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Desire battery consumption
- Thread starter fwb2006
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- htc desire
furious duck
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you've weighed up the pros and cons of the contract but the phone's going to be seriously out of date in 3 years time!
Roze
Hiding behind a mystery
Totally
The 1 or 2 years is a marketing gimick and is there to simply MAKE you sign for the 3 years. To me, they are completely pointless. You don't save much on a 2 years contract.
Example:
Carrier: Rogers
Phone: Sony Ericson X10
3Years: $100
2Years: $450 (wow I save $100)
1Year: $500 (I save $50)
No term: $550
So in reality, the choice that is most beneficial is to either buy the phone outright (you're not force on data) or get a 3 years contract (you have to get data with your plan).
Dangry
Newbie
Well it's a bit off topic but they are pretty good about new phones when they come out. After a year, when it's about time for a new phone anyway, I got to the Telus store and they get a rep on the line, I explain that I'm only a year into my contract but I REALLY want this phone, so what are you going to do to keep me happy? They usually cancel my contract and start me fresh with a new 3 year, but it is really only a 2 year and so that's the price I pay for the phone, the 2 year equivalent. I pay the 3 year deal price in store (in this case $79 and that was perfect as it was 3 days before payday and I am UBER impatient when I get my mind set on a new toy) then the balance is added to my next bill. So after a year it's wash, rinse and repeat....
i got my desire on 14 sept and i turn off all data and wifi when im in bed i took it off charge this morning at 100% and looked at the battery meter and it droped to 90% as soon as i unpluged the charger put it back on charge and it entered a new charge cycle to go from 90% to 100%. my screen is at 40% brightness wifi, gps,bt and mobile data were all off so nothing was polling for data. i have used my phone to play music in work and i am not happy with the phone battery life at all it sucks i had a iphone 3gs before this and i have not changed the way i use my phone i could get 2 days easy from my iphone and im lucky to get 8 from my desire before it needs charging.
i got the desire as on paper it has a really great spec and battery life (source GSMArena.com) but it is shocking im not having a very good time with the phone. the sync prog will not sync my podcasts to play them through the music app and have now downloaded a very slooooow app "doubleTwist" so now i need to sync it using HTCSync for my contacts and calendar and doubleTwist for my photos and music making it a real pain in the a$$.
just my thoughts but i wish i had just got a new 3gs and not this. who would have thought that you would need to take a charger with you to work just so your battery will be charged for the second half of your shift.
MikeC1408
Android Enthusiast
Really want to replace the BB 9700 with the Desire, but this battery life is really worrying, and currently stopping the purchase.
I really don't want to spend all day worrying about the battery and how much is left if I go out after work.
I decided to run a test today, charged the BB over night then took it off charge this morning.
I've had 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS turned on all day along with data services.
10 Hours later a quick check of the battery and it's still showing 95% left.
Why can't HTC come up with a better battery than their current offering
I really don't want to spend all day worrying about the battery and how much is left if I go out after work.
I decided to run a test today, charged the BB over night then took it off charge this morning.
I've had 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS turned on all day along with data services.
10 Hours later a quick check of the battery and it's still showing 95% left.
Why can't HTC come up with a better battery than their current offering
D
Deleted User
Guest
Having had my Desire for several months I can conclude that the battery life is very poor as soon as you start using any of its features. Wi-Fi and Mobile Network are the biggest battery drainers before you even start looking at what apps have running services or before you start using any power hungry apps, such as Angry Birds.
It's a great phone, but it's a shame that if you want to make the most out of it, you will not get anywhere near a day's battery life. Not good if you're out for the day with no way of charging it up.
I've found that rebooting the phone will improve the battery life for a while until the power draining cycle starts again.
It's a great phone, but it's a shame that if you want to make the most out of it, you will not get anywhere near a day's battery life. Not good if you're out for the day with no way of charging it up.
I've found that rebooting the phone will improve the battery life for a while until the power draining cycle starts again.
partridge
Android Enthusiast
The Desire is no different to any other smartphone in this respect, they all sap the battery when you start doing stuff with them. There seems to be some kind of myth emerging that the only smartphone in the world with supposed poor battery life is the Desire!
