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Help ***Official HTC Evo 4g Battery Thread***

Kappy

Android Expert
Feb 26, 2010
1,570
1,040
Disclaimer:
I have compiled (with help from other members) a listing of several different tips and websites with information on how to “break-in”, train, condition, extend, etc your battery. I DO NOT guarantee any of this information, but I have used some of this information and it has helped me. As I have mentioned before, I am anal when it comes to stuff like battery life and I always take excellent care of my possessions. With that said, I hope this helps all of us so we can get the most out of our phones.
Again, I am not responsible for any issues that could happen from any of this information.


Breaking-In” the battery:

  1. The Battery: (directly from the user guide)
    • Charge the battery
      (Do this before you use it for the 1st time! HTC recommends charging it the first time for 8 hours.)
    • The battery in your phone hasn’t been charged yet. While your phone is charging, it’s important that you do not remove the battery pack. Doing so can damage your phone. Also, please don’t try to take your phone apart. (If you do, it may invalidate your warranty.)
    • Your phone comes with a rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer or Lithium-ion battery and is designed to use only manufacturer-specified original batteries and accessories. Battery performance depends on many factors, including network configuration, signal strength, the temperature of the environment in which you operate your phone, the features and/or settings you select and use, items attached to connecting ports, and your voice, data, and other program usage patterns.
  2. Inserting the battery:
    • Remove the back cover. Refer to “Removing the back cover.”
    • Insert the contacts side of the battery first and then gently push the battery into place.
  3. Removing the battery:
    • Remove the back cover. Refer to “Removing the back cover.”
    • Lift out the battery from the notch near the speaker.
  4. Charging the battery:
    • The battery is partially charged when shipped. Before you turn on and start using your phone, it is recommended that you charge the battery. Some batteries perform best after several full charge/discharge cycles.
      • Attach the power plug to the AC adapter.
      • Connect one end of the USB cable to the sync connector on your phone.
      • Connect the other end of the USB cable to the USB port of the AC adapter
      • Plug the AC adapter into an electrical outlet to start charging the battery.
    • As the battery is being charged, the notification LED shows a solid red light when the battery is being charged. The light turns to solid green when the phone is fully charged. When you charge the battery while the phone is on, the charging battery icon is displayed in the status bar of the Home screen. After the battery has been fully charged, a full battery icon will be displayed in the status bar of the Home screen.
      • Use only an approved charging accessory to charge your phone.
      • Do not remove the battery from the phone while you are charging it using the AC or car adapter.
      • As a safety precaution, the battery stops charging when it overheats.

Kappy’s tip: I believe a proper calibration of the battery meter on the phone is important (At least 1 full charge and discharge, but possibly 3-5 full charge/discharge cycles). Before using the phone for the first time (this is great if you order online or pre-order the phone), plug the phone in and let it charge (turned off) fully. HTC recommends charging it the first time for 8 hours! I know at the store they turn it on and program it for you and whatnot, but after that I would turn it off, go home, and charge it fully. I know this is hard to do, but “good things come to those who wait” :)

Train/Condition the battery:
Kappy’s tip: Notice #13 below. I totally agree with this! It has been said that with today’s modern re-chargeable batteries they do not have memory and you do not have to worry about over-charging them. I agree and disagree with that. From my personal experiences I seem to notice that if I re-charge the battery with most of its life left (70%+) or leave it on the charger over night, my battery dies quicker (this may not be an issue with the battery, but my battery meter on the phone needing to be calibrated). I used to ALWAYS do this and have now stopped. I recommend charging your battery when it is 50% or LOWER and letting it charge to full capactiy if possible (and charge with the phone turned off).

I also recommend that at least once a month letting the battery run down to the red (10% or lower) and fully charging it turned off. That keeps it fresh and keeps the battery monitoring system on the phone as accurate as possible. DO NOT let your battery sit dead for an extended period of time or plugged in to a power source fully charged for an extended period of time. Also, try not to use your phone a lot or for an extended amount of time (until it dies) in the red. I do not recommend fully discharging the phone often. Once a month (or 30 charges) is fine.

