[OFFICIAL] Why did Kobo change the Sleep/Power Off behaviour?

[the hatter]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

Excatly what I asked them:

ETC.

Looks like their customer support is not even bothering to read the requests, because the same thing happened to me.

My email:

Jul 05 15:34 (EDT):
Hi, I would appreciate if you could make the auto-shutdown feature at least optional, rather than mandatory. I like that the Kobo will go into sleep mode automatically, but I don't want it to completely power off by itself. If I wanted to completely shut it off, i would do it myself.
The sleep mode as you currently have it implemented is nearly pointless since the device will never stay asleep for more than 15 minutes. Please either remove the auto-shutdown, or at least make it optional.

George's response (I'm assuming it's the same George):

George, Jul 05 16:30 (EDT):
Hi;
Thank you for your recent inquiry. We hope this helps. After the firmware update you will be able to:
To place the eReader in Sleep mode press the Power button once. This is a great way to conserve battery power. To start reading again press the Power button once
You can power it directly off as well. Rather than pressing the button (which would go to sleep mode) instead hold the button and it will power off.
sincerely The Kobo Team



Completely ridiculous. I'm glad that they try to respond quickly, but I'd rather that they actually take the time to read our comments and suggestions before responding to them. Poor form.

[Pookeysgirl]

[QUOTE=the hatter;994540]Looks like their customer support is not even bothering to read the requests, because the same thing happened to me.

Well, I guess it wasn't because they couldn't understand what I was getting at. Your letter was very well put, there's no way to misinterpret what you want. I replied to "George" earlier, hopefully I will get a proper response soon.

[the hatter]

Yeah, I re-opened my request by adding a comment. We'll see what they say this time.

[wrenn1]

One of my biggest frustrations with Kobo was that their responses gave me the impression that they didn't read my request. It really was like a canned response was sent out with similar or familiar words in a request. It is insulting. I too would rather be ignored than insulted.

[SameerH]

Originally Posted by wrenn1

One of my biggest frustrations with Kobo was that their responses gave me the impression that they didn't read my request. It really was like a canned response was sent out with similar or familiar words in a request. It is insulting. I too would rather be ignored than insulted.

Well that's not very nice at all, that shouldn't have happened. Our folks should be providing each ticket the individual TLC that you guys deserve. Sorry this was the case, I'll try and get to the bottom of it.

Note that feature requests (such as to change the power off feature) are being heard LOUD AND CLEAR. (That would be an understatement). We're on it and we'll be figuring something out soon.

[wrenn1]

Sammer, It happened consistently. (I had many requests in the beginning). I was shaking my head wondering whether I was losing my mind. It was very confusing to read.

I was very happy to find mobilereads where there were Kobo people (you) who actually relate or "hear". :-)

[tpw]

Originally Posted by SameerH

Note that feature requests (such as to change the power off feature) are being heard LOUD AND CLEAR. (That would be an understatement). We're on it and we'll be figuring something out soon.

Great news Sameer, thanks very much for a positive response!

[Jestocost]

Originally Posted by SameerH

We're on it and we'll be figuring something out soon.

Fantastic. Thanks once again for listening to us and getting a quick response out!

Personally I can live with the mostly useless auto-shutdown, but there's just something irritating about knowing that if you leave your device alone, it will do something you don't want it to do. Also, a proper manual sleep mode is a feature I would actually use and greatly appreciate.

[RedRoverJ]

I had an interesting observation today.

I have developed the habit of tapping the power button to put my Kobo in sleep mode, knowing that it will power off in 15mins anyway. Today, around noon, I did just that. However, when I got home, around 4 hours later, my Kobo was STILL in sleep mode and had not powered down. At first I was thrilled until I realized my battery was almost dead. Previously, it was probably around 75% charged.

Anyway, I will see if it happens again but at first glance that certainly isn't encouraging.

[fred_yu_job]

Originally Posted by RedRoverJ

battery was almost dead. Previously, it was probably around 75% charged.

hmmm...Looks like we know the reason of the auto-shutoff...

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by fred_yu_job

hmmm...Looks like we know the reason of the auto-shutoff...

Yeah. I initially suspected that the auto sleep/shut off "fix" was in response to the horrendous battery life that some were complaining of. However, I never had that problem before the update. I will charge my Kobo and see if I can get it to repeat this performance.

[anidel]

Maybe it was hitting other objects and, thus, not turning off but going sleep/non sleep repeatedly ?

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by anidel

Maybe it was hitting other objects and, thus, not turning off but going sleep/non sleep repeatedly ?

Nope. It was sitting stationery in my locker the whole time, that is until I left work and drove the five minutes home. Besides, I have the Kobo sleeve so even in a bag it's not likely.

[anidel]

Then some internal process must have been stuck and consumed CPU power.
Staying asleep shouldn't have consumed the device battery so quickly anyway...

[RedRoverJ]

Originally Posted by anidel

Then some internal process must have been stuck and consumed CPU power.
Staying asleep shouldn't have consumed the device battery so quickly anyway...

That is what I was thinking. Maybe some process got stuck prior to shutting down which prevented it from powering off. As long as it doesn't happen again, I won't worry about it too much.