• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Battery Killers

Z

zerocool79346

Android Expert
Thought it would be a prudent thread to list all of the battery killing apps and processes (ie don't shut down right)that have been found in 2.1.

The one that I found, the hard way after 3 straight days of only getting 10 hours of battery life, is the Google Talk service. I accidentally opened it and System Panel didn't kill it. I only found it by looking at Battery Uses>Running Services.
 
Sadly... Screebl. It's at 83% battery usage right now. I will miss it terribly! I really hope the fix it ASAP.
 
ATK. When I had mine I was so OCD about killing tasks that my battery went to crap. I am not starting a task killer thread though so don't take it that way.
 
The number one killer is the Mobile Network (aka 3G). When on it is constantly trying to communicate with the network ans thus uses a lot of power. More so if you are in a bad reception area.

Therfore any app that uses 3G and is trying to update really sucks it down.

I know a lot of people are going to flame me - it's a Smartphone I want al my Tweets right now, my dog is on Facebook and I must know what he is doing - what a bunch of phoey.

For me it's first and foremost a phone. I want the stupid thing to work when I needed. If a need to check e-mail or look something up on the web then I'll turn on the 3G.
 
CXXV said:
The number one killer is the Mobile Network (aka 3G). When on it is constantly trying to communicate with the network ans thus uses a lot of power. More so if you are in a bad reception area.

Therfore any app that uses 3G and is trying to update really sucks it down.

I know a lot of people are going to flame me - it's a Smartphone I want al my Tweets right now, my dog is on Facebook and I must know what he is doing - what a bunch of phoey.

For me it's first and foremost a phone. I want the stupid thing to work when I needed. If a need to check e-mail or look something up on the web then I'll turn on the 3G.
Click to expand...

This. If you want your battery to drain REALLY fast, use Youtube and play it on High Quality. Your phone will be working harder to decompress the video AND it will have to download over 3G longer because HQ videos are much larger than the standard quality ones.
 
CXXV said:
The number one killer is the Mobile Network (aka 3G). When on it is constantly trying to communicate with the network ans thus uses a lot of power. More so if you are in a bad reception area.

Therfore any app that uses 3G and is trying to update really sucks it down.

I know a lot of people are going to flame me - it's a Smartphone I want al my Tweets right now, my dog is on Facebook and I must know what he is doing - what a bunch of phoey.

For me it's first and foremost a phone. I want the stupid thing to work when I needed. If a need to check e-mail or look something up on the web then I'll turn on the 3G.
Click to expand...

I'll never flame anybody about how or why they use a mobile phone in the best way for them, just as I wouldn't want you to flame me over how I use mine. It is interesting that you predict that people will flame you just before insulting others on how they want to use their smartphones, though. Why do you care about what others find important for their phone? Why the belittlement?

However, I will ask you why you bought an Android phone? Why didn't you simply buy an advanced feature phone if you don't need a portable internet device? Isn't the $30 monthly mandatory data plan a waste of money for you if all that you need is a phone? You can get phone from Verizon with a light monthly data plan that can still allow you to occasionally check email or surf the web.

More than anything, what I prefer is a portable mobile computer that has my calendar and contacts updated continuously (i.e., I can enter, delete or edit events in any place and it will automatically be propagated to my phone and computers), allow me to lightly browse the internet, keep up with news, and stay in touch with my family and friends when I am on the road, and this particular phone was the best way for me to do that. I'll continue to try to balance all of that with ways to make the battery last me the day before I plug in. It took me a few weeks, but since mid-January I've found the right balance that works for me.
 
I like the apps and internet access that a 3G phone (specifically Android) has. I SMS quite a bit and can't stand typing on those little keys. Further more, I need to wear reading glasses so the bigger screens help me.

However, just like on my PC at home, I don't keep Email and Internet open all the time - only when I need it.

I use the phone the same way. This way I ensure that it will have battery when I really need it and that I don't have to constantly charge it. Friends and family need only to call or text to find me. And since I make sure the battery is not depleted they can actually contact me.

I really didn't mean to flame...it's simply that one can't have it all yet on these phones. There is always a trade off. High usage = low batt.

If the battery life was great I would keep it on all the time as well.

