as well. It effects every device and service though. Hopefully yours, and mine, goes back to being rock solid as it used to be before so many people were stuck at home.

Paperbackstash · 05-30-2020, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

@Paperbackstash, the last few weeks my internet is flaky as well. It effects every device and service though. Hopefully yours, and mine, goes back to being rock solid as it used to be before so many people were stuck at home.

Sadly this isn't a new issue with me - it's been going on awhile with Amazon glitches. My internet by itself seems okay, I had a new modem installed 2 months ago because my old one finally died. Who knows though.

Deskisamess · 05-30-2020, 05:22 PM

My husband keeps the WiFi off on his Paperwhite 2nd gen, and I leave the WiFi on all the time on my Oasis 2. It takes him a long time to finish a book as he isn't retired yet, and is a slow reader. I typically read 2-5 books per week, so I prefer the WiFi left on.

In all my years of using Kindles, I've never had issues with a book downloading over and over, or not completing the download process. Any odd behavior has always been cured by a reboot. (Not a factory reset)

05-28-2020, 05:06 PM	#1
Paperbackstash Wizard Posts: 1,666 Karma: 20102554 Join Date: Aug 2018 Location: Central Florida Device: Oasis 3, PW 3 & 5, Fire HD 8 & 10	Leaving Wi-Fi Off over time is fine for the PW4? I keep having random issues with my PW4 since last year, but also with other e-readers (a PW3 and Kindle Fire). I always leave Wi-Fi off except for random updates -- I turn on to load in new books purchased, and once those are downloaded, which can be an effort, I turn the Wi-Fi back off My question is, could I be causing myself issues by doing this? I used this PW4 a lot, pretty much daily, could I be wearing it out more or inadvertently causing more glitches by doing this with the Wi-fi?

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05-28-2020, 06:31 PM	#2
rem736 purpose priority passion Posts: 646 Karma: 9002000 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: socal, usa Device: sony prs-350, rM2, kindle scribe, boox poke5	i do this all the time with my voyage and oasis. i only turn on wifi to check for updates. no issues. you didn't describe what your random issues are.

05-28-2020, 06:59 PM	#3
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,994 Karma: 243829945 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	I turn wifi on perhaps once a year, if that. That goes for all my Kindles, the Voyage and the Oases. No issues.

05-29-2020, 07:12 AM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,782 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	And don't forget, syncing can also cause your cover thumbnails to be lost if you have side loaded books not from Amazon.

05-30-2020, 03:48 PM	#13
DuckieTigger Wizard Posts: 4,764 Karma: 246906703 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA Device: Oasis 3, Oasis 2, PW3, PW1, KT	@Paperbackstash, the last few weeks my internet is flaky as well. It effects every device and service though. Hopefully yours, and mine, goes back to being rock solid as it used to be before so many people were stuck at home.

05-30-2020, 05:22 PM	#15
Deskisamess Wizard Posts: 2,777 Karma: 45827761 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Ohio Device: iPhone 13 Pro, iPad mini, iPad Pro 12.9",Paperwhite 6.8", Scribe 2022	My husband keeps the WiFi off on his Paperwhite 2nd gen, and I leave the WiFi on all the time on my Oasis 2. It takes him a long time to finish a book as he isn't retired yet, and is a slow reader. I typically read 2-5 books per week, so I prefer the WiFi left on. In all my years of using Kindles, I've never had issues with a book downloading over and over, or not completing the download process. Any odd behavior has always been cured by a reboot. (Not a factory reset)