not sure if anyone else will have noticed this, so I am curious if anyone has more information on it.
We have a DECT 6ghz baby monitor, that the other day I happened to place my G2x on top of while walking around the house. When I put my phone onto of it, suddenly the Car Mode was engaged.
I know that some phones (HD2) have an 'active car cradle' that will allow you to engage car mode automatically when docked, but I didn't think this was a feature that was built into the G2x.
Does anyone have any more information on it? I tried the same on my wifes Mytouch4G, and that didn't cause the same results.
Car Mode also activates when I put it in my belt case that has a magnetic close on the cover. I thought I found a thread where someone was sure the car holder had a magnet, and the G2x was designed to sense that magnet and activate Car Mode. Some day when I finally root my phone, I'm going to post a question (although I'll probably find it in a search of the forums) on how to NOT START Car Mode at boot, or kill Car Mode or what ever.
I have the same problem just go to the settings apps select car home and then force close it the. It won't bother you again till you restart the phone. XDA App
Check out "Dock Nothingness"
https://market.android.com/details?id=net.geekherd.docknothingness&feature=search_result
update, gingerbread ota disables magnetic carmode
I finally decided to let the gingerbread ota update get applied, I had been using cm7 rc1. The new ota disables the magnetic sensor ( I thought it was the radio, erroniously)
Kind of interesting that this feature is removed. Strange thing was that it had a lot to do with the distance and intensity of the magnet. No other magnet I could find would activate car mode.
Im glad I stumbled upon this thread cause I have been driving myself nuts trying to figure out how I keep starting car mode retrieving my phone from the holster.
Hi everyone, I am a pretty technically savvy person, but a newbie to the world of smartphones. I just got a MT4GS this week and have been getting used to it for the past few days. My main concern is the battery life - understandably, compared to my old feature phone, the smartphone is going to use a lot more juice. I just wasn't expecting to charge it overnight, have it plugged most of the day at work, and still be down to ~70% power by the time I get home. I'm not even doing anything that intense with it. It worries me to think that my phone might die on me if I'm out somewhere for the day. And what is the point of having a phone that can run programs and do all these great things, if you're afraid to use it?
After reading around here, I've already picked up a lot of great tips: I ordered a set of the Anker batteries (my phone was purchased used, and while it is physically in great condition, who knows about the battery), and I installed the 2x Battery app. I've reduced my screen brightness; turned off background data; turned off GPS; and when I'm on WiFi, I have 4G off, and vice versa.
A couple of questions:
1) Without doing anything crazy to the phone or default OS, is there anything else you recommend doing to conserve battery life?
2) In 2x Battery, there is a setting "Pause when WiFi on." The description here is kind of confusing, and I can't tell if it's working or not. If I want the mobile data connection off when connected to WiFi, do I want this option checked or unchecked? Right now I'm connected to WiFi, but it appears that mobile data is on whether this box is checked or not.
Thank you so much for all the great info so far, and for any advice you can offer me )
Well, firstly, good call on the anker batteries. I have one, and it's changed my life with this device. I went from being exactly as you described (scared to go somewhere without knowing exactly where my next source of power was) to not paying it much mind.
Secondly, if you are unrooted stock - then you have a whole lot of apps working in the background and conspiring together to drain your battery. ...and there's nothing you can do about it because both T-Mobile and HTC saw fit to place them there, running around the clock and beyond your control.
This is known as bloat, and on this phone it's beyond out of control. It's out of control on other phones, but they took it to a special place of exasperation on this one.
I am not sure about this 2x battery app you're speaking of, i've never used it. Consider this, though, it's one MORE app running on your device and draining your battery - and if you are stock this may be something you can ill afford.
As far as the wifi/data dance, this is nothing more then a feel-good measure that really isn't doing anything for you except adding to your interaction with the device. The time your screen is on to make that change takes more battery use then you would save on several hours of having one or the other switched off.
Check this link below (another XDA post):
Everything you wanted to know about Li-Ion batteries but were afraid to ask!
...and it may help you out with battery care.
For me, running my custom ROM with an anker battery and all the apps/widgets I prefer to use I can get 6-8 hours out of a charge on the anker battery with semi-steady usage.
