Help Battery drain on new firmware 3.2.1

[fldude99]

There appears to be no doubt that the new firmware prevents the tablet from going to "sleep". It seems to be related to the wifi "improvement'. Using cpuspy, the only time mine will now sleep is when manually turning off wifi and rebooting. In addition, setting wifi to turn off when screen turns off has no effect. Hopefully Asus has taken note of this. Other forums have posted this, so hopefully it will be corrected in the near future. Meantime, battery drain is significant when idle. I lose about 35% overnight when it's just sitting undocked.

 

[fldude99]

After perusing other forums, this seems to now be a "feature" of the Transformer, and not a bug. Very annoying

 

[Podivin]

I don't know that we can pin the problem solely on the new firmware. From what *I* am seeing on my TF, it's probably a combination of firmware/apps/widgets that's causing the battery drain problem.

My TF is on the new firmware, not rooted, the wifi sleep policy is set to 'never when plugged in', I don't have any widgets on the home screen and I do not use active wallpaper.
It's been off the charger for about 20 hours with very little use, and the charge is at 85%. CPU Spy shows that it's spent 77% of it's time in deep sleep.

I'd look to either a widget or active wall paper causing the drain. I used to keep a weather widget on the home screen but it caused the battery to drain a little faster, and I usually check the weather by using my phone anyway, so I took it off TF home screen.

I tried a couple of different active wallpapers and they REALLY drain the battery, to the tune of about 60% per day when the TF is not in use. That is way to 'active' for me so I went back to a static wallpaper.

 

[Shocky]

Ahh so this is why I keep finding my battery completely dead in mornings, nice one Asus.

 

[Stuntman]

The battery drain for me started once I upgraded to the latest firmware. I used to be able to go a few days to a week without charging my tablet. Now it seems I need to charge it every other day.

 

[jerarts]

I've found that if I run this app to automatically put the device in airplane mode when the screen is off, AND I keep the device undocked when not using it AND I reboot every time after undocking, then my battery life is pretty much what it what pre-firmware update.

Kind of a pain, but at least it keeps me from throwing away my TF while I wait for Asus to come out with a fix.

 

[eddiewawa]

agreed battery drain was minimal when @3.2, but 3.2.1 has a notable drain in idle mode. horrible degredation and shows lack of proper UAT testing before releasing a pointless update containing an app...whoopiee....

 

[chimphappyhour]

It's definitely firmware related. Before the update, I could go days without even thinking of charging. Now, with no use on my part the dock and tablet will drain to 0 in less than 24 hours. I'm not quite sure where the issue is though. I'm thinking something with the wi-fi when it makes a connection. At work, there is nothing for it to automatically connect to. At home, it does connect to my network automatically and that's where I notice the quickest drain. Definitely not a happy camper. Hoping the fix this soon. (I doubt it but we can hope.)

 

[mbob63]

It's definitely firmware related. Before the update, I could go days without even thinking of charging. Now, with no use on my part the dock and tablet will drain to 0 in less than 24 hours. I'm not quite sure where the issue is though. I'm thinking something with the wi-fi when it makes a connection. At work, there is nothing for it to automatically connect to. At home, it does connect to my network automatically and that's where I notice the quickest drain. Definitely not a happy camper. Hoping the fix this soon. (I doubt it but we can hope.)

I have observed the same problem. I only charged my TF every three to four days. Now I have to charge it every night. I have not been able to discover what the specific problem is either. I wish I had 3.2 again not 3.21. I'm hoping for a quick fix. I hope I don't have to wait months for 4.0.

 

[heinzelchen]

I have observed the same problem. I only charged my TF every three to four days. Now I have to charge it every night. I have not been able to discover what the specific problem is either. I wish I had 3.2 again not 3.21. I'm hoping for a quick fix. I hope I don't have to wait months for 4.0.

