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Help And... It's dead.

D

Dagnis

Lurker
Ever since I updated to 4.0.4 my bionic dies ridiculously fast now. I have to charge it 1-2 times a day and make sure I turn it off at night or it will die (I've literally had it at 100% one night and forgot to and the next morning it was already down to 75%). In the past I restricted it to 3g to save battery and was able to last 2 days comfortably. However, even after attempting to use an app (LTE onoff) and forcing the phone to use 3g, it still dies in 8 hours of varied use. I checked my battery usage and 60% of it is the OS, which is kinda crazy when it's sitting there doing nothing. Is there any way I can go back to what I previously had OS wise? (Maybe a factory reset will do it? dunno because it was such a big update) I really don't feel like I gained anything in the update but instead lost most of my battery..

Thank you for your time, sorry if something like this was previously posted but I couldn't find anything via the search function.
 
Did you do a Factory Data Reset after upgrading to ICS? It is highly recommended that everyone do so to stop "odd ball" compatibility problems. The upgrade is roughly equivalent to applying a gigantic patch to go from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Second step ... perhaps you are using an app no that you were not using in the past and it is eating battery?

Third ... I have noticed that GPS eats battery quickly and leave it turned off unless I am running an app that needs it.

... Thom
 
When you update to ICS did you do a factory Data Reset? An FDR will reset set your phone to a factory state but cure a lot of the issues that were caused coming from GB to ICS ( battery drain is one of them). How long have you had yout Bionic and is the battery the original one that came with it?

Looks like Thom beat me to it by a second. :)
 
I've had my Bionic for abouts a year now (I got it when it came out), and i'm using the same battery. I didn't have these issues until AFTER the update. I keep gps and wifi off at all times because I dont' use them. The app I use was an attempt to save battery by restricting the phone to 3g instead of 4g (the new os forces 4g on you and doesn't give you the option to go 3g). I didn't do a factory reset in the past because I didn't know to before the update. Are you saying that if I do a factory reset with ICS (4.0.4) it will take it back to GB or simply fix the battery problem and keep me on ICS?
 
There is no way for me to tell what is causing your problem.

The Factory Data Reset will get rid of the data and apps that you installed on the Bionic. You then get to reinstall all the apps and may find that a few are not ICS compatible. It will essentially get rid of the "junk" and you will start with a clean slate.

I have had ZERO problems since upgrading to ICS and doing a Factory Data Reset. Everyone who has topped by here with problems (except two) have had them corrected after they did the Factory Data Reset that they had not done after the ICS update.

The other two were due to hardware problems and device age (or possible external damage).

The Factory Data Reset will not return you to Gingerbread.

... Thom
 
Noted. and ty. Will making sure my contacts are "backup assistant+ contact" save my contacts or shall I right them down to ensure they are kept?
 
I don't know your situation.

I run my contacts and calendar from Outlook on my Windows 7 workstation to the Gmail server and then they are synced to my Bionic.

This works great for calendar. Change calendar on either device and it is reflected on the other.

This is clunky for contacts. I export contacts to a file on Windows 7 and import them to Gmail. They are then synced to my Bionic.

I have about 700 contacts there.

... Thom
 
Probably makes sense.

Consider a strategy to use in the future. Jelly Bean is coming for the Bionic sometime this year and a Factory Data Reset after upgrading to it will also be recommended.

... Thom
 
One last thing: consider charging the phone overnight while you are sleeping. I never understand why people do not do this. It's not going to ruin or hurt the battery to leave on charge while the phone is fully charged. You can also charge while the phone is powered off. This lets you start the day with a full charge.

Also, it's also certainly *possible* that the battery pack is starting to fail. I'm not sure how many charging cycles the Bionic's battery is rated for, but after more than a full year of use it's possible that it's time for a new battery.
 
I totally agree. I never turn my Bionic off. When I turn in at night I put it on the wall charger and cable that came with it. I never have a problem with loosing charge.

I have a Droid X that I use now only for testing. It is not enabled for voice or data ... only Fifi. It is about three years old. It will hold a charge for about 30 minutes.

... Thom
 
I just tested the charge capability last night. Left it around 12:45am my time, and now it's 10:35am. Only went down from 40 to 20%. It appears the reset did indeed fix the battery problem while the phone is idle. Oh, and that was while it was in 4g. 27% of the battery is phone idle, and another 21 is cell standby. Just as it should look. Do you think redownloading that LTE onoff app and forcing my phone to 3g might make it last longer? Or do you have another method at hand?
 
I recommend that you go slow.

You had a problem in the past. It was likely corrected with the Factory Data Reset. Give it time. See what happens.

It is quite possible that some app you install is causing a battery problem. The easiest way to find it is to gradually install apps over a few days and verify that it remains stable.

The only battery draw I have noticed on my Bionic is GPS if it is left fully enabled all the time.

I was 3G-Only for a long time and got 4G Christmas Eve (thank you Verizon). It is a monumental improvement. I don't see where turning it off will help battery except in one case ... they are working on the tower in your area and switching 3G and 4G off and on and you are scanning and rescanning and rescanning.

Are others in your area reporting a 4G-related problem?

I just put my Bionic on the charger as the last thing before turning in each night.

If there are still battery problems ... how old is the battery?

... Thom
 
Even better: Try enabling WiFi and connecting to WiFi instead.

My WiFi (spec N) connection allows my BIONIC running ICS a full 48 hours without a charge when idling. On 4G I'll get about 15.

If you have Wireless G it may not be as good with the battery life, and if your router is further away from your phone than, say, 20 feet, it may strain it as well.

Other things to look at would be things like Smart Actions, to put the phone in night mode during the night so it is not running near as many background processes at night (when it does not need to).
 
The WiFi downside ... my router is 4 feet from my Bionic and is on a DSL line. The measured download speeds are ...

WiFi - 4 Mbps
4G - 22 Mbps

... Thom
 
Granted, if your home connection is not very fast, then it makes for a problematic speed issue. However, if your home connection is better than 10 Mbps it's pretty safe bet to say that you'll get a lot more out of it on WiFi than on 4G. While it would take about twice as long on WiFi to download the battery savings would be more than twice as much, giving your more than twice the life.
 
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