Root Battery issues again

[kryptonyt]

That this forum presents us with post that may address our issues is a good thing. Sometimes that means a lot of reading which i am willing to do. That said i thought that i would start this thread by asking if these battery issues on my rooted EVO 4G apply only to rooted phones or would they possibly apply to all Evo's rooted or not?

If they apply to all then do I post only in the rooted forum since that is what i have?

 

[ocnbrze]

That this forum presents us with post that may address our issues is a good thing. Sometimes that means a lot of reading which i am willing to do. That said i thought that i would start this thread by asking if these battery issues on my rooted EVO 4G apply only to rooted phones or would they possibly apply to all Evo's rooted or not?

If they apply to all then do I post only in the rooted forum since that is what i have?

well since you are rooted then there are more ways to troubleshoot your issues then would those that are not rooted.

so can you explain what your issues are? what rom are you on? what kernel are you using? and anything else that you can add to help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[kryptonyt]

well since you are rooted then there are more ways to troubleshoot your issues then would those that are to rooted.

so can you explain what your issues are? what rom are you on? what kernel are you using? and anything else that you can add to help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey OB,

I need to write down, maybe add to my profile the answer to this question about my ROM and Kernel. I find myself going back to that first post of mine when I was having a multitude of problems to find the answers to the ROM and Kernel question. So this is what I picked up from that post:
4.24.651.1 Odexed not sure about the kernel. Maybe there is an app or a simple way to use my phone to quickly and simply find the answer to those questions.

But let me tell you what's been happening:

1 in one of my other posts about battery issues my long lasting battery behavior seemed to suddenly change. It was easy to leave my phone on for a couple of days or more without charging it. It wouldn't be hard to figure out that I do not use my phone as much as most smartphone user; not into games ( angry birds every once in a while ) I don't use active backgrounds etc, and seeing that I haven't had the phone that long it didn't make snse that the battery was getting old or that I was somehow charging it incorrectly. Then a couple of days ago I was told that talking on a phone while it is charging has a way of changing the behavior of the battery. I realized that over the last two months that's exactly what I was doing. So if there is any truth in that at all my guess is that it would effect all phones no matter which ROM or Kernel they have. That is why I asked about where to post the question. But if that is not the case I'm okay with coming to the rooted forum only. I just thought that if this tip is accurate it would be good to share the info with everyone.

2 While reading some of those other posts that popped up when I typed battery into New Post I found out that a green light doesn't necessarily mean that the battery is charged to 100%. I have this app that is called Android System Info which showed me that I was only charging to about 70%. So I got back to doing what I was doing when I was getting the long last battery life which was to turn the phone off completely and charging it over night. That gave me back some of the battery endurance. But I think that whatever it is that I did changed the battery;s ability to hold the charge. In fact this is interesting since it happened since I started looking for the ROM info.
The phone was turned off around 9PM with 69 % "level". This 69% was left over from yesterday morning when I turned it on after a full night of charge and a 100% lvel. I made one phone call that was about 40 mins long and when i checked the battery level after that call the phone was at 99% That was about 11AM Saturday. The phone was on all day but unused. Around 6 PM I got a call that dropped after one ring. I got a notice that there was a message. I listened to my messages, kept 1, deleted two, read an email and perused that Android System Info App by opening each category to see what it had to say. As mentioned when I turned the phone off at 9PM it was at 69% when I turned the phone on this AM it was at 62% That was about 3:30 AM So the phone was off for 6.5 hours. I turned off the screen while reading here and about 6AM I heard a beep. The screen came on and there was a red low battery warning! I plugged the phone in to the AC and left the phone on and the app open. It's now 6:43AM and checking the app now I notice that there are two ways of checking the battery level. One is called dashboard which says 31% and under "system" there is a battery folder which includes level 62% Temp 75.2 degrees F and voltage 3728 mV

So with all of those words I'm wondering if 1 there is truth about damaging the battery by using the phone while it is charging? 2 Is there an app where I can find my ROM and Kernel info easily? 3 If it is true that using the phone while charging it is bad for battery endurance what is the best way to manage battery life? 4 Is the brand of battery relative to battery longevity?

 

[LittleRedDot]

On home screen press menu-settings-about-software... This should give you your rom and kernel settings.

Try an app called battery calibration tool, and follow its instructions...

 

[ocnbrze]

So with all of those words I'm wondering if 1 there is truth about damaging the battery by using the phone while it is charging? 2 Is there an app where I can find my ROM and Kernel info easily? 3 If it is true that using the phone while charging it is bad for battery endurance what is the best way to manage battery life? 4 Is the brand of battery relative to battery longevity?

ok sounds like you should get a custom kernel for your rom and then use setcpu so that you can tweek how the cpu will be scaled up or down to. also you will need to get a cpu scaling governor to help control how the cpu will be scaled to. i would try smartass or interactive x as your governors as they have a screen off profile that will help tremendously with battery life. do not use a lot of profiles, they will be counterproductive.

here is some readings for you:
http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/389360-kernels-dummies.html

http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/210253-setcpu-guide.html

also remember though that battery life is hard to duplicate on different phones. there are too many variables that determines how the battery will react to a given environment. so what works for me may not work for you.

and if you are on a gingerbread sense rom then i would try the freedom kernel. start with the aggressive freedom (you will most likely use the universal kernel) and then work your way down the list. again like i said earlier give it a few days before moving on.

if you are on an aosp (anrdoid open source project) rom then i would recommend that you try the tiamat sbc kernel.

