Anyone seen these 2 DX problems?

Talldog · 06-14-2009, 11:31 AM

I got it Friday afternoon, charged it, registered, loaded my books and put it away for a trip to a campground. Whispernet was off because coverage is spotty at my house, and I rarely use it. I did some reading late Friday night and put it to sleep with pretty much a full battery. When I turned it on 9-10 hours later on Saturday morning, I had the critical battery warning. I charged it up again, did more reading yesterday and this morning (over 24 hours later) it's still showing a full battery.

So after that, I decided to fire up Whispernet and go to MobileRead to see what problems people were experiencing. After a few minutes, I was not seeing any coverage bars even though AT&T and Verizon have excellent coverage at this campground, so I decided to enter the URL anyway, figuring I'd get the "no coverage" message. After several minutes of nothing, I found that I could move the cursor around, but no links or anything would respond. No menu, no nothing. I turned it off and the screen went blank, and it wouldn't turn back on. I held the power button to reset, and it wouldn't respond to that until the 3rd or 4th try.

It seems fine now, but I haven't tried to use the browser again.

daffy4u · 06-14-2009, 11:35 AM

Weird.

unrequited · 06-14-2009, 11:52 AM

Well Whispernet is off of Sprint's network, so that's why you had the discrepancy between your K2DX and cell phones... but you specifically mentioned that it was off, having Whispernet on and having no or very spotty coverage might have explained your 12hr battery drain situation. I'm stumped. My DX has been great battery-wise (usually keep Whispernet off as well).

Mr. Goodbar · 06-14-2009, 02:27 PM

I saw this on my K1 when I first got it and loaded up all my content. It was related to the offline indexing. After that finished battery life was normal.

kevindorsey · 06-14-2009, 03:46 PM

If that's a problem, hopefully you can pinpoint it quickly so you could get a replacement.

sirbruce · 06-14-2009, 06:02 PM

Don't know about the second problem, but as to the first, I suspect:

1. It used a lot of juice indexing the new books.

2. Leaving auto-rotation on can drain the battery faster, but you seem to imply it was just laying there while you slept, not jostling around in a bag while you were moving. (Still, they say it can drain the battery just by being on, though I have not noticed anything so dramatic as what you describe.)

Talldog · 06-14-2009, 06:40 PM

Whispernet was definitely off, and it sat on a table all night, unless my cat was reading it. The indexing thing makes sense, since I did put 60 books on it. The same type of battery drain happened once on my K2 shortly after I got it, but I can't remember the circumstances. The second problem was actually much more disconcerting.

I'm just going to keep an eye on it and see what happens. I imagine we'll be seeing an update soon anyway, because you know bugs are going to surface in any new device.

sirbruce · 06-14-2009, 07:08 PM

Still, that seems like a lot of battery drain for only 60 books.

fugazied · 06-14-2009, 07:26 PM

eww sounds like a weird problem. The risk with buying first iteration of any hardware device is some crazy bug like this. Look what happened to the first bunch of people to buy the Macbook Air, a lot of them had the screen hinge snap off!

If it repeats, there might be a defect with the battery, so return it. I haven't seen anything like this with my DX yet.

sirbruce · 06-14-2009, 07:44 PM

I have heard some anectdotal cases of Kindles that don't seem to last long on their first charge, but last longer on subsequent recharges. Maybe that's a part of it. Other people have found resetting to factory defaults (and then redownloading all their stuff) made for a longer battery life. Perhaps sometimes the software can get confused about the true state of the battery's charge.

poohbear_nc · 06-15-2009, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talldog

Whispernet was definitely off, and it sat on a table all night, unless my cat was reading it. The indexing thing makes sense, since I did put 60 books on it. The same type of battery drain happened once on my K2 shortly after I got it, but I can't remember the circumstances. The second problem was actually much more disconcerting.

I'm just going to keep an eye on it and see what happens. I imagine we'll be seeing an update soon anyway, because you know bugs are going to surface in any new device.

I also think initial indexing can account for weird battery problems - BUT - never count out the cat! (may have joined a reading group)

Talldog · 06-15-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I also think initial indexing can account for weird battery problems - BUT - never count out the cat! (may have joined a reading group)

I know it wasn't Sammy, because he's just a big goober, but I'd never put it past Molly. She's the smartest cat I've ever known. That would certainly account for that new book "How to Succeed Without Thumbs" that just mysteriously showed up on my DX.

poohbear_nc · 06-15-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talldog

I know it wasn't Sammy, because he's just a big goober, but I'd never put it past Molly. She's the smartest cat I've ever known. That would certainly account for that new book "How to Succeed Without Thumbs" that just mysteriously showed up on my DX.

And - since she doesn't need to use a reading light at night, how were you to know?

My lap cat Spot is currently having DX jealousy - she doesn't want to share the lap with the larger reader. She was OK with the K2 - could push it over with her head. But the DX is too big to budge! So I hide it at night! Don't want to find it when I scoop the litter box.

vagelis · 06-15-2009, 02:07 PM

There is considerably more battery drain by the wireless radio of any Kindle, if you are in fringe areas where the coverage drops down to 1xRtt speeds (equivalent to 35-90kb/s). And for ~60 books, that may be just about right...

