Same here. I'm glad we can finally rule out software as the cause of the problem. Hopefully VM stays on top of things.
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3G Drops & Standby Battery Drain (Solutions)
- Thread starter Ziflin
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- lg optimus v
Same here. I'm glad we can finally rule out software as the cause of the problem. Hopefully VM stays on top of things.
I restored by 3G data by reactivating the phone. Powering down or going to airplane mode hadn't worked.
The Activation button on the Optimus V didn't work (no data connection!) so went to the virgin mobile web site where the best choice for activation was "swap to new phone". I swapped the number over to another phone, then when I tried to swap back a couple of hours later it wouldn't let me and said to call virgin. I did and all is well with 3G data now.
Question is, to reactivate in the future, is there an easier way?
The Activation button on the Optimus V didn't work (no data connection!) so went to the virgin mobile web site where the best choice for activation was "swap to new phone". I swapped the number over to another phone, then when I tried to swap back a couple of hours later it wouldn't let me and said to call virgin. I did and all is well with 3G data now.
Question is, to reactivate in the future, is there an easier way?
Okay, I read elsewhere to turn off 3g when you are not using it. Go to settings--wireless networks--mobile networks---data enabled. Turn off. You can still get calls and texts. My phone was up to 50% without signal and draining my battery in a few hours, even after trying the *#*#4636#*#* trick (it doesn't work anymore for me). I'm starting to think Virgin does this on purpose to keep us from using data. I swear they did something to make the 4636 fix not work anymore because my "force close" doesn't come on anymore.
They also suggest this:
How to get better battery life on your Optimus
I always look at my battery statistics and I see that the "Cell Standby" is always the thing that sucks up the most amount of juice and I wanted to make a guide for others on how you can save battery of this big power drainer for the Optimus and how to comfortably make it through a complete day without having to worry about recharging.
Heres how you do it...
Go to your dialer and press *#*#4636#*#* which will immediately bring up a list of options. Click on phone information and then scroll down to where it says "Set preferred network type:". Click on that and instead of CDMA auto click the option right below it which is CDMA only. (dont worry you can always easily reverse this
)
Now this will force the phone into 1x mode and save alot of battery life for you. I once have made it through 3 days of good use without a single charge while in 1x mode.
Now of course while in 1x mode the only downside is your data download speed will max out at around 150kbps (edge like speeds) but I only get around 220kbps on 3g speedtests anyways (in my area) and the battery savings of 1x is more than worth it. Also you can easily counteract this slowdown compared to 3g while browsing the internet by using the Opera Mini web browser.
The Opera Mini browser is great at edge speeds. Nothing comes close to its speed of rendering web pages while on edge or 1x. It works by sending the page request to Opera's servers which compresses the page before sending it to your phone. The end result is that a regular page like ESPN might take 33 seconds to load in the normal browser while on 1x mode but only takes 7 seconds to load while using Opera Mini!
Again though this isn't for everyone. Some people might be uncomfortable about being on 1x speeds but for me the only thing it affects is my internet browsing (which is why I use Opera to get 3g similar speeds while on 1x mode anyways). If I want to watch any Youtube videos I personally just turn on the Wifi but if your out and about you could always just turn back on 3g for watching videos.
Just try it out for a day with the Opera Mini browser and see if being on 1x is a real hindrance or if you love the battery life savings... worst case scenario you can always just press the *#*#4636#*#* and change it back to CDMA auto and immediately get your 3g back if you don't like using Opera Mini.
Of course other basic ideas on how to save battery life are always the same and I always practice:
- Turn down brightness to 25% or less
- Have a regular wallpaper instead of a live wallpaper
- Turn off bluetooth, Wifi, and GPS if your not using them
- Check battery statistics to see what is using your battery the most (I usually have to kill Skype after I use it otherwise it eats up 30% of my battery even after I already signed out!)
