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How to save power?

robo21 said:
I have not needed any of the "task killer aps" instead I simply installed the Android Power Control Widget on my home screen so that I can conveniently turn off services I don't need. With this widget I simply go to my home screen and tap the services I want to turn on.

I wasn't impressed with the battery life when I first got my phone, but I was running live wallpaper, and had all the services (e.g. bluetooth, GPS, etc.) running continuously. Now with static wallpaper and everything but Auto Sync turned off my battery went from 100% to 93% overnight which is perfectly acceptable in my mind. The Power Control Widget made the battery life much better for me.
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this vibrant is my first smartphone, so i'm new to this. sorry for the most noob of questions, but here goes: i
after reading this thread, i've uninstalled ATK and i just set the android power control widget. there are 5 symbols. are they (in order) wifi, bt, 3G, refresh or sync and the last one brightness? would i use either box 1 --OR-- box 3. i mean, i would use either wifi --OR-- 3G, but not both, right? what or when do use use box 4 (sync or refresh) for? sorry for the amatuer question. thanks for your patience
 
neanderthaler said:
this vibrant is my first smartphone, so i'm new to this. sorry for the most noob of questions, but here goes: i
after reading this thread, i've uninstalled ATK and i just set the android power control widget. there are 5 symbols. are they (in order) wifi, bt, 3G, refresh or sync and the last one brightness? would i use either box 1 --OR-- box 3. i mean, i would use either wifi --OR-- 3G, but not both, right? what or when do use use box 4 (sync or refresh) for? sorry for the amatuer question. thanks for your patience
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First off, no need to apologize, we all were new at one point. The best use of these forums in my opinion is to assist those in need of information.

The control buttons on the power control bar are as follows from left to right: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Refresh (apps, email, etc.) and brightness. There is no overlap in the buttons.

If you turn off the synch or refresh your Google Contacts, email, etc., will not update. 3G is not controlled on the Power Control Widget. Feel free to ask anything anytime. ;)
 
thanks robo so much. i had just braced for the "try the search featrure before you ask" responses. super quick respose and concise. will most or all apps that require one of these features ask for it? i mean, if an app calls for gps, or wifi, will it ask me to turn on that feature?
 
You're welcome.

And no, not necessarily. Many apps will not "ask" for you to turn on a necessary service, they just won't fully function. For example I installed Savvy Shopper and it didn't ask for GPS to be enabled, but when I tried to look up local pricing no info was available it did however give me Internet pricing.

You will get a feel for what needs to be on to obtain full functionality of an app or widget.

Have fun! Isn't technology great?
 
i am new to android and have been reading up a lot, but i am still very confused and don't know what things mean. like i read that going to the built in app killer on the phone and force stopping apps from there is good but there are just some things there that i don't know what they do and just don't stop them from fear of messing something up..... an example would be GTALKSERVICE which i don't even know if i use or not?
 
i think i'm in the same boat as you, optimus. i'm new to this myself. i just finally figured out which remote goes to my tv, and which goes to the dvd player. you might be more advanced than me. this thread has been very helpful to me, and robo even took it easy on me and cleared up some stuff. i find myself on information overload after about 45min. on android forums, so i force myself away after a little while. if i ever use 1/4 of this phones potential, i'll be happy. best toy i've gotten in a LONG time
 
ok i read on another post that this person drained there battery and then fully charge it twice. then after when it was at 100% he turned it off and left it only for a few minutes and then turned it back on and he got good battery so i tried it and i am getting way better battery now that i have done that. so try it and see if it works for you.
 
optimusprime1 said:
ok i read on another post that this person drained there battery and then fully charge it twice. then after when it was at 100% he turned it off and left it only for a few minutes and then turned it back on and he got good battery so i tried it and i am getting way better battery now that i have done that. so try it and see if it works for you.
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If you're that crazy about battery life, then you guys seriously need to get this.

YouTube - Mugen Power extended battery for Samsung GalaxyS i9000
 
sherylannw said:
All of a sudden, the sync icon has seemed to be running all of the time. I have turned it off a couple of different ways, but it keeps reappearing. Could this be why I'm getting such short battery life? I've been running thru 3 batteries at full charge per day.

I like the phone, but am frustrated by the battery life, and seriously have considered going back to my Blackberry because of this, along with a couple of other reasons.
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There is another possibility which might explain a rapid battery drain. If you are in an area where the 3G signal is weak or not available it will seriously drain your battery. A 3G phone on a 2G network will substantially boost its power "looking" for a faster 3G tower.

You can go to Settings/Wireless and Networks/Mobile Networks then click on "Use only 2G networks" - a checkmark will appear. If you are in a fringe area where you aren't connecting or only sporadically connecting to 3G this shouldn't adversely affect your transfer speeds but it will dramatically reduce your battery drain.
 
If you are in an area where the 3G signal is weak or not available it will seriously drain your battery. A 3G phone on a 2G network will substantially boost its power "looking" for a faster 3G tower.

You can go to Settings/Wireless and Networks/Mobile Networks then click on "Use only 2G networks" - a checkmark will appear. If you are in a fringe area where you aren't connecting or only sporadically connecting to 3G this shouldn't adversely affect your transfer speeds but it will dramatically reduce your battery drain.

Another setting that will help to preserve your battery's charge is to specify longer update intervals for your syncing apps. 2 hour intervals is ideal for battery preservation for nonessential information. You can also turn off background syncing altogether and this will allow apps to sync only when they are in the main window. To try this setting go to Settings/Accounts and sync/Background data and uncheck the box next to Background data.

