Dismal battery life?

[bobloadmire]

I was tired of getting 6 hours of battery life, so I factory reset my phone today. I only updated the stock apps and installed holo launcher, and google voice and groupme. I cleared data on Launcher and Mobile ID. The power drain has been MUUUUUCH improved. about 2% - 4% perhour not on wifi. I had Juicedefender installed previous and recommend staying far way from it.

 

[Jdubblemint]

Hi folks.
I am also experiencing poor battery performance w/ my elite.
My TWS is about 40%, yet I live somewhere where I always get a good signal when I need it. I feel like my battery drains most when I am not using the device.
Could someone please explain the "TWS bug?"

 

[a12tmoreno]

After 3 factory resets and uninstalling most of apps, I still get a ridiculously low battery life. Yesterday was the final straw though, after about 10 hours from unplugging the charger the battery was below 20% and all I did was send a few texts and load up the browser a couple of times!
After the battery hit below 20% was when the fun started, I got a call (lasted about 3 minutes) and while talking the back of the phone got hot enough, I thought smoke was going to come out! After the call the battery dropped to 10%, I tried using the internet again and would not connect, 3G icon disappeared and my signal bars all dropped (I had four bars before).
Normally I am always near a computer or a land line phone but yesterday I wasn’t and really needed to find some information in the internet, use my phone for calls and texting…and this phone failed me. Previously I owned the Optimus V and never had this problem. I made up my mind and going to return this phone today. I would want to exchange it, to see if maybe I just got a defective unit, but if I activate the new one…will Virgin Mobile revoke my grandfathered $25.00 plan? I didn’t buy the original Elite through them (got it at Best Buy) and I get the feeling that most of their customer reps aren’t really reliable when it comes to providing this information.

 

[Zx5]

You don't need to do anything to the old phone for the vm swap. Just wipe it before you return it to the store.

Just go to settings > privacy and reset phone

If you have setup Google wallet, do a reset from withing Google wallet first before resetting phone. This will clear all your info from the secure element which a factory reset alone won't

fyi for anyone exchanging, then doing a phone swap on a second phone. (Done at the Virgin Mobile site.)

You need to do the "Google Wallet reset"/factory reset while the first phone is still active because Google requires access to the network in order to get into your account to reset Google Wallet. (I thought it could be done from the app settings on the phone.)

I had already activated the second phone. I did clear the data on GW on the first phone before a factory reset; nothing bad seems to have happened, though.

 

[disparaissant]

i have had great battery life lately. i was getting pretty bad battery life before but yesterday i had 13h on battery and was just below 50%. wasnt making many voice calls but i was facebooking and taking pictures all day. so surprising. i turned off wifi when i wasnt anywhere with wifi... that might have helped a lot.

 

[Great Crippler]

i have had great battery life lately. i was getting pretty bad battery life before but yesterday i had 13h on battery and was just below 50%. wasnt making many voice calls but i was facebooking and taking pictures all day. so surprising. i turned off wifi when i wasnt anywhere with wifi... that might have helped a lot.

Rooted my phone, and used TB to freeze all of the VM stuff running in the background that I could never keep turned off. My battery life seems much better now.

 

[WhisperPntr]

I have noticed every once in a while it will lock at 1ghz and the only way to get it to deep sleep again is to reboot. You will notice when the phone is locked, but the back side, especially near the camera is hot. not sure what causes this, but it really does drain fast.

I'm personally guessing that when we develop our own kernel that smartassv2 will fix this.

 

[WhisperPntr]

After 3 factory resets and uninstalling most of apps, I still get a ridiculously low battery life. Yesterday was the final straw though, after about 10 hours from unplugging the charger the battery was below 20% and all I did was send a few texts and load up the browser a couple of times!
After the battery hit below 20% was when the fun started, I got a call (lasted about 3 minutes) and while talking the back of the phone got hot enough, I thought smoke was going to come out! After the call the battery dropped to 10%, I tried using the internet again and would not connect, 3G icon disappeared and my signal bars all dropped (I had four bars before).
Normally I am always near a computer or a land line phone but yesterday I wasn

 

[bobloadmire]

Now I have noticed when the phone is over heating and draining fast, force killing google maps solves the issues. I have confirmed this about 3 times now. I think it's trying to use GPS, because if I disable GPS and not the app, it cools down too. It's funny the icon is showing, but I have seen funnier things.

 

[a12tmoreno]

Not sure if you still need this information. If you did this what happened personally to you?

If not, From what I've read and the complaints I've seen online you will get the grandfather plan revoked. Best to downgrade the phone to an OV and then swap the phone to a new one.

I did end up exchanging my ELite and sure enough when I tried to activate the replacement I was told that after May 27 there was no way to activate that phone under the $25 plan. Maybe they didn't want to, I dont know...but I ended up talking to 3 different people, which pretty much told me the same thing. After getting upset and returning the phone for a refund, I got a tweet from VM saying that if the phone was bought from VM directly they could have replaced it and I would have stayed under the $25 plan.
I upgraded to the HTC Evo since, which has been giving me issues as well, after the latest round of "fixes" I'm hoping to finally have a working phone. It's been well over a month with nothing but problems.

