Beyond battery frustration

[rhltechie]

How does his have "almost exaclty the same shots from GSAM"? Gsam tells him his battery is good for 4 hours but it lasts all day playing games? You certainly say a lot of confusing things....

At any rate, despite radio standby being reported erroneously is a known issue, given Gsam reports nothing else using it, I would tend to believe something is wrong with the radio in your phone. Even though you can't trust the reading, there simply isn't anything else being reported indicating it's something else.

Before concluding that however I would recommend grabbing Watchdog Lite from Google Play and track to see if anything is using large amounts of cpu cycles.

Oh.. btw did your new battery arrive yet?

i do not mean to be confusing...when i see it looks the same, i mean her GSAM states that the radio is the heaviest battery user....not the same stats as in life and what not.....anyway, i did install what you suggest. after an hour on the phone...the largest user at a whopping 4% is the android system. everything else is in the .1% range if anything.

my battery is supposed to arrive tomorrow....we'll see if they actually leave it instead of a door tag!

 

[lpallard]

Any interesting findings on the battery issues??? I was once bothered by it but now it's getting unbearable... the phone has to be plugged in for a FULL charge every 10 hours or so which pretty much kills the purpose of having a mobile device..

Back on the iPhone days I could run the same apps as I am running now and spend an hour browsing the web or playing music while working out or even watch YouTube videos on top of that with a single charge but now it's simply unthinkable... the phone won't even make it half way through...

This phone might have sincerely be the worst $700 that I ever spent...

Edit: I did not do any real testing or such but I believe the time on a single charge is actually getting shorter week after week.. has anyone else noticed a constant drop in battery capacity?

 

[Easilyamused]

i do not mean to be confusing...when i see it looks the same, i mean her GSAM states that the radio is the heaviest battery user....not the same stats as in life and what not.....anyway, i did install what you suggest. after an hour on the phone...the largest user at a whopping 4% is the android system. everything else is in the .1% range if anything.

my battery is supposed to arrive tomorrow....we'll see if they actually leave it instead of a door tag!

Yes, door tags don't hold much of a charge...

 

[rhltechie]

Hola....

Wish i had better news. I finally got my new battery yesterday. Gave it a full charge and went to bed with 100%. Unfortunately i woke in the middle of the night to an already dead battery. The new batt didnt help. It still has the same symptoms. My major use according to gsam is the radio.

10 hours? I would be grateful for 10. I am losing 18% battery per hour. That's with me not talking, texting or using the phone at all. That's 5 hours roughly to a dead phone. I guess i got a dud....it sucketh very much. I appreciate all of the help offered.

 

[rhltechie]

on a slightly better note....i talked to verizon this morning. I am on day 10 of my 14 day warranty.....so if i go to a specific store, they will run some diags and then decide if my phone blows. i know it does, so i am not too worried about that. they will indeed give me a new phone if they deem i need one. the gentleman on the line this morning connected to my phone to do diagnotics (which being a techy, i think is pretty cool they can do, with your permission of course), he looked through everything and came to the same conclusion as i have....something is really messed up. sooooo....i will be going to the verizon store after work to attempt a trade. one can only hope i am not unlucky enough to get two lemons in a row!

 

[lpallard]

I don't think you hit two lemons in a row... mine is also pretty bad but not as much as yours. A full charge without using the phone too much will last maybe 18 hours but if I use it moderately maybe 6 hours at best..

Horrible to say the least. My Motorola razr was much better but my iPhone 4 was light years ahead. 30 hours on a single charge.

My guess is that android is severely deficient with power consumption and perhaps combined with a cheap battery technology from Samsung.

All S3 I have seen so far are extremely bad.

I'll get mine also replaced and if possible for an iPhone but I doubt it will work since I had the phone for several weeks now

 

[Easilyamused]

on a slightly better note....i talked to verizon this morning. I am on day 10 of my 14 day warranty.....so if i go to a specific store, they will run some diags and then decide if my phone blows. i know it does, so i am not too worried about that. they will indeed give me a new phone if they deem i need one. the gentleman on the line this morning connected to my phone to do diagnotics (which being a techy, i think is pretty cool they can do, with your permission of course), he looked through everything and came to the same conclusion as i have....something is really messed up. sooooo....i will be going to the verizon store after work to attempt a trade. one can only hope i am not unlucky enough to get two lemons in a row!

Good luck. Something is severely messed up with the one you have.

My guess is that android is severely deficient with power consumption and perhaps combined with a cheap battery technology from Samsung.

