Help Purchased New LG Spectrum. Battery life concerns. Need your help.

[NewSpectrum]

Hi guys. Yesterday I came home with a new LG Spectrum after my dad and I upgraded to smart phones. Prior to that, I had a simple LG Flip phone for 4.5 years.

Basically, I have a few concerns and frustrations with my new phone, and I need your help or I may dread this upgrade for a long time.

#1. I fully charged the battery last night. When I woke up, it was down to 15%. This is unacceptable for me. My LG Flip phone goes a full week without needing a charge, and probably 5 days if I use it. Why has the battery drained so fast? The battery usage showed a 60+% drain for "Wifi". I checked my Wifi Settings and supposedly the Wifi goes off when not in use or if it is not available. So why the heck did Wifi drain the battery? Was my phone scanning for access points all night? I mean, what the heck was it doing, because I certainly wasn't using it. It was in standby. I see no reason for Wifi drainage.

I have minimal expectations for my phone. I expect it to not be dead after 3 hours of use, or after a night's sleep. I want the comfort of knowing I can make a phone call if I have to, rather than fearing my phone might die before I can get to a charger for any reason and especially in case of emergency.

This is a huge issue for me, and if I cannot make phone calls without charging every 4 hours, this phone is inferior to my LG flip phone.

Today I unchecked Wifi to see if it will make a difference in drainage. I still have the other two wifi options checked off. Something about being notified when Wifi is available. Is there a way to only use wifi when I want to check my emails or open the browser? Also after I turned off Wifi, I opened the browser and Google isn't loading. Supposedly I was connected to 4G.

#2. Lack of control. I couldn't log out of gmail. I read up and found a way to clear data in the application manager, but I would prefer a SIMPLE SIGN OUT feature. I also see a lot of apps were on the phone by default, and I don't know what they do or if I'll ever need them.

#3. When it says Wifi, does it mean 4G or my home connection? Or was it simultaneously connected to both? I need some help understanding.

#4. I received a text message giving me a temporary password the day I received my phone. I don't know what the password is for. What is it?

Thank you guys. Those are my concerns. I'm a simple guy and the spectrum was a huge change for me. I was quite shocked at the battery life because it seemed like such a no brainer for cell phones to last at least a few days.

PS: Also guys, I'm wondering how does the spectrum compare to an Iphone? I've never followed all these gadgets so my purchase was sort of blind.

 

[coderaz]

Hi guys. Yesterday I came home with a new LG Spectrum after my dad and I upgraded to smart phones. Prior to that, I had a simple LG Flip phone for 4.5 years.

Basically, I have a few concerns and frustrations with my new phone, and I need your help or I may dread this upgrade for a long time.

#1. I fully charged the battery last night. When I woke up, it was down to 15%. This is unacceptable for me. My LG Flip phone goes a full week without needing a charge, and probably 5 days if I use it. Why has the battery drained so fast? The battery usage showed a 60+% drain for "Wifi". I checked my Wifi Settings and supposedly the Wifi goes off when not in use or if it is not available. So why the heck did Wifi drain the battery? Was my phone scanning for access points all night? I mean, what the heck was it doing, because I certainly wasn't using it. It was in standby. I see no reason for Wifi drainage.

I have minimal expectations for my phone. I expect it to not be dead after 3 hours of use, or after a night's sleep. I want the comfort of knowing I can make a phone call if I have to, rather than fearing my phone might die before I can get to a charger for any reason and especially in case of emergency.

This is a huge issue for me, and if I cannot make phone calls without charging every 4 hours, this phone is inferior to my LG flip phone.

Today I unchecked Wifi to see if it will make a difference in drainage. I still have the other two wifi options checked off. Something about being notified when Wifi is available. Is there a way to only use wifi when I want to check my emails or open the browser? Also after I turned off Wifi, I opened the browser and Google isn't loading. Supposedly I was connected to 4G.

#2. Lack of control. I couldn't log out of gmail. I read up and found a way to clear data in the application manager, but I would prefer a SIMPLE SIGN OUT feature. I also see a lot of apps were on the phone by default, and I don't know what they do or if I'll ever need them.

#3. When it says Wifi, does it mean 4G or my home connection? Or was it simultaneously connected to both? I need some help understanding.

#4. I received a text message giving me a temporary password the day I received my phone. I don't know what the password is for. What is it?