This is with both wifi, mobile data and background data on, and the screen on but at mostly dim brightness for 4-5 of those 6-8.
If I overclock the processor to 1.7Ghz (stock it stops at 1.2Ghz) and hook it up to a television using a playstation (game console) emulator...running flat out at full speed I can drain the (anker) battery in as little as 3 hours.
Something that may interest you as time wears on and you get used to having the anker batteries and using them is what is mentioned in this thread:
external battery pack! Awesome!
...and there are many out there and good deals to be had on some, poke around a bit and you'll find one suitable if such is your desire.
One last thing to consider - make sure you are using the proper charging port.
Most USB ports on computers only push half an amp, as well as nearly every single secondary port on chargers (think car chargers with an 'extra' USB port). Half an amp is not enough current to charge the device if being used, and barely enough to see positive battery increase if not.
Make sure whatever you plug into is pushing 5volts 1amp, or you'll see your battery level continue to drop as you are charging.
(oh, and GPS is something you WILL see more battery life from turning off if not using - so having something like a soundhound app widget on your home screen with location on will eat your battery before you know it's gone by activating the GPS.)
Dimming the screen if possible will see you the greatest gains in battery life, and then getting rid of any apps you can that are running in the background is the next biggest step - but again, if stock and unrooted there is only so much you can do on app management.
DON'T USE TASK KILLERS - EVER. (they do much, much more harm then any falsely perceived good you may think you are getting from them.)
Recap:
Screen = biggest battery drain.
GPS chip/use = second biggest drain.
Apps in background = third biggest drain.
Wifi/mobile data = negligable drain.
Hope this helps a bit.
Edit:
Oh, and welcome to XDA!
Blue pretty much covered everything that I was going to say. I also have the Anker battery, and I also have the Anker 5600 mah external battery, and I no longer have battery worries. I choose the Anker external battery over the other ones because of its small portable size, even though some of the other ones have more capacity. I find that I can get about two full charges of my phone with it, and it is small enough to fit in my pocket or purse with no problem. I highly recommend an external battery just for piece of mind, knowing that I no longer have to be searching every place I go for an outlet. I love that I can charge my phone while it is in my pocket or purse. Also the price isn't too bad, I bought mine for about $40, but I see Amazon now has it for $33. I bought it from a company called Laptop Mate on Amazon, and it was shipped amazingly fast even though I just got standard shipping. Laptop Mate then said if I wrote a review I could choose a free gift. The gifts were not anything spectacular, but the gesture was nice. At the time I could choose between a usb powered reading light, a card reader, and I forget what the other one was. Again nothing great, but it was just a nice bonus, I will definitely buy from that company again. So with my Anker internal battery, and my external battery, I could reasonably not have to plug my phone into the wall for at least two days, I could stretch it more if I was camping or something. I really like keeping my screen at full brightness, so that is where most of my drain comes from. Well, sorry for the long winded response, and welcome to XDA. I bet that in a month you will wonder what you ever did with out a smart phone.
http://www.amazon.com/Anker-Externa...on/dp/B005K7192G/ref=pd_rhf_gw_cpp_tab0_p_t_1
Thank you so much for your very thorough responses! I am happy to report that since making a few little changes (turning down my screen brightness, turning off the background data sync), performance is already noticeably better. Yesterday I was on battery power for close to 14 hours, was on and off WiFi, talked on the phone probably a couple hours total, and used it what I would consider a "normal" amount (e-mail, photos, some social networking)... and still had ~50% power left by the time I went to bed. That is much more reassuring to me, and I can only assume performance would get even better once I get those new batteries.
I understand about the "bloat" and having all these extra things running, but I think doing anything with the ROM is a little above my expertise at this point. For now, things seem to be working reasonably, so we'll see...
I like the external charger idea, but I am going to hold off for now. I ordered the 2-pack of Anker batteries, so once I get those, I'll have 3 batteries. One should be fine for a normal day, and if I'm really going to be out for a while and not have any opportunity to recharge, or will be using the phone a lot, I could just bring along a spare or two. (Good thing I am a lady with a purse - what do guys do?! Carry a man bag? My husband is considering getting the same phone, so this is a valid concern.)