Hi,

I had exactly the same problem. The tablet was discharged over night in standby mode after the update 3.2.1. (Before, I could use it a week without charging)

My solution:
1. After charging the TF and the dock, disconnect it from the power adaptor.
2. Switch off the TF. Not the standby mode - it has to be a shutdown.
3. Switch it on again. Now the sleepmode is working again.
4. ... using the tablet (10 hours of work and much more hours in standby) ...
5. Charge and proceed with step 1.

It seems to be, that the tablet has a problem to differ charging with the
power adaptor and charging from the dock.
After rebooting it seems to work. But the next time, a power connector is plugged in, the same bug will appear.
So my way is rebooting after charging. It is a little bit annoying but much better than before.

Greetings from Germany,
Gerhard

 

[Stuntman]

I noticed some eratic behaviour in the way the battery discharges as of late. I haven't narrowed down to what is causing it. I do notice that sometimes my battery widget doesn't remember what my keyboard dock's battery level is from time to time after the lastest firmware update.

 

[Stuntman]

It seemed that after my Eee Pad drained completely, it is not draining as fast anymore. I found my Eee Pad drained completely one day as I could not even turn it on. I then charged it up. Now the battery seems to be draining as it did before the firmware upgrade. I hope this continues.

 

[fldude99]

Anybody with a transformer on the new 3.2.1 firmware needs to read this thread, it expains what's happening instead of trying to figure it out..smart heads over there on xda: Terrible battery life after 3.2.1 update. - xda-developers

 

[eddiewawa]

That was a long read lol Well my tablet is working fine on its own so far without the dock. With the dock i am experiencing the same issues as the other guys, i.e. the darn thing doesnt go into sleep mode at all. Its just frustrating that i have to reboot everytime i use the dock and close the lid...blummin asus,sort it out!!!

 

[mbob63]

Hi,

I had exactly the same problem. The tablet was discharged over night in standby mode after the update 3.2.1. (Before, I could use it a week without charging)

My solution:
1. After charging the TF and the dock, disconnect it from the power adaptor.
2. Switch off the TF. Not the standby mode - it has to be a shutdown.
3. Switch it on again. Now the sleepmode is working again.
4. ... using the tablet (10 hours of work and much more hours in standby) ...
5. Charge and proceed with step 1.

It seems to be, that the tablet has a problem to differ charging with the
power adaptor and charging from the dock.
After rebooting it seems to work. But the next time, a power connector is plugged in, the same bug will appear.
So my way is rebooting after charging. It is a little bit annoying but much better than before.

Greetings from Germany,
Gerhard

Gerhard,

Thank you for the solution.

 

[Stuntman]

Hi,

I had exactly the same problem. The tablet was discharged over night in standby mode after the update 3.2.1. (Before, I could use it a week without charging)

My solution:
1. After charging the TF and the dock, disconnect it from the power adaptor.
2. Switch off the TF. Not the standby mode - it has to be a shutdown.
3. Switch it on again. Now the sleepmode is working again.
4. ... using the tablet (10 hours of work and much more hours in standby) ...
5. Charge and proceed with step 1.

It seems to be, that the tablet has a problem to differ charging with the
power adaptor and charging from the dock.
After rebooting it seems to work. But the next time, a power connector is plugged in, the same bug will appear.
So my way is rebooting after charging. It is a little bit annoying but much better than before.

Greetings from Germany,
Gerhard

It does seem to be the keyboard dock that is causing the battery drain. I notice that rebooting does fix the issue. The dock used to only cause the drain when connected. Now it happens even after disconnecting until I reboot.

 

[Lucky Armpit]

I don't have the keyboard dock... and my battery life seems unchanged after 3.2.1.

 

[fldude99]

I don't have the keyboard dock... and my battery life seems unchanged after 3.2.1.

