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Is Your Kindle Oasis Not Charging From the Case Battery?

160411211729-amazon-kindle-oasis-cafeWhen I reviewed the Kindle Oasis on Saturday, one of my complaints was that the much ballyhooed battery died in only three days. At the time I had written that off to the Oasis not living up to Amazon’s marketing claims, but now I wonder if there was a more specific cause.

There’s a new discussion over on MobileRead where one Oasis owner reports that their new ereader wasn’t charging correctly:

Why did my Oasis shut itself down when there was plenty of battery charge left at the cover? I started with both batteries at the Kindle and the cover fully charged at 100%. I started reading at light level 24 (maximum brightness) for 6 straight hours, WIFI off. At the end of 6 hours, I started to get low battery warning message before the device shut itself down. Before it shut down, I looked at the battery meter and it showed that the battery at the Kindle was at 10% while at the cover was still at 44%. Then the battery at the Kindle went down to 5% and then downed to 1% before it finally shut down while the battery at the cover only went down a bit further.

This mechanism made no sense. When the Kindle and the cover are connected, shouldn’t it use the battery at the cover first before draining the battery at the Kindle? And why shut it down when there was still 44% battery charge at the cover? Why can’t it draw current from whatever part of the unit still has battery charge?

I didn’t think to check my Oasis when the battery ran down, so I can’t tell you whether but this would tend to explain why the battery on my unit died so quickly.

Here’s my theory.

The Oasis connects to its battery case through a 5-pin port.  A power connection would only require two pins, which tells us that it’s a smart connection of some kind.

What if the Oasis isn’t drawing from the battery case because it thinks the battery case isn’t connected? There are five pins; what if they’re not seating correctly?

That’s not as big of a stretch as it sounds. I for one fidget when I read, and I repeatedly caught myself removing the cover and snapping it back on.

I also noticed that it was possible for the magnets to hold the cover on even when the Oasis wasn’t seated correctly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the reports about battery life had that obvious cause.

What do you think? Have you witnessed any strange battery behavior with the Oasis?

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Comments


Will O’Neil May 16, 2016 um 11:14 pm

My practice has been to read without the cover and then put the cover back on when I’m finished reading for more than a minute or two. This always restores the battery on the reader itself to nearly full charge. Since I rarely read on the Kindle uninterruptedly for more than an hour or two I’ve never come close to draining the battery. My case seems to snap on very positively.

Kath Goodman June 13, 2016 um 5:42 am

I’ve had the same battery problems. After one weeks use of my kindle oasis (with cover on) I received a message that my cover battery was low and needed charging. I contacted kindle support who really were not aware of the extended battery life claims of the latest kindle and could only suggest a factory reset! I continue to monitor it’s performance


Mary May 17, 2016 um 8:23 am

My Oasis stays in the case except when I’m reading in bed at night, a place I deem safe from dropping it on the floor unprotected. I’ve been very impressed with its battery life. After I reconnect the cover, the device begins charging again. For sure I am charging it less than I was the Voyage.


Frank May 17, 2016 um 12:06 pm

Nate, this is likely what happened to you. With the battery case, the Oasis should last at least 20 hours.

Nate Hoffelder May 20, 2016 um 10:58 am

Probably.


Karl May 17, 2016 um 2:29 pm

I haven’t checked the charge status of the cover and device closely but I have noticed that it is possible to attach the cover and have it miss aligned. I have also noticed that you can twist the cover will readng and then it won’t charge the Oasis. So I would agree that it can be an issue. This also applies to charging the cover since it must be attached correctly in order to charge when the Oasis is plugged in.


Rasputin May 17, 2016 um 3:00 pm

It’s a complicated design and more can go wrong and sounds like it is for some people. Remember the case that powered the Kindle Keyboard (I think it was)? I think they had to recall tons of them. What seems workable on paper can go wrong in mass-production. Keep it simple, stupid 😉

Nate Hoffelder May 17, 2016 um 3:18 pm

I don’t know that there was a case for the KK, but both the 2011 models had a case. They drew power from a couple contact points on the back.

That was a much simpler design.


Kindle Oasis cover may not be properly charging the internal battery – TeleRead News: E-books, publishing, tech and beyond May 18, 2016 um 11:35 am

[…] The Digital Reader, Nate Hoffelder advances the theory that the complicated five-pin magnetic connector on the battery cover may not be making proper […]


Charles Morgan May 18, 2016 um 11:43 am

I have an issue, but it’s with the device charging. I have to fiddle with the cable in order to get the charge light to come on. I’ve contacted Amazon and they’re processing a replacement but it is schedule to arrive sometime in late July or August!

I found it interesting that the first question I was asked by the Amazon rep was "is the charging port loose?"


W COOPER May 18, 2016 um 5:50 pm

I exchanged my oasis after one week, I had to charge it every day while on vacation. the kindle itself seem to drain very rapidly. Amazon sent me a replacement and the new one seems to be doing the same thing.


XK May 19, 2016 um 9:39 am

I’m definitely experiencing limited battery life with mine. Without the case, I’m seeing the battery last at most a couple days of moderate reading (maybe 4-5 hours total). I knew it would be less than my Voyage, but I was expecting at least a week. I haven’t tested extensively with the case on, so I’m not sure if the claims for how much that boosts the battery are accurate or not either.

Nix May 22, 2016 um 6:55 pm

You might be interested in my post here: . I was seeing the same as you, but if you turn the lights off, wow, the discharge rate absolutely plummets.

