Power Consumption with WiFi

patrickt · 02-16-2013, 08:22 AM

My Kindles have been used for nothing but reading books. With my Kindle Keyboard it wasn't a problem to leave WiFi off and turn it on only to download books. With the arrival of the Kindle Basic and airplane mode it became a bit more inconvenient and I decided that Kindle probably knew what they were doing and quit activating "airplane mode" except for getting on an airplane which I don't do. I did not notice any significant increase in battery use.

A friend of mine always activates airplane mode and says his battery drains much quicker if he has airplane mode off even if he isn't reading the Kindle.

Question: Does 3G poll the signal often like a cell phone and is WiFi different in this respect? My Kindle is WiFi-only and his is 3G/WiFi.

HarryT · 02-16-2013, 08:55 AM

Yes, if you leave WiFi on the Kindle will wake up and "call home" to Amazon. You'll get much longer battery life if you turn it off when you're not using it.

patrickt · 02-16-2013, 09:45 AM

You didn't read my post, Harry. I don't get much longer battery charge with the WiFi off or much shorter with it on. I'm wondering if there is a difference between power consumption for WiFi-only versus 3G/WiFi.

JLeighs · 02-16-2013, 10:34 AM

I can't answer your question about 3G, but I also leave my PW WiFi on all the time. I get close to 2 weeks out of a charge (depends on how much I've been reading). With the K3, I also left it on all the time. I got about 2 weeks, maybe a little more, out of a charge.

sirmaru · 02-16-2013, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patrickt

You didn't read my post, Harry. I don't get much longer battery charge with the WiFi off or much shorter with it on. I'm wondering if there is a difference between power consumption for WiFi-only versus 3G/WiFi.

Using my KFHD7-32, I get 5 hours and 37 minutes with WiFi on all the time and 7 hours and 5 minutes with WiFi off all the time other than syncing after using it for reading eBooks as measured by the GSam Monitor. Of course, if I am playing MP3 songs while reading, it drops to just 5 to 6 hours with WiFi off

Using my PW, I get 10 hours and 8 minutes with WiFi on all the time and 12 hours and 7 minutes with WiFi off all the time other than syncing after reading an eBook using an Excel spreadsheet to count session times.

My Kindle WiFi Keyboard gets 36 to 40 days of use but I have never measured session times using it.

I am measuring down to the 15% Kindle Signal.

I only ran those tests once in each mode. Normally I don't run battery tests.

3G uses more juice than WiFi so I would expect larger differences if one has a Kindle 3G.

Blossom · 02-16-2013, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLeighs

I can't answer your question about 3G, but I also leave my PW WiFi on all the time. I get close to 2 weeks out of a charge (depends on how much I've been reading). With the K3, I also left it on all the time. I got about 2 weeks, maybe a little more, out of a charge.

On my K4s I get 18 days with WiFi off. K3+3G I get about a month with both off and on my PW I've yet to figure that one out.

I should know in another month I guess now I've stop connecting it to the PC everyday to test fonts.

02-16-2013, 08:22 AM	#1
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	Power Consumption with WiFi My Kindles have been used for nothing but reading books. With my Kindle Keyboard it wasn't a problem to leave WiFi off and turn it on only to download books. With the arrival of the Kindle Basic and airplane mode it became a bit more inconvenient and I decided that Kindle probably knew what they were doing and quit activating "airplane mode" except for getting on an airplane which I don't do. I did not notice any significant increase in battery use. A friend of mine always activates airplane mode and says his battery drains much quicker if he has airplane mode off even if he isn't reading the Kindle. Question: Does 3G poll the signal often like a cell phone and is WiFi different in this respect? My Kindle is WiFi-only and his is 3G/WiFi.

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02-16-2013, 08:55 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Yes, if you leave WiFi on the Kindle will wake up and "call home" to Amazon. You'll get much longer battery life if you turn it off when you're not using it.

02-16-2013, 09:45 AM	#3
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	You didn't read my post, Harry. I don't get much longer battery charge with the WiFi off or much shorter with it on. I'm wondering if there is a difference between power consumption for WiFi-only versus 3G/WiFi.

02-16-2013, 10:34 AM	#4
JLeighs Addict Posts: 219 Karma: 1208646 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Wisconsin Device: K3, PW	I can't answer your question about 3G, but I also leave my PW WiFi on all the time. I get close to 2 weeks out of a charge (depends on how much I've been reading). With the K3, I also left it on all the time. I got about 2 weeks, maybe a little more, out of a charge.

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