Spoke to Verizon about Eris battery life

[funkdoctor]

Called Verizon tech support today about the battery life on the Eris. I basically told them that I was not interested in switching devices, what I was doing to extend my current battery life, etc. He told me that Verizon is aware of the issues with the battery on BOTH the Motorola Droid and the Eris. He said that they believe that people are not getting long enough battery life because of the software, and that before the new year we were expected to get 2.0, and within the first 3 weeks of the new year an update that should fix battery issues. And just to clarify, I informed that I was not speaking about the 100% wake up time causing the battery to drain prematurely but just poor battery life with normal use. He said that he was aware of both issues and asked if I wanted to switch to the Droid. I told him that I preferred the Eris and would rather wait it out if the problem was going to be addressed in the future. So, basically Verizon is aware that Eris users are getting mediocre battery life and expects an update (sometime between now and January 2010) will fix this problem. He also said that Eris would be getting the 2.0 + battery update BEFORE the Motorola Droid gets any updates. Supposedly, the Motorola Droid update had been pushed back with no release date set. Dunno how accurate his information is vs. the documents Phandroid have published, but in his defense, the tech was pretty knowledgeable about the Android OS.

So - there is hope!

 

[Needsdecaf]

Great info, thanks!

I WOULD have asked him about the 100% awake issue. It's not just limited to the native SMS application. I have that disabled and still get the 100% awake from time to time.

But good to know! If they fix the battery issues on this phone, I will be in love.

I am going to call Verizon tech support tomorrow just for poops & giggles and see what I can find out as well.

 

[funkdoctor]

Great info, thanks!

I WOULD have asked him about the 100% awake issue. It's not just limited to the native SMS application. I have that disabled and still get the 100% awake from time to time.

But good to know.

I had posted in another thread that in my experience the Eris did not have the sms problem, it was related to the Mail app and Youmail. You should delete any accounts you use in Mail, download K9 mail and remove the Youmail app (if you use it). Restart and don't use Mail anymore. I've done it on three different Eris's at this point and it fixed all of them. I run about 18 percent now.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I had posted in another thread that in my experience the Eris did not have the sms problem, it was related to the Mail app and Youmail. You should delete any accounts you use in Mail, download K9 mail and remove the Youmail app (if you use it). Restart and don't use Mail anymore. I've done it on three different Eris's at this point and it fixed all of them. I run about 18 percent now.

What's Youmail? Did that come loaded on the phone? I don't think I have it.

Is there any mail app that can get the mail from different accounts in one mailbox?

Thanks for the tip.

 

[funkdoctor]

What's Youmail? Did that come loaded on the phone? I don't think I have it.

Is there any mail app that can get the mail from different accounts in one mailbox?

Thanks for the tip.

No, Youmail is an voicemail app that you can download from the Market. Just to clarify, I am not speaking of the Gmail app, this should work fine. I'm talking about the Mail app that is for POP3 and IMAP accounts besides Gmail. There are a few different Mail apps in the Market, I personally use K-9 Mail.

The way I found all this out is - the first weekend I had the phone, I did a factory reset and then installed each application one by one. Then after I ran the program, I would close it, and put the phone to sleep. I would take note of the time that the phone was on when I turned it off, wait 60 seconds and then turn it back on. When I turned the phone back on, I would check the time on battery status and see how much it moved. If it moved 5 or 6 seconds, that was fine. If it reported that my phone was awake the whole time the phone was asleep, I knew the application was keeping it awake. I deleted the Youmail app, and then setup my work email on my Eris. After setting up my work e-mail my phone went back to 100% awake. I deleted all accounts in the Mail application and then downloading K-9. I connected K-9 to my work e-mail and now my sleep time is 15%. I generally get about 14 hours of battery with moderate usage, but I would like to see at least 24. Verizon said this will be possible after the update is pushed to our phones.

P.S - After I did the factory reset I had to call Verizon and get the phone activated again. Not sure why, but just be aware that could happen if you choose to reset. No biggie, but still annoying. You can still perform that test without doing a factory reset.

 

[OfTheDamned]

So any idea what Youmail was doing? I know there are different settings in the youmail app that will let you adjust polling times and things, did you play with any of those? I hope this is permanent, I love youmail and coming from blackberry I was looking forward to a properly working app. I guess that is too much to ask for.

 

[funkdoctor]

So any idea what Youmail was doing? I know there are different settings in the youmail app that will let you adjust polling times and things, did you play with any of those? I hope this is permanent, I love youmail and coming from blackberry I was looking forward to a properly working app. I guess that is too much to ask for.