I'm apparently too new to post a link to 2x Battery, which I've seen mentioned elsewhere on this board, but that's the name if you want to look it up in the Android Market. Even if it is using a little more battery power, I think it's worth it. It puts controls for things that use battery power all in one place, and it makes it very easy to monitor the current battery status. I think I'll stick with it, at least until I get a better sense of how my use affects the battery.
Per the question of a man hauling batteries, I just carry a spare battery or two I'm my front pocket. If I am carrying keys I will slap a piece of tape accross the terminals to prevent a short. One or two guys carry their spare gear in a camera case. I can haul most all I need in a corner of my Levi's front pocket.
I also used to run Juice Defender, it got irritating waiting for the data connection to spin up and the benefits were outweighed (IMHO) by the downsides. Killing data every time the screen turns off was grim.
Hastily spouted for your befuddlement
I have a zipper case I keep the phone in, and it's not much larger then the device itself. Above and beyond keeping dust out ( primary function ) it also has a small pocket on the outside I keep a few knick-knacks in, like a retractable micro-usb cable, backup memory card ( recovery purposes) mini flash drive and spare battery.
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
I wish the video cable was something I could cram in to it as well, but that presents too much bulk for it to work, I have a mini camera case I carry sometimes with the A/V cable, AC adapter, another micro-usb cable and some memory cards and flash drives - something to consider for yourself for carrying cables and such since you most likely have room in your purse for a mini camera case with such things.
Sent from a digital distance.
Thanks for all the carrying tips!
Blue6IX said:
I highly recommend some kind of small zipper case for the device to keep out the dust, best $10 investment I've made for the phone.
Not in a position to link pics at the moment, but I'll do so over the next few days when I get the chance - especially floating loose in a potentially dusty purse it's something to consider.
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I'm not really worried about my own phone, it has its own little pocket inside my purse, and I don't know what kind of ladies you hang out with, but my purse is not dusty...
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
I threw in the word potentially because while I have seen some pristine purses, i've also seen some which haven't been vacuumed out in a long time, if ever. The very fine dust that gets in during the course of normal travel is what our enemy is here. (...and yours may be vacuumed out on a consistent basis, really only you can know.)
This need not just be dirt, even the fibers of the material wearing off in tiny fractions of an amount from simply carrying it around (material rubbing against material as it's shape stretches, bends and contorts) is enough to be a hazard to the device. Over time this adds up.
(though, saying it has it's own pocket/pouch within the purse itself lends a good deal more protection and paints a much better picture then the previous blanket statement of 'in my purse')
Due to the slide mechanism and the exposed back of the LCD screen it is very easy to get dust under the screen, in between the layers of it.
Slide it open with the screen at max brightness, then flip it over. Look at the very end of the slide channels on the screen side, from an angle on the side. You will be able to clearly see the light shining through opposite the T-Mobile branding on the backside of where the genius button is. Look past the greenish tint and see the whitish light, noticing how it extends inwards.
You can now look at the other side, right by the T-Mobile branding in the same spot and though you can't see the light shining through, you can see how very fine dust can work it's way in between the digitizer and screen.
'Dust under screen' is something that people who post here at XDA have made warranty exchanges over, as well as who knows how many who don't post have done. It's a valid exchange gripe that is in fact covered under warranty from what the people who have posted about it have led us to believe. There are also plenty of 'dust under screen' doubleshots on reduced price on ebay that you could look up this very moment.
Again, I meant no offense, but was simply trying to use the situation presented to illustrate a potential hazard your new device could fall victim of. Hopefully by bringing it to your attention you can take steps to minimize any damage, or at least present you with the opportunity to later be in a situation of:
'Oh well, at least I knew it was coming'
...as opposed to:
'Wow, I wish I knew that could have happened'
We only wish you to get the best experience possible from your Android, and while there is a lot of important info here...'tis easy to become overwhelmed by it all and miss some of the important things that could help you immediately, or should be known immediately.
Glad to hear you are already in better straights over the management of your available power!
