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New User Reports Confirm the Kindle Oasis not Charging from the Battery Case

It’s been some two weeks since I first raised the question as to whether some Kindle Oasis units had a defective connection with their battery case, and as new evidence comes in that question is becoming less a question than a known defect affecting a small number of Oasis owners.

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Over the past month numerous Kindle Oasis owners have reported that their $290 ereader was dying after only six eight, or ten hours of reading with the cover attached. They’re finding that their Oasis isn’t drawing power from the battery in the case like it’s supposed to.

For example, my loaned review unit died after three days of light reading. I know I had started from a full charge, and while I didn’t think to confirm the state of the case’s battery at the end of the three days I do know that I’ve never had a similar problem with the Paperwhite or other Kindles.

And I’m not the only one with this problem. There are several non-specific complaints about the battery life, and some reviewers have detailed exactly how their Oasis was failing to connect to its case.

"Also, clearly the magnetized connection between the device and the case is not perfect, because I constantly, at least several times a day, will get error messages saying that the device cannot connect to the case battery," one owner wrote in a review. "This has resulted several times in my device just dying because it is out of power. I have literally never had that happen with a previous Kindle e-reader so it is rather amazing."

Another reviewer chimed in with a similar complaint: "I assume this will be swapped out when I get time to work through customer service, but there is a problem with my Oasis. It regularly flashes a warning that it has lost connection with its charging cover. Sometimes this happens when the Oasis is just sitting on the table (ie, its not being carried/moved around)."

The Oasis connects to its battery case through a proprietary 5-pin connector. We’re still waiting on hackers to identify just what the connector does and what case can do, but from what some owners are saying it’s not nearly as smart as Amazon thought it was.

It does appear, however, that the case may have DRM: "Once I even got an error message that said I’d connected the Oasis to an unauthorized cover (it was in its own cover)."

I’m looking forward to getting that detail confirmed, but in the meantime it’s safe to say that Amazon has truly produced an "engineer’s Kindle".

As the saying goes, a regular person believes that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Engineers, on the other hand, believe that if something isn’t broken then it doesn’t have enough features.

Clearly the Oasis now has enough features.

image via Der Standard

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Comments


CJJ May 30, 2016 um 6:51 pm

I’m an avid Amazonian. Just shy of fan-boy. I use a fire phone Christ’s sake. But even I have to admit that Amazon has gotten into the habit of bringing half baked hardware to market. The purchased at release, and promptly returned, Fire TV box version 2 was my last Amazon hardware purchase. I’m done with their devices.

poiboy May 31, 2016 um 12:06 am

gotta agree with this.

Nate Hoffelder May 31, 2016 um 12:17 am

It’s certainly true for the first KPW, and the Fire Phone, and the Oasis. All three were shoved out the door before the tech was really ready.

Frank May 31, 2016 um 11:13 am

I got the first Paperwhite on its release and never had an issue with it.
With the few Oasis units that cannot connect to the battery case, those should be replaced. The majority seem to work fine.
The Fire Phone was a bad idea.

Nate Hoffelder May 31, 2016 um 11:17 am

I have the first and 2nd Paperwhites. The first has a terrible frontlight. Amazon didn’t get it right until the following year.


Mary May 31, 2016 um 9:20 am

I guess that I was very, very lucky with my Oasis. The cover and battery are working as they are supposed to. I check it constantly to see its status, reading both with and without the cover. I probably read 4 hours a day and have had it since April 29 (Best Buy) so there has been plenty of time for it to get wonky if it was going to. Those who have defective units must be extremely frustrated, and I hope Amazon gets working replacement units to them quickly. I love the Oasis beyond any previous Kindle I have had, and have had them all from the very first in early 2008, with the exception of the DX. My favorite thing is the screen flip; until I had this unit, I had no idea that I changed hands that often.


Kindle Oasis: Berichte über nicht ladende Hülle häufen sich May 31, 2016 um 9:46 am

[…] The Digital Reader via: ComputerBase Teilen Tweet Teilen Teilen […]


Cover battery connector continues to annoy Kindle Oasis owners – TeleRead News: E-books, publishing, tech and beyond June 1, 2016 um 4:54 am

[…] charging connector to be an issue. Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader has done a fine job of pulling together a number of reports on the matter, including his own experiences with a borrowed Oasis review unit. Nate found that his own Kindle […]


Abe Ofarrell June 2, 2016 um 9:02 pm

I am having all those problems. Battery dies. Tells me it isn’t connected. Tells me the case is unauthorized. Now when I put it in the case I check carefully to make sure it is connected.


Egbert Halderman June 20, 2016 um 4:38 am

I have the Kindle Oasis also and I like it a lot, but think the battery is going faster empty than my 1e generation Kindle Paperwhite.


Jim June 24, 2016 um 12:14 pm

I decided to upgrade from my Voyage to the Oasis. After going through 3 Oasis I gave up and will stick with my Voyage. The battery life was absolutely horrible with or without the case. On all 3 units the battery level dropped by 25 to 40% within a matter of hours in standby mode. Also, I’m surprised I haven’t seen complaints about the Oasis dropping the automatic light adjustment. That is something I really like in the Voyage.


Joni Gooss August 12, 2016 um 9:55 am

Connection is tempramental. I need to adjust it just right, pull down the menue and watch the cover charge. I am also getting error messages while reading. I must be pulling off the connection with my hand. I’d rather have that than take the cover off and only use it for charging. Needs a tighter, non slip connection.

Mary August 12, 2016 um 10:06 am

Joni, talk to Kindle customer service either by phone or chat, NOT email. Chat is probably best as it eliminates the language problem. Your connection should not slip while holding the Oasis with the cover on. My connection is very secure. They should replace this for you.

Myndi August 24, 2016 um 1:23 pm

I concur with Mary. The first Oasis I received I had the exact same problem and I returned it the next day. Ordered a new one and it works like a dream. The cover failing to connect properly isn’t a quirk, it’s a defect. Whatever you do, do NOT let them talk you into replacement. If it’s been less than 30 days, you are entitled to a full refund. Most of the models are backordered, so if you ask for a replacement, they will send you a refurbished model. If you return it and then purchase another one, you’ll get a new one. Good luck!


Jim August 12, 2016 um 10:24 am

I went through 2 Oasis and just lost patience. They both drained the battery within a day at most. I do not think they are a good design. I went back to my Voyage and it has the auto adjust light.


New Kindle Oasis is Waterproof, Costs $249, and Has a 7" Screen | The Digital Reader October 11, 2017 um 1:00 pm

[…] Don't get me wrong, I like one-handed ereaders – it's just that with the first Oasis, Amazon got cute by dividing the battery between the case and the ereader, forcing you to choose between either a lightweight device with disappointing battery life or a heavy one with adequate battery life. Not only did this take all the fun out of the design, faulty connections between the Oasis and its case resulted in several early reports of battery issues. […]


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