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The Truth About Your Battery

When I am at my country house, I have no service. If I leave my phone alone, it will suck the life out of my battery very quickly. I put it in "Airplane Mode", which turns everything off. Then I go back in and turn on my WiFi, as I have that at my home. I can go to my "Talkatone" app and use my phone over the internet and my battery is ALL GOOD. I still get my emails, but texts and sms do not come through until I go to town with "Airplane Mode" off.
 
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I seriously doubt everyone that has problems boils down to the idea that: it's 2012 smart phone, so of course it must use lots of power. That and there being so many bad batteries out there. I am thinking you are just turning 4G/3G off on to conserve your power since it was only active for 40 minutes out of 9 hours. That will make a big impact.

For me, leaving the radio on takes up about 40% of total usage according to GSam (keep in mind in my city I get 4-5 bars for 4G constantly and WiFi is usually 4-5 as well). Have a few friends and they all have similar results with the radio at least.

However, the radio isn't the biggest problem. I lost 21% in a total of 2 hours with just sending 5 texts. See attached images. I am not sure why the kernel is consuming so much battery. Anyone have ideas?
 

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Okay so ran it in airplane mode all night (and of course that was when all the action went on. woke up to 3 texts, a score center update, 3 fb notifications, and an email lol)

Now THIS is a number I like. Woke up with 99%


So I check GSAM

88% of that 1% is attributed to apps... so onto the apps...

Android System is responsible for 51% of that... so onto that...

I feel this is the most important snapshot of the series. This reveals the wakelocks and whatnot

The above is a snapshot of the setting's battery usage thing built in

I'm noticing my phone wasn't awake during the night according to this lol. I like this!

Here is a different snapshot of Android system. I like GSam's better

Anyway, that's the results. What's the next step? What do these pics reveal?

Hmm.. not quite what I expected. From what you've described,it seems to indicate it's related to the radios somehow.

You could try disabling LTE, however this will lock you into 3g/4g HSPA+ and would not fall back to EDGE if you left a 3G area, but this would be done more to diagnose the issue rather than a permanent solution:

[How to] disable LTE on AT&T S3 (you can disable HSPA+ too) - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

You could also try leaving Airplane Mode OFF, and just turning the data off and see how that changes.

There is a fix over at XDA for the standby issue (it changes a file value from 34 to 3.4), but requires a rooted device (Don't have the original link atm but have the instructions saved in notes):

On the XDA Developers forums, boasting the largest community of application developers and smartphone hackers, some users posted that the battery problem stems from the Galaxy S3's standby feature. They said the file on the smartphone that contains the drain value was wrongly set when the device shipped. This file, known as the framework-res.apk, was set at 34mA when it should have been set at 3.4mA.

For an owner of the Galaxy S3, this means the phone may incorrectly display a 50 percent to 70 percent battery drain, as Auto-O-Mobile has pointed out.

Users experiencing this problem can fix it by changing the power_profile.xml file located in the framework-res package. To do this, complete the following steps:

-- Download the updated file (510kb) from MediaFire. http://www.mediafire.com/?x7lhcpjjr9pg4mb

-- Save the file on your microSD card or internal storage.

-- Reboot your Samsung Galaxy S3 into ClockWork Mod (CWM) Recovery Mode.

-- Choose "Install zip from SD card" and select the downloaded file.

-- Reboot your device. This should solve the battery drain issue.

Of course, there is a possibility this process could lead to a voiding of the device's warranty.

Samsung has not officially acknowledged or commented on this problem. It is most prominent in the international version of the device, and it does not affect all U.S. Galaxy S3 smartphones. The issue does not affect the LTE version at all, according to Software And Study.
 
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I seriously doubt everyone that has problems boils down to the idea that: it's 2012 smart phone, so of course it must use lots of power. That and there being so many bad batteries out there. I am thinking you are just turning 4G/3G off on to conserve your power since it was only active for 40 minutes out of 9 hours. That will make a big impact.

