I love it but I hate the poor battery life!

[dwalkercouk]

Hi everyone, great forum, it has been very useful during the last month or so while getting to know my DHD.

I use my DHD for tethering - it connects two laptops most days, for most of the day. I have three batteries, there is always one in the separate charger charging...
To make a battery last at least most of the day I have the DHD constantly plugged in to keep some charge going in. But after about 6 hours I have to swap the battery.

I have done most things suggested in this forum to get the battery usage down but the tethering hammers the battery. Add to that Skype, which is always on too, then you can see why it runs down so quickly.

But apart from the poor battery performance it is a great phone.

Anyone else tethering for long periods?

Cheers

Dave

 

[jugglerbry]

I don't know a huge amount about tethering or much else DHD for that matter even tho I have one, but why would you be tethering two laptops for such a long time ? Surely 3G would be too slow for day to day surfing ?
You didn't say whether your laptops were also running off battery or from mains power. If its mains power you could keep the phone on constant charge by plugging it into one of the laptops via USB ?
As for running Skype, could that also not be done from a laptop rather than the phone also ?

 

[dwalkercouk]

Surely 3G would be too slow for day to day surfing ?

NO, its quick and unlimited - see THREE "the one" package.
I get between 1 and 2mb download and upload speeds which is fine for us. We run a couple of small businesses and DO NOT PLAY GAMES.
(the DHD is a business tool as are the boring laptops)

... its mains power you could keep the phone on constant charge by plugging it into one of the laptops via USB?

That is correct. I have the USB connected to the MAIN ALL DAY. Otherwise it is flat in a few hours and the slow charging can not keep up LOL.

As for running Skype, could that also not be done from a laptop rather than the phone also ?

Its easier to run skype from the phone, then when I leave my desk I take the phone with me so I do not have to run to the laptop to receive a call!

I have no LAN LINE - I use skype to route my 020 calls via the Internet, then its cheaper for clients to call me (for most calling a mobile number is too expensive).

Check your total costs for lan line and mobile - is it more than

 

[Mouse1903]

For no calls, moderate internet use / texting I get around 8 hours on battery after a full charge. Bought an 1800mAh battery but it last pretty much exact same as the stock model. Tried all the battery saving tips and it's still woeful. One of the big negatives about the phone

 

[dwalkercouk]

I bought a 1600maH battery and it has made a difference to mine.

I have two others, the original and another new 1200maH battery.

The 1600maH battery will last at least an hour more during heavy use (tethered, etc.). Note that not all batteries are of the same quality: "you can never believe what it says on the tin" - or label in this case. I have bought batteries in over the years with double the capacity of originals and they have not even been as good. If you buy a REAL branded make you should be ok, or take a punt on the cheaper ones on ebay, some are ok most are rubbish.

 

[crippsy_99]

At the moment im lucky to get 6hrs out of mine, and thats with things turned off, but I think thats currently a case of my battery not holding its charge anymore. I bought a higher cap replacement, and for ages it was wonderful. Lasted much longer than the stock battery. Eventually though it started to not hold its charge, and turned out it had blown somehow for some reason in the middle. If I hadnt taken it out when I had, I reckon it would have gotten stuck.
Anyway, the replacement I got was ok, and had performed reasonably well, but this last few months, performance has been getting worse and worse. As soon as mobile internet turns on, it drops about 1% a min..just to send one tweet usually drains it 2-3%! Today, I listened to 2 music tracks on my way to work..and a 20% drop in power!

Battery 4 is now on its way in the post!

 

[dwalkercouk]

Over time all rechargeables start off not so good then reach a peak, then fall again.

They get better the more they are used and recharged. The better ones should maintain the peak performance for a longer duration.

I suspect these very high capacity batteries on ebay will have a short lived peak performance.