BTW, if you look at early post when the Eris first came out this was the number one suggestion for saving battery life. I happen to agree and it works great for me.
 
I'm just curious. How much battery life do you feel you need to get from your phone? I leave 3g on all the time and the phone lasts me all day. I do have a charger in the car so I know it will always work if I need it for navigation.

Some people aren't happy unless they can get 2-3 days without charging. They of course have every right to feel that way, but I can't see why it would be necessary unless you are out in the back woods somewhere and actually cannot plug in. I plug mine in when I go to bed at night and unplug it when I get up in the morning. Very rarely do I need to charge it in between unless I am very bored and use it for streaming media or to download and flash a new ROM.
 
I do want the phone to last from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep as well. Again, like you, I have my phone set up so that happens. The only challenge is that when I visit some places with very weak signals (so that the phone is constantly going from no signal to very weak signal) when I do need to plug in during the day at some point, and that's why I'd want the phone to have longer standby than it does. So, basically I want the phone to have a strong enough battery to last twenty-four hours in a weak signal situation.
 
doogald said:
I do want the phone to last from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep as well. Again, like you, I have my phone set up so that happens. The only challenge is that when I visit some places with very weak signals (so that the phone is constantly going from no signal to very weak signal) when I do need to plug in during the day at some point, and that's why I'd want the phone to have longer standby than it does. So, basically I want the phone to have a strong enough battery to last twenty-four hours in a weak signal situation.
Click to expand...

I can understand that. The worst signal area for me is actually in my home. Zero bars. -100 dB. In the house, I always make sure I am connected to wifi because the 3G will drain my battery while looking for a non-existent signal. And I still have a landline because I drop every mobile call. If I am out of the house and spending an extended period of time in a place with poor signal and no wifi, I would have to consider trading off the convenience of always having immediate access to my e-mail and data for longer battery life if I know I will not be able to charge the phone soon. In most situations, the battery will last all day, but there are exceptions especially in areas of weak signal.
 
In my case, if I leave 3G on all the time, the batttery won't make it more than 10 hours based on phone and SMS usage.

Considering that I really don't have ready access to charge the phone what it really means to me is that after I leave work it starts getting dicey with the battery. Also as you know, once the battery starts getting low, say 35% then the last bit goes really fast.

So for me the trade off (as NOMAR says) is not having constant e-mail or other 3G services for the extended battery life to be able to use the phone.

It seems easier to me to only turn on 3G as required and therefore feel reasonably certain that I will have power vs wondering if I have power beacuase the 3G has been going in and out of signal range and eaten up the battery trying to do so.

Of course YMMV....:)
 
CXXV said:
In my case, if I leave 3G on all the time, the batttery won't make it more than 10 hours based on phone and SMS usage.

Considering that I really don't have ready access to charge the phone what it really means to me is that after I leave work it starts getting dicey with the battery. Also as you know, once the battery starts getting low, say 35% then the last bit goes really fast.

So for me the trade off (as NOMAR says) is not having constant e-mail or other 3G services for the extended battery life to be able to use the phone.

It seems easier to me to only turn on 3G as required and therefore feel reasonably certain that I will have power vs wondering if I have power beacuase the 3G has been going in and out of signal range and eaten up the battery trying to do so.

Of course YMMV....:)
Click to expand...

If I was only getting ten hours, I would understand the turning of 3G off, but with my 3G on constantly, streaming Pandora for an hour a day, sending 200 texts (at least), pushing 2 email accounts, and generally surfing the web or using maps 4 or 5 times a day, I get 30 hours, so it's really not a huge deal to me. Of course, I live in an area where I hardly ever get less than 2 bars of 3G coverage or above 80 dBms, which is really where I think the biggest battery killer lies. When I'm back at home over the summer or on breaks, where I never get below 100 dbms and am generally in a no service area, my battery is lucky to last 10 hours, and thats with 3G switched off.

*It should also be mentioned that I'm rooted and running a 2.2 Froyo ROM which does contribute to why I get 30 hours of battery life.
 
zerocool79346 said:
but with my 3G on constantly, streaming Pandora for an hour a day, sending 200 texts (at least), pushing 2 email accounts, and generally surfing the web or using maps 4 or 5 times a day, I get 30 hours, .
Click to expand...





bsflag.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom