Possible battery charging and device freezing solutions

Kentar · 07-10-2009, 06:30 AM

Hey all!

Got my Sony 505 a few days ago, and since then I thought I had already bricked it two times. I recovered my device, but the research i did wasn't what helped.

I recharged my device overnight using an USB charger. The next morning it wouldn't react to nothing anymore. I thought I bricked it the first time. Then I tried to charge it connecting it to a PC. After a couple of minutes, it would come on, but hang on the 'starting up' screen. And then it wouldn't react to anything, even not to a reset. That was when I began searching the internet, and everywhere it said to reacharge for a couple of hours, and try different things. Nothing helped.

What would never occur to me was, that in fact, the battery was completely drained. Because I had charged it all night, and the yellow light besides the power switch would still blink, why would I think it was empty?

The thing is, if you charge you device using the USB connector (i havent got the real mains charger, psp style, so couldn't try), it will sit there and charge. For about an hour. Then it will switch on (from standby mode, and even when completely shut down from the menu), and stop charging. Instead, it will drain the battery, while showing the USB connected screen, and going into some reboot cycle. And since the battery will then be drained, you'll think the device is faulty or whatever.

So in short: when you think you bricked it, try charging for a short amount of time (20-30 mins maybe). Make sure the red charging light is on. If not, disconnect, wait a coulpe of seconds, then reconnect. Then try switching it on. Dont charge for too short though, since if the battery was to low, it might fail while starting up, and all begings again.

Hope this will save a couple of ebooks.
Cheers to all!

ps: this maybe full of typo's and even unintelligeable... sorry for the typo's, and I'll check back if questions should arise ...

artelahe · 07-17-2009, 07:50 AM

I was given a PRS 505 Christmas before last, and love it. I had problems charging it from my PC (for one, it would be attached all night and either not charge or only partially charge as the red light was still on 12 hours later). Eventually I lost the usb connector, looked at the Sony site to replace it, picked up a PRS 505 wall charger instead, and have never looked back. Here are some advantages:
Recharges in less than 4 hours
Can be read while charging! (the downside to the USB charging was you not only had to wait forever, but while you waited, you were unable to read anything on the reader).

The unit is not overly expensive from Sony. By now, you may be able to find one on ebay for even less.

HarryT · 07-17-2009, 08:46 AM

A USB wall charger will not work for any model of Sony Reader. The device will only charge via USB from a PC. Any wall charger has to be one which connects to the circular "charger" socket on the Reader, not the USB socket. Any Sony PSP charger, for example, will work just fine.

kacir · 07-17-2009, 09:10 AM

See the comment by HarryT above.

The reason for this strange behavior is that the Reader needs to negotiate the correct charging parameters with the PC. Some devices do it this way. I do not understand why.

Even more infuriating is, that the reader will *only* charge from a Windows PC if there is Sony Library software installed on the PC, or to be more precise if there is driver for Sony reader installed on the PC. Once I forgot a charger at home when I went for holiday. I had to find somebody that would allow me to hook my Reader to his notebook and THEN I had to persuade that nice person to install a software so that my PRS-500 could charge. They looked at me as if I was crazy. Now, talk about Sony being compatible with other systems. Phew!

Another interesting observation is that when you connect the Reader to a PC that is running LINUX , it will charge just fine.

HarryT · 07-17-2009, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kacir

Another interesting observation is that when you connect the Reader to a PC that is running LINUX , it will charge just fine.

And on a Mac, too

. It's obviously some subtle difference in that way that different operating systems handle USB devices.

mazzeltjes · 07-17-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kacir

Another interesting observation is that when you connect the Reader to a PC that is running LINUX , it will charge just fine.

Only Sony

artelahe · 07-17-2009, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

A USB wall charger will not work for any model of Sony Reader. The device will only charge via USB from a PC. Any wall charger has to be one which connects to the circular "charger" socket on the Reader, not the USB socket. Any Sony PSP charger, for example, will work just fine.

