e740's battery: 95% to 1% in 20 minutes flat!

[jameshylee]

Bought e740 31 March, 2003. First day of use: battery level dropped from 94% to 1%(warning came on) after turning unit off and then turning it back on in about 20 minutes!
Could be a defective battery? Bought expensive "Hi-Cap" battery. Same problem! Happened 2-3 times a week!
Sometimes, charging the unit for less than 30 minutes would restore battery to its previous level.
Toshiba has already tried unsuccessfully to fix the problem TWICE.
Toshiba finally replaced unit with another e740. And what do you know: THE VERY SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED WITH THE REPLACEMENT UNIT!
Is this an inherent problem with all e740? Or have I just been unusually unlucky?!

[jameshylee]

Bought e740 31 March, 2003. First day of use: battery level dropped from 94% to 1%(warning came on) after turning unit off and then turning it back on in about 20 minutes!
Could be a defective battery? Bought expensive "Hi-Cap" battery. Same problem! Happened 2-3 times a week!
Sometimes, charging the unit for less than 30 minutes would restore battery to its previous level.
Toshiba has already tried unsuccessfully to fix the problem TWICE.
Toshiba finally replaced unit with another e740. And what do you know: THE VERY SAME PROBLEM HAPPENED WITH THE REPLACEMENT UNIT!
Is this an inherent problem with all e740? Or have I just been unusually unlucky?!

[Reinaldo]

That is a problem that I had to endure. Its the battery meter applet that Toshiba has on the devices. I suggest you download the newest ROM upgrade or if you are mad with fury like I was, you could do your best to get a refund and buy another unit that's not a Toshiba (although that's after the 5th model doesn't work :evil: )

Your battery is not really at 1% because if you charge it and wait for 15-30 minutes, it'll rocket up suddenly from 1% to whatever its supposed to be. Once again, that battery applet that Toshiba placed on the devices does not synchronize well with the battery.

I think you have been unusually unlucky because most Toshiba owners in these fourms haven't complained. I do see the occassional thread on the case.

Good Luck and hope I was some help.

[stitics]

I have the same issue, with and without the Hi-Capacity battery, on this unit, and the unit I had to return to CompUSA (for something unrelated to this). Here's what I do:

I just pretend there isn't even a battery meter or just use it as a VERY general guideline, and try to keep things backed up well. Also, I put it on the charger not less than every other day to a full charge.

Additionally, I have found that when I soft reset the device, the meter seems to re-orient itself. For a while anyway.

[Kiyoshi]

My e740 (NW) came with the latest ROM upgrade and I haven't gotten any of those battery problems, so I think that that would most likely fix it for you. Just like the other guy said, keep stuff backed up, I tried toying aroung with a stupid little overclocker program and had to do a hard reset!

[jameshylee]

Thanks a million for your advice! I still love my e740, crazy battery level meter and all.
Forgive my ignorance: where and how do I download the ROM upgrade you mentioned?
By the way, I also use an e310 as a backup PDA. I would assume it uses the same applet? How come the e310 never had the same problem-at least not yet after a month of use? You see, among my colleagues, I am the only one who use a Toshiba PDA; and I am also the only one who has to carry around a backup PDA for my PDA! They still tend to laugh their heads off everytime I show up at meetings with TWO Toshiba PDAs!
Thanks to all your replies!

Originally Posted by Reinaldo

That is a problem that I had to endure. Its the battery meter applet that Toshiba has on the devices. I suggest you download the newest ROM upgrade or if you are mad with fury like I was, you could do your best to get a refund and buy another unit that's not a Toshiba (although that's after the 5th model doesn't work :evil: )

Your battery is not really at 1% because if you charge it and wait for 15-30 minutes, it'll rocket up suddenly from 1% to whatever its supposed to be. Once again, that battery applet that Toshiba placed on the devices does not synchronize well with the battery.

I think you have been unusually unlucky because most Toshiba owners in these fourms haven't complained. I do see the occassional thread on the case.

Good Luck and hope I was some help.

[Kiyoshi]

It can be found at the Toshiba website here.

[Tierran]

The problem is actually the battery itself...the hardware of some of their batteries is faulty. The battery itself, and not the unit, is responsible for reporting the battery level. I had the same problem when I got mine in January but I called up Toshiba and after telling them what the problem was (and you MUST tell them that you know its the controller in the battery) they sent me a new battery. They didn't even want the old one back. And since the battery itself is fine and just reports the power level wrong every so often, I keep it as a backup to the one they sent me (which works fine)

I highly recommend contacting Toshiba.

[Kiyoshi]

Wow, a day or two after posting that my e740 didn't have any of those problems, I got the 1% problem too! It's only happened once to me, and I just ignored it until the meter went back to normal. I got my e740 off eBay, but I've got the serial number and the UPN, so can I get a replacement battery just like Tierran?

[Tierran]

Yeah, doesn't matter where you got it...they don't care. You have all the info you need. Just call up Toshiba

[Carcharios]

I just purchased an e740 and sure enough, within a week, my PDA went from 98% to 1% overnight. When I tried to recharge it, it wouldn't budge. I got so upset, I left it on the cradle and went out for some errands. When I got back, it was fully charged. What's up with that? Does this thing have a mind of it's own? However, I'm still worried about the issue because it could happen any time.

So what was the final solution? Download the ROM update? Replace the battery? What worked for you guys?

DC