Help Battery Problems with Metro PCS??? 3G and 1X??

[tcco94]

Well I noticed this over a month ago that the top of my LG Optimius M changes from 1x to 3g but ever since this change it kills my battery REALLY FAST. I use to get my phone to last about 15 hours or so because I have everything turned off and I'd just text but ever since this new thing metro does it kills my battery in less than 10 hours. Now if I play any app such as words with friends casually in a day it dies in about 7-8 hours...I use task killer after I use any app or the internet but I lightly use them...

I was wondering how much longer this will continue? Can I turn if off and just set it at 1x because my service is just as good as when its 3g...also is there any way to keep my battery from dieing like this? Or do I have to tough it out. I noticed one week they stopped switching over to 3g and my phone went back to normal battery life but now its back at it. One morning my battery was at 60% in 4 and half hours without using it once (just took off charger and put in my pocket)

This has become very frustrating and I almost feel like I dont have a smartphone because I can't use anything at all because my service is crap (obviously I cant complain because it's metro lol) but metro is causing my battery to kill under 10 hours which isnt even enough to last.

Any help would be great.
Thanks

 

[Aplus]

Well I noticed this over a month ago that the top of my LG Optimius M changes from 1x to 3g but ever since this change it kills my battery REALLY FAST. I use to get my phone to last about 15 hours or so because I have everything turned off and I'd just text but ever since this new thing metro does it kills my battery in less than 10 hours. Now if I play any app such as words with friends casually in a day it dies in about 7-8 hours...I use task killer after I use any app or the internet but I lightly use them...

I was wondering how much longer this will continue? Can I turn if off and just set it at 1x because my service is just as good as when its 3g...also is there any way to keep my battery from dieing like this? Or do I have to tough it out. I noticed one week they stopped switching over to 3g and my phone went back to normal battery life but now its back at it. One morning my battery was at 60% in 4 and half hours without using it once (just took off charger and put in my pocket)

This has become very frustrating and I almost feel like I dont have a smartphone because I can't use anything at all because my service is crap (obviously I cant complain because it's metro lol) but metro is causing my battery to kill under 10 hours which isnt even enough to last.

Any help would be great.
Thanks

Yeah, searching for signal can kill your battery really quick. You can dial *#*#info#*#* then press send, it will take you to a hidden menu. Click 'phone information' and you will be able to switch to CDMA only if you want. CDMA only will force 1x, EVDO only will force 3g and Auto will let it switch back and forth on the fly. hth

 

[MyUsernameRox]

Yeah, searching for signal can kill your battery really quick. You can dial *#*#info#*#* then press send, it will take you to a hidden menu. Click 'phone information' and you will be able to switch to CDMA only if you want. CDMA only will force 1x, EVDO only will force 3g and Auto will let it switch back and forth on the fly. hth

Okay, when I do this, I am prompted to enter SMSC:

Then it says update and refresh.

What do I do here?

 

[meat0255]

Welcome to the Optimus M. You now have a mid level smartphone with the stock Android OS (rom) these things battery life suck). If you stick with this model I suggest you start looking into "rooting" and maybe a custom rom. This is a great phone if set up right. Mine is rooted with custom Rom and many "mods" and I get minimum 18 hours using wifi, playing games, msic etc.... My phone is even overclocked pushing the processor to it's limits and I still get great battery life. So google for info checkout and read more on this site and XDA forums. Choose to become an informed consumer and I'm sure you'll be very pleased with this phone.

 

[douglasr007]

Okay, when I do this, I am prompted to enter SMSC:

Then it says update and refresh.

What do I do here?

I just did the instructions and noticed that above the SMSC is a dropdown menu.

I would guess the default is set to "Unknown" so if you want the network to stick to 2G (1x) then pick CDMA. If you want to stick to 3G, pick EVDO. You would have to see where you're getting better reception.

You don't need to mess with SMSC. You can press back and the changes will be saved.

