Help Big Battery Problem

[aamir147]

Hi I have read other posts about battery problems but none of the fixes have been able to work for me. I charged my phone overnight last night upto 100%. I took it off exactly 4 hours and 2 mins ago now. the phone was on standby mode and I didnt use the screen at all. Actually I took it off charge, put it on my dresser, and went back to sleep. I did accidentally leave the wifi on but that should drain my battery much. But anyways my battery right now is at 64%. the breakdown reads below:
cell standby 32%
phone idle 24%
Android system 18%
display 7%
other than that everything else is low. What is going on, should ask for a replacement? Also my gps has never worked if that makes a difference. I even tried to use that samsung gps app and it would never locate a position even in the middle of my parking lot! The phone is great but the battery life and no gps is making me sour.

 

[Frisco]

What fixes have you tried, aamir?

Once the auto sync and background updating are set to be done manually, battery life should improve vastly, following a reboot as a last step (gmail, facebook, weather, etc).

 

[mdtolic]

WiFi does use up the battery, shut it off. Definitely do what Frisco said and turn off automatic syncing. Set your screen brightness to the lowest. Don

 

[aamir147]

What fixes have you tried, aamir?

Once the auto sync and background updating are set to be done manually, battery life should improve vastly, following a reboot as a last step (gmail, facebook, weather, etc).

I dont have any accounts to sync, I dont really use my gmail, only made it for the market. And I use an app named seven which I havent really set to check for updates or anything. Other than that I dont even have a data plan so there shouldnt be any usage there. Wifi was on but screen and use was off, that should equal very minimal battery usage.

WiFi does use up the battery, shut it off. Definitely do what Frisco said and turn off automatic syncing. Set your screen brightness to the lowest. Don

 

[aamir147]

Also if it makes any difference, which I think it does, my battery temp gets very high sometimes, I mean over 110 degrees high, almost difficult to hold. But that only happened a few times when I was playing games.
ps. I havent really had the time to play angry birds much on this phone lol

 

[korbendalis]

I realize that this thread is about the problems that the Vibrant has with power conservation, but it seems to skirt the issue of performance. It almost sounds sad that in order to get long life out of the device, it's better not to use it; turn off Sync, turn off Wifi, turn off 3g, get a black wallpaper... etc. To use a term usually reserved for squeezing extra mileage out of a motor vehicle, are we "hyper-milling" our phone?

I've had my Vibrant since its debut, and only recently has it begun to register drastic problems with the battery. I've had it replaced twice in the last week because it drains to < 10% in 7 hours of non-use. As a contrast, I use my Galaxy Tab for 14 -18 hours daily and it regularly has more than 25% of the battery remaining. Granted the Tab has only been available on the market for about 3 weeks through T-mobile, but it's performance is better than the Vibrant ever was.

Is this actually a "Big, battery problem" or is it rather a "Big Battery Management problem" for the Galaxy S? I doubt that the problem is inherent only in the hardware of the Galaxy S, but a combination of the Apps that are used and the expected usage of the device as tested by Samsung. If anyone knows more about the root of the problem I'd like to know, as I have struggled with power management on every phone I've had, since Android came out.

 

[Deleted User]

My battery life started sucking after the ji6 update as did many.. after spending weeks trying every trick in the book I got a warranty exchange and my new phone has excellent battery life.. On weekends I barely use it and don't need to charge it at all.. old one would drain as if I were giving it heavy use and even with no use would be at 20% by the end of the day.

They replaced my battery and sim card first with no luck, I easily got a warranty exchange.. They are well aware of the problem..

There is another thread here in vibrant section about this issue ..you should look at it..

 

[drshame]

Here's the problem:

By the time you disable "push" updates, kill apps and turn off wifi, gps and bluetooth , set a black screen for wall paper, cut brightness, set all the powersavings and have the phone shut off the display every 10 seconds.....You've turned it into a Flip phone from 20 years ago and lost all it's "smart features".

Give up on all the dumbing down disabling, turning off crap and get an extended battery.

The original is crap, imho.

The "fix" is an extended battery and use the damn thing like it was designed and get more than 4 hours of portable use.

Done & Done.

