Related
EDIT: thanks everyone for the input! Here's the revised guide:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The purpose of this how to is to help you, whether new or experienced, to achieve the best battery-life results possible.
This is not:
a magical solution doubling or tripling battery life
a collection of zip files to flash, offering dubious promises
anything of my own making. If I quote anybody and forget to give credit pls pm or comment.
What this is:
Tried and tested methods to *slightly increase* your battery life
An open forum, if I miss anything don't hesitate to comment
I'm organising this post as follows:
Basic: Stuff you probably all know, but here for newbies' sake
Intermediate: More effort involved
Hacks: Root required
[Basic]
1) Turn off wifi, bluetooth, and GPS when not in use. HTC and Google both provide handy widgets to toggle these on and off.
EDITED:
2) Don't use automatic brightness. Use a widget to ramp it up only when needed. Automatic brightness may ramp it too high, and engages an additional sensor so It might actually decrease battery life. ( Thanks droid fetish and magneticzero )
3) Set brightness as low as possible when you can. There's an app called "dimmer" on the market that will set it lower than standard widgets. Use this when you're in the dark.
[Intermediate]
1)Update: The following may or may not help, I am doing some tests to try and get a solid answer: Turn off 4G when not needed, especially if you're in a 3G only area.
to do this dial *#*#4636#*#* then change "CDMA + LTE/EvDo auto" to "CDMA auto (PRL)"
Change it back when needed.
*** I don't remember where I first read how to do this, so if you discovered this please let me know so I can give credit.
You can also get an app from the market by the great folks at TeamAndIRC called "LTE OnOFF" at the moment it's just a shortcut to the *#*#4636#*#* menu, but they're working on improving it.
If you're rooted, you can flash "advanced Radio Tools In Settings" by jcase *thanks for the great tool* that will add this menu into your network settings. (its in rom manager under jcase)
Find the original thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1018159
2) Bump Charge. As explained in detail here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=871051 (great post byrong!)
follow the instructions here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1016508 (thanks psufan!)
3) Currently there is a bug with certain towers that really drain your battery. Until they get it fixed there's a solution in post 12 of this thread. here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12597290&postcount=12 (thanks Zshazz!)
[Hacks]
1) Remove Bloat.
IF you are rooted, you can use titanium backup to "freeze" (restores on hard reset) or delete apps out of the stock rom. Blockbuster is really bad, as are many of the others.
A good way to do this is to just flash a rom with the bloat removed. They are many, find them in the development section.
I use Das BAMF by adrynalyne here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1009876
2) Undervolted Kernel. Flash a new kernel, a good one comes with Das BAMF, for other roms, you can flash adrynalyne's in MrBobrowitz's section in rom manager.
For an interesting read: here's an excellent post by byrong about the effects of cpu and brightness on battery:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=979359
Go ahead and read that, then give him a "thanks" for all the hard work.
Thanks for reading!
This is a working list, so please comment anything that should be added!
Regards,
-Jesse
Reserved
Currently running the following tests:
a) run pandora after fresh charge/boot on both 3G only and 3G/4G with screen and volume off. Report ma usage and battery level every half hour.
b) run phone in standby on both 3G only and 3G/4G with screen and volume off. Report ma usage and battery level every half hour.
(calls will be forwarded)
This is no objective, and I see the following 2 flaws:
a) pandora may not have a consistent data usage amount
b) my signal may very for 3G and 4G.
If you can think of a way around this let me know.
Thank you for not putting ATM in here. I would've reported you... fo realz
Hahahahaaa lol! I'd sooner shoot myself. I sell phones for a living, and it took so long to convince my peers about atm its turned me into an anti-atm/atk zealot
Is there still any debate on whether or not turning off 4G has a significant improvement on your battery life? I remember reading a while back (2 weeks ago) that it didn't matter, so I never put any effort into disabling it. But being in a non-4G area I'm sure it doesn't matter.
Just curious what other people have seen/heard.
I will try and do some tests tomorrow... if anyone has evidence pls let us know.
Until then, goodnight
Edit: thinking about it: it might not matter. The rumor probably came from the ego 4G, because wimax behaves like wifi (to my understanding) and is therefore a battery drain. That being said, LTE does not behave that way....
So there are 2 questions in need of answering:
1 does the phone 'search' for LTE in 3G only areas, thus wasting battery
2 does turning it off in a 4G area save battery?
I can tackle the second since im in a 4G area. If anyone wants to test the first, be my guest.
use a brightness wiget and keep screen down until you need it.
