[takeo]

Hi guys,

I did some "research" on the Playbook and found that if I use bluetooth instead of Wifi (using tethering or bridge) the battery would last *much* longer (and I mean *so* much longer that it's actually not reasonable.

Additionally, people here claimed that the battery will get warm. But indeed I found that it's not the battery at all, at least not for me.

The Playbook gets warm under the logo on the back.
Having a look at the insides (BlackBerry PlayBook Teardown - iFixit) you can clearly see that this is where the mainboard resides.

So I guess the heating up and battery drain is caused by Wifi. I hope there can be some optimization made to decreased drain and temperature.

The battery itself stays cool with me at any time.

Do you experience the same?

[zephryn]

This is some interesting info, I agree that the batteries themselves don't get warm, but the center in the back. How much longer does your battery last in terms of hours?

[takeo]

This is some interesting info, I agree that the batteries themselves don't get warm, but the center in the back. How much longer does your battery last in terms of hours?

Oh, my battery level did drop a mere 5% after 1 hour (!)

[Snick Snack]

Huh, that's interesting... when I'm at home my PB is always connected to my home wi-fi and BT to my Torch and I don't notice any kind of heat from my PB. The only time I was experiencing big battery drain was when the Video Chat kept running in the background until I accepted the agreement.

My PB gets a little warm when I've been reading on it for an hour, but it doesn't bother me too much.

However I hardly noticed any major battery drain if its just on standby even linked to the wi-fi and phone. It does start to wear down the battery once I start surfing the net and playing games on FB which is to be expected.

I really wonder if it has to do with the size of the PB memory?? I have a 64 GB and I've never had any hardware problems with it that many posters seems to be having...

[ceroberts75]

i have found that the the way to keep if from getting warm and to get the best battery time out of the playbook, which is amazing time, it will last 300% longer then normal...is to turn it off and leave it alone.

the battery performance is absolutly amazing in that state, the back doesnt get warm and i never have any connection issue with wifi or bridge.

[WhiteBoyRadioMan]

I had a similar yet weird occurrence this morning. I was watching YouTube videos in bed last night and left the PB on the comforter when I was ready to go to sleep. My battery was at 93% and there were no apps running when I set it down (and put it in standby mode).

When I woke up about 4 hours later, I grabbed my PB and it was HOT. I turned it on and the battery was down to 61%. And the back was really hot, as was my comforter. I should point out I didn't have the PB plugged in either, in case someone suggests that. :P

I turned the wi-fi off and the temperature went down to normal. What gives with the high power consumption in Stand By mode with wi-fi on?

[FF22]

I had a similar yet weird occurrence this morning. I was watching YouTube videos in bed last night and left the PB on the comforter when I was ready to go to sleep. My battery was at 93% and there were no apps running when I set it down (and put it in standby mode).

When I woke up about 4 hours later, I grabbed my PB and it was HOT. I turned it on and the battery was down to 61%. And the back was really hot, as was my comforter. I should point out I didn't have the PB plugged in either, in case someone suggests that. :P

I turned the wi-fi off and the temperature went down to normal. What gives with the high power consumption in Stand By mode with wi-fi on?

Do you have a hotmail account setup on the pb - it has been implicated in such battery drains?

Install any new apps recently? Android apps?

Nothing else running when it went into standby?

[WhiteBoyRadioMan]

Do you have a hotmail account setup on the pb - it has been implicated in such battery drains?

Install any new apps recently? Android apps?

Nothing else running when it went into standby?

I just got the PB on Sunday (it's my second. Woohoo!) so all I have installed is Photo Studio (besides the default apps...and even a majority of those have been deleted).

I don't have any email accounts set up on it so it couldn't have been checking for mail.

And, nope, no apps were running or minimized. I'm kind of a memory Nazi and shut everything down when I'm done using my tech (PB and iPhone alike).

It's a head scratcher, for sure.

[Hgouck]

I had a similar yet weird occurrence this morning. I was watching YouTube videos in bed last night and left the PB on the comforter when I was ready to go to sleep. My battery was at 93% and there were no apps running when I set it down (and put it in standby mode).

When I woke up about 4 hours later, I grabbed my PB and it was HOT. I turned it on and the battery was down to 61%. And the back was really hot, as was my comforter. I should point out I didn't have the PB plugged in either, in case someone suggests that. :P

I turned the wi-fi off and the temperature went down to normal. What gives with the high power consumption in Stand By mode with wi-fi on?

It was not the WiFi making it hot it was the fact that it was surrounded by the comforter and not being able to breathe. Any electronics needs air to regulate the temperature and with out a fan built in it is even more important. More heat means more battery consumption. Take the same situation but put the playbook on a dresser and there would be considerably less heat and less battery drain.

[FF22]

I just got the PB on Sunday (it's my second. Woohoo!) so all I have installed is Photo Studio (besides the default apps...and even a majority of those have been deleted).

I don't have any email accounts set up on it so it couldn't have been checking for mail.