That's simply not true. The fact is that batteries aren't yet powerful enough to allow smartphones to run apps left, right and centre and last all day. One day someone will come up with a battery that lasts all week regardless of what you do with the device it's powering, but that day isn't here yet.
Carry a spare cable with you, put a charger in your car, etc.
That's simply not true. The fact is that batteries aren't yet powerful enough to allow smartphones to run apps left, right and centre and last all day. One day someone will come up with a battery that lasts all week regardless of what you do with the device it's powering, but that day isn't here yet.
Carry a spare cable with you, put a charger in your car, etc.
funkmuncha
Newbie
all this talk of battery life really confuses me. do you really need to be able to go two days without charging your phone??? i dont
i charge it in the car on the way to work, about a 40min drive, then on the way back in the evening. never goes lower than 25% like this.
if i use it to play music at parties or whatever i plug the mains charger in.
as for whats using the battery it seems to me that voice calls use more than anything else. but this isnt my point, my point is, unless you live in a cave why would you need your phones battery to last more than a day?
oh and if you live in a cave mabey you shouldnt have an HTC desire...
i charge it in the car on the way to work, about a 40min drive, then on the way back in the evening. never goes lower than 25% like this.
if i use it to play music at parties or whatever i plug the mains charger in.
as for whats using the battery it seems to me that voice calls use more than anything else. but this isnt my point, my point is, unless you live in a cave why would you need your phones battery to last more than a day?
oh and if you live in a cave mabey you shouldnt have an HTC desire...
Phenomenological
Android Expert
Why can't HTC come up with a better battery than their current offering
Yea, just blame HTC for the laws of physics. Tell you what, you go and invent cold fusion, then come back and tell us when you're done, ok?
To all involved - It's a good battery. But it's powering what is effectively a small computer. It isn't going to last all day if you hammer it. It doesn't last as long as a blackberry or a dumbphone because they don't do half of what the Desire does, have smaller screens, and crappy processors. They're aimed at different people. If you want your battery to last a week and you do a lot of emailing, sure, go for a blackberry. If you want a smartphone that can do pretty well anything you want it to, get the Desire, and stop complaining that it doesn't run on a damn ZPM.
I'm getting rather fed up of people complaining about this issue. Our battery technology is limited, and no massive developments seem to be forthcoming. There are a few innovations in the works for charging the battery a lot faster (In a few seconds, actually), but as far as finding a new method of storing energy, scientists are stumped. Lithium ion cells store an incredible amount of energy, in a small space, very safely and stably, and can keep charging and discharging happily for a very long time. Batteries are really quite impressive bits of design. But there are only so many ways of storing power that are suitable for phones, and batteries have to keep getting smaller because we as consumers are demanding buggers and want thin phones. Something has to give. And due to consumer demand, it's the battery. It isn't the manufacturers fault. it isn't HTC's fault. It's YOURS for expecting the impossible. Change your expectations, or get a worse phone.
Rant over now.
Edit: To clarify, I'm not objecting to people looking for ways to improve their battery life or offering advice. That's all well and good, and is to be encouraged. I'm objecting to the constant stream of comments that the Desire has an awful battery in it. It doesn't.Hey everyone. New HTC Desire owner. Posting because of the help you guys have given.
Had mine since Monday and I had some serious battery issues. Unplugged at 7.50am and by 8pm same day it was turning itself off every day since Monday. Sometimes worse. These are the steps I've taken using these forums and others:
1. Load up the pre-installed "Power control" widget. Kill everything. I keep active-sync open because of Googlemail push seeming to stop working when that's not on. I also discovered the GPS was constantly on by doing this. In relation to this, go into your settings - location. Turn off "Use wireless networks". I use Google Navigation for my GPS activities, and the Wireless networks gives only an approximation. So when I get in my car, or get lost, I just turn on gps and navigate to "Use wireless networks" and just turn them on. I probably wont need to use wireless networks location in the car as I've found the GPS on this device is outstanding.
2. Go through each application that could possibly connect to the internet and tell it not to. I discovered facebook, twitter and a few other programs which I'd told not to access were still accessing the internet. Then go to Settings - Accounts&Sync. Go through each individual service and turn them all off as well. As I said, only google mail is set to sync on my phone. Turn off the calendar ones, apparently they drain the battery hard.
