If you own an HP Pro Tablet 608 G1 you know the battery can drain quickly and when you search the HP forums you come to realize there is not a lot that can be found.
This article will address how to increase the battery life and some mistakes people are making when they flash their BIOS.
First flashing the BIOS.
Go here to download the latest BIOS
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pro-tablet-608-g1/7484083
Version 01.21A is now released, this does fix several issues, including the touch screen and scroll issues.
The BIOS download with be an exe file. Simply run it and WAIT! I have read in the HP forums where some bricked their tablet after running the BIOS update. If you do not know what you are doing and do not read the instructions then don't update. Here is fact, if the BIOS is the correct version for your tablet the BIOS itself can't brick the tablet, the user can. I know of cases where the user expected almost instant results, run the BIOS update, system reboots and then get the black screen with simple execution code and the user panics and reboots the system thinking it has froze. I've flashed 2 of the HP Pro Tablets and had no issues with either but the install took about 5-10 minutes and in that time many users will panic and hold the power button and kill the tablet and blame a bad flash. Most arm-chair shoot from the hip techs kill their own systems because they simply do not allow enough time for the system to do its job. Installing firmware is not instant and can take some time. So wait if you flash.
Now to improving battery life.
1) From settings go into Apps startup and turn off every app that does not have any need to start up. Email, People, Calendar does not need to be there, only drivers. Then turn off every app running in the background. There is no real need for an app to run in the background except maybe Weather and Mail, everything else turn off. If you are using CCleaner remove it. The company the bought it has made it a resource hog and it gets a high battery drain rating. What once was good has become bad.
Now lets enter the BIOS. Restart the tablet and when you see the tiny words at the bottom press the volume down button till you see the BIOS on the screen. You will see the image below. Tap the gears which has a red square and enter the BIOS.
This article will address how to increase the battery life and some mistakes people are making when they flash their BIOS.
First flashing the BIOS.
Go here to download the latest BIOS
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pro-tablet-608-g1/7484083
Version 01.21A is now released, this does fix several issues, including the touch screen and scroll issues.
The BIOS download with be an exe file. Simply run it and WAIT! I have read in the HP forums where some bricked their tablet after running the BIOS update. If you do not know what you are doing and do not read the instructions then don't update. Here is fact, if the BIOS is the correct version for your tablet the BIOS itself can't brick the tablet, the user can. I know of cases where the user expected almost instant results, run the BIOS update, system reboots and then get the black screen with simple execution code and the user panics and reboots the system thinking it has froze. I've flashed 2 of the HP Pro Tablets and had no issues with either but the install took about 5-10 minutes and in that time many users will panic and hold the power button and kill the tablet and blame a bad flash. Most arm-chair shoot from the hip techs kill their own systems because they simply do not allow enough time for the system to do its job. Installing firmware is not instant and can take some time. So wait if you flash.
Now to improving battery life.
1) From settings go into Apps startup and turn off every app that does not have any need to start up. Email, People, Calendar does not need to be there, only drivers. Then turn off every app running in the background. There is no real need for an app to run in the background except maybe Weather and Mail, everything else turn off. If you are using CCleaner remove it. The company the bought it has made it a resource hog and it gets a high battery drain rating. What once was good has become bad.
Now lets enter the BIOS. Restart the tablet and when you see the tiny words at the bottom press the volume down button till you see the BIOS on the screen. You will see the image below. Tap the gears which has a red square and enter the BIOS.
The next screen will look like this, tap the 3rd option on the left "ADVANCE".
You will see this next. You will need to tap Device Options.
Tap Device Options
At this point you will see WWAN and GPS, here comes a difficult choice.
First WWAN is NOT your in home WiFi or the Internet you need outside your home. The Internet you use at home and to connect to hotspots is WLAN.
WWAN is LTE. So if you use a Cellphone service for the Internet do not go any further, your stuck. But if you DO NOT use your Cellphone service to connect to the Internet than continue.
The only other drawback is this same piece of hardware is also used for GPS. Now personally why do you need GPS on a tablet if you have a good cellphone.
So if you are fine without using GPS on your tablet and do not connect to the Internet via a cellphone service then tap disable. By disabling the actual piece of hardware you are bypassing all battery power to it, it is as if the hardware is not there. When this is enabled it uses some battery power even in standby.
Now it is not shown in this BIOS pictures here, but it was in the other HP Pro Tablet I worked on. You may have a "NEAR FIELD CONNECTION" device.
What is that? If you are within 1.5 inches I believe it is, of another device with NFC you can exchange data without any type of connection, the 2 devices connect.
But consider, if you never knew it was there and never used it are you missing out by disabling it? Of perhaps you did use it, maybe once or twice.
Regardless it is very unlikely most people even know what it is or use it. If you fall into that category, then by all means disable the "NEAR FIELD CONNECTION". It too will use battery power the entire time the tablet is on.
Now this is really all that can be disable in the BIOS. The only other item is the Bluetooth, but that is used by many including me. It can be turned off from within the Operating System and turned back on. Although turning it off does not disable it, it does help save power.
First WWAN is NOT your in home WiFi or the Internet you need outside your home. The Internet you use at home and to connect to hotspots is WLAN.
WWAN is LTE. So if you use a Cellphone service for the Internet do not go any further, your stuck. But if you DO NOT use your Cellphone service to connect to the Internet than continue.
The only other drawback is this same piece of hardware is also used for GPS. Now personally why do you need GPS on a tablet if you have a good cellphone.
So if you are fine without using GPS on your tablet and do not connect to the Internet via a cellphone service then tap disable. By disabling the actual piece of hardware you are bypassing all battery power to it, it is as if the hardware is not there. When this is enabled it uses some battery power even in standby.
Now it is not shown in this BIOS pictures here, but it was in the other HP Pro Tablet I worked on. You may have a "NEAR FIELD CONNECTION" device.
What is that? If you are within 1.5 inches I believe it is, of another device with NFC you can exchange data without any type of connection, the 2 devices connect.
But consider, if you never knew it was there and never used it are you missing out by disabling it? Of perhaps you did use it, maybe once or twice.
Regardless it is very unlikely most people even know what it is or use it. If you fall into that category, then by all means disable the "NEAR FIELD CONNECTION". It too will use battery power the entire time the tablet is on.
Now this is really all that can be disable in the BIOS. The only other item is the Bluetooth, but that is used by many including me. It can be turned off from within the Operating System and turned back on. Although turning it off does not disable it, it does help save power.
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