Kobo Sage Power Cover Issues

[Ms_Tammy_Reads]

I am having issues with the Power Cover. Every time I use it on my Kobo Sage after a while it will freeze the device. Touching the screen will not elicit a response from the device, neither will pressing the page turn buttons. After a while I will have to shut the cover, which causes the screen to dim and then the device will act like it is turning on and become usable again. Is anyone who is using a Power Cover with their Kobo experiencing this? Or maybe I have a defective cover?

[Sirtel]

I don't use the power cover while reading, but it has other issues as well (not knowing how to charge incrementally, for example - it depletes itself at once, no matter the battery level). I think they're all defective.

[MGlitch]

I think the general consensus on the power cover was you'd be better off getting a portable usb battery pack. The power cover has, I believe, a 1,200 mah battery, meanwhile you can get 5,000-10,000 mah battery packs for a fraction of the cost which you can use to power other devices. I think some weigh less than the power cover does so you could cobble something together to hold the battery pack to the Sage and plug it in.

The power cover gets points for elegance, but little else. It costs considerably more than higher capacity battery packs, and even with its capacity it will not double your Sages battery life.

Though I personally think the Sage is fine as is, the battery is more than enough to get me through the length of time I don't have access to an outlet to charge.

[NiLuJe]

No freezes over here, but as @Sirtel said, I hardly ever use it while "plugged in". I can confirm the completely broken (dis)charging behavior, though .

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

No freezes over here, but as @Sirtel said, I hardly ever use it while "plugged in". I can confirm the completely broken (dis)charging behavior, though .

I thought that was fixed in firmware 4.32. I know there was something in that firmware related to the Sage and PowerCover, just not sure what it was. I am surprised by yours and @Sirtel's posts as I don't remember seeing any comments about this recently. That might be why I thought it had been fixed.

[DNSB]

The only other device I own that uses a add-on external power supply discharges the external battery first. This is a deliberate behaviour based on the idea that if you decide to reduce the weight by removing the external power supply which is heavier than the base device, you have full charge on the internal battery. When the external supply is attached and discharged to ~10%, it automatically switches to the device's internal battery. At any time, the external power pack can be connected to a charger to be recharged (if attached, both batteries will charge since it blocks the device USB charging port when attached).

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I thought that was fixed in firmware 4.32. I know there was something in that firmware related to the Sage and PowerCover, just not sure what it was. I am surprised by yours and @Sirtel's posts as I don't remember seeing any comments about this recently. That might be why I thought it had been fixed.

I've basically given up on the power cover, that's why I haven't commented. It's useless for incremental charging, which for me was the sole purpose of buying it. I didn't return it, hoping that Kobo would fix its issues (and yes, I contacted the customer service, who advised me to factory reset my Sage, like they always do), but the charging issue is still not fixed and at this point will probably remain so.

[MGlitch]

Out of morbid curiosity at this point as I really think the power cover is dead to me, does it discharge while the Sage is sleeping, or does it at least just act as the main battery for the Sage and drain as the Sage’s battery would in use?

Yes I know it won’t act as a full Sage battery despite being the same size because it loses some energy in the charging process.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

Out of morbid curiosity at this point as I really think the power cover is dead to me, does it discharge while the Sage is sleeping, or does it at least just act as the main battery for the Sage and drain as the Sage’s battery would in use?

Eh... no. Let's say I pop the Sage in the cover when the battery is 80% and the battery of the cover is also 80%. Logically, I'd expect the Sage to be 100% after a while and the cover 60% or thereabouts. Totally illogically, the Sage will be 100% as expected, but the cover will be 0%. It should have spent only 20% of its charge on the Sage; where did the rest go? No idea.

[Deobulakenyo]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Eh... no. Let's say I pop the Sage in the cover when the battery is 80% and the battery of the cover is also 80%. Logically, I'd expect the Sage to be 100% after a while and the cover 60% or thereabouts. Totally illogically, the Sage will be 100% as expected, but the cover will be 0%. It should have spent only 20% of its charge on the Sage; where did the rest go? No idea.

Maybe, the Sage charged to 100% and the cover battery drained to 60% (or less), then the Sage, as you use it, drains power from the cover until it depletes to 0% while your sage remains 100% charged... unless what you described is that the cover drained to 0% at the moment your Sage was charged to 100%.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Eh... no. Let's say I pop the Sage in the cover when the battery is 80% and the battery of the cover is also 80%. Logically, I'd expect the Sage to be 100% after a while and the cover 60% or thereabouts. Totally illogically, the Sage will be 100% as expected, but the cover will be 0%. It should have spent only 20% of its charge on the Sage; where did the rest go? No idea.

Um, isn't the Sage 1500 mAH and cover 1000 mAH? Then factor in about 80% efficiency charging (the cell in the cover drives a step-up inverter from 3.2-4.7 V to 5V and the charging circuit converts 5V to feed a limited current to the internal cell).

It does use cover power rather than internal till the cover is exhausted. I have solar charged power banks and the Sage also charges up maybe x5 to x8 faster than my Kindle PW3.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Deobulakenyo

Maybe, the Sage charged to 100% and the cover battery drained to 60% (or less), then the Sage, as you use it, drains power from the cover until it depletes to 0% while your sage remains 100% charged... unless what you described is that the cover drained to 0% at the moment your Sage was charged to 100%.

I don't use the Sage in the cover. For reading I always take it out. The draining of the cover battery happens when the Sage is asleep.

[MGlitch]

I believe both are 1200 mAH.

[NiLuJe]

Originally Posted by davidfor

I thought that was fixed in firmware 4.32. I know there was something in that firmware related to the Sage and PowerCover, just not sure what it was. I am surprised by yours and @Sirtel's posts as I don't remember seeing any comments about this recently. That might be why I thought it had been fixed.

There might have been some improvements, but it's still hit and miss. For a vast majority of cases where you pick up the device one night later and the cover is entirely drained, I've seen a *single* instance of waking it up at ~60% + ~60% :s.

(i.e., *exactly* what @Sirtel described. It seems to roughly work properly for a few days, and then it just utterly breaks one night).

I'll try to remember to comment on my next charge cycle .

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by MGlitch

I believe both are 1200 mAH.

Even so there will be losses.

Yes, I checked my photo, I was wrong. it has 1200 mAh 4.44 Wh stamped on it in the Sage. I don't have the power cover.