Battery Observations

[RichSz]

I just got my Transformer a few weeks ago and the dock a few days ago.

The constant battery drain from the dock is bothering me. I keep them attached, have set the wifi policy to "disconnect when screen is off" and I still find the dock battery draining at an alarming rate. I stuck Juice Defender on there to ensure the damn wifi was off when the screen is off (basically a second app which does the same thing) but the result is the same drain. Last night I manually turned off wifi with all the above stuff and it's still draining.

The draining I'm describing is 50% dock drain while the tablet is docked, powered on but in standby (dock closed) over 12 hours. My DroidX does better and it has a smaller battery and a cellular radio. Something isn't right with the Transformer / dock.

Random observations:

• The wifi policy "off when screen off" doesn't seem to stick. I've set it twice in the last 2 days. It jumps back to "always on". I haven't found the pattern as to what circumstances cause that to happen yet.
• You need the Asus wall plug to charge this thing. Plugging into the wall plug (via USB) I use to charge my DroidX results in the Transformer not charging. That's inconvenient. Add another wall plug to my arsenal.
• Plugging the Transformer into a PC does not charge it. My computer complained about not having the right driver so maybe that's a factor.
• Why the heck does wifi use the most battery? The screen is huge and should gobble power, yet it's always wifi which is highest in the Settings.

This is all with the firmware update of the other day. Also the "wake from keyboard" is off.

Cool tablet, but I'm not digging the constant need to charge.

 

[vosg]

There is a problem with the Wifi disconnect policy. Sometimes, my Wifi is switching between on and off all by itself, about once a second. A rebootisthe only way out. I solved it by setting it to 'always on', I switch it off manually with a 3rd partywidget before I put myTF to sleep. Thisseems to work.

About charging: normal USB 2.x only gives 5 volts, theTF needs 15 volts tocharge properly. So you need USB 3.x.

It's a great tablet,but the software still has quite a bit of issues. I trust these will be sorted out through updates... eventually.

 

[AutobahnSHO]

What are the first letters of the serial# on your dock?

There is a problem with earlier docks- anything with B50 or B60 MIGHT have a hardware fault. People report that you can contact ASUS, they walk you through checking some stuff, and a return and repair will fix it so it doesn't drain off so fast.

(one issue is if you have done all the software updates go to settings, there is an option to turn OFF the keyboard wakeup. Do that, reboot it, lock the screen. If you press any of the regular letter keys on the keyboard it should NOT turn the screen back on. If it does, it's faulty.)

 

[RichSz]

What are the first letters of the serial# on your dock?

There is a problem with earlier docks- anything with B50 or B60 MIGHT have a hardware fault. People report that you can contact ASUS, they walk you through checking some stuff, and a return and repair will fix it so it doesn't drain off so fast.

(one issue is if you have done all the software updates go to settings, there is an option to turn OFF the keyboard wakeup. Do that, reboot it, lock the screen. If you press any of the regular letter keys on the keyboard it should NOT turn the screen back on. If it does, it's faulty.)

It says B80 on the box so I'll assume that's the serial number. I just noticed Fancy Widgets was taking a lot of battery live while in standby so I uninstalled that bad boy. Let's see how it changes now.

 

[fldude99]

What are the first letters of the serial# on your dock?

There is a problem with earlier docks- anything with B50 or B60 MIGHT have a hardware fault. People report that you can contact ASUS, they walk you through checking some stuff, and a return and repair will fix it so it doesn't drain off so fast.

(one issue is if you have done all the software updates go to settings, there is an option to turn OFF the keyboard wakeup. Do that, reboot it, lock the screen. If you press any of the regular letter keys on the keyboard it should NOT turn the screen back on. If it does, it's faulty.)

What about the touchpad? I can't wake it up with the keys but it will wake up by swiping the touchpad. Anybody with a higher number dock have this? Mine is a B60

 

[AutobahnSHO]

I'm rocking the B50 tab/dock, even if I charge both to 100%, turn off the Tablet and leave it on the dock, it'll drain 50% of the dock overnight. Threads indicate that I could send it in and get it repaired for free, I just don't have the patience to wait for it...

 

[dbpaddler]

I have the B50 dock. Had the dock drain issue. They told me to send the dock in. I send the dock in. They can't replicate the problem. I then send my tablet in and picked up a touchpad too. So then I'm without both, and I'm realizing how little I need the combo because I do more on my Epic and use the Touchpad as a consumption/presentation device. After almost two months of not having a complete setup I get my combo back with no word on if they did anything at all. I plug everything in, install the dual battery widget. Charge everything overnight, unplug and check on it a day later. Dock is down to 50% with no usage. What a load of BS. I check the notes on the RMA, and they don't even have the problem right. They listed it as the tablet not charging from the dock when disconnected. F'in aholes. I don't care how smooth and zippy it is now. Their service sucks. I had to pay shipping twice to send both pieces back separately, and it looks like they didn't do squat with the dock.

As soon as I get it all straightened out the combo is going on ebay before it drops anymore in value, and I'll wait out the Samsung slider and just upgrade to windows 8 when the time comes. For now my Touchpad and i3 11" Inspiron will do just fine to augment my Epic.