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Given that the technology of eink screens make it so that even during normal usage the power requirement is kept lower than other kind of displays, when it is advisable to completely shut-down the device instead than putting it in stand-by? I'm asking this for the sake of device (and possibly battery) health and power consumption.

As an example, I usually use stand-by, and this seems the handier solution when I use it multiple times in a day for many consecutive days, but maybe not when, i.e., I don't use it for a week or so. Or in other words, is there a time limit that marks the border between advisable poweroff or standby?

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The biggest issue is likely to be background network use. For example, Amazon's Kindles will continue to use Whispernet and/or WiFi in the background. Assuming you have turned those features off, you would want to power it off entirely only if:

  1. You plan to store it for a long period, on the order of months.
  2. You plan to open up the physical case for some reason.
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  • Thank you, are those numbers just from personal speculation or there is some testing and more concrete evidence behind them?
    – Sekhemty
    Jan 5, 2014 at 13:49
  • Unfortunately, I don't have hard data on most e-readers, but wireless connections are among the biggest power hogs in nearly all portable electronics. For example, Amazon estimates that Kindles can run for two weeks with wireless turned off, but only one week with it turned on. Source.
    – elixenide
    Jan 5, 2014 at 17:08
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If your device connects to the internet, then it is possible that it can sync while it is in stand-by mode and possibly use a bit of battery, but not a lot.

If your device does not connect to the internet, or the wifi is turned off, then the device is using so little battery, you won't notice unless you have kept it on standby for a long time (months).

I would say it's ok to leave it in stand-by, even if you have WiFi on. Its a lot faster to start reading that book you put down at 3:00AM.

The only reason I can see a need for turning it off is if you plan on putting it away for months, or what Ed said, if you need to open up the device.

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