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CM7 battery life Troubleshooting thread

I am loving this rom, but also having HORRID battery life, I am literally dropping 10% every 90 minutes with an extended battery.
27% Cell Standbye
26% Bluetooth
19% Display
Now I keep reading that these might be false readings, but I keep reading this as a response to those having **** for battery life... so maybe they are not false?
Anyone having good battery life show readings like this? Those with bad battery life, what are your readings?

I'm running the CM7 w/the 2.5 radio - I'm in a 100% full time 4G area, but seem to have worse battery life when the 4G radio is on, so I just keep the phone on 3G - if I need the faster data I can always turn it on and off.
I'm running the stock kernal, no overclocking or setcpu type stuff going on.
Would like to hear from folks running this ROM w/killer battery life, what are your settings, tweaks, etc. Please specify if you're running an MR1 or Mr2/2.5 version and/or running the latest OTA 2 radio that just came out like yesterday.
I just turned off my FB sync (I forgot about that). I don't have gmail set up to sync automatically either.
I'm going to do this procedure a little later today and see if it helps, this is for the EVO, but, ya know....
34. "Calibrate" battery - (1) Turn device ON, charge it for 8 hours (or until LED turns green), (2) unplug and turn it OFF, plug it back in and charge for 1 hour (or until LED turns green), (3) unplug and turn it ON, wait 2 minutes, turn it OFF, plug it back in, and charge for 1 hour (or until LED turns green), (4) unplug it, turn it ON, and use normally.
Anybody else try this?
today will be my first full day of work use w/this ROM so we'll see what happens.

Best to keep 4g off if not using it. Also, turn Bluetooth off when not in use.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk

i had horrible battery life the first day - then it got better. then i flashed mr2 official and battery life is really solid. getting like 15-20 hrs with 4g always on, bluetooth on sometimes. one important thing is having a custom lighting table which i will post later.

Bassdj427 said:
Best to keep 4g off if not using it. Also, turn Bluetooth off when not in use.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
I have never, nor do I intend to ever do this. I got an extended battery for a reason. I can go all day and then some on the official roms, and all of the Sense roms.
I am not new to CM7, I have run it on both an Eris, and an Incredible. Both devices got FAR better battery life on CM7.
I am not complaining about this rom, or Slayhers hard work. I simply want to gather information so that we may help him trouble shoot.

Immediate wiper batt stats at 100% this morning on my extended batter will report back with usage and level details
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App

stayin100 said:
Immediate wiper batt stats at 100% this morning on my extended batter will report back with usage and level details
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I did lol, I had lost 10% in the first 90 minutes, now I am at 58% at 5 hours. I have been streaming google music for 2 hours of that 5 though. I would guess I should have seen an increase in battery usage, but have not.

The battery readings are wrong, I get a full day on 4G with my stock battery and see those numbers for cell standby etc. I use lean kernel though
Sent from my ThunderBolt using XDA Premium App

do you see those numbers for BLUE TOOTH though? We know good and well some numbers are fake, but that does not mean all.
FYI I am now at 37% and 7 hours and 7 minutes... I have not used google music since the last post and I am seeing the exact same battery drain as when I was using it.

I have absolutely horrible battery life when I'm at work (which is basically a bunker). On a normal day, my battery will be dead within 6 hours just sitting there on my desk.
However, when I am at home (great 4G signal), I see my device getting upwards of 16 hours with moderate use.
I will also say that since I upgraded to the most recent radio, I have been having much better battery life at home. Additionally, my phone has stayed much cooler with the most recent RC + new radio combination.

I heard if you change the render fx to n1 calibrated, then you will get like 1 hour extra of battery life. You can change the render fx by going to cyanogenmod settings.

11h32m11s on extended battery 69% left
The other numbers have to be wrong. Theres no way cell standby is the number one battery user.

my cell standby is also showing 30% with the new OTA 2 radio.

I switched to dream kernel (have not wiped battery stats) and am now at 88% after two hours, that puts me at 6% per hour verses yesterdays 10.