I disagree. I average 30 hours on mine. Something is obviously not right with yours, but despite your personal experience and the horror stories you read, there are plenty of people getting great battery life from theirs.

Even if it seems common on these and other forums, the actual sample size is insignificant - and cannot be used to draw any summary conclusions. The S3 had sold 20 million in 100 days (so that was by last August) and sales continue to grow despite the iPhone 5, "Even without the spikes, the S3's average weekly growth rate of 9 percent has stayed firm, which means Samsung is seeing heavy demand regardless of the iPhone 5." There is a reason sales is still strong... And even if there were tens of thousands of complaints, that's nothing compared to the tens of millions of S3's sold (10 thousand out of 20 million is .0005).

It's really unfortunate you've had the experience you've had, but it's in no way indicative of the product.

 

[hbryder]

Good luck. Something is severely messed up with the one you have.



I disagree. I average 30 hours on mine. Something is obviously not right with yours, but despite your personal experience and the horror stories you read, there are plenty of people getting great battery life from theirs.

Even if it seems common on these and other forums, the actual sample size is insignificant - and cannot be used to draw any summary conclusions. The S3 had sold 20 million in 100 days (so that was by last August) and sales continue to grow despite the iPhone 5, "Even without the spikes, the S3's average weekly growth rate of 9 percent has stayed firm, which means Samsung is seeing heavy demand regardless of the iPhone 5." There is a reason sales is still strong... And even if there were tens of thousands of complaints, that's nothing compared to the tens of millions of S3's sold (10 thousand out of 20 million is .0005).

It's really unfortunate you've had the experience you've had, but it's in no way indicative of the product.

Can we start a thread for the millions that don't have battery issues, that actually take others advice instead of looking for new ways to complain. (I do realize that some actually got duds, this is not intended for them)

 

[hbryder]

I don't think you hit two lemons in a row... mine is also pretty bad but not as much as yours. A full charge without using the phone too much will last maybe 18 hours but if I use it moderately maybe 6 hours at best..

Horrible to say the least. My Motorola razr was much better but my iPhone 4 was light years ahead. 30 hours on a single charge.

My guess is that android is severely deficient with power consumption and perhaps combined with a cheap battery technology from Samsung.

All S3 I have seen so far are extremely bad.

I'll get mine also replaced and if possible for an iPhone but I doubt it will work since I had the phone for several weeks now

isn't the Razr android?

 

[lpallard]

isn't the Razr android?

Yes it was running android but gingerbread. The battery was working fine, so was the WiFi, web browser , usb ma storage, etc..


I should have specified "ice cream sandwich" when I said "android is defficient...".

I am not going into the apple VS android debate. They are very different products with very different audience.

If you do use statistics to back your opinion, fine but never forget that because a product is heavily adopted by consumers that it is the best... you can think of an operating system ????

In the end I guess I'm just not that easy to impress and I'm not impressed with the galaxy s3 and android in general. For now I am ok to use it but not "in love" with it. Maybe some day I will really love it... who knows!

 

[rhltechie]

Can we start a thread for the millions that don't have battery issues, that actually take others advice instead of looking for new ways to complain. (I do realize that some actually got duds, this is not intended for them)

I started this thread for real issues.....maybe I shouldnt have because in the end, it's exactly what I suspected...a bad phone. I for one though, think that others WILL have this issue. there will be other bad phones...and to be able to search the net and find someone else with the same issues has always been a help for me.

Sooo..the verdict is in. I did get a lemon. After standing in the Verizon store for an hour waiting and arguing about the phone, I was given a new one. I havent used it much, as i wanted to try to get a true reading....as I never used the last one because of the battery issues. I charged to 100% last night and woke this morning to only having lost 9%. A few shots from the new phone attached. 10 hours on battery and only down to 89%. I havent had any use of it yet....but as of now, it's kicking the crap out of my first one. As you can also see....the "cell standy" is still first. I'm guessing we will need a firmware update to fix the reporting issue.

 

[hbryder]

I started this thread for real issues.....maybe I shouldnt have because in the end, it's exactly what I suspected...a bad phone. I for one though, think that others WILL have this issue. there will be other bad phones...and to be able to search the net and find someone else with the same issues has always been a help for me.

Sooo..the verdict is in. I did get a lemon. After standing in the Verizon store for an hour waiting and arguing about the phone, I was given a new one. I havent used it much, as i wanted to try to get a true reading....as I never used the last one because of the battery issues. I charged to 100% last night and woke this morning to only having lost 9%. A few shots from the new phone attached. 10 hours on battery and only down to 89%. I havent had any use of it yet....but as of now, it's kicking the crap out of my first one. As you can also see....the "cell standy" is still first. I'm guessing we will need a firmware update to fix the reporting issue.

