Dock Battery Drain

[NickA]

Has anyone been following the dock battery issue? If you are unsure what I'm talking about... The issue is the dock never goes into stand by mode, so it's always alive and available when you need it. Asus did add a feature in the last update that allows you to turn this off, but only works with the newer docks (serial number starts with B6).

You can download Dual Battery Widget to monitor both batteries: https://market.android.com/details?id=org.flexlabs.widgets.dualbattery

My dock battery will drop about 15-20% overnight. Others with newer docks only see a 2% drop. I'm ok with my 15% drop, but it would be nice to have it last longer when I'm on the road and away from my charger.

Here's another way to test if you have one of the "good" docks:

(1) Make sure your software is updated to 8.2.3.13 or later; and your mobile dock is updated to 0209.
*([Setting]>[About Tablet]>[Build Number] & [Mobile Dock version])
(2) Dock the Pad into the keyboard dock.
(3) Go to [Settings] > [Screen] and select [MobileDock Battery saving mode]
(4) Press power button on the Transformer Pad to make the unit go to sleep.
(5) With the option checked, if your unit does NOT wake up with the tap of a keyboard, the new battery saving mode is enabled and working.
(6) With [MobileDock Battery saving mode] checked,if your unit still wakes up by a key press, you have the earlier design.
(7) If #6 is true and you also require the new feature, then please contact your local ASUS service center

 

[Kronko]

(7) If #6 is true and you also require the new feature, then please contact your local ASUS service center

And what are they suppose to do? Thanks.

 

[NickA]

Then you send your dock to them and they fix the hardware. Some people have been asked to send in their tablet as well. No one that has sent in their dock has received it back yet. Asus is trying to keep it quiet, but I think they eventually will have to make some type of announcment.

 

[slopokdave]

Asus did add a feature in the last update that allows you to turn this off, but only works with the newer docks (serial number starts with B6).

NOT TRUE

Please research before you post an untrue statement. Otherwise you are going to have all pre-B6 users thinking their dock is inferior, when that's not true.

My B5 works perfectly fine.

 

[NickA]

NOT TRUE

Please research before you post an untrue statement. Otherwise you are going to have all pre-B6 users thinking their dock is inferior, when that's not true.

My B5 works perfectly fine.

Trust me, done a ton of research on this. Anything prior to a B6 is going to have issues. Did you do the test I posted? That came directly from Asus.

Put your tablet to sleep while docked, then close the lid. Wait a second or two, open the lid. What happens? Does your Asus turn on? If not, press any of the keys on the keyboard. Then what happens?

Dude, Google search "Transformer Dock Drain". Asus has already released a statement saying that earlier hardware needs to be RMA'ed. Earlier meaning anything befoee a B6.

It's not that the dock is inferior. it was designed to be like this. The issue is the battery drains 10-20% overnight. Asus released a feature (Settings -> Screen) that allows you to put the dock in stand by when the tablet is. This feature doesn't work unless you have a newer B6 dock.

 

[NickA]

NOT TRUE

Please research before you post an untrue statement. Otherwise you are going to have all pre-B6 users thinking their dock is inferior, when that's not true.

My B5 works perfectly fine.

And some links for ya:
How To Fix ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Keyboard Dock Battery Drain
ASUS promises fix for Eee Pad Transformer power drain, keeps the apologies coming (update: Android 3.2 is coming "soon") -- Engadget

Hey, at least they admit to something being wrong and are right on top of it. Luckily I'm still in my return window at BestBuy so I can swap for a new dock instead of sending it back to Asus.

 

[Kronko]

The link above, I do not see that you will need to send the dock back to Asus anywhere. They said that they will inform customers how it is going to be fixed.

Sent from my Transformer TF101

 

[slopokdave]

Trust me, done a ton of research on this. Anything prior to a B6 is going to have issues. Did you do the test I posted? That came directly from Asus.

