Amazon Kindle discussion
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To "sleep" or to turn off, that is the question....
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I would say just sleep, remembering to turn off the wireless first if you have no reason to leave it on. An exception might be if you know you won't be using it for quite a few days, in which case I'd probably turn it off.
Thanks, guys. I've been powering it off whenever I'm not going to use it for more than 1/2 hour or so. (I always have the wireless off unless i'm downloading a book.) It sounds like I've been doing it all wrong!So your advice is to leave it in sleep mode even overnight, right?
Yeah, you should be fine that way. I just put mine on sleep when not using it, and usually only connect it to the charger about twice a week (and usually never get below about 50% charge).
Some advice I receive from the Amazon Kindle community was NEVER (as much as possible, anyway) let it get below 50% charge and to only shut it completely down about once a week or so (unless you know you're not going to use it for several days). Shutting it completely down is actually harder on it and uses more battery than just putting it in sleep mode apparently.When I'm done reading for the night or for an extended period, I put mine to sleep. Just tonight I shut it completely down, but it had been at least a week since I'd done it last.
Thanks for asking the question, you were not the only one doing it all wrong. I was always letting the battery run out before charging, and always turning it off.
Elena wrote: "Thanks for asking the question, you were not the only one doing it all wrong. I was always letting the battery run out before charging, and always turning it off."I'm glad I'm not the only one, Elena. I was doing the exact same thing! I was even powering it off if I wasn't going to read for a couple of hours.
Sally (and others) = thanks so much for all the helpful tips. Sally, did you contact Amazon yourself? I never talked to anyone. I guess I should have!
BTW, I still can't understand how sleep mode, which has a picture on the screen at all times, uses less battery juice than a blank screen. Just saying....
Donna wrote: "BTW, I still can't understand how sleep mode, which has a picture on the screen at all times, uses less battery juice than a blank screen. Just saying...."The Kindle only draws power when it changes the page, not to keep the image on the page.
Think of epaper as having a bunch of dots inside it that are black on one side and white on the other. When a page gets loaded, the blacks and whites get switched into the configuration that you need to make the image or words. It stays there until current passes through the page again to change the image.
It's like the Etch-a-Sketch before you shake it.
It's like the Etch-a-Sketch before you shake it.Great analogy!
I only turn mine all the way off on flights during takeoff and landing... otherwise, sleep mode.
So, if you charge the battery at 50% or hook it up every night, does the battery hold a charge? I thought batteries lose its "juice" if you keep charging it without letting it go way down.
I'm not even sure how to turn mine off all the way. I've had it for about six months and only have used the sleep mode. How do you turn it completely off?
If you want to turn it off you have to slide the power switch and hold it for about 4 seconds
Sandy wrote: "If you want to turn it off you have to slide the power switch and hold it for about 4 seconds"Okay, so all the way off is when no screen saver shows right? I have only done that by accident a coupla times. Otherwise its sleep mode,right?
Bryan wrote: "So, if you charge the battery at 50% or hook it up every night, does the battery hold a charge? I thought batteries lose its "juice" if you keep charging it without letting it go way down."That is my understanding also and that is why I was letting it run down. Maybe this battery is different?
Lithium Polymer batteries like those used in the Kindle 2 and DX, do not develop a 'memory' that was common with earlier NiCad batteries. The older batteries would lose their ability to accept a full charge if they were left on a charger or recharged before being drained. Not having that problem is one of the big advantages of the Lithium Polymer cells.
Angela wrote: "Okay, so all the way off is when no screen saver shows right? I have only done that by accident a coupla times. Otherwise its sleep mode,right?"Yep. If it's on sleep mode, there will be a screensaver. If the screen is blank, you've turned it off.
Kip wrote: "Lithium Polymer batteries like those used in the Kindle 2 and DX, do not develop a 'memory' that was common with earlier NiCad batteries. The older batteries would lose their ability to accept a fu..."I keep reading different thoughts on this. I thought someone said they talked to Amazon customer service and were told to recharge only after the battery was depleated (when it says "You should recharge now") and NOT to plug it in "early". I'm so confused...
I thought I would put this out here... I didn't even know how to turn it all the way off until we had to fly to Germany and after fumbling with the sleep button for a bit I finally got it to go off >.< lol
Do you have to turn the Kindle off or is it ok to just turn off 3G while the plane is taking off/landing?
By FAA rules, ALL personal electronic devices must be off when the plane is taking off/landing, even those that have no cell/connectivity in the first place.(Which is not to say that I always do it, but it is the rules.)
I actually had a flight attendant stop and tell me to turn it off and I said the same thing you did Jeff, but she told me it did not matter "if it has an on/off switch it MUST be turned off"
Interesting. Thanks for the info. We're flying in 2 weeks and I was planning on taking my Kindle on the plane with me.
@ Jeff, don't pack it far down because they make you take it out and put it on the conveyor in it's own bin, just like they do with laptops.
Jackie wrote: "@ Jeff, don't pack it far down because they make you take it out and put it on the conveyor in it's own bin, just like they do with laptops."Also very good to know. Maybe I'll just take a DTB with me. :)
I just recently flew, and I was not made to take it out like my laptop....its not that much of a hassle, I still would that my Kindle before DTBs!! :-)
I didn't have to take mine out either. Just left it in my purse.
I would still take my Kindle, it's not a big deal, but they wanted to put it though like a laptop every time I have flown.
@ Jeff, if you are going to the beach/pool, I would bring a gallon plastic bag so you don't get water/sand on it.
Jackie wrote: "@ Jeff, if you are going to the beach/pool, I would bring a gallon plastic bag so you don't get water/sand on it."Amazon sells a water proof cover, it is not as cheap as the plastic bags, but I use it enough to justifify it :)
I always leave my Kindle on and read while taking off. The flight attendats have not told me to turn it off, I guess they have not seen me. You can put your cell phones on "plane mode" while traveling, which is bascially the same has having your Kidle with the wirelless turn off, so I don't know what the problem is.