Auto brightness is a battery killer...set your screen and forget it
I don't think turning off 4G saves battery, I have tried it both ways at work in a heavily blanketed 4G area, and I can't see any difference. I have also looked at the battery history with phone in idle, and drain seems to stay consistent at about 35-45 mah. So I think it only "searches" for signal maybe if you are in a non 4G area. I never not in 4G, so this I can't answer.
magneticzero said:
Auto brightness is a battery killer...set your screen and forget it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I would assume it takes more functions to determine automatic brightness then it does to have a set level.
I can't do that, as I am in and out all day. I wish we had some user customizable screen auto brightness settings like luminosity on winmo. That is literally the only thing I miss from winmo. Basically it allows you to set the minimum bightness that you can stand for all different outdoor lighting conditions. Instead of having the standard that goog or HTC sets. (not sure who sets it)
The biggest battery saver might only be able to be done via the user. Maybe if you have Tasker you can set it up, but here it goes:
Some areas/towers cause your radio to drain enormous amounts of power (and it doesn't show up in your Battery Use menu). For the people getting 6h of battery life, I'm looking at you. Download CurrentWidget and find out where these places are. When you discover the areas this happens, make sure your Mobile Data is turned OFF while you're in those areas. You may also use wifi if available. This stops the "bug" from draining your battery.
Normal areas (such as the area around my house) draws 40-80 mA with my screen off according to CurrentWidget. These bugged areas (like certain areas in town, for me) will cause your phone to draw 700mA minimum ... and when I looked through my current widget logs, 900mA has seemed to be the norm. As you can imagine, your battery wouldn't survive very long at all with that kind of drain.
After paying attention to where this bug happens, I've managed to extend my battery life to taking 20% (as in, my battery widget showed 80%) of my battery in 13 hours and 30 minutes. That is a 4x improvement over my old battery life. With careful use like this, you could see 2 days of light-medium usage very easily.
I'm not saying this is normal or that you should be expected to do this... I'm saying HTC/Verizon has a bug they need to fix ASAP, and this is just a stopgap until they fix it.
Zshazz said:
When you discover the areas this happens, make sure your Mobile Data is turned OFF while you're in those areas. You may also use wifi if available. This stops the "bug" from draining your battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, so just for giggles I installed that widget to see what I was getting at my desk, and it was running around 380-410mA, turned on the wifi (which also disables mobile data) and I'm down to 150-160mA immediately.
I'm going to enable logging and keep an eye on this now. Thanks for the info!
seandalton0 said:
Wow, so just for giggles I installed that widget to see what I was getting at my desk, and it was running around 380-410mA, turned on the wifi (which also disables mobile data) and I'm down to 150-160mA immediately.
I'm going to enable logging and keep an eye on this now. Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
of course wifi uses less power, but dont tell anyone the secret to longer life /holygrail
magneticzero said:
of course wifi uses less power, but dont tell anyone the secret to longer life /holygrail
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Click to collapse
My understanding of layer 1 technologies is pretty limited, so this is good news for me
seandalton0 said:
My understanding of layer 1 technologies is pretty limited, so this is good news for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
-1 for reminding me of freshman year, +2 for being clever.
Updated the op. Running tests on 4G to Make sure my info is accurate.
I can't even take it off WiFi at home even though I am in a 4g area ( according to Vz's map). 4g drops constantly. Sucks.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA App
Since you included some hacks into the mix (kernel/rom), you might want to make mention of both some standard SetCPU profiles, and the smartass governor.
Thanks for the continued effort.
seandalton0 said:
Wow, so just for giggles I installed that widget to see what I was getting at my desk, and it was running around 380-410mA, turned on the wifi (which also disables mobile data) and I'm down to 150-160mA immediately.
I'm going to enable logging and keep an eye on this now. Thanks for the info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok. Here is where I have a problem. Everybody knows this right? Well, I thought I was having problems with my wifi. It drained my battery down to zero every night no matter what the battery was. With my Dinc I ran wifi (Y5 - so it was automatic as soon as I walked in the door) and the battery life at home was GREAT. Well, not so with my TB. I did notice however that I am on the fringe of 4G/3G as I am on the outskirts of Cincinnati. When I was on data it would bounce back and forth between 4G/3G. So, what I've tried is using the LTE on/off widget I turn it to 3G only when I get home and voila! my battery life is supurb with only about a 5% drop overnight max. This is while I'm on wifi. Why in the world should I have to regulate the data type while I'm on wifi?
I have a simple question: What is the biggest battery drain on your SamChg?
I'll bet that almost everybody out there though the same thing I did: "That gorgeous Samsung Super AMOLED(TM) display", right?
I mean, whenever I check the Android Battery Use tool, nothing even comes close: Usually, 78%+ of the power is going to the display.
So, if the SamChg batteries are so bad, and the display is sucking the battery the most, how long do you think the SamChg would last before dying if the SamChg had the display on full-time without turning off (Using StayAwake)? 1 hour? 2 hours? 3 hours?
How about: 8 1/2 hours!