LAst Friday, when I received my DX, I decided to send it all my ~170 books via whispernet, and while in my office at work I noticed that the radio kept switching between EvDo and 1xRtt constantly. I ended up having to plug it in the charger after only the first ~50 books because of that...

sirbruce · 06-15-2009, 04:09 PM

Oh yes, if you're on a fringe area where the wireless keeps upshifting and downshifting between modes it will really eat the battery.

06-14-2009, 11:31 AM	#1
Talldog Addict Posts: 293 Karma: 1431716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Paperwhite, KDX Graphite, Surface Pro	Anyone seen these 2 DX problems? I got it Friday afternoon, charged it, registered, loaded my books and put it away for a trip to a campground. Whispernet was off because coverage is spotty at my house, and I rarely use it. I did some reading late Friday night and put it to sleep with pretty much a full battery. When I turned it on 9-10 hours later on Saturday morning, I had the critical battery warning. I charged it up again, did more reading yesterday and this morning (over 24 hours later) it's still showing a full battery. So after that, I decided to fire up Whispernet and go to MobileRead to see what problems people were experiencing. After a few minutes, I was not seeing any coverage bars even though AT&T and Verizon have excellent coverage at this campground, so I decided to enter the URL anyway, figuring I'd get the "no coverage" message. After several minutes of nothing, I found that I could move the cursor around, but no links or anything would respond. No menu, no nothing. I turned it off and the screen went blank, and it wouldn't turn back on. I held the power button to reset, and it wouldn't respond to that until the 3rd or 4th try. It seems fine now, but I haven't tried to use the browser again.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
I've got a few problems	RubenRybnik	Sony Reader	13	03-10-2010 10:06 PM
a few problems	kceb10	Sony Reader	8	03-09-2010 07:09 AM
A Few Problems	Gfinch	Calibre	1	09-28-2008 09:45 PM
Anyone else having problems?	pshrynk	Amazon Kindle	4	07-03-2008 01:12 PM

06-14-2009, 11:35 AM	#2
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	Weird.

06-14-2009, 11:52 AM	#3
unrequited Zealot Posts: 133 Karma: 118 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kindle 2 DX	Well Whispernet is off of Sprint's network, so that's why you had the discrepancy between your K2DX and cell phones... but you specifically mentioned that it was off, having Whispernet on and having no or very spotty coverage might have explained your 12hr battery drain situation. I'm stumped. My DX has been great battery-wise (usually keep Whispernet off as well).

06-14-2009, 02:27 PM	#4
Mr. Goodbar Wizard Posts: 1,005 Karma: 98078 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Mini 4	I saw this on my K1 when I first got it and loaded up all my content. It was related to the offline indexing. After that finished battery life was normal.

06-14-2009, 03:46 PM	#5
kevindorsey Evangelist Posts: 488 Karma: 258 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: kindle	If that's a problem, hopefully you can pinpoint it quickly so you could get a replacement.

06-14-2009, 06:02 PM	#6
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Don't know about the second problem, but as to the first, I suspect: 1. It used a lot of juice indexing the new books. 2. Leaving auto-rotation on can drain the battery faster, but you seem to imply it was just laying there while you slept, not jostling around in a bag while you were moving. (Still, they say it can drain the battery just by being on, though I have not noticed anything so dramatic as what you describe.)

06-14-2009, 06:40 PM	#7
Talldog Addict Posts: 293 Karma: 1431716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Paperwhite, KDX Graphite, Surface Pro	Whispernet was definitely off, and it sat on a table all night, unless my cat was reading it. The indexing thing makes sense, since I did put 60 books on it. The same type of battery drain happened once on my K2 shortly after I got it, but I can't remember the circumstances. The second problem was actually much more disconcerting. I'm just going to keep an eye on it and see what happens. I imagine we'll be seeing an update soon anyway, because you know bugs are going to surface in any new device.

06-14-2009, 07:08 PM	#8
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Still, that seems like a lot of battery drain for only 60 books.

06-14-2009, 07:26 PM	#9
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	eww sounds like a weird problem. The risk with buying first iteration of any hardware device is some crazy bug like this. Look what happened to the first bunch of people to buy the Macbook Air, a lot of them had the screen hinge snap off! If it repeats, there might be a defect with the battery, so return it. I haven't seen anything like this with my DX yet.

06-14-2009, 07:44 PM	#10
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	I have heard some anectdotal cases of Kindles that don't seem to last long on their first charge, but last longer on subsequent recharges. Maybe that's a part of it. Other people have found resetting to factory defaults (and then redownloading all their stuff) made for a longer battery life. Perhaps sometimes the software can get confused about the true state of the battery's charge.

06-15-2009, 02:07 PM	#14
vagelis Member Posts: 15 Karma: 86 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pasadena, CA Device: kindle1, kindle2 & kindle dx	There is considerably more battery drain by the wireless radio of any Kindle, if you are in fringe areas where the coverage drops down to 1xRtt speeds (equivalent to 35-90kb/s). And for ~60 books, that may be just about right... LAst Friday, when I received my DX, I decided to send it all my ~170 books via whispernet, and while in my office at work I noticed that the radio kept switching between EvDo and 1xRtt constantly. I ended up having to plug it in the charger after only the first ~50 books because of that...

Advert

Advert

06-15-2009, 04:09 PM	#15
sirbruce Provocateur Posts: 1,859 Karma: 505847 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Columbus, OH Device: Kindle Touch, Kindle 2, Kindle DX, iPhone 3GS	Oh yes, if you're on a fringe area where the wireless keeps upshifting and downshifting between modes it will really eat the battery.