[DOCTOREVIL8]

Now a wierd thing. I unplugged the PB with battery at 48 %. I used it for an hour and brought it down to 34%. Kept using it for another 15 minutes, now when i checked battery status, it was at 37%. That's bizzare, isn't it? Battery % going up despite using the playbook. I've already mentioned that i had unplugged it. Kept using it. Battery came down to 27%. Continued to use. After about 5 minutes, i checked it again. It was at 29%. I can't believe what i see. What may be the issue? This is getting me worried.

I would suggest keeping it plugged in, maybe even turned off, and let it charge for a solid 12 to 24 hours. It may need a full charge to deplete properly. Don't use the Playbook during this time.

[FF22]

Peter (Battery Guru) has sometimes suggested RECALIBRATING the battery by fully charging and discharging, sometimes more than one time. But in you case, since you've had trouble charging it, I am not sure that would be recommended. I would definitely allow it to fully charge (it should overnight if you are not using it) before using it. Use it, watch it, fully charge it as it drops down to 20-30% - in other words don't use it till it hits ZERO for a while. Mine warned me last night as it hit 9% and I put it on the rapid charger.

[adadadad]

Peter (Battery Guru) has sometimes suggested RECALIBRATING the battery by fully charging and discharging, sometimes more than one time. But in you case, since you've had trouble charging it, I am not sure that would be recommended. I would definitely allow it to fully charge (it should overnight if you are not using it) before using it. Use it, watch it, fully charge it as it drops down to 20-30% - in other words don't use it till it hits ZERO for a while. Mine warned me last night as it hit 9% and I put it on the rapid charger.

I have fully charged the battery. Now, i'll see how long it will go for. But i don't think discharging it completely is sensible in my case, is it? Yesterday, i did a 'security wipe' and redownloaded OS 2.1 from scratch over wifi. But the problem seems to be still there. Normally for me, playbook battery goes for a day. From the past couple of days, not only it takes ages to charge, it drains quickly too in around 4 hours. Battery seems to be draining in standby mode. Today, i called RIM technical support. I told them everything about the problem. I also said that i did a 'security wipe' and reinstalled 2.1. There response was strange- ''after security wipe, downloading the software over wifi isn't a secure process. You need to do a software reinstall through BDM. That is a much secured process. That might solve the battery related issue''. Since, i did a wipe and reinstall not long ago (yesterday), Its really irritating to do it all over again. I manually transfer data to the PC. Then i transfer it back to playbook. I don't do backup and restore. Do i really need to reinstall the OS so frequently?? I'm really at a loss what to do.

[FF22]

You can either follow their suggestions and see if that actually fixes things. Or you can fudge it, call them and tell them you did it and see if they will do an rma.

I've only had to do ONE security wipe in about a year. Is there an app you have installed more recently either from appworld or sideloaded. Do you have Native Mail and is it set to MANUAL SYNC - that has been known to deplete the battery.

[zorecati]

So finally my playbook's battery has moved off 0%. (YAY!!) I had left it plugged in for close to 4 hrs with battery indicator showing 0% throughout the time. Now, it is at 30% . My patience paid off finally. Thanks everyone for all the help. Special thanks to F2. And good luck to those, who are still having problems.

When the battery is discharged completely, which sounds like the issue, you will only be able to trickle charge the battery until it gets over a certain voltage. After this period, it should start picking up steam. The fact that you could turn the PB was a good indication that things were going well.

[zorecati]

I have fully charged the battery. Now, i'll see how long it will go for. But i don't think discharging it completely is sensible in my case, is it? Yesterday, i did a 'security wipe' and redownloaded OS 2.1 from scratch over wifi. But the problem seems to be still there. Normally for me, playbook battery goes for a day. From the past couple of days, not only it takes ages to charge, it drains quickly too in around 4 hours. Battery seems to be draining in standby mode. Today, i called RIM technical support. I told them everything about the problem. I also said that i did a 'security wipe' and reinstalled 2.1. There response was strange- ''after security wipe, downloading the software over wifi isn't a secure process. You need to do a software reinstall through BDM. That is a much secured process. That might solve the battery related issue''. Since, i did a wipe and reinstall not long ago (yesterday), Its really irritating to do it all over again. I manually transfer data to the PC. Then i transfer it back to playbook. I don't do backup and restore. Do i really need to reinstall the OS so frequently?? I'm really at a loss what to do.

