HTC Hero Battery Drain Question..

marcf · 08-28-2009, 09:32 AM

Does anyone know what drains the HTC Hero battery the most? My battery life is just crazy, it's like I remove it from charging and like 10 minutes later is down to like 85% or whatever. I know on most phones like this the battery life isn't good, but this is just driving me crazy. Should I just go and buy another battery to have on stand by?

Thanks..

Marc

SFA_AOK · 08-28-2009, 09:58 AM

15% in 10 minutes? That seems to be very quick drainage!

I was charging mine around once a day but I'm finding (after a couple of weeks) it's improving slightly, the current charge has lasted around 2 days. Whether that's the battery getting better or me fiddling with it less I don't know, maybe a bit of both - I still fiddle with it a fair bit.

Are you running anything that's particularly draining for the battery? WiFi's the most obvious one. There are some battery apps people will recommend (sorry, don't use them myself) that will show you what's draining the battery most.

I believe current advice is to charge your phone often anyway, rather than full discharge/recharge cycles.

marcf · 08-28-2009, 10:06 AM

Thanks for the reply...

Yeah, I'm using wifi. Should I maybe turn that off when Im not using it, like when I leave the house? Would that make a big difference?

Thanks...

PatBateman · 08-28-2009, 10:22 AM

Yeah, turn the wifi and bluetooth off if you're not using them, they'll both drain the battery.

SFA_AOK · 08-28-2009, 11:02 AM

There's a HTC widget for wi-fi that makes turning it on and off really easy, stick it on one of your home screens.

I'm not sure if it's useful, but the Hero has "Scenes" - these are different configurations of your home screens. So you could have one for work that would maybe show your work email, stock quotes and other work stuff, but you could also have a home scene that would have the twitter widget, bookmarks to sites you may not want to be seen browsing at work, and other non-work stuff.

I'm not sure if scenes also control phone settings, but if they do, theoretically you could set it up so that when you left the house and changed scene, your wifi would be turned off. Same, when you get home and switch to the home scene, wifi is switched back on.

Like I say, not sure that works, however, I think there is an app that lets you specify phone settings depending on your location (as determined by GPS). Of course, then your phone is using GPS and so draining the battery a bit more

But I'm sure the app does something clever to avoid draining the battery too much!

cdmackay · 08-28-2009, 11:22 AM

I found that a malconfigured HTC Mail was constantly trying to load a huge mailbox (and failing, then repeating) and that was sucking out my battery life.

computerboyo · 08-28-2009, 11:40 AM

Also go to settings and turn off the 3G network so it will use the 2G networks and it will save a lot of battery.

dfredh · 10-08-2009, 02:01 PM

HTC hero with battery drain problem?

Mine went down about 40% in one night with everything off. After full charge unplug it went down really quick to under 90%. I tried everything. Profiling, checking cpu load. I did a factory reset without any difference.

Solution? Factory reset + formatted sdcard.

It seems like there are a lot of cached data on the sdcard and since i did the firmware (rom) update to 2.7x.xx i guess maybe old cache-data caused some problem.

After formatting the sdcard the phone works as usual.

hoppy1986 · 10-09-2009, 03:24 AM

i find mobile internet and wifi seriously drain my battery, thats why i turn them of when i dont use them.

i do use power manager, maybe you should give it a try

quantumrand · 10-09-2009, 04:23 AM

The biggest battery eaters are 3G and Wifi. Bluetooth and GPS will take a decent chomp out of it as well. I've got mine to the point that a day of light usage brings the battery down only about 10%, light usage being just a few phone calls and a couple facebook updates and such.

I have the European Hero in the US, so of course I have 3G turned off. I also use the Locale app to manage when my Wifi can be enabled. Also, I have the setting ticked that turns off the wifi when my phone is asleep.

I get the feeling that 3G is probably the largest battery eater by a pretty fair margin, and when your phone is using it to update several times per hour, it can use a lot of the battery. You should consider giving turning off the 3G a shot, only enabling it in order to do web browsing and video streaming.

