Troubleshooting Kindle keyboard battery life?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I'd rather buy a new battery than send my Kindle in for them to replace it and lose it's use for a week while they do for me what should be a user replacement operation and even with the stupid design of the product is simple enough to do even for the relatively non tinkering consumer.

Actually what Amazon normally do is send you the replacement and THEN request that you return the original, precisely so that you aren't without it . Their customer service is something that many other companies could usefully learn from.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Actually what Amazon normally do is send you the replacement and THEN request that you return the original, precisely so that you aren't without it . Their customer service is something that many other companies could usefully learn from.

Oh sure, I want to completely re-install my entire library and have it reindexing forever! No thanks.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Oh sure, I want to completely re-install my entire library and have it reindexing forever! No thanks.

Just making a suggestion, my friend. The choice is of course entirely yours .

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Just making a suggestion, my friend. The choice is of course entirely yours .

But then my original post was a simply a suggestion to the OP on something to consider if he ended up leaning toward self-replacement.

[HarryT]

Certainly. My point was simply that - at least under EU consumer law - a company is not allowed to simply offer a warranty of an arbitrary length; they have to replace or repair a product for a "reasonable" period of time, and 18 months is not a reasonable lifetime for a lithium battery.

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Certainly. My point was simply that - at least under EU consumer law - a company is not allowed to simply offer a warranty of an arbitrary length; they have to replace or repair a product for a "reasonable" period of time, and 18 months is not a reasonable lifetime for a lithium battery.

Agree, but lithium battery lifetime used or not is limited to between 2 to 3 years. So 18 months is in some ways 3/4 lifetime on the low end of the scale.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

Agree, but lithium battery lifetime used or not is limited to between 2 to 3 years. So 18 months is in some ways 3/4 lifetime on the low end of the scail.

For something like a laptop, which is being charged every day, then yes, I agree. That's where the number of charge cycles is the limiting factor. But in a Kindle, where the number of charge cycles is negligible, really the dominating factor should be the natural ageing of the battery, and 18 months is awfully low then. I'd expect to get 5 years out of a battery before its capacity was reduced to half of the original capacity.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Certainly. My point was simply that - at least under EU consumer law - a company is not allowed to simply offer a warranty of an arbitrary length; they have to replace or repair a product for a "reasonable" period of time, and 18 months is not a reasonable lifetime for a lithium battery.

Oops, my bad. I interpreted your post #13 as an attack on my post #12 (because of was located next in the thread). I was incorrect, I see, as you didn't quote me at all and what it was is now obvious to me as, as you've said, "Just making a suggestion, my friend", just a suggestion. Again I apologize for misinterpreting it's intent and will blame it on the battery replacement issue of all Kindles being a pet peeve of mine.

[HarryT]

No problem, Alan .

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

For something like a laptop, which is being charged every day, then yes, I agree. That's where the number of charge cycles is the limiting factor. But in a Kindle, where the number of charge cycles is negligible, really the dominating factor should be the natural ageing of the battery, and 18 months is awfully low then. I'd expect to get 5 years out of a battery before its capacity was reduced to half of the original capacity.

I was not referring to charge cycles.

A new battery sitting on the shelf will age. Assuming that unused shelf life means that between 2-3 years the battery is at top condition and after that amount of time they self-age.

Then add to the mix, the use and charge cycles, that will shorten the life span. On top of all else.

So at least for me 18 or so months is not a unreasonable amount of time for replacement. Tho it can and will depend on the battery.

It sure will not hurt for the o/p to call amazon and see where they stand on the matter and if they would give some relief, seeing it is only 6 months out of warranty

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

Agree, but lithium battery lifetime used or not is limited to between 2 to 3 years. So 18 months is in some ways 3/4 lifetime on the low end of the scale.

Actually, modern lithium batteries have a rated lifetime of 5 years (most laptop batteries) to 10 years (apple computers), depending on their chemistry and construction.

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Actually, modern lithium batteries have a rated lifetime of 5 years (most laptop batteries) to 10 years (apple computers), depending on their chemistry and construction.

Have not keep up on the tech and specs. In that case 18 months is way too short a lifetime. But it still boils down to who made the battery and materials and care used to make it.

Lot's of variables in the mix.

Edit: Change word, need more coffee

[sirmaru]

For me I always buy the latest and greatest. Thus, my Kindle Fire 1st Gen and my Kindle Kbd WiFi 3rd Gen WILL be replaced in 30 days by my new Kindle Fire HD 32Gb 2nd Gen and my new Paperwhite NSO.

If one does that using obsolescence as the guiding principle, then battery life is really NOT a factor.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

For me I always buy the latest and greatest. Thus, my Kindle Fire 1st Gen and my Kindle Kbd WiFi 3rd Gen WILL be replaced in 30 days by my new Kindle Fire HD 32Gb 2nd Gen and my new Paperwhite NSO.

If one does that using obsolescence as the guiding principle, then battery life is really NOT a factor.

Your "guiding principle" has multiple English idioms such as "a slave to fashion" and "keeping up with the Joneses", and such consumerism can become addictive, and can lead to "living above one's means"... It seems to be my guiding principle too, and other kindle addicts frequenting this forum can probably identify with it as well.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Your "guiding principle" has multiple English idioms such as "a slave to fashion" and "keeping up with the Joneses", and such consumerism can become addictive, and can lead to "living above one's means"... It seems to be my guiding principle too, and other kindle addicts frequenting this forum can probably identify with it as well.

All of us in this Fourm probably spend far more on eReaders than on eBooks each year. Amazon knows this and sends us new eReaders annually to boost their profits and our fun.

If it were not like this, we'd just be reading pBooks and never would have purchased even one eReader.

Since that is the case, very few of us will ever experience a battery which died of old age.