By the way - thanks for endeavoring to clarify the app you were using for battery management, i'll definitely scope it out when I get a chance.
Blue6IX said:
Please forgive - I meant no offense by it.
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Click to collapse
None taken, I just thought it was funny
Thanks for the tips about dust, though. That wasn't something I had really considered, though I'm hoping to get a bit more life out of this phone than my last few (cheap, and switched on a whim), so I'll be sure to keep things clean. Is it ok to spray the back of the slide-out with some compressed air, or could that cause other problems?
Little update:
I did use a little compressed air to clean out the back of the phone, so hopefully I didn't hurt anything.
Two different cases are on their way to me - I'll see which I like more and return the other.
I've had the Anker battery in for just a couple hours, and it's already amazing! I've been using the phone a decent amount, turned on notifications and everything I'd switched off, and it's still at 100%! Also feels much cooler than the other battery. It was a tight fit, like everyone said, but I did get it in and fit the back cover over it.
But, weird thing: when I turn the phone sideways, the screen no longer rotates. It will still rotate if I slide the keyboard up, but otherwise it's like it doesn't recognize that the orientation changed. Did the battery mess something up?
The screen didn't rotate on it's own unless you slid the keyboard out if you are using the stock launcher - you may have made the same mistake I did in thinking it was so, but it wasn't.
Home screens, in the app drawer...etc... not made to auto-rotate.
You just happened to finally realize it - same thing happened to me.
I even argued against it, and couldn't figure out why it was changed.
A while later while I was going through the code that comprises Rosie (sense launcher) I actually saw that it wasn't made to do so.
So no, the battery didn't mess this up, it's the way it was supposed to be.
The reason for it is there is an alignment issue with some widgets when it switches from portrait to landscape in Rosie. I'm not sure how to fix it the way they have it coded, i've been scratching my head on this one for a while and tried a few things with no success.
HTC could learn a few things from some aftermarket app designers ( like the team that made GO launcher, for instance)
The way they built it, I don't think it's possible to fix their mistake, it's too interwoven and embedded in the design of the code.
Edit - it still and always has, autorotated while you are in apps themselves if they support it.
Oh you're right! That's funny, I never noticed before. In other apps, the screen does rotate normally, so I guess all is good...
Going on 12 hours with this battery, with all notifications, synching, etc. turned on, and I'm still at 67% ... And this is right out of the box, without the 4-5 cycles they recommend. I'm very happy with it so far!
I'm going on a backpacking trip, and I would like to bring my phone to use in the car on the trip there and back (it's something like 5 hours each way, so I would like to have something to do in the car).
I would like to leave my phone in the car during the actual trip (2 days). I know that heat can be bad for a phone, but would leaving my phone in the car be a bad idea? What's the best location for it? Trunk, glove compartment, under a seat?
The high for each day is listed as 80F, low of 50-60F, and the car most likely will be parked in at least partial shade.
Does anyone have experience with this / any recommendations?
Depends on how hot your car actually gets, which will depend on how much shade you're actually talking about. It's not just a matter of the electronics, it can also be the possibility of adhesives in the phone softening if the heat is too high. If possible I'd just find somewhere safe to keep it in your gear and take it with you.
Oh man, 80 degrees in the shade is nothing, well at least not to me since it gets up to over 100 here. Putting it in the trunk will keep it cooler because it won't be exposed to any sunlight.
Yeah, keeping it out of direct sunlight is key. I kept an old iPhone 3G in my car at all times (played music off it) in North Carolina, even in the mid-90 degree summers, and have never had any issues with it aside from the screen perhaps getting a little washed out. I would just stick it in the glove compartment on particularly hot days.
xur17 said:
I'm going on a backpacking trip, and I would like to bring my phone to use in the car on the trip there and back (it's something like 5 hours each way, so I would like to have something to do in the car).
I would like to leave my phone in the car during the actual trip (2 days). I know that heat can be bad for a phone, but would leaving my phone in the car be a bad idea? What's the best location for it? Trunk, glove compartment, under a seat?
The high for each day is listed as 80F, low of 50-60F, and the car most likely will be parked in at least partial shade.
