# Battery Life decreasing on Kindle2



## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

I received Max, my Kindle2 on February 28 of this year.  I read on him daily. A couple of weeks ago I noticed I had to charge more often so I did a test.  First of all I did not turn on the wireless at all during the test.  I never turn Max off, just put him to sleep. I read about 2 to 3 hours a day.  I charged him up to a full charge at 4:00pm on October 12.  Last night as I was reading I noticed I just had a sliver of battery left so I charged it again this morning.  My calculations make that only 4 1/2 days on a full charge and no Whispernet.  I know I used to get better than that.  Has anyone noticed this on their "older" K2's?  I'm not sure CS would but that excuse to have the battery replaced, I haven't called and I'm not sure I will.  I know they sell battery replacements that you can do yourself but I'd never do that until after the Warranty is expired.  I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has noticed this.
jp


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

You can buy a replacement battery and install it yourself for the K1.

If I remember correctly, this is no longer possible with the K2.


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## Varin (May 12, 2009)

Hnn, have you changed the font size that you read with recently? Larger text=less words per screen=more page turns...

If it's not that, though, then maybe you should give Amazon a call.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

When you were using Whispernet, Did you download any large books? Have you transferred any? If so, It may be trying to index them, which uses more power even while sleeping. Others have also improved their battery performance by doing a reset, many Kindle problems go away with that simple fix.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

Font size has remained the same, and haven't downloaded a book in about a week.  I was think of the reboot and I'll try that today and run the test again.
jp


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## LisaW. (Jun 1, 2009)

I read an article about how to extend the battery life of the kindle 2 a few months ago. It said that if you're always recharging it without the battery completely draining, the 'fuel gauge' can start giving you incorrect readings. It was recommended that every 30 'partial' charges should be followed by a 'complete' charge.

For me, I found the fastest way to drain my battery completely was to just leave the whispernet on. Sure enough, a few hours after I did that my kindle was completely drained. I then gave it a 'complete' recharge, and my kindle had better battery life.


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

good luck JP,
I had this problem at outset. I call CS we did a reset and recall. It did not help me and the kindle was replaced. My K was only a couple weeks old at this point. hope you find resolution.
sylvia


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

I'd still check the indexing.  (Search for a "nonsense" word that won't be found anywhere and see if the Kindle indicates that any items need indexing.)  The Kindle has been known to delete and rebuild the index files without warning.  At least, the K1 has (mine did once).  Not sure if the K2 still has this problem or not, but it's easy to check.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

LisaW. said:


> I read an article about how to extend the battery life of the kindle 2 a few months ago. It said that if you're always recharging it without the battery completely draining, the 'fuel gauge' can start giving you incorrect readings. It was recommended that every 30 'partial' charges should be followed by a 'complete' charge.


There've been a few posts on here about doing that. I received my K2 back in February, and while I hadn't noticed any decrease in battery life, about a month ago I tried letting it drain completely and then recharged. And I _think_ the battery life has increased a bit since then.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

I think I'll leave the Whispernet on and completely drain the battery and try a full charge.  It can't hurt.  Thanks to everyone who has responded so far. 
jp


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

marianner said:


> I'd still check the indexing. (Search for a "nonsense" word that won't be found anywhere and see if the Kindle indicates that any items need indexing.) The Kindle has been known to delete and rebuild the index files without warning. At least, the K1 has (mine did once). Not sure if the K2 still has this problem or not, but it's easy to check.


I was going to suggest checking for indexing as well. Whenever my battery life seems to be getting shorter, when I check, sure enough it's indexing again. I have a K1 as well.


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## ClickNextPage (Oct 15, 2009)

Wow, this has been so useful to know for a newbie like me. Thanks everyone!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Also, I use an iGo charger set when I'm traveling so I only have to use one charger with my Kindle, iPods, Palm T/X, phone and GPS.  But when I'm home, I use the original charger.  The charge seems to last longer.

Betsy


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

I honestly couldn't tell you how much battery life I get, but I doubt it is much more than that.... I know I charge it at least once a week. And please remember, it is not how many days it lasts, it is how many page turns. If you do 500 page turns a day, you are going to get fewer "days" than someone who does 100 page turns every day.

Again, it is possible for a user to change the battery in the K2, the back cover is not that difficult to remove:

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Kindle-2/624/1


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

Try a reboot.  Someone on the amazon forum posted that helped.