These settings should make for a noticeable improvement in your battery life.
 
melll said:
If you're that crazy about battery life, then you guys seriously need to get this.
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That's a mighty battery, but damn, the phone's form factor really gets mammoth. For me, I'd rather keep an extra battery and a car charger with me. Wow, that's a thick phone with that installed! :eek:
 
I use juice defender pro. Whenever my screen isn't unlocked it allows 3g and wifi to run every 30 min for 2 min. My battery life has been significantly improved. According to JD my battery has been extended x 2.24. This might solve your guys problems in poor service areas while you phone is idle.
 
robo21 said:
That's a mighty battery, but damn, the phone's form factor really gets mammoth. For me, I'd rather keep an extra battery and a car charger with me. Wow, that's a thick phone with that installed! :eek:
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Depends on your perspective.... I once kept a Motorola brick phone in my backpocket, so I could live with it. :D

What I couldn't live with on the G1 (with a Seidio 3500mAh extended battery) was losing literally 90% of the speaker volume due to the battery cover. Most of the sound waves are absorbed by the cover because it doesn't channel the speaker output to the new grill. Whatever incident waves happen to escape that cover is what you're left with.... major fail. I don't know anything about Mugen power but I'd be inquiring about it before a purchase.

Now I just keep a 5500mAh USB battery pack with me.
 
Hello,

I added the shortcut bar twice by mistake, how would I remove one fo them?

Thanks for your help with all this.

robo21 said:
Sure! It is built into the phone. It's very easy:
To use the Power Control shortcut bar:​
1. From the Home screen, touch and hold an empty area until the Add to Home screen menu displays.


2. Touch Android Widgets ➔ Power Control. The Power Control shortcut is added to the second panel of the Home screen.​




3. Touch one of the icons on the Power Control shortcut bar to activate the application. A green bar displayed beneath the icon means the application was activated (turned on).​





4. Touch one of the icons a second time to deactivate the application. The green bar is removed from beneath the icon which means the application was deactivated (turned off).​
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bacardiator said:
Hello,

I added the shortcut bar twice by mistake, how would I remove one fo them?

Thanks for your help with all this.
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No problem! Just do a long press on the one you want to get rid of and simply drag it into the trash can at the bottom of the screen... ;)
 
optimusprime1 said:
ok i read on another post that this person drained there battery and then fully charge it twice. then after when it was at 100% he turned it off and left it only for a few minutes and then turned it back on and he got good battery so i tried it and i am getting way better battery now that i have done that. so try it and see if it works for you.
Click to expand...

Can you link to that post?
 
Here's what I've got if anyone curious.

I'm unrooted at the moment, I'm running LauncherPro+ (I've read somewhere that it'll help battery life), auto-brightness is off with brightness set to lowest setting (though the swiping across the notification bar is really handy when I head outdoors), I have 3G turned off unless I NEED it (websites with lots of pictures), WiFi is only on when I'm using it (searching for access points is a huge drain), and auto sync is on for Google Apps (other email clients, weather widgets, etc. are set at one hour intervals). I have GPS on at all times (I've had my phone stolen, I'm a bit paranoid as a result, but it'll tell me when its actually running which is rarely).

Personally, I don't care about finding out if my friends are eating a bagel or not, so I don't have FB widgets or anything of the sort; especially since my computer is usually sitting right in front of me.

With what I would consider average usage (texting girlfriend, calling mom, making travel plans, reading Kindle, listening to a few hours of music, and searching the web a bit) I run the phone down to about 45% in 16-ish hours. I believe that ultimately 3G is the main killer of battery life, particularly when you're running in and out of coverage like I get in Tucson.

Hopefully that helped someone who was having battery issues like I was when I first got the phone. I'm certainly not a "power" user, but I give it a fair run for it's money throughout the day.
 
my best advice is to turn off 3G while at work or not doing anything much with the phone, simply just use 2G.. it saves a lot of battery , besides 2G should be enough to sync your data, feeds, etc.. then turn 3G on when you need it..
 
galaxyS said:
my best advice is to turn off 3G while at work or not doing anything much with the phone, simply just use 2G.. it saves a lot of battery , besides 2G should be enough to sync your data, feeds, etc.. then turn 3G on when you need it..
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Check out JuiceDefender if that is something you want to do. It will turn off the radio completely, to only re-enable it when you unlock the phone or on schedule to allow background syncing.
 
yatimameiji said:
Check out JuiceDefender if that is something you want to do. It will turn off the radio completely, to only re-enable it when you unlock the phone or on schedule to allow background syncing.
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thanks.. ive heard about it, but i dont really need any battery saving app.. my battery last at least up to 21 hrs or more a day with moderate use.. and i normally charge my phone every night anyway.. so i dont need it to last 2 full days.. LOL

but thanks
 
Hey guys, I'm new here and new to the whole "smart phone" thing. Reading through this thread has made me uninstall ATK, along with setting my brightness to the lowest setting (still bright enough for indoors!).

On another forum/blog, I read that turning off the Haptic feedback might give the battery a break. All of those little jolts per touch probably add up to a considerable chunk of battery juice. Plus, IMO, I don't need a jolt to tell me I just pressed the letter "T", and so on...

Glad to see other users trying to get the most out of their Vibrants! This phone has truely opened up a whole new world to me.
 
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