Fork · 10-09-2009, 06:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quantumrand

Also, I have the setting ticked that turns off the wifi when my phone is asleep.

This sounds like a useful setting. I've just got an HTC Hero so I'm new to the Android OS. I can't see this setting under Settings -> Wireless Controls. Could you tell me where it's located?

Thanks,

Fork.

wuthton · 10-09-2009, 07:04 AM

WiFi settings>press menu>advanced.

Matt.

Fork · 10-09-2009, 07:20 AM

Got it! Thanks very much.

Fork.

dougleppard · 10-18-2009, 10:37 AM

Post explaining how SMS app is draining battery, change the app and it is supposed to improve. I haven't tried it yet.

Sprint HTC Hero Issue Results in Battery Drain - A problem with the SMS app - Softpedia

NYCHitman1 · 10-18-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougleppard

Post explaining how SMS app is draining battery, change the app and it is supposed to improve. I haven't tried it yet.

Sprint HTC Hero Issue Results in Battery Drain - A problem with the SMS app - Softpedia

Good find. Thanks!

jimbobmcginty · 10-19-2009, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougleppard

Post explaining how SMS app is draining battery, change the app and it is supposed to improve. I haven't tried it yet.

Sprint HTC Hero Issue Results in Battery Drain - A problem with the SMS app - Softpedia

Does this apply to sim-free European GSM Heroes? The posts I've found on this topic only mention the CDMA version.

My OH has a UK T-Mobile branded Hero (yep his & hers

and she gets a couple of days out of it without trying too hard. Mine loses 40% battery between home and the office in the morning (1 hour commute, GSM only, in retro mode), and I have everything obvious disabled and kill unused apps etc.

I'll investigate the SMS app issue and update if I find anything.

dougleppard · 10-19-2009, 12:47 PM

I found this post most helpful, but sometimes i wonder what you are turning off and loosing in the process. Helped me understand the phone more.

Improve Battery Life for the Android Based HTC Hero Smart Phone | Gamaze.com

thefley · 10-19-2009, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatBateman

Yeah, turn the wifi and bluetooth off if you're not using them, they'll both drain the battery.

THis is a must to save the batt. and i use the advanced task killer free to force close anything that is running.. that helps a lot too.

euroemkay2 · 10-19-2009, 08:13 PM

yea phone did the same thing today.. i took it off the charger and in like a half hour it drained about 15% w/o even using it

jimbobmcginty · 10-20-2009, 06:07 AM

So I've been fiddling about a bit more, using the "switch everything off, and I mean everything" strategy.

Starting point for Partial Wake time -
Android System = 50%
Everything else = negligible

Change Hero so that:
All data / network connectivity - off
Every widget and link on the home screens - removed
APNs disabled with APNdroid
And reboot and play around enabling disabling widgets.

And I think I've narrowed it down to two widgets which look innocuous: Clock and Calendar.

Clock - I had this on centre home screen, running in the "Number" rather than "ClockFace" option (time in digits, takes up two screen tiles, optional location+weather) with no location/weather updates.
Calendar - had this on Left-1 home screen taking up the whole screen, no weather updates.

So now I have falling % total wake time, and crucially partial wake against Android System is 'stuck' at 12 seconds after 2 hours since boot.

I'll keep this updated.

andy d · 10-20-2009, 12:51 PM

HTC have said their is a problem.with the sprint hero and are working on a fix.

thefley · 10-20-2009, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andy d

HTC have said their is a problem.with the sprint hero and are working on a fix.

can you point us to that article?

jimbobmcginty · 10-20-2009, 02:00 PM

I've seen those reports too, except mine is the euro standard GSM phone.

dougleppard · 10-21-2009, 11:06 AM

On the android forums is the sms solution.
see:

Spint Hero Battery Issues known fix Fix.. charges faster lasts longer

BTW bext way I found to download handcent to the phone was:

On the phone use search and input handcent download. It will find the page and follow instructions.

It seems to work so far. I just did it for my wife's and my phone.

golder · 11-18-2009, 03:47 AM

So I just got a new Hero a few day ago and basically I find that I have to charge the phone every night - which is some terrible battery life.