3. Uninstalled my task killer, which I installed instantly because people were saying it kills the battery having many applications. This isn't true. http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/26997-task-managers-your-hero.html - read that and it will explain everything.
4. Installed a brightness app which has 3 settings, low med hi. I only ever use medium and its more than bright enough for the cloudy skies of London and office lighting. Auto brightness is rubbish on this phone. (Brightness Editor)
5. Settings - Display. Turn the screen timeout time to lower than 1 minute. Mine is on 15 seconds today as I'm testing the battery out. It's fine but really somewhere between 15 and 30 would be better.
6. Turn off the live wallpaper. I use static now.
7. The final one. I used the phone until it turned itself off. Didn't charge it at all or recharge it. Once it turned itself off (in the evening) I left it on charge all night until the following morning.
2 days ago I'd get to about 60% half way through the day. After my 20 minute train commute, playing Angry Birds or something I'd have a battery bar dropped from the phone, maybe even 2 bars. By 6pm I'd be on 20%. After the commute home it would be telling me to charge the phone.
Ridiculous I thought. Now, this is the first day that I'm trying this out, all these things. At the moment, 2pm, I'm on 90% battery, where before I'd be fast approaching 50%. I'm expecting this to get better as I run the battery in a bit more but the change has been great. I don't feel like I should be careful using it now.
I hope this helps some people out there in my situation. Enjoy your Desire!
Had mine since Monday and I had some serious battery issues. Unplugged at 7.50am and by 8pm same day it was turning itself off every day since Monday. Sometimes worse. These are the steps I've taken using these forums and others:
1. Load up the pre-installed "Power control" widget. Kill everything. I keep active-sync open because of Googlemail push seeming to stop working when that's not on. I also discovered the GPS was constantly on by doing this. In relation to this, go into your settings - location. Turn off "Use wireless networks". I use Google Navigation for my GPS activities, and the Wireless networks gives only an approximation. So when I get in my car, or get lost, I just turn on gps and navigate to "Use wireless networks" and just turn them on. I probably wont need to use wireless networks location in the car as I've found the GPS on this device is outstanding.
2. Go through each application that could possibly connect to the internet and tell it not to. I discovered facebook, twitter and a few other programs which I'd told not to access were still accessing the internet. Then go to Settings - Accounts&Sync. Go through each individual service and turn them all off as well. As I said, only google mail is set to sync on my phone. Turn off the calendar ones, apparently they drain the battery hard.
3. Uninstalled my task killer, which I installed instantly because people were saying it kills the battery having many applications. This isn't true. http://androidforums.com/sprint-htc-hero/26997-task-managers-your-hero.html - read that and it will explain everything.
4. Installed a brightness app which has 3 settings, low med hi. I only ever use medium and its more than bright enough for the cloudy skies of London and office lighting. Auto brightness is rubbish on this phone. (Brightness Editor)
5. Settings - Display. Turn the screen timeout time to lower than 1 minute. Mine is on 15 seconds today as I'm testing the battery out. It's fine but really somewhere between 15 and 30 would be better.
6. Turn off the live wallpaper. I use static now.
7. The final one. I used the phone until it turned itself off. Didn't charge it at all or recharge it. Once it turned itself off (in the evening) I left it on charge all night until the following morning.
2 days ago I'd get to about 60% half way through the day. After my 20 minute train commute, playing Angry Birds or something I'd have a battery bar dropped from the phone, maybe even 2 bars. By 6pm I'd be on 20%. After the commute home it would be telling me to charge the phone.
Ridiculous I thought. Now, this is the first day that I'm trying this out, all these things. At the moment, 2pm, I'm on 90% battery, where before I'd be fast approaching 50%. I'm expecting this to get better as I run the battery in a bit more but the change has been great. I don't feel like I should be careful using it now.
I hope this helps some people out there in my situation. Enjoy your Desire!
faithcry
Member
these are my battery stats...
2d 10h 4min - 8% left
Display - 47% on for 4.5 hours in total
Cell Standby - 16%
Phone Idle - 14%
Android Sys - 8%
Launcher Pro - 4%
Android OS - 2%
although im rooted and running OpenDesire and im underclocking.
