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Help How to undo Gingerbread update? Ruined battery life...

inm8num2

Newbie
Jul 10, 2011
39
2
Sorry if it's already been discussed - searched but didn't find anything.

Gingerbread update has ruined my battery life. Cell standby drains my battery twice as quickly as it used to, and I have no idea why this would be.

Is there any way to go back to the stock OS (Froyo 2.2) without rooting? I got this phone a week ago and am devastated that I did the OTA update and screwed things up. I knew I shouldn't have updated.

Please help!

If I can't undo, do you guys have any tools or tips to help me get to the root of the problem? It seems 3G signal searching is the culprit, but I can't be sure...
 
Thanks for the reply. I have only installed a handful of apps so far. I'm okay w/ doing the reset, but should I take any precautions, like backup or something? Also, won't factory reset only remove installed apps and not revert to stock OS?

Also, would it help if I posted detailed usage information regarding my phone? There's gotta be a free app for that as well.

All I know is that on stock 2.2, w/ no talking display ate up 2/3 of the battery life and cell standby was like 15%. Now, cell standby is >30% and more than display usage. Behavior hasn't changed. My battery life has literally been cut in half.

Would it be some kind of calibration issue on the updated OS? Did people see improvements after a few usage cycles?
 
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Thanks for the reply. I have only installed a handful of apps so far. I'm okay w/ doing the reset, but should I take any precautions, like backup or something? Also, won't factory reset only remove installed apps and not revert to stock OS?

Also, would it help if I posted detailed usage information regarding my phone? There's gotta be a free app for that as well.

All I know is that on stock 2.2, w/ no talking display ate up 2/3 of the battery life and cell standby was like 15%. Now, cell standby is >30% and more than display usage. Behavior hasn't changed. My battery life has literally been cut in half.

Would it be some kind of calibration issue on the updated OS? Did people see improvements after a few usage cycles?



It has nothing to do with calibration. Its just something goofy going on with your cache or settings files that the new update didn't like. Just do a factory reset and reinstall your apps. It should fix the problems.

I noticed better batter life with the update than I had prior. So there is nothing wrong with the update itself, just something odd going on with your particular phone. Doing a factory rest should fix it.
 
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I'll try a factory reset later when I get the chance but I have a feeling it may not help.

I've only installed about 5 simple apps (amazon mp3, shopkick, mint, google docs, dophin hd browser). That's it. I've barely have customized the phone. This doesn't make sense why my cell standby is killing my battery compared to before.

I can't remember what my sync settings were before update and don't notice any changes. Again, I don't have many things running so I am extremely stymied.

@frankz - already in CDMA mode from before update.
 
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I'll try a factory reset later when I get the chance but I have a feeling it may not help.

I've only installed about 5 simple apps (amazon mp3, shopkick, mint, google docs, dophin hd browser). That's it. I've barely have customized the phone. This doesn't make sense why my cell standby is killing my battery compared to before.

I can't remember what my sync settings were before update and don't notice any changes. Again, I don't have many things running so I am extremely stymied.

@frankz - already in CDMA mode from before update.

The amount of apps on your phone doesn't have necessarily any bearing on if the factory reset will help or not. You said it yourself that the cell standby is what's apparently eating up your battery. That's a more function of the OS, not necessarily the apps. While it's possible an app could have gone haywire after the update, IMO it's more likely that the OS is having an issue.

It could be that the radio is constantly searching for signal even though you may be in a good signal area. You could also try an app called current widget. You can keep a log and it will show you when it's really sucking down the batttery.

After OTA updates, I've read of factory resets solving a number of issues, like battery life, connectivity (voice & data), app function (both stock & installed), & probably more. After the OTA for froyo for the Incredible1, a few days later I saw some odd behavior out of my phone. Battery life was worse, I had trouble connecting to my wi-fi, etc. I did a factory reset and it ran like a champ, in fact it still does.

Look on the bright side, since you don't have many apps installed to begin with, setup after a factory reset should be that bad, especially if you use google for contacts, appbrain for apps, or even astro for contacts & apps.

Update: I just looked at my phone's battery use. I've had my Gingerbread since about the 2nd or 3rd day it was released. With some game play, web browsing, and about an hour of phone calls today (been unplugged for 13h 34m), my battery is at 52% and my use is as follows:
1. Display 24%
2. Voice Calls 24%
3. Dialer 14%
4. Wi-fi 9%
5. Cell Standby 9%
6. Games 7%
7. Internet 7%
8. Phone Idle 6%
 
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@vzwuser76 - Thanks for your informative post.

After doing a factory reset, do I need to worry about calibrating the battery? Should I do the reset on a full charge? I'm at about 15% now and turned the phone off.

battery doesnt need to be fully charged but i would charge it some first, you dont want it dieing in the middle of the reset... maybe 20% to be safe?
 
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Not ready to do a factory reset yet. Charged the phone to 100%, did a battery pull, waited some minutes, and turned it back on.

I'm noticing that on 3G or wifi my signal bars go between 3 and 4, then it drops down to zero for 5-10 seconds, then back up to 3 and 4 for a couple seconds, and repeats (timing fluctuates but you get the idea). I never noticed this before on Froyo, but I would have had it been happening.

I turned off mobile network and wifi and the same behavior is occurring. So, for some reason my phone can't hold a signal now.

I turned back on 3G to see what happens overnight. During my first few usage cycles on Froyo, overnight standby on 3G drained the phone maybe 10%. I will check this thread tomorrow AM and see what you guys say. If you all feel a factory reset is the way to go, then I guess I'll try it.

One other thing - my OTA download was interrupted twice (once by a call, second time by me accidentally after just restarting it, noticing it didn't continue the previous download but started a new one). Third download went all the way. Might this have screwed something up?

Thank you all for your help. I greatly appreciate it.
 
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Hmm, here I am 12 hours after unplugging and I'm still at 90%. 3G overnight, minimal use this morning.

Maybe it's okay after all? I don't see how there could be such a drastic change, other than the fact that something was aggressively running during my first cycle after GB update. Will write back tonight.
 
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