 

[rcsrich]

My friend just bought an Elite over the weekend, has added very few apps and is getting terrible battery life (unplugged at 7am, 20-30% by noon with just occasional checking). I have a Triumph on a Froyo ROM , have push email & numerous other notifications turned on & on a day of fairly regular usage & time spent in a poor signal area, mine is sitting right at 70% at 3:20 pm after coming off the charger at 7:45 this morning.

From what I understand, the Elite has a larger battery, smaller screen & slower processor (have the MT OC'd at 1.4 Ghz), so I would think it would be getting at least the battery life of the MT, if not better.

I advised her to take it back to where she purchased it & do an exchange for a new unit- it sounds to me like she might have a lemon phone/battery. Seem like the right advice?

 

[riggerman1]

I would. My wife has the Elite and gets 18 to 24 hours with heavy texting, gaming and wifi always on.

 

[rcsrich]

I would. My wife has the Elite and gets 18 to 24 hours with heavy texting, gaming and wifi always on.

I figured the phone should get decent battery usage- thanks!

Sounds like better battery life than the V too, huh?

 

[TX-Dennis]

I plugged mine in this morning after 30 hours off the charger. It was still over 40% with moderate usage - texting, gaming, reading for about half an hour, and a couple of quick calls.

 

[rcsrich]

I plugged mine in this morning after 30 hours off the charger. It was still over 40% with moderate usage - texting, gaming, reading for about half an hour, and a couple of quick calls.

Sounds like hers is definitely a lemon...

 

[Zx5]

A couple of days ago, noticed the battery is going real fast. Fully charged, then near 35% after a half day/with barely any use. It takes longer to charge, also.

I've only had it 6 months. Before I get a replacement battery, any ideas of something that might be draining it?

I've rebooted a couple of times and also don't have bluetooth, wifi or gps on.

 

[Murf1]

Do you turn 3G off? You can use apps like Power Toggles or DataSwitch to do that. When I started killing mine, it increased my time 100%.

 

[Zx5]

Do you turn 3G off? You can use apps like Power Toggles or DataSwitch to do that. When I started killing mine, it increased my time 100%.

great, thanks!

I installed Data Switch. I pressed the icon. a little message says it's disabling it and 3G is gone.

So, this is to compensate for that fact that the phone has no switch/3G always on? I will see how the battery life goes now.

 

[Murf1]

great, thanks!

I installed Data Switch. I pressed the icon. a little message says it's disabling it and 3G is gone.

So, this is to compensate for that fact that the phone has no switch/3G always on? I will see how the battery life goes now.

Thanks for hitting the "thanks" button.

One "catch" I should note that you may not be aware of when shutting off the 3G. You will not be able to download or send a SMS Text message with a picture attachment. The text will go thru, but not the picture. It will also not send/receive thru WiFi - it must use 3G. So it you get a text message with a picture attachment, before you click the "download" button attached to the text, go turn the 3G on first, then come back and hit "download" and you'll get the picture.

 

[Zx5]

Thanks for hitting the "thanks" button.

One "catch" I should note that you may not be aware of when shutting off the 3G. You will not be able to download or send a SMS Text message with a picture attachment. The text will go thru, but not the picture. It will also not send/receive thru WiFi - it must use 3G. So it you get a text message with a picture attachment, before you click the "download" button attached to the text, go turn the 3G on first, then come back and hit "download" and you'll get the picture.

Thanks again.

Status shows the percentage getting lower at a much slower rate/this appears to be working out much better.

 

[Murf1]

Zx5, I started with DataSwitch. Then I decided to try "Power Toggles" because you can customize the widget for all kinds of things. Started using it in place of Stock Android Power Control and DataSwitch. If you decide to try it, DO NOT use the control for "WiFi Hotspot". It messes with your phone and causes a bad error (see sticky at the top of the forum "Warning, Do Not Try Mobile Hotspot".)

You can get it here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/...t#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5wYWlubGVzcy5wYyJd

 

[Ranhead]

WOOHOO for Power Toggles. It's a great app!!! Don't forget to check out all the options it has for customization.

 

[Artine]

In System Settings > Wireless & Networks > Mobile networks, you can turn on/off 3G without needing an extra app to do so, so as to save space on your phone for something else.

Also, use JuiceDefender, and customize it to your needs. I gained six hours with JuiceDefender alone, and that was way before I learned what Rooting was. Additionally, many of the available ROMs come with extra/longer battery life as standard just based on app cleanup - which all of them have - alone. In lieu of other changes that may also increase battery life.

EDIT: Also, Power Toggles is nifty. And never use the wifi hotspot. Ever. There are rooted apps for this that do work, but the built-in feature does not.

 

[elgecko]

Love Juice Defender for this screwed up phone.
Should not need to run it to save the battery, but the way it works on the network, IIRC toggling between 1g & 3g it eats the battery fast.
Without it turning on and off my 3g to get my emails and sync apps, I would only get 8-10hrs max on the battery.
With Juice Defender after 18 hrs I still have mid 60% left on the battery.
If it was not for juice defender, this phone would have been in the trash months ago....

Power Toggles is very nice for quick and easy customization.