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Help Android OS & suspend process eating my battery

mahers

mahers

Android Expert
Hi All!!

I got my Razr Maxx 2 weeks ago and have had the worst battery life ever. I came from a Droid X with an extended battery that lasted much longer than the Maxx's, which is ridiculous. I have the same apps running, but for some reason, my Maxx is getting nowhere near what it's supposed to. I am not a power user. I use it mostly for some surfing, checking emails, a few texts, 1-2 short calls, and some Words with Friends. While it does last until the end of the day, I see/read/hear about folks using theirs for 1.5 days or more without charging it.

I tried to investigate what was going on and here's what I found and need help with:
Per the battery usage, Android OS is usually the top or second most drain at a minimum of 20%. I never saw that above 3-4% with my DX.
Per Watchdog, the Linux process "suspend" is using up almost 50% cpu when the phone is just sitting there.

It HAS to be a rougue app keeping the phone awake, but I don't know which one. Like I said, my DX had the same apps but lasted much longer.

Already did a Factory Reset, and did NOT allow Google to use my saved settings as I heard that was one cause. I turned off updates to WWF and my Unlock with Wifi apps to see if it matters, but so far, it doesn't.

Any ideas? I love the phone, but worrying about the battery was the last thing I expected!!!!!!:mad:
 
I would suggest you follow this guide to see what is wrong with your handset:

[GUIDE][NOT SPAM] Enlarge your battery life : an attempt to fix the battery drain - xda-developers

Personally I think this is a very good guide for your problems (you can ignore the battery calibration part if you don't have root). To be honest, I am really surprised to hear that the Droid Razr Maxx has poorer battery life than Droid X. If I am not wrong, there is no phone out there with better battery life than the Droid Razr Maxx.
 
huy_lonewolf, thanks for pointing out that thread. It's ayear old, but there may be some tips in there I can use. I am rooted and have calibrated the battery. I've even run it down to nothing twice! No help. This "suspend" process is the culprit, but what's behind it, I can't seem to figure it out. Even if I got a new phone and put all my apps on it, I'd get the same results unless my OS is defective:rolleyes:
 
That guide is not only about battery calibration (which will not help if your phone is not wrongly calibrated), it is actually about a systematic way to spot rouge apps by monitoring your battery behavior (most currents on idle), so you can start uninstalling apps one by one to find the culprit. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think that there is any other way to deal with this.
 
I don't think there is a direct way, but if I find the damn app that's causing it, it's G O N E!!!
 
Something is clearly wrong. I just got 5 days on a single charge, with lots and lots of screen time, app loading, etc. Yes, I turned off at night, but was running at least 12-hr days (lots of WiFi time, little 4G time). You should certainly get more than a single day out of it.
Please post what you find when you get this resolved.
 
The battery life of my Maxx blows away what I was getting on my X (which was getting worse and worse with time). Last night when I went to bed I was still over 70% after being unplugged over 14 hours. I don't have anything to add to research, but good luck!
 
Well, so far, I've found that several others see the "suspend" activity, but no one seems to be able to pinpoint the cause. It's been mentioned that Google knows about this but hasn't issued a fix, but I find it impossible for that to be true, otherwise, we would all have the same issue. Now, if Google knows that some apps can exploit this and won't issue a fix to control apps gone bad, THAT I will believe.

I've added a couple of apps to monitor wtf is going on, but I was really hoping for someone to jump on here and say, "It's this, you dummy!" Hell, I'll take the heat if it's something simple, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 
So overnight, I fully charged the phone, got up at 3AM to unplug it. Left WiFi off, so it was just running on 4G. By 6:30AM, it was down to 95%. With the apps I used to monitor the drain, this is what I got:



Kernel Wakelocks - top 4:
  • alarm_rtc 413 instances
  • ehci_wakelock 267 instances
  • PowerManagerService 1336 instances
  • oob-wake 124 instances
Partial Wakelocks - top 3:
  • AlarmManager 1149 instances
  • ActivityManager-Launch 89 instances
  • IMS_Lock 11 instances
suspend was active for over 16 minutes. Also, about 5:30, the suspend process triggered an alert for cpu use at 78.5%!!!! Is there a bug in my phone, or is it an app gone crazy? If the former, I need to exchange it. If the latter, I need help identifying the culprit.
 
mahers said:
So overnight, I fully charged the phone, got up at 3AM to unplug it. Left WiFi off, so it was just running on 4G. By 6:30AM, it was down to 95%. With the apps I used to monitor the drain, this is what I got:



Kernel Wakelocks - top 4:
  • alarm_rtc 413 instances
  • ehci_wakelock 267 instances
  • PowerManagerService 1336 instances
  • oob-wake 124 instances
Partial Wakelocks - top 3:
  • AlarmManager 1149 instances
  • ActivityManager-Launch 89 instances
  • IMS_Lock 11 instances
suspend was active for over 16 minutes. Also, about 5:30, the suspend process triggered an alert for cpu use at 78.5%!!!! Is there a bug in my phone, or is it an app gone crazy? If the former, I need to exchange it. If the latter, I need help identifying the culprit.
Click to expand...

get an app called "cpu spy" from the market. Your phone needs to deep sleep when screen is off. i think an app is keeping your cpu alive like crazy! How good is your 4G signal? low 4g signals will destroy your battery life like crazy too
 