They have a script they must follow before they can move on to the next step of support. It might be worth trying it one more time and then calling them back if you don't get the results you were looking for.

[adadadad]

You can either follow their suggestions and see if that actually fixes things. Or you can fudge it, call them and tell them you did it and see if they will do an rma.

I've only had to do ONE security wipe in about a year. Is there an app you have installed more recently either from appworld or sideloaded. Do you have Native Mail and is it set to MANUAL SYNC - that has been known to deplete the battery.

I had sideloaded 'android nortan antivirus' right before the problem occured. Now i have uninstalled it. I have SYNC MANUAL set to 24 hrs, PUSH is off. Battery guru shows power as 1.9 W. Is it normal?

[Chaddface]

I had sideloaded 'android nortan antivirus' right before the problem occured. Now i have uninstalled it. I have SYNC MANUAL set to 24 hrs, PUSH is off. Battery guru shows power as 1.9 W. Is it normal?

As long as the "sync interval " isn't set to manual you should be OK.
How did you remove the Android app? A couple of apps didn't uninstall properly for me by using the trash can on the icon. I used ghost commander to permanently remove them.
The 1.9 watt value you listed changes depending on what your doing with the PB and doesn't give much information.
I don't believe you had to reinstall the OS at all. The battery meter is probably just wacky from the incident. Use it normally for a few days charging until you see a plug symbol over the battery, not just 100%. Run battery guru all the time( it uses very little power) so the app will record the data.

[adadadad]

As long as the "sync interval " isn't set to manual you should be OK.
How did you remove the Android app? A couple of apps didn't uninstall properly for me by using the trash can on the icon. I used ghost commander to permanently remove them.
The 1.9 watt value you listed changes depending on what your doing with the PB and doesn't give much information.
I don't believe you had to reinstall the OS at all. The battery meter is probably just wacky from the incident. Use it normally for a few days charging until you see a plug symbol over the battery, not just 100%. Run battery guru all the time( it uses very little power) so the app will record the data.

First i used 'Total commander' to uninstall it. Then i used DDPB to finally uninstall and remove it. 1.9 watt listed by Battery Guru is normal? I don't have anything open (any apps). Brightness is set to 0%. Battery meter showing 58%. Still battery power (as per battery guru) is about 2 watt. Something isn't right, i guess.

[adadadad]

As long as the "sync interval " isn't set to manual you should be OK.
How did you remove the Android app? A couple of apps didn't uninstall properly for me by using the trash can on the icon. I used ghost commander to permanently remove them.
The 1.9 watt value you listed changes depending on what your doing with the PB and doesn't give much information.
I don't believe you had to reinstall the OS at all. The battery meter is probably just wacky from the incident. Use it normally for a few days charging until you see a plug symbol over the battery, not just 100%. Run battery guru all the time( it uses very little power) so the app will record the data.

how did you uninstall them using ghost commander? Can you explaing the steps?

[Chaddface]

how did you uninstall them using ghost commander? Can you explaing the steps?

In Ghost Commander:
Click applications/ pick the app/ manage/ uninstall.
If you reinstalled the OS using DM the app should be gone.

For comparison - Battery Guru set to keep awake, screen brightness set all the way down and all apps closed my PB is using 1.83W. So your 1.9W doesn't seem out of line. The app updates every two minutes off the charger and every 30 seconds on the charger.

[fabio984]

How did you solved? Reset with the power button 20 seconds?

[fabio984]

I waited 2 hours and the OS is installing! WEEEEEE

[FF22]

That's what my other reply said - give it hours of recharging. Now leave it alone for a while. Good luck

[Thunderbuck]

Thanks so much for this. On hitting the power button, I was getting the solid red light for about 20 seconds, then a blinking white/green for about 3 seconds, then... dead. Putting it on a charger just showed a solid red light for several seconds, then nothing (even on the rapid charger stand).

Just held down the power button for about 40 seconds, then attached a travel rapid charger (I've got a small collection of rapid chargers lol), got the solid red light for several seconds. It turned off... then got the battery icon!! Yay!

God help me, I love my PlayBook. I'm not ready to let it go just yet

[martinjreed]

Hi,

F2, thanks for your post it is the first that makes sense of the problem to me. I successfully stack charged my playbook a couple of months ago after it was left without charge. However, I am now have a problem doing this again (I did warn the family member that is using it not to leave it but.....). The problem is this:

With no power cable: will not boot, no lights (no surprise it is completely flat)

WIth playbook supplied power cable (Canadian power unit plugged into UK power, not sure if this is important), not a rapid charger.

