# slow page change with"double refresh"



## speckles (Dec 2, 2010)

I just got a new Kindle 3 (with 3G) the day last week. After using my sister's for a week, Ii wanted one of my own.

I know that the page changes to black as it is turned. Mine, from the start (while fully charged,) has an extended "flicker" cycle, - instead of the normal "white-black-white" it does a "white-black-white-black-white" cycle. This slows the page change, and the flicker tires my eyes (I use a larger font, so I have to turn the page more frequently.) This is not a matter of me noticing it more because of the larger font - as I mentioned above I was using my sister's unit, and it didn't do this. My sister and I both have the k3 with 6" screen, mine also has 3G.

I did a hard restart, and all that succeeded in doing was undo my collections. I am unwilling to re-sort the books again, unless this problem can be fixed. I called Amazon, and after installing the latest update. there was still no change.Amazon sent another, which _appears_ to be doing the same thing. My sister is able to see this "flicker" with the large font, but it isn't as noticeable with small font.

Has anyone else had this problem, and is there a fix? Is this something unique with the 3G models? I hope not, as the white unit is the only one in which I can read the keys, and it only comes with 3G.

Thanks for any help!


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Firstly, I can also see the white-black-white-black-white change (mine's a 3G). It's very obvious when the screen saver appears and disappears at power on/off. I can also certainly see it on normal page turns if I go to the large font sizes. 

I suspect that it actually happens all the time, but that most page turns are quick enough that you don't see it - also helped by the fact that with the fonts small and changing from text to text there is less visible 'change' that catches your eye. However, it could be that there is some clever coding that does this 'double refresh' during certain page changes (eg to/from pictures) to make sure the screen clears properly and there is no 'ghosting' left.

Also, page turn speed is undoubtedly affected by the ambient temperature, and also by the complexity of the book itself.

I've seen a lot of people talk about slowdowns when hot - not a problem here in the UK right now! - but I'm certainly very familiar with slowdowns when the Kindle is cold. When I leave it somewhere cold for a while - eg a bag in my car - then turn it on the page turns are very slow, and I've seen the same when it's sat overnight in cold weather, especially in a caravan (holiday home)! This is not helped by the fact that the Kindle itself is such a low powered device it doesn't generate heat in normal use so it takes a long time to warm up. 

I also find that complex books, especially with pictures in, are slower - I used to use the 'Winnie the Pooh' free download as a demonstration for people, then I realised that with all those pictures and strange layouts (text wrapped round pictures) it was significantly slower than other books.

Have you tried yours and your sisters side by side for comparison? With the same book (download one of the free ones to compare) and the same font size etc? Preferably having kept them together in the same place for a few hours so the temperatures are the same? You may find that something about the book, or the font settings, or the ambient temperature is causing the effect.

If you are in a cold climate (or a hot climate) then you may find that keeping the Kindle at room temperature might help. However, if you've seen the problem with both devices that you've had from Amazon then this really suggests it is something inherent that you might have to get used to. 

Hope this helps!


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## speckles (Dec 2, 2010)

Morf said:


> Have you tried yours and your sisters side by side for comparison? With the same book (download one of the free ones to compare) and the same font size etc? Preferably having kept them together in the same place for a few hours so the temperatures are the same? You may find that something about the book, or the font settings, or the ambient temperature is causing the effect.
> 
> If you are in a cold climate (or a hot climate) then you may find that keeping the Kindle at room temperature might help. However, if you've seen the problem with both devices that you've had from Amazon then this really suggests it is something inherent that you might have to get used to.
> 
> Hope this helps!


Thanks! 

I was using my sister's K3 (no 3G) for a week before I got mine (with 3G) Hers does not have the double flicker. I started a book on her unit, and continued reading it on mine, (same font size, and a book without pictures) until I couldn't stand the flicker any more. The two kindles were were stored together overnight before a side-by-side compare was done.

My sister said the same thing you did, that many people may have this, but don't notice it because they use a smaller fort. But when doing a side-by-side comparison of the two devices, using a small font, the flicker is still noticeable when compared to the one that doesn't do it.

Amazon did send me out another one - at first I thought it had the same problem, but to a lesser degree (faster page turnover). Sometimes I'm sure I see the flicker, and other times I don't see one at all. _*I can live with it.*_

I still have to return the *old* unit, and yesterday I thought I'd take another look, and compare it to its replacement. The *new* one is _so much _better.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Interesting...  

I'd start to wonder about firmware versions next. There have been three versions that I'm aware of (3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3), and you can check version with Home, Menu, Settings and the version number is at the bottom. Amazon claim that each version has improved performance.

I've upgraded mine from 3.0.1 to 3.0.2 to 3.0.3 and each time it's felt a little bit faster and more responsive. Not something I'd be sure about, and may be a psychological thing (you want an upgrade to make it better) or may be that the restarts during the upgrade have helped.

I'm not sure if 3.0.3 has been released generally yet (it may depend on your country), I downloaded it from amazon.co.uk for mine.

If you've still got the old one, check the version of it and the new one (and your sister's if you can)... if the old one is still at 3.0.1 then that may be the cause of the problem.  

At the end of the day, though, it is something that irritates you for a while (and you worry about it being faulty as well - I did when I first saw the cold weather slow-down), then you get used to it and live with it.

Hope this helps!


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Oh, one other thought...

You've mentioned 3g vs non-3g several times. I'm honestly not in a position to comment, I've only got access to a 3G device (and that's a UK ie international one, not sure what country yours is). However, from what I've seen online about the insides of the Kindle, the only difference is whether the 3g card (and SIM card {*}) is installed, so I honestly don't think this is the root cause, however...

Have you got wireless turned off except when you need it? That may help performance a little, and certainly helps battery power a lot!

