Battery totally drained?

crich70 · 05-28-2011, 09:17 PM

I have wondered about something and haven't seen anything posted about it (though I imagine it could have been and I just missed it). I usually recharge my Kindle when it starts getting really low on the battery icon, but what would happen if the battery charge went down to just about nothing? I mean is the OS stored in rom memory of some sort or would it need to be reloaded or something. From what I remember of the User Guide I can't recall any mention of what would happen if the power did get so low as to have the unit shut down.

pidgeon92 · 05-28-2011, 09:31 PM

It just shuts down. If you had it asleep, it may continue to appear as it was, with the sleep pic on display, without any warning about a low battery. It won't turn on, and the screen will not update until it gets a minimum charge, which takes ~45 minutes with the wall charger.

Your books and documents are stored on the flash drive, they will not be deleted when the battery dies.

S Livingston · 05-28-2011, 09:32 PM

When the power runs out all you have to do is plug it in again to restart although it may take a few minutes before it is ready to use again.

crich70 · 05-28-2011, 09:43 PM

Thanks, I had figured that might be the case though who knows without taking the chance, and I for one wouldn't want to have my Kindle die that soon. I like having its company.

Deja Moo · 05-29-2011, 12:39 AM

I've had a battery (not on Kindle) run down so low that it wouldn't recharge at all. Maybe that was a fluke, maybe Kindle uses a different kind of battery, but why take chances?

pidgeon92 · 05-29-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S Livingston

When the power runs out all you have to do is plug it in again to restart although it may take a few minutes before it is ready to use again.

This is not correct. The Kindle is not designed to bypass the battery and use current from the wall outlet. The battery must have a minimum charge, and that will take 45 minutes or so.

SylvieB1984 · 05-30-2011, 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deja Moo

I've had a battery (not on Kindle) run down so low that it wouldn't recharge at all. Maybe that was a fluke, maybe Kindle uses a different kind of battery, but why take chances?

hmmmm... never heard of this before. I wonder if anyone else has had an issue like this one?

captkjaneway · 05-30-2011, 08:43 PM

Batteries do eventually lose their ability to recharge so this could happen. I've had it happen on mobile phones, gameboys etc

SylvieB1984 · 05-30-2011, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captkjaneway

Batteries do eventually lose their ability to recharge so this could happen. I've had it happen on mobile phones, gameboys etc

I hadn't considered that it could have been an older battery, yeah if it's old I can see that it would no longer charge, but if it's not old and doesn't charge anymore cause the battery died completely, I would say this is a defect.

thaigreg · 05-30-2011, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deja Moo

I've had a battery (not on Kindle) run down so low that it wouldn't recharge at all. Maybe that was a fluke, maybe Kindle uses a different kind of battery, but why take chances?

This also happen to me with my Ebookwise 1150. I've tried numerous times to recharge it, but it won't.

Greg

crich70 · 05-31-2011, 12:12 AM

I think part of the problem of a battery losing charge might be 'battery memory.' Basically if you recharge a battery too often when it isn't fairly low it eventually takes on the memory of the point where you charged it and won't reach full charge anymore. Probably you have to recharge it a good many times before it gets there though. And of course even rechargable batteries have to wear out eventually. I got mine in March of this year so hopefully I won't have that worry for quite a while yet (crosses fingers).

captkjaneway · 05-31-2011, 01:00 AM

crich, there is something to be said of this. For example they recommend you let a new battery drain entirely and then recharge fully to 'set' the memory banks. I have an Android phone, and if I change the ROM I always reset the battery stats.

Mario1up · 05-31-2011, 01:03 AM

Li-ion batteries have no memory effect at all, so that's nothing to worry about. They can, however, be damaged by being drained too low.

But, there are two forms of protection in the Kindle. One, that all li-ion batteries found in commercial devices have, is a protection circuit built in to the battery. This will prevent the battery from draining any more if the voltage gets too low.

The other is the software. Once, by accident, I let the battery drain all the way. The Kindle put up a screen that said the battery was too low and it needed to be recharged. It was just that screen, nothing else. I couldn't do anything until I plugged it in for a while.

So while you won't severely harm the battery, it's a good idea to not let it drain past 20%. Remember, li-ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so you can charge them whenever you like. It'd be a good idea to just plug your Kindle in every night.

