12 replies to this topic

[Bryan]

I just received my 4G today. Nice.

I am a bit worried about my battery, though. Maybe it's just the kernel acpi that's wrong, but this is what I get:

/home/user> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present:                 yes
capacity state:          ok
charging state:          charged
present rate:            unknown
remaining capacity:      100 mAh
present voltage:         8299 mV
/home/user> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/info 
present:                 yes
design capacity:         5200 mAh
last full capacity:      100 mAh
battery technology:      rechargeable
design voltage:          8400 mV
design capacity warning: 10 mAh
design capacity low:     5 mAh
capacity granularity 1:  52 mAh
capacity granularity 2:  52 mAh
model number:            701
serial number:            
battery type:            LION
OEM info:                ASUS

The battery GUI says it's fully charged... but the remaining capacity says 100 mAh... which falls short of the "5200 mAh" by more than a factor of 50. Anyone else see this in their acpi output?

Just wondering if it's an actual battery problem.. or if the kernel isn't getting the battery info correct.

Thanks.

[Bryan]

Would someone else at least post their /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/{state,info} ??

Shouldn't take much time at all.

[mkropfbe]

dont worry, for my understanding, this is just a workaround, and the gui is reading the remaining capacity: 100 mAh as a percentage, meaning "100%"... check it out, it always reflects your percentage of battery level...
I guess, you will have about 2-3hrs of battery life.

[rs-px]

Quote

dont worry, for my understanding, this is just a workaround, and the gui is reading the remaining capacity: 100 mAh as a percentage, meaning "100%"... check it out, it always reflects your percentage of battery level...
I guess, you will have about 2-3hrs of battery life.

That's what I guessed when reading the question :) I was waiting for my battery to fully charge before answering.

My own experience is that the battery isn't too bad. However, the battery applet doesn't help -- when on one bar it makes the machine look like it's about to die when, actually, it's on 30% and you've got quite a lot more time. A percentage or time display would be more useful.

Turning off wifi definitely seems to help on a computer like the Eee, with its modest power demand. Everything is quite literally smaller, including power draw (and supply!).

Edited by rs-px, 09 November 2007 - 02:58 PM.

[Bryan]

I see. Well... that's reassuring. I just found this explanation in the README in /usr/share/doc/powermonitor

Quote

Notes on ASUS BIOS ACPI implementation:
* the battery level is reported in % rather than mAh.
* it moves in discrete steps: 100% / 75% / 50% / 25% / 10% / 7% / 1% / 0%

Thanks for the replies.

I haven't seen the output I've posted, through google, for the Eee PC . Maybe this'll help/inform someone else in the future.

Edited by Bryan, 10 November 2007 - 01:52 AM.

[loudestnoise]

My battery is not showing that I charged it (I did all night long), currently it doesn't show any bars and this is what I got when I checked the battery state

/home/user> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present: yes
capacity state: ok
charging state: discharging
present rate: unknown
remaining capacity: 20 mAh
present voltage: 7971 mV
/home/user>

Also, I've only been charing my Eee when it is in Standby mode. Does this pose a problem? What lights are supposed to be on during charging? I see the second one blinking green when it charges with lid closed in Standby.

Edited by loudestnoise, 12 November 2007 - 03:48 PM.

[Feanor]

Interestingly enough:
/home/user> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present: no

[loudestnoise]

So apparently you don't have a battery?

[Feanor]

Quote

So apparently you don't have a battery?

It wasn't detecting it for some reason. I was plugged in at the time, but even after unplugging and waiting ~5 mins it showed no battery. I've rebooted since and it usually shows up now.

[ChadRioux]

Haha. Obviously there is a glitch in this code. Have you all looked at the asus website or sent a request for an update? Perhaps this concern would go to Xandros. I would help but not interested in spending hte time coding it especially if it actually "works" (other then the output).

[9a6or]

I am having the same issues as Feanor and loudestnoise, ie. the battery meter is on 60% (two bars) only after overnight charging in standby, and sometimes the battery indicator does not sense switching between power/battery. I'll reboot in a sec...

Yes, the meter reports true value after rebooting.

Edited by 9a6or, 17 November 2007 - 11:22 AM.

[player2]

Just got my new eeepc 900 8g hd 1g ram and am having the same problem as loudestnoise. I'm as green a Linux user as there is, so I read the advise about rebooting and "cat" the battery and I gave both a try. Although my machine says 0 battery and shuts down as soon as it boots on battery power, these are the results I get when I cat the battery.

present: yes
design capacity: 5200 mAh
last full capacity: 100 mAh
battery technology: rechargeable
design voltage: 8400 mV
design capacity warning: 10 mAh
design capacity low: 5 mAh
capacity granularity 1: 52 mAh
capacity granularity 2: 52 mAh
model number: 702
serial number:
battery type: LION
OEM info: ASUS

Help!
I need to fix my issue before I can grok a new os

Player2

Edited by player2, 01 April 2008 - 09:53 PM.

[deftone]

Quote

My battery is not showing that I charged it (I did all night long), currently it doesn't show any bars and this is what I got when I checked the battery state

/home/user> cat /proc/acpi/battery/BAT0/state
present: yes
capacity state: ok
charging state: discharging
present rate: unknown
remaining capacity: 20 mAh
present voltage: 7971 mV
/home/user>

Also, I've only been charing my Eee when it is in Standby mode. Does this pose a problem? What lights are supposed to be on during charging? I see the second one blinking green when it charges with lid closed in Standby.

Charging while in standby isn't the most efficient way to charge the EEE. Someone posted a thread a while back mentioning that when in Standby-mode, the EEE switches between AC and battery power causing it to take much longer to charge. I'll see if I can find that thread again..