_Viper_ said:
I heard if you change the render fx to n1 calibrated, then you will get like 1 hour extra of battery life. You can change the render fx by going to cyanogenmod settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
only works for AMOLED screens.
edit: to be clear, it only saves battery on AMOLED.

so what i have found is that after installing dream kernel and messing with the governor settings... along with being connected to wifi. my battery life has improved tremendously. i wiped battery stats this morning after a full charge and didnt notice any change.. then i flashed the kernel and messed with gov. settings... after rebooting ive noticed a huge huge difference.. just my 2 cents for anyone who had battery issues like me

Yesterday I was able to choke out 20 hours while in a 4G area the entire time.
Running RC 1.2, Imoseyon's leanKernel extreme mode (extremely undervolted and OCd to 1.4GHz) and using the InteractiveX governor.
Also, I just happened to reboot and surprisingly it only took away 1% of my battery. Amazing considering whenever I did that on a Sense ROM, I'd experience a battery loss ranging from 7%-10%.

beeholtz said:
so what i have found is that after installing dream kernel and messing with the governor settings... along with being connected to wifi. my battery life has improved tremendously. i wiped battery stats this morning after a full charge and didnt notice any change.. then i flashed the kernel and messed with gov. settings... after rebooting ive noticed a huge huge difference.. just my 2 cents for anyone who had battery issues like me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What settings did you land on as best?

cpu is set max to 368 mhz(very low) but i can crank it up if im doing somethign like playing games or downloading and want speed. brightness is at about 15-20 percent. the dream kernel and mr2.0 radio have made a big diff too. the dream kernel made the biggest. usually when id power off or reboot id lose 6-10 percent same as someone else i saw post. now i lose maybe 1 percent which is a huuuuge difference considering you lose 10 percent just because you reboot. also i try to stay on wifi wherever i go. on 3g i def notice it drain quicker, but i am no expert and there are a lot of people on here who by far outexperience and outknowledge me(my new 2 words) so im sure other people have some suggestions

Morkai Almandragon said:
I am loving this rom, but also having HORRID battery life, I am literally dropping 10% every 90 minutes with an extended battery.
27% Cell Standbye
26% Bluetooth
19% Display
Now I keep reading that these might be false readings, but I keep reading this as a response to those having **** for battery life... so maybe they are not false?
Anyone having good battery life show readings like this? Those with bad battery life, what are your readings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is strange I am also using CM7 with an extended battery and still have 41% left after 14:56 on battery.
battery use does show
cell standby 31%
phone idle 19%
android system 19%
wifi 11%
dialer 10%
display 6%
voice calls 3%

Maximizing Battery Life

What do you guys do to maximize your battery life? I just can't seem to get decent life. Average is probably 5 hours with heavy usage.
Any recommendations?
Sorry if there is already a thread, I don't have a computer right now and I don't think I can search on tapatalk.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G

The usual - brightness as low as you can stand, radios not in use turned off, screen timeout 15 seconds, 200-1400 conservative governor in SetCPU.
Search AutoKiller in the market -- choose "optimal" profile, so far has given me an extra two hours today over what I got yesterday.

5h of heavy use is good already.
You can tweak your idle batt life, 2g-only, undervolted kernel, avoiding power hungry rom.

Idle battery life is just amazing with stock... just test it over night, 6hrs get 2/3% for me.
I can get 30hrs with 4hrs with screen on, the screen is the key here, i can get 5hrs with 4hrs with screen on too. ;o)
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

thiagodark said:
Idle battery life is just amazing with stock... just test it over night, 6hrs get 2/3% for me.
I can get 30hrs with 4hrs with screen on, the screen is the key here, i can get 5hrs with 4hrs with screen on too. ;o)
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Try a kernel that is made to optimise batt life with display active, like the XTEUV92 Trinity kernel.

rentaric said:
Try a kernel that is made to optimise batt life with display active, like the XTEUV92 Trinity kernel.
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Click to collapse
I tried almost every single combination of rom + kernel. And for me, pure stock has the best battery life, by far.
But i'm getting bored and should flash something... )
Ps: afaik trinity doesnt work with stock. Did it change?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

thiagodark said:
I tried almost every single combination of rom + kernel. And for me, pure stock has the best battery life, by far.
But i'm getting bored and should flash something... )
Ps: afaik trinity doesnt work with stock. Did it change?
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See my signature, stock (rooted and removed soom Google apps) with Trinity, works together just fine

How would you define "heavy" usage?
Also, what does your "battery use" stats say? (Settings - About Phone - Battery Use)
5 hours of truly heavy usage (online gaming, for instance) is actually to be expected.

