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Battery Life - The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Does your phone drop 10% quickly in the morning after a full night of charging?

  • Yes

    Votes: 436 79.3%

  • Nope

    Votes: 74 13.5%

  • Not sure

    Votes: 40 7.3%
  • Total voters
    550
After looking at some of the data in Spare Parts I have come to the conclusion things are really dragging down my battery. I am yet again gonna try this how to fix Froyo trick and report back. See how this goes. I'll report back.
 
EarlyMon said:
Welcome to the forums - sorry you had to enter like this, but no worries, most of us had first posts like yours.

I'd try these things:

Let us know your outcome.
Click to expand...

Looks like after following the fix froyo instructions, I'm happy to say that my battery life is as good if not better than it was "pre-update". Anyway, many thanks to Earlymon - you are the man...
 
Ryan P. said:
Same here. One time, I was down to ~88% after about 10-12 minutes of awake time. I used Netarchy's kernels anyway, and they helped a lot, but this is way better still. If I just stick it in my pocket after taking it off the charger, it'll stay at 100% for about an hour.

It's amazing the difference 10% makes.
Click to expand...
Are you using the stock rooted ROM?
 
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody. I'm stuck at work today so was taking a moment to look at the latest here.

I haven't allowed the 3.70xxx update to download yet because of the mentioned battery issues. I'm fine with removing 4G widget and turning off the scan and always on mobile (already been done for a while), but to have to do a back-up, a hard reset and re-install all my Apps and stuff after an update seems counter-intuitive to having a smart-phone. I would think that turning off the phone and restarting it would be enough to get the update to sync properly.

I read through this entire posting and it doesn't seem as though that many people are having an issue. So here's what I'd like to find out, how many folks have NOT had the battery issues after the latest update?
 
I appreciate that it's counterintuitive for some to have to do this for an update - but - this wasn't the first update requiring it and it won't be the last. We don't know what area gets tangled only on some people's phones - and of those having that issue, the trouble presents with different symptoms - battery, apps misbehaving and so forth.

It's possibly not that this update has battery issues or apps issues - it that once again, for some people those are the symptoms - and those issues are very real for them.

The update itself is ok - too many people have already chimed in saying that theirs is ok.

In my estimation - it's the Android operating system update scheme that's not ok.

From what I've seen across the forums, with each update, all phones have some percentage of issues that crop up post-update. The natural tendency is to blame the update - but I'm cautioning that there's more to it than that.

Something in course of phone use PLUS an upgrade results in error behavior for a percentage of our phones. We know that erasing the troubled area _may_ fix it - but we also have to erase to our personal data and apps at the same time because we only have a sledgehammer - hard reset - where what we really want is a scalpel that's built into every upgrade that knows exactly what parts of potential badness to cut away while leaving everything else intact.

That's why I contend it's not the update, it's the current state of the Android update process that's not perfected.

You won't get good results on your quick poll in thread dedicated to battery problems, btw. And even if the percentage turns out to be 99.99% of updaters are OK, there's no guarantee that your update won't hit the error field.

Best bet is to look around at the various issues being reported - maybe this update IS bad: I recall how 1.47 fixed a whole lot of issues that the previous update introduced.

Until then, there's always the opportunity to try to fix things with the big hammer.

That's the best I can I offer, personally.

And PS - if you've read my posts on this - not having an easy backup / restore method set up for yourself is VERY counterintuitive to me, because this is a smartphone. Ever lose one, have it dropped on pavement or in water for you? If not, when that day comes you're going to wish that you'd spent the 5 bucks and 5 minutes.

Once you have that, hard reset just isn't painful. A little time-consuming to dink around with backup and restore, but not painful.
 
Ok, I have to admit that I used to think that the posts of 20+ hours of use were all full of crap. I normally got about 4-5 hours out of mine, with pretty decent use (Browsing, Text and 6 email accounts... plus some video watching) and couldn't imagine getting more.

Well, in my quest for a full day's use, I ordered the 3500mah battery off Ebay (2 batteries, external charger and covers for $20) and hoped for the best. I honestly didn't notice too much more life than the 'higher capacity' would give taking me to 6-8 hours without a charge. So, just keep it plugged in was my theory.

I was still sick of seeing those 12-15 hour posts and I started to tweak some app settings and sync times and more trying to get to those magic numbers. Then I read something about Handcent being a killer... So, I tried it...