{*} Yes, apparently there actually is a real SIM card inside the 3G ones, just like inside a phone!


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## speckles (Dec 2, 2010)

speckles said:


> Amazon did send me out another one - at first I thought it had the same problem, but to a lesser degree (faster page turnover). Sometimes I'm sure I see the flicker, and other times I don't see one at all. _*I can live with it.*_
> 
> I still have to return the *old* unit, and yesterday I thought I'd take another look, and compare it to its replacement. The *new* one is _so much _better.


Well, this evening the second K3 (the one with thee intermittent flickering problem is doing it all the time now. It just started with no warning. II is as bad as the first one. 



Morf said:


> I'd start to wonder about firmware versions next. There have been three versions that I'm aware of (3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3), and you can check version with Home, Menu, Settings and the version number is at the bottom. Amazon claim that each version has improved performance.
> 
> I've upgraded mine from 3.0.1 to 3.0.2 to 3.0.3 and each time it's felt a little bit faster and more responsive. Not something I'd be sure about, and may be a psychological thing (you want an upgrade to make it better) or may be that the restarts during the upgrade have helped.
> 
> ...


 The first K3 was updated from 3.0.2 to 3.0.3 and the flicking did not get better. Sane with the second one - no effect.  Customer Service said that if the second one misbehaved, I could return it too and either get a replacement or a refund. I will take the refund.

I have a theory - both the "flickerers" were shipped during cold weather - in unheated trucks, and were out on the porch for a while before they were collected. My sister's K3, was bought back in August, when the weather was warm, and hers behaves itself. Maybe the longer exposure to the cold? Or maybe this manufacturing run of Kindles all do this. Anyway, I will try again in the late spring - the weather will be warmer, and if it is something that is wrong with this run of kindles, maybe by then there will be a new run that dofsn't do this.



Morf said:


> At the end of the day, though, it is something that irritates you for a while (and you worry about it being faulty as well - I did when I first saw the cold weather slow-down), then you get used to it and live with it.


I could live with it if it happened occasionally, but it is happening more frequently, and for longer periods.

I use the largest font, and the screen (at best) holds one a sentence at a time. I must change the page every 1-2 seconds, so that is a LOT of flickering. It strains my eyes. 

I forgot to add - wireless off or on, the flicker is the same.


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## Morf (Nov 18, 2010)

Speckles, I'm sorry to hear that the new one is giving problems as well, it sounded like you felt you could live with it but clearly this is no longer the case.

At the largest font size I can see that the flicker would be irritating, I don't think I'd like to look at it for long either.

It is possible that the cold during shipping has caused the problem, but it's not something I would regard as very likely - or at least, if it were a problem then Amazon would do something about it (I hope!).

One other thought that comes to mind is... have you just copied some more books to it? When you put new books onto the Kindle it indexes them so it can search them. It could be that the indexing is running and slowing it down. Apparently if you go to 'search' on the home menu and type in some nonsense then search, it will tell you if there are any unindexed books which means it's still working on the index.

The thing that's puzzling me is that your sisters is still apparently better than yours. It would seem strange that two of yours have problems but hers doesn't. 

You could always ask if she wants to swap, of course.. 

The only other thing I can think of is that you could look at the Kindle DX. I've never seen one - they're not available over here in the UK - but if you need the large font size, maybe the larger screen will let you read enough at a time so that the flicker is less of a problem. Maybe one of the DX owners on here can comment?

I'm afraid otherwise I'm out of ideas. Sorry it hasn't worked out for you


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## speckles (Dec 2, 2010)

Morf said:


> It is possible that the cold during shipping has caused the problem, but it's not something I would regard as very likely - or at least, if it were a problem then Amazon would do something about it (I hope!)


Oh, I think they would too! I do think there are more out there that do this, but most people don't notice it because the use a "normal" sized font. No complaints, so whatever the cause, it won't be fixed. One or two complaints does not necessitate a change in manufacturing or shipping requirements. I just threw out the temperature thing because it was a difference in environment to which they were subjected. I think it is more likely that it is a quirk that this manufacturing rum of k3s has a higher incidence of. Or I have crummy luck. *facepalm*



Morf said:


> One other thought that comes to mind is... have you just copied some more books to it? When you put new books onto the Kindle it indexes them so it can search them. It could be that the indexing is running and slowing it down. Apparently if you go to 'search' on the home menu and type in some nonsense then search, it will tell you if there are any unindexed books which means it's still working on the index.


I wish that was it - I haven't loaded any books for several days. And then there is my sister's k3&#8230; I downloaded a few books, and&#8230;you guessed it&#8230;no flicker. *shrug*



Morf said:


> The thing that's puzzling me is that your sisters is still apparently better than yours. It would seem strange that two of yours have problems but hers doesn't.
> 
> You could always ask if she wants to swap, of course..


That strengthens my theory of manufacturing runs. Hers was bought in August, mine in December. Unless they made a WHOLE LOT in advance, her K3 and mine were manufactured at different times.

My sister is willing to trade, but I need the white case. The buttons on the gray case are nearly impossible for me to red. 



Morf said:


> The only other thing I can think of is that you could look at the Kindle DX. I've never seen one - they're not available over here in the UK - but if you need the large font size, maybe the larger screen will let you read enough at a time so that the flicker is less of a problem.


Unfortunately, I can't afford that one.  Anyway, because it only comes in gray, I'd wouldn't be able to read the buttons. 

[I'm a whining pain-in-the-butt. I'm sorry.]



Morf said:


> I'm afraid otherwise I'm out of ideas. Sorry it hasn't worked out for you


Morf , you have been more than kind, and I really appreciate you taking all this time to give me suggestions. Thank you! *thumb up*


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