90+ Hour Standard Battery Life Achieved

[drtrmiller]

EDIT: The title may be misleading, but I can't change it now.

The purpose of this discussion is to talk about how applications and usage settings have an impact on standby time. I think we can *all* agree that our Incredible spends more time in idle mode as opposed to actual screen-mashing, voice jabbering, finger pinching usage time.

So if one person's battery drops 6% in an hour of standby, and another's only drops 1%, what is the problem? And more importantly, what is the solution?

I'll start out by posting my observations, below.

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Definitions:

Standby/Idle: The state of the phone when the screen is off. Pressing the power button brings the device out of standby and all functions are immediately accessible. Phone calls and notifications are possible in standby/idle.

Off: The state of the phone when all radios and electrical systems are turned off. Pressing the power button initiates the boot sequence, where one must wait for some time before using the handset.

This thread discusses Standby/Idle time and how that corresponds to battery life ONLY.

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Just an independent observation, didn't want to mingle with the dozens of other tangled threads on this topic, but here is how I got my battery life from about 12 hours to well over 90 hours:

Mobile Network Setting is Always On
Screen Brightness is set to Auto
No Task-killers
GPS is Enabled only when needed
Wi-Fi is Not Enabled
Bluetooth is Not Enabled

Now for the fun part. . .

I use only a few applications that always need internet access: Gmail and Google Voice.

When I was getting 12-14 hour battery life, I was also using Meebo, an instant messaging application. This application doesn't just leave the internet connection open, it constantly sends "check" packets back and forth from Meebo's servers to see if there are any new IM's. This is what was eating up the battery life.

After trying a different application, Nimbuzz, to handle my IM's, I was able to get around 24 hours of standby time, double the amount I was getting when using Meebo, with no other changes to the system.

This tells us that an open 3G data connection does not kill battery life by its lonesome, as Gmail and Google Voice applications are designed not to have to check back with the server every few seconds to see if there is a new message, instead the connection remains open, and the server "pushes" the data through the open connection.

The two IM applications, Meebo and Nimbuzz, are not like this, however. In addition to maintaining and open data connection, they require the handset to initiate a series of checks with the server over the course of use, to see if there are any new IMs. So the difference in 90 hours of standby and 12 hours of standby was the result of a *single* software application.

I'm at 1 day, 7 hours, 30 minutes of usage right now, mostly standby time as I don't use my phone very much, and I have 66% battery life remaining.

IMHO, all the users complaining about poor battery life should recognize the laws of conservation of energy--the juice doesn't just disappear--it actually goes into the functions of the device and is converted into heat, sound (including EMI), or light. Perhaps the sub-systems of other devices (wifi radio, bluetooth radio, gps radio, etc.) are more energy-efficient than those of the Incredible--that is subject to debate.

What is not debatable, however, is that users utilizing applications that constantly talk to servers (IM applications, IMAP/POP email, location services such as Google Latitude), voice applications (talking on the phone), wifi (the cell radio runs in addition to the wifi radio when enabled), bluetooth plus cell radio, gps receiver plus cell radio, CPU intensive functions such as gaming, video, or flash content; music playback that reads from internal memory or sd card--all of these things use up to 30 times more energy--that's right--30 times--than simply turning the device on and receiving push Gmail.

If one must utilize these different functions, then the *only* remedy would be to get another battery, or one with a higher capacity. If that is not an option, then experiment with different background applications, as I did to determine that different IM apps utilize different polling techniques which have an obvious impact on battery life, or change your hardware settings when you are not using a specific sub-system like wifi, bluetooth, or gps.

There is no secret to battery life--it's a closed electrical system, not magic.

 

[woop]

I have also discovered the same thing about the IMing apps. I had one when I first got the phone and my battery life wouldn't last me half a day. I took that off, and now I find myself being able to go a full day and still have a tiny bit of juice left incase of any emergencies. I have almost the same setup as you (but I always have wifi on if I know theres a connection as this actually, contrary to popular belief, uses less power than your 3g radio. I turn it off when I know I'm going to places that do not have wifi), I'm a firm believer in not using task killers, and such. No battery app/widget either. But unlike you, I DO use my phone quite a bit for texting and talking on the phone, as well as Twitter and Facebook (both are set to 30 minute update intervals), and am getting a full days of life.

Battery life is what you make of it.

 

[TheSultan]

well done Sir. I use eBuddy and it definitely has a MAJOR effect on my overall battery life. When I'm not signed in and I get a full day use of my battery--signed in, a few hours!!

 

[Doc_Stew]

This is all well and good, but what's the point of having a phone if you can't use it the way you need to?

 

[TheSultan]

This is all well and good, but what's the point of having a phone if you can't use it the way you need to?

there isn't a phone on the planet designed to beat on them as much as we do. It's important to be realistic in our expectations in what technology can handle--and it IS just a phone. If you're one of the users who must have their IM app signed in all day long, grab a vehicle charger, and maybe a spare battery.

