Battery Life - The Good The Bad and The Ugly

[toomuchgame441]

Trying out Myn's ROM now, and I'm not sure how I feel about it... I think I'm getting less battery life compared to Fresh's ROM, it runs very smooth... but I dunno, I'm just going to put it through a dead to full charges and see how it turns out.

I get to 7-8 hours by 50% which isn't bad at all IMO, but after the 50% mark it seems to drain a bit faster... maybe because I'm on it constantly, can't quite put my finger on it.

 

[ghost203]

Did you buy it? I was thinking about buying it myself but wanted to know what you thought about the extended battery.

Yes I had bought it and it made a lot difference. I don't have to carry my charger around and also I went to the market and download task killer and I saw a lot difference its worth it

 

[massiveian]

So today is my first real test of the sprint extended battery. the phone has been off the charger for 4h 55m and i am now at 83%. I used pandora for about 30 minutes while driving, about 15 min of calls, 20 texts and about 30 minutes of internet/market browsing. I have to say this battery is doing much better than i would have imagined. I still had the initial 7% drop within 5 minutes off the charger so it has gone down 10% in almost 5 hours of moderate use. I am happy with it. I wish there was a case for it with the sprint battery

 

[Slick1020]

I was in the MWR building here in Afghanistan. I saw one of my airmen with his EVO out. We had a brief chat about how skype sucks while using the phone. A few weeks ago I showed another officer my EVO. His wife ordered two of the phones since he will be departing Afghanistan in a few days. One EVO at a time....

 

[JSinbad]

I just bought this 4 days ago and I am getting less than 8 hours on a full charge, thoughts please?

 

[Slick1020]

I just bought this 4 days ago and I am getting less than 8 hours on a full charge, thoughts please?

http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-tips-tricks/150799-battery-tweaks-htc-evo-4g.html

 

[Tre Lawrence]

Okay... count me in as a believer... made some tweaks, and went through the day on one charge.

 

[lordofthereef]

I'm not sure I understand this obsession with battery life on this phone. Is it really that hard to gain access to a car charger or ac adapter? In the rare occasion that I need to be somewhere all day without access to either of those then I carry a rechargeable battery pack that I can plug in USB. That gives me three or four charging cycles without a problem. Frankly I don't see the point in turning off all the features that make this phone great just to save a few hours of battery life. I say use the phone has it's made be used and stop worrying about battery life.

That's the thing. Let's say that day that you spoke of comes, where you are unable to get to a charger at all and you need to use the phone. What then? IMO the best thing about having a mobile phone is the security it provides, although we don't use it OFTEN (or maybe ever). It's sort of like locking your car door. Really, I bet in my area I could get by with there being no locks on my car, but would I want a car that doesn't lock (or maybe a more appropriate comparison would be a car that locks MOST of the time)? I sure wouldn't be happy with that at all.

There is also the fact that it is a mobile smartphone. Sort of defeats the purpose if you have to be tethered to a wall multiple times a day.

 

[toomuchgame441]

That's the thing. Let's say that day that you spoke of comes, where you are unable to get to a charger at all and you need to use the phone. What then? IMO the best thing about having a mobile phone is the security it provides, although we don't use it over (or maybe ever). It's sort of like locking your car door. Really, I bet in my area I could get by with there being no locks on my car, but would I want a car that doesn't lock (or maybe a more appropriate comparison would be a car that locks MOST of the time)? I sure wouldn't be happy with that at all.

There is also the fact that it is a mobile smartphone. Sort of defeats the purpose if you have to be tethered to a wall multiple times a day.

I would have to agree with you. Though At work and home I have access to chargers, sometimes I might be in my car and an accident may occur. I may have to use my GPS to route me an alternate route, if after less than an hr my battery is on the verge of dying, thats puts me in a bad situation.

You never realize w/ our smartphones how important the phone part of it is until you actually need it. It gives us the security that in the event of an emergency and having played Pandora all day while web surfing you can still make a call with some juice left.

 

[Deleted User]

Try removing the 4g toggle widget from any of your screens can help with battery life, see here (number 1) especially if you don't use 4g alot:

xda-developers - View Single Post - Evo Battery Tips and Explanations **Updated 12-4-10**

^^^^**** IMPORTANT DISCOVERY****^^^^
When you turn on your 4G radio, then turn it off, it will keep scanning and turning off all by itself.
The problem is apparently exacerbated by a 4G toggle widget, which causes the phone to automatically turn on 4G at boot. This repeating of scanning and disconnecting severely drains battery life, and sadly, no matter what ROM or kernel you use, there is only one way to fix it:
-If you don’t use the toggle widget, then you have to reboot your phone after turning off 4G
-If you do use a toggle widget, then you have to remove the widget from your homescreens, then turn off 4G via settings, then reboot.
**To check to see if this is happening, download alogcat off of the market. Look for the lines saying: I/Wimax ( xxx): <DC> Try to establish a connection to DC server.
E/Wimax ( xxx): <DC CONNECT> IO error: msg=&#8217;/xxx.x.x.x:xxxx –
Connection refused&#8217;
Over and over again.