Put your tablet to sleep while docked, then close the lid. Wait a second or two, open the lid. What happens? Does your Asus turn on? If not, press any of the keys on the keyboard. Then what happens?

When I enable the feature my tablet does NOT turn on with a keypress.

When I disable the feature my tablet does turn on with a keypress.

The feature is working, my dock is a B5..... Am I still wrong? :|

 

[NickA]

When I enable the feature my tablet does NOT turn on with a keypress.

When I disable the feature my tablet does turn on with a keypress.

The feature is working, my dock is a B5..... Am I still wrong? :|

Sounds like you got one of the later b5
models. My local best buy has some in stock surprisingly so I'm going to swap and see what happens.

 

[jon_stewart]

Mines a B4 and just tested this am.

Separated from the tablet it only dropped 1% in 3 hours. Is the test supposed to be whn connected to the tablet when both fully charged?
Jon

 

[slopokdave]

Sounds like you got one of the later b5
models. My local best buy has some in stock surprisingly so I'm going to swap and see what happens.

Correct, it's only 4 weeks old. Which is why a blanket statement of "Unless you have a B6....." is incorrect. That's all I was saying, in order to not confuse users with B5.

Mines a B4 and just tested this am.

Separated from the tablet it only dropped 1% in 3 hours. Is the test supposed to be whn connected to the tablet when both fully charged?
Jon

The "problem" seems to be when the tablet and dock are connected. I think most docks retain battery life when undocked, no?

 

[jon_stewart]

attached to the tablet, not connected to mains, it's about 20% in 3 hours. Both switched off. I think this supports the oringinal poster.
Jon

 

[NickA]

Correct, it's only 4 weeks old. Which is why a blanket statement of "Unless you have a B6....." is incorrect. That's all I was saying, in order to not confuse users with B5.

@slopokdave, this is not a personal attach against you, or Asus. Take a look at some of my other posts in other sections of these forums; I'm not a troll. I happen to love my Asus Transformer, and have recommended it to everyone, even to strangers in BestBuy. I'm just trying to find out more information. Head over to XDA and check out the 80+ page thread on this. Google search the issue. Asus has already apologized and admitted the issue. Kudos to them. The majority of B5 docks are affected. And everything below that.

So thanks for your input on you B5 not having the issue. Can you install Dual Battery Widget? I'm curious to how much drop should actually occur. I think others are reporting on 1-2% overnight.

 

[jordo]

So if I were considering getting a dock right would I like getting a newer one that won't have this issue or is there still a good chance I could get a defective one?

Also I shut my TF off each night since I won't use it until the following evening when I get home from work. If I had it docked and turned off and the dock presumably off (I assume the dock has its own power on/off) then would I experience this as well or would I be OK?

Sorry not trying to sound like a n00b on this, just hadn't paid much attention to this dock issue and I got a trip planned next month and was thinking about picking one up so I wouldn't have to lug my laptop around with me. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[NickA]

So if I were considering getting a dock right would I like getting a newer one that won't have this issue or is there still a good chance I could get a defective one?

Also I shut my TF off each night since I won't use it until the following evening when I get home from work. If I had it docked and turned off and the dock presumably off (I assume the dock has its own power on/off) then would I experience this as well or would I be OK?

Sorry not trying to sound like a n00b on this, just hadn't paid much attention to this dock issue and I got a trip planned next month and was thinking about picking one up so I wouldn't have to lug my laptop around with me. Thanks in advance for the help.

That's ok, I didn't pay attention to it either until my dock battery was at 3% after sitting idle for 2 days. Like @slopokdave said; not all the older docks have issues; his is ok. To be absolutely sure, get a dock that starts with B60K (or B7, B8, etc.).

The dock doesn't have it's own power on/off switch. Asus did include a feature that allows you to turn the dock off when you put your tablet in standby. This doesn't work with the older docks though. So essentially it's always awake and using battery.

You could always separate the dock from the tablet when not is use. This will keep the dock battery from draining as fast.

