Battery Issues

[Ruzz]

Hey guys,

I have my P3 for under a month now and was just wondering if anyone who has one had any battery issues?

For me, when i fully charged it, and then using it for music only, it turns off on me, and its been doing that to me recently. The battery indicitor is full and just now it became 2/3 full but still shuts off and displays that message "turns off soon due to low battery"

any thoughts?

Thanks.

[David_rngl]

have You tried to rest it that could help, if not you should send it to samsung if you just got it the warranty should cover it

[Olley]

You should also make sure it's got the latest firmware. You'll find version 2.14 HERE.

[Ruzz]

I have firmware 2.14 already
but i'll try reset.

Thanks a lot. i'll post back after im done.

I really hope i don't have to go though the whole warranty crap.

[Olley]

Another thing: Don't go by the battery meter, for as soon as it's not completely full it drops down a bar, even though it may still be at 96%. You may need to let the batter run completely down once for the meter to re-calibrate. If it shuts down just because the battery meter tells it to, then that is a serious design flaw. Keep turning it on again if it does that, and let it play as long as it can, repeating until it won't turn on again. THEN charge it up.

[TomCat39]

Originally Posted by Olley

Another thing: Don't go by the battery meter, for as soon as it's not completely full it drops down a bar, even though it may still be at 96%. You may need to let the batter run completely down once for the meter to re-calibrate. If it shuts down just because the battery meter tells it to, then that is a serious design flaw. Keep turning it on again if it does that, and let it play as long as it can, repeating until it won't turn on again. THEN charge it up.

That might not be the wisest thing to do, it can damage a lithion ion battery if the voltage drops too low.

Unlike other rechargeables, depleting the battery completely is not recommended with lithium ion.

I believe the battery meter should be based on voltage from the battery not some sort of time elapsed. So it will be displaying accurately.

Being the battery meter shows plenty of power left yet it shuts down from not enough power. I'd hazard a guess that there is something faulty with the power circuitry. The battery itself maybe fine and there is a bad IC chip, or component on the board.

Of course that could also provide improper meter readings. In either case it's probably not the battery as much as something wrong in the circuitry.

Maybe even a bad connection/solder joint possibly.

I think the only real fix will be a Return Authorization from Samsung and have them fix/replace the unit.

On a side note, have you let it charge over 12 hours repeatedly?

The manual specifically says do NOT let charge over 12 hours or battery damage could occur.

Simply, it doesn't have smart capability on the charging so doesn't auto shut off once the battery is charged. So the battery will overheat. Overheating severely shortens battery life and reduces the battery capacity.

Edit: Missed word.

[Olley]

Do NOT charge longer than 12 hours.

[The DarkSide]

Olley was right, recalibrate the battery by draining it completely, till it no longer turns on. Doing a recalibration of the battery meter is fine, as long as it's a one shot deal. Doing it repeatedly will damage the battery.

And, yeah, overcharging the battery can not only damage it, but kill the player as a whole.

[Ruzz]

Ok.
I reset it. and its been doing fine. I just have music playing to see if it shuts off. Usually it happens after 10-15 min.

It seems to be working fine.

I have a USB charger where i just plug the samsung cord into the charger and it plugs into the wall. But this charger will act like the computer so this has no chance of screwing up.

When you have the wall charger in, its different than the regular usb charger. an icon that shows is actually big saying "charging" and shows the battery icon under the text.

When its done, it just says "charge complete" and then its fine.
I don't think this player will have the issue of overcharging.

after i typed all of this, my player did not turn off still so i think that fixed it.

[TomCat39]

Originally Posted by Olley

Do NOT charge longer than 12 hours.

Good catch, that's what I meant was Do Not.

I will edit my post to reflect that.

I was thinking NOT everytime I read it and missed it every time. Thanks.

Originally Posted by Ruzz

Ok.
I have a USB charger where i just plug the samsung cord into the charger and it plugs into the wall. But this charger will act like the computer so this has no chance of screwing up.

When you have the wall charger in, its different than the regular usb charger. an icon that shows is actually big saying "charging" and shows the battery icon under the text.

When its done, it just says "charge complete" and then its fine.
I don't think this player will have the issue of overcharging.

Even on PC, even though the player says charge complete, the battery is still getting voltage.

I accidently left mine connected to my PC for like 16 hours and the player was very warm when I remembered it. I'm hoping the one time didn't shorten my battery life that much, but it obviously stays "trickle" or "top-up" charging the whole time. And since it only takes like 3 hours to charge completely........

