[SledgeHammer]

I have a 3G iPod. I've had it for about two and a half years. It has battery issues; that's nothing new. What is new is the inconsistency of the battery life. I think it has something to do with the battery charge monitor, but that's just my speculation. Sometimes the battery lasts for two hours on a full charge, sometimes it lasts for 20 minutes. I have taken to listening to my iPod while I walk to work (about a 40 minute walk). Yesterday, I took the iPod out of its dock, having had it there since some time the day before. The battery monitor showed it fully charged and plugged in. When I took it out of the dock, the monitor dropped down to nearly empty. I thought nothing of it as it usually takes a few minutes for the little icon to register a new charge. I turned the iPod off, went about my business, then turned it on about 10 minutes later and started listening to it as I walked. About 20 minutes into the walk, it shut off suddenly. I tried turning it back on and got the little dead battery picture before it shut itself off again. I was frustrated. At lunch (about 4 and a half hours later), on a hunch, I turned the iPod back on. The battery meter now showed about a quarter full and rising. I listened to the iPod for about the next twenty minutes or so, until I had to go back to work.

My question is, is there anything (simple) I can do to get some consistency out of this thing? I am aware of the overall battery life problem, but would a reset or something of the kind fix the battery meter issue? I just feel like the battery wasn't actually dead, but the iPod shut itself off because it thought it was.

In a related story, I have the iPod in its dock right now, sitting next to my computer as I type. It showed a plugged in and fully charged icon, so I pulled it out of the dock to take a look at the meter. Out of the dock it showed about half full (but again, it often takes a few minutes to show full). Then, when I put it back in the dock, it showed (and is still showing) plugged in and charging. What's the deal?

[Banana]

I saw somewhere else on this forum saying that to reset the meter would to let battery dry, then it'll recalibrate.

However, it looks like you already did that, so I'm thinking it's just that battery is unable to hold charge. Time for a new pack.

edit= the behavior of "fully charged" when plugged in and losing charging when removed is same what I've seen with LRTs when I worked for Target.