 

[Impulses]

I believe I have a B5, gotta re-check... I earlier stated that my keyboard wouldn't wake up the device when set not to, but that the touchpad would, I was wrong. The touchpad just stays awake like 20s longer but eventually it also goes to sleep and won't wake the tablet up.

That being said, I get a dock battery drain of about 0.6 - 0.75% an hour, depending on what I set WiFi sleep policy to... Is this normal or should it drain even slower? I'm gonna keep an eye on how quickly the tablet drains by itself, I figure dock battery (when connected) should drain at the same rate no? I have my calendar and email set to sync btw, the stock weather widget.

I really haven't had the time to install a lot of apps on my TF yet, been doing a lot of web surfing on it tho. The browser seems somewhat more unstable than the Gingerbread one, but it's not too bad.

 

[NickA]

I believe I have a B5, gotta re-check... I earlier stated that my keyboard wouldn't wake up the device when set not to, but that the touchpad would, I was wrong. The touchpad just stays awake like 20s longer but eventually it also goes to sleep and won't wake the tablet up.

That being said, I get a dock battery drain of about 0.6 - 0.75% an hour, depending on what I set WiFi sleep policy to... Is this normal or should it drain even slower? I'm gonna keep an eye on how quickly the tablet drains by itself, I figure dock battery (when connected) should drain at the same rate no? I have my calendar and email set to sync btw, the stock weather widget.

I really haven't had the time to install a lot of apps on my TF yet, been doing a lot of web surfing on it tho. The browser seems somewhat more unstable than the Gingerbread one, but it's not too bad.

.6-.75%/hour is excellent. Leave it docked overnight and see how much it drains. It sounds like you have one of the good ones. Where and when did you get it?

 

[Impulses]

.6-.75%/hour is excellent. Leave it docked overnight and see how much it drains. It sounds like you have one of the good ones. Where and when did you get it?

That's the rate it drained at overnight, twice over, during the third or fourth power cycle it's gone thru since I bought it. First time I left it docked overnight it drained 9% in roughly 12 hours, with WiFi always connected; second time it drained like 9-10% in 17 hours with WiFi set to disconnect when the screen is off. I've only kept track of it a handful of time since I didn't have that handy widget before to show the dock's battery level.

Pretty sure the dock is a B5 but I can double check later. I got both around the 28th (dock might've been on the 30th), right before that $100-off Staples coupon expired, though I actually bought it at Office Depot (price matched). The dock came with the latest firmware right out of the box, never had to update it. The tablet updated to 3.1 as soon as I opened it, then to 3.2 a few days later when that update went live at the start of August.

Office Depot is starting to stock the chargers btw, I read those were scarce for a while... Though at $30 it's a little steep. I bought a USB 3.0 extension cable instead since I heard at XDA that could be used to extend the charging cable, since the pins are the same. Haven't tried it yet tho, if it works I can just leave the cable behind my desk and it makes it easier to unplug the charger below and the 40-pin cable above.

 

[AgTitan06]

I guess I am lucky because I keep mine docked all the time. I can shut down the Transformer at 10pm, leave it docked, turn it back on at 9am, and it is at 99% charged. I've been very happy with it.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

 

[Impulses]

I guess I am lucky because I keep mine docked all the time. I can shut down the Transformer at 10pm, leave it docked, turn it back on at 9am, and it is at 99% charged. I've been very happy with it.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

Are you using the widget mentioned before to determine the dock's battery level? By default the battery level displayed by Android corresponds only to the tablet, which will always show 99% until your dock's battery is completely spent and it starts using the tablet's own battery. If your tablet battery isn't 99% the dock will recharge it off it's own battery whenever plugged in.

I've tested it a few times now and have gotten pretty consistent results, a 0.6-0.75% drain per hour (while idle), which is pretty much the same drain rate the tablet experiences by itself, so you're unlikely to ever see anything more efficient than that.