Red LED comes on for 15 seconds

Then screen comes on showing just red outlined battery with lightning bolt through it for about 20 s

Then screen goes off and green pulsing light comes on

This happens every time. Then there are variants after trying this:

Sometimes it has stayed in this state indefinitely (green light pulsing), after some time I can boot it when plugged in, but when booted it shows 0% battery and this never shifts off 0% no matter how long it is left plugged in. It will not boot without power cable.

Sometimes it boots itself after a some time (10-60 minutes) of being in green pulsing light state.

I have tried plugging in for a minute, then unplugging briefly, then again (stack charging), but it does not seem to do anything different.

If the OS has booted and is working, is it possible that the charging circuit still cannot operate due to low voltage on the battery? Or do I just need to return it due to faulty charging (just under a year, but was given to me in Canada as a conference "gift" and now in UK).

Help appreciated.

[FF22]

Martin Reed:

I'll post what might be slightly different Mapsonburt advice - it includes the original plus possibly some newer stuff and links to a knowledge base article. Also, I think there have been suggestions to just Press and HOLD the power on button for 20-30 seconds which can sometimes take it out of a "odd" state. But if you are still in warranty, you might want to go that route. Yes, no one knows why Rim designed the damn thing with such finicky charging needs!!!!!

(hey, what do you know - the auto-save when typing a thread and accidently blowing away this window works....)

Locked, bricked Stack Charge Charging

More Mapsonburt:

Don't keep trying if you get the Red light/5 Yellows... you'll soon drag the battery down past where you can start it again. Leave it off, plug it in and let it charge (with at least a 1.8A charger). Once you get the flashing (once every few seconds) green light, you can power it up - on the charger. If you do drag it down below the red flash/5 yellows, plug it in for 1 minute, unplug (at the wall) for a second or so, plug it back in and repeat for 20-30 minutes. You'll eventually get the red/yellows and then leave it plugged in (and off) until you get the flashing green. It's a PITA but the PlayBook has a very conservative charging algorithm when the battery is below 2.67 Volts to prevent explosions (I'm guessing). I've never been unable to start one with that method.

Mapsonburt:


The PlayBook OS currently shuts down at 3.5 volts. When the battery gets below 2.67V it won't show power lights or even try to start because there isn't enough juice to even power the processor to run the code on the BIOS. The BIOS is software hard coded on a chip within the PlayBook that tells it how to load the PlayBook OS and is coded such that it only recognizes signed PlayBook boot images (which is why it is so hard to root and that nobody has been able to get one to boot Android or WebOS. The BIOS software also contains some charging algorithms for when the OS is not running - ie device is powered off but plugged into a charging source. This code ONLY runs when the battery is above 2.67 volts because the processor can't run below that.

The root of the problem is that this design issue prevents the device from accepting any charge longer than 60 seconds when the battery is too low to run the charging algorithms on the BIOS or on the OS (one runs before the device is powered on and one runs afterwards). RIM did this because Lithium Ion batteries have a nasty habit of catching fire if not charged properly so they wanted to ensure that the processor could be in control of the charging. Makes perfect sense and they probably thought they were avoiding situations like where early Li Ion batteries on laptops were catching on fire. The problem is they were a bit too aggressive in dealing with the problem at design stage. If the battery is below 2.67Volts their protective algorithms can't run but you also can't put enough charge into the battery to charge it! Hence all the reports of people having success with stack charging.

Unfortunately there are a lot of wrong ways to do this floating around out there and getting repeated everyone someone posts a new thread on the issue. It really should be made a sticky. What is the right way?

1) ONLY use a source that provides 1.7Amps or more of charge. The original charger provides this. The rapid chargers provide a lot more. Your phone charger only provides a fraction of this. Anything less is going to take forever to charge the battery above 2.67 volts and may not have enough juice to charge the battery AT ALL once the processor starts to run above 2.67Volts or even worse once the OS starts to run above 3.5Volts. Forget about using your computer to charge it when the OS isn't running as the computer looks for the hardware to identify itself and won't put out a full charge current unless the device indicates it can accept. Once the OS is running, you'd often CAN get enough power from the USB on the computer but that is because the OS has signaled it is OK for the computer to send it. When the OS/BIOS isn't running, the PlayBook won't take much/any charge from a computer. The rapid chargers are best as they quickly charge but more importantly do not use the (too) flimsy USB port. A lot of problems are caused by this port getting wobbly over time and the device not getting a charge at all. Everyone should have a rapid charger.