Your kindle is still under warranty.  Call customer services and they should replace the battery for you for free or send you a new kindle.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

Thanks all!!  Here I thought I was a Kindle Expert, but I don't know how to check indexing.  I searched on it and didn't find it, although there was "tons" on pages on indexing.  Can someone tell this "expert" how to check it?  Thanks.
jp


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

jpmorgan49 said:


> Thanks all!! Here I thought I was a Kindle Expert, but I don't know how to check indexing. I searched on it and didn't find it, although there was "tons" on pages on indexing. Can someone tell this "expert" how to check it? Thanks.
> jp


I'm with you jp - I have no idea about indexing, other than if it could be when I am trying to eject from the computer and it takes awhile to eject.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I don't have a clue how to check if there is indexing going on. I don't keep a lot of books on mine, just leave them on archives until I'm ready to download. I only keep a couple of pages of books on it. I didn't realize that letting it drain completely would give it more battery life. I think I'll start doing that at least once a month. Always great info here.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

marianner said:


> I'd still check the indexing. (Search for a "nonsense" word that won't be found anywhere and see if the Kindle indicates that any items need indexing.) The Kindle has been known to delete and rebuild the index files without warning. At least, the K1 has (mine did once). Not sure if the K2 still has this problem or not, but it's easy to check.


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## idolguy (Dec 31, 2008)

jpmorgan49 said:


> My calculations make that only 4 1/2 days on a full charge and no Whispernet. I know I used to get better than that. Has anyone noticed this on their "older" K2's? I'm not sure CS would but that excuse to have the battery replaced, I haven't called and I'm not sure I will.


Does anyone know how much it costs to send the Kindle 2 to Amazon to have the battery replaced?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

As far as I know, Amazon doesn't do repairs on Kindles.  Have they changed that as far as the batteries on the Kindle 2?

Betsy


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

Kathy said:


> I don't have a clue how to check if there is indexing going on. I don't keep a lot of books on mine, just leave them on archives until I'm ready to download. I only keep a couple of pages of books on it. I didn't realize that letting it drain completely would give it more battery life. I think I'll start doing that at least once a month. Always great info here.


Hi Kathy,
Posts elsewhere on Kindleboards recommend NOT letting the Kindle battery drain completely. Draining batteries to extend life is for resetting charge memory on a different type of battery. The battery in the Kindle is supposed to have the best life if it is charged when it drops to 40-50% of full charge, charged completely, and stop charging when battery is full.

Each time you download a new book, the Kindle will index that book. I have also noticed that the Kindle re-indexes a book when I add a lot of notes to it. (It does that to index the notes.) As a result, it seems to me that my Kindle needs charging more often when I am reading a book that I add a lot of notes to.

Also, the Kindle seems to re-index all of the books occasionally. I have noticed this most often after the Kindle does a reboot.

I check to see if all of my items are indexed by doing a search from the Home page for a word that I know is in at least one of my books. Since I have _Through the Looking Glass_ on my K2, brillig is a good search word for me as it is only in two books currently on my Kindle. (When doing a test I always use a word I know exists as once I searched for a random string of letters while my Kindle was indexing and it locked up. I have not tried that since.) If there are any unindexed books on the Kindle, there will be an entry at the end of the search list saying how many unindexed items there are. Selecting that entry and clicking the 5-way (at least on a K2 or KDX) will bring up a list of unindexed items.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

LisaW. said:


> I read an article about how to extend the battery life of the kindle 2 a few months ago. It said that if you're always recharging it without the battery completely draining, the 'fuel gauge' can start giving you incorrect readings. It was recommended that every 30 'partial' charges should be followed by a 'complete' charge.


There's been a slight misunderstanding. According to the article LisaW is quoting, and which I've seen quoted elsewhere, draining the battery occasionally doesn't actually extend the battery life, it resets the indicator.

I'd love to see the original article citation. 

Betsy


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> There's been a slight misunderstanding. According to the article LisaW is quoting, and which I've seen quoted elsewhere, draining the battery occasionally doesn't actually extend the battery life, it resets the indicator.


True. But if the indicator is showing an incorrect reading, then one might think the battery is being drained faster than it really is. For example, the indicator might be at 1/4 when in actuality the battery capacity is really only down to 1/2. So it seems to me that "resetting" a faulty indicator could certainly make it seem to the user that the charge is lasting longer.