 

[JohnJSal]

Dude, playing music doesn't drain the battery hardly at all......that's super light usage in terms of battery life.

Are you sure about this? Today I had 3G turned off, and after about 9 hours I was still in the low 90s (with no usage). Then on the way home from the trip, I used my Evo as my music player and let it run for 3 hours straight. That's a long time, but I was still surprised to see that the battery was at 77% after that time. That seems like a bit much if the music player doesn't drain fast. (I didn't keep turning the phone back on to change music, either, I just let it play.)

 

[Slick1020]

Are you sure about this? Today I had 3G turned off, and after about 9 hours I was still in the low 90s (with no usage). Then on the way home from the trip, I used my Evo as my music player and let it run for 3 hours straight. That's a long time, but I was still surprised to see that the battery was at 77% after that time. That seems like a bit much if the music player doesn't drain fast. (I didn't keep turning the phone back on to change music, either, I just let it play.)

Willing to bet you have an app sending, receiving, or updating in the background.

 

[JunBringer]

Battery issues?

HTC Desire

 

[JohnJSal]

Willing to bet you have an app sending, receiving, or updating in the background.

I hadn't opened anything manually all day, and I also didn't have 3G on, so it couldn't have been using data, could it? AFAIK, nothing else was running, and nothing was listed in the battery use list except the normal things like Phone Idle, Cell Standby, etc. No apps.

 

[Slick1020]

I hadn't opened anything manually all day, and I also didn't have 3G on, so it couldn't have been using data, could it? AFAIK, nothing else was running, and nothing was listed in the battery use list except the normal things like Phone Idle, Cell Standby, etc. No apps.

Is your phone setup to scan for 4G/wifi signals?

 

[JohnJSal]

Is your phone setup to scan for 4G/wifi signals?

WiFi, GPS, and 4G were all turned off. I don't know if you mean something other than that.

 

[PGR]

WiFi, GPS, and 4G were all turned off. I don't know if you mean something other than that.

• Turn on 4G if it's off (this won't work if it's off).
• Tap Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > 4G Settings
• Uncheck the Network Notification box if it's not already unchecked.
• Turn 4G back off if you don't need it.

The Evo will constantly scan for a 4G connection if the Network Notification box is checked, even if you have 4G turned off. If it finds one you'll get a notification that 4G is available. Disabling this feature (unchecking the box) will stop that constant scan but it won't prevent you from connecting to 4G by simply turning 4G on.

You should also perform the same steps for the Wifi Network Notification box (Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > Wifi Settings). It works the same way.

Pete

 

[Sabre66]

Ok i just literally took my fully 100% charged Evo off the charger and within 5 mins it's dropped to 93%. As soon as the plug was out and I saw it go from 100%...to 99% before the 15 second backlight went out. All I did was check that the 4G scanning was turned off and the WiFi scanning as PGR mentioned and now it's at 93%. What is the deal?

Update:
Went to bed with a 92% charge and woke up 7 hours later to a suprisingly high 87%. What I turned off:
- active screen animations
- backgrorund scanning for GPS, WiFi, 4G
- made sure hotmail is on manual refresh
- set Gmail notifications for longer refresh span
- got rid of the weather/clock widget

I'll have to see how well these changes affect the length of my charge and see which ones I can add back later. I don't live in a 4G area (so won't be draining on 4G network) and my 3G is sometimes spotty around home so I know that can affect the battery negatively.

I have about 15-20 apps I use lightly and have Screebl and Lookout running all the time in background. I mainly check emails, send a few text messages and do a few websearches throughtout the day. All I'm hoping for is to be able to get to a full day (12 hrs) of use without worrying about the battery drain.

 

[JohnJSal]

• Turn on 4G if it's off (this won't work if it's off).
• Tap Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > 4G Settings
• Uncheck the Network Notification box if it's not already unchecked.
• Turn 4G back off if you don't need it.

The Evo will constantly scan for a 4G connection if the Network Notification box is checked, even if you have 4G turned off. If it finds one you'll get a notification that 4G is available. Disabling this feature (unchecking the box) will stop that constant scan but it won't prevent you from connecting to 4G by simply turning 4G on.

You should also perform the same steps for the Wifi Network Notification box (Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > Wifi Settings). It works the same way.

Pete

Oh, yes, those network notification options are already turned off.

 

[Slick1020]

Oh, yes, those network notification options are already turned off.

