Battery Experiences - POST HERE!

[mzjin]

I too am getting poor battery life... charged it full and then unplugged and went to bed (smart action turns off 3g/4g and keeps wifi on which also shuts off when screens off) and when i woke up 9hrs later i was at 70% got my emails check Facebook and down to 40%. i might have a bad battery possibly but this doesn't seem right. I am charging now going to check 3g battery life but i shouldn't have to shut 4g off since thats why i wanted the phone, i also get good service here in mass, but we will see how it fares today. 33% of my battery (the most) was taking by android os while sleeping though so i could just have a draining phone (i did install go launcher for different themes maybe this is partial reason)


hmmm other then that i absolutely love this phone compared to the old droidx

I don't understand why people leave their phone's WiFi on.... I think this is what kills your battery life. My iPhone 4's battery life certainly runs down at 2-3x the speed if I leave WiFi on.

I bought a Droid Razr and am keeping my iPhone 4 but I'm suspecting it will not behave significantly different in battery usage. The reason is that I NEVER use WiFi - it's pointless when I have unlimited data.

 

[BeastMD]

I don't understand why people leave their phone's WiFi on.... I think this is what kills your battery life. My iPhone 4's battery life certainly runs down at 2-3x the speed if I leave WiFi on.

I bought a Droid Razr and am keeping my iPhone 4 but I'm suspecting it will not behave significantly different in battery usage. The reason is that I NEVER use WiFi - it's pointless when I have unlimited data.

Wifi uses significantly less power than the 3g/4g radio's.

 

[mzjin]

Wifi uses significantly less power than the 3g/4g radio's.

That's nice, if you were actually using it. Otherwise, then you'd just be walking around with an extra radio on for no purpose (your Cell radio is always going to be on because you do want to receive texts and calls right?).

 

[BeastMD]

That's nice, if you were actually using it. Otherwise, then you'd just be walking around with an extra radio on for no purpose (your Cell radio is always going to be on because you do want to receive texts and calls right?).

Since 3g/4g is only used for Data currently, while it may be on it is in a low power state unless you or a program are using it. So it may need to be on to periodically check for an incoming call or text, wifi will do all of the data transactions for everything else and again it uses significantly less power.

Put any modern smart phone on wifi and you will see a huge jump in battery life.

In my experience leaving wifi on all of the time(even with no wifi access available) has little to no noticeable effect on battery life.

 

[sorka]

Bummer about the battery life. I had high hopes for this phone when I read the specs a month ago that this would finally be a phone that could replace my droid x. The main thing being battery life. I bought my DX because of it's battery life and with moderate use easily go a full 24 hours before it dies. On rare occasions when I haven't used it for anything but a phone, it's lasted 3 days.

Anyone out there with the RAZR coming off a DX that can compare? I couldn't live with an android phone that has less battery life than the DX.

 

[Martimus]

Bummer about the battery life. I had high hopes for this phone when I read the specs a month ago that this would finally be a phone that could replace my droid x. The main thing being battery life. I bought my DX because of it's battery life and with moderate use easily go a full 24 hours before it dies. On rare occasions when I haven't used it for anything but a phone, it's lasted 3 days.

Anyone out there with the RAZR coming off a DX that can compare? I couldn't live with an android phone that has less battery life than the DX.

There are quite a few of us former DX'ers who now own Droid Razr's. Poor battery life seems to happen for some but not for others. The biggest battery drain can frequently be the 4G radio but this problem is evident on most every current 4G smartphone available.

To help remedy battery issues, configure Motorola provided tools like Smart Actions.

 

[vnyislesv]

I too am getting poor battery life... charged it full and then unplugged and went to bed (smart action turns off 3g/4g and keeps wifi on which also shuts off when screens off) and when i woke up 9hrs later i was at 70% got my emails check Facebook and down to 40%. i might have a bad battery possibly but this doesn't seem right. I am charging now going to check 3g battery life but i shouldn't have to shut 4g off since thats why i wanted the phone, i also get good service here in mass, but we will see how it fares today. 33% of my battery (the most) was taking by android os while sleeping though so i could just have a draining phone (i did install go launcher for different themes maybe this is partial reason)

hmmm other then that i absolutely love this phone compared to the old droidx

I charged it last night around 1230am, unplugged it. Woke up to 2 dogs jumping on me around 930am... battery was 87%. 9pm, its at 69%. Light usage but still good, if not very good.

Tomorrow will be a test though, at work, in and out of coolers/freezers, the phone will be working HARD to get a signal.

We'll see, its the first day at 100% starting the day off at work.

 

[scguy29464]

Since 3g/4g is only used for Data currently, while it may be on it is in a low power state unless you or a program are using it. So it may need to be on to periodically check for an incoming call or text, wifi will do all of the data transactions for everything else and again it uses significantly less power.

Put any modern smart phone on wifi and you will see a huge jump in battery life.

In my experience leaving wifi on all of the time(even with no wifi access available) has little to no noticeable effect on battery life.

I'm using the Smart Actions for a few things...