 

[jaxsgigi]

Great suggestions re: Galaxy S battery life - or lack thereof. I returned to my ATT store and went thru the many running apps, turned off quite a few and with a bit of 2-3 hr checking, my battery life has improved. BUT, it is not even close to my BB Bold so I will be looking for an extended battery. Way way too type A to work with a 7-9 hour battery!!

 

[aamir147]

Heres an update:
I charged my phone up to 100% last nite, put it on my dresser and went to sleep. Woke up at 930 and the battery is at 59%. wifi, bluetooth, gps and everything was off. I dont have a data plan, the screen was off, phone was on vibrate, Again cell standby and phone idle took the most. Im calling samsung to see if I can get a replacement. This is ridiculous.

 

[chiamedic54]

How do you get an "extended" battery? Anyone have more info on this, and how much improved it is?

 

[drshame]

Been there, done that, tried all the "fixes" and original battery life still sucked.
Don't cripple the phone by disabling everything, killing the screen after 10 seconds, killing all extra functions.
It's the crap OEM battery that's the problem...get an extended one from whoever you trust.
I added an extended battery that requires a new case back and adds a little extra thickness.
In return, the phone lasts for days, not hours, between charges like it should.
I still believe with the OEM battery it's a grossly underpowered platform for daily portable use.

 

[Deleted User]

aamir,

While everything drshame has said is true.. battery technology is lagging behind.. Your issue is not just crappy battery life.. it is some sort of issue that started after the ji6 update.. it doesn't happen in all units, and it is a real problem.. A lot of people will give you tips and tricks and mean well and are trying to be helpful.. but If you have everything off as you stated and you have nothing updating all night then you should not lose 50% with no use.

take it from a real fake doctor..

call your carrier and get a warranty exchange..

 

[aamir147]

Yea im gonna have to do a warranty exchange, I got a replacement battery and it made the battery life worse.

 

[Alakar]

I had problems with battery life after the JI6 update as well. I fixed mine by using a task killer. I know task killers aren't needed with 2.1 or above, but without it I was getting about 6 hours of light use and my battery was down to 20%. With it I get 12+ hours of moderate use.

I can't prove it out, but something that was added with that update is running in the background and killing the battery. I kill off everything I'm not using, but leave system files alone. I have it kill the apps whenever I put the phone into standby. I don't need TeleNav, or Media Hub, or Maps running all the time.

I have sync on for my email accounts, have WeatherBug running, and several widgets for news feeds. I keep Wifi, Bluetooth, and GPS off unless I'm using them and keep screen brightness on low unless I'm out in bright sunlight (I think the low setting is plenty bright enough and kept it set low even before the update).

I'd give a task killer a try before returning it and see if it makes a difference.

 

[drshame]

Poor battery life...Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Killing apps..yadda,yadda,yadda.
Battery Changed under warranty, new one sucks..Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.

Cut the whining and put in an aftermarket extended battery. Change the back case to fit it in if you have to.
Done and Done.

 

[Jason Pedersen]

Poor battery life...Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Killing apps..yadda,yadda,yadda.
Battery Changed under warranty, new one sucks..Yadda, Yadda, Yadda.

Cut the whining and put in an aftermarket extended battery. Change the back case to fit it in if you have to.
Done and Done.

Just curious man, are you selling extended batteries, because that's all you seem to write about (and I mean all your posts). Just wondering.

I use the stock battery and get pretty good usage out of it. As far as I'm concerned, if the phone gets me from morning to night without needing a charge, I'm good. I did get better performance out of the battery before the update I've noticed, but if T-Mobile is replacing faulty units, might as well give it a shot...sounds aberrant to me because I have to agree, you shouldn't be running down the battery on a sleeping phone /that/ much.

 

[Jason Pedersen]

whoops, double post

 

[aamir147]

Jason your right no matter what the phone shouldnt be using that much on standby but after getting the replacement battery and using it for 2 days, here are my results. I went dead after about 13 hours yesterday, I used gps for like and 1hour and 30 mins but still not an excuse. Today I actually got very good battery usage. after about 13 I am at 38% and I use more extensively today, the 3g was on for a good portion and I was in a almost dead zone for over 6 hours. I know in my original post I said that I dont have 3g but tmobile gave me a free month so why not. Also the vibrant has a built in task killer so Im already using one every now and then but will stop since android is supposed to do so good without it. The only setting I changed since yesterday and today was the auto syncing, I set it to manual. So I do have to apologize to Frisco for not taking his advice. Overall, I will keep track and report back here for other people that may be able to get help. BTW extended battery makes the phone thicker, makes you need a new case, and a little ugly. To me that should be a last resort but its a very good idea for a heavy user, Im just moderate to light.

 

[drshame]

No, I don't shill for battery companies.
No, I don't have any other major issues with the Vibrant, so I don't write about them.
I'm not rooting it and using all sorts of hacks and then wondering why the phone doesn't work.
My biggest complaint was horrible battery life.
I bitched to Samsung and got no help.
I bitched to T-Mobile and got no help.
I found something that worked and passed it along.
Have a nice life, and keep trying to get Samsung or T Mobile to respond to battery issues without suggesting disabling everything that makes the Vibrant a good smartphone.
'Cept for the battery.

 

[popthree]

Here's the problem:

The "fix" is an extended battery and use the damn thing like it was designed and get more than 4 hours of portable use.

Done & Done.

would you mind terribly posting a pic of your phone with the extended battery installed ? did you get one of those 3000ma batteries with the deep back cover ? that thing looks huge... i would really like to see what the phone looks like with it on there.

 

[Jason Pedersen]

No, I don't shill for battery companies.
No, I don't have any other major issues with the Vibrant, so I don't write about them.
I'm not rooting it and using all sorts of hacks and then wondering why the phone doesn't work.
My biggest complaint was horrible battery life.
I bitched to Samsung and got no help.
I bitched to T-Mobile and got no help.
I found something that worked and passed it along.
Have a nice life, and keep trying to get Samsung or T Mobile to respond to battery issues without suggesting disabling everything that makes the Vibrant a good smartphone.
'Cept for the battery.

Was just curious man, no need to dig. I've looked into a few extended batteries and the replacement backs are enormous (and ugly IMO). In the end though I know that battery tech isn't moving as fast as computer tech; just wait till the dual cores come out, battery life will be abysmal.

Manufacturers struggle with consumers desire for slimmer, faster, shinnier phones and better battery life and unfortunately battery loses out. Ultimately I'm happy if it gets me through a day as I'm so rarely without a charger. I'm not saying I wish it weren't better, I do...my G1 could go two days with similar usage. The only compromise I make is my notifications are set to one hour intervals on YahooMail, and I don't get them for FB (friends can wait). GPS is on, 3G is on, screen brightness set to manual (because the auto-dim is terrible IMO). I don't think I'm compromising too much and usually get around 3-6% depletion per hour.

The OP is experiencing far worse issues, indicating a further issue from the norm. Somethings up with his battery or phone or a combo of both.

 

[aamir147]

yea, Im having the same problems again for some reason. For a couple days I was getting battery life the way I was supposed to but now its back to stupidity. Im realy considering the New Nexus S. but I have a warranty exchange coming in soon so I will have to be patient.

 

[jeffakston]

I was having this problem with my Vibrant for the last few months. it had about 8-9 hours of standby power. I would charge the thing 100% and then go to bed or let it sit on my desk untouched. Within about 8 hours it would be dead.

I rooted the phone and tried removing the bloatware, I tried to condition the battery. I swapped batteries, I installed and uninstalled task killer, I toggled airplane mode, changed the network mode from GSM to WCDMA and back, auto on/off, etc. etc. Every suggestion I saw on this forum.

What I needed to do eventually, was just restore the thing to its factory default settings. Now the phone has been unplugged on my desk for 3 hours and i'm still at 96% battery.

It's the worst fix possible, but it is a fix.

 

[aamir147]

has anybodies battery ever acted sort of schizophrenic on you? I mean one day I leave it on standby and its drains like 1% in 7-10 hours another day I leave it on standby and it drains 18% in about 4 hours. Whats going on? By the way factory settings will only get you a day or two of good battery life I already experimented