# Kindle charging



## murphzmom (Dec 31, 2010)

I was lucky enough to be given a used Kindle fire.  I currently have just your basic Kindle.  I was given a charger that looks to be a car charger plus regular charger, it has the Sprint logo so I know it was from a cell phone.  I was leery to use it so I took the charger from my original Kindle and am using that.  I noticed that there is no longer a charging light so I downloaded the Battery HD app to use.  My question is once I plug in my charger should there not be some indicator within this app to let me know that it is working correctly.  Is there any indicator that should appear on the top of my screen where it shows my available percentage.  Am I using the correct cords, are there some others that I can purchase at my local Big Box store that will work.

Thanks!!

Mindy


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Some cell chargers will work with the Kindle Fire.  Though if you want go to amazon and get you a cord for your fire.
Now at the top of your fire there should be a battery bar always up.  Go to the home page, if it is charging then it will be green and moving.  I don't bother with battery monitoring apps.
Yes you should have a charge light that is orange right beside the power button.

Are you trying to read or anything while charging your kindle fire?  Are you playing on the internet or with apps while charging?  
I know if I go on the internet while charging, it will hold the battery where it is but not charge.
Good luck with your new fire.  
Oh your old charger may not be strong enough to charge the fire at any rate of speed.  Now an LG phone charger won't work but the Sprint one might.  I have heard of people using them.  Or if you want, go to overstock.com and for under $20, they have a case, car charger, a/c charger, and usb charger and earphones.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

murphzmom said:


> I was lucky enough to be given a used Kindle fire. I currently have just your basic Kindle. I was given a charger that looks to be a car charger plus regular charger, it has the Sprint logo so I know it was from a cell phone. I was leery to use it so I took the charger from my original Kindle and am using that. I noticed that there is no longer a charging light so I downloaded the Battery HD app to use. My question is once I plug in my charger should there not be some indicator within this app to let me know that it is working correctly. Is there any indicator that should appear on the top of my screen where it shows my available percentage. Am I using the correct cords, are there some others that I can purchase at my local Big Box store that will work.
> 
> Thanks!!
> 
> Mindy


Yay for a Fire gift. 

What model is it? The original did have a charge light indicator, as I recall, but the HD versions do not.

Either way, there should be a battery indicator in the upper right when you turn the Fire on. It is filled in more if there's more battery left. When the indicator turns red you're at or below 15%. Which is probably still plenty for reading a while. It's not going to be anything like as good battery life as an eInk kindle though.

If you have an HD fire, you can also set it to show a percentage. Go to More and Device under Settings. If you have the most recent update, there will be an option to "Show Battery Percentage in Status Bar" which you can toggle on or off. I really like it and, for me, it means no more need for 3rd party battery apps.

If that's option isn't there, you probably don't have the latest firmware version. Touch About and you'll see what you do have -- the latest is x.4.3 (x may be a 7 or an 8 depending on what size Fire.) It may download automatically, or you can do it manually -- see the Kindle Software Updates page for the file and directions on how to do that.

Pretty much any charger will work -- I use my phone charger and kindle chargers interchangeably with multiple devices, but the 'powerfast' charger you can buy from Amazon will charge it faster.  It runs $19.99 and you would supply your own micro USB cord.

Charging from your computer via the USB cord will also not be as fast -- and you need to be sure you have a powered USB port.

From my experience, the third party battery apps won't necessarily show it as charging, but the indicator on the status bar will switch to a lightning bolt signal in the battery when it's charging.


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yay for a Fire gift.
> 
> What model is it? The original did have a charge light indicator, as I recall, but the HD versions do not.
> 
> ...


Ann, if it is an original 1st gen fire, the status bar does not do a lightning bolt but shows a green bar that fills up then starts over. When it is completely full it turns white and goes all the way across.


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## murphzmom (Dec 31, 2010)

Thank you for all the help, the cord is pretty loose so I have it propped up so that it will charge.  I did order a new one from Amazon.  As I looked at the charging port a little better I noticed a lot of wear around where the plug would be inserted and it also looked a little bent.  I am thinking that once I get the proper charger for it things will be fine.  Now to start looking at all the cool apps for it.  I am used to an ipad so the Android apps will be all new to me.

Mindy


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## cinisajoy (Mar 10, 2013)

murphzmom said:


> Thank you for all the help, the cord is pretty loose so I have it propped up so that it will charge. I did order a new one from Amazon. As I looked at the charging port a little better I noticed a lot of wear around where the plug would be inserted and it also looked a little bent. I am thinking that once I get the proper charger for it things will be fine. Now to start looking at all the cool apps for it. I am used to an ipad so the Android apps will be all new to me.
> 
> Mindy


Be sure and check here every morning for the app of the day. Betsy is great at reviews.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

murphzmom said:


> Thank you for all the help, the cord is pretty loose so I have it propped up so that it will charge. I did order a new one from Amazon. As I looked at the charging port a little better I noticed a lot of wear around where the plug would be inserted and it also looked a little bent. I am thinking that once I get the proper charger for it things will be fine.


Note that any micro USB cord should work -- it's just the 'plug end' that you purchase. It should have come with a cord. If the socket on the device is not letting it charge properly though, you might want to contact Amazon about it. Even though you got it used, if it's still under warranty (which an HD would be since they only came out last fall) they may be willing to replace it for you. You'll have to actually talk to them but that's easy to do using the 'call me back' feature via the Kindle support page.



> Now to start looking at all the cool apps for it. I am used to an ipad so the Android apps will be all new to me.
> 
> Mindy


Most things that you had as iPad apps will probably have android versions. The problem is, if they're paid ones, you'll have to pay again. BUT there are a lot of free ones and, as cinisia said, there's a Free App of the Day -- that's an app that's normally a paid app that Amazon puts free for a day. Here's a thread where we try to catch them daily -- Betsy is a sort of App


Spoiler



slut


 so she tries out almost all of them and then tells us if they're worth it.  

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,91724.0.html


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