Does that theory make sense to anyone but me?


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Also, I use an iGo charger set when I'm traveling so I only have to use one charger with my Kindle, iPods, Palm T/X, phone and GPS. But when I'm home, I use the original charger. The charge seems to last longer.
> 
> Betsy


Betsy, I'm reading your post as saying that the charge from the original charger lasts longer. 
I charged my K2 with my iGo earlier in the week. This morning, 1/4 battery left. I was surprised
because my K has not been read for 2 days, so no page turns, no whispernet. 
I'm thinking the iGo does not give as complete a charge as the original charger. 
deb


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

I guess it may just be the indicator. That's easy to check, I'll see if it dies on me when it appears drained on the battery indicator.    It sounds like draining the battery may or may not reset that indicator, the search continues....  Thanks again all for the input.
jp


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

drenee said:


> Betsy, I'm reading your post as saying that the charge from the original charger lasts longer.
> I charged my K2 with my iGo earlier in the week. This morning, 1/4 battery left. I was surprised
> because my K has not been read for 2 days, so no page turns, no whispernet.
> I'm thinking the iGo does not give as complete a charge as the original charger.
> deb


It's what I've found. I still love my iGo, still going to use it as my travel and car charger, but when I'm home, I just leave the original charger out, easily accessible, and use it to charge. My iGo stays in its travel pack, which is cool anyway, cause when we jump in the car, I just take the pack with me and don't have to get the components together.

I do believe the charge with the original charger lasts longer. I had the same thing happen that happened to you and I got worried I had ruined the battery, but when charging with the original charger, the battery acts much the same as it did a year ago. And I'm reading every day. Not a lot, but reading every day.

Betsy


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

One additional thing *that I haven't seen mentioned*...
I don't know if this truly has any bearing, however, I always top off my battery. In other words...I fully charge; when the orange light goes out...I remove the charging end and reinsert it: the orange light comes back on for another few minutes. (I also agree with the others about indexing.)

BTW: I have K1 it is 1 year and 4 months old with daily use...I can get about a week or more out of a charge. I only use whispernet when needed and keep it in sleep mode most of the time. When I'm not testing out the charge length: I charge nightly by the bed; regardless of how much the battery is or isn't depleted. K1 battery may be different than K2, but _it was said to_ charge frequently to maintain and not to let it drain too often. I must add: this is the main reason that I did not step up to the K2...I like the removable battery of the K1 and the SD slot.


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## LisaW. (Jun 1, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> There's been a slight misunderstanding. According to the article LisaW is quoting, and which I've seen quoted elsewhere, draining the battery occasionally doesn't actually extend the battery life, it resets the indicator.
> 
> I'd love to see the original article citation.
> 
> Betsy


I found the original article about extending lithium based battery life:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm

Here's a few quotes that I found most helpful:
_"Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.)"

"Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely."

"For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level."_

If anyone has heard anything different from Amazon, I'd love to know.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Not knowing anything about battery technology, I'm looking at my replacement Kindle 1 battery, which says it is Lithium Polymer battery.  Is this the same as Lithium Ion?  

Betsy


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

sjc said:


> One additional thing *that I haven't seen mentioned*...
> I don't know if this truly has any bearing, however, I always top off my battery. In other words...I fully charge; when the orange light goes out...I remove the charging end and reinsert it: the orange light comes back on for another few minutes. (I also agree with the others about indexing.)
> 
> BTW: I have K1 it is 1 year and 4 months old with daily use...I can get about a week or more out of a charge. I only use whispernet when needed and keep it in sleep mode most of the time. When I'm not testing out the charge length: I charge nightly by the bed; regardless of how much the battery is or isn't depleted. K1 battery may be different than K2, but _it was said to_ charge frequently to maintain and not to let it drain too often. I must add: this is the main reason that I did not step up to the K2...I like the removable battery of the K1 and the SD slot.


I am having to charge my K1 - same age as yours - every couple of days, I am reading an awfully lot now though. I only recharge when it gets about 1/2, guess I should try your nightly charge as well as the extra bit at the end of a charge.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I tried the extra boost, but when I plugged it back in it was still green.  
deb


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

idolguy said:


> Does anyone know how much it costs to send the Kindle 2 to Amazon to have the battery replaced?