*** This is only an estimation. If you can already make it through an entire day while using 3g then you probably dont need this trick at all. It's mainly for battery nut's like myself that use their phone alot but don't want to have to worry about running out of power. I personally love not having to worry about if my battery can make it through a full day anymore because I know with this 1x trick I always will.
EDIT: As the great mixedguy was kind enough to bestow his knowledge to us. You can download an app from the market called "network" by philipp mangelow which is a one click shortcut to the settings menu so you don't even have to press the #'s into the dialer to switch to CDMA only
They also suggest this:
How to get better battery life on your Optimus
Heres how you do it...
Go to your dialer and press *#*#4636#*#* which will immediately bring up a list of options. Click on phone information and then scroll down to where it says "Set preferred network type:". Click on that and instead of CDMA auto click the option right below it which is CDMA only. (dont worry you can always easily reverse this
Now this will force the phone into 1x mode and save alot of battery life for you. I once have made it through 3 days of good use without a single charge while in 1x mode.
Now of course while in 1x mode the only downside is your data download speed will max out at around 150kbps (edge like speeds) but I only get around 220kbps on 3g speedtests anyways (in my area) and the battery savings of 1x is more than worth it. Also you can easily counteract this slowdown compared to 3g while browsing the internet by using the Opera Mini web browser.
The Opera Mini browser is great at edge speeds. Nothing comes close to its speed of rendering web pages while on edge or 1x. It works by sending the page request to Opera's servers which compresses the page before sending it to your phone. The end result is that a regular page like ESPN might take 33 seconds to load in the normal browser while on 1x mode but only takes 7 seconds to load while using Opera Mini!
Again though this isn't for everyone. Some people might be uncomfortable about being on 1x speeds but for me the only thing it affects is my internet browsing (which is why I use Opera to get 3g similar speeds while on 1x mode anyways). If I want to watch any Youtube videos I personally just turn on the Wifi but if your out and about you could always just turn back on 3g for watching videos.
Just try it out for a day with the Opera Mini browser and see if being on 1x is a real hindrance or if you love the battery life savings... worst case scenario you can always just press the *#*#4636#*#* and change it back to CDMA auto and immediately get your 3g back if you don't like using Opera Mini.
Of course other basic ideas on how to save battery life are always the same and I always practice:
- Turn down brightness to 25% or less
- Have a regular wallpaper instead of a live wallpaper
- Turn off bluetooth, Wifi, and GPS if your not using them
- Check battery statistics to see what is using your battery the most (I usually have to kill Skype after I use it otherwise it eats up 30% of my battery even after I already signed out!)
*** This is only an estimation. If you can already make it through an entire day while using 3g then you probably dont need this trick at all. It's mainly for battery nut's like myself that use their phone alot but don't want to have to worry about running out of power. I personally love not having to worry about if my battery can make it through a full day anymore because I know with this 1x trick I always will.
EDIT: As the great mixedguy was kind enough to bestow his knowledge to us. You can download an app from the market called "network" by philipp mangelow which is a one click shortcut to the settings menu so you don't even have to press the #'s into the dialer to switch to CDMA only
Just wanted to drop a note to say thanks to all for the advice in this forum. I've had the same problems everyone else has and have had to jump through the same hoops with Virgin Mobile. I'm in a good coverage area according to Virgin Mobile themselves, but the 3g reception is terrible to the point of non-existent. I sent Virgin Mobile a message to see if there was a problem in my area and they replied saying they had reset my 3g. Well great i thought, all should be well. Went and got my phone and now i had no 3g service what so ever.
Called VM and they had me go through the reprogram bit, take my battery out bit time and time again. Finally they said they were going to start an investigation into my issue and i would hear back from them sometime in the next 7 days. Yes, 7 days. At that point i was pretty sure i was being blown off and looked around on the internet to see if others were having these problems and found this forum and a few others.
So, i sent VM yet another message letting them know that i knew this was a known issue with them and they needed to fix the 3g problem immediately or refund my money. They replied by telling me to, wait for it, take my battery out again, but thankfully they also included a phone number to call if taking the battery out didn't work, which it didn't, shocking i know.