I think its mainly due to the fact that a lot of Apps seem to turn on by themselves. All these apps on my android system turn on by themselves even ones that don't have widgets. Like my mail or peep app which I havent even setup yet or have a widget of just randomly start appearing in my tasks list unnecessarily slowing my phone down and draining battery. I don't want to use a few Task manager apps because even running these apps drains battery.

Anyone know how to use solve this issue?

petergdakin · 11-18-2009, 08:12 AM

Go into each app and within the app settings, adjust the frequency of refresh / accessing the internet. Also, make sure you dont leave GPS or WiFi on permanently.

I charge mine most days. Just one of those things.

rustynuts · 11-18-2009, 09:01 AM

I have tried many of the tips for saving battery life I have now conceded to the fact that this phone needs a charge every night if I want to get a good days play with it, its a small downside but there's too many good things about the hero that make this no problem for me ; )

itandy · 11-18-2009, 10:09 AM

I only have to charge my Hero once every two days. I always switch off all Wi-Fi, Mobile, GPS and Bluetooth when I don't use them. This way I found the battery is actually quite good.

I also heard some people says certain applications tend to suck up battery badly, so you might like to check your installed applications as well.

golder · 11-18-2009, 10:15 AM

It seems to take 2 hours to charge from zero to hundred percent but if I leave the phone charging all night would not that be bad in the long term (to overcharge it by an extra six hours every night)?

Sean-B · 11-18-2009, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by golder

It seems to take 2 hours to charge from zero to hundred percent but if I leave the phone charging all night would not that be bad in the long term (to overcharge it by an extra six hours every night)?

Won't be bad, when the battery is full, the phone stops charging and uses the charger to take its power from.

I have had an iPhone the past 2 years and the battery always last about 36 hours. So I just charged it every night and the battery still had the same capacity.

Battery life just sucks on the smartphones these days, but I can live with it..

Plymouthbiker · 11-18-2009, 10:21 AM

Mmm Just got a 3000mAh battery for my G2 Touch (htc hero) I was lucky if I got from 8.30am to 8pm with out it going flat. So far it's been on since 7.30am to 3.20pm and I've lost 10% battery power.... Great!!

See....
OddsAndPods.co.uk-Mobile-HTC & XDA Phone Accessories-Batteries-HTC Hero Extended 3000mAh Battery and Replacement Back Cover

lekky · 11-18-2009, 11:05 AM

I have a theory, I always charge overnight, leaving wireless on, and pressing the off button putting it in to sleep mode. I also have the option to turn off wireless when in sleep turned on.

So my theory is thus:

mobile data off
wireless on
phone in sleep

ABOVE mean that no apps are connected as wireless is off during sleep?

So when i wake up, turn on my phone, unplug it, wireless comes on, ALL my apps grab a connection and do a nights worth of updates, draining the battery like mad.

Something to think about anyway, i never put it into sleep at night anymore.

daveybaby · 11-18-2009, 11:23 AM

I get 2-3 days use out of mine with light-medium usage patterns. I make a point of turning off wifi, mobile data, bluetooth and GPS at night - and generally i leave wifi/bluetooth/GPS off all of the time unless i actually need them.

And i agree with what petergdakin said - try to limit how often apps and widgets access the internet. If youve installed an app that you dont often use, but find it's still firing itself up all of the time (my current bugbears include NoteMe and London Tube Status) then you might want to consider uninstalling them and finding better written alternatives.

capuman · 11-30-2009, 04:51 AM

hi,

I also have the european version of the Hero and id like to know if it also suffers from the sms problem.

I've searched all over the place online but cant find out if the european version has the problem. I've emailed HTC but have not received any replies yet. I know SPRINT released a fix to the bug last week which is great, however if the same issue happens on the european models then we also need the fix.

Also, i keep reading about turning off the “Always-on” mobile data connection. but what exactly is that for? and what am i losing by actually turning it off?

Oh and finally, if i tell it to use the 2G networks instead of what ever its using, im guessing it simply means that i would not be able to access internet stuff over the network right?