2) Until you get your device WELL above the 3.5Volts that let's the PlayBook boot, do NOT try to start it. Every attempt drags the battery down some more and that attempt sucks much more charge from the battery than you can put in in those 60 seconds before the hardware shuts down the charging. How can you tell where your battery is? Well if you are getting no lights on the playbook on your first charging attempt you are below 2.67volts. If lights go on and then it doesn't start the OS it is below 3.5Volts. If it loads the OS and then dies it is just above 3.5Volts. If the device loads the OS it is somewhere below 5.0Volts. Depending upon where you start (how low the battery is) various techniques work best. They are: REAL stack charging (plug in for 60 seconds, unplug, plug in for 60 seconds, repeat until the processor starts accepting charging (the big battery symbol on the screen). Again, DO NOT try to turn the device on until then. You are just working against yourself and it will take much longer. You should get the charging symbol within 20-45 minutes of repeated REAL stack charging. Forget you ever heard of plugging in for 2 mins and then off for 2 mins and similar as those 2 mins of off time are COMPLETELY worthless. I have put a multimeter on the PlayBook in this state and it NEVER takes more than a minute of charge when under 2.67volts but will accept another minute of charge after a short (1-2 second) disconnection. Just do it right.

3) Once you see that charging screen leave it plugged in to the charger (stop stack charging) for at least an hour before you try to start the PlayBook. If you don't you may end up in a situation where the attempt to start drags that battery back down below 2.67V and you have start stack charging again. Be patient, you are almost there!

4) Fully charge your Playbook after this to ensure your PlayBook gets back to 100%.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot RIM can do about this now. It's a hardware design issue. I'd be interested in knowing if the fixed it with the 4G versions. I don't think I've ever seen that complaint with one of those but I've "fixed" both of mine a few times (the kids keep trying to power them on after letting them shut down on low battery despite me saying time RUN not walk and put it on a rapid charger when ever it hits the flashing red battery signal (9%). I've also helped many friends and people on the web and NOBODY who has followed the instructions has failed to get their PlayBook to charge.

I'm convinced this fault is the reason so many PlayBooks are returned to the stores and through RMA. RIM has been very good about this but it should never have happened. Happy Charging!


........................
The battery is likely below 2.65 volts. That happens if the PlayBook has sat for a while. Plug your charger into the playbook (make sure it's the stock charger and not a computer or other charger as you need to pump in lots of amps - more than 1.7amps - the more the better). The rapid charger is even better as it can go to 5 amps.

LEAVE the charger plugged into your PlayBook. Unplug it from the wall (to save the fragile micro-USB port) every minute for a few seconds and plug back in. You'll see lots of references on the web to plug in for 2 minutes and unplug for 2 minutes. Ignore those. I took the PlayBook apart and put a multimeter on mine when it was doing this. If the battery is below 2.65 volts, the PlayBook charging circuit charges for about 1 minute and then shuts down. NO AMOUNT of continued charging makes any difference. As soon as you unplug it (at the wall) and power it back up, it will take charge again for another 45-60 seconds. Repeat.

Keep doing that for as long as it takes to get the screen to show the charging display. If it is just below 2.65volts, it will take somewhere between 20-45 minutes as the battery only takes a little bit of charge each cycle and you need to get that voltage up over 2.65 volts (at which point it will show the charging display and take a full charge). It may take more... but keep at it. Every time you plug it in for 60 seconds, you are adding a bit more power to the battery.

DO NOT try to power the device on until the device has a full charge. You will just risk getting it into a situation where it can't fully boot before it drags the charge down below 2.65 volts again and you'll have to start all over.

This works... and saves you from having to jump start it like I did the first time I got mine into this situation.

----------------------

KB27705-BlackBerry PlayBook battery power charge, discharge characteristics, and guidance on extending battery life

[DaedalusIcarusHelios]

I have this exact issue. No battery info is reported, other than it showing what it is connected to (Rapid charger, USB, or none). I'm currently stuck at 0%. It'll stay running while on the charger, and I can use it throughout the day. Obviously it won't last forever like that, so I still put it on the charger at night, and I've tried rebooting and getting the thing to report the % correctly.

