Archived Any one know how to fix a battery drained PDA?

[TMOfTheCentury]

So we have a few PDA that will go from 90% battery to 13% within 15 minutes of using it. I'll put in a freshly charged battery and same thing would happen.

Once I tried putting a battery that looks brand new all black (not grey like old ones) and that seemed to do the trick. But I'm not sure if I got lucky or new battery actually worked.

 

[theissueoftissue]

We had this problem for a while, turned out it was the batteries, NOT the PDA.

The batteries have an expiration date, and with them being used all day, I can't imagine they last more than a year.

I was told by our STL, they cannot simply "order more", they need to send in an old one for every new one that comes in. Talk to one of your execs about ordering new batteries.

It could still be the PDA, in which case I would put it on the cradle that rebuilds the software. If that doesn't work, put a sticky note on it describing the problem and leave it in TSC, eventually it should be sent in for repair.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Could be an old battery that it is on last legs. My suggestion is for new battery you get, is to put a date rec'd. That way you know that battery is exhausted after a few years of use. it is suggested to reboot the PDA when you get it. That will refresh the unit to avoid issues later on in the day.
Here is how:
Warm boot is hold power button down for 10 seconds.
Cold boot is remove battery & hold power button for 30 seconds.
If the warm boot screen doesnt change after 1 minute, hit 1, 9 & power button at the same time.
Then, the red bar shows up. Wait for completion. Play the crosshairs or target game to sync your touch screen. Don't hit escape to avoid the crosshairs, your touch screen won't work as good after doing that.

 

[talan123]

It's generally not the battery. It's the connectors.

Take some WD-40 and spray it on a Q-tip, swirl it around the gold connectors and watch the batteries spurt back to life.

Don't do it on anything plugged in but if you do, post pics.

 

[redeye58]

Don't do it on anything plugged in but if you do, post pics.

...and they said we wouldn't have fireworks this year...

 

[Squid7085]

Batteries just don't last. After about a year of constant use, they start degrading significantly, and need to be replaced. I posted over in another thread about what I did. Basically find all the "bad" batteries in your store, it could be a few, or a lot. And then, get rid of them! It could be a process to take a look at every battery, but your job and your team will thank you when those bad batteries are in a box out the door.

What your STL said is not true, you don't have to send them in, they can just order new ones. The best thing to do is label every battery with the date you got them, after a year or two, look in to getting them replaced. I put together a proposal for getting new batteries and how it would help with productivity based on the amount of time wasted getting new ones or waiting for a reboot. I had 25 batteries in my drawer two weeks later right before Black Friday.

Also, that WD-40 idea is NOT a good idea. If he is referring to CLEANING the contacts, the best solution for that is rubbing alcohol. WD-40 doesn't CLEAN anything, it just leaves a residue. It's very unlikely that battery contacts would result in it draining faster, the battery just wouldn't work.