Desire HD Battery Thread

[wastedagen]

Hey guys

Very interesting thread.

I'm new to the forums and don't currently own an Android handset - the Desire HD is hopefully going to be my first - but I'm reticent due to these battery issues.

One question: has the 1.32.405.3 firmware update made any difference?

I know it wasn't mentioned in the bulletin but these things are often hidden or have a knock-on effect.

I also see HTC have gone for a very similar hardware platform for their flagship win7 phone (seemingly same screen, cpu and battery capacity). I wonder if this is also dogged by the same issue or if there really is something that can be done in firmware / android to increase the battery life.

I'm also assuming, with my schoolboy physics/chemistry, that a higher capacity battery in the same physical size isn't going to be on the cards...

Uri

I dunno, the first thing I did when I got my iPhone was strip it and remove the 1150mAh battery and solder in a 1600mAh one. These were exactly the same size.

So maybe soon enough they'll start popping up on ebay........

 

[karnka]

It's always going to be possible to squeeze something slightly higher capacity into the same physical size but you should be careful about what you buy from eBay. There have certainly been a lot of third party batteries for the original desire that claimed to be higher capacity but weren't.

 

[wastedagen]

It's always going to be possible to squeeze something slightly higher capacity into the same physical size but you should be careful about what you buy from eBay. There have certainly been a lot of third party batteries for the original desire that claimed to be higher capacity but weren't.

Oh I appreciate that, but what I meant was that coming from the far east via ebay is where you would get them first. Like you say, I would be wary of getting such a battery as they are usually inferior. The same goes for Memory cards too.

 

[Uri Stamonov]

I have checked this site a few times:

HTC: Accessory store: Pocket PC Power Adaptors + Batteries: HTC Desire HD Battery BA S470 (1200 mAh): Description

Seems to be the official HTC accessory store, partnered with Expansys.

If anything comes to market we can at least get a model number from there for an official part and then head back over to ebay...

 

[AstralZero]

There are a few other 4.3" devices out. I'm still undecided between this and some of the WP7 devices. I've spent a lot of time reading HD7 reviews and it doesn't seem to suffer from the same battery issues that the DHD does, despite having pretty much the same screen and resolution.

So it must be the constant data fetching apps that are causing the problems... which makes me wonder if having such an open unregulated marketplace is such a good idea. Coming from iOS this is a really big worry for me.

 

[celticfc482]

There are a few other 4.3" devices out. I'm still undecided between this and some of the WP7 devices. I've spent a lot of time reading HD7 reviews and it doesn't seem to suffer from the same battery issues that the DHD does, despite having pretty much the same screen and resolution.

So it must be the constant data fetching apps that are causing the problems... which makes me wonder if having such an open unregulated marketplace is such a good idea. Coming from iOS this is a really big worry for me.

I know what you mean, but im guessing google will improve this every OS release, Gingerbread will prob increase the battery life, like you said it may be more an OS issure which means it can be fixed

 

[normcash]

Rookie user here. Just got my Desire HD on Friday!

How do I set my email services to download messages only when I open the email program? I presume that the default setting is "Push". In addition to GMail, I also have the Yahoo Mail app installed.

I'm still trying to figure out how best to conserve battery power, and this thread is really helping out!

 

[SpencerUk]

Ok, my average battery use is a day and a half..very resonable for me

 

[Aches]

On my phone.. 'Calender' seems to be using 40 percent of my battery. I hardly use it, have no calender widgets on the home screens. Anyone got any ideas why it's using so much of my battery?

 

[faugusztin]

Uptime Length: 19h 10m with 8% battery still left
Accellerator: On
3G Or 2G: 3G
Wireless On: On
GPS On: Off
Automatic Brightness: On

Misc: 1st run, initial setup, so a lot of. The awake time is nearly 7 hours (6:52 right now).

@normcash: are you using the GMail or Mail ? If GMail, then just turn off the automatic synchronization in Settings>Accounts & Sync>Google>Sync Gmail.

 

[AndrizzleHD]

Ok, my average battery use is a day and a half..very resonable for me

Yep, this is what I'm boasting now. I forgot to mention that I was playing with my phone nonstop the day I got it that's why the battery died early. Now that I keep my hands off for a while the battery life is great.

If I charge it in the morning, I will need to charge it about the next day evening time, although I can get by making calls and texting until night (will be around 10% battery left). So far, I'm happy.

 

[shuandrew]

First day with the HD.

Switched on with 'out of the box' battery level and it's now been on for 9h 20m - think it was at about 40%. Been setting mail up, downloading apps, messing with the camera, surfing a bit. Onwards and upwards.