I'm glad you got it taken care of. My comment wasn't directed at you. I hope now you will get to enjoy your phone.

 

[rhltechie]

I'm glad you got it taken care of. My comment wasn't directed at you. I hope now you will get to enjoy your phone.

Thanks! I really think it will be a fantastic phone now that i can use it!

 

[lpallard]

I disagree. I average 30 hours on mine. Something is obviously not right with yours, but despite your personal experience and the horror stories you read, there are plenty of people getting great battery life from theirs.

Yes something was obviously wrong with mine too. My observations of battery draining faster and faster every day was right. Yesterday, I was losing 12-15% per hour idling... I went to my local Rogers store (I am in Canada) and they told me that they would gladly replace the device for no fees. The guy at the store told me that they replaced hundreds of phones within the first 2 weeks... All battery issues and Wifi issues. Anyways now it seems better but I will keep an eye on it and make sure its not a lemon again...

Can we start a thread for the millions that don't have battery issues...

BTW I do not fully understand why you are posting on this thread if you dont have any problems with your phone. If you want to help, fine.

My comment wasn't directed at you

I know it was directed at me and I do not appreciate sarcasm or offending comments. Please keep this in mind. I have not targeted you in any ways nor I have targeted or offended anybody on this forum. If you do not like my opinion regarding Android and Samsung's products, fine but do not be arrogant and remember its constructive criticism.

I am sure you understand.

 

[hbryder]

Yes something was obviously wrong with mine too. My observations of battery draining faster and faster every day was right. Yesterday, I was losing 12-15% per hour idling... I went to my local Rogers store (I am in Canada) and they told me that they would gladly replace the device for no fees. The guy at the store told me that they replaced hundreds of phones within the first 2 weeks... All battery issues and Wifi issues. Anyways now it seems better but I will keep an eye on it and make sure its not a lemon again...



BTW I do not fully understand why you are posting on this thread if you dont have any problems with your phone. If you want to help, fine.


I know it was directed at me and I do not appreciate sarcasm or offending comments. Please keep this in mind. I have not targeted you in any ways nor I have targeted or offended anybody on this forum. If you do not like my opinion regarding Android and Samsung's products, fine but do not be arrogant and remember its constructive criticism.

I am sure you understand.

No, my comment wasn't directed at you or any one in particular, I have, on several battery threads, tried to help. My comment was for the people that myself and others have tried to help, given advice and recommended options, that totally ignored us and seemed to be on just to whine and complain. I was given great advice regarding my own battery on this very forum. Again, this wasn't directed at you, but to those that just want to complain and don't truly want help. I hope you find the advice you seek and that you have a happy ending with your S3.

 

[shortride]

I use a 4300 mAh extended life battery in my S3 that only has to be charged every 3 to 5 days.

 

[cincyrob]

ive been following this thread for a while now myself. im haven the same issues as most with the battery. ive gone as far as going back to BEST BUY, and haveing them swap batteries. done that twice, still a almost dead phone in 4 hours. this last time i swapped out the entire phone. i do get about 8 hours out of the phone now.(i am with AT&T). i have a friend with verizon with the GS3, in the same time spane(9hours) he still has 64% battery left. i have 18%. i am thinking it has something to do with all the crap AT&T puts on these phones. other than rooting the phone is there a way to get rid of the ATT crap?

 

[Easilyamused]

ive been following this thread for a while now myself. im haven the same issues as most with the battery. ive gone as far as going back to BEST BUY, and haveing them swap batteries. done that twice, still a almost dead phone in 4 hours. this last time i swapped out the entire phone. i do get about 8 hours out of the phone now.(i am with AT&T). i have a friend with verizon with the GS3, in the same time spane(9hours) he still has 64% battery left. i have 18%. i am thinking it has something to do with all the crap AT&T puts on these phones. other than rooting the phone is there a way to get rid of the ATT crap?

Before you jump to conclusions, keep in mind that the way you use your phone and the way your friend uses your phone are not the same. Different apps, different settings, different usage patterns... can't really compare.

Also, install a battery monitor and try to determine what is actually using your battery. Gsam and BetterBatteryStats are 2 good options. Until you do that, it's like the blind leading the blind, throwing crap on the wall without ever having the ability to see what sticks.... 'cause you're blind! Although I suppose you could feel the walls to see what stuck... but that would be time consuming, not to mention a bit yucky.