Backup Battery

donster2222 · 03-03-03, 05:42 PM

Hi

I have had my Axim for 10 days now and keep it well charged.

I notice however that the Backup battery has already dropped to 80%. Why is this? Surely it only gets used if the main battery is dry - which it never has been.
Does the backup do something else - does it need replaced regularly?
Also, if the main battery is dead and the Axim is turned off - how long will the back up last?

Thanks

Don

JakeRich · 03-03-03, 07:31 PM

The appearance of a drop is a function of the sensitivity of the battery sensing circuit. Check it again in a day and it will probably be back to 100%. As long as it stays in the 70+% range, don't worry about it.

The battery is supposed to last up to 72 hours on a full fresh battery. I would not trust it personally over 24 hours. Also, some folks have removed the main battery and had the back up not keep memory up. The reason appears to be that the battery is loose in the little pocket and loses contact with the little metal tabs at the bottom. Some folks put a little foam pad on the back of the battery so the cover pushes the battery firmly into the pocket.

If the 80% bothers you get a fresh battery. They are aboug $3. Fresh batteries aren't so sensitive to temperature changes that seem to trigger the .01v drops the circuit sees.

rlsinchs · 03-31-03, 09:06 PM

My brand new Axim keeps shutting down on account of a dead backup battery that reads 0% charged while the main battery reads 100%. Will get a new backup in the morning.

Will take the suggestion about the styrofoam pad on the back of the battery holder as it does feel a little loose.

Mike C · 03-31-03, 10:12 PM

Whatever the reason, my new backup battery reads 100% all the time now. I think maybe Dell got a good deal on some well-seasoned batteries.

acsurfer · 04-08-03, 10:35 AM

My backup battery read 80% also. After reading this thread I removed it and than put it back in. It then read 100%:rolling:

My ? would be; Does the backup battery get recharged along with main battery?

JakeRich · 04-08-03, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by acsurfer
My backup battery read 80% also. After reading this thread I removed it and than put it back in. It then read 100%:rolling:

My ? would be; Does the backup battery get recharged along with main battery?

No, it does not. The change you see is purely temperature related. The circuit will start showing a depletion of the battery if the 3.00v battery reports 2.99v! New batteries are above 3.00 by just a bit, so they don't trigger the circuit when temperature fluctuations affect them. Removing and replacing the battery you probably held it long enough to warm it up, or the battery recovered the .01 v by being removed from the circuit.

JASBO56 · 04-21-03, 12:00 PM

I just experienced similar problems to those listed here in the forum. My charged Axim set on the shelf for a day and half and when I picked it up it was DEAD. I charged it but when I did EVERYTHING was gone. I then got an error message saying my backup battery was critically low. I changed it with a brand new one and now it shows 0% on the backup battery. I put a voltmeter on the original backup battery and it shows 2.9V while the brand new battery shows 3.3v. I tried support.dell.com and the site was down. I then called "New DELLhi" customer support and had to go to a second support rep because the first rep said I needed to recharge my backup battery. Sorry - no can do. It is an off the shelf battery.

The second rep provided info that some of you may be interested in and that she said this has become a common reported problem and that it is an OS issue. She said they were working on a patch and it would be out in about a week.

ikehiker · 04-21-03, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JASBO56
...The second rep provided info that some of you may be interested in and that she said this has become a common reported problem and that it is an OS issue. She said they were working on a patch and it would be out in about a week.

The A02 ROM update that was released last week has a fix for the backup battery issue.

This is a different issue from the fact that your Axims were dead. The backup issue would only come into play if your main battery was also drained. MY own suspicions with these events is that some notification is turning the Axims on and they are not shutting back down quickly enough (or else, the notifications keep waking them back up).

biga1906 · 04-21-03, 04:46 PM

I think that you may be correct. I've had my Axim for about 3 weeks now. My battery, once charged is good for at least an hour or so.

For the past week or so, I have taken it out of its case and there is no power. I mean dead to the point that it will not turn on. I'll charge it up for about 30 min. and then it works fine.

Mine is synced with my calendar at theoffice so there are a lot of reminders that are set. I think that when the notifications go off, the Axim is not set to turn off in a resonable amount of time and that is whatis draining the battery.

I've checked all of the power settings and notification settings to make sure that it will turn off, but I am still encountering the same problem. A Dead Dell.

Any suggestions???

ikehiker · 04-21-03, 05:32 PM

I just leave mine plugged in overnight as long as I'm home. That way, even if it turns on, it won't drain the battery.

Also, you should be getting a lot more than an hour out of a fully charged Axim.

biga1906 · 04-22-03, 05:56 PM

Well, I paid close attention to my Axim today. I got a meeting notice that popped up on the screen. I purposely did not do anything to it. THe Axim went into a suspended mode after a couple of seconds. What was weird is that it stayed in suspended mode for quite a while. I see now how the main battery and backup battery are getting drained every night.

Other than turning off my reminders entirely, is there any other setting that will make the until shut off automatically after a certain amount of time? I've already got the battery settings set to turn the device off after 30 seconds if not used.

ikehiker · 04-22-03, 06:05 PM

In Settings/Sounds & Notifcations/Notifications, tap the arrow next to 1. Select an event and select Reminders. You can uncheck the "Flash light for" box or at least set it very low time (5 minutes seems to be the least).

This option keeps the light in the on/off button flashing for the length specified. I think as long as it is flashing, it will keep the Axim from shutting down and the flashing light also uses up the battery faster.

Elethiomel · 05-30-03, 03:13 AM

My backup battery is dead and simply won't recharge. Got in car about to set off for important meeting, turned on gps unit then Axim but Axim was dead. (yes I know should have backed it up on pc) Had to do a rush install of gps software and recharge main battery from car - and arrived an hour late.

But the backup battery simply won't recharge. Will study the battery threads here in more detail when less tired. (just got back from long road trip)

05-30-03, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Elethiomel
My backup battery is dead and simply won't recharge. Got in car about to set off for important meeting, turned on gps unit then Axim but Axim was dead. (yes I know should have backed it up on pc) Had to do a rush install of gps software and recharge main battery from car - and arrived an hour late.

But the backup battery simply won't recharge. Will study the battery threads here in more detail when less tired. (just got back from long road trip)

I don't think the backup battery will re-charge. It is a non-rechargeable alkaline battery. If its dead you need to replace it.

05-30-03, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by biga1906
I think that you may be correct. I've had my Axim for about 3 weeks now. My battery, once charged is good for at least an hour or so.

For the past week or so, I have taken it out of its case and there is no power. I mean dead to the point that it will not turn on. I'll charge it up for about 30 min. and then it works fine.

Mine is synced with my calendar at theoffice so there are a lot of reminders that are set. I think that when the notifications go off, the Axim is not set to turn off in a resonable amount of time and that is whatis draining the battery.

I've checked all of the power settings and notification settings to make sure that it will turn off, but I am still encountering the same problem. A Dead Dell.

Any suggestions???

I encountered this one morning...took it out of the case...nothing. Swapped in my spare main battery, bingo...no problem. SO the main battery was dead.

I had a similar problem with the stock case and my old EM-500. Turns out that case was a bit snug and would push down the D-pad. Thus, when the EM-500 woke up at midnight (like all PPC's do) to reset the alarms it would not shut off due to the button being pressed down. I think the stock case for the Axim may have done the same thing to me...except I think it may be touching the screen or pressing the D-pad. Anyway, now I always keep my Axim out of the case overnight and have yet to wake up to a dead battery.