Battery on Skyrocket

[bitblender]

I recently switched to the SG 2 SR from an Iphone. I was surprised at the drop in battery levels when my phone was idle and I thought it was the Llama and Taskaid apps that I was running. To confirm this I ran an experiment :

Charge phone to full and then run only Llama for 8hrs. The battery level was at 60%. Then I performed the same experiment without any apps running. The battery level was at 64%.

This leads me to think that there are a lot of apps/tasks running in the background that are eating into the charge.

Any idea how to identify these and kill them ?

 

[Diesel82]

Download advanced yams killer and kill em all with 1 touch

 

[jbsg02]

yams killer, seems appropriate with thanksgiving just around the corner

 

[Diesel82]

yams killer, seems appropriate with thanksgiving just around the corner

Lmaooo OOPS damn autocorrect, sorry I meant: advanced task killer ... lol

 

[Mr. Ed]

60% after 8 hours is pretty amazing.


I have to charge pretty often on this and other phones
I use my phone for 1-3 hours straight at a time tho

 

[jslanger]

My battery life has been pretty terrible (at least it seems that way to me...). Wondered if anyone can compare and tell me if I'm off base about this being a bad battery:

Dropped 75% between ~7:30am to 2:20pm today (not quite 7 hours).\
Fairly minimal use, actually. Checked email maybe twice, and Facebook a twice or so. But no heavy duty use, like videos or such.

I feel like this is WAY too fast consumption of this battery. I love the phone otherwise, but I am a Surgery Resident and we do 30 hours straight when on call. I need it to be able to last a good while (I can accept that it won't go all 30 hours without a spare battery, but my old iPhone 3GS lasted that at least that long with moderate use throughout).

If the concensus is that this is unusually low, then I'll go harass the AT&T store for a new battery.

 

[Mr. Ed]

you absolutely will NOT get 30 hours out of ANY android device without using airplane mode, powering off, or rooting and doing some serious tweaks.


It just isn't possible. Android devices are not Iphones, at some point and time one has to realize the number of things our phones do that iphones do not...and the fact that they are constantly doing these things (sloppy or not, they are working even though you are not using it)


If you are in surgery, you don't use the phone while doing so. Airplane mode is what I would suggest. without a slew of modifications it is the only way to shut her down while you are not using it.

I try not to get into too many battery saving tips in each sub forum because there are already a slew of battery threads, but seeing the number of iphone converts we have here I may put something together for you guys.

just keep reminding yourselves...

"This isn't an iphone, it's much better"

My battery life has been pretty terrible (at least it seems that way to me...). Wondered if anyone can compare and tell me if I'm off base about this being a bad battery:

Dropped 75% between ~7:30am to 2:20pm today (not quite 7 hours).\
Fairly minimal use, actually. Checked email maybe twice, and Facebook a twice or so. But no heavy duty use, like videos or such.

I feel like this is WAY too fast consumption of this battery. I love the phone otherwise, but I am a Surgery Resident and we do 30 hours straight when on call. I need it to be able to last a good while (I can accept that it won't go all 30 hours without a spare battery, but my old iPhone 3GS lasted that at least that long with moderate use throughout).

If the concensus is that this is unusually low, then I'll go harass the AT&T store for a new battery.

 

[jslanger]

No doubt that I won't get 30 hours out of it...I figured I'll need a spare battery.

Mostly I'm curious if what I'm seeing so far is standard or not...because its the one thing that is making me seriously re-consider this phone.

So, 75% off the battery in 6hrs 50 min? Sub-par or par for the course?

 

[Mr. Ed]

No doubt that I won't get 30 hours out of it...I figured I'll need a spare battery.

Mostly I'm curious if what I'm seeing so far is standard or not...because its the one thing that is making me seriously re-consider this phone.

So, 75% off the battery in 6hrs 50 min? Sub-par or par for the course?

I am well below 75% after 3 hours of straight use (and I am constantly on my phone) and usually looking for a charger at about 7hours

I would say you have excellent battery life, but there may be some room for improvement. Have you taken any steps to increase your battery life. check syncing options on things like facebook etc..in each individual apps under menu.settings

then check menu.accounts and sync if it doesn't need to, turn it off (news, weather, etc)

keep in mind...airplane mode when your phone is put away..you will loose 1% every 3 hours or so...

 

[gmoney5588]

well... jslanger doesn't use it for 3hours straight, he uses it very very lightly... i noticed that after using the phone for an hour, mainly just turning the screen on and off to check time and making two 5min phone calls, the battery dropped 7%, which is about the same amount as him. This is slightly lower than what i was getting on ogs2... on ogs2 i was looking at about 5% loss instead of 2... so it's not that major of a difference, but i agree that the battery life should be better... i do miss that about the iphone

 

[jdizzy8]

That is funny to hear. I had iPhone 3Gs, then 4, and 4s for two weeks. My iPhone 4s lasted 8 hours for me in daily use. My Skyrocket is lasting 10 hours with the same use. I am beyond happy, and I am using advance task killer set to work every time the phone screen is off.