No 3G, wifi for over 2 hours, a couple calls, about 100 texts, minumum brightness.
Cheers!
2d 10h 4min - 8% left
Display - 47% on for 4.5 hours in total
Cell Standby - 16%
Phone Idle - 14%
Android Sys - 8%
Launcher Pro - 4%
Android OS - 2%
although im rooted and running OpenDesire and im underclocking.
No 3G, wifi for over 2 hours, a couple calls, about 100 texts, minumum brightness.
Cheers!
D
Deleted User
Guest
With what kind of usage?
And you can't compare a BB9700 to a Desire as the hardware is completely different. The Desire has a processor that runs nearly twice as fast, with a much more powerful GPU in the chipset too.
It's like comparing a Chevy Cobalt I4 to a Malibu V6. The Malibu driver can't complain about gas mileage when it has nearly twice the horsepower.
In order to maintain a compact size, HTC kept the battery thin. It would be nice if we had 3000mAH batteries at the same size, but we don't have that technology yet.
Mine isn't bad though considering the power and usage. Last night I topped up my battery and it was fully charged at 9pm. I unplugged it and it was mostly idle the rest of the night, except for a text and a Market update notification which I checked online, and the new Maps update I checked out for a few minutes. After the alarm went off at 7am this morning, the battery was down to 96%. That's only 4% over 10 hours which is worse than normal because I played with it a bit last night before bed. Normally if I don't use the phone, it drops about 2% to 97-98% overnight.
With heavy usage, the battery will last about 5-7 hours. But if I used it that much at work, I'd get fired. So obviously it doesn't get that much use while working and sleeping. In the end, I typically get 24-48 hours out of a charge. If I use the phone a bit, then I top up each evening. If I'm not using the phone much, I charge the next day. I also have a car charger in the event I use it heavily for Maps, geocaching, or other GPS uses that eats up the battery.
Before the Desire I had an iPhone 3G. My Desire is much faster, does a lot more when idle as well as active, and it has about three times the processing power overall. Yet the battery has lower capacity related to draw but still lasts about the same length of time as the iPhone 3g did. The 3G had an 1150mAH pack but the 3G drew substantially less power than the Desire and its 1400mAH pack. So realistically the Desire is getting better battery life than the 3G on a watt to AH draw ratio.
My old Motorola RAZR V3 battery (710mAH) would last 2-3 days on a charge. But it's a dumb phone with no processing power and poor power management. So is it really that bad when the Desire does all that it does and still lasts a day? I don't think so.
Loud
Member
Hi, read a few threads on here about battery life as I'm struggling at the mo, however nowhere near as bad as 4hrs etc. However I factory reset after reading another thread on here and have only put back on the apps I use, but to be honest it's still not the best 
It was much better before the 2.2 update.
Anyway I wanted to see what HTC would say as it was suggested to contact them by someone else on here...so I did. I explained in detail what my average useage was, apps, times, etc etc and their reply came today. I'm not trying to be arsey or get anyones back up, just thought the reply was slightly amusing.
"Dear Carl ******,
if you turn off all the applications on the phone and fully charge it, and dont use the phone at all could you please tell me how long it will last.
To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number 10GBCW44ENA001813.
Sincerely,
Semira
HTC"
lol I can't last more than a few hours without my phone nevermind not using it at all.
I've taken a few tips from this thread and will try them, but I think it's a great phone and will happily keep it, it just makes me "Arrgghh!" now and then when I need to charge
It was much better before the 2.2 update. Anyway I wanted to see what HTC would say as it was suggested to contact them by someone else on here...so I did. I explained in detail what my average useage was, apps, times, etc etc and their reply came today. I'm not trying to be arsey or get anyones back up, just thought the reply was slightly amusing.
"Dear Carl ******,
if you turn off all the applications on the phone and fully charge it, and dont use the phone at all could you please tell me how long it will last.
To send a reply to this message or let me know I have successfully answered your question log in to our ContactUs site using your email address and your ticket number 10GBCW44ENA001813.
Sincerely,
Semira
HTC"
lol I can't last more than a few hours without my phone nevermind not using it at all.