And, nope, no apps were running or minimized. I'm kind of a memory Nazi and shut everything down when I'm done using my tech (PB and iPhone alike).

It's a head scratcher, for sure.

What OS is now on it?

Funny, you mentioned a photo editor but it's not the one I was thinking about. Over the weekend, overnight my pb also lost a bunch of power in Standby. I had nothing running other than Battery Guru. Next morning warning gongs about 4% left!!!! I had installed a photo app that is in appworld but it is an Android app and it did need access to the Inet in its permissions. I tried denying it but it would not run. So I granted. Ran it once or twice to test things. Then DEFINITELY closed it down. I am pretty sure that was the only item I changed that day it happened. I have not UNinstalled it but also have not run it again.

I'd watch it. Since you have another pb (congrats on the new one), you know what is normal. But I routinely leave both bt and wifi ON and don't have more than 3-4% loss overnight on Standby.

Now my original 32gig (I also have a newer 64), would lose about 15-20% overnight on Standby. Rim replaced it.

(aside, I was just going to run that app again but first try changing its Permissions but they are not listed. I think I will just delete it instead)

[WhiteBoyRadioMan]

It was not the WiFi making it hot it was the fact that it was surrounded by the comforter and not being able to breathe. Any electronics needs air to regulate the temperature and with out a fan built in it is even more important. More heat means more battery consumption. Take the same situation but put the playbook on a dresser and there would be considerably less heat and less battery drain.

Hmmmm...good point. I would have thought being in standby mode would use minimal power and not require much breathing room but hey! I'm no heat scientist! I'll do the same thing tonight but leave the PB on a dresser and hope I don't wake up in a flaming orgy!

And F2, I'm running 2.0.1.358. It says it's the newest OS. :S

FYI: I charged my PB at work after turning off the wifi and it's been sitting in my bag in it's sleeve all day in standby mode. There's no heat issues and the battery is only down to 96%. Better but I'll try it again tonight with the wifi on.

[FF22]

I don't want to be a wet blanket but in Standby, there should be very little if any heat. Heat means something was happening. What? Well, that is the operative question. But you should be able to leave wifi on. I would be guessing but I'd bet something was still running even if it was not evident by a window or app showing. When mine did that the other day and hit 4%, I used the Battery Icon RESTART option.

[Blkacesvf41]

I don't want to be a wet blanket but in Standby, there should be very little if any heat. Heat means something was happening. What? Well, that is the operative question. But you should be able to leave wifi on. I would be guessing but I'd bet something was still running even if it was not evident by a window or app showing. When mine did that the other day and hit 4%, I used the Battery Icon RESTART option.

I have to agree with F2 here, something else is going on. I keep mine connected to my WIFI at home all the time. At the most, the battery loses about 3% overnight. I'd look into some of the apps you have installed.

[Hgouck]

I would also agree there was something going on in the background. I rarely turn wifi and bluetooth off and the drain according to Battery Guru is minimal in standby mode. I have taken the playbook off charger at 6:00 am, left it in stand by all day, gotten home at 6:30 pm and the battery is at 92%.
My response earlier was more to say the wifi or bluetooth being on would not cause excessive heat by themselves. Something running or the screen being on while left on a comforter would.
If you are really in need of the most out of your battery, there are some things you can do to improve the battery life.
1. Reduce your screen brightness to a minimum
2. When done using it put it in airplane mode and put it it standby. Don't wait for it to timeout.
I use these tips when traveling and have limited access to a power plug or usb port.

[WhiteBoyRadioMan]

Ok, so I did a couple of things last night.

First, I used my PB to watch a few YouTube videos, closed the browser and put it on my nightstand. Left for dinner and came back about two hours later. The PB WASN'T hot (phew) but the battery had gone from about 93% to 84%.

Fudge.

Then, after using it throughout the night, I tucked it away in it's sleeve when I went to bed and slept for about 6 hours. When I woke up, there was still no heat (phew again) but the battery had gone from 71% to 40%.

Again, NO applications were open/minimized and I had put the tablet in Standby mode manually (not waiting for it to time out). The only thing running is the wi-fi (no Bluetooth). I have to assume that's partially to do with the drain.

I'll turn off the wi-fi tonight and see if that makes a difference. After that, I'll delete the one app I installed on the thing and see if that's doing it.

Thanks for all the input on this one, folks.

[jpash549]

Battery Guru ($1.99 in app store) can help you determine source of battery drain. If you get a steady drain in standby probably something is running in the background. Wifi will drain battery at times it is in use downloading or polling sites. Usually this should show up in spikes but if very frequent might look continuous. My PB uses about 0.05 watts in standby with wifi on but infrequent email checking. At 20 watt-hrs battery capacity that is 0.25% per hour.

[FF22]

What was the ONE app or new app you installed?

[WakyEggs]

Since the last update my playbook also drains quite fast while being idle. The wifi is always on and if I recall correctly the last update had to do with wifi reception (not using beta OS). I think the last update was not good for all playbooks...