ipod photo 40Gb battery life -big question mark

[fennessy]

What is the average battery life ? . Mine only lasts@ 1 1/2 hours -its actually worse than my original 5gb ipod . Apple support suggested reloading the firmware -no difference . The other strange thing is the ipod reboots every time its turned on and seems to use power despite being turned off even with the switch locked off.
phil

[Jesse Hollington]

Definitely something wrong here. Unless you're actually leaving the backlight on all the time, you should easily get 12+ hours (many have reported 15-17 hours).

I'd suggest getting a replacement...

[zerock]

i get the 15 hours

[AHA]

I have had similar battery probs with my 60gb. Seems to suck juice like crazy when connected to the PC for tagging or whatever (lasts an hour). I now have backlight OFF but no way I get anywhere near 15 hours, more like 3-4.

I use a laptop most of the time, with a PCMCIA firewire card that does not provide power to the iPod so it does not charge while syncing or editing tags. I have discovered that by using the USB cable instead, it will actually charge at the same time and I don't have to lug the PC card around. Not a solution to battery probs but at least avoids killing your battery while waiting for your plane...

[The BZA]

I have the same problem with my 40GB iPod Photo. I'm not sure how much life I get out of it when it's playing continuously, but if I put it to sleep and then try to use it 8 hours later it's invariably flat. I always charge it directly from the power point (sometimes through the dock, sometimes not) rather than through a firewire port, and I always let it get a full charge before using it. I had the problem from the day I got it. The alarm is definately switched off, and it has the latest firmware (obviously).

Anyone had the same problem and/or know of a solution, or should I ask for a replacement? Thanks.

[[zerophase]]

1 and a half hours is all you get? you need a battery change haha.

[Khoji]

I'm on my second 60GB iPod Photo and the battery life truly sucks. The first one was only getting 4-5 hours and Apple replaced it, which took over two weeks. The second one is not much better -- I estimate that I'm getting an absolute maximum of 6-7 hours, nowhere near the 15 hours that Apple claims.

If I had known this I would never have bought an iPod. Either the second one is defective as well or Apple's battery life claim is simply a lie. I'm seriously angry and definitely feel ripped off.

[AntonBerg]

Hi Khoji,

It must be the batteries or the iPod itself that has a fault. I have had mine 60 gb iPod photo for three weeks and i tested it by using the mix songs feature and let it run until the end of the battery. It took 16.5 hours to drain the batteries completely. If you use it different, like changing playlists a lot or skipping through songs a lot it reduces the battery life markedly. Apple has some advice somewhere on their website that explains how to make the batteries last longer.

Cheers

/Phil