Extending your battery life:
Kappy’s tip: Remember, conditions such as signal strength, how many programs/applications you have running at once, and how old your battery is will determine battery life. The following are steps I feel you can take to extend your battery life:

  • Download power-saving widgets or add them to your home screen. Some will already be on the phone (see pages 36, 37, 127, and 138 of the user guide). These will allow you to easily turn off bluetooth, wifi, and data. I also recommend turning off GPS. I would turn these off when not in use. (See attached thumbnail. Thanks GeorgeH!)
  • Turn down the screen brightness. Keep it at an acceptable level.
  • Adjust screen shut-off time or use the power key to turn off the screen immediately when you’re done using it.
  • Turn off some and/or all push notifications if not needed (e-mail, facebook, MySpace, twitter, etc).
  • Turn off live wallpapers or anything else “live”.
  • Limit speakerphone use.
  • Turn off haptic feedback/vibrations.
  • Turn off any key tones.
  • Keep ringer volume and ear piece volume as low as you personally can.
  • DO NOT let the battery become ultra hot or keep it in a hot car for an extended amount of time.
  • Periodically clean the battery contacts of any dust/dirt.
  • Use wifi when possible.
  • Limit game playing.
  • Watch your camera use, especially if using the flash. *Thanks floorit!
  • Use a task-killer? This has been debated and is up in the air. I only suggest using one if you are having trouble closing programs or have really poor battery life.
  • Regarding “sense”. You can create profiles and add different power management widgets to those profiles. This could help for those who really like to customize their phone. *Thanks GeorgeH!
  • Watch out for applications that are constantly updating or using data.

Applications that (have been known to) drain battery life:
  • Handcent SMS (There was a bug, it should be fixed now) *Thanks NKT!
  • Weatherbug (If you leave location on. It tracks your location so it can update the weather at that location) *Thanks NKT!

Conclusion:
I think the information I have listed above and the information below could be helpful to all of us so we get the most out of each battery cycle. Remember, your battery will die at some point :-(. It is okay, because we can replace the battery! PLEASE REMEMBER to recycle your dead battery appropriately! Talk to the phone techs at your local Sprint store for more tips and information. Don’t forget to play around with your settings and try your own techniques to preserve battery life and please share with the rest of us!

And for Steven58 =D You can always purchase an extra or extended battery to keep with you! Thank you to everyone who has helped me with this and I hope it will be helpful to everyone. Feel free to contact me about adding any more information!

*FURTHER READING/MORE INFORMATION*

From “Optimizing your Droid Eris battery life” thread:
  1. The stock visual voicemail app, if active is known to keep your phone "awake" there is no way to uninstall this app, just don't use it. Also the Youmail app will keep your phone "awake" as well.
    *For the below 4 settings (tips 2, 3, 4, and 5) you can easily set toggles on your home screen to flip these on and off with one touch. Simply hold an open spot on your home screen to add widget, pick HTC widgets, pick settings, then add whatever widget you want to control.
  2. Turn wifi off when not using it (settings>wireless controls>wifi on or off)
  3. Turn GPS off when not using it (settings>location>turn gps on or off)
  4. Turn Bluetooth off when not using it (settings>wireless controls>turn bluetooth on or off)
  5. Turn Mobile Network off when not using it (settings>wireless controls>turn mobile network on or off) (if both this and wifi are disabled you will not be connected at all to the internet. the only thing you will be able to do is make/receive phone calls and send/receive sms messages, this will give you tremendous battery savings though)
  6. Turn off audible touchtones (settings>sounds and display> audible selection)
  7. Turn off haptic feedback for typing and touchscreen inputs (with keyboard up press the gear for settings>sound feedback and vib when typing OFF)
  8. Also turn off screen animations. (settings>sounds and display> animations)
  9. Turn screen brightness down to a moderate level.
  10. Turn on disable auto backlight. (settings>sounds and display> disable auto backlight)
  11. You can set screen time out to 30 second, I leave mine at a minute, thing is just to remember to hit your red call end button when putting the phone down.
  12. Turn off auto-sync for your Google account features (setting>data synchronization>Google)
  13. Conditioning the battery by letting it run all the way down and then charging it up seems to help a lot. For best results, do this three days in a row.
  14. It is reported that using wifi rather then 3g service from Verizon uses less battery...so if you are in an area for an extended period of time with wifi available use it and see.

*SPECIAL THANKS TO CADDYMAN!

User guide to optimizing the phone’s battery life:
When you’re on the go, it’s not always easy to charge your phone’s battery as often as you’d like. Follow these tips to extend the time between charges:
  • Turn off wireless functions such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and data connection when you’re not using them. See the Internet and Bluetooth chapters for details.
  • Do not use GPS satellites to determine your GPS location. See the Maps & Location chapter for details.
  • Lower the screen brightness. See “Adjusting the screen brightness manually” in this chapter for details.
  • Switch off screen animations. See “Switching animation effects on or off” in this chapter for details
  • Cut down on activities such as Internet browsing. Wireless data consumes a lot of power.
  • Avoid making very long phone calls or using the camera for extended periods of time.
  • Consider carrying a spare battery for times when you can’t charge your battery for an extended period.
  • Batteries gradually lose storage capacity over time. Consider replacing your battery after eight months to a year, or if you notice that the battery life is decreasing.
Checking the power usage of applications:
  • Press HOME > MENU, and then tap Settings.
  • Scroll down the screen, and then tap about phone > Battery > Battery use.