I've done it with 2 different stock 1600 mA battery packs now. I've use the phone lightly during those times, so the phone wasn't totally idle (maybe longer life is possible?)
I've read that Samsung had really improved the power drain characteristics of the Super AMOLED displays, and now I believe it.
It also indicates to me that I probably won't gain much extra battery life from turning the display brightness down. I will keep it set on Auto Brightness now.
FYI - Right now, about an hour or so before the battery dies again, I am at: Display = 91%, sensorserver_ya = 5%, Android System = 1%.
I am suspecting the biggest drain I see during my work day is the switching between 1xRTT / 3G (and now, 4G networks) / No Signal - Which is a big battery drain problem I saw in the past.
Your thoughts?
I do know the battery use app in FroYo is pretty inaccurate compared to Gingerbread. It seems it throws any battery usage into the display row if its unable to determine where it really comes from.
For example, if you stream pandora all day with the screen turned off, most of your battery usage will show up as Display. Once I upgraded my DX to ginger, the same activity on my phone would have a much larger percentage of usage going to Pandora and media server, or whatever its called, and hardly any going to the display.... which is correct.
So if you use that app, take all that info for what its worth, until we get Gingerbread.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk
That's great to hear, I'll have to give that a shot sometime. I will say that you are still better off with lower brightnesses, even though we don't have a backlight its still gonna use exponentially more power the brighter you go. But I wouldn't leave auto-brightness on, while the changing brightnesses don't hurt battery that much, the sensor to change them does, as its constantly polled. You'll see the sensor_server taking up a good bit of life.
Keep it on manual brightness, and just adjust it by holding your finger on the notification bar for a sec, the farther to right your finger is, the brighter it is. If you hold it you can also swipe back and forth to turn brightness up or down.
Cruiserdude said:
Keep it on manual brightness, and just adjust it by holding your finger on the notification bar for a sec, the farther to right your finger is, the brighter it is. If you hold it you can also swipe back and forth to turn brightness up or down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't know that trick! Maybe I should read the manual one day.
My thanks to you!
Woah, that is an awesome trick! I have never even heard of that before.
Schweet! Thanks! That is a great trick. Another thing that I've been doing that has helped my battery make it through the day longer is turning off my mobile data. It only takes a second to turn it on when I'm browsing or using an app that requires the data.
Yeah, turn off data when you don't expect to use it for a while. Get a 4G/3G widget to switch between LTE and CDMA when you are constantly in a fringe 4G area and/or in an area thats 3G only. And I like the idea of the auto brightness thing. Froyo has had that brightness status bar trick since its been out. I used it a lot on my Fascinate. With 4G on constantly my phone drains 5% per hour doing very little. Its half that with 3G only or data off.
Cruiserdude said:
Keep it on manual brightness, and just adjust it by holding your finger on the notification bar for a sec, the farther to right your finger is, the brighter it is. If you hold it you can also swipe back and forth to turn brightness up or down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is awesome! Didn't know that, thanks!
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
Syn Ack said:
Yeah, turn off data when you don't expect to use it for a while. Get a 4G/3G widget to switch between LTE and CDMA when you are constantly in a fringe 4G area and/or in an area thats 3G only. And I like the idea of the auto brightness thing. Froyo has had that brightness status bar trick since its been out. I used it a lot on my Fascinate. With 4G on constantly my phone drains 5% per hour doing very little. Its half that with 3G only or data off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Info on this 4G/3G widget switch? I'd LOVE that, hate having to go into the setting to switch it!
Homestar1217 said:
Info on this 4G/3G widget switch? I'd LOVE that, hate having to go into the setting to switch it!
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Click to collapse
I'd like to know as well. All I can find are complete on and off data switches.
Cruiserdude said:
That's great to hear, I'll have to give that a shot sometime. I will say that you are still better off with lower brightnesses, even though we don't have a backlight its still gonna use exponentially more power the brighter you go. But I wouldn't leave auto-brightness on, while the changing brightnesses don't hurt battery that much, the sensor to change them does, as its constantly polled. You'll see the sensor_server taking up a good bit of life.
Keep it on manual brightness, and just adjust it by holding your finger on the notification bar for a sec, the farther to right your finger is, the brighter it is. If you hold it you can also swipe back and forth to turn brightness up or down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is cool. TY!!!
I had the new leak go 17 hours and still have 40% left before i put on a charge I didn't use it much but it impressed me i got that out of it.
zephymobile said:
I'd like to know as well. All I can find are complete on and off data switches.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just grab LTE Switch form the Market. Put and icon on one of your desktop pages and it takes you right to the LTE / 3G Settings menu o you can switch it. IE no go threw all the menus to get at it.
Also remember the screen only uses power when displaying white or color pixels. Black does not use power.
