[Hammerhead786]

Bought a 32GB Playbook and have been playing with it for the last 8 days or so. Battery life seems to be really poor. I want to keep this thing but not with what I'm experiencing at the moment. I seem to be getting around about 5 hours, not really heavy usage, mostly web browsing with a little bit of playing games like tetris and nothing intensive like NFS.

Unit went from 23% battery to 0% in about 80 minutes yesterday. Only thing I did in that time was download one small app and nothing else. I didn't let it drop into standby as I wanted to see how long it would last. Any comments appreciated would be appreciated as to whether this is normal. OS is up to date and I have accepted the video chat agreement, as I belive this was an issue in an earlier verison.

Thanks,
Hammerhead

[rsxsniper]

that seems a pretty unusual battery life. i got mine for 8+ hours

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

It's a license agreement that keeps requesting access. I think it's the Kobo Books app. Select it and agree and then you can close it. You don't have to use it.

[Hammerhead786]

It's a license agreement that keeps requesting access. I think it's the Kobo Books app. Select it and agree and then you can close it. You don't have to use it.

I'll give that go and see what happens.

Thanks.

[FF22]

There HAD BEEN a problem with not accepting the VideoChat agreement but supposedly that was solved.

But you may also want to try a full reboot: Press and HOLD all three - PowerOn, VolUp and VolDown. It will reboot after 15-20 seconds. If you hear the shutter sound, you've taken a screen shot (volup and voldown) and not rebooted.

[d3adcrab]

I get 8+ hours ... except when playing some graphics intensive games which is understandable

[greatwiseone]

It really depends in your use. you can't expect it to last as long as other 10 inch tablets. I have had mine since launch and have only gone down to 10% battery once when i had a 8 hour flight and used it consistently and during the flight. Ir you are playing Deadspace or NFS, the battery will definitely not last that long...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[peter9477]

I've got a bit of a writeup at PlayBook: Power Consumption which has some background on power consumption. Maybe it will help you.

Of note: the backlight and screen together account for by far most of the power consumption. Minimize the backlight (as much as you can) and you'll see a big improvement. There are other things you can do as well, some suggested by that article.

It's even important what is displayed onscreen... if you use Kobo books or another book reader, or example, using the "night mode" which (usually?) has a black background, it will actually reduce consumption by close to 0.3W, which would translate to a 1-1.5h increase in duration for typical reading use.

[Economist101]

you can't expect it to last as long as other 10 inch tablets.

Really. Why not?

[FF22]

I would be guessing but the larger 'package' size would probably provide more room for a larger battery. I don't know the tradeoffs between lighting more screen area versus larger battery???

[kill_9]

Additionally, the OP should allow the battery to completely drain until the tablet shuts itself down. Afterward, fully recharge the tablet before use and repeat the full drain, full recharge sequence two or three times. As another poster mentioned, adjusting the display brightness impacts the use-time. I have easily obtained at least 8 hours of use-time across a variety of use patterns with the lowest being when streaming and watching in real-time multiple movies in sequence over a WiFi connection to the Internet; that use-time was between 4.5 and 5 hours.

If you want to whine, I will give you a quarter to call someone who cares.

[Economist101]

I would be guessing but the larger 'package' size would probably provide more room for a larger battery. I don't know the tradeoffs between lighting more screen area versus larger battery???

Exactly. The iPad 2 includes a larger battery, but also a larger screen which needs more power. Plus, the iPad 2 is over 10% thinner than the PlayBook, so I'm not sure why you would expect worse battery life on the PlayBook when you consider that even though it's smaller in terms of length and width, it's thicker in depth.

[kill_9]

It really depends in your use. you can't expect it to last as long as other 10 inch tablets.

Brilliant. The BlackBerry PlayBook is a 7-inch tablet not a 10-inch tablet. And nobody seriously wants a 10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook, that is, if they have actually used a BlackBerry PlayBook and stopped comparing it to the Apple (Max)iPad. I can easily read legal briefs and court rulings on the BlackBerry PlayBook as well professional-development and academic course materials.

[louzer]

Just out of curiosity, does your Playbook have a bulge in the back so that it doesn't lie flush on a table? There have been some cases where this bulge was a symptom of a battery problem. If it does bulge, do you notice it getting hot at all? If the answer to both is yes, I'd recommend giving RIM a call or just bring it back for an exchange.

I had not heard of anyone with an issue with the Kobo books app - just the Video Chat terms of use acceptance. You definitely should consider allowing a complete battery drain and recharge. And, finally, read the article that Peter referred to. And download his Battery Guru app which provides excellent information.

@Peter - Love your app. You should put a link to it in App World in your signature. Battery Guru should be everyone's first diagnostic before reporting battery problems in the forums.

[jwn66]

Did it hit zero % and shut off or did you shut it off. If it was you that shut it off, I'd wager a bet that it would keep going for an hour or more at zero %. I never, ever take the battery meter seriously. Sometimes I look at the meter, it says 17%, I'd open an app, use it for a bit, close it, standby it, use again in an hour, its 22%, lol. Don't trust the meter.

But if it's dieing as soon as it hits zero after only a few, i'd see if any agreements are there to accept, or replace it.

[Economist101]

And nobody seriously wants a 10-inch BlackBerry PlayBook, that is, if they have actually used a BlackBerry PlayBook and stopped comparing it to the Apple (Max)iPad.

I'd be mindful of using the term "nobody," since you can't possibly know what people want, and grafting your own judgment onto others is foolish. As for the "(Max)iPad", the name would be funnier if the iPad weren't outselling the PlayBook nearly 50 to 1.

