# Paperwhite: Wifi vs Airplane Mode



## Benny Blades (Nov 18, 2011)

I need a quick refresher here.  I understand I can purchase books with Wifi on but what if I'm not in the market to shop on Amazon, should my PW be in Airplane mode when reading?  I've also read where the Wifi can drain the battery, if so there is no need to have it running if I'm reading only/not shopping.  So please Airplane mode.  Thanks in advance! Benny


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

There is no reason to have wi-fi on unless you want to download a book, use Wikipedia, or the translate function.  Otherwise, it will just drain the battery for no good reason.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I prefer to have WiFi on pretty much all the time. I have a subscription to the newspaper so it shows up automatically every day. And as I sometimes am reading on different devices, leaving WiFi on means that I can sync between the two more easily. I don't find that it, in itself, affects the battery life much, as long as you are usually in an area that has a decent wifi network.*

If you have a PW'13 and have gotten the latest update that 'features' cloud collections and you do NOT have WiFi on or are not in an area with a WiFi network, you will get a warning every time you try to do anything with collections. I found it annoying . . . though it was, perhaps the least annoying thing about that update. 

*I also noticed that battery life was very much negatively impacted when I got that update if leaving WiFi on. I solved that problem by deleting all collections and it's better now. I did not do any testing to see if having wifi off would have helped. So I guess it could be that WiFi on is a much bigger battery drainer WITH the current OS version than it was before.

But, to answer your question -- you don't _need to be connected to WiFi to read, so you can safely turn it off. But you won't be able to sync between devices and if you move things in and out of collections you'll get a warning each time about WiFi not being on. Really, it's your choice. _


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## Benny Blades (Nov 18, 2011)

Thank you for the info!


Sent from my iPad Air using Tapatalk


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I pretty much leave my WiFi on all the time, but then I'm usually around home.  Even if I have to charge my PW2 every week or so, I don't consider that a big deal.  If you are at home and your Kindle is connected to the WiFi automatically, it won't drain much as it won't have to keep searching for a WiFi signal.

If you're away from home, turning off the WiFi (airplane mode) probably will save some battery.

Betsy


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

What Betsy said. I found out the hard way that having a worn cover (it was not the Amazon cover) can drain your battery pretty quickly if it doesn't close all the way, so keep an eye on that also. Just plug it up every night. If you get a white noise app you can use the Fire and charge it each night. May I suggest:


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

While I'm around home I leave Wi-Fi on all the time. When I am away from home, I'm going to airplane mode unless I have a specific purpose in turning on the Wi-Fi, and will have access to Wi-Fi. As soon as I am done, airplane mode goes back on. Otherwise just drains the battery.


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