All K2's are still under warranty. You should NOT be charged if your Kindle needs a battery replaced.

If after the warranty expires and you do not have an extended warranty, Amazon has posted on the Amazon Forum they will charge $59.00 to replace the battery. You can not replace it yourself, you must send it to them. They did not discuss shipping charges.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Good info! Thanks.  Owning a K1, I forgot that the K2s are still under warranty for a few more months.

Betsy


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

Like I said, I don't know if the topping off thing prolongs the battery life.  I still find my battery to be in pretty good shape holding a charge for a week.  I do have a spare battery in the refrigerator for when this one dies.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I have a K1, a replacement refurb I got in March for the refurb I bought in dec 08. For a while now I had noticed that my battery goes down one notch pretty quickly, much more so then I remember in the beginning. I thought it was because I had a SD card in it and I have 95 pages of books on it. 

Well I just read sjc's post about charging it, then taking out the plug and putting it in. I did that the night before last. The light came on again even though it was off and had charged all day, or night, can't remember now  . Then I thought what happens if I do it again, so after some minutes, 20 or so light went out again and I unplugged and put it back in. Same thing. Orange light comes back on and it keeps charging. Its like I could do this over and over again. 

Then I started reading after that charging procedure yesterday and suddenly the battery stayed full for a lot longer. I had actually written down before I did this how many page turns approx. I did. I was able to read about 1300 locations with 7 locations per page which is about 185 page turns. 

After the recharging procedure I just now arrived at 3850 location and the charge is still showing full. That's about 550 page turns. 

The books had almost the same total locations so the comparison worked. 

I have no clue why this worked but I am very happy. I been home sick for a while now and was reading A LOT. So I been charging sometimes twice a day as I don't want to go past half empty to save the battery. I been reading while it was plugged in the charger quite a few times. 

Now its a lot better. 

But I am still baffled why even if its plugged in all night and the light is off, I can pull the plug out, put it in and it charges again. And again and again. Weird.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

Atunah, I had the same thing, sorta, just recharged and per sjc did t again - it charged for another 45 minutes   will be interesting to see if I can go more than 2-3 days before feeding it again.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

See...just like I told you.  So, I am not crazy after all...(my DH might argue that point.)  I so think that method works!!  I seriously thought you were all going to think that I was half baked.


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

I did read a lot yesterday, but even with topping off the battery noticed this morning it was down 1/4.  Maybe if I quit reading so much    will top it off again to day to see what happens.


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## happyblob (Feb 21, 2009)

Sending back the device just to replace the battery? They must be joking.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

That's why I love K1...removable battery.  I hope when they come out with the next kindle they go back to removable battery.


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## KayakerNC (Oct 7, 2009)

happyblob said:


> Sending back the device just to replace the battery? They must be joking.


 Do a Google search for the S11S01A Kindle 2 battery. They can be purchased.
However, opening the case and replacing the battery (not an easy task) will most likely void any remaining warranty.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

sjc said:


> That's why I love K1...removable battery. I hope when they come out with the next kindle they go back to removable battery.


Definitely a good feature to have.


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## Adele (May 30, 2009)

I have noticed my battery not lasting as long as it use to.  I got my Kindle 2 in March, I notice if I forget to turn off the internet it drains within a few hours.  Are you suppose to send it back to get a replacement?  What the heck do you do while it's gone?  I can't imagine being without it. Do they send you a loner in the mean time?


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## ak rain (Nov 15, 2008)

warrenty returns they send you a new one possible a refurb and you send the defective one back in same box. so no you are not without a kindle. to repair a battery on one out of warrenty i do not know.
sylvia


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## Saylorgirl (Mar 20, 2009)

Mine is doing the same thing.  I have had it about 6 months and it only keeps a charge for about 2 - 3 days now.  I leave the whispernet turned off and have not downloaded anything for about 2 months.  It is annoying that you have to return the kindle to have the battery replaced.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

Just an update.  I turned my Kindle off for about 5 minutes and then charged to a full charge.  It's been 4 days now and the battery indicator is still almost full.  I think it's the reboot that may have done it.  The Kindle is a computer and most computers need a reboot occasionally. I have a Samsung Feature phone and they suggest turning it off every couple of days.  I think the place to start is to turn it off for a few minutes and see what happens.
jp


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