When the phone detects my home WiFi network, it shuts off celluar data.

When it no longer senses my home network, it turns data back on, as well as Bluetooth, to connect to my car speakerphone. When it has a positive connection to my car speakerphone, it shuts WiFi off.

Working now to figure out how to get it to turn WiFi back on... several ways, when bluetooth connection isn't there, and if it senses my home network, turn bluetooth off...

Anyway, back to the point, started at 100% at 9:15 this morning, and down to 70% right now... several txt messages, a few calls, I'd call it light usage, but I did travel around some today. I think the battery is great coming from a Droid Incredible to a Droid Charge, and now the RAZR.

 

[vr4]

This info was true in Nickel cadmium batteries but does not necessarily apply to Lithium based batteries.

Lithium based batteries are ready at birth and do not need priming, formatting or calibrating. There are those who believe that battery performance increases after a couple of cycles but I'm not sure I believe that since it contradicts the science in the way the battery works.

Any increase in battery performance after a few charge cycles is likely the battery meter being calibrated enabling the phone to more accurately read the battery's charge. Coupled with the "newness" factor being gone after a few days, phone usage tends to be a bit less, therefore battery life appears to increase.

Battery Information Table of Contents, Basic to Advanced

Noticed it with my droid x both when I first got it and a few months later when I got the extended battery.

 

[motorazr]

hey guys

i'm new here and just wondering if this is possible...

im picking up my razr tomorrow and its gonna be my first smartphone ever. i read here that you guys are turning off 4g. is there a way to turn off 4g and use wi-fi while still getting calls and texts?

i am a college student so on campus and in my dorm room i have excellent wifi reception. the only times i envision myself using 4g is when i go off campus or something like that. so is it possible to turn off 4g in my room and use wifi for internet access? will i be able to make calls and send texts and stuff if i have 4g disabled?

pls help! thnx =D

 

[Martimus]

hey guys

i'm new here and just wondering if this is possible...

im picking up my razr tomorrow and its gonna be my first smartphone ever. i read here that you guys are turning off 4g. is there a way to turn off 4g and use wi-fi while still getting calls and texts?

i am a college student so on campus and in my dorm room i have excellent wifi reception. the only times i envision myself using 4g is when i go off campus or something like that. so is it possible to turn off 4g in my room and use wifi for internet access? will i be able to make calls and send texts and stuff if i have 4g disabled?

pls help! thnx =D

Turning off 4G while making calls and sending text messages is most definitely possible! Once you have your WiFi SSID programmed into the phone you can go into Smart Actions and tell it to automatically turn off "Cellular Data" when you're connected to your WiFi network. And if you define a default profile in Smart Actions with Cellular Data enabled, it'll automatically turn itself back on when you disconnect from WiFi.

 

[cereal killer]

7.5 hours Moderate to heavy use, 4G all day no Wi-fi.

I'm fine with that

 

[Szadzik]

Light usage all day yesterday and airplane mode at night and in the morning it was at 40%

 

[jroc]

I hate chiming in until I can get in a better reception area for some extended time periods....

16 hours with some 4G and Wifi. Out in the streets used 4G, at home used Wifi for 10 hours. Was in the streets for about 4 hours, used some Tap a Talk type apps: Phandroid and Droidforums apps. Used Tango at home for about a 10 minute video call.

Display on for 3 hours, battery at 15% as I type this.

Now...I did setup some Smart Action settings when I got home that disabled data. I believe that had to help some. And I turned the display down to about 50% and dimmed it some more using the Display power saver option.

I also rooted and used SetCPU to underclock to 1Ghz. I dont know if it really helped tho. I did so much at one time to try to see something with battery life...lol. Again, me being in a bad reception area doesnt help trying to gauge my battery life, unless I turn off 4G and compare it to my Droid X1.

And like trophynuts said in his thread...I wouldnt recommend rooting until an sbf and recovery option comes available. I just walk on the wild side at times...lol

EDIT: forgot to mention I used MotoCast on 4G for a few minutes showing it to someone.

 

[mzjin]

Since 3g/4g is only used for Data currently, while it may be on it is in a low power state unless you or a program are using it. So it may need to be on to periodically check for an incoming call or text, wifi will do all of the data transactions for everything else and again it uses significantly less power.

Put any modern smart phone on wifi and you will see a huge jump in battery life.

In my experience leaving wifi on all of the time(even with no wifi access available) has little to no noticeable effect on battery life.

Um, no you will not. The iPad 2 had a test done on it and it gained 2 hours from WiFi only usage versus 3G only usage (torture test - worst case scenario). AT best, you will have a 20% increase in battery life versus actually USING 3G only.

Now having WiFi on with your 3G on without any WiFi service available is just stupid, it will constantly search for WiFi signal and drain your battery.

For the record, my iPhone 4 just went from 100% to 97% after 9 hours of idle - it pushed data through the night (like you would WANT it to) but it's on silent mode - all services except WiFi and Bluetooth are on.

