Kobo Remote causing high battery drain

[Ambient]

Originally Posted by EnterNameHere

Is anybody/everybody else seeing the same on their Libra 2?

Yes, same behavior on my Libra 2. I suspect it is constantly disconnecting/reconnecting every 30 seconds or so and that contributes to the poor battery life.

I have an 8bitdo controller and in the Bluetooth menu while connected it is also continuously scanning, however it never disconnects and I never have issues with button presses not registering. The battery life is somewhat better, but still pretty bad.

[RobertJSawyer]

Originally Posted by EnterNameHere

I have a Libra 2 and am suffering the same problems with my remote as others have reported (high battery drain; button not always registering; frequent disconnects).

One thing I have noticed when my remote is connected and I look at More > Settings > Bluetooth connection, is that in the SAVED DEVICES section, under "Kobo Remote", it says "CONNECTED". Then, when the blue light starts flashing on the remote (as mentioned above) it changes to "SAVED, AVAILABLE". Once the blue light stops flashing, it changes back to "CONNECTED".

Also, at the bottom left of this screen, it constantly says Scanning... and there is a progress circle which never stops rotating.

Is anybody/everybody else seeing the same on their Libra 2?

Yes, I'm see precisely the same behavior you've described, including the changing to "SAVED, AVAILABLE."

[JSWolf]

Are you seeing WiFi on as well as BT?

[RobertJSawyer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Are you seeing WiFi on as well as BT?

Yes. And if I manually turn Wi-Fi off (either on the "Wi Fi connection" screen in "Settings," or by touching the icon at the top of the main screen), Wi-Fi turns itself back on almost at once.

If I turn off Bluetooth, then turning off Wi-Fi works (meaning it stays off).

[RobertJSawyer]

I don't have a Kobo Libra Colour but I'm thinking of getting one.

Has anyone noticed the same battery-drain problem on the Kobo Libra Colour that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

What about the frequent (every 30 seconds) dropping of connection (for 3 seconds) that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

Many thanks!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I don't have a Kobo Libra Colour but I'm thinking of getting one.

Has anyone noticed the same battery-drain problem on the Kobo Libra Colour that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

What about the frequent (every 30 seconds) dropping of connection (for 3 seconds) that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

Many thanks!

I haven't noticed the disconnect issue on my KLC but since I have a rather high reading speed, I do page turns more often which may prevent any issues from being noticeable.

[Squirsier]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I don't have a Kobo Libra Colour but I'm thinking of getting one.

Has anyone noticed the same battery-drain problem on the Kobo Libra Colour that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

What about the frequent (every 30 seconds) dropping of connection (for 3 seconds) that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

Many thanks!

The battery drain is indeed there on my Kobo Libra Colour, but I haven't encountered the connection drop problem (yet?). Had the remote since Christmas and using it almost daily!

[PHughes]

I have had no issues with dropping on my Clara BW. The battery drain isn't bad at all, if I turn off WIFI when using it. I read a couple hours last night before going to bed, and used the remote. It went from 94% to 91%. I'm happy with that. Now, if Kobo supplies a fix that allows WIFI to remain off when waking, it will be great.

[Aleron Ives]

I have to wonder how many of these reports of high battery drain are just the result of Kobo's terrible battery meter reporting nonsensical values and have nothing to do with the remote at all. It's a bit odd that some people report massive battery drain, while others say the drain is minimal.

[PHughes]

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

I have to wonder how many of these reports of high battery drain are just the result of Kobo's terrible battery meter reporting nonsensical values and have nothing to do with the remote at all. It's a bit odd that some people report massive battery drain, while others say the drain is minimal.

I would say it is not a factor. My old Clara HD did in fact have a terrible battery meter. The Clara BW I have now has not exhibited that issue. When I use the remote, with bluetooth and WIFI enabled, it shows high drain. When I use the remote with bluetooth enabled, and WIFI turned off, the drain is much less.

[Ambient]

Is anyone using the remote with a Libra 2 and not seeing high battery drain? I have Bluetooth enabled, wifi disabled through Nickelmenu and force wifi is also off in developer options. I'm seeing over 10% drain per hour. Kobo wants to issue a replacement remote.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Ambient

Is anyone using the remote with a Libra 2 and not seeing high battery drain? I have Bluetooth enabled, wifi disabled through Nickelmenu and force wifi is also off in developer options. I'm seeing over 10% drain per hour. Kobo wants to issue a replacement remote.

Since the power drain issue seems to depend on the hardware of the ereader, I suspect the remote does not need to be changed. It may be possible to fix the issue in the firmware for the Libra 2.

For my use case, my KLC shows less drain when using the remote than when playing an audiobook considering that both require having Bluetooth enabled.

[Ambient]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Since the power drain issue seems to depend on the hardware of the ereader, I suspect the remote does not need to be changed. It may be possible to fix the issue in the firmware for the Libra 2.

For my use case, my KLC shows less drain when using the remote than when playing an audiobook considering that both require having Bluetooth enabled.

That is what I suspect as well. Will likely go ahead with the replacement on the off chance it's defective. Even using my 8bitdo remote results in about 8% battery drain per hour. The battery on my Libra 2 has always been a bit strange after the first year or so. Even after factory resets and when trying koreader.

[Zeebra]

Originally Posted by RobertJSawyer

I don't have a Kobo Libra Colour but I'm thinking of getting one.

Has anyone noticed the same battery-drain problem on the Kobo Libra Colour that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

What about the frequent (every 30 seconds) dropping of connection (for 3 seconds) that people (myself included) are seeing on the Kobo Libra 2?

Many thanks!

I have the KLC, no issues at all with the remote, I've read in bed for 30+ minutes or more without any problems turning pages.

I haven't really paid attention to the battery, and considering this is my first Kobo I have nothing to compare it with, but since I haven't really bothered with it, I would say the battery life seems fine for me. I'm able to read about 2-3 books depending on length without recharging.

[Squirsier]

Originally Posted by TPadden

Sorry about the double post but for those not following the other remote thread:

Strange, though the remote's power draw on my Clara BW is high, it seems to be very usable with both my Android and iOS Kobo apps. Until fixed I'm very happy to use it with my iPad Mini. Paired right up and works like a champ.

I'd like to try with an iPad, but on my iPhone, not only does it not work to turn pages, it actually makes iOS thinks this is a keyboard so I lose the screen one. I know, because if I hold one of the remote's buttons, the cursor in the type field stops blinking...