I did not actually. I spent so much time going application to application that once I found one that was keeping the phone awake I just removed it. If someone else finds a setting that works, I wouldn't mind going back. Youmail is a pretty decent service.

 

[huntsvegas]

I spoke with Verizon TS this morning as well; and, as it stands now, the eris OS update is slated to be pushed out on 12/11.

 

[mcbtrain929]

I spoke with Verizon TS this morning as well; and, as it stands now, the eris OS update is slated to be pushed out on 12/11.

does that mean the update to 2.0, or just an update to fix all these little problems?

when i was buying my eris 1.5 wks ago, the rep was saying to another customer that the eris WASN'T getting upgraded to 2.0, but to 1.6/1.7 instead. i was confused, but ended up blowing it off because the store was real busy that day and his head was spinning in 20 different directions. so if this person told the OP that the eris will indeed get 2.0, that eases my slight worries a bit.

 

[jlevy73]

does that mean the update to 2.0, or just an update to fix all these little problems?

when i was buying my eris 1.5 wks ago, the rep was saying to another customer that the eris WASN'T getting upgraded to 2.0, but to 1.6/1.7 instead. i was confused, but ended up blowing it off because the store was real busy that day and his head was spinning in 20 different directions. so if this person told the OP that the eris will indeed get 2.0, that eases my slight worries a bit.

Yes the Eris is def getting 2.0. 2.0 didn't come with Eris because HTC is working on integrating the Sense UI...

 

[rdalev]

Yes the Eris is def getting 2.0. 2.0 didn't come with Eris because HTC is working on integrating the Sense UI...

Thats exactely what the Verizon rep. told me when I purchased my Eris !

 

[mmanuel552]

Take anything that vzw csr take with a grain of salt VZW is horrible when it comes to releasing official os If it does release on 12/11/09 then good if not typical VZW.

 

[OfTheDamned]

Take anything that vzw csr take with a grain of salt VZW is horrible when it comes to releasing official os If it does release on 12/11/09 then good if not typical VZW.

I don't think these type of upgrades come from or are handled by Verizon.

 

[huntsvegas]

The tech I spoke with said that his info did not specify if it was an OS version upgrade or just a bug-fix "patch"...I'm guessing the former.

Also, as an FYI for others concerned about the Eris battery life; I made a few tweaks and I'm now getting battery life comparable to my BB bold. Settings:

-rarely use BT (preference)
-I auto sync gmail (manual sync calendar/contacts)
-Wi-Fi occasionally when at home
-GPS location "on" only when using an app that needs it (e.g. google maps)
-I toggled off the "Always-On Mobile" setting...This seemed to really help and didn't affect any of my apps; Not that I can discern anyway.

I took my phone off the charger yesterday night at 8pm...It's currently 5pm and I'm still at 52% with moderate phone/data usage (i.e. Text/email/web)
When I woke up this morning it had only discharged to 92% over 8hrs. So, in my opinion that's more then satisfactory for typical biz/personal needs (solid 24hrs on one charge). If you purchased the phone as a primary media player then obviously you can't expect the battery to last all day. ANY Smartphone will have rapid B-drain if you're a media poweruser...SO will an unplugged laptop.

BTW, I should also note that I uninstalled Advanced task killer and the effects seem to be positive. If I want to close apps, I just do it from the "Application Manager" in settings. Hope this helps!

 

[funkdoctor]

I don't think these type of upgrades come from or are handled by Verizon.

Correct. Any updates would come from HTC, not Verizon.

 

[huntsvegas]

Correct. Any updates would come from HTC, not Verizon.

Agreed!

 

[pjsockett]

I don't think these type of upgrades come from or are handled by Verizon.

The release may come from HTC's website but I am fairly certain Verizon wouldn't allow and support a release without testing and approving first. The tech support calls and complaints aren't handled by HTC so Verizon will have a hand in the update overall. That's why Windows and Blackberry updates have historically taken so long to release. The windows 6.5 update for Touch Pro 2 has been out for over a month and HTC has provided it to unlocked versions of the phone but it is still not available for Verizon users. The Sprint mogul got GPS over 6 months before Verizon's xv6800. If it were entirely up to HTC I don't think you would be seeing those variations. I'm not saying it won't come out on the 11th but Verizon will be involved and will know what's included.