 

[MisterMixelpix]

eBuddy has a battery saver option. Check it out. I get a solid 11 hours of battery life even when I have the phone awake and doing stuff for most of that time. No idea how long it'll last otherwise, since it's plugged in most of the time, but I know that after a couple hours I was only down one tick on the stock HTC battery meter.

 

[Jarpee]

Did you ever go to settings and end a running application/service?

 

[MisterMixelpix]

I should also point out that calling this "90 hour battery life" is kinda like saying your car gets 200 miles to the gallon and you tested it by putting it on a downhill course and leaving it in neutral the whole time. If you turn off all the features, of COURSE it'll last longer, but the question here is whether or not the Inc uses its power efficiently. It's not like there's something in the very code of Android apps that says they will use X amount of battery power.

 

[howarmat]

so you have actually gone 90 hours then with the phone ON the entire time?

 

[drtrmiller]

Yes, the phone is on, and 3G is connected, I get push Gmail and Google Voice services, phone calls, et cetera. All that is explained in the initial post. One day, 14 hours so far and 60% battery remaining.

 

[howarmat]

so you have not actually gone 90 hours then, you are PROJECTING you will get 90 hours...

 

[jbdan]

I might get 3 days (72 hours) out of mine (both Eris and Inc) but that's using it maybe 3-4 minutes total during that time

 

[gavin77]

MisterMixelpix that is one nasty avatar and it freaks me out every time I see it....why do you have to scare a brother....

 

[Piercing Heavens]

Can you post the amount of time your phone display was on.
Settings > about phone >battery > battery use > display > time on

This will give a good idea of how much you use your phone relative to how much time you get out of the battery.

 

[MidnightRun]

I bet you could go a week, maybe even two, if you powered the phone off. Just think about the possibilities.

All the battery conservationists kill me. Use the phone and charge it if you need to. Sheesh. What are you guys, Amish...and don't have access to electricity at work or home?

 

[radworm]

I've gotten rid of task killer and it seems to have markedly decreased my battery usage.

 

[woop]

I've gotten rid of task killer and it seems to have markedly decreased my battery usage.

I'd believe thatd be a placebo effect.

 

[andyandroid81891]

So if you're not signed in will this still eat up battery?

 

[fortesquieu]

I'm at 1 day, 7 hours, 30 minutes of usage right now, mostly standby time as I don't use my phone very much, and I have 66% battery life remaining.

IMHO, all the users complaining about poor battery life should recognize the laws of conservation of energy--the juice doesn't just disappear--it actually goes into the functions of the device and is converted into heat, sound (including EMI), or light. Perhaps the sub-systems of other devices (wifi radio, bluetooth radio, gps radio, etc.) are more energy-efficient than those of the Incredible--that is subject to debate.

IMHO,"all the users that are complaining" because we cannot get past a day with the phone moderate use(at least for me). That's why i got a smartphone, and forced to have data-plan. If I have to save battery juice, hoping it would go over a day, I should get some non-touch screen phones.

 

[Vihzel]

For a smartphone like this, getting at least a day on it is a success. I charge mine every single night or unless I really don't use it one day and have a high charge the next day.

 

[jbass350z]

The complaint arises from the fact that they stuck a 1300mah batterying in the most powerful phone out right now. I have to admit that was a stupid choice, but it is also good for their bank since they can up sell larger batteries.

 

[Bundy]

The complaint arises from the fact that they stuck a 1300mah batterying in the most powerful phone out right now. I have to admit that was a stupid choice, but it is also good for their bank since they can up sell larger batteries.

Agreed. Now if they were only smart enough to have had their extended battery ready at the time of release...

 

[rushmore]

The point of the thread is arbitrary, since most peeps do not use their phone this way. The user is constraining their functional use of the device due to the 1300mah battery that needs to power a lot of activity and hardware.

Extended battery fixes the issue. Some folks wanted slim and light and got it, but at the expense of the extended ability to use the device.

 

[tluv00]

Wow. So I can get more battery life not using the phone for what I originally purchased it for? Who would have thunk it? This is ridiculous. The reason I bought the phone was for the GPS, connectivity, Text and to talk on it. Instead of us having to shut off needed features why not just give it a f***ing battery that lasts longer the 5 hours?

 

[nyngbld]

The complaint arises from the fact that they stuck a 1300mah batterying in the most powerful phone out right now. I have to admit that was a stupid choice, but it is also good for their bank since they can up sell larger batteries.

agree also. i am still able to squeak at least 60+ hours uptime also, but that only seems to occur when i have mobile internet off for the majority of the day. i would enable it when i am messing with the phone, but that and wifi\GPS off majority of the day; which i think blows. i am going to remove the POP email account i have setup and see if that makes any difference. still trying to squeeze the life out of this awesome device!!!