Websites w/more battery information:

To purchase extended batteries:
*I would stay away from e-bay batteries and/or cheap, discounted batteries.

Other Member Tips:

NKK:
  • Trickle charging is not what you people are referring to. If I have a batter made to accept a charge at 10 volts, trickle charging is putting a 2 (or any number less than 10) on it, and getting a smaller current flow. Lithium batteries CAN NOT do this. It ruins the batteries. The ones in your phone will accept a charging voltage at about 5V (USB spec). When you say trickle charge, you mean charge at less than 1 ampere (USB spec is 500mA). There is never any reason for you to charge your battery at anything other than 5V +/- 5% or so. All chargers and USB ports do this. Although in an emergency you can use something else (I have seen a 9V used in emergency b/c current flow is a more important thing no to exceed), it is not advisable nor logical to do that for everyday charging.
  • Batteries live longer with a slower charge and moderate discharge rate. Although 1A may be within the appropriate tolerances of your battery (it is what your chargers are set as their max), a 500mA charge if you have the time may be healthier in the long run. Note these are all maximum currents. Depending on the resistance of your charing circuitry and battery, you may be getting less current. The circuit just trips at the max. The voltage is the invariable specification on chargers (except exotic ones that you will probably never use to charge a phone).
  • When charging, your battery goes up to out 4.20V per cell. It almost guearenteed has a built in circuit to stop charging at 4.30 V/cell, as that is the border of unsafe. The time you spend at 4.20V/cell should be minimized.
  • Lithium ion batteries require no break in or anything of that sort. The first charge is as effective as the 30th, and that is it. That being said, a complete charge and discharge will calibrate the digital charge estimator, and your battery does auto shutoff when the charge is too low (it prevents itself from dropping to "OMG my batter no longer holds a charge after that last discharge" level), so make your own call. Perhaps no more than once a month? I usually do it if I notice the battery indicator is too off, as it getting 3 hours off a charge after it says 10% remaining. I also do it when I first get the battery...I play with it, full charge, full discharge, full charge, possibly another full discharge if it happens (if not, it is probably still calibrated), and that is it.
  • Lastly, a point on how a battery charges. It goes up to about 70% charge, and then tops off as the current drops down to about 10% of the initial current. Fast chargers only go up to 70%. The last part, the topping current, takes about 2x the time the first part does. Thanks NKK!
 

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This thread was copied over from the Incredible section, with Kappy's blessing of course! Right now it's got an "Incredible" flavor, but I'm going to start cracking the whip at TS to convert it to be more Evo-centric.


The purpose of this thread is to discuss tips of how to tune our phones to get the most out of them only. Please be mindful of this!
 
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Hello everyone,

Since there will be so many new EVO users on Friday (and beyond), I wanted to start this thread with a link to 20 tips to improve battery life so there aren't too many duplicate battery threads later.

All of the tips are here: 20 tips to improve HTC EVO 4G battery life

I hope it helps! :)

Nice tips but might as well throw away my Evo and get a $10 flip phone if I need to turn off all my features and apps. This phone and any other android device is meant to be for apps and internet and gps etc......
 
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Nice tips but might as well throw away my Evo and get a $10 flip phone if I need to turn off all my features and apps. This phone and any other android device is meant to be for apps and internet and gps etc......
Well its only a guide both hers and ours. I like hers better since its more streamlined. Plus you don't have to do all the tips, just ones you feel like doing.

TS
 
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Well its only a guide both hers and ours. I like hers better since its more streamlined. Plus you don't have to do all the tips, just ones you feel like doing.

TS

I agree the tips are very useful. What i did today i turned off my Stocks, News and friend stream believe it or not i haven't plugged in my charger yet and the battery's at 93% usually around this time a day it would be plugged in. (I removed the task killer as per other user suggestion) and i have lot of widgets and apps running.
 
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The tip about turning off GPS is wrong and will not save battery. Android is extremely efficient about using GPS, and automatically turns the GPS on and off.

You can help your batterty life by choosing "Network Location" instead of "GPS Location" in applications that do not require pinpoint accuracy (like weather apps, serach portal apps, etc.). That way only location-critical apps, like Maps or Navigation, will ever turn on the GPS radio. And they will do so only when needed.

But the tip about turning off GPS -- complete wrong.
 
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Just got the EVO, new to Androids, and honestly I hate it. The features are great, but the battery life is horrible. I should have stuck to my old slide phone. I have had the phone off the charger for 4 hours and only have 30% battery left. is this normal?? If i knew this was the case, i would have never gotten this phone. Any tips other than whats posted above?
HELP!!!
 
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jnitz23 you must have a TON of stuff running.