I've never had to take my Kindle out of my pocketbook going through security, and I've flown a few times since I got it. On the other hand, the flight attendants have very specifically announced that "everything with an on/off switch" has to be off during takeoff/landing, and sometimes specifically mention Kindles (as well as IPods).No big deal - I still prefer to have it for the flight time and the sitting in the airport time. On our last trip, we wound up with a 7 hour delay in Chicago in the middle of the night - I was VERY glad to have my kindle, because I would probably have not had enough reading material to keep me going, and there was nowhere open to buy anything.
I emailed Customer support today, to ask about the sleep versus turn off, and also about the battery recharging. The email response was worthless (told me how to put it in sleep mode and how to charge my battery), but when I clicked on the button saying that the response was not helpful, they gave me the option of having someone call me right away.I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of this, but this is what the Kindle support person told me:
1. It's not a good idea to be turning it on and off several times a day, but beyond that it doesn't matter. She suggested that I turn it off if I'm not going to be using it for 2 or 3 days.
2. The only issue with recharging the battery, she said, was that rechargeable batteries only have so many recharges in them. So, the more often you re-charge, the sooner you use them up.
Sandy, the info about the battery was very helpful... I guess that means I'll wait until it is low enough to tell me to recharge. (I was worried about letting it get too low and running out of juice at the worst possible time!) I'm not real happy after the amount of money it costs to hear it has a definite "shelf life"... Did they happen to mention how many times?
Donna wrote: "Sandy, the info about the battery was very helpful... I guess that means I'll wait until it is low enough to tell me to recharge. (I was worried about letting it get too low and running out of juic..."It should last as long (or longer) than a (modern) cell phone battery since most people use their cell phones more/as much as their Kindle. I think the battery can be replaced by Amazon if you want to send it in and pay for it, but don't quote me on that.
Well, depending on how much that costs, it might make more sense to upgrade to a DX... Hmmmmmmmm, excuse me while I charge my kindle! ;)
Jeff wrote: "Donna wrote: "Sandy, the info about the battery was very helpful... I guess that means I'll wait until it is low enough to tell me to recharge. (I was worried about letting it get too low and runni..."I asked about replacing the battery, since the subject came up. She told me that if it died after a normal life span, it was replaceable, but there is a charge for it. I figured no point getting into what the charge would be at this point, since things change. She also said that it last a "really long time," but that's not really telling me anything!
I didn't know that there was a way to actually turn it off. I thought there was only sleep mode. So i've learned something new today.
Thanks everyone. I've been wondering why I keep having to charge my Kindle and I was afraid I would have to have it looked out. I always have the wireless on and I turn it off even when I want to just stop for a minute or two. Now I know I was doing it all wrong. Wow! I amgoing to shut the wireless off right now. So, I only turn it on when I want to download a book? And do I ever shut off the Kindle?
You don't have to shut it off. It doesn't draw power unless the wireless is on or you are turning a page. There have been reports that some versions of the software encourage what is referred to as a "battery leak," though. You can probably find more about that by doing a search.
Always put it to sleep. There is no way to turn it off. If you hold the button until it goes blank you're just resetting the software and if you do that too often you could harm the Kindle. Trust me guy's I work for Amazon as a Kindle Specialist. Do not try and turn the Kindle all the way off. If you continue to turn it all the way off you'll damage your Kindle.
Being new here and still patiently waiting for my freshly ordered kindle to arrive, I am greatful for this info. Thanks!
Thanks everyone. I've been doing everything wrong, obviously, since I got my Kindle almost a year ago. No wonder the charge never lasted long. lol
Having turned mine off last night, I now know what (not) to do! Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the advice. As a new Kindle owner who has only "lightly" read the manual (doh!) it was news that I could turn off the Kindle to a blank screen. I'll bear it in mind when I go through an airport. Alas not until later in the year.
Linda wrote: "Thanks for the advice. As a new Kindle owner who has only "lightly" read the manual (doh!) it was news that I could turn off the Kindle to a blank screen. I'll bear it in mind when I go through an ..."You can't actually turn it off to a blank screen. The screen will go blank for a bit about (15 seconds) and then it'll reload the software. Turn the wireless off and let it go to sleep. That saves battery. With wireless of it's safe on an airplane. Amazon does not reccommend trying to turn it completely off... it's not made to turn off and that's why there's no way to turn it off.
You can't actually turn it off to a blank screen. The screen will go blank for a bit about (15 seconds) and then it'll reload the software. Turn the wireless off and let it go to sleep...Now I'm confused (it doesn't take much). I don't use it with the wi-fi on (mine isn't 3G) but when I've finished reading I slip across the powerslide on the bottom edge next to the USB connection and a static picture appears. When I want to recommence reading, say next day, I again slip across the powerslide and my last reading place appears.
So am I letting it "go to sleep" or "turning it off"?
I don't have my kindle yet but I have been reading the manual and it does say you can turn it off."Sleeping your Kindle will extend battery life and also lock
all of the keys and buttons so you don’t inadvertently press one while not using your
Kindle. When your Kindle is asleep, you will see an image on the screen. To turn off
your Kindle completely, slide and hold the power switch for four seconds, then release.
The Kindle screen will blank and the device will turn off."
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If you are reading your kindle and you are going to stop for a few minutes (let's say 5 to 10), are you better off a) just leaving it on to go into hibernation or "sleep" mode, or b) shutting down completely?
Now I realize there is a time element involved, short distraction vs long phone call, ect., but there is nothing that gives me definite guidelines.
Does anyone know when it is more efficient to power down vs. "sleep"?