Battery Life Improved

[cookiemonster79]

I just wanted to share an interesting test I recently performed. Due to constant frustration with my battery life, I decided to remove all my apps and see if things improved.

I ended up removing every app (I had around 100), except the following two:

Google Voice ( I use it for text messages )
Battery Left Widget ( I used it to track estimated battery life )

Before doing any changes, Battery Left Widget was showing about 9 hours and typically at the end of a work day the phone was almost dead.

Today, with just those two applications, the situation is completely different. Here is where I stand right now:

Battery Remaining : 30% ( per the Android OS )
14h 17m 19s on battery

Cell standby : 42%
Phone idle : 40%
Wi-Fi: 8%
Android OS: 7%
Display: 3%
Android System: 2%
Maps: 2%

The Battery Left Widget is saying about 22 hours of full battery life, but you need to run it on a few full charge/discharge cycles to get a better estimate.

In the past, when the phone would die in around 9 hours with minimal usage the percentages of usage seemed similar to what I got after removing the apps... Cell standby and phone idle near the top, and very minimal use by my applications. So nothing on the list clearly jumps out as a reason for the difference.

This was done on a stock, non-rooted, D3.

If anyone is interested in seeing if they get similar results, request you post to this thread stating the following:

1) Battery life before removing all apps
2) Battery life after removing all apps
3) Estimated full battery life based on "Battery Left Widget"

I can tell you, getting used to no apps isn't fun but it is an interesting test. I figure "no apps" or "almost no apps" is a great way to test battery life against other users for comparison.

 

[bebbles]

Of course no apps will improve battery life... There are always apps that will keep running in the background, but whats the point of having such a phone if youre not going to have any apps!?

I say keep apps as minimal as possible, dont use widgets (i do use the weather/battery in one widget though) and battery life is pretty typical of a smartphone for me.

 

[Knitewulf]

You probably had a faulty app or something of the sort.

 

[cookiemonster79]

Even when I had all the apps loaded, when I looked at the battery usage statistics no apps would show a large % of usage. Also, the fact the upcoming OTA is going to fix the battery makes it seem like something (maybe the 3G radio) is using more power than it should.

 

[TyrannoTaurus]

Even when I had all the apps loaded, when I looked at the battery usage statistics no apps would show a large % of usage. Also, the fact the upcoming OTA is going to fix the battery makes it seem like something (maybe the 3G radio) is using more power than it should.

It is completely fixed in the update. I've had my phone unplugged for 6h 33m and had Wi-Fi on the whole time (no work today) and the Wi-Fi shows 8% of my battery usage. Cell Standby is currently sitting at 3%. When I got home from work yesterday (using 3g all day) my Cell Standby was at 6% and Phone Idle was at 5%. Pre-update - Cell Standby, Wi-Fi and Phone Idle were ALWAYS in the 30-40% range on battery usage.

 

[KidFlash]

It is completely fixed in the update. I've had my phone unplugged for 6h 33m and had Wi-Fi on the whole time (no work today) and the Wi-Fi shows 8% of my battery usage. Cell Standby is currently sitting at 3%. When I got home from work yesterday (using 3g all day) my Cell Standby was at 6% and Phone Idle was at 5%. Pre-update - Cell Standby, Wi-Fi and Phone Idle were ALWAYS in the 30-40% range on battery usage.

Was your battery life improved as well? How long would it last you normally before the update and then after?

 

[TyrannoTaurus]

Was your battery life improved as well? How long would it last you normally before the update and then after?

Very much improved. Pre-update, I couldn't make it through a full day, even on an extended battery. Plus, it would drain very quickly even if I wasn't using it. Post-update, I make it through a full day easy and if I don't use it, it barely drains. I actually tested it by charging it when I got home from work and then leaving it unplugged while I slept. When I woke up 8 hours later it was at 93%. I should note that I have my phone set to ONLY sync social applications over WiFi and I had WiFi off. You can find that option under Settings -> Battery & Data Manager -> Data Delivery -> Social Applications. It seems to really help my battery when I'm out and about. It's worth noting that if you do apply that setting, you will only be able to check for System Updates over WiFi. If you try to check for System Updates on 3g with it checked, it will give you the message "Check for update is not available at this time. Try again later."

 

[s_a]

The phone battery has been immensely improved with the update, to the point of convincing me that this particular phone needs no extended battery. It was never that bad, but they fixed the way the phone used to consume energy on standby; you'll notice how "cell standby" will be among the lowest, if not the lowest category in the "Battery Use" icon (it used to be top two for me!) We also have to thank lack of 4G for that (I love the speed, don't get me wrong!), because the way I use the internet almost constantly, almost everywhere would just make me go through batteries like crazy (I have the old unlimited plan). Now, even with some heavy use this battery lasts super long, and on standby, it just doesn't die! Consider that my old Eris had a 3500mAh extended (and annoyingly bulky) battery and died faster than the stock battery in this phone! With the update, this phone is probably among the best 3G phones ever manufactured-wait for the update to make your phone even more of a mini-beast! ^^

 

[KidFlash]

Thanks for the posts guys. I have the Bionic and I'm having the same issues that you guys had before. Can't wait til an OTA gets the Bionic. I love the device, but the battery life is just