FriendStream - 1 update per day (manual refresh only)
Peep/Twitter - 1 update per day (manual refresh only)
Handcent - TURN OFF Automatic Retrieval (but leave it on in messaging)
Screen Brightness - Manual (set to 30% which works fine for the environments I use my phone - but it's a bit dim outside)

Now, keep in mind I am on that cheap 3500mah battery, but I am currently at 62% with 20 hours, 22 minutes and 28 seconds of unplugged use. I still had my "instant 10% drop" after unplugging, but since then it's been dropping maybe a percent per hour. Figuring this formula with the stock battery, I should be about 20% now, which would be simply amazing!

Here's a link to the battery setup, and while it adds some serious bulk, it does protect the camera completely and provides a ton of extra juice!

NEW 2X 3500MAH BATTERY + CHARGER FOR SPRINT HTC EVO 4G - eBay (item 190470582416 end time Jan-18-11 17:18:02 PST)

I'll finish my full test and then run the stock battery back through it, but it's running perfectly right now.
 
I have the Seidio 3500 battery, so I share your excitement about that extra juice. Can someone explain to me about handcent being "a killer" like zcarman just said? I didn't know that it used more battery than the stock sms.
 
I figured out why my battery life would only last 4 or so hours. I am still sure the upgrade sucks some of it down more than before but when I updated the facebook app it has a new option to chat. Well that stays on....until you menu>go offline, while in the chat section.
My battery life is much better.
 
I'm sure I'm not the first to post this and I know rooting isn't for everyone, but root plus setcpu with an underclock profile will increase your battery life exponentially.
 
With the stock battery I use up 30% battery an hour (15% over 30 min) when browsing the internet continuously.

with the official sprint 2600mah extended battery I only use up 12% an hour!


With the stock battery ill only get 3.3 hours of use and with the extended battery 8 hours of use. I'm wondering if I have a bad stock battery if the difference is so high. that or the 2600mah battery is really like a 3500mah battery.




Mods, don't merge this thread into the others. No one ever replies to those huge threads anymore.
 
I have the 3500 mah siedio battery and it last about 2 days on full battery with use full time during awake hours. It works great! How long do you with it on?
 
tracerit said:
Mods, don't merge this thread into the others. No one ever replies to those huge threads anymore.
Click to expand...
lol pwnd

www.techno-update.com said:
I have the 3500 mah siedio battery and it last about 2 days on full battery with use full time during awake hours. It works great! How long do you with it on?
Click to expand...

I do about the same, though I go ahead and charge mine every night cause it's healthier for the battery.
 
I haven't really paid attention to my battery after an hour of continuous use on the web browser. I get lost in my browsing sometimes, lol... If I had to take a stab I'd say about 10 to 15%.
 
Ryan P. said:
No, I'm using Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS 4 with the SBC version of Netarchy's 4.2.2
Click to expand...

Same here. I am using SBC 4.2.2 v7 and I am getting GREAT Battery life. Right now I am 7 hours 30 minutes unplugged and still have 82% battery left (Stock Battery). I have read some e-mails, some texting, made 3 phone calls (10 minutes, 25 minutes, & 10 minutes). I usually get about 2 hours before my phone drops to 99%. If you are rooted, one of these Kernels is a must. I also have SetCpu at Conservative
 
EarlyMon said:
Welcome to the forums - sorry you had to enter like this, but no worries, most of us had first posts like yours.

I'd try these things:



Let us know your outcome.
Click to expand...

EarlyMon

Can't find that new 4G option on my settings... went to
Settings>Wireless & Networks>4G Settings. There I can toggle 4G. If it's turned on, I can "Tap to scan 4G serv" and if I hit menu, I get a "scan" icon. Am I looking in the wrong place? Thanx again and again...
 
Dose said:
Ok, like most of you I have probably read every review out there on the Evo. And since recently there are a few floating around I am starting to see more and more reviews stating that the battery life is horrible. So I need the "real" people out there that have their hands on the Evo to let us know....is it really that bad, is it doable, or what? I have used ppc 6700, Mogul, HTC touch Pro, Instinct, Palm Pre, and recently Hero. With the Hero, out of the box battery life sucked, and we all had the initial 100% wake time, but with some tweaks my hero battery lasts from 6am till I go to sleep, and I use it alllllll day long. So I am wondering if these bad battery life reviews are coming from ppl that are not tweaking there phones, i.e.. turning auto backlight off, turning 4g off when not in use, making FB and twitter autosync all the time etc..etc... Ive been waiting for this phone, and I am getting somewhat hesitant now. Not just because of the battery, but also because I know there will be another GREAT phone coming out at the End of the year. So if you have an Evo, just let us know...Do we need a bedroom, livingroom,car,and work phone charger(oh wait I already have that)...but do we need it. Thanks Guys
Click to expand...

