Having learnt the hard way I thought I’d pass on a few tips I got from the Amazon.com discussion forum regarding battery life on the new Kindle 3 (note: these tips probably also apply to the Kindle 2 and DX)
Background
I received my new Kindle 3 WiFi/3G recently and promptly charged it. I then downloaded many of the books I already owned, and had on my Kindle 2, categorised them, played with the wireless function (note: you can fully utilise the internet browser when you are connected through a wireless network, though it’s a bit awkward), and did a spot of reading. Two days later I noticed the battery was almost flat, so I recharged it. Read a bit the next day. Two days later I downloaded all my none Amazon books via the PC using Calibre, several hours later I went to read a book and the Kindle battery was completely flat!
At this stage I started to worry, my Kindle 2 lasted over a week with just reading and a book download or two, how come my new Kindle 3, which was supposed to last a month without recharging, was only lasting two days? So I asked the interwebs.
Causes
Seems there are three possible causes for the battery going flat so quickly:
- Charging
- Indexing
- Wireless
Explanation and what to do
1. Many users have reported that the first few charges do not leave the Kindle charged for very long.
Solution: Charge the Kindle for at least 3 to 4 hours (the charging light may change to green after only about 1.5 hours) use it until it discharges to about 25% battery (note: it’s strongly advised never to let the Kindle battery go completely flat). Repeat 3 times, if you still have a problem there may be something wrong with the battery, contact Amazon Customer Support and discuss getting a replacement Kindle (you should get a brand new one if returned within 30 days).
2. When a book is loaded onto the Kindle the Kindle ‘indexes’ it to make it easier to search through. Obviously when you get a new Kindle and haven’t had one before (or not used Kindle on a PC, iPad or other device) you won’t already have lots of books to copy to it, so you may not see the problem. In my case I had many books to re-download and hadn’t realised about the indexing problem. The Kindle indexes your books even when in sleep mode, so unless you turn it completely off when not in use it will still actually be doing something (indexing is fairly CPU intensive) hence flattening the battery. Additionally sometimes one or more books may get “stuck” whilst indexing and the Kindle sits there constantly trying to index a book unbeknown to you and subsequently flattening the battery even though you don’t seem to be using it. (the Kindle 3 is supposed to last a month on one battery charge with light reading and leaving it in sleep mode when not in use).
Solution: If you download lots of books into the Kindle, either via wireless or USB, at one go then leave the Kindle on charge until the indexing has finished.
Do the following to check if any books are being indexed – from the Home page press Menu then select Search, type in some random letters, if it comes back “Not Found” then your indexing is good. However, is a book or books are still indexing it will display “X items indexing”, select that and it will display which book, or books, are still being indexed. Wait until all books are indexed before leaving your Kindle off charge. If you have a book that is stuck indexing (my 60 books took about a day to index all of them) then go back to the home page, select the “stuck” book, delete it and then re-download it.
3. The wireless function, either WiFi or 3G (which by the way Kindle seems to automatically default to a WiFi connection if it finds one) consumes a fair bit of battery power even when just sitting there idly.
Solution: Leave the wireless turned off unless you need it. Several people suggest just turning it on at the end of a long reading session to do a sync and then turning it off again.
Where to now
Well I’ve charged my Kindle 3 for three hours for the third time, all my books have been indexed, and I’m not going to use the wireless, or the built in light for a few days; so I’ll see how these tips go and see if my battery is OK or whether I have a dud Kindle and need to return it.
Hope some other Kindle users get some help from this article.
by Dave Hurley
06 Jun 2011 at 13:38
A quick note of thanks for some good info here. Cheers from… AZ (Arizona).
by Jason
22 Jun 2011 at 10:21
Thank you!
I put too many books on when I first got my kindle and wondered why the charge didn’t last long (taking into account the first few charge cycles).
by Bliss
18 Jul 2011 at 15:23
This was EXACTLY the information I needed! Thanks so much for sharing this information with me. I had done almost the exact same things as you did and I couldn’t understand what was happening. I really appreciate it!
by Robert
19 Aug 2011 at 10:05
What if I accidentally plugged it out (first time charging) then immediately charged it again? Please help me.
by Lucy
24 Aug 2011 at 01:21
Thanks so much for the info. It’s was really useful. I kinda panicked when the battery died the second day after charging,
by Laura
29 Aug 2011 at 16:31
Thanks so much for the info, I thought my kindle was already broken (after 2 days) but it only the indexing problem that not allowing a normal charging session. Will wait till all the books are indexed before I worry.
Thanks for your info, more informative that the Amazon forums!
by Emily
20 Sep 2011 at 13:08
Thank you thank you thank you! Apparently I’ve got 109 books still indexing – I’ll wait until that’s done before storming the store that I brought it from and demanding a refund!
by akeel
15 Oct 2011 at 05:22
I have an odd charging problem with my kindle 3. I had it for three months now… And I downloaded many books on it (around 400) in the first two months (only 4 for the last month). Until two weeks ago, a full charge did not last two or three days at best! I was surprised. Then when I checked, I realized that I was not turning it off properly, because I thought the sleeping mode was a full shut-down. When I learned how to shut it down properly (holding the shut-down button for 5 second until the screen goes blank). This worked only for a few days. I charge it a full night, and turn it off completely, but when I turn it on, say, ten hours later, I see half the charge gone! The charge now finishes off much faster than when I used to have the kindle on a sleeping mode! Any clues on how to handle this? I really appreciate the help…
by Brendon Wright
27 Oct 2011 at 12:11
Cheers for that!
Sounds extremely plausible, now I can relax.
But…
d’oh, I put 2,600 books on it…
by Eric
19 Nov 2011 at 09:09
Good article. Thanks! Makes a lot of sense, I should take it easy with adding new books to the device =)
by George Smart
04 Feb 2012 at 01:01
Thanks very much. The indexing part was causing my Kindle 3 to die within hours after being charged. I had downloaded a load of books on the device. I at first thought the device was freezing, but after just plugging it into the PC and letting it be for a while, it soon come around. I unplugged the USB cable to see the battery status and found it to have a pling (!) through it – guessing that confirms the battery was flat all along. Thanks from London, England 🙂
by Michelle Keat
19 Jul 2012 at 11:57
Thanks so much for this advice.I was given a Kindle as a present and my daughter downloaded heaps of books for me from her computer and like everyone else on here, my battery was sunk after 3-4 days……I thought it was faulty and was very annoyed. I tried turning it off completly, no WIFI on etc.I followed your advice on seeing if it was indexing still and Bang……..that was it!! tyty once again.I have followed your tips on this and it seems to have solved the problem.”May you receive Abundance”
by admin
19 Jul 2012 at 19:30
Glad to help.
Thanks for the kind comment
by Shuggie
18 Feb 2013 at 00:25
” If you have a book that is stuck indexing (my 60 books took about a day to index all of them) then go back to the home page, select the “stuck” book, delete it and then re-download it.”
How do you tell which book is the one which is “stuck”