rentaric said:
See my signature, stock (rooted and removed soom Google apps) with Trinity, works together just fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm using the same stock 2.3.4 as your signature and tried the morfic kernel from yours, but got no lock at all, freezes and reboots...
that's a little strange for me, first time i see it in my device... =o\\

johnbibbs said:
What do you guys do to maximize your battery life? I just can't seem to get decent life. Average is probably 5 hours with heavy usage.
Any recommendations?
Sorry if there is already a thread, I don't have a computer right now and I don't think I can search on tapatalk.
Thanks in advance.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can create a custom prl setting. Turn wifi to never sleep when you're at home... Have the prl to auto *CDMA or GSM* Which ever your network is on. (This goes to all Nexus S. users). So you have wifi on with a signal and 3g off. The phone stays in 2g for calls and uses wifi for data. Turn off google location services while your at home, turn off roaming, turn all of that off. I get about 13 hours of battery life with heavy usage. People think wifi drains your battery but it doesn't if you have mobile data turned off. When you have 3g turned on it's constantly searching for a better connection. If you have wifi on and a strong connection it isn't constantly polling.

are there any charging habits that would help prolong battery life? I usually just charge my phone every night cause, if I remember correctly, these batteries don't have a memory or anything. anyone know if that is the smartest thing to do?

hoponpop said:
are there any charging habits that would help prolong battery life? I usually just charge my phone every night cause, if I remember correctly, these batteries don't have a memory or anything. anyone know if that is the smartest thing to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you don't mean overnight. I don't know if phones have auto-cutoff feature (a la laptops), but it's safer just not to charge overnight.
I personally use an extension that has a timer built-in. Nifty. Set the timer, plug the phone in, it will automatically start and stop the charging at the predetermined times. I usually time the charging to end right before I wake up, so the battery doesn't stay fully charged for too long. I heard batteries corrode faster when they're fully charged.
When my battery life starts getting shorter than usual, I let them drain until the phone turns off automatically (well I actually try not to get to that point, but seldom succeeded ), and as soon as possible charge it until full.
Usually the battery holds longer then. It has something to do with teaching the battery about the true empty and true full.. or something.....
AFAIK. CMIIW.

doesn't the nexus s have a built in cut-off feature so it will only charge to 95% though? I figure that would take care of the full charge issue. i'm also not sure if lithium ion batteries have a memory, but you could always reset the battery stats if you're on root to compensate for the whole draining and fully charging thing.

hoponpop said:
doesn't the nexus s have a built in cut-off feature so it will only charge to 95% though? I figure that would take care of the full charge issue. i'm also not sure if lithium ion batteries have a memory, but you could always reset the battery stats if you're on root to compensate for the whole draining and fully charging thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery stats! That's the word I was looking for No I wasn't referring to the memory effect
I don't know what would happen when the cut-off feature kicks up. My Nexus S still shows a charging icon even a while after full, so I don't wanna risk it.
The best way is by touching the charger unit after a while and see if it's warm/hot. If it is, it's still charging. But you gotta give it time to cool down first (after it's finished charging) Haven't gotten around to it, though. Always forgot to check the charger

bprabawabr said:
Battery stats! That's the word I was looking for No I wasn't referring to the memory effect
I don't know what would happen when the cut-off feature kicks up. My Nexus S still shows a charging icon even a while after full, so I don't wanna risk it.
The best way is by touching the charger unit after a while and see if it's warm/hot. If it is, it's still charging. But you gotta give it time to cool down first (after it's finished charging) Haven't gotten around to it, though. Always forgot to check the charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, I know that my phone for sure won't charge to 100% from watching it, so even after a night of charging it's still at 95%. I've read a few explanations on this forum about the whole not fully charging thing too, so i'm pretty sure that it's like that on purpose.

[Q] Best Noted Rom/Kernel Combo for Battery Life?

I have a Nexus S 4G. Right now i'm running CM7 with a Trinity Kernel. so far i get about 8~ hours of battery out of it. I'm really convinced there is a better combo out there. Any takers? Preferably GB, but I can deal with ICS if it means a longer battery life. On screen time is about 2-3 hours throughout a charge. I know there is something out there! help me out XDA!

Dude.... 8 hours.... I hope you mean screen time..... else everything would be better than what you have now!
Greetzz, Jojoost.
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

8 hours is crazy...This was taken on CNA 1.4 + Matr1x cfs 17.5 BEFORE calibrating my battery.

yeah, idk why only 8 hours. maybe i am using my phone too much? just got home from school, it's been 5 hours and 10 minutes. phone is at 20%. 50% of display time. please help! best recommendation? your pictures are not showing up btw. thanks!