I think I use mixzing as my music player. Our phones should use battery battery at the same rate, however I do have a Seidio 11750 mah battery in my phone. I've run test on my phone and when your phone is not being used, you should lose about 1% of battery life an hour. It sounds like that is what you are getting right now. In that regard, your phone should be just fine. My battery will last a little bit longer than yours because I got more juice in my battery.

 

[Slick1020]

Ok i just literally took my fully 100% charged Evo off the charger and within 5 mins it's dropped to 93%. As soon as the plug was out and I saw it go from 100%...to 99% before the 15 second backlight went out. All I did was check that the 4G scanning was turned off and the WiFi scanning as PGR mentioned and now it's at 93%. What is the deal?

Update:
Went to bed with a 92% charge and woke up 7 hours later to a suprisingly high 87%. What I turned off:
- active screen animations
- backgrorund scanning for GPS, WiFi, 4G
- made sure hotmail is on manual refresh
- set Gmail notifications for longer refresh span
- got rid of the weather/clock widget

I'll have to see how well these changes affect the length of my charge and see which ones I can add back later. I don't live in a 4G area (so won't be draining on 4G network) and my 3G is sometimes spotty around home so I know that can affect the battery negatively.

I have about 15-20 apps I use lightly and have Screebl and Lookout running all the time in background. I mainly check emails, send a few text messages and do a few websearches throughtout the day. All I'm hoping for is to be able to get to a full day (12 hrs) of use without worrying about the battery drain.

You can get rid of the weather/clock widget, however how often do you have the weather app setup to send/receive data? How often is stocks set to send/receive data. You have to go through all of your apps and check their send/receive data periods. I have all of my apps set to send/receive data manually. Takes a huge drain off of the battery.

 

[Sabre66]

You can get rid of the weather/clock widget, however how often do you have the weather app setup to send/receive data? How often is stocks set to send/receive data. You have to go through all of your apps and check their send/receive data periods. I have all of my apps set to send/receive data manually. Takes a huge drain off of the battery.

I have all those things turned off or set to manually download. My issue is that my battery drops IMMEDIATELY (within a 1-2 min) from 100% to 93% (give or take a %) when I pull the charger plug.

It happened again last night. I charged if for 6 hours to ensure it would be fully charged. Pulled the plug and it immediately went to 99%, then 98%, then I walked upstairs to bed (with screen on for light) and when I put it down it was at 94%.

Now when I woke up 7 hrs later it was only down to 91%, but why does it drain 6% to 7% the minute the charger is removed?

 

[EarlyMon]

I have all those things turned off or set to manually download. My issue is that my battery drops IMMEDIATELY (within a 1-2 min) from 100% to 93% (give or take a %) when I pull the charger plug.

It happened again last night. I charged if for 6 hours to ensure it would be fully charged. Pulled the plug and it immediately went to 99%, then 98%, then I walked upstairs to bed (with screen on for light) and when I put it down it was at 94%.

Now when I woke up 7 hrs later it was only down to 91%, but why does it drain 6% to 7% the minute the charger is removed?

Because -

This class of phone manages power just like a laptop.

When the phone's fully charged, it starts running off of the battery - otherwise, battery damage will result.

There's some secret low-mark that the phone will hit before the charging cycle starts again. It varies by make and model and has been known to be at 92~93% for the Evo.

So - once fully charged - the phone is using battery to sync data, get email, etc, etc.

You unplug it, and suddenly see a drop, making you think something's wrong - there's not - this is just standard operating procedure.

If you unplug it when it hits full charge, right away, you won't see this issue.

 

[Sabre66]

Thanx EarlyMon. That is a sensible explanation. I'll try that tonight.

The reason I over charged was from another posters recommendation that for new batteries to charge a full 12 hrs and let it run all the way down and recharge fully repeating for 3-5 cycles. Guess that guy was wrong.

So far today I've used my EVO sparingly (a short phone call, some texts, some quick surfing, and widget swapping), but still have 62% charge available after starting with 91% for the day. I'm much happier now with the battery life.

 

[EarlyMon]

Thanx EarlyMon. That is a sensible explanation. I'll try that tonight.

The reason I over charged was from another posters recommendation that for new batteries to charge a full 12 hrs and let it run all the way down and recharge fully repeating for 3-5 cycles. Guess that guy was wrong.

Yeap - he was completely wrong. He was referring to a completely different - and old compared to ours - battery technology.

We did have some battery threads at one point that had to do with conditioning the internal stores so that the battery storage levels would be correct (kinda a calibration thing, of charge this then that) - but so far as I know, that was more to do with very early units and not with the newer units or updates. (So read that as - another battery trick to not try without checking with the other users to see if my memory is correct. Obsolete advice, like the charge / discharge thing.)