I see what your saying in that the report of cell standby is higher than it should be, but the problems are surely related.
If my cell standby is using an average of 55% of the battery then, presumably the false report must also falsely report the total battery percentage used/remaining, as a knock on effect of the original cell standby false report issue.
If the phone (wrongly) thinks the cell standby is using x amount of power, then the total battery percentage will decrease.
For example... My phone is 100% charged to begin with, I take it off charge and leave it on the sideboard for 7 hours without using it what so ever (left in standby mode), when I go to use my phone it only has 50% battery remaining, and that battery usage drop was predominantly used by cell standby. Therefore the total battery percentage has dramatically decreased due to the wrongly reported cell standby usage.
That is a similar scenario to that which I contacted Samsung with, and that is the issue they said they are aware of and currently working on a firmware update for.
Unfortunately they are not related. The issue is literally that someone typed 34 instead of 3.4 or even 3 in a xml file (Glorified text file) where battery stats reads what value to use for the maths it does.
__________________ "I am only responsible for what I say. Not for what you understand"
Do you mind me asking you some questions, not intentionally going off topic, just trying to understand how it all works.
Does the battery stats section where it details what is using what percentage, only do just that. ie. does that section have no effect on the overall battery percentage at all?
If not, how does the phone calculate the battery usage?
Do you mind me asking you some questions, not intentionally going off topic, just trying to understand how it all works.
Does the battery stats section where it details what is using what percentage, only do just that. ie. does that section have no effect on the overall battery percentage at all?
If not, how does the phone calculate the battery usage?
John
Overall battery usage is calculated by the amount of battery is left. It knows that the maximum mAh of the battery is xxx and the maximum mV of the battery is yyy. It also knows the minimum mAh and mV is x and y. So anywhere in between is just a % on the scale.
Battery Stats is fed the present mAh. It knows that the battery has depleted 68 mAh for example and by looking at the power_profiles.xml, it "knows" that the radio (cell standby) uses 34mA, ergo Cell standby used 50% of that battery.
That is a really basic answer and not really technically accurate. Batteries, power, electricity is a pretty complicated subject.
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I see what your saying in that the report of cell standby is higher than it should be, but the problems are surely related.
If my cell standby is using an average of 55% of the battery then, presumably the false report must also falsely report the total battery percentage used/remaining, as a knock on effect of the original cell standby false report issue.
If the phone (wrongly) thinks the cell standby is using x amount of power, then the total battery percentage will decrease.
For example... My phone is 100% charged to begin with, I take it off charge and leave it on the sideboard for 7 hours without using it what so ever (left in standby mode), when I go to use my phone it only has 50% battery remaining, and that battery usage drop was predominantly used by cell standby. Therefore the total battery percentage has dramatically decreased due to the wrongly reported cell standby usage.
That is a similar scenario to that which I contacted Samsung with, and that is the issue they said they are aware of and currently working on a firmware update for.
John
There are a multitude of threads in the GS3 section below discussing various riffs on the "my battery life sux...it went down by 50% in a few hours....this is ridiculous...."etc and a lot of useful posts on potential causes and remedies.
My phone consistently loses about 2-3% per hour just sitting idle. If you actually USE the phone then the screen takes over as it is the biggest user of battery. If you are getting more than 3-5% per hour drain IDLE then you probably have some settings issues that need to be adjusted. Or possibly a hardware or software problem although my guess is it is something that can be fixed.
Hi, thanks for the information, I hope it can, but believe me I have read hundreds of threads on various forums regarding battery draining issues but I cannot seem to stop it draining.
Its not actually the battery life I am complaining about, as such. As I explained to Samsung, the battery life is great when I'm actually using the phone. The problem only occurs when the phone is left idle, and the battery stats show cell standby as using the bulk of the battery. Via the Samsung technical dept I have followed many methods of fix, inc resetting to factory settings and various other workarounds to no avail.
Nevertheless, they have admitted this as an issue with many international versions and have said they are currently working on a fix so fingers crossed it won't take long for them to release it.
Maybe it will come with the Jellybean update?
Out of interest, when you say ''if you are getting more than 3-5% per hour drain idle''
In general, is 3-5% per hour normal for an android smartphone such as the S3? Over a 7 or 8 hour period of non-use, that could be a loss of between 24-40% battery... that's incredibly high.
Not intentionally doing an android v apple comparison here, but my iPhone only loses in the region of 3-5% over that whole 8 hour period, not per hour. It has pretty much the same amount of apps, is on the same network etc etc.
I'm no expert of the technical aspects obviously, but I would say I'm quite a savvy smartphone user and have all the settings as they should be, Samsung have even advised me on optimised battery settings for the S3. I love my S3 in all other aspects, so I hope Samsung can fix this issue as looking around the internet there are lots and lots of people experiencing the exact same issue as me.
Anyway sorry for the long post. I shall let this thread get back on topic now. Thanks for all your help.