 

[mzjin]

Turning off 4G while making calls and sending text messages is most definitely possible! Once you have your WiFi SSID programmed into the phone you can go into Smart Actions and tell it to automatically turn off "Cellular Data" when you're connected to your WiFi network. And if you define a default profile in Smart Actions with Cellular Data enabled, it'll automatically turn itself back on when you disconnect from WiFi.

Normally a Verizon phone would switch to 1x RTT when on a phone call (texts come through but nothing else), I assume it does the same thing with a 4G phone but leaves 4G radio off unless the user elicits a data request (by attempting to utilize internet or something).

If it doesn't do this automatically, then talk time could be increased if you disable 4G while in a conversation.

 

[BeastMD]

Um, no you will not. The iPad 2 had a test done on it and it gained 2 hours from WiFi only usage versus 3G only usage (torture test - worst case scenario). AT best, you will have a 20% increase in battery life versus actually USING 3G only.

Now having WiFi on with your 3G on without any WiFi service available is just stupid, it will constantly search for WiFi signal and drain your battery.

For the record, my iPhone 4 just went from 100% to 97% after 9 hours of idle - it pushed data through the night (like you would WANT it to) but it's on silent mode - all services except WiFi and Bluetooth are on.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree, I am sure there will be a small increase with wifi off if you are not ever in range. But I have noticed very little difference in my experience with leaving it on all of the time.

Plus I like not having to switch it on and off.

 

[droidcallx]

My battery has gotten sooo much better I am cranking out 9hours until I'm about 20-30% and the is with moderate to heavy usage, 100 texts, pictures, Facebook, mobsters, ebay, web browsing, about 40 emails. I have smart actions like most for when i get home to switch to wifi and shut cellular off, will also be doing this for school (haven't been since i got the phone) and shutting everything off except music when I am in the gym. I will keep chiming in since I was one of the ones complaining about battery life at first.


There is hope if you know how to use the phone!

 

[jroc]

My battery has gotten sooo much better I am cranking out 9hours until I'm about 20-30% and the is with moderate to heavy usage, 100 texts, pictures, Facebook, mobsters, ebay, web browsing, about 40 emails. I have smart actions like most for when i get home to switch to wifi and shut cellular off, will also be doing this for school (haven't been since i got the phone) and shutting everything off except music when I am in the gym. I will keep chiming in since I was one of the ones complaining about battery life at first.


There is hope if you know how to use the phone!

The battery does seem to be better now after a few days. All in all its looking like the norm for these smartphone these days. Give it a few days to see how battery life really is.

 

[buckhorn24]

I ran an experiment this weekend. Saturday I had it using the wifi all day starting at 9am , a couple of hours of internet radio streaming, a little surfing and by 5pm it was at 50%. Sunday I turned off wifi and ran it on 3g/lte all day and from 9am to 5pm it was down below 20% with very little usage, just sitting in my pocket all day. I guess next weekend I'll turn off the lte and see how 3g does. Hope it gets better with time or they bring out a battery case for it.

It sure is nice to be able to stick it in my back pocket and not worry about sitting down on it and cracking it in half. Suckers built like a tank, which is what I need for long term. Looks great with the shiny silicone case from Verizon.

I did also run a speedtest with the iphone4 and the Razr in our wifi. The iphone4 rated at about 18 mb verses the razr at 12-15 over a few tests.

 

[EarlyMon]

I don't understand why people leave their phone's WiFi on.... I think this is what kills your battery life. My iPhone 4's battery life certainly runs down at 2-3x the speed if I leave WiFi on.

I bought a Droid Razr and am keeping my iPhone 4 but I'm suspecting it will not behave significantly different in battery usage. The reason is that I NEVER use WiFi - it's pointless when I have unlimited data.

That's model dependent and you're not correct in this case.

I have two Androids that I can leave the wifi on all day, along with the other radios, without a decrease in battery life at all, without wifi - and a third that suffers horribly if I do.

You're tending to make generalizations relating things to other phones that sometimes relate and sometimes don't.

Nothing personal, it's a common mistake.

 

[mrjinglesusa]

7 hours, light use. 3G/4G (no Wi-Fi). 70% now.

 

[gunslinger13]

4G? And how much usage?

I am getting something similar. using smart actions.

16 hrs and was down to 50 % at night when i went to sleep

 

[gunslinger13]

ok I noticed that 50 % of battery usage is due to display (mines at 100% always)
so switched my wallpaper to the droid eye with most of it black except the central red eye. I am seeing significant improvement in battery life. Black on super amoled is pixels off (just in case someone dint know) . Can other guys try this out and verify ??? yesterday i had close to 16 hrs with 50 % left at end of day and today it has been 9hrs with battery at 70 % now

 

[chris4x4]

I havent tinkered with the Smart Actions yet, as Im pretty new to these devices, and still learning the phone. Anyway, 12.5 hours off charger, all day with 3g on, no background data, light talking texting. About 20 mins of angry birds, and Golf. 10 mins of maps, and Im at about 65% battery. Display is set to "Auto". Thoughts? Does this seem about right?