So, i called the number which turned out to be a technical support line in America and after having me remove the battery for the umpteenth time the technician finally just reset my entire account which at least got my 3g turned back on. but again, the reception is terrible and the phone just locks up while trying to receive the 3g.
So, what's the problem? Is it the phone or the network or Virgin Mobile? I don't know, the airplane mode trick doesn't work on my phone and i don't see anyone else having issues with the phone locking up, so i think i have a bad phone. But i also think there's a problem with Virgin Mobile's database and they know this, which is why they give people the run around.
For example, if your billing month started on the 15th, but VM had to reset your account on the 25th to get 3g service going again, they just lost ten billing days. Multiply that by all the people having this problem and VM is looking at some serious revenue loss.
I really like the phone, except for the 3g of course, so i've told VM i want mine exchanged for a new one. Hopefully it will work, if not, i'll be going to another carrier.
Called VM and they had me go through the reprogram bit, take my battery out bit time and time again. Finally they said they were going to start an investigation into my issue and i would hear back from them sometime in the next 7 days. Yes, 7 days. At that point i was pretty sure i was being blown off and looked around on the internet to see if others were having these problems and found this forum and a few others.
So, i sent VM yet another message letting them know that i knew this was a known issue with them and they needed to fix the 3g problem immediately or refund my money. They replied by telling me to, wait for it, take my battery out again, but thankfully they also included a phone number to call if taking the battery out didn't work, which it didn't, shocking i know.
So, i called the number which turned out to be a technical support line in America and after having me remove the battery for the umpteenth time the technician finally just reset my entire account which at least got my 3g turned back on. but again, the reception is terrible and the phone just locks up while trying to receive the 3g.
So, what's the problem? Is it the phone or the network or Virgin Mobile? I don't know, the airplane mode trick doesn't work on my phone and i don't see anyone else having issues with the phone locking up, so i think i have a bad phone. But i also think there's a problem with Virgin Mobile's database and they know this, which is why they give people the run around.
For example, if your billing month started on the 15th, but VM had to reset your account on the 25th to get 3g service going again, they just lost ten billing days. Multiply that by all the people having this problem and VM is looking at some serious revenue loss.
I really like the phone, except for the 3g of course, so i've told VM i want mine exchanged for a new one. Hopefully it will work, if not, i'll be going to another carrier.
And now, just a few hours later, i no longer have any 3g service what so ever. This is beyond ridiculous, i understand that you get what you pay for, but this is clearly a scam. Virgin Mobile is either throttling service from their end or selling defective phones knowingly to throttle service from the users end. I'm gong to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
After a factory reset and yet another re-programming of my phone i once again have 3g service, although it's so bad it's completely useless. Just out of curiosity i downloaded the speedtest.net app. On the first try the phone tried in vain to find a 3g signal and after a few minutes froze up and rebooted on its own. The second try it found the 3g but it kept going in and out so the test would stop and start over and over again, eventuall got a reading of 68kbps down and 180kbps up. Second test same thing, 3g would go in and out and the test would start and stop over and over, finally got a reading of 66kbps down and 95 up. Third test same thing. eventua; reading of of 33kbps down and 51 kbps up.
I don't expect 3g to be blazing fast, but 33kbps? That's below dial up. Virgin Mobile should be sued for this.
I don't expect 3g to be blazing fast, but 33kbps? That's below dial up. Virgin Mobile should be sued for this.
this isn't a "Virgin Mobile" problem, is an Android phone problem. I have MetroPCS and it does the same thing, and tried many different methods to solve this problem, and it doesn't work. Android is just a bad phone.
Cell standby: 52%
Time without signal: 23% and rising every day
I had it at 80% about two days ago, tried the "solutions" it went down in percentage and now is going back up again
Phone Idle: 41%
When the phone gets to about its 30th percentage, the battery dies even faster, 1% every 5 minutes or so
Definitely the last time I buy an Android phone.