For me, leaving the radio on takes up about 40% of total usage according to GSam (keep in mind in my city I get 4-5 bars for 4G constantly and WiFi is usually 4-5 as well). Have a few friends and they all have similar results with the radio at least.

However, the radio isn't the biggest problem. I lost 21% in a total of 2 hours with just sending 5 texts. See attached images. I am not sure why the kernel is consuming so much battery. Anyone have ideas?

take a look at this thread and see if it relates to your issue:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1755180
 
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Your usage and syncing info and everything is almost identical to mine. But I still get insane battery loss. I found that "Android System" had 1415 wakelocks (found using Gsam Battery). Does this sound extreme? I'm getting quite a bit of loss of battery while the phone is asleep but Gsam also says that "Android System" is only using 15.1% of the 95% loss of charge. Thanks for the help, I truly appreciate it. I love this phone, but the battery is killing me (and the phone).

Oh, also try this: Go in to settings then to the Wi-Fi area, then select advanced and make a small change by turning off connecting to Wi-Fi while you
 
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So what is using the other 80%?

Normal things (at least I think so). Right now a process called "System (*wakelock*)" is taking up 24.5% of the system. It's info details 81.0 wake locks, keep awake for 39m 28s and CPU usage 24m 47s. Included Processes are "*wakelock*" and "mediaserver." Phone Radio is using 18.2%, Screen is using 12.7% and Held Awake (going on for 4 hours 52 minutes) is taking up 2.0%. The other processes are less than a percent. Also Google Play Music has used 9.1% of the battery lost and has 726.0 Wake Locks :thinking:. It's Keep Awake is 31 minutes, CPU Usage (minus foreground) is 7 minutes and CPU Usage is 8 minutes. Not sure how to add screenshots from my phone to this post without uploading them to another website, but I have screenshots if someone can tell me how to add them. Thanks for the help!
 
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Normal things (at least I think so). Right now a process called "System (*wakelock*)" is taking up 24.5% of the system. It's info details 81.0 wake locks, keep awake for 39m 28s and CPU usage 24m 47s. Included Processes are "*wakelock*" and "mediaserver."

It could be you have so many media files scanning them is causing a drain. There can be a file corruption problem causing excessive drain. It's not limited the S3, rather ICS. A corrupt file can cause the Mediaserver to go in to a loop scanning your sdcard.

You can create a
 
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I thought my battery was doing well as I made it through 2 days without recharging...though admittedly I really didn't use it much. However, this morning I've lost 10% of the battery in 2 hours and the phone "reset itself" or something similar. Also, why is "Android System" using up a ton of battery now?

Screenshot.png

Screenshot2.png


Thanks!!
 
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I thought my battery was doing well as I made it through 2 days without recharging...though admittedly I really didn't use it much. However, this morning I've lost 10% of the battery in 2 hours and the phone "reset itself" or something similar. Also, why is "Android System" using up a ton of battery now?

Thanks!!

Select "Android System" and it will give you more details, as well as what packages are included:

Untitled.png


Untitled-1.png
 
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I thought my battery was doing well as I made it through 2 days without recharging...though admittedly I really didn't use it much. However, this morning I've lost 10% of the battery in 2 hours and the phone "reset itself" or something similar. Also, why is "Android System" using up a ton of battery now?

Screenshot.png

Screenshot2.png


Thanks!!

It looks like you may be having the same issue I was (still am sometimes). See here: http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/628086-yet-another-batter-help-request.html
 
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take a look at this thread and see if it relates to your issue:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1755180
Yeah I checked that and didn't really see it in the top of the process lists. I had a process related to wifi constantly in the top.

Also your post is misleading. You only had your radio on for only 39 minutes out of 9 hours 40 minutes. I tested disconnecting mobile data and wifi; still had the radio statistic going in GSam. The only way I got it to stop like yours was airplane mode. In other words, airplane mode is definitely a way to get good battery life, but kind of defeats the purpose of having a phone when you can't use it as a phone.
 
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I installed that sambattery app you have and it is constantly saying my phone radio is 65 - 70 %.