I've taken a few tips from this thread and will try them, but I think it's a great phone and will happily keep it, it just makes me "Arrgghh!" now and then when I need to charge
great postWith what kind of usage?
And you can't compare a BB9700 to a Desire as the hardware is completely different. The Desire has a processor that runs nearly twice as fast, with a much more powerful GPU in the chipset too.
It's like comparing a Chevy Cobalt I4 to a Malibu V6. The Malibu driver can't complain about gas mileage when it has nearly twice the horsepower.
In order to maintain a compact size, HTC kept the battery thin. It would be nice if we had 3000mAH batteries at the same size, but we don't have that technology yet.
Mine isn't bad though considering the power and usage. Last night I topped up my battery and it was fully charged at 9pm. I unplugged it and it was mostly idle the rest of the night, except for a text and a Market update notification which I checked online, and the new Maps update I checked out for a few minutes. After the alarm went off at 7am this morning, the battery was down to 96%. That's only 4% over 10 hours which is worse than normal because I played with it a bit last night before bed. Normally if I don't use the phone, it drops about 2% to 97-98% overnight.
With heavy usage, the battery will last about 5-7 hours. But if I used it that much at work, I'd get fired. So obviously it doesn't get that much use while working and sleeping. In the end, I typically get 24-48 hours out of a charge. If I use the phone a bit, then I top up each evening. If I'm not using the phone much, I charge the next day. I also have a car charger in the event I use it heavily for Maps, geocaching, or other GPS uses that eats up the battery.
Before the Desire I had an iPhone 3G. My Desire is much faster, does a lot more when idle as well as active, and it has about three times the processing power overall. Yet the battery has lower capacity related to draw but still lasts about the same length of time as the iPhone 3g did. The 3G had an 1150mAH pack but the 3G drew substantially less power than the Desire and its 1400mAH pack. So realistically the Desire is getting better battery life than the 3G on a watt to AH draw ratio.
My old Motorola RAZR V3 battery (710mAH) would last 2-3 days on a charge. But it's a dumb phone with no processing power and poor power management. So is it really that bad when the Desire does all that it does and still lasts a day? I don't think so.
i would like to point out that i have noticed that using apps that give you an exact battery percentage rather than using the less accurate one in "about phone" in itself seems to drain more battery.
would also just like to add that i have been trialing one of those seido extended batteries.
not a tremendous increase but it definately feels like you have more beef there than the stock battery
would also just like to add that i have been trialing one of those seido extended batteries.
not a tremendous increase but it definately feels like you have more beef there than the stock battery
D
Deleted User
Guest
Interesting...I suppose that makes some sense if the app is constantly polling for info. Personally I just use the built-in hidden app "Testing" which is where these battery apps get their info. You open it by typing in a sequence of numbers at the phone dialpad *#*#4636#*#* and it will open the app immediately. Just tap on Battery information to see the status with exact charge level, temp, voltage, etc.
Some aftermarket batteries are junk. Although they claim more capacity, many are made with inferior components and lack capacity. I've seen 2400mAH packs that have the same or less capacity than a quality made 1600mAH pack from a trusted vendor. Chinese "no name" are the worst, sometimes with completely false capacity claims. Some have the right capacity but lack an intelligent microchip to maintain the cell properly so they fail early or do not provide feedback info to the phone. You get what you pay for.
D
Deleted User
Guest
dukeofbluz
Newbie
Mine took 3 weeks and 3 days before the battery started holding a charge. I charge it all night and the battery will last 16 hours with I consider medium usage, some web, some phone calls, a lot of text and around 40 emails. I have my gmail account synced all the time.
Good luck,
Duke
Good luck,
Duke
I've had the desire for a few months and have to say my only gripe is the battery, day to day this is not an issue for me as I am normally back home from work by 4pm and can stick it on charge. Give you an idea of use on a normal work day -
-I have everything set to manual update when I use the apps for things like mail, facebook, twitter etc so only update when I check them which is like 2-3 times a day
-Display brightness is 30% and screen timeout 30secs
-Use Catchthatbus app to check bus times before leaving house
-I have tasker set to update newsrob account at 5:30am (phone is normally on charge), 9:30pm and 2pm
-I have guardian anywhere app automatically download once before I start work
-Send a few texts and make one or two calls through the day while working
-Check news and read it on my breaks sometimes use internet but normally just reading guardian, newsrob which is already downloaded.