Another suggestion I found with saving the battery is running airplane mode. You'll sacrifice getting instant text messages but it saves battery life as you're disabling the radios on the phone. If you're getting crappy service anyways with the constant signal searching, airplane mode isn't a bad option.

 

[pito67]

What I did was to downgrade the PRL from 3026 to 3019 and my phone battery went back to good life.

Of course my phone is rooted and running the sense rom.

 

[MyUsernameRox]

My issue isn't so much battery life as it is the atrociously slow speed of my phone.

It typically takes anywhere from 20-60 seconds for every page load/refresh. Load times of 2-3 MINUTES aren't uncommon at all.

It's like this whether I use opera or dolphin. I quit using the lousy stock browser long ago.

I've come to the conclusion it's Metropcs' crappy service that's the real problem as opposed to my phone. I've also decided that their whole "3G" thing is nothing more than a gimmick as there is no observable speed increase when the 3G icon is there.

When I'm using the internet on my phone, approximately 75% of the time I'm watching the little circle buffering and waiting for pages to load. I'm gonna have a friend root it. If that doesn't change my fortune, I'll move to a real carrier. I'll pay more but it will be worth it.

 

[mario0318]

My issue isn't so much battery life as it is the atrociously slow speed of my phone.

It typically takes anywhere from 20-60 seconds for every page load/refresh. Load times of 2-3 MINUTES aren't uncommon at all.

It's like this whether I use opera or dolphin. I quit using the lousy stock browser long ago.

I've come to the conclusion it's Metropcs' crappy service that's the real problem as opposed to my phone. I've also decided that their whole "3G" thing is nothing more than a gimmick as there is no observable speed increase when the 3G icon is there.

When I'm using the internet on my phone, approximately 75% of the time I'm watching the little circle buffering and waiting for pages to load. I'm gonna have a friend root it. If that doesn't change my fortune, I'll move to a real carrier. I'll pay more but it will be worth it.

You could give 4G a try if you really want to stick with a non-contractual service provider. But of course I would wait a couple weeks to see when the new phones for Metro will be released as it would undoubtedly lower prices for current phones.

In the meantime, I would definitely root and maybe look into installing a custom ROM available in the All Things Root section. Very noticeable difference in performance and lots of settings to work with that can make your phone snappy and reliable.

 

[Blackhawk1969]

I get approximately 1.5 - 2 days out of my battery..1day if im using it ALOT.. i use battery defender mostly because it allows me to disable data..probably lots of apps that do it, i can still send texts and talk on the phone without having to keep the data stream active and searching.. if you need to send a mms or a picture through text etc then you need to turn data back on.. pretty easy and saves my battery from the 3g also.

 

[Blackhawk1969]

My issue isn't so much battery life as it is the atrociously slow speed of my phone.

It typically takes anywhere from 20-60 seconds for every page load/refresh. Load times of 2-3 MINUTES aren't uncommon at all.

It's like this whether I use opera or dolphin. I quit using the lousy stock browser long ago.

I've come to the conclusion it's Metropcs' crappy service that's the real problem as opposed to my phone. I've also decided that their whole "3G" thing is nothing more than a gimmick as there is no observable speed increase when the 3G icon is there.

When I'm using the internet on my phone, approximately 75% of the time I'm watching the little circle buffering and waiting for pages to load. I'm gonna have a friend root it. If that doesn't change my fortune, I'll move to a real carrier. I'll pay more but it will be worth it.

I did a speed test with the app of same name.. and when i was in 1x i got about 9-12 k per second and on the 3g it gave me 26-35 k same with upstream..i guess it depends where you are and how many people are accessing the net at the same time. sometimes i get nothing when i have 5 bars and then i get good speeds when i have 0 -1 bars... metro doesnt have great net but for the price i cant complain.

 

[MyUsernameRox]

I switched to 1x last night and wow @ the difference! Much faster than the capped 3g.

I'm averaging speeds approaching Wifi speed.

I was gonna get a 4g phone but now? I'll keep my optimus m as long as things stay le this.