Nix May 22, 2016 um 6:56 pm

Argh. Let’s try that without angle brackets: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3322598&postcount=87


Denise Wallentinson May 29, 2016 um 8:34 pm

Oddly enough my Oasis kept draining the Kindle before it started draining the cover. That went on for about three days. I kept making sure that the connections were synced. Since if they are not synced or the cover is removed, not only will the cover percentages not show up, but no percentages for the Kindle will either. Just a charge bar at the top right.

Then after a few days my Oasis world was righted! Hallelujah! The cover began properly feeding its stored power to the Kindle. I have no idea what changed. I have stopped even checking the connections. Since I’m retired (throw in another heartfelt halleluyah here), I get to read about 4-5 hours daily. Which is good because I have over 5,000 titles and counting (Ahem, I was a teacher and librarian so what do you expect). I charge daily.

I did keep stats so I knew to the hour what all was charging. Best wishes and enjoy! (your homework assignment…steampunk and sci fi rule!)


Amazon Kindle Oasis Review and Giveaway – KnowledgeGyaan June 3, 2016 um 10:16 pm

[…] life seems to be weeks, not months. Second, there have been multiple reports that some Kindles do not correctly draw energy from the external […]


Amazon Kindle Oasis Review and Giveaway June 6, 2016 um 8:00 am

[…] life seems to be weeks, not months. Second, there have been multiple reports that some Kindles do not correctly draw energy[6] from the external […]


New User Reports Confirm the Kindle Oasis not Charging from the Battery Case | The Digital Reader June 11, 2016 um 1:34 pm

[…] 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 […]


Denise Wallentinson June 13, 2016 um 7:10 pm

You have to jiggle the cover a little until you see it says "(Charging from Cover)." I bought the Oasis because it was the lightest ever since I have replaced shoulders and very little strength. I read 4 to 5 hours a day. One of the joys of being retired. My Voyage and Paperwhites last me all day on one charge. The Oasis lasts for 1.5-2 hours without the cover. With the cover it lasts the entire day…usually. I still have to charge it nightly. What the?

I like that you can flip the Oasis and the orientation also flips. I like the wider side with raised "Button" bars. Charging, however, is the pits. Also weird. I check the charge percentages after a full charge. For about 2 seconds they read 100% Kindle and 100% Cover. Then the Kindle percentages move down to 97% or lower. All without reading a word and after having the cover open for a few seconds. I repeat what the?

I started keeping stats on the charge but it was too much work and was telling the same story. The "What the?" tale… Denise W

Cover 100%/Kindle 100%
Cover 100%/Kindle 91%–5 hours later (even though hasn’t been used at all)
Cover 89%/Kindle 94%–read 30 min. w/cover

Cover 100%/Kindle 100%
Cover 93%/Kindle 63%–after sitting unused all day long w/cover
Cover 63%/Kindle 43%–read 75 min. w/o cover
Cover 43%/Kindle 83%–read 20 min. w/cover

Cover 100%/Kindle 95>4%–after charging all night & the first time I opened it
Cover 87%/Kindle 87%–read 40 min. w/cover
Cover 86%/Kindle 93%–not used for 3 hours

Nate Hoffelder June 13, 2016 um 11:21 pm

If I am going to spend $290 for a device it had damn well better not require any jiggling.

Jo June 18, 2016 um 7:04 am

Denise, just got my Oasis. Have been trying to find the percentages. How do you do that ? Thank you.

Lyn June 22, 2016 um 9:16 am

Hi
Thanks for your post – very helpful.
Where does it tell you (charging from cover). My battery keeps draining so I am assuming that I am not "jiggling it properly".


Denise Wallentinson June 18, 2016 um 3:10 pm

You tap on the sun icon found in the toolbar menu at the top of the screen. If you are on the Home page, it is already showing. If you are reading a book, tap at the top of the page to show the toolbar menu. If when looking at the battery percentages remaining it doesn’t say Kindle (Charging from Cover), you will have to jiggle the cover connection a little. If the cover isn’t on, it won’t give percentages, just the regular bar at the top right corner showing approximate charge remaining.

A lot of this isn’t intuitive so don’t feel bad about missing it. Plus it’s not there if the cover isn’t on. It’s a little confusing. I was a teacher for 30 years so I’ve learned to play around with things as I’m learning them. Sometimes is very useful to think like a kid.


Kindle Oasis Review – Senior Gadgets, Gizmos and Hobby Aids June 24, 2016 um 11:04 am

[…] life seems to be weeks, not months. Second, there have been multiple reports that some Kindles do not correctly draw energy from the external […]


Nasser July 11, 2016 um 2:41 pm

Yes I did notes!!
Here is my experiance… I got my kindle Oasis this morning, I put it to charge, but the cover did not charge! I notes later that when I press hard on the cover, the battrey indecator would fall, because the kindle is fully charged but the cover is not!!


Nasser July 11, 2016 um 2:45 pm

Yes… one more thing! I do not see the cover battery indicator! Which supposed to be at the light adjustment drop down menu


Vanessa October 17, 2016 um 8:16 pm

I’m having a issue with the case. it charges for a few minutes and it then it stops in the middle of the charge. When I connect it to the kindle it doesn’t charge right away. it waits awhile. I have contacted Amazon and they have sent me 2 cases and they are doing the same thing. Can anyone help?


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