Cell standby: 52%
Time without signal: 23% and rising every day
I had it at 80% about two days ago, tried the "solutions" it went down in percentage and now is going back up again
Phone Idle: 41%
When the phone gets to about its 30th percentage, the battery dies even faster, 1% every 5 minutes or so
Definitely the last time I buy an Android phone.
Please go to settings>applications>manage applications
check "Running" tab, click on the apps you don't want running, "force close"
My theory is that all of these apps not closing automatically, drawing power, all at the same time, is too much for the battery to handle.
Every time you power down then up again, all the default apps will be running so you must do this again.
Please let me know if this helps.
I just got my phone last week. I was able to do the force close last Saturday Apr 30, but i checked today and I can't do it anymore. Can someone verify that was a 1 time thing only? Now we have to settle with the airplane mode toggle (which is easier, I think)
I like your suggestion of turning off the "data" if not in use. this can be a universal run around for the draining of battery for any phone being caused by hunting down 3G.
Update: the past two days. With Airplane mode trick plus data off and non-essential aps closed, battery usage when idle is less than 1% per hour.
If you have ever used the tethering, it's clear to me that there are algorithms installed that sniff out tethered data, because any light browsing works any download quickly stalls after a couple of minutes. I can't complain, it's not like I bought it to tether, and it's slow anyway.
BlizzardsEcho
Lurker
Well you obviously don't know what you're doing with an android phone. Mine works fine. I have no standby issues at all and time without a signal is always at 0 for me. Why don't you try google for once? Oh and android isn't a "phone", it's an operating system smart one.
BlizzardsEcho
Lurker
They shouldn't be sued for anything. You're the one that bought the phone, that pays for the service. If you don't like it, switch. Good luck finding another company with a plan as low as 25 dollars a month. You're probably just far away from the 3G tower.
Not a solution for the short battery life but my old charger from a LG LX370 charges me back up in half the time. Output is identical so I would guess that the hardwired simple charging cord is the difference. Also the older charger does not get as warm to the touch as the newer model. I get about a 30% charge per hour vs 14-15% with the new one.
Mike
Mike
mcnpenfold
Lurker
Are you sure you disabled the 3g? I can go 8 hours without dropping below 70%, while listening to music constantly (it's what I do at work every day).
I assume the only difference between the phones is you may be running Froyo, and I'm running Gingerbread via Cyanogenmod.
onlinecash2012
Newbie
This is the third day that i've had my optimus v, and so far its only restarted itself once and that was while i was texting, and charging my phone at the same time. Not sure if that matters but hey u never know with technology these days...lol...also the longest i've lost 3G connection was for about 5 mins, now thats the longest that i've noticed, and i've seen it do this 1 time. And so far i've had good battery life, with 3G left on, and Wifi off. Id say it lasts about a day and a half, and all i do is text, check e-mail, and facebook, most of the time its in my pocket cause i work to damn much...lol
greg4android
Android Enthusiast
I can tether (hotspot) for hours with no hesitation or speed loss. Not sure what you are referring to...
My phone does warm up though when doing this though.
Maybe you are on an overcrowded tower?
My phone does warm up though when doing this though.
Maybe you are on an overcrowded tower?
RumblesUbamba
Newbie
So what is the best solution to battery drain?
That's some great logic so here, i've got some ocean front property in Oklahama to sell you and if it turns out not to be what i said, hey, you bought it, go someplace else. And just for the record, VM's site says speeds should be between 600kbps and 1.4mbps and the highest i ever got, anywhere (home, work, out and about), was around 230kbps. I guess somehow, no matter where i was, i managed to constantly be far away from a tower even though i'm in a major urban area with great coverage according to VM itself.
Short answer: the only way to prevent a battery from draining is not to have one.
Long answer: it depends on whether the battery drains excessively fast. I think most people just don't appreciate how different modern smartphones are from traditional cellphones. The former are really powerful computers and therefore it doesn't make sense to expect the same week's worth of battery standby your old cellphone achieved. If laptop batteries (which are obviously much bigger and heavier) don't last several days, how could a much smaller battery of a (phone-)computer almost as powerful?
