Kinda Disappointed

[idgal]

I'm still having battery drain issues with my Nook tablet.  I got a replacement and have the same issues.  Two nights ago it was at 49%, and today it was dead.  So far the best advice from B & N is to power it off every night.  I love the Nook and the idea of what it can do.  I have a color as well, but got the Tablet because of the promised better battery life. Now I sorta wish I hadn't spent the extra money because the battery drain issue is so frustrating.   Would the Fire be better?   I just hate picking it up to read, and having to wait 15 minutes for enough charge to power it up.  I'm not getting close to 9 hours of just reading time.  Sorry, just getting discouraged.

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

1. What apps are you using?

2. Are you fully quitting those apps or just jumping back to home?

3. Do you have any continuing processes running (Pulse, email, weather apps)?

All three of those can have a drastic affect on your power drain.

[moogs]

I had that problem with my NC and shutting off the wifi when putting it in sleep mode appears to have solved the problem. Now the battery only drops a few percent over as many days if unused.

[idgal]

I have been shutting off the wifi.  I downloaded app manager, and if it isn't a Droid appliation, I've been killing all those.  Are there any Droid apps to kill that will help? I do kill email, don't have weather, and don't think I have Pulse running, unless it is listed as a Droid.  Thanks to everyone.  I appreciate the help.

[NookGardener]

Have you gone in and changed the frequency which email updates?  I think the default is set for every 5 minutes.  If I remember right, even with wi-fi off, it would still attempt to update and was using 2-3% per hour.  (Open up email, select "Accounts", select the gear on the right to get to the email settings.)  Change it to manual update.

Have noticed that PULSE likes to open itself up everytime you connect to wi-fi (even if you've changed the settings to only update daily.)   But it doesn't seem to cause battery drain.

Two others that cause battery drain: live wallpapers and the one of the alarm clock apps (sorry, can't remember which one.) Basically, anything that can "phone home" will use up your battery.

Let us know if that helps.

[idgal]

This is probably a silly question, but what is Pulse?  I don't think I have that downloaded.

[NookGardener]

It's a new aggregator app.  (Sorry, I might have read your post too quickly.  Thought you had downloaded it. )

Three other things:

1) For me anyway, best way I found to test battery life was to fully charge device.  Then turn it off.  But when you get to the pop up screen that says "Power Off", instead of selecting it, just keep holding the power button.  It seems to clear everything running.  Then power it back up and just let it sit for awhile to see if you are still expending battery while not using device.  (This was before the App Manager app was available.)  If you are seeing battery being used still, go into the App Manager and see what has turned itself on.  If any non-stock apps are running, go check their settings and see if you can change.  

2) If you have an SD card installed, do the battery tests with it in and out.  While I haven't seen any significant battery drain with one in, others have reported problems.

3) Set your screen to turn off after one or two minutes of non use (if you haven't already.) 

But seriously, start with the email settings.  The default setting was causing serious battery drain at the beginning. Let us know if this helps.

[northlite]

Do you maybe have Accuweather Premium? That one ran my battery down in a few hours. Normally I only charge my tablet every couple days and with that installed I had to charge twice in one day. After two days I uninstalled it and my battery life went back to normal.

[Brainylainy]

My 1st Nook Tablet didn't give me more than 6 hours reading time. Because it advertises that it has 11.5 hours battery life, I called 800-THE-BOOK? The 1st person wanted to send me a new charger, so I called again & the tech express mailed me a new Tablet. It has great battery life & I never turn it off at night. If your replacement Tablet doesn't last, insist on a new one until you get one that works. The Fire is not that great

[avenie]

Wait - you are supposed to be able to get 9 hours of reading time?!? I had NO idea. Mine gets MAYBE six. I actually experimented with how it holds a charge because I have an airplane ride coming up. I had no idea it was supposed to hold a charge for so much longer ...

[flyingtoastr Scribe]

Actual battery time (as with any electronic device) can varry wildly depending on settings. In particular, the WiFi radio and screen backlight consume large chunks of battery power, even while reading.

[PJLLB]

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avenie wrote:

Wait - you are supposed to be able to get 9 hours of reading time?!? I had NO idea. Mine gets MAYBE six. I actually experimented with how it holds a charge because I have an airplane ride coming up. I had no idea it was supposed to hold a charge for so much longer ...

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If you have not enabled the PowerSave mode, you should.  It really helped me.

[avenie]

I have enabled power save but I WAS testing it with wireless on so that contributed I'm sure.

To be quite honest, I only expected it to hold for four LOL so I was happy with six (until I read this and became shocked). As long as it will last for my entire flight, there is no other time I will be using it for that many hours in a row without an outlet nearby so I am not going to sweat it.

[idgal]

You are right, BrainyLainey.  I called and have a new Tablet coming in the next 3 to 5 days.  It was a bit of an ordeal.  I had called customer service back in January, and then in February, and the tech sent me in to my store and they gave me a replacement (refurbished) unit.  That didn't make me really happy, but I was assured it was as good as new.  It has been better than the first unit, but still not getting the reading time. (even after following everyone's advice).

When I called today, they had no record of my previous calls, because I didn't keep the first unit's serial number, which is how they must reference problems.  The tech kept insisting that I had purchased this refurbished unit in February, and it doesn't have a warrenty.  I spoke to a supervisor, and he took care of everything.  So 1/2 an hour later off the phone, I should have a brand new replacement coming.

I keep the wi-fi off, have power save on, screen brightness turned waaaaaay down, and bought App manager.  Here is my next question, to which I've had 3 different answers.    The tech in February said to babysit the unit because the battery has a memory and not let it sit on the charger, like if I plug it in low before I go to sleep.  When I went into the store, the store tech said, No, these batteries don't have a membory, don't worry about it.  Today the Tech Supervisor said not to sit staring at it, but as soon as I can see it turns green, get it unplugged.  He had to go to 2nd tier support to get that question answered.  What is the real deal? 

Also, Thank You to everyone who has been helping me here.  It has helped a ton!!!