Coming from a Samsung Moment, I found the only way to get decent battery life was to install ATK (autotaskkiller) and AMM (automemorymanager)

You will find all kinds of naysayers, but I am speaking from actual real life experience, not "lets pretend we are experts in mom/dad's basement"

Try it and see if it helps. I am (im)patiently waiting for my Evo to appear today...
 
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jnitz23 you must have a TON of stuff running.

Coming from a Samsung Moment, I found the only way to get decent battery life was to install ATK (autotaskkiller) and AMM (automemorymanager)

You will find all kinds of naysayers, but I am speaking from actual real life experience, not "lets pretend we are experts in mom/dad's basement"

Try it and see if it helps. I am (im)patiently waiting for my Evo to appear today...

Where do i find that? so many people are against the task killer. And honestly, i have no idea whats running or how to control it. I never had so many issues with a piece of technology!!! I am going to the sprint store today to try to get some help, if not - SPRINT CAN HAVE THIS PAPERWEIGHT...lol
 
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Okay not for nothing, but in a very short time you will be considered a troll. Based on the fact that you only have two posts to your name, you don't give any details as to what you are running on your EVO and immediately start a post hating the device.

Tip # 1: Its Android not Androids

Tip # 2: Provide us with more details. What apps are you running, do you have 4G on, are you in a 4G city. Etc Etc

Tip # 3: You will most likely find better advice here in these forums than at Sprint.

Carry on

TS
 
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[How-To] Better battery life, reduce Time Without Signal. - xda-developers

this has improved my idle battery life significantly... in just a few hours.. and i know its for the HTC Hero but same thing applies to the EVO (which is what i own)..

also i stopped using ATK because i would use more power opening things up every single time i wanted to use them than i would leaving them open and coming back to them...
 
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I have a question about a statement in the guide above -
"*I would stay away from e-bay batteries and/or cheap, discounted batteries."

I got two spare/emergency batteries from Ebay...would they be unsafe to use in a pinch? I don't plan on ever using them as my main battery for any extended period of time. I just want to keep them in my backpack or something just in case.

Any ideas/opinions?
 
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A few notes that I've found:

-I like "SystemPanel" a TON more than ATK. I urge people to check it out. Gives more information than you could ever want.

-Pandora in my tests consumed about 15% battery life per hour (over 3G and high quality)
-The default music player will use about 8% battery life per hour
-YouTube consumed about 50% battery life per hour over 3g.Has anybody else found something like that? To test I fired up the Conan O'Brien visits Google video that's like 50 minutes long.

These results did not use any sort of task killer.
 
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Just chiming in here: Today was my first whole day with the Evo. Took it off the charger when I first woke up this morning, but then while I took my morning shower I plugged it back in just in case... So I pulled it back off the charger before heading out for work at 0830, with 97% battery showing (via batterytime lite; I just put in that I have a 1500mah battery since the Evo isn't listed yet).

I have 4G off because I'm not in a 4G market; I have WiFi off because at the office they're bitchy about personal devices on their wifi, plus I use the phone more for 3G services like SMS than anything else. I had GPS off at first but then read that it doesn't use lots of power, so I turned it back on. Oh, and my brightness is set to automatic. EDIT: I also leave Bluetooth on because it's paired to my car and I never remember to turn it on and off when I get in or out of the car.

Over the day I flipped thru the market looking for apps, downloaded a half dozen apps, took a couple pictures, played with layar for 5 minutes, texted a normal day's conversations with my GF, made and took 3 or 4 calls, played a round of one of the trivia games I DLed, googled a few things for people, shot a bunch of fake shells off with SchottGunn, and additionally had to do all the obligatory showing it to the people at work and letting them play with it.

It's now about 10:30pm and I have... 22% battery left. So, it's no superphone on battery for me, but I don't think it's all that bad.

That's my initial input on the topic. =0)
 
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My stats for Monday and Tuesday (1st two normal work days for me with my phone).

Phone died at the 12 hour mark both days. I would say that both days were light to moderate usage (50-100 texts each day, no phone calls, probably 10 minutes browsing each day, flipping through some apps, I also used about 20 minutes of navigation).

So for me I think it could be SLIGHTLY better. It would be nice if the phone died more about 10-1030pm than 8 or 830pm but at least it will likely get me all the way through my work day and then I can plug it in while im driving home.

Tomorrow will likely be a heavier use day as I am site coverage in the office so I will be at my desk most of the day. We will see if it lasts under those type of conditions.

For the most part I run it with a standard wallpaper, 3G on, 4G off, GPS off (except navigation time), Wifi off, Bluetooth off.

Brightness about 20%, haptic feedback off, screen turns off after 30 seconds, account syncing is off unless i refresh it.
 
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