Long story short: getting about 1
RumblesUbamba
Newbie
thanks for the advice. I used my phone for only about 4 hours with the radio app (tune in) on for about half of it, and 3G on the whole time, and it died. 
( battery is on lowest brightness setting) I tried the CDMA only, cdma prl thing, and i dont know if it worked. I usually on have a couple apps on at a time. What am i doing wrong? HOw do i get at least a day's worth?
( battery is on lowest brightness setting) I tried the CDMA only, cdma prl thing, and i dont know if it worked. I usually on have a couple apps on at a time. What am i doing wrong? HOw do i get at least a day's worth?I hardly even use my new Optimus V during the day, and it's usually dead by the time I get home. It turns out I have little to no reception in my office, so is it just searching for a signal the whole time and draining the battery? How do I resolve this, without have to change things on the phone every time I enter/leave a different building? It seems a little ridiculous that so much effort has to be put in to using an Android phone.
Quite possible.
To test, leave the phone in airplane mode for the entire day while you're in the office. How much of a difference does this make? (Protip: you can use QuickSettings to re-enable Wifi even when in airplane mode.)
If this does make a difference, try the next day with voice service on, but data service disabled. Etc., etc.
In any case, disable searching for Wifi networks. If you don't have Wifi in the office, disable it while there.
infamousnation
Lurker
I bought the lg optimus v a few weeks ago and had the same problems you guys are having. At first I couldn't get the phone to connect to 3g. I spent several hours on the phone with customer support until someone reset my account, which fixed the problem, for 1 day. The next day I lost the connection and couldnt get back on 3g. I called customer service and the first person I talked to fixed it right away. He had me turn off the phone, remove the battery, while he reset the connection. I turned the phone back on and havent had that problem since then.
I did notice the battery would drain really fast. When I was inside of my work or at home, the phone wouldn't get very good reception at all. I was noticing high power usage by cell standby and low % of time connttced. I installed an ap called auto pilot which switches the plane into airplane mode when the signal strength gets below a threashhold. Now when I walk out of work at the end of the day my battery is usually around 99%. Not always though, sometimes it's lower but sometimes I use it on break.
Anyways the point is I kept calling customer support again and again and again until they fixed it. I didn't settle for this "We will have someone call you back within 72 hours bs". I also installed auto pilot and tweaked with the settings until it gave me results I was happy with. Now I'm very happy with the battery life of my phone and the performance of the 3g network which works really well here. 99% of the time I'm on wifi though.
I hope this helps someone. Auto Pilot is free too.
I did notice the battery would drain really fast. When I was inside of my work or at home, the phone wouldn't get very good reception at all. I was noticing high power usage by cell standby and low % of time connttced. I installed an ap called auto pilot which switches the plane into airplane mode when the signal strength gets below a threashhold. Now when I walk out of work at the end of the day my battery is usually around 99%. Not always though, sometimes it's lower but sometimes I use it on break.
Anyways the point is I kept calling customer support again and again and again until they fixed it. I didn't settle for this "We will have someone call you back within 72 hours bs". I also installed auto pilot and tweaked with the settings until it gave me results I was happy with. Now I'm very happy with the battery life of my phone and the performance of the 3g network which works really well here. 99% of the time I'm on wifi though.
I hope this helps someone. Auto Pilot is free too.
i usually pull 12+ hours even with time without signal being high when i plug it in the battery tends to be around 30%
right now i'm at 10 hours and 64% cell standby is at 31% with 0% twos
i have also changed my weather apps to use network location instead of gps not sure if that made a difference since i find nothing but conflicting info on which uses less battery
right now i'm at 10 hours and 64% cell standby is at 31% with 0% twos
i have also changed my weather apps to use network location instead of gps not sure if that made a difference since i find nothing but conflicting info on which uses less battery