Thus the manual specifically says DO NOT let charge for more than 12 hours. And my comment on the probable situation with the power circuitry of the player.

Edit: typo

[Ruzz]

Originally Posted by TomCat39

Even on PC, even thought the player says charge complete, the battery is still getting voltage.

I accidently left mine connected to my PC for like 16 hours and the player was very warm when I remembered it. I'm hoping the one time didn't shorten my battery life that much, but it obviously stays "trickle" or "top-up" charging the whole time. And since it only takes like 3 hours to charge completely........

Oh Ok. I didn't realize that could happen.

Thanks Olley, Tomcat and David for your help.

[robjrock]

Sometimes dodgy wall chargers can weaken battery life. When i was travelling around Europe I bought a dodgy usb wall charger for my toshiba gigabeat (god rest its soul) and well although I'll never know for sure, I think the battery life reduced and reduced until the player finally died...

[Ruzz]

hey guys

my p3 is still turning off randomly displaying the low battery message...
any more advice of should i just contact Samsung?

[Dreamnine]

Originally Posted by Ruzz

hey guys

my p3 is still turning off randomly displaying the low battery message...
any more advice of should i just contact Samsung?

Reading this thread, that sounds strange and is something I've had no problems with. It could be a defective unit and you should contact Samsung. It does happen. As an aside - there's a guy on here who bought an 8GB P3 only to find there was actually only 4GB inside it when he got home.

[MojoPatrol]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

Reading this thread, that sounds strange and is something I've had no problems with. It could be a defective unit and you should contact Samsung. It does happen. As an aside - there's a guy on here who bought an 8GB P3 only to find there was actually only 4GB inside it when he got home.

Man, that's a kick in the pants you'd rather not get. I didn't even know they made the P3 in 4GB. Did he say what he was going to do about it?

To Ruzz, I think you got a lemon my friend, might be best to get in touch with Samsung and start the warranty process. I can't think of anything better to do that Olley, Dream, Darkside or Tom didn't already tell you to do. The only other thing that I can think of is did you run the battery down to shut down when you first got it then charged it full? I only ask because sometimes if you do premature charges when you first get lithium ion players can greatly reduce battery longevity. My buddy had a blackberry and made that mistake, his battery will only last a day now if he's lucky.

[Dreamnine]

Originally Posted by MojoPatrol

Man, that's a kick in the pants you'd rather not get. I didn't even know they made the P3 in 4GB. Did he say what he was going to do about it?

To Ruzz, I think you got a lemon my friend, might be best to get in touch with Samsung and start the warranty process. I can't think of anything better to do that Olley, Dream, Darkside or Tom didn't already tell you to do. The only other thing that I can think of is did you run the battery down to shut down when you first got it then charged it full? I only ask because sometimes if you do premature charges when you first get lithium ion players can greatly reduce battery longevity. My buddy had a blackberry and made that mistake, his battery will only last a day now if he's lucky.

Yeah, he took it back to the shop and got it replaced. It only showed up on his PC as 4GB and physically he couldn't get any more songs on it even though it had 8GB stencilled on it.

[Ruzz]

wow, that really sucks about that 4gb player.

i contacted samsung and im going to get it serviced.

I know, its weird.
Thank you everyone for helping me out!

I knew i must had the bad one of the bunch if no one else really had any issues with it.

At least this thread is here in case anyone has the same issues.

[Ruzz]

so i sent it in late july

today is october 6th and i still have not gotten my p3 back.

anyone else has issues with their customer service?

[zyxel_56k]

Originally Posted by Dreamnine

Yeah, he took it back to the shop and got it replaced. It only showed up on his PC as 4GB and physically he couldn't get any more songs on it even though it had 8GB stencilled on it.

At first I've had the same problem: my 8Gb P3 showed only 4Gb available, even when I've deleted all files from it.
But before going to the service I've tried to format its drive from the device and it really helped!
Of course all the standard games, tunes and pictures were deleted, but i guess I won't cry for them)
So people, clear your mind and never fall into despair ;-)
PS: what is the cheapest normal AC/USB charger for it?

[ebyss]

Originally Posted by Ruzz

so i sent it in late july

today is october 6th and i still have not gotten my p3 back.

anyone else has issues with their customer service?

Did you get your player back yet? I'm curious to know how you sent it.

I returned mine (or at least tried to) and the repair people, Repairtech I think they're called, are saying they've not received it...