Charging issues?

[chexmix]

Hi all --

Since I have lost a couple of battery bars since getting the M92 back from Germany, I thought I would plug the unit into AC to see if I could get it to charge back up.

I'm seeing what I saw before the thing froze: although it's plugged in and there is a 'lightning bolt' symbol across the battery indicator -- which I presume means it knows it's connected to a power source -- the battery level has actually gone down a bar.

Since the power unit that came with the M92 was Europe-only, I'm using the supplied cable plugged into a Apple charger I use for my iPods. I asked the store whether this was okay and I was told it was ... has anyone else done this?

I seem to recall seeing somewhere in this forum that you have to let the thing completely drain before charging will 'take' -- am I remembering correctly? Or is that just me making stuff up in my head?

Thanks and happy weekend,

/G

[chexmix]

I guess I was making it up in my head, then ...

[Randy11]

Some battery needs to be fully discharged (1..3 times ...) the first times. There is some discussion in the forum about this but I don't know where.

[chexmix]

Yeah. I know I read something like that around here ...

Still, every time I plugged the M92 into power, the battery indicator went down. And as I type this, it's been plugged in all night, and still has the "Low battery. Please charge" message onscreen. Kinda confusing.

[chexmix]

OK. I still have "Low battery. Please charge" onscreen.

I checked a few of the battery threads in this forum, but ...

I've plugged the device into AC power. Orange light comes on ... but shouldn't I be able to get away from the "Low battery. Please charge" screen, and actually read something on it, now that it is plugged in? Because I can't. I've pressed power and joystick, and the low battery message is still there.

I suppose I'm looking for a definition of "fully discharged." Can the M92 be "fully discharged" and still display the "low battery" message? If so, how long might I have to wait for the message to disappear?

Should I be charging it now, or should I wait?

Sorry for whining. I'm just confused. I've never had a battery, or a device, behave this way.

I don't want to think it is frozen again.

[chexmix]

Still "Low battery. Please charge."

What should I do?

EDIT: As of this morning, the situation is the same. I had it plugged into my computer overnight -- I did this on the strength of a previous response by Booxtor to my original "Has this thing frozen?" thread.

In that same response he said that if one disconnects every cable from the M92 and pushes the power button and the blue LED blinks 3 times, it means the battery is fully discharged. That is what I got last night; that is what I am getting now. The battery is apparently fully discharged and has no intention of taking on a charge, ever.

Again, I wonder what I am doing wrong.

[chexmix]

Still the same. The orange LED comes on when I plug it in to power or the computer, then eventually goes off. Screen frozen on the "Low battery" message. I can't really estimate how long it has been plugged in total, at this point.

Pressing the reset in the back does nothing.

I still have the battery from before I sent it off to the store in Germany. I suppose I could try swapping the batteries out; however, the unit is displaying pretty much exactly the same behavior it did before I shipped it off the first time, so I'm not confident this will accomplish anything. I'll have to find the right size screwdriver to open the thing, too -- I used a friend's, before.

Extraordinarily discouraging. I really enjoyed using the device for the two weeks when it was working.

[chexmix]

I put the M92 in the closet this morning. Barring some miracle (I have an email in to the store, we'll see), I am done with it. Way too much heart- and bellyache for something I spent money on.

[Randy11]

Try to change the battery and use the AC charger.
I already had the message "Low battery. Please charge". It's displayed when the M92 is charging (power off) and only disappear when it is wake up.
Try a mail to the support of http://ereader-store.eu .

[nausica]

Originally Posted by chexmix

Hi all --
I'm seeing what I saw before the thing froze: although it's plugged in and there is a 'lightning bolt' symbol across the battery indicator -- which I presume means it knows it's connected to a power source -- the battery level has actually gone down a bar.

Since the power unit that came with the M92 was Europe-only, I'm using the supplied cable plugged into a Apple charger I use for my iPods. I asked the store whether this was okay and I was told it was ... has anyone else done this?

Hi chexmix,
have you tried to change the usb cable (maybe yours is faulty) and even Apple charger (maybe it does not have enough current [A] ).
And to load the reader to the wall charger (24 hours (+ or -) because if the battery is empty, it takes a long time to load in full)

Originally Posted by chexmix

I seem to recall seeing somewhere in this forum that you have to let the thing completely drain before charging will 'take' -- am I remembering correctly? Or is that just me making stuff up in my head?

It is not good practice to fully discharge the battery li-ion, it is best to charge it often, even a little.

[Dolansky]

yes that true. the best way treat the battery li-ion well, is to charge it often, even a little.
But once a month you should recalibrate the battery-measure unit, which means fully charge the battery 100% then use it until it is >= 5% afterwards recharge it.
This helps the measure unit to show the correct battery level.

[chexmix]

I am no longer getting the blue LED 3x flash, so I guess the battery is perhaps taking on a little power ... but I'm still stuck at "Low Battery. Please Charge."

I just switched USB cables. The one I just plugged in has a snugger fit on the M92 end -- fingers crossed.

EDIT: Hours later, orange LED still on. With the other cable it would go out after a little while, but not with this one. I'm inclined to take this as a positive sign. We'll see ...

EDIT 2: Right after I posted the EDIT above, the orange light went out.

EDIT 3: M92 frozen solid on "Low battery" screen. I won't be able to open the unit until I get my new screwdriver, which might happen by the weekend.

Pressing 'Reset' has no effect.

Because the thing is frozen (like before) I have serious doubts that swapping batteries will cause any change, but I'll give it a shot.

[chexmix]

Hi everyone,

Well, the shipping* of my magical (not) screwdriver was delayed by the madness here in Boston, but I'm pretty sure I will get it today, so I can try swapping out batteries in the M92. There will be no breath-holding: I am not expecting anything to happen.

I've been hard at work on an essay for my astronomy class. I had been making scribbles, etc on downloaded papers on the M92 until it went kaput. Since the M92 went I've been using my cheap 7" Nexus-workalike, and have discovered some things:

1) it is totally possible to read double-columned academic papers in landscape mode on such a device. The type is small, but not so small that I can't read it with my reading glasses on.

2) larger font e-ink is nice, but color graphics for scientific papers are nice too. Maybe nicer.

3) the size of the unit is just about perfect.

I'm lucky I had this little beast, because otherwise I'd be toast, paper-wise.

I got a couple of very nice emails from the store (whatever my experience with this unit has been, their customer service continues to deliver), but I don't know if I will be shipping the M92 back to Germany again if I can't wake it up. I haven't decided.

/G

* in answer to the question "why didn't you just go to a hardware store?" ... I have no answer.

[chexmix]

Batteries swapped. So far, no change.

[Booxtor]

Originally Posted by chexmix

Batteries swapped. So far, no change.

Hi , don't waste your time, just send me your batteries as a letter (it arrives in 3-4 days in Germany). I will revive them with my equipment and send them back same day.