I fixed the images in the last post and I took another one today.

iPrism said:
8 hours is crazy...This was taken on CNA 1.4 + Matr1x cfs 17.5 BEFORE calibrating my battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
probably a stupid question, but how do you calibrate your battery, I've been somewhat disappointed lately in my battery life.

tortilaman said:
probably a stupid question, but how do you calibrate your battery, I've been somewhat disappointed lately in my battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest way is to download the battery calibration app off Google Play and follow the instructions.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nema.batterycalibration&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5uZW1hLmJhdHRlcnljYWxpYnJhdGlvbiJd
or do it manually through CWM recovery.
1. Fully charge your battery.
2. Boot into recovery
3. Go to Advanced->Wipe Battery Stats and reboot.
4. Recommended to let your battery fully discharge and then fully recharge without break
5. Profit.

i calibrated my battery, so hopefully it increases the battery life! i would still like rom/kernel combo recommendations though thanks!

Kalim´s CM9 NIGHTLY 20120310 has amazing battery life with standard kernel. Much better then any ROM before.

hashtagbops said:
i calibrated my battery, so hopefully it increases the battery life! i would still like rom/kernel combo recommendations though thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want GB i recommend Oxygen and for ICS Codename Android.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA

Euroskank CM9 kangs, updates every day, works like a charm for me, running with Trinity T132, get about 20 hours battery life with moderate use.
Sent from my Skankwich Nexus using XDA app

Don't measure you battery life in terms of time since last charge. Measure it in terms of on-screen time.
2-3 hours of ON SCREEN TIME is average battery life.
I can roughly get about 4-5 hours if my brightness is down to level 6 (using brightness levels.) In my opinion the ROM doesn't really affect the battery life at all. Mainly the kernel you are using, scheduler, govenor, maximum frequency etc. I recommend using the Matr1x kernel as bedalus has tested that it uses the least amount of power of all kernels under similar conditions.
15 hours,1d, 8hrs since last charge ~ all don't mean a thing since your phone shouldn't drop any significant amount of percentage during DEEP SLEEP. When your phone is ON (screen on) that is when your battery should deplete.
If I leave my phone overnight for about 10 hours, I would drop maybe 1%. That's because the screen wasn't on; no activity needed significant power.

My on screen time is 3-4 hours, last time I checked. The crazy stuff is when my phone screen is off. Last night I went to bed for 9 hours battery was at 85. Woke up at 84. Two nights ago I went to bed for 10 hours with 90%. Woke up at 90%. I've never had such great off screen profiles. I'm going to calibrate the battery today and hope for something better.
Nexus S (GSM i9020a)
AOKP (Milestone 4)
Air Kernel (3.45)
OC 800/100 (Lionheart)
LIve OC (100 - Noop)

MASSIVE Battery drain

I know this phone is known for having battery issues, but I wanted to know if my situation was normal.
70% in 10 hours of no use, sleeping overnight
Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?
Running Rubix 5.3 with a 192/192 governor when the screen is off
wifi is always on, even with screen off.
fancy widget updates location and weather via gps and wifi every 15 mins
brightness 100%
NO mobile data active (should save battery, no?)
[/LIST]
those are the most battery consuming things I can list about my phone
I do not charge my phone overnight as it's bad for your battery. But I have noticed a crazy battery drain even when I'm not using the phone.
After sleeping for 10 hours, my battery dropped from 100% down to 30%
This is the first out of FOUR different android phones I have owned that has appalling battery life. My G2 under the same setup would give me 20+ hours on a charge, with some moderate use

well the problem is that your using rubix....that rom is known for many battery related issues

xmc wildchild22 said:
well the problem is that your using rubix....that rom is known for many battery related issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Believe it or not, this was actually an improvement over rubix 4.0.
I didn't know that line of roms had bad battery life. I thought it was just how the phone was
Are there any fully working senseless roms out there that have good battery life?

gtmaster303 said:
Are there any fully working senseless roms out there that have good battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Senseless? AOSPish? I can pull 4 hours on screen time 100% brightness and still be at 15% that night on an anker with AOSPish
Typed by ---- oh wait! I'm schizophrenic!

xmc wildchild22 said:
well the problem is that your using rubix....that rom is known for many battery related issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sheeeeeit ... before I had to leave 5.3 ics because of the random display on and off , After I did the battery calibration I was getting a little over 2 days @ 1.1 ghz screen on auto no wifi or gps or data unless id turned them on with an average of about 4-5 hours talk time