 

[funkdoctor]

The release may come from HTC's website but I am fairly certain Verizon wouldn't allow and support a release without testing and approving first. The tech support calls and complaints aren't handled by HTC so Verizon will have a hand in the update overall. That's why Windows and Blackberry updates have historically taken so long to release. The windows 6.5 update for Touch Pro 2 has been out for over a month and HTC has provided it to unlocked versions of the phone but it is still not available for Verizon users. The Sprint mogul got GPS over 6 months before Verizon's xv6800. If it were entirely up to HTC I don't think you would be seeing those variations. I'm not saying it won't come out on the 11th but Verizon will be involved and will know what's included.

Well the 2.0 update is the one that is supposed to come around December 11th (from what I've heard) and that would have nothing to do with Verizon as it is an update to the Sense UI and spans more than 1 phone and more than 1 network. So I would say that if HTC says its releasing 2.0 on Dec 11, I would guess that is fairly accurate. As far as the update that is coming to fix the bugs, I have no idea. Any guess would be speculation.

 

[Caddyman]

regardless, Verizon has to approve the update. Any update being released, downloaded, or shot OTA, if it is in any way "official" verizon must approve it.

This is usually the big hold up on stuff like this. Same way BB's work. RIM works on a new OS or update, bounces it off of verizon, verizon ok's it, RIM puts it up on thier site for download OR verizon shoots it OTA

 

[funkdoctor]

regardless, Verizon has to approve the update. Any update being released, downloaded, or shot OTA, if it is in any way "official" verizon must approve it.

This is usually the big hold up on stuff like this. Same way BB's work. RIM works on a new OS or update, bounces it off of verizon, verizon ok's it, RIM puts it up on thier site for download OR verizon shoots it OTA

Not trying to get into a big thing here, but the Sense 2.0 would not be a Verizon update. Sense is a HTC customization ROM of Android. The same way that they dont request Sprint's permission to update Sense now, I don't think they are going to have to request permission from Sprint and Verizon when they update their own software. It would be the bug fix update that would be coming from both HTC + Verizon, not the Sense. Just because HTC released an Android phone on the Verizon network, Verizon didn't suddenly gain any rights to making decisions for the Sense UI.

 

[cevMkV]

so i have been reading these forums for a while now, and i decided to report about my battery life. right now my phone is showing a 6% awake time...i am not a heavy user of the phone, but i would say moderate, lots of texting etc...i took my phone off the charger yesterday at like 10am and by 10pm i still had 80% battery life.

my settings are as follows:
bluetooth: off until i need it
wifi: off until i need it
wireless data: always on
gmail: auto sync
mail: as items arrive
gps: off until i need it.
location services: use wireless networks, i have the "allow network to detect your position" off

i hope this helps some people. btw i took my phone off the charger at 6am today, it is now 10:45 and i am still showing 100% charge.

 

[Garick]

BTW, I should also note that I uninstalled Advanced task killer and the effects seem to be positive. If I want to close apps, I just do it from the "Application Manager" in settings. Hope this helps!

OT but I can't find a way to close apps, where is this? Manage applications just lets you uninstall.

 

[Bravo311]

My understanding of the update on Dec 11 is that it is not the 2.0, but just the updates to fix some of the bugs that the phone has.(HTC Droid Eris OTA Update Coming Too | Android Phone Fans

Eris' brother, the Sprint Hero, jusdt recently got these updates(A Faster Hero with New Update? | Android Phone Fans).

There has been no official word on when the 2.0 will be out. I'm sure when word comes down this site and all the others like Boy Genius, Engadget etc. will be all over it.

 

[funkdoctor]

My understanding of the update on Dec 11 is that it is not the 2.0, but just the updates to fix some of the bugs that the phone has.(HTC Droid Eris OTA Update Coming Too | Android Phone Fans

Eris' brother, the Sprint Hero, jusdt recently got these updates(A Faster Hero with New Update? | Android Phone Fans).

There has been no official word on when the 2.0 will be out. I'm sure when word comes down this site and all the others like Boy Genius, Engadget etc. will be all over it.

Target release date on the link you have above shows the Eris receiving an update on January 22, 2010 AND December 11th. Which is on course with the Tech rep saying a maintenance update on the first 3 weeks of January. He was saying on December 11 we will be getting 2.0, and maintenance update within the first 3 weeks of January, which is what the papers above say as well.

Also, the Hero update gave them options that the Eris has already had since launch. This is not the same update we are receiving.

 

[pbutterfly]

When I bought my Eris last week (Wednesday evening), the HTC rep was in my Verizon store to train the sales force and help customers. This was great for me as I got a really great lesson in how to use my phone, and I got to ask a lot of questions.

On the subject of the 2.0 upgrade, he told me that as far as HTC is concerned, it is ready to go but it has to be approved by Verizon. The Verizon people seemed to agree with that assessment and all agreed that it would be coming "soon".