How much does leaving GPS on affect battery life?
Is it possible that with gps on, and all apps set to try to use gps for location information as the default...that it will poll the 4g radio less, and perhaps offset some of the drain?
I drove for 1 hour and battery went from 100% to 75%.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
KRAZYADROIDMASTER said:
I drove for 1 hour and battery went from 100% to 75%.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well with that you also have to factor in that he screen is on, the brightness levels, the app that is using the CPU, and that if you are using setcpu, your default profile will be used since the screen is on. I think OP is talking about just leaving GPS on but not using it directly with Google Maps for example.
mmapcpro said:
How much does leaving GPS on affect battery life?
Is it possible that with gps on, and all apps set to try to use gps for location information as the default...that it will poll the 4g radio less, and perhaps offset some of the drain?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on stock, so it might not be what you're looking for, but I always leave my GPS on and I get decent battery life, averaging 19hr and sometimes reach 24 hrs before having to charge my phone. I also use Tasker for several GPS location tasks for when I am in certain areas to provide shopping lists, reminders, etc., that periodically check my location, so I don't think leaving it on matters much. It's only used when needed.
The impact GPS has on battery is pretty close to negligible. No more than an hour per day probably.
If at the end of the day your battery is near critical then you shouldn't leave it on all the time, but if you don't use it too heavily then it won't be a problem.
I recorded my path using MyTrack for about 4 hours and my battery went from ~90% to ~10.
legoman666 said:
I recorded my path using MyTrack for about 4 hours and my battery went from ~90% to ~10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's a difference between leaving GPS on but not using it constantly and actually running an app that quires the GPS nonstop. In your case, you probably prevented the phone from sleeping, and that will murder your battery no matter what.
Hi,
is there a battery penalty to always leave the GPS on & in high accuracy assuming no application actually needs it?
thanks,
TheNerd said:
Hi,
is there a battery penalty to always leave the GPS on & in high accuracy assuming no application actually needs it?
thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, because there is never a moment when no application uses it because there is always a background service using it at any single moment =3=
I used to leave mine on battery saver because I was afraid of battery usage. My wife's phone got lost once and we couldn't pin point it directly through android manager. Like it was off a bit.
Maybe it wasn't the cause but I feel like since the phone was on battery saver we couldn't pin point its accurate location.
Ever since then I leave my phone on high accuracy and really notice no battery difference. Most apps don't use the GPS for anything.
Google now is the only one I see using it and it's for a split second.
Hey everyone. I have a solid chance of getting myself a Z3 for a decent amount of money, going from a G3, M8 is too expensive, G Flex 2 is poorly supported, I had issues with G2 and G3 which made me wary of LG, etc. I was pretty surprised to read all these rave reviews of the Z3, but there is one thing still holding me back a bit.
The GPS.
See, I cycle a lot. And I use my phone to track my routes. I previously had an Xperia Z which had dreadful and catastrophic GPS performance: highly unreliable, incorrect route tracking, periodic loss of satellite signal - you name it.
I'd like you to help me, please, and show me some hard results of your GPS because that is basically the last thing that is stopping me from going back to Sony. Everything else on the phone I really like, battery life, design, software, screen, etc. But if GPS is still bad... that's a dealbreaker for me.
Thank you everyone for taking some time to read my question.
GPS on my z3 is not working as it should. it does not lock on the correct coordinates and shows wrong navigation. GPS tests failed everytime I try.
Well, I got a Z3 and GPS performance is very good. Locks on location very quickly, holds the signal without problems.
I am very satisfied with the GPS on my Z3, always shows my exact location and is stable. I do use GPS Toolbox for satellite info and A-GPS
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
GPS is great on Z3
I use mine for cycling too (MTB) and under foliage works without problems.
The added bonus is the battery life, certainly helps with longer rides and photo opportunities.
i'm using my z3 to trace my ski sessions, and i can tell you the gps is really precise.
dinamito said:
I am very satisfied with the GPS on my Z3, always shows my exact location and is stable. I do use GPS Toolbox for satellite info and A-GPS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unixseb said:
i'm using my z3 to trace my ski sessions, and i can tell you the gps is really precise.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for your replies, fellas. The original Z3 I first got was a used one, I sold it and got a brand new one. GPS is exceptionally good, tracks my bike rides with no problems, except on days like today when a user error ruins it all (I forgot to load the app before setting off... ).
TimmyUK said:
GPS is great on Z3
I use mine for cycling too (MTB) and under foliage works without problems.
The added bonus is the battery life, certainly helps with longer rides and photo opportunities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. Took it off the charger this morning, still have 70-ish percent left, estimated remaining usage time 2 days and 12 hours. What the bloody hell... (mind you, I am coming from a LG G3). I reckon those numbers will even get better after a few charging cycles!