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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss a Google Plus data leak and new shutdown date, Dubai Police SUV, sensor backpacks for bumble bees, a DirectTV Alexa skill to cancel cable, Instagram’s voice messages, third-party USB-C cables for Apple, and more.
Arlene in Windsor Ontario Canada listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: “I have 3 Amazon Fires that were given to me for Christmas. One of them is good, but the other two won’t charge or accept any charger at all. Wondering what I need to do to get it to charge.“
Arlene, there are a couple of things that could be happening to your Kindles.
The best case scenario is that the battery is too dead to show that it’s charging right away. Sometimes batteries lose so much of their charge that can’t even power up the charging message.
The solution for that is straightforward. Plug them in using the charger, if possible don’t plug them into a computer, or a TV, or any device with a USB port – but the charger. USB ports built into other devices can sometimes be weaker. After you’d done that, forget about it for a while.
Leave the Kindle plugged in to charge for hours, maybe leave them to charge overnight, and check on them the next day.
Sometimes that’s all it takes and that will recondition the battery and the Kindle will run and charge as normal again.
The worst case scenario is that you have a hardware issue. That may seem less likely because it’s two Kindles and not just one, but the Kindle Fire has a notoriously delicate and unreliable charging port.
If that’s what’s going on, then you’d pretty much have to replace it, and given that you can replace the device for very little money, it may not be worth the the price of the repair job.
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