John
Last edited by John P; August 22nd, 2012 at 01:20 PM.
Hi, thanks for the information, I hope it can, but believe me I have read hundreds of threads on various forums regarding battery draining issues but I cannot seem to stop it draining.
Its not actually the battery life I am complaining about, as such. As I explained to Samsung, the battery life is great when I'm actually using the phone. The problem only occurs when the phone is left idle, and the battery stats show cell standby as using the bulk of the battery. Via the Samsung technical dept I have followed many methods of fix, inc resetting to factory settings and various other workarounds to no avail.
Nevertheless, they have admitted this as an issue with many international versions and have said they are currently working on a fix so fingers crossed it won't take long for them to release it.
Maybe it will come with the Jellybean update?
Out of interest, when you say ''if you are getting more than 3-5% per hour drain idle''
In general, is 3-5% per hour normal for an android smartphone such as the S3? Over a 7 or 8 hour period of non-use, that could be a loss of between 24-40% battery... that's incredibly high.
Not intentionally doing an android v apple comparison here, but my iPhone only loses in the region of 3-5% over that whole 8 hour period, not per hour. It has pretty much the same amount of apps, is on the same network etc etc.
I'm no expert of the technical aspects obviously, but I would say I'm quite a savvy smartphone user and have all the settings as they should be, Samsung have even advised me on optimised battery settings for the S3. I love my S3 in all other aspects, so I hope Samsung can fix this issue as looking around the internet there are lots and lots of people experiencing the exact same issue as me.
Anyway sorry for the long post. I shall let this thread get back on topic now. Thanks for all your help.
John
For me the 3% is with Hotmail and a few other things syncing when they want to, a weather widget and perhaps some other things. I don't have it fully buttoned down like a few radicals who turn off all data communication every time the screen is off.
My wife has the iPhone and I didn't think hers was as good as you said, but I haven't looked closely. Hard for me to believe that you can leave the house at 9am on 100%, have the phone with you all day and let it do background syncs and data, and when you walk in the door it is only 97%. That would indicate that an iPhone under light actual usage could last for 5-8 days between a charge? That seems like a stretch to me.
I can't tell you what is normal for "Android phones" because there are a million variants....I'm just reporting what I see on my GS3.
LTE probably uses more battery too so we'll see how the iPhone 5 compares at that point....will be interesting to see how many mA the battery is in the iPhone 5.
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Thanks for the info, I still think 3% per hour on standby is a substantial drop, maybe that's just the way android works though, im not sure. I agree you don't want to have to turn everything off when you turn the screen off, it is a smartphone after all.
Maybe Apple phones do something differently in order to conserve power when not in use, im not technical in that way so I have no idea lol.
All I know is that I have tested my iphone and S3 side by side on the bedside cabinet, where I know they both have a strong signal and the battery drain between the two differ massively.
To be honest, with regards to the iphone lasting 5-8 days without being used, it may actually do that, not that I have tried to though, as I say I have only tested overnight when in a constant strong signal on my bedside cabinet, when I'm out and about signal is constantly changing, well it is down here in darkest Devon anyway lol.
I should stop moaning, the S3 is by far the best phone I have ever had and I do really like it. Just a few little issues for you to iron out asap please Samsung .
Thanks for your help and info Hogan773. Also thanks SUroot for getting this petition together, without people like you doing things like this, I'm sure these big companies would never consider fixing issues they probably perceive as minor.
from what i have read online it seems to me that the report is just wrong, cell standby isn't actually draining the battery it is just reporting that it is.
.....If its a real problem soon there will be 9-10 million S3's in use so lets see what happens. Lets see thousands of posts about it not a handful.
Some people are push-overs / ignorant, and which could be why they aren't posting on this forum.... but i guess that since this is android, and not iOS, you need some form of intelligence to break free from the isheep herd
I'm quite happy with the battery life I'm getting so far but think it would be better if they fixed this issue.
I've only had my GS3 since last Saturday and I'm getting 2 days. But it drops about 15% over night. Alright I leave wifi and full sync on but I did that with my Desire HD and that only lost 3-5% at night.
Again I'm not complaining, as long as I can get a full day I'm happy, I just think it could be better
I think if you get 2 days use and phone drops 15% over night well it would do same in daytime plus your usage so I would have to say sounds like you dont do anything with your phone other than a few texts and a few calls because it would not last that long with any normal usage
Originally Posted by SUroot on June 29th, 2012, 11:40 AM
To let you know, I have re-reported this issue to Samsung, including the 150+ signatures received so far
Quote:
Originally Posted by SUroot on June 30th, 2012, 06:37 PM
Here's an update for you all:
Quote:
Dear Dan
Thank you for contacting Samsung and I have pleasure in providing the following assistance.
In response to your query, please be advised that our engineers are currently investigating the issue you have described. If they find it to be a genuine fault then a firmware update will be rolled out as soon as possible. Due to the nature of our investigation we are unable to advise on a timescale for any possible update.
