One of the many great things about Amazon’s Kindle is that its battery lasts quite a long time compared to other electronic devices, and the charging time is also reasonable. But exactly how long does a Kindle take to charge?
As per Amazon’s official take, most Kindle devices (including Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Fire) take 4-5 hours to charge. On the other hand, Kindle Oasis only has a charging time of 3 hours. However, our team concluded by analyzing the data obtained from hands-on testing that most Kindle devices take less time than the official Amazon marking.
In this article, I’ll talk in detail about the time taken by different Kindle devices to charge completely. Also, I’ll expound on various reasons your Kindle can slow down and how you can compensate for them.
Charging Time for Various Kindle Products
Charging times for the variety of Kindle products differ quite a lot. We’ll quote two figures that would give you an idea of how long the specific Kindle product takes to charge: the official charging time marked by Amazon and the actual time it took the Kindle to charge on hands-on testing.
All of these statistics were obtained using the standard Kindle charger.
#1: Kindle
The official charging time marked on the Amazon Kindle’s specifications is 4 hours. However, on direct testing, we found that it takes roughly 3 hours for a near-dead Kindle to charge completely.
Also, an interesting thing to note is that every 10% increase in the battery charging up to the 80% mark takes roughly 18 minutes on average. However, it takes more time to go from 80% to 100%.
#2: Kindle Paperwhite
In Amazon product specifications, all Kindle Paperwhite products have a charging time of 5 hours. However, it doesn’t take more than 3.5 hours for an almost-dead Kindle battery to charge completely.
#3: Kindle Fire
Along the lines of Amazon Kindle, the Kindle fire editions have an official marking of 4 hours to charge completely. These models took 3 to 4 hours to charge fully on testing.
#4: Kindle Oasis
Kindle Oasis is an outlier when it comes to charging time. The official Amazon rating for it is 3 hours. However, it took less than 2 hours – on direct testing – for the Kindle Oasis to charge fully.
Charging Time for a Dead Kindle
A dead Kindle would take 15 to 30 minutes more than the usual time to charge. However, leaving a dead Kindle unattended for a long while can lead to the degradation of its battery. In that scenario, the battery can charge up too early or too late. And, above that, the battery will deplete much more quickly.
Thus, if you have a dead Kindle lying somewhere in a drawer, make sure you charge it up. Otherwise, you could have to do away with your Kindle battery.
Why Is Your Kindle Charging Slow?
There could be several reasons behind your Kindle charging slowly. Here, I discuss a few.
- Charging via Computer Ports: If you have connected your Kindle to a computer’s charging port via a USB cable, it will charge slowly. That’s because the computer ports supply relatively less power than chargers.
- Defective Charging Cable: Often, charging cables – cheaper ones in particular – lose function with time. So, if you have a somewhat old charging cable and your Kindle charges slowly, it’s only reasonable to assume that you need to replace it.
- Degraded Battery: Another prominent reason for slow charging is a degraded battery. A battery can get degraded if you don’t charge it for a long time. In fact, old batteries deplete naturally.
How To Charge a Kindle Faster
You can do a few things to get your Kindle’s charging speed back to normal. Buy the proper charger for the specific product if you haven’t already. Make sure the charging cable isn’t defective. And, if your battery has gotten too old, buy a new one if you like. It’ll get your Kindle’s charging speed back to normal.
Next, if you want to get the charging speed above the average, you can try buying a 9-watt charger if you have been using a 5-watt charger previously. It will make a considerable difference. Another trick you can try is turning off the device while charging. It’ll make a slight, if not significant, difference.
Conclusion
In short, most Kindle products take around 4 hours to charge completely. However, Kindle Oasis is an exception, with a charging time of fewer than 3 hours. Secondly, if your Kindle is taking more than the average time, chances are that there’s a problem with the charger, charging cable, or battery. Lastly, you can try replacing your 5-watt charger with a 9-watt one to get faster charging.