My 4G is pretty good. I've got Bad Ass Battery Monitor, Battery Monitor Widget, and BetterBatteryStats checking out what's going on, but they don't point to a specific app. They all tell me suspend is killing me, and a bunch of wakelocks hitting, but again, no specific apps. I'm uninstalling ones I think are responsible, but no luck so far. Dammit!
 
mahers said:
My 4G is pretty good. I've got Bad Ass Battery Monitor, Battery Monitor Widget, and BetterBatteryStats checking out what's going on, but they don't point to a specific app. They all tell me suspend is killing me, and a bunch of wakelocks hitting, but again, no specific apps. I'm uninstalling ones I think are responsible, but no luck so far. Dammit!
Click to expand...

screen unlock sound is a known wakelock.
Turn off auto sync, use manual display to low.
It has to be a setting or an app keeping your cpu awake. My phone on average will deep sleep 80% of the time if im at work.
 
I can confirm by using watchdog that the suspend process is causing this. I'm seeing it on my phone, too. However, I think I've found a place where someone has found the cause:

FIX and INVESTIGATION: Android OS (battery drain) problem on Gingerbread - xda-developers

The clicking on the link that follows the paragraph in red that starts with Investigation closed we come to:

xda-developers - View Single Post - FIX and INVESTIGATION: Android OS (battery drain) problem on Gingerbread

It talks about possible problems with third party drivers not dealing with interrupts properly and other problems.

Maybe I'll start deleting apps from my phone one by one and see if there is one that is causing this.

Charlie
 
CharlieD,
I've suspected all along that suspend is being used by an app that wants to keep waking up the device for some update. Which one? I have no clue. I have deleted some apps and frozen others, but it seems to still be happening. I've posted this on the Moto forum in hopes they can assist, but one "moto expert" says it's because I'm rooted. How does that matter? Beats me, but I'm not unrooting it!

Let us know if you find something!
 
mahers said:
one "moto expert" says it's because I'm rooted. How does that matter? Beats me, but I'm not unrooting it!

Let us know if you find something!
Click to expand...

Well, I'm not rooted so that's not the reason!

Just deleted the facebook app since that was the most active after suspend according to watchdog. I'll let it cook for a while and see what happens.

Charlie
 
Yeah, they're full of it. But as soon as they know you're rooted, they use that as the reason for the issue and the excuse not to help. Anyway, they suggested Lookout could be an issue. I doubt it, but I may try taking it out.
 
mahers said:
Yeah, they're full of it. But as soon as they know you're rooted, they use that as the reason for the issue and the excuse not to help. Anyway, they suggested Lookout could be an issue. I doubt it, but I may try taking it out.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have lookout. I've removed 15 apps so far and the suspend process still takes up a vary large chunk of cpu. I wonder it it's some setting not related to any one app?

I'll keep plugging away tomorrow.

Charlie
 
Yep. Lookout isn't it. I have been deleting stuff that needs constant updates, like Espn and Sportacular, but kept MLB. I also froze lots of bloatware. I seem to be better off today than before, but it's been an out of pattern day today. I'll see the results tomorrow and let you know as well. Let's get this figured out!!
 
Found an interesting post at:

[Q] More info on the Android OS bug. Suspend process , wakelocks and battery life. - xda-developers

It mentions this is a know bug in kernel version 2.6.35 and is supposed to be fixed in 2.6.37. Our phone have the .35 kernel. (Settings -> About Phone). It would be interesting to see if the rumored update that is coming "Real Soon Now" will update the kernel.

It still says that the cause is one or more apps that do not interface correctly with suspend and wakelocks.
 
Charlie, sounds right. Basically, without reading that link yet, an app or apps don't play nice with the wakelocks. I believe it because I didn't load anything new on my Maxx that wasn't on my DX.
The Moto folks showed me an app called App Dragon that will list all installed apps. If you want, we can compare to see if we have any in common. We can do it here or via PM. Let me know what you think.
 
mahers said:
The Moto folks showed me an app called App Dragon that will list all installed apps. If you want, we can compare to see if we have any in common. We can do it here or via PM. Let me know what you think.
Click to expand...

Installed app dragon and sent you a PM with the list. Included my home email address. Feel free to reply there.

Charlie
 
biggiesmalls657 said:
what did you guys get? I have it too.
Click to expand...

Still working on it. I'm deleting my apps one by one and letting it sleep for a while after each one is deleted. Then I wake it up and check what processes are running with watchdog. I've got a hunch it's more than one app. The last few apps I've deleted, it's taken longer for the suspend process to pop to the top of the list.

I had found earlier today a report of this as a known bug in the android kernel 2.6.35 (which is the current kernel on the phone). It said it was fixed in 2.6.37. We'll have to see what happens when the next update arrives (it is coming, right? Hasn't the soak test been going on the last several days?) or even ICS if that ever gets here. BTW, this appears to be a problem on more than just the Maxx.
 
biggiesmalls657,

So far, the apps I uninstalled are the following:
Sports Insights
GetJar
eBay (notifications turned off, but app kept sending wakelocks??)
At the Ballpark
4Shared
SMS Backup & Restore
CalendarSnooze
CircleLauncer Light (why does a folder app need to keep the phone awake???)
Mr. Number
Sportacular (I put this one back this morning with no ill effects so far)

Unfortunately, the apps we had in common were very limited and unlikely the source. As Charlie stated, it's probably more than one and it's an incompatibility issue with the kernel we have.
 
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