 

[BKayrac]

add juicedefender, your battery life will be good

with juicedefender ultimate, i stream pandora for 4hours at work, and still can easily have it survive 10 hours....that includes emailing, and various checking of things which require the screen to be on

phone was fully charged today(overcharged most probably, so the 100% probably wasn't accurate, more like 90-95%) 5pm, it is now 8pm, and with some very light google talking, i am at 95%

pretty impressive compared to my last smart phones.........btw i am in a HSPA+ area, no LTE yet

 

[gmoney5588]

well i've been hearing that these juicedefender and taskkillers drain more battery cause they're constantly running... i just manually go to ram and clear memory... and u can't compare iphone 4s battery to any other phones... iphone 4s has the worst battery lol

 

[Baldilocks]

Yeah, those programs do more harm that good really.

Just keep an eye on what services you have running, keep the screen brightness to a point where it doesn't blind you and try to use darker backgrounds with SAMOLED displays.

 

[BKayrac]

Yeah, those programs do more harm that good really.

Just keep an eye on what services you have running, keep the screen brightness to a point where it doesn't blind you and try to use darker backgrounds with SAMOLED displays.

juicedefender disables radios(which obviously use more juice), how would this do more harm than good?

it's pretty much a fact that disabling your data will save you battery life....especially in low signal areas.........juicedefender just automates what you can do manually, and re-enables the radios every set interval(15min by default).......other than absolutely needing to receive emails immediately, or other services that require data......there really is now downside, unless you'd prefer to do it manually

 

[BKayrac]

well i've been hearing that these juicedefender and taskkillers drain more battery cause they're constantly running... i just manually go to ram and clear memory... and u can't compare iphone 4s battery to any other phones... iphone 4s has the worst battery lol

taskkillers are a different story.....but if you guys have some sort of evidence that disabling data radios will increase battery drain, i would love to review what you guys have been reviewing

 

[Mr. Ed]

Guys...this is not the place for the task killer debate. The info is out there ..let the user decide. I use one ..but it has to be set up properly. Improperly set up it will cause a number of issues.

Juice defender is one of many apps that will automatically shut a number of things down for you and has always been highly recommended by a number of users.

 

[gmoney5588]

i guess i'll try juice defender later, but do i have to upgrade from basic juice defender to allow certain apps to run data? i use google voice for texting since i dont have texting plan, and i noticed i dont receive texts if i have juice defender on

 

[BKayrac]

i guess i'll try juice defender later, but do i have to upgrade from basic juice defender to allow certain apps to run data? i use google voice for texting since i dont have texting plan, and i noticed i dont receive texts if i have juice defender on

google voice requires data i do believe, basically juicedefender in it's default state just disables your data connection when the screen is off, while the screen is off, during that time, every 15minutes juicedefender then turns on your data connection for 30seconds, to allow apps to sync, email, etc, and it will leave the data connection on as long as there is still data flowing, once 30seconds is met(longer if there is data traffic), or data is no longer being sent/received it then shuts the radio downs back down, the cycle then repeats

upgrading only gives you certain extra features, such as more customization of how long the radio stays on(you can change the 30second period to longer i believe), ability to use peak schedules(during the time set, it will check more often or just leave data enabled), night schedules(same thing), the ability to automatically turn wifi on/off(uses cell tower location data to know when you are home/at a spot where you were connected to wifi)

if you require text messages immediately, and you use google voice, sadly juicedefender will not be for you, as i am fairly sure it requires that data connection to be on all the time to receive them.......if you can delay getting those messages until it syncs, or you turn your screen on it may be worth your time to check it out...........i am actually unsure if google voice requires data to make calls(i'm sure it does), as that would also be an issue with juicedefender on the receiving calls end, as again if your datas off, you wouldn't get the call

that being said, i did a test last night, and didn't plug my phone in, i was at 73% at 2am, my phone became unplugged at about 5pm that night(light use inbetween that time, GPS navigation with Waze, checking some stuff, few videos etc)......it is now 11:14am and i am awake again, and i am at 65%........if you can live without your data connection 24/7 it really does help

and again as the poster said above, it just automates some stuff that you can do manually, if you'd prefer to do it manually all the time, you can achieve the same results, but i for one am lazy, and like the auto-enable/disable wifi that the ultimate version brings

it sounds like it might not be for you with how you use google voice, but i hope my explanation explains a bit better about the pro's/cons of it for you

i forgot to answer your question, i THINK you can control apps in the basic one, you just need to enable the 'advanced' setting i do believe, it's been a while since i had basic though


btw, just checked, 18hr, 17min, 35sec on battery, and i am at 64%

 

[jslanger]

btw, just checked, 18hr, 17min, 35sec on battery, and i am at 64%

Wow, I'm not getting anywhere NEAR that. I tried Juice Defender, but I didn't see much an effect at all.