If you require any further assistance, please contact Samsung again and we will be more than happy to help.
Kind regards
David
Hi SUroot, I read through to see that you submitted the petition on June 29th and Samsung responded on June 30th. I'm curious to know, whether or not there has been anymore contact from Samsung about this miscalculation? Or has it all gone quiet?
Calculation. The Radio power usage is set too high in battery stats so it isnt reporting accurately.
Does this ^ mean that the battery IS NOT in fact actually draining that quickly, and that this problem ONLY has to do with the misreported usage of battery within the battery application? OR do the misreported values actually have an effect on the battery, as the phone shuts itself off, thinking it has low battery (due to the cell standby), when in actuality it has a lot left (because the cell standby isn't actually using this much). If it's just a misreported figure I don't think it would matter that much, but because people have been talking about their batteries discharging 10% in an hour while the screen is off, this leads me to believe there is a connection between the two. Sorry for the long, confusing post, I'm just trying to clarify as I have been experience both crazy battery loss while turned off (drains completely within a 12 hour period at night while off) and also this Cell Standby ridiculously high figure (53% of my battery usage). Are they connected?
Does this ^ mean that the battery IS NOT in fact actually draining that quickly, and that this problem ONLY has to do with the misreported usage of battery within the battery application?
Yes. Exactly this
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Its not about how long the battery lasts. Its about how much battery the battery statistics show is being used by cell standby. Want proof? Settings > Battery
I'm a "victim" of a "weak" battery management strategy (or are 2100 mAh not enough for such a smartphone?)
The value displayed on my Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) running Android 4.0.4, for the parameter "Cell standby" is 48%. I've switched "Power Saving" ON and have logged out of quite a few applications except for a few necessary ones.
I'm sick of charging the phone thrice a day. Looks like I'll need to buy a car charger just to stay mobile.
To add insult to injury I have an issue with the AC adapter. It simply switches ogg after charging the phone for a few seconds. So I have to keep my Laptop powered up just to charge the phone via the USB port!!
Something's wrong somewhere or I haven't done something right? Or is it a bad battery batch that I'm saddled with that can be replaced by Samsung?
I'm a "victim" of a "weak" battery management strategy (or are 2100 mAh not enough for such a smartphone?)
The value displayed on my Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) running Android 4.0.4, for the parameter "Cell standby" is 48%. I've switched "Power Saving" ON and have logged out of quite a few applications except for a few necessary ones.
I'm sick of charging the phone thrice a day. Looks like I'll need to buy a car charger just to stay mobile.
To add insult to injury I have an issue with the AC adapter. It simply switches ogg after charging the phone for a few seconds. So I have to keep my Laptop powered up just to charge the phone via the USB port!!
Something's wrong somewhere or I haven't done something right? Or is it a bad battery batch that I'm saddled with that can be replaced by Samsung?
1. Why make a powerful mobile computing device on a popular open source platform and then limit it's capabilities by packaging a battery with insufficient capacity?
2. The very purpose of mobility is lost when you're constrained to remain indoors and plugged in, to an external power source, to really use your smartphone?
Well that's not the topic of this thread however I get all day out of my battery without turning any settings off and with 3+ hours screen on (up to 6 hours) so personally I feel the capacity is fine. Have a read through that thread and use the battery monitor apps mentioned to ascertain what's draining your battery
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There is a file. In this file, it says (paraphrasing):
"Cell standby uses 34mA"
So the Battery stats page in android says:
"I've used 50mA of battery"
"...of that 50mA, 34mA is Cell Standby"
"...therefore, 68% of my battery is Cell standby"
"...therefore, 32% of my battery is everything else"
However EVERY other android phone, including the SGS2, cell standby is 3mA. This 34mA is wrong. A typo.
What should happen if this was correct:
"I've used 50mA of battery"
"...of that 50mA, 3mA is Cell Standby"
"...therefore, 6% of my battery is Cell standby".
"...therefore, 94% of my battery is everything else"
See, that 50mA used doesn't change. Its just how that 50mA has been used (the breakdown of it) is incorrect.
Its like 5 people eats a jar of sweets.
There are 50 sweets.
All the sweets are now gone.
Regardless of who ate those sweets it doesn't affect that there were only 50 sweets and they're now all gone.
Sure "person A" ate 50 sweets, but then said "Actually person B ate 15", we don't think Person A is as greedy as we originally thought. All the sweets are still gone though.
It is a separate issue. Yes the cell uses battery. Of course it does. Can it drain the battery? Sure but that is not what this issue is. This is a reporting issuer.
Everyones battery drains. Its not possible for any battery device to use 0% battery.
As for unusual drainage, my device is not suffering.
If you have an issue whereby the battery depletes fast and the device is getting warm, and you are sure you can run it on a factory reset (without reinstalling any apps) for 24 hours and the issue persists, you have a hardware fault. report it to your carrier.
Totally digging how you broke that down. Sweets are so good.
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