That confirms what everybody's been pretty much saying

 

[meemoo752]

I haven't had my TF very long. I have enjoyed using it so much that I went out and traded in my iPhone for an HTC Inspire. It is also an Android. It didn't take long for me to realize how wonderful the Android os is and how creative I can be with it. However one of the things I noticed right off is the amount of battery drain that took place when certain apps were running on the TF and the Inspire. I discovered an app call Juice Defender Ultimate, read the reviews and decided to give it a go. Much to my surprise I found it helped keep the battery on my phone last all day with plenty of "juice" remaining when I was ready to plug it in at night. After the firmware update on my TF I also noticed the increased battery drain and decided to see if Juice Defender Ultimate would work. WAAALAAA!!! It works!!! I have the settings on "agressive" and have found that the TF's battery is back up and running like it did before the update....
Until Asus fixes whatever happened, I'm going to stick with this wonderful app...


Life is not about finding yourself...it is about creating yourself

 

[eddiewawa]

I haven't had my TF very long. I have enjoyed using it so much that I went out and traded in my iPhone for an HTC Inspire. It is also an Android. It didn't take long for me to realize how wonderful the Android os is and how creative I can be with it. However one of the things I noticed right off is the amount of battery drain that took place when certain apps were running on the TF and the Inspire. I discovered an app call Juice Defender Ultimate, read the reviews and decided to give it a go. Much to my surprise I found it helped keep the battery on my phone last all day with plenty of "juice" remaining when I was ready to plug it in at night. After the firmware update on my TF I also noticed the increased battery drain and decided to see if Juice Defender Ultimate would work. WAAALAAA!!! It works!!! I have the settings on "agressive" and have found that the TF's battery is back up and running like it did before the update....
Until Asus fixes whatever happened, I'm going to stick with this wonderful app...


Life is not about finding yourself...it is about creating yourself

sorry to ask but this is with the Dock connected right?

 

[meemoo752]

Honestly, I have not noticed. I don't use the dock unless I am writing up a document and need the use of a traditional keyboard. What I have noticed is that the dock will charge the tablet's battery if need be. Generally, I will carry the tablet alone when I am out and about and/or keep them seperate so the tablet does not drain the dock's battery as a charging resource instead of plugging it into an AC outlet (which is what I think the dock is designed to do anyway). If this is an issue created by the latest firmware update then Asus needs to fix it. Using Juice Defender Ultimate was my solution to making the tablet's battery last longer and it seems to work for me.

 

[Stuntman]

The other thing that I did was set the WiFi to disconnect when the screen was off. I didn't need to do this prior to the latest firmware upgrade. I use the dock whenever I plan to do a lot of typing then I disconnect it. So far with the WiFi set to disconnect and undocking the tablet, the battery life seems to be pretty good so far.

 

[fldude99]

**NEWSFLASH** There is an update available in the market for the dual battery widget and it specifically states a fix for the TF dock 0% battery mode. This app could have been the drain culprit the entire time since 3.2.1

 

[LatinHeat]

The strangest thing happened: I was going on a trip for a week so charged my TF to 100% with its Dock connected (so both TF + Dock charged to 100%). Then disconnected TF and powered it off and left it on my desk (I wanted it to be fully charged to use it once I returned).

Once I came back from my trip, and powered it back on, it warned me that I only had 4% battery power left!!! How is that even possible, the TF was Off this entire time??? Did the Dock Keyboard stay on, and acted like a "power vampire", even when the TF was turned off?

(The only thing it was connected to was the Dock Keyboard)

 

[Stuntman]

**NEWSFLASH** There is an update available in the market for the dual battery widget and it specifically states a fix for the TF dock 0% battery mode. This app could have been the drain culprit the entire time since 3.2.1

I think that the fix just ensures that the old battery level is displayed properly on the widget. I noticed that since 3.2.1, the dual battery widget sometimes forgets the battery level of the dock when undocked. The new update fixes it.

I still seem to have inconsistent battery drain issues with the Eee Pad after the update to the dual battery widget. It doesn't seem to be very consistent. It happens whether it is docked or not and even after a reboot. Sometimes it drains fast, sometimes, it doesn't. Sometimes it drains fast and then it stops draining.