Some_dude36 said:
sheeeeeit ... before I had to leave 5.3 ics because of the random display on and off , After I did the battery calibration I was getting a little over 2 days @ 1.1 ghz screen on auto no wifi or gps or data unless id turned them on with an average of about 4-5 hours talk time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My phone can last for a week or more if I turn it off completely [sarcasm]
I don't believe in turning features off to save battery. That's the whole point of the phone...

gtmaster303 said:
My phone can last for a week or more if I turn it off completely [sarcasm]
I don't believe in turning features off to save battery. That's the whole point of the phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe the point is to have the features on demand. Not always on. That's the reason why the CPU scales the frequencies according to usage in the first place.
sent from a Nokia 3210

Battery life problems.

Hello, I'm currently running cm 9, however the battery life is just awful
When the phone is on sleep it loses like 1 percent every 5-10 minutes
I am using an extended battery as well, please tell me what to do I was on GB before and the battery was outstanding, I could go on one charge the whole day with heavy usage, now i dont think I can make it through the day with light usage on this
thank you
EDIT: This could be a sleep problem, because when the device is on, the battery is normal

If you flashed the Feb 27 cm9 you should flash proton kernel so you can watch videos. Battery life isn't as good as gb no matter what you do. Also give it some time to settle in. It takes more than a couple hours.

alright thank you... I just flashed the newest version of cm9 a few hours ago, I was flashing a bunch of roms and this one seemed the best... do you know how to force a device into deep sleep cause that seems to be the problem i believe

OK I was just on 20 percent, then i rebooted my phone, and now im on 2 percent... im seriously considering going back to gb

Sounds more like a battery thing? With CM9.? + Proton I'm getting at least a day* with light use. Maybe a bad app or combo of apps? What does BBS say is eating the charge?
* - I say at least a day because I can't not use it for that long.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app

Stuck on hold said:
Sounds more like a battery thing? With CM9.? + Proton I'm getting at least a day* with light use. Maybe a bad app or combo of apps? What does BBS say is eating the charge?
* - I say at least a day because I can't not use it for that long.
Sent from my SGH-T959V using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just the screen and the android system... very interesting thing though is happening
I'm running a bunch of quadrants to get the battery down to 0, and the battery is all the way down to 1%, however it's been on 1% for like 6 quadrant tests... maybe its just a problem with the indicator, however another indicator also says it's at 1%... very interesting

If you are on CM9, I suggest you flash Hefe or Proton.
I use Hefe because according to the posts being made it puts your phone into deep sleep, which means longer battery life.

tstrat said:
OK I was just on 20 percent, then i rebooted my phone, and now im on 2 percent... im seriously considering going back to gb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely a battery problem. This happens to me on one of my batteries but not on another. Time to buy a new one. I haven't tested it fully but it does appear to be just a display issue. Sometimes the bad battery will make the phone display 1% but it will still act as if it had way more than 1% charge left. I haven't done any testing on that regard but that's what it appears to do.

FBis251 said:
Definitely a battery problem. This happens to me on one of my batteries but not on another. Time to buy a new one. I haven't tested it fully but it does appear to be just a display issue. Sometimes the bad battery will make the phone display 1% but it will still act as if it had way more than 1% charge left. I haven't done any testing on that regard but that's what it appears to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't believe it to be a battery problem, because I've been on GB with absolutely no problems and exceptional battery... I just upgraded to ics not long ago, and the battery life instantly screwed up

Have you set the cpu governor to anything silly like performance?
Have you let it charge up fully at least once?
Search xda for "better battery stats" app, use it to see if you're getting deep sleep.

Flash hefe over release 8 and youll have a little better battery. Proton doesnt deep sleep
Sent from my SGH-T959V using Tapatalk 2

Proton DOES deep sleep. That was one of its major features.
Certain scheduler/governor combinations work better on different kernels, though. If the specific one you like most sleeps better on Hefe, great. If the one you like does best on Proton, great. Just be aware that most issues are either physical or user-inflicted...
In this case, your battery is almost certainly dying. The variance in power over a reboot is a definite tell that your battery is probably swollen. If you can spin it on a table, the cells are starting to die. This does not mean you can't keep using it, but it does mean that your battery life will be irregular. It also means that you'll have significantly "higher" battery levels if you reboot the phone with external power connected, but the battery will discharge very quickly if it hasn't actually reached whatever level it believes it should be at.