[kill_9]

I'd be mindful of using the term "nobody," since you can't possibly know what people want, and grafting your own judgment onto others is foolish. As for the "(Max)iPad", the name would be funnier if the iPad weren't outselling the PlayBook nearly 50 to 1.

Touche, sir. I should have used the word 'a significant number' rather than 'nobody' as it was a bit of an over generalization in hindsight. While the Apple tablet is outselling the BlackBerry tablet and most other tablets, we can all agree, hopefully, that marketing has been a key driver in adoption of the Apple iPad as well as it being the first true tablet computer offered to the public. Indeed, Apple has a significantly better marketing team than Research In Motion.

Now excuse me whilst I stand in the corner for a few minutes.

[Rello]

im hoping the 2.0 gives this tablet much better battery life. me personally, im not experiencing good battery life. i find it drains easy from simple things like web browsing. being as though this is a brand new OS i dont hold it against them. im sure there is a bunch of stuff still left to optimize

[Hammerhead786]

It's a license agreement that keeps requesting access. I think it's the Kobo Books app. Select it and agree and then you can close it. You don't have to use it.

Checked and this was already done, so it's not this.

[Hammerhead786]

I've got a bit of a writeup at PlayBook: Power Consumption which has some background on power consumption. Maybe it will help you.

Of note: the backlight and screen together account for by far most of the power consumption. Minimize the backlight (as much as you can) and you'll see a big improvement. There are other things you can do as well, some suggested by that article.

It's even important what is displayed onscreen... if you use Kobo books or another book reader, or example, using the "night mode" which (usually?) has a black background, it will actually reduce consumption by close to 0.3W, which would translate to a 1-1.5h increase in duration for typical reading use.

Will certainly take a look at this.

[Hammerhead786]

Additionally, the OP should allow the battery to completely drain until the tablet shuts itself down. Afterward, fully recharge the tablet before use and repeat the full drain, full recharge sequence two or three times. As another poster mentioned, adjusting the display brightness impacts the use-time. I have easily obtained at least 8 hours of use-time across a variety of use patterns with the lowest being when streaming and watching in real-time multiple movies in sequence over a WiFi connection to the Internet; that use-time was between 4.5 and 5 hours.

If you want to whine, I will give you a quarter to call someone who cares.

Full drain and recharge has been done at least a couple of times. First time it shut off at around 14% and second time 0%.

[Hammerhead786]

Just out of curiosity, does your Playbook have a bulge in the back so that it doesn't lie flush on a table? There have been some cases where this bulge was a symptom of a battery problem. If it does bulge, do you notice it getting hot at all? If the answer to both is yes, I'd recommend giving RIM a call or just bring it back for an exchange.

I had not heard of anyone with an issue with the Kobo books app - just the Video Chat terms of use acceptance. You definitely should consider allowing a complete battery drain and recharge. And, finally, read the article that Peter referred to. And download his Battery Guru app which provides excellent information.

@Peter - Love your app. You should put a link to it in App World in your signature. Battery Guru should be everyone's first diagnostic before reporting battery problems in the forums.

It's flat at the back, but it does get quite hot after use. I really want to keep it, so I will probably get it exchanged again. First unit had a screwed camera.

[kill_9]

Full drain and recharge has been done at least a couple of times. First time it shut off at around 14% and second time 0%.

Could you fully recharge the tablet and turn off all WiFi and Bluetooth connections and put it aside until the battery completely drains to 0% and shuts down? You need to isolate the root cause of the battery depletion. Once you have this baseline you can switch the tablet to demo mode to continuously play the high definition video until the tablet reaches 0% and shuts down. Afterward, with a full charge again turn on Bluetooth and leave WiFi disabled to determine the battery life. Repeat with only WiFi enabled. Normal battery life on a full charge ranges from 5 hours to 8+ hours depending on use pattern. There is a possibility the battery is defective though the hardware of the tablet is not a likely culprit aside from a potentially defective battery. In the worst case return the tablet for a replacement or repair.

[Hammerhead786]

Could you fully recharge the tablet and turn off all WiFi and Bluetooth connections and put it aside until the battery completely drains to 0% and shuts down? You need to isolate the root cause of the battery depletion. Once you have this baseline you can switch the tablet to demo mode to continuously play the high definition video until the tablet reaches 0% and shuts down. Afterward, with a full charge again turn on Bluetooth and leave WiFi disabled to determine the battery life. Repeat with only WiFi enabled. Normal battery life on a full charge ranges from 5 hours to 8+ hours depending on use pattern. There is a possibility the battery is defective though the hardware of the tablet is not a likely culprit aside from a potentially defective battery. In the worst case return the tablet for a replacement or repair.

Can certainly try it. I've got 4 days left in which to return it anyway, so no harm in trying I suppose. Either way though, I think I might get it exchanged anyway because the power adapter has split sheathing near the micro usb connector. The first one that I had also had the same problem in addition to the camera issue. Don't know where RIM's qulity controllers were that day because quality control was non existant. I think I got the Friday afternoon "specials" not once, but twice. Btw the dates on the boxes of the units were 17/04/11 and 19/04/11 respectively.

[ferganer]

Additionally, the OP should allow the battery to completely drain until the tablet shuts itself down. Afterward, fully recharge the tablet before use and repeat the full drain, full recharge sequence two or three times.

this is unnecessary for Li-Ion batteries (no memory effect). full drain and recharge does not improve battery life. it only helps to calibrate the battery meter. actually, draining and keeping the battery fully charged only hurts the it.

see Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University

btw, my PB lasts for about 5-7 hours, which is much less than what I had on my Xoom (Xoom's battery life was just phenomenal).