KindleWorm · 05-31-2011, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mario1up

So while you won't severely harm the battery, it's a good idea to not let it drain past 20%. Remember, li-ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so you can charge them whenever you like. It'd be a good idea to just plug your Kindle in every night.

This is good news, but can you shed light on 'charge cycles' is it true that a battery has a limited amount of 'cycles' if this is the case isnt it best to wait till you are down to that majic 20% before you connect your kindle up to charger / computer ?

markdek · 05-31-2011, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mario1up

So while you won't severely harm the battery, it's a good idea to not let it drain past 20%. Remember, li-ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so you can charge them whenever you like. It'd be a good idea to just plug your Kindle in every night.

You need to check out some Android and iPhone smartphone forums, because it is not only suggested but it's practically mandated that you drain the battery down to 0% every month or so to maximize your batter efficiency and chargability.......and the kindle battery is no different than the smartphone batteries.

There are even iPhone apps that help you do this....so, I'm not sure I buy this don't drop below 20% rule.

05-28-2011, 09:17 PM	#1
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Battery totally drained? I have wondered about something and haven't seen anything posted about it (though I imagine it could have been and I just missed it). I usually recharge my Kindle when it starts getting really low on the battery icon, but what would happen if the battery charge went down to just about nothing? I mean is the OS stored in rom memory of some sort or would it need to be reloaded or something. From what I remember of the User Guide I can't recall any mention of what would happen if the power did get so low as to have the unit shut down.

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05-28-2011, 09:31 PM	#2
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	It just shuts down. If you had it asleep, it may continue to appear as it was, with the sleep pic on display, without any warning about a low battery. It won't turn on, and the screen will not update until it gets a minimum charge, which takes ~45 minutes with the wall charger. Your books and documents are stored on the flash drive, they will not be deleted when the battery dies.

05-28-2011, 09:32 PM	#3
S Livingston Connoisseur Posts: 94 Karma: 50416 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Scotland Device: Kindle	When the power runs out all you have to do is plug it in again to restart although it may take a few minutes before it is ready to use again.

05-28-2011, 09:43 PM	#4
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	Thanks, I had figured that might be the case though who knows without taking the chance, and I for one wouldn't want to have my Kindle die that soon. I like having its company.

05-29-2011, 12:39 AM	#5
Deja Moo Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 8228 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: PaperWhite	I've had a battery (not on Kindle) run down so low that it wouldn't recharge at all. Maybe that was a fluke, maybe Kindle uses a different kind of battery, but why take chances?

05-30-2011, 08:43 PM	#8
captkjaneway Cockney Sci-Fi Geek! Posts: 472 Karma: 1463094 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wan Chai, Hong Kong Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung Tab S 8.4", Samsung S6 Edge	Batteries do eventually lose their ability to recharge so this could happen. I've had it happen on mobile phones, gameboys etc

05-31-2011, 12:12 AM	#11
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,310 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I think part of the problem of a battery losing charge might be 'battery memory.' Basically if you recharge a battery too often when it isn't fairly low it eventually takes on the memory of the point where you charged it and won't reach full charge anymore. Probably you have to recharge it a good many times before it gets there though. And of course even rechargable batteries have to wear out eventually. I got mine in March of this year so hopefully I won't have that worry for quite a while yet (crosses fingers).

05-31-2011, 01:00 AM	#12
captkjaneway Cockney Sci-Fi Geek! Posts: 472 Karma: 1463094 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wan Chai, Hong Kong Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung Tab S 8.4", Samsung S6 Edge	crich, there is something to be said of this. For example they recommend you let a new battery drain entirely and then recharge fully to 'set' the memory banks. I have an Android phone, and if I change the ROM I always reset the battery stats.

05-31-2011, 01:03 AM	#13
Mario1up Connoisseur Posts: 53 Karma: 374 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle 3/G	Li-ion batteries have no memory effect at all, so that's nothing to worry about. They can, however, be damaged by being drained too low. But, there are two forms of protection in the Kindle. One, that all li-ion batteries found in commercial devices have, is a protection circuit built in to the battery. This will prevent the battery from draining any more if the voltage gets too low. The other is the software. Once, by accident, I let the battery drain all the way. The Kindle put up a screen that said the battery was too low and it needed to be recharged. It was just that screen, nothing else. I couldn't do anything until I plugged it in for a while. So while you won't severely harm the battery, it's a good idea to not let it drain past 20%. Remember, li-ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so you can charge them whenever you like. It'd be a good idea to just plug your Kindle in every night.

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