Thanks in advance!

daveybaby · 11-30-2009, 05:28 AM

The european hero doesnt suffer from the sms 'always awake' problem.

If you turn off the mobile data connection then any apps you have installed that periodically access the net (e.g. email, twitter clients) wont be able to do so, so it will save your battery. So, probably not helpful if you *want* those apps to update, but if, say, youre going to be asleep anyway you may as well turn it off.

It's really easy to turn on/off anyway, so give it a try, there is an HTC widget to do exactly this (also ones for bluetooth and wifi).

You can still access the internet over 2G networks, it will just be much slower.

capuman · 11-30-2009, 05:38 AM

Ah thanks for the reply! thats great to know.

sorry but just to clarify then.

If i turn off the 'always on' option, the apps wont be able to update (and presumably i wont be receiving emails then either right?) but will the apps (such as the weather app) update when i manually tell it to update then?

Currently i have it set up so that i receive my hotmail emails automatically every 15 mins on the phone, but if that wont work if i turn off that option, what do you recommend?

Thanks!

daveybaby · 11-30-2009, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capuman

If i turn off the 'always on' option, the apps wont be able to update (and presumably i wont be receiving emails then either right?) but will the apps (such as the weather app) update when i manually tell it to update then?

Nope, you wont be able to manually update either. But it's trivial to turn it back on again if you add the HTC widget to your home screen.

Quote:

Currently i have it set up so that i receive my hotmail emails automatically every 15 mins on the phone, but if that wont work if i turn off that option, what do you recommend?

I recommend leaving mobile internet switched on in that situation. I leave mine on all day, and switch it off at night (if i remember), and generally still get 2 days out of a single charge.

I leave wifi off all day at work, and switch it on in the evening when i'm at home, and switch it off again while i'm asleep.

I leave bluetooth permanently switched off as i dont have any use for it currently.

GPS i leave on as it only gets activated when you use it (depending on what apps you have installed, i think some apps out there may use it in the background)

capuman · 11-30-2009, 06:21 AM

thanks for the replies.

So basically by turning off all the other things i dont need (wifi, get rid of the gps wireless assitance and google background data) i should be fine.

As you say, ill have to leave the 'always on' option on all day though if i want to receive emails. Then again, since im in the office all day i can probably have it off until i get home (so the reverse of what you do basically).

By the way, you mention there is a widget for turning this on and off, like the wifi/bluetooth one? sorry im probably being really thick but i cant seem to find it, could you explain where it is please?

Oh one last thing. Not sure about the uk version you have, but on mine, under the about phone i dont see the 'update firmware' option that our Sprint users seem to have and use to check for updates. Any ideas?

Thanks again, you are being extremely helpful.

daveybaby · 11-30-2009, 06:53 AM

[+] -> HTC Widget -> Settings -> Mobile Network

As for the 'check for updates' option, i dont have one of those either (mine's unbranded with stock firmware). Pretty sure all euro hero owners have to update via PC rather than over the air.

Glad to have helped.

david83 · 11-30-2009, 06:54 AM

The best way to save battery is to only turn your phone on when you need to use it. Then after you've used it quickly turn it back off again. It should last for ages then

Slug · 11-30-2009, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capuman

Not sure about the uk version you have, but on mine, under the about phone i dont see the 'update firmware' option that our Sprint users seem to have and use to check for updates. Any ideas?

Menu-Settings-Security-Firmware update

capuman · 12-01-2009, 07:42 AM

cool thanks!

i knew id seen it somewhere on the phone!

by the way i spoke to HTC last night, they confirmed that the sms issue is not happening on the european versions of the Hero.

I also asked about Android 2.1 and they told me that although they are not supposed to tell customers when a release is going to happen until its confirmed, they recon that by end of this month we should be getting the update!

by the way, anyone know of a good free app for gps navigation for the hero? I hear the new google one is good, but its for Android 2 right?

lekky · 12-01-2009, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capuman

i also asked about android 2.1 and they told me that although they are not supposed to tell customers when a release is going to happen until its confirmed, they recon that by end of this month we should be getting the update!

:d :d