Normally home from work for 4pm and phone is off charge from 6am and it is down to 30% to which I don't think is really heavy use?
Problem I have is if I go away for the day, for example I am going away next week for the day and will be out of the house from 8am until 10pm and I know my phone is not going to last unless I leave it switched off for some of that period, if I use the phone as I do on a normal day.
-I have everything set to manual update when I use the apps for things like mail, facebook, twitter etc so only update when I check them which is like 2-3 times a day
-Display brightness is 30% and screen timeout 30secs
-Use Catchthatbus app to check bus times before leaving house
-I have tasker set to update newsrob account at 5:30am (phone is normally on charge), 9:30pm and 2pm
-I have guardian anywhere app automatically download once before I start work
-Send a few texts and make one or two calls through the day while working
-Check news and read it on my breaks sometimes use internet but normally just reading guardian, newsrob which is already downloaded.
Normally home from work for 4pm and phone is off charge from 6am and it is down to 30% to which I don't think is really heavy use?
Problem I have is if I go away for the day, for example I am going away next week for the day and will be out of the house from 8am until 10pm and I know my phone is not going to last unless I leave it switched off for some of that period, if I use the phone as I do on a normal day.
Zandedroid
Lurker
Great program, simple but effective.
Idle 5-10 ma also
In airplane mode I use 136 ma, So it seems that is my baseline.
somehow with barely no usage ( 1 call, no texts, no internet, mostly GSM only setting) my phone lasted 10 hours. most of that was supposed to be idle time.
I have all kinds of services running that don`t make sense to me.
Calendar, Obexservice (com.htc.bgp)
Calendar, ConnectivityService (com.htc.bg)
Google, GtalkService ( com.google.process.gapps), I don`t even have a Talk account.
Something unexplained is chewing up battery me thinks
Idle 5-10 ma also
In airplane mode I use 136 ma, So it seems that is my baseline.
somehow with barely no usage ( 1 call, no texts, no internet, mostly GSM only setting) my phone lasted 10 hours. most of that was supposed to be idle time.
I have all kinds of services running that don`t make sense to me.
Calendar, Obexservice (com.htc.bgp)
Calendar, ConnectivityService (com.htc.bg)
Google, GtalkService ( com.google.process.gapps), I don`t even have a Talk account.
Something unexplained is chewing up battery me thinks
D
Deleted User
Guest
Don't worry about them. I have them running too and they're needed as they do more than just the obvious names suggest.
Perhaps...if so it's a rogue app you installed. Or the phone is not calibrated for the battery. Try the calibration procedure, and follow it EXACTLY, and it may help. Don't try to outsmart the procedure either, do it exactly as the instructions say.
Zandedroid
Lurker
I installed systempanel lite.
It shows all the software running and some info on usage.
I didn`t see anything that was active for too long a period of time. so my uneducated guess is that there isn`t a software always on that shouldn`t be.
I did notice very high current spikes shown in your program ( up to 450ma) that seem odd to me and I think should be fixable.
At his point my guess is that the high baseline is from display and cpu usage. Can it be that the drivers (for cpu and display) are faulty and cause too high usage? I doubt it.
At this point, asidefrom odd spikes that probably can be fixed, I`d say we are stuck with high baseline usage due to the choices of cpu and display.
I`d love some real info other than my specualtion, what are the odds of that?
It shows all the software running and some info on usage.
I didn`t see anything that was active for too long a period of time. so my uneducated guess is that there isn`t a software always on that shouldn`t be.
I did notice very high current spikes shown in your program ( up to 450ma) that seem odd to me and I think should be fixable.
At his point my guess is that the high baseline is from display and cpu usage. Can it be that the drivers (for cpu and display) are faulty and cause too high usage? I doubt it.
At this point, asidefrom odd spikes that probably can be fixed, I`d say we are stuck with high baseline usage due to the choices of cpu and display.
I`d love some real info other than my specualtion, what are the odds of that?