Okay heres the simple low down. I have a black berry and a HTC Evo 4g. The thing is with the blackberry it lasts 2-3days (moderate-heavy usage texting, or email checking) but lacks extensive features, Many tweaks were made to enhance the battery life, primarily the lcd screen was tweaked to have lower bright settings as well as reducing how often the 3g scanner does a frequency scan. For my HTC ive been able to prolong the 1500mha battery to last roughly 25 or 26 hours and that is off one charge, with the display at 20% back lighting (this is not using the Auto light which changes based on the HTCs sense, depending on how it picks up light threw your lil sense camera near the charging light top left corner). I've also disabled my 4g and wifi adapter in the phone (by disable i just dont use them), i also bought 2 apps that allow automated task killing every 10 minutes, but at the same time allow some pretty advanced battery tweaking methods (than going threw all the HTC's sub menus). the applications names are Battery Booster, and Memory Booster Pro.
Now heres the settings for the HTC to prolong the 1500mhA up to a maximum of 25 hours (maybe more) assuming light usage

- Disable 4g (eats up battery beyond explanation, consumes most power on the phone due to constant signal scans or its constant auto checks every 1-3 second scan intervals to obtain a better frequency to the 4g towers nearby)

- Disable Wifi (unless your at home) because the wifi uses close to as much power as the 4g scanner, it does save power tho if you use that when making phone calls or texting, or playing games at home or near a wireless internet you have access to

- Download Autonomous App killing Apps, Great examples are Memory Booster Pro, and Battery Booster Pro.

-Battery Booster Pro Settings:
-On Device Lock
-Turn Off WiFi (Enable)
-Turn Off Bluetooth (Enable unless you use bluetooth)
-On Device Unlock
-Turn On Wifi (Enable/Disable Optional) (I recommend disabled)
-Turn on Bluetooth (Enable/Disable Optional) (I recommend disabled)
-Smart Battery Saver
-Optimize with Memory Booster (assuming you have installed Pro Version enable)
-Smart Battery Saver (enable if you dont have Memory Booster Pro)
-Security Level (Low, ignore system instability its same as every 10min auto kill tasks but core htc system processes {Framework is sometimes killed})



-Memory Booster Pro Settings:
-Show Notification Icon (Disable unless you wanna see notification)
-Enable System Startup Boost (enable this)
-Send Memory Boost Notification (Disable unless you wanna know about boosts)
-Boost Level Manager (Level 3, Ultimate)
-Auto Boost Interval (10 Minutes)
-Auto Boost Threshold (20%)


Ok those are my settings for my HTC With the set applications, and the recommendations

On the HTC:
-Settings > Display > Auto-rotate screen (enable or disable your choice saves power if disabled but maybe annoying when it doesn't auto adjust screen)

-Settings > Display > Animation (Disable Animations unless you care about animated/smooth/glossed movements like swipes and such. I selected Some animations and my battery holds for up to 25hrs on a 1500mhA battery)

-Settings > Display > Brightness (Disable Automatic brightness, set to 20% or lower, or whatevers visible to you, the lower the brightness % the more power thats saved, and mind you this is a MAJOR important factor that helps save ALOT of power (over 36%+ power saved if you configure it yourself for below 20%)

-Settings > Display > Screen timeout (15 seconds, is optimal but go with 30 seconds or 1 minute saves power up to 15%+ based on what you go with)
*Side Note* With Battery Booster you can change screen backlight shut off to 6 seconds

-Settings > Accounts & sync > (disable what you dont want to update, usually if not mostly most people don't use the stocks auto sync or news and this is most, but if you want them to sync go ahead, i disabled them on my phone)

These are my settings for my HTC Evo 4g with my best recommendations. Using these settings and using my extended battery (i use a extended battery with 3500mhA voltage). This battery allowed my HTC Evo 4g to last 2 days (yes two whole days) with light to moderate use (and by light i just mean checking emails, maybe 200-500 texts sent out/recieved per day, and often time checks to check the time).

*Side Notes*
These are the worst free auto killing apps period, Advanced App Killer For Android, and Advanced App Killer how anyone can say they are a great app killer is beyond me, they only drained my battery, and proved useless with the worst "intelligent" auto killing app features (if any were even implemented in the applications)
 
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