I actually had this issue before, then it somehow fixed itself. I was even able to reboot without issue. However, a few days ago I had left a game open, and it was completely drained but didn't shut off, so it probably got past a certain point and got screwed up again.

If I reboot now, I get the solid red light, the 5 yellow blinks, and then the long green/yellow blinking. At that time, I'm plugged in. Sometimes I'll see the big red battery logo with the charge symbol (and if I unplug it, it'll show the icon to plug it in). Eventually, the thing will automatically boot up and the battery reading is 0%. Last night I couldn't run any Android apps because they were shutting down due to the battery level I believe. Since a reboot, they stay working, but battery info still is non-existent.

I realized this PlayBook (64GB) is only 6 months old, so I can probably try contacting BB support. I've already had to replace 2 different ones so far. They've always been cool even if you have to run through a bunch of hoops that I've already done.

[FF22]

WARRANTY. I mean you can definitely try the Stack charge described just above.

The PB has a one year warranty to the original purchaser. It also has 90 free Tech support. I do not know how Rim deals with "quasi-tech support v. warranty"

Rim Support
Tel:
Canada Toll Free: 1-877-644-8405
United States Toll Free: 1-877-644-8410
Puerto Rico Toll Free: 1-855-651-4936
Email: [email protected] (this route generally does not work and a call is necessary)

(UK Support) 0800 096 2805

Playbook French Support
Smartphones BlackBerry Z10 - Tous les T�l�phones Portables BlackBerry - FR - France
Phone : 0800 914 533 (within 90 days from activation)

BlackBerry� Customer Support Center
Austria:0800-297-476
Belgium:800-77-980
RIM (Brasil Support toll free number): 0800-022-3161
Bulgaria: 00800-118-1115
Denmark: 802-50198
France: 800-914-533
Germany: 800-181-6530
Italy: 800-789-272
Luxembourg: 800-2-2187
Netherlands: 800-022-7316
Norway: 00-1-647-426-7058
Poland: 00-800-112-43-59
Portugal: 800-827-760
Russia: 8-800-100-9643
South Africa: 0800988892
Spain: 900-866-969
Sweden: 02-079-4448
Switzerland: 0-800-802-492
United Kingdom: 08000962805

Phone-Numbers of BlackBerry PLAYBOOK- Helpdesks...

Germany: 0800 1816530 (Geb�hrenfrei)

North-America: 1 877 255 2377 (Toll Free)

UK: 0808 100 7466 (Toll Free UK only)

Outside UK: +44 1753 558400

Worldwide: 1 519 888 6181

[email protected]

(BTW: Helpdesk for BlackBerry devices -except PlayBook- for Germany:
0180 3302626)

[jpash549]

Another reference which can be used to access charging problem advice as well as many other items for the PB and BB10 is:

http://www.troubleshootingtoolkit.co...?lang=1&id=223

[abirshaqran]

hey guys,
i bought a playbook last year and was okay with it. But 6 days back, i've discharged it completely while using. as a result, it hasn't get charged since then.i didn't know about this known problem then. after that, i've opened the back case and directly charged the battery via external charging system procedure and then have been able to fully recharged to update the latest version of os. but unfortunately, when i've opened playbook, the problem persisted. i've connected it to the wall charger for 4-5 hours but no increase in the battery level.

then i've found your article and began to start this procedure of stack charging.but with time, my battery level's decreasing.. right now when i'm opening it, it's showing 4%. but i'm afraid i'm continuing stack charging. i've been doing that for a while. (almost 2hours now) but level isn't rising in fact.
so, what can i do? plz help me...
would you plz help me...?

[FF22]

At this point, I don't know what to suggest. After Stack Charging, it should continue charging. You should not need to keep Stack Charging. How old was the unit? Maybe it is/was covered by warranty.

Opening it up should be a last effort.

Let's see if anyone else has suggestions.

[danbcrack]

i had this issue with one of my PB's and i fixed by charging it for 24 hours (lol i admit I forgot about it!!) with the PB turned off ... came back and the battery was green and turned on at 100% and has worked perfectly every since

[kirikouestpetit]

Buy another tablet

[jpash549]

Bad charger? Damaged usb port? Not plugged in correctly? Do you see any lights when you plug the charge in with the unit switched off?