That is absolutely correct. I wasn't clear earlier. The wall charger does have a circular (yellow) thingy (see how technical I am?) that is round and plugs into the yellow hole (aka port?) on the bottom of the PRS-505.

Thank you for the correction Harry!

HarryT · 07-17-2009, 09:21 AM

Apologies, artelahe, I wasn't intending to imply that what you said was incorrect; I hadn't read your post when I replied to the original poster. What you say is absolutely right.

07-10-2009, 06:30 AM	#1
Kentar Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Sony 505	Possible battery charging and device freezing solutions Hey all! Got my Sony 505 a few days ago, and since then I thought I had already bricked it two times. I recovered my device, but the research i did wasn't what helped. I recharged my device overnight using an USB charger. The next morning it wouldn't react to nothing anymore. I thought I bricked it the first time. Then I tried to charge it connecting it to a PC. After a couple of minutes, it would come on, but hang on the 'starting up' screen. And then it wouldn't react to anything, even not to a reset. That was when I began searching the internet, and everywhere it said to reacharge for a couple of hours, and try different things. Nothing helped. What would never occur to me was, that in fact, the battery was completely drained. Because I had charged it all night, and the yellow light besides the power switch would still blink, why would I think it was empty? The thing is, if you charge you device using the USB connector (i havent got the real mains charger, psp style, so couldn't try), it will sit there and charge. For about an hour. Then it will switch on (from standby mode, and even when completely shut down from the menu), and stop charging. Instead, it will drain the battery, while showing the USB connected screen, and going into some reboot cycle. And since the battery will then be drained, you'll think the device is faulty or whatever. So in short: when you think you bricked it, try charging for a short amount of time (20-30 mins maybe). Make sure the red charging light is on. If not, disconnect, wait a coulpe of seconds, then reconnect. Then try switching it on. Dont charge for too short though, since if the battery was to low, it might fail while starting up, and all begings again. Hope this will save a couple of ebooks. Cheers to all! ps: this maybe full of typo's and even unintelligeable... sorry for the typo's, and I'll check back if questions should arise ...

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07-17-2009, 07:50 AM	#2
artelahe Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Sony eReader PRS505	I was given a PRS 505 Christmas before last, and love it. I had problems charging it from my PC (for one, it would be attached all night and either not charge or only partially charge as the red light was still on 12 hours later). Eventually I lost the usb connector, looked at the Sony site to replace it, picked up a PRS 505 wall charger instead, and have never looked back. Here are some advantages: Recharges in less than 4 hours Can be read while charging! (the downside to the USB charging was you not only had to wait forever, but while you waited, you were unable to read anything on the reader). The unit is not overly expensive from Sony. By now, you may be able to find one on ebay for even less.

07-17-2009, 08:46 AM	#3
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A USB wall charger will not work for any model of Sony Reader. The device will only charge via USB from a PC. Any wall charger has to be one which connects to the circular "charger" socket on the Reader, not the USB socket. Any Sony PSP charger, for example, will work just fine.

07-17-2009, 09:10 AM	#4
kacir Wizard Posts: 3,455 Karma: 10484861 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PocketBook 360, before it was Sony Reader, cassiopeia A-20	See the comment by HarryT above. The reason for this strange behavior is that the Reader needs to negotiate the correct charging parameters with the PC. Some devices do it this way. I do not understand why. Even more infuriating is, that the reader will only charge from a Windows PC if there is Sony Library software installed on the PC, or to be more precise if there is driver for Sony reader installed on the PC. Once I forgot a charger at home when I went for holiday. I had to find somebody that would allow me to hook my Reader to his notebook and THEN I had to persuade that nice person to install a software so that my PRS-500 could charge. They looked at me as if I was crazy. Now, talk about Sony being compatible with other systems. Phew! Another interesting observation is that when you connect the Reader to a PC that is running LINUX , it will charge just fine.

07-17-2009, 09:21 AM	#8
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Apologies, artelahe, I wasn't intending to imply that what you said was incorrect; I hadn't read your post when I replied to the original poster. What you say is absolutely right.

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