 

[kryptonyt]

On home screen press menu-settings-about-software... This should give you your rom and kernel settings.

Try an app called battery calibration tool, and follow its instructions...

Thanks LRD! Here's what it tells me:

Kernal version: 2.6.35.10-gc0a661b

software number 4.24.651.1

 

[kryptonyt]

ok sounds like you should get a custom kernel for your rom and then use setcpu so that you can tweek how the cpu will be scaled up or down to. also you will need to get a cpu scaling governor to help control how the cpu will be scaled to. i would try smartass or interactive x as your governors as they have a screen off profile that will help tremendously with battery life. do not use a lot of profiles, they will be counterproductive.

here is some readings for you:
http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/389360-kernels-dummies.html

http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/210253-setcpu-guide.html

also remember though that battery life is hard to duplicate on different phones. there are too many variables that determines how the battery will react to a given environment. so what works for me may not work for you.

and if you are on a gingerbread sense rom then i would try the freedom kernel. start with the aggressive freedom (you will most likely use the universal kernel) and then work your way down the list. again like i said earlier give it a few days before moving on.

if you are on an aosp (anrdoid open source project) rom then i would recommend that you try the tiamat sbc kernel.

Kernal version: 2.6.35.10-gc0a661b

software number 4.24.651.1

Got that info with LRD's suggestion.

Any thoughts about the talking and charging thing? I was also using Gas Buddy while on a trip while the phone was charging.

Yesterday I noticed that the mV changed ( actually went up!? as the day went on )

Like i said it sure seems like the battery behavior has changed since my trip when i used the apps while it was charging. Now the % drops quickly especially after getting to 50% or there-a-bouts.

i want to buy a new battery as a back up. Any suggestions?

 

[ocnbrze]

i never really used the phone while it is plugged into te wall charger. i do have car mount and charger and use that to talk while it is charging in the mount with no issues. i have never heard of anything damaging by using the phone while it is charging before. i do not see why or how that will affect your battery.

to be honest i do not really pay attention to what my voltages are anymore.

i would try a sense based kernel if that is what you are on. try the freedom kernel and start out with the aggressive unversal kernel first. give it a day or so before moving on down the list. also invest in getting setcpu as well to fine tune the cpu scaling.

when i had my evo working i was on mikg with the agressive kernel and setcpu 224-1090 with the interactive x governor. and with that setup i was getting easily 20-24 hrs with moderate to heavy usage.

 

[kryptonyt]

Hey OB,
Thanks for all of your help.
Whatever it is with my laptop, this browser and or this page; whatever th case may, i just lost 35 minutes of typing because of "it".
i might attempt to write about it in the computer section of our forum but it too may be more of a waste of time.
i'm going to buy a new battery, charge it correctly, swap it out when the battery in it is low and NEVER use it while it is charging.
Do you recommend a particular brand of battery and what are your thoughts about the larger extended capacity batteries? I know that the case needs to be changed when using it.
BTW i have already heard from several people who not only do not believe that using the phone while it is on charge diminishes the longevity of a charge they have choice names for those who put that sort of info out for public consideration.
IMHO i rather practice that exercise than risk diminishing returns.

 

[Rxpert83]

I would suggest using the battery calibration app before you go out and buy a new one.

 

[kryptonyt]

i never really used the phone while it is plugged into te wall charger. i do have car mount and charger and use that to talk while it is charging in the mount with no issues. i have never heard of anything damaging by using the phone while it is charging before. i do not see why or how that will affect your battery.

Ten or so years ago I spoke with an electric engineer from Japan who worked for Nokia in Melbourne Florida. At the time that we spoke there was still a lot of talk about brain damage from using cell phones. He told me that it was definitively known at the time that using the cell phone while it was charge increased the radiation by X fold. Is it projecting too much to think that if "heat is the enemy" in many electrical appliances and using the phone while it is charge increases the heat and radiation factor by X then it very possibly can decrease the life span and perhaps even it's behavior of that life time.

I've found it fascinating that a battery powered device with failing battery has a particular ever-changing curve of battery performance.
I have this OLD 14.1 inch HP laptop that was one of those replacement computers that one gets when a computer bites the dust before the warranty runs out. In any event it is O L D with original battery....sitting at my parents house unplugged and unused for 9 months. I had my Mom plug it in a day before I got there and when I turned her on ( 'puter; not mom HA! ) and allowed her to do her updates..... I notice that the battery power was at 50% after 30 mins of updating and loading; then in 12 mins it shut down into one of it's sleep or hibernation modes....charging it again; it finished the updating with the power cord in before i used it to do those things we do with our computers.
I don't think that their is a similarity of behavior when and between charging a laptop and using it while it is charging and doing the same act with a cell <smart> phone. My EVO clearly has abilities that my HP doesn't have....talk about EVO-lution!

Stuff like this really flips out an old guy like me; just in case you haven't noticed! I hardly ever find people my age as interested as i am in electronic things, gadgets, apps and add-ons, bells, whistles. etc etc.... There is just soooo much to know and catch up on. TG for forums like this, but in particular "androidforums.com" which is clearly the best IMHO