Does anyone have experience with this / any recommendations?
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Click to collapse
Ya' know what. Two years ago had same experience. Have Galaxy Ace and kept it in the box for accesories (in front of front passengers legs) and everthing went well. Hope helped you. Sry for bad english
754boy said:
Oh man, 80 degrees in the shade is nothing, well at least not to me since it gets up to over 100 here. Putting it in the trunk will keep it cooler because it won't be exposed to any sunlight.
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I've actually read reports that the trunk can get just as hot or close to the same temp as the inside of the car. on a 95 Deg day it could be 120 in the trunk :/
Turn it off when you leave it in the car.
Sent from a digital distance.
yeah at least turn it off, because the battery will live longer though
Sorry I never responded sooner.
I just got back from the trip, and everything worked out great. I left the phone in the trunk of the car, parked in the shade, and there were no problems when I got back. This is at least partially due to the shade and the cool-ish weather.
My dual screen case has been playing up, about 90% of the time i clip on the case the screen does not work after a few minutes due to movement.
it seems LG has made a bad design with the usb c connection and poga style pins at the bottom of the phone would have been better long term.
My solution : I have placed sticky tape as a wedge at the bottom which seems to be working for a few days now but not sure if it will last. the wedge lifts the phone away from the case's usb c male plug enough to allow some flexibility (I think).
Otherwise, i have twisted the case and it works but that might just slowly destroy the usb c plugs structurally.... whereas padding upwards hopefully won't cause damages.
Taking the case off afterwards is much hardier with the wedge but i don't need to remove case much if it actually works.
let me know if it works for you guys/gals.
you suck LG for such an unreliable connection design, and don't even talk about the magnet charger tiny adapter bit!
Too bad you're having issues. I haven't had any at all. I use my dual screen case maybe 25% of the time. Generally every night and most weekends. Had the phone since June.
henderjr said:
Too bad you're having issues. I haven't had any at all. I use my dual screen case maybe 25% of the time. Generally every night and most weekends. Had the phone since June.
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ok maybe mine is defective, but ive only detached the case a few dozen times and its definitely damaged... the wedge has fixed the connection really well, days now and lots of movement and still no issues, screen working great, knockOn working and charging is good.
although attaching a few usb c hubs won't activate hdmi, only charging, but without the case, the usb c hubs works and outputs hdmi fine.
gary776677 said:
My dual screen case has been playing up, about 90% of the time i clip on the case the screen does not work after a few minutes due to movement.
it seems LG has made a bad design with the usb c connection and poga style pins at the bottom of the phone would have been better long term.
My solution : I have placed sticky tape as a wedge at the bottom which seems to be working for a few days now but not sure if it will last. the wedge lifts the phone away from the case's usb c male plug enough to allow some flexibility (I think).
Otherwise, i have twisted the case and it works but that might just slowly destroy the usb c plugs structurally.... whereas padding upwards hopefully won't cause damages.
Taking the case off afterwards is much hardier with the wedge but i don't need to remove case much if it actually works.
let me know if it works for you guys/gals.
you suck LG for such an unreliable connection design, and don't even talk about the magnet charger tiny adapter bit!
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Click to collapse
You phone is under warranty. LG will fix it. I'd you registered it it extends the warranty for a second year even.
i got it from another person and can't return it, its working great now, no connection issues at all.
i see lots of ppl complain of this issue though.
I had a similar issue with the dual screen case on my G8X. Suddenly it started getting random ghost touches on the second screen and turning on and off by itself. I returned the dual screen case and got my money back because it hadn't been a month since I bought it on eBay. I was gonna buy another one but decided to upgrade to a V60 instead.
I didn't think of your method @gary776677, but now I wonder if it would have worked...
still working and have taken off the case many times now.
It works, really!
I just got a 2nd v60 as my first was an AT&T (you can never properly unlock those and get android 12). So I put the new one in the dual case and...nothinh. Old phone works perfect, every time in the case.
Saw your post and solution and it gave me an idea.
Measured both v60s...guess what...they are NOT the same size! No wonder there is an issue with some and not others. The volume switches don't even line up.
Will be trying your fix. Thx