How to maximize the time that a battery lasts in your Zune player

This article describes how to maximize the time that a battery charge lasts in your Zune player.

The way that you use your Zune player strongly affects the life of the battery. For example, if you frequently interact with the player user interface (UI), the battery charge will not last as long as if you infrequently interact with the UI.

To help achieve maximum battery performance, follow these guidelines:

• Update the Zune player. Connect the Zune player to a computer that has the current Zune software installed, and then update the player to the current player software version. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  926770  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926770/ ) How to update your Zune player
• Fully charge the Zune player. When the player is fully charged, the battery icon will appear green (
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  ).
  
  Note For maximum battery charge, we recommend that you let the battery discharge to half full or less before you charge it.
• Charge and use the Zune player at room temperature. The Zune player operates most efficiently at room temperature.
• Turn off your Zune player when it is not being used. Follow the instructions for the kind of player that you have:
  • Zune HD player: Press and hold the On/Off button for about 5 seconds. When "POWER OFF" appears on the screen, swipe your finger down to turn off the player.
  • Non-touchscreen Zune players: Set the Hold switch to the unlocked position, and then press and hold the Back button
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    as you press the bottom of the Zune pad for about 5 seconds.
• Use the "play all" option or the "shuffle all" option: The less that you interact with the Zune player, the longer the battery will last.
• Use the "Hold" switch or the "Screen Lock" switch when you can. By preventing unintentional input, you help preserve the battery charge. Follow the instructions for the kind of player that you have:
  • Zune HD player: Press the On/off button to turn off the display and to activate the screen lock.
  • Non-touchscreen Zune players: Set the Hold switch to the locked position.
• Play Windows Media Audio (WMA) or Windows Media Video (WMV) files. You experience the best battery performance when you play WMA music at 128 Kilobits per second (Kbps) and WMV video at 320 x 240 WMV9 500 Kbps total bit rate.
• Lower the brightness setting. For the most efficient use of the battery, select the lowest brightness level that works for you. To change the brightness setting, follow these steps:
  1. On the home screen, select settings.
  2. Select display, and then select the lowest brightness setting that works for you.
• Shorten the backlight timeout. For the most efficient use of the battery, select the shortest display timeout that works for you. To change the backlight timeout setting, follow these steps:
  1. On the home screen, select settings.
  2. Select display, and then select the shortest backlight or timeout setting that works for you.
• Connect to a power source. When you transfer, download, or stream files by using wireless, we recommend that you have the player connected to a power source. Both the number of files that you send or receive and how long you are connected have a significant effect on the time that the battery charge lasts. If you send or receive many files, you may have to charge your Zune player more frequently.
• Adjust the wireless setting. The wireless setting alone has little effect on the time that a battery charge lasts. To share files and to experience the social environment that Zune offers, we recommend that you keep the wireless setting turned on. However, you can turn off the wireless setting to preserve a small amount of battery power. To change the wireless setting, follow these steps:
  1. On the home screen, select settings.
  2. Select wireless, and then select to turn wireless on or off.
• Restart the Zune player. To make sure that your Zune Player is operating reliably after extended use, restart the Zune player. To do this, follow the instructions for the kind of player that you have:
  • Zune HD player: Press and hold the On/Off button for about 10 seconds until the player restarts.
  • Non-touchscreen Zune player: Set the Hold switch to the unlocked position, and then press and hold the Back button
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    as you press the top of the Zune pad. When the Zune device starts to restart, you can release the buttons.
• Recalibrate the battery. For Zune 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 80GB, and 120GB players, the battery icon may not accurately represent the battery charge that is available until the battery is fully charged and then discharged after you update the player. To cycle the battery, follow these steps:
  1. With the battery at a half-full charge or less, connect the Zune player to a power source.
  2. When the battery icon appears green (
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     ), disconnect the Zune player from the power source.
  3. On the home screen, select settings, and then press the center of the Zune pad.
  4. Select display, and then press the center of the Zune pad.
  5. Select backlight, and then press the center of the Zune pad to toggle through the settings until the backlight is set to Always on.
  6. Select brightness, and then press the center of the Zune pad to toggle through the settings until the brightness is set to high.
  7. Press and hold the Back button
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     until the home screen is displayed.
  8. Select music, and then press the center of the Zune pad.
  9. Select genres, albums, artists, or songs. Then, select shuffle all.
  10. Set the Zune player aside.
  11. After the Zune player turns off, press the Play/Pause button.
      
      Note If the Zune player turns on again, wait until it turns off again, and then press the Play/Pause button. Repeat this step until the Zune player no longer turns on.
  12. When the Zune player no longer turns on, connect it to a power source.
  13. Change the display settings back to your preferred choices.
  14. Fully charge the player until the battery icon appears green (
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      ).
  Note Remember to set backlight and brightness to their previous settings. The default settings are 15 seconds and medium.

For more information about the battery in the Zune player, visit the following Zune Web site: