Rogers HTC Magic Battery: Before & After

[mjschmidt]

One of the issues some users are encountering is battery drain. Some users after the update are experiencing extreme battery drain, while others are not.

We know that software updates can affect battery drain, as OS updates often specifically include new code to help manage energy use better.

I would like to propose an experiment. I have my Magic still on the stock Rogers ROM _PRE_ update. There may be others like me. I suggest that I (and maybe one or two others who have not updated, and who are NOT rooted) do a factory reset of our phones so we have the basic apps installed only as a starting point.

If we can agree on a methodology/standard "set up" and usage, we can compare these basic stock pre-update phones and their battery usage to a. Post-update phones, and b. rooted phones running different ROMs.

Do we have any takers?

Suggestions for a "basic set up and usage" for each phone category?

 

[gnugu]

Sorry I can't do the experiment, but here is one other point. The battery life also depends on how you treat the battery. Do you plug it in and pull it out later while it's not fully charged?

So, to do the experiment you should drain the battery to the point when you can't even start the phone. Just drain it, start the phone it'll die during boot. Repeat until it no longer comes to life.
Plug in and charge all night.

Start the experiment.

 

[Andy2010]

Sorry I can't do the experiment, but here is one other point. The battery life also depends on how you treat the battery. Do you plug it in and pull it out later while it's not fully charged?

So, to do the experiment you should drain the battery to the point when you can't even start the phone. Just drain it, start the phone it'll die during boot. Repeat until it no longer comes to life.
Plug in and charge all night.

Start the experiment.

I did that on my LG eve, doesn't help. Sometimes it drains superfast while idling with 3G turned off and no wifi. I even adjust the brightness to low. And I've gone through 3 batteries and they are the same. At times it drains very fast and if i am lucky i will get a day life. Not too sure if the problem is the hardware of the software.

 

[coololdrocker]

Hi, Maybe you have a problem battery. My magic's battery is very good. at first I had to charge it once a day. I drained it at least 5 times and then it started to get better. Now I only have to charge it every 2 or three days with everything working in the background. So I'm with you Gnugu, you have to drain it occasionnaly.

 

[bgoody]

Hi. These are not nicad batteries. You're not supposed to run them down to dead or even near that. You're supposed to plug them in to recharge often. They like it that way. I, for example, plug mine in every day after work. They'll last forever that way.

 

[gnugu]

Hi. These are not nicad batteries. You're not supposed to run them down to dead or even near that. You're supposed to plug them in to recharge often. They like it that way. I, for example, plug mine in every day after work. They'll last forever that way.

Seems that you and I are both right .

How to prolong lithium-based batteries

 

[mjschmidt]

Here is the "Battery University" Welcome to Battery University

Please note: This thread is not to discuss battery saving strategies for these phones! I don't care if your battery works fine, and how you have accomplished it.

The point of this thread is to perform an experiment to test whether or not the battery life is affected by the update.

Please don't post about your phone battery life working, please don't even post to tell us your battery is not working fine.

We are looking for people interested in participating in the experiment, and contributions to a methodology for testing.

 

[porky1981]

Here is the "Battery University" Welcome to Battery University

Please note: This thread is not to discuss battery saving strategies for these phones! I don't care if your battery works fine, and how you have accomplished it.

The point of this thread is to perform an experiment to test whether or not the battery life is affected by the update.

Please don't post about your phone battery life working, please don't even post to tell us your battery is not working fine.

We are looking for people interested in participating in the experiment, and contributions to a methodology for testing.

ok well the test has been performed already by everyone who updated =) I use my phone the same way I did before I updated and the battery life hasn't changed. G'luck with your experiment though.

 

[mjschmidt]

ok well the test has been performed already by everyone who updated =) I use my phone the same way I did before I updated and the battery life hasn't changed. G'luck with your experiment though.

Other forum members report the opposite. So it stands to reason either it is user-settings at fault, or something is wrong with the phones that wasn't wrong before.

If we test it, we will know.

It boggles my mind when I see people say 'It hasn't happened to me, so you must be mistaken".

 

[davidelewis]

Sorry ... I cannot "afford" to give up my HTC Magic phone for a few days to test the pre versus post Rogers ROM update. However, after the update, I have the same apps installed, and use them approximately the same amount each day. I haven't noticed any discernible difference in battery life. (Sometimes it appears to drain faster, other times it drains more slowly.) I think that when the phone is in standby (screen off, minimal apps running), it may be conserving battery life more than before the update. I typically recharge the phone each night, but can go two days without recharging.

I have noticed a few times that if many apps are running (and others haven't been closed using taskkiller or similar), then the phone operations can really slow down. It would seem reasonable that the HTC Sense UI uses more resources (CPU cycles, memory, etc.) than with the previous ROM.

 

[gnugu]

When the phone is on standby the wifi should be turned off by the OS. I'm wondering if this new ROM does that or keeps it on.

Can anybody confirm? Leave the phone on standby for few minutes and then unlock. You should see 3G and after a while wifi should kick in.

 

[yycken]

When the phone is on standby the wifi should be turned off by the OS. I'm wondering if this new ROM does that or keeps it on.

Can anybody confirm? Leave the phone on standby for few minutes and then unlock. You should see 3G and after a while wifi should kick in.

Yes the new ROM does automatically turn off wifi when the phone goes to sleep.

And sure, if I don't need to uninstall any apps I'll participate in your little study.

 

[porky1981]

When the phone is on standby the wifi should be turned off by the OS. I'm wondering if this new ROM does that or keeps it on.

Can anybody confirm? Leave the phone on standby for few minutes and then unlock. You should see 3G and after a while wifi should kick in.

confirmed.... mine shuts off wifi until I unlock.