Any ideas?

Take a look at this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1732722

Also your post is misleading. You only had your radio on for only 39 minutes out of 9 hours 40 minutes. I tested disconnecting mobile data and wifi; still had the radio statistic going in GSam. The only way I got it to stop like yours was airplane mode. In other words, airplane mode is definitely a way to get good battery life, but kind of defeats the purpose of having a phone when you can't use it as a phone.

Not in the least. If you read the post, you'd clearly understand the screenshot was illustrating the effect of leaving Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on the entire time (9hours 40 min) is so trivial as to be inconsequential in regards to overall battery time. Without it listing the incorrect radio stats, the rest of the information reported is actually more accurate.
 
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When using data:

If in decent to great signal areas, the battery is great. If in weak signal areas, the battery is awful. That is my experience.

Isn't that pretty much with every phone? It's the reason I returned the Photon Q. Couldn't pop in a fresh battery after hours in a bad signal area sucked the phone dry.
 
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So I'm more than delighted with my GS3 its a thing of wonder and as crazy as it sounds I can't remember life before I got. Anyhow I know alot of people have or have had issue with the battery but I think I've managed to find a state of zen with mine.

I had been noticing that if I left my fully charged phone by my bedside while sleeping I'd wake up and find the battery had fallen to between 65%-85% during the night. That seemed like a whole lot of battery to lose considering I wasn't using it and I'm sure many people would agree.

I also found that through the day at work I was losing at least half of my battery power and the only thing I was doing was texting because the 3G in my office isn't particularly good.

It was really getting on my nerves because I was finding this was happening alot and I didn't feel the battery was performing as well as it could. I read alot of threads on this forum and watched a few videos on YouTube and tried a whole combination of things.

So the thing I've found to work for my particular circumstance is to switch off WiFi, GPS, Mobile Data and Syncing during the night and also when I'm at work through the day. Last night my phone was at 100% when I went to bed and I woke up this morning at 5.40am with it at 98% which I was very pleased with.

I listened to some music on the way here and sent text messages to some people, I then turned off all the aforementioned things when I entered the office, turned them on to check emails and social media during lunch and at this current time (2.30pm) my battery is at 85%.

I didn't realise how much mobile data can drain the battery and I suppose that was very ignorant of me but hey I'm a newbie and I'm still learning.

I know its not always that simple but I thought I'd share my experience in the hope that it may help some of you save that very precious battery power. I'm hoping to keep the phone off charge to see how long I can get from it.
 
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turning Wi-Fi and BT off does nothing for you, nor syncing really if you have it set up properly. mobile data is what is using your battery. since you are in a poor 3G area it will use up more than normal (the weaker the 3G signal, the more battery power your radios will consume).


+1

I've found this to be true,a weak 3G signal is equivalent to pulling the plug on a sink drain.
Even streaming music over a solid data connection seems to have little battery drain, only when the signal is weak or disrupted constantly.
So, enjoy the features that make a smartphone smart & install a good battery monitoring app. Then, take a look @ it first thing in the morning & see if any installed apps have been keeping the phone from sleeping & draining your battery.

I myself use GSM BATTERY MONITOR, as it provides a lot of information w/a nice U/I to make deciphering the battery usage a breeze.
 
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turning Wi-Fi and BT off does nothing for you, nor syncing really if you have it set up properly. mobile data is what is using your battery. since you are in a poor 3G area it will use up more than normal (the weaker the 3G signal, the more battery power your radios will consume).

Yup I would agree with that I tend to use WiFi in the house a fair bit but I got the feeling the crappy 3G was a big factor in the drainage.
 
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turning Wi-Fi and BT off does nothing for you, nor syncing really if you have it set up properly. mobile data is what is using your battery. since you are in a poor 3G area it will use up more than normal (the weaker the 3G signal, the more battery power your radios will consume).

I don't know if that's true. With Wifi on the phone is constantly searching for available networks and I believe that takes power to do so, same goes for BT. It certainly doesn't hurt to have them off when you aren't using them.
 
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