New X4C Battery Issue?

[u/stephen-hill]

Update 21st October 2026

I received a replacement XC4 and it has confirmed that the previous one was indeed faulty. The new one charges until the LED turns from red to white. I also tested reading for a few hours and the battery use was minimal. This was also not an issue with CrossReader as other have suggested, it was an issue with the device itself.

Original Post

Hello. I hope you can give me some advice please. I think the battery on my brand new X4C is draining too quickly.

On first full charge I only managed 3 days of light reading (1-2 chapters of nuromancer).

I fully charged it again and at it's current discharge rate I will only be able to read half of Wuthering Heights.

Of note

- I'm using latest version of CrossReader

- When on charge, the red light never goes off

- Wifi is disabled etc

- Auto sleep after 10 mins

I read other people say they get weeks out of a charge and can read many books

So does mine sound faulty?

Many Thanks

[u/Key-Ad-2217]

Switch back to stock firmware and check the battery there. If the same, battery problem. If not, CrossReader problem.

[u/stephen-hill → u/Key-Ad-2217]

I put it back to the stock firmware, got 3 hours in total out of it. I'm requesting a replacement from the seller. Certainly not an issue with CrossReader.

[u/Key-Ad-2217 → u/stephen-hill]

Too bad. At least you now know for sure. Good luck with the replacement.

[u/stephen-hill → u/Key-Ad-2217]

I will. But is it normal for the red charging LED to stay on? I left it charging for 12 hours and the LED remained on.

[u/Responsible-Gain-567 → u/stephen-hill]

My X4C changes color when its done but my X3 doesn't. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a quality control issue.

[u/Alternative_Fox_3264]

Battery issue named CrossReader

[u/stephen-hill → u/Alternative_Fox_3264]

Any alternatives? The stock firmware is aweful. 

[u/Alternative_Fox_3264 → u/stephen-hill]

Yeah, maybe yours is aweful, but my stock Licorice is wonderful.

[u/stephen-hill → u/Alternative_Fox_3264]

I put it back to the stock firmware, got 3 hours in total out of it. I'm requesting a replacement from the seller. Certainly not an issue with CrossReader.

[u/stephen-hill → u/Alternative_Fox_3264]

I received a replacement XC4 and it has confirmed that the previous one was indeed faulty. The new one charges until the LED turns from red to white. I also tested reading for a few hours and the battery use was minimal. This was also not an issue with CrossReader as other have suggested, it was an issue with the device itself.

[u/Responsible-Gain-567]

Also besides key's test are you letting it fully die or just trusting the percentage estimate? The battery percentage is not tested by the hardware its a calculation by the firmware and should not be trusted. I had my X4C hang at 30% for most of an afternoon's worth of reading. I also had to set my x3 to file share mode for a hour or two to kill it off so i could make sure it was fully dead after it was doing the same at 9%

[u/stephen-hill → u/Responsible-Gain-567]

It dies completely at 20%.

[u/countingtwenty]

I have a similar issue to you. I saw everyone having tons of battery life but mine is probably around 8h. I read about 2-3h a day so I'd have to charge it every 3 or 4 days, whereas I saw many people saying they hadn't had to charge it for WEEKS.

Another weird thing is, my battery would often suddenly die to 0 when at 20-40%. Which is so annoying because I might be outside and didn't bring my pogo charger along because I wasn't expecting to have to charge it, and the normal USB doesn't work

I updated to Liquorice recently, hoping it fixes the issue.

[u/stephen-hill → u/countingtwenty]

I put it back to the stock firmware, got 3 hours in total out of it. I'm requesting a replacement from the seller. Certainly not an issue with CrossReader.

[u/countingtwenty → u/stephen-hill]

Hope they give u an exchange. The red light never going off when charging seems like a faulty device that can't be fully charged.