6 ways to save battery power on a Kindle reading device

• You can save battery power on a Kindle by lowering the LED lighting, putting it to sleep when you're not using it, and disabling its internet connection.
• Your Kindle doesn't use a lot of battery power to run, so you probably need to charge it every few days or weeks rather than once a day.
• Here are six ways to save the battery life on your Kindle.

Your Kindle has an advantage that few other tablets enjoy: Thanks to the E ink screen that only uses power when the content of the screen changes, it has a long battery life that's usually measured in days or weeks rather than hours.

Even so, there are ways to get more runtime out of your Kindle's battery, especially if it's aging and the battery doesn't last as long as it once did.

How to save battery on a Kindle

If your Kindle is dying quicker than it should, try these six easy tricks to extend its battery life.

Lower the front light

Most modern Kindles have a front light to illuminate the display and make it easier to read. But these lights also sap the battery. Whenever possible, lower the Kindle's light settings. To do that, select Settings on the home screen or tap the top of the screen if you're reading a book. Then slide your finger to reduce the brightness.

Put your Kindle to sleep when you're not reading

Though the screen doesn't use power just to maintain the display, there are a host of other features that do draw power all the time, including the LED lights and background updates. To extend the battery as much as possible, tap the power button to put your Kindle in sleep mode - like your phone or tablet - when it's not in use.

Disable the Wi-Fi or cellular connection

Staying connected to the internet takes battery power, and for the most part, you don't need to stay connected just to read. Tap the Settings icon on the home screen and turn on airplane mode.

Turn off page refresh

One way to eke out some additional runtime is to disable the Kindle's page refresh. This feature is designed to eliminate the ghosting that can sometimes happen when you turn pages in a book - remnants of the old page remain and you get some ugly artifacts. If better battery life is more important than a clean page, open Settings and turn off page refresh under "Reading Options."

Charge your Kindle when it's downloading (and afterward)

If you're downloading large books or other content from the internet, relieve the battery by plugging the Kindle into a USB port to charge. Also, keep charging it after the download appears to be done because the background tasks, like re-indexing your Kindle's content, continue for a while after the download is complete.

Restart your Kindle occasionally

While your Kindle is a very simple computer, it's a computer nonetheless. If you don't completely restart it - turn it off and turn it back on again - occasionally, your Kindle can run into issues with corrupted apps and start to run sluggishly and use more power than it should to do ordinary tasks. Every once in a while, it's a good idea to open Settings, select "Device Options" and tap "Restart."

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