Stylus burning through battery while being completely idle.

[EvilRacehorse]

Hello, I have gotten an HP Actives stylus in November - Product #J4R51AA#ABL

I am given to understand that it should reactivate itself when it comes to contact with a screen and will become idle once again within a minute or two of not being used. 

I have used the battery it came with (which was brand new and full as confirmed with a battery tester).

Yesterday, around 5 months after the purchase (during this time I used the pen less than an hour).

I just discovered that the battery was nearly empty, so everytime it became idle, it would not go back to write again, unless I removed and reinsterted the battery. And finally a little later, it stopped writing entirely since the battery died completely.

I am wondering, as to why there is not a "switch off" button for the pen. Does this mean I have to remove the battery form the pen every minute it is not in use?

Note: The exact same type of battery along with the one I used the stylus with is still full and works. So this is not a battery problem.

On the other hand, the stylus had been in a bag and was absolutely not in contact with any type of screen during storage.

Is there a synaptics-based HP pen that doesn't include this ridiculous "feature"?

Thanks again for advice

[Flower_Bud]

@EvilRacehorse

Welcome to the HP Forums 🙂

I would like to take a moment and thank you for using this forum, it is a great place to find answers.

As I understand, you're having issues with HP Active Stylus,

No worries, as I'll be glad to help you, that said, I'll need a few more details to dissect your concern & provide an accurate solution:

Have you tried another battery?

You don't have to remove the battery. Most active stylus pens automatically deactivate after a short time without use, to save power. Improper storage while not in use can cause battery drain. Store the stylus flat with no pressure applied to the tip or buttons.

If the issue still persists, I would suggest you contact our phone support for replacement: 

HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:

* Open link: www.hp.com/contacthp/

* Enter Product number or select to auto detect

* Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"

* Scroll down and click on HP contact options - click on Get a Case & phone number.

They will be happy to assist you immediately.

If the unit is under warranty repair services under the manufacturer's warranty will be free of charge.

[EvilRacehorse]

Hello, thank you for your suggestions.

As I mentioned before. I had 3 brand new batteries (Energizer AAAA that came with the stylus and 2 AAAA batteries from VARTA).

Before I put it in the stylus, I used a battery tester to confirm that all 3 of them was practically full.

Now 5 months later, the battery that was staying inside the stylus (the one that shipped with the stylus), was low enough for the pen to not react at all while the other 2 batteries are still at the same level.

For all this time, the pen was stored in a pen compartment of a laptop bag, something like this:

So, there was no pressure applied from the bottom and the strap was not even covering the buttons.

On the other hand, I seem to recall that the pen packaging itself suggested something about removing the battery if not in use (to prevent a leaking battery? I don't remember) but I don't have the packaging anymore.

Could you please let me know what the original packaging suggested? That may clear the issue hopefully

As a matter of fact, I have tried a Dell pen that had this exact same issue (battery was draining even when the pen was idle) and was hoping the HP penwould not have this "bonus feature".

I am totally perplexed as to how it never dawned on anyone to actually include a switch to prevent all this "accidental drain" issue. I really doubt that all these styluses are somehow having the same defect, it really looks like this is a built-in feature.

[Flower_Bud · Accepted solution]

@EvilRacehorse

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP.

They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number.

Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact.

Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forum.