 

[faugusztin]

@shuandrew - my phone battery died after 20 hours of uptime and ~ 7 hours 20 minutes of awake time.

 

[SpencerUk]

Uptime Length: 2 days 1 hour 5 mins haha
Accellerator: Off
3G Or 2G: 3G
Wireless On: Yes
GPS On: No
Automatic Brightness: Off

Misc: Normal stock data sync settings...No calls..50 texts.

It would appear keeping wireless on seems to be better on the battery..dunno why, dunno how , just appears to be

 

[bonerp]

Mine is now a week or so old - battery easily lasts a day with use. No complaints from me. Set your phone up correctly, and you will have no problems with battery life. If people have auto refreshes on everything all day long, use games and listen to music without expecting to charge it, they need a reality check. End of.

 

[celticfc482]

Uptime Length: 2 days 1 hour 5 mins haha
Accellerator: Off
3G Or 2G: 3G
Wireless On: Yes
GPS On: No
Automatic Brightness: Off

Misc: Normal stock data sync settings...No calls..50 texts.

It would appear keeping wireless on seems to be better on the battery..dunno why, dunno how , just appears to be

What are you email apps etc set as, how often to sync?

How to you get the phone to rotate the screen without the accelerator on?

 

[faugusztin]

2nd run so far :
Uptime Length: 18 hours so far, 64% battery remaining
Accellerator: On
3G Or 2G: 3G
Wireless On: Yes
GPS On: No
Automatic Brightness: On

Minimal usage today (1 phone call, few minutes of playing with MPD client, few emails) . With my typical usage, this phone will be well over 1 day of battery life, which is good considering how much did people fear the small battery capacity .

 

[sonesh]

I went crazy with playing with the phone when I first got it, so it only last me 3 hours, however since then

2nd Charge: 9 hours
3rd Charge: 12 hours
4th Charge: 24 Hours
5th Charge: Battery down to 50% within 2 hours because Sync had got stuck and was using 100% CPU, however in 7 hours, it used a further 35%

BT off
GPS off
Wireless on
Acelerometer on

 

[blearyboy]

My network (Three UK) have disabled 2G on the DHD and the available options for mobile network all use WCDMA. Now, according to the offical product specs, WCDMA uses a lot more juice than even GSM.

There's a hint on xda-developers (hat-tip to them) suggesting that by dialling *#*#4636#*#* you can get into testing mode which allows you greater choice over mobile connection. I've set it to "GSM Auto (PRL)" and since then I seem to have got through hardly any battery. I reckon the figures are this:

7am - 100%
1pm - 40% (this is when I made the change above)
4pm - 32%
Now (almost 5pm) - 30%

It's only been a few hours so it might be a coincidence, but has anyone else had luck with this?

 

[SithSurfer]

That's after taking it out of the box and charging for the first time:

Uptime Length: 18h
Accellerator: On
3G Or 2G: 3G
Wireless: On (90% of the time)
GPS: On and Off
Automatic Brightness: Yes

Misc: Usual stuff after getting new handset - installing apps, playing around, a little bit of Angry Birds / Atomic Bomber, reading through few Excel spreadsheets, playing around with navigation (hence GPS is marked as 'on and off'), sending few texts, no phone calls though.

I'd say it's pretty decent, better than I've anticipated TBH. We'll see how it'll work after week's use.

 

[gabbyevs]

sorry havent got any stats yet just wondering how many apps do people have runnin at any one time

i seem to be having a problem with the battery and jsut wondering if its the apps that are draining it as i have have all auto sync and wifi switched off

 

[faugusztin]

@gabbyevs, maybe you should post your awake time... This is the thing which really matters (Settings>About phone>Battery>Awake time). Also what part of the system uses most of the battery in your case ? With light usage, my Display usage dropped down to 28%, compared to 40-50% in case of medium usage. Still the top application is the launcher at 6% - so in most cases, it's down to the display usage. If you have it turned on a lot -> you have bad battery life. If display is mostly off -> you have a good battery life.

 

[gabbyevs]

my awake time at the moment is 14 hours its now on the yellow on thr battery window

it seems my dispaly is eating most of the usage at 60% how do i change that though im not constantly using it

 

[gabbyevs]

its jsut said its on 15% and its gone to power save

 

[faugusztin]

Well yeah, i meant awake time increase since the last charge, sorry for that ... 14 hours looks like a time for 2 or 3 recharges, in my case it looks like ~7 hour awake time is what 1 battery recharge can give you. Then it depends how much active you are. In my case it is still 21% battery remaining while being 2+24+16=42 hours since last battery recharge while having ~5 and half hours awake time.