Actually this morning I dropped to ~65% in 4hrs 15 min. And I really didn't use it during that time except for a few momentary web checks and a 20 min phone call.

Wonder if I can talk the AT&T people into a free spare battery, b/c the phone is gonna be usless to me if I can't get it to last long enough...

 

[BKayrac]

Wow, I'm not getting anywhere NEAR that. I tried Juice Defender, but I didn't see much an effect at all.

Actually this morning I dropped to ~65% in 4hrs 15 min. And I really didn't use it during that time except for a few momentary web checks and a 20 min phone call.

Wonder if I can talk the AT&T people into a free spare battery, b/c the phone is gonna be usless to me if I can't get it to last long enough...

perhaps an app you are using is keeping your phone awake?

and just to note, juicedefender only disables your data connection when the screen is off, if your constantly playing with your phone, it won't help much, it's when your phone is sitting idle that it really helps..........like i said above, at work, 4hours of streaming pandora(and every song clicking thumps up or thumbs down, skipping tracks etc), afterwords just emailing the woman, GPS navigation to and from work, and i sit at like 25-30% by the time i get home, usually 9hours later, so it depends on your use amount, pandora eats the battery bad, so does GPS navigation

 

[sidsub]

I just got this phone this week, and was disappointed with the default battery usage. However, I followed the process I used on my old Droid 2 (talk about a battery hog... that was a *lot* worse than this phone) and the results are quite dramatic.

Yesterday, I was down from full to about 40% between 5am and 2pm or so with almost no use. Today, I am still at 80% at about 1pm, and I did a couple of text messages and some web browsing on 4G this morning, plus a short phone call.

The difference was that I rooted the phone last night and installed Titanium backup and SetCPU. I froze a bunch of apps that I knew I did not need, and I set up my SetCPU profile to severely underclock the CPU when the screen is off. I verified that it still delivers phone calls and text messages at the slower CPU speeds, and the phone is still responsive when the screen is on (and CPU speeds can go up high again).

There are several sites out there explaining how to root this phone and how to use Titanium Backup and SetCPU... I highly recommend them.

 

[jslanger]

I just got this phone this week, and was disappointed with the default battery usage. However, I followed the process I used on my old Droid 2 (talk about a battery hog... that was a *lot* worse than this phone) and the results are quite dramatic.

Yesterday, I was down from full to about 40% between 5am and 2pm or so with almost no use. Today, I am still at 80% at about 1pm, and I did a couple of text messages and some web browsing on 4G this morning, plus a short phone call.

The difference was that I rooted the phone last night and installed Titanium backup and SetCPU. I froze a bunch of apps that I knew I did not need, and I set up my SetCPU profile to severely underclock the CPU when the screen is off. I verified that it still delivers phone calls and text messages at the slower CPU speeds, and the phone is still responsive when the screen is on (and CPU speeds can go up high again).

There are several sites out there explaining how to root this phone and how to use Titanium Backup and SetCPU... I highly recommend them.

Yeah, I'm not really using the phone too much, and I tried juice defender for a couple days (with roughly equivalent usage) and didn't see much of a difference. I'm pretty good about going in and shutting down the apps when I'm done and (attempting) to stop processes running in the backround. I've even removed most widgets (except for 1 clock/weather app, set to check only every 2 or 3 hours).

Currently its been ~6 hours and I'm at 45%....which is better than prior days.

I'm thinking that you are probably right--rooting and freezing the annoying bloatware processes (social hub, media hub, etc etc) might help. I haven't heard of SetCPU, but it makes sense. Guess I better get on the rooting...because lately I've been charging it every day at about 2 or 3 pm and I won't be able to do that soon. Either that or start carrying a bandolier of spare batteries with me when I'm on call over night...

 

[gmoney5588]

wow... I guess juice defender does work and rooting also works. I'll try messing around with both tomorrow when I get a chance. i'm a grad student that works full time so I have a lot of idle time.stop seeing up the phone so it doesn't drain during these times would make a significant difference. thanks for the help

 

[BKayrac]

wow... I guess juice defender does work and rooting also works. I'll try messing around with both tomorrow when I get a chance. i'm a grad student that works full time so I have a lot of idle time.stop seeing up the phone so it doesn't drain during these times would make a significant difference. thanks for the help

thats one of the major things to, is the constant playing with the phone, screen on=data on when you have juicedefender, i think many people don't realize that, thats why i tested leaving it unplugged while i slept, and i was quite impressed with the battery

smartphones just don't have great battery, it's a trade off, 24/7 data on, for more battery drain, or data only being on during set intervals, for longer battery life

really just need to find that sweet spot that you can live with, or buy an extended battery

i've seen LOTS of people complain about it's battery life, but when i'm not playing with the phone alot, i am impressed by it

ofcourse i also had a motorola triumph with virgin mobile for a short period, and that things battery life was GOD AWFUL, luckily i was able to return it