Thank you guys. Those are my concerns. I'm a simple guy and the spectrum was a huge change for me. I was quite shocked at the battery life because it seemed like such a no brainer for cell phones to last at least a few days.

PS: Also guys, I'm wondering how does the spectrum compare to an Iphone? I've never followed all these gadgets so my purchase was sort of blind.

The battery that ships with the Spectrum is crap. I'll address your issues in a moment, but first I have to stress that you need to get an extended battery. It's not a "should", it's almost a "must". The 4.5" HD IPS screen takes a LARGE draw off the battery and that is at least a quarter of your battery woes.

Now, WiFi does drain battery even when not connected to an access point because it is still scanning for available access points. I would recommend that you turn off WiFi manually when not in use. It will save some battery.

Gmail: The whole point of having a smartphone is not having to log out. While you can sign out by clearing the application data, it's not recommended. You can turn off automatic syncing via Settings>Accounts>[Your gmail account]. The other apps are commonly referred to as bloatware and we abhor them as much as you do. It's all additional crap that hardly anyone will ever use. Think of them being like spam and there are no normal methods to remove them.

When you are connected to WiFi, the device will first try to initiate a connection over that. If it can't (low signal, internet problems at the access point or whatever), then it will fall back to your mobile connection (3G/4G). I've found that it can take a few seconds after turning off WiFi for the 4G connection to re-establish itself.

The text message you received is your temporary password for My Verizon. You will be prompted for it when you connect to the My Verizon mobile app.

Lastly, in comparison to an iPhone. The battery that ships with the Spectrum is crap. However, the Spectrum far exceeds ANYTHING an iPhone can do. This phone has better hardware and software than an iPhone does. The trick is the learning curve. Many of us here have put YEARS into learning Android and it's become second nature for many of us. In regards to your LG flip phone, think of comparing a Ferrari to a Pinto. That's pretty much what you are doing. A smartphone is essentially carrying a mobile computer whereas carrying a flip phone is exactly that. The flip phone does a couple of things really well (phone calls, texts, etc), but the smartphone does 100x more than that, hence the greater power drain upon the battery.

 

[brianmaedche]

Okay to improve your battery life go into the spectrum all things root page and root you phone and download setcpu from 4shared.com and change the govenor to conservative. just ignor the password you got in your texts i had the same thing happen with mine but found no use for it. as for wifi that would be your hone wireless network or public wifi network. and in my opinion dont get an iphone they are over rates in my opioin. if you need more help with rooting or have more questions just pm me. once you get rooted i can tell you a lot of the apps you can get rid of. i will say this phone is a beast and its super snappy once you get rid of all the lg andd verizon bloatware shit. let me know if ya need help.

 

[NewSpectrum]

The battery that ships with the Spectrum is crap. I'll address your issues in a moment, but first I have to stress that you need to get an extended battery. It's not a "should", it's almost a "must". The 4.5" HD IPS screen takes a LARGE draw off the battery and that is at least a quarter of your battery woes.

Now, WiFi does drain battery even when not connected to an access point because it is still scanning for available access points. I would recommend that you turn off WiFi manually when not in use. It will save some battery.

Gmail: The whole point of having a smartphone is not having to log out. While you can sign out by clearing the application data, it's not recommended. You can turn off automatic syncing via Settings>Accounts>[Your gmail account]. The other apps are commonly referred to as bloatware and we abhor them as much as you do. It's all additional crap that hardly anyone will ever use. Think of them being like spam and there are no normal methods to remove them.

When you are connected to WiFi, the device will first try to initiate a connection over that. If it can't (low signal, internet problems at the access point or whatever), then it will fall back to your mobile connection (3G/4G). I've found that it can take a few seconds after turning off WiFi for the 4G connection to re-establish itself.

The text message you received is your temporary password for My Verizon. You will be prompted for it when you connect to the My Verizon mobile app.

Lastly, in comparison to an iPhone. The battery that ships with the Spectrum is crap. However, the Spectrum far exceeds ANYTHING an iPhone can do. This phone has better hardware and software than an iPhone does. The trick is the learning curve. Many of us here have put YEARS into learning Android and it's become second nature for many of us. In regards to your LG flip phone, think of comparing a Ferrari to a Pinto. That's pretty much what you are doing. A smartphone is essentially carrying a mobile computer whereas carrying a flip phone is exactly that. The flip phone does a couple of things really well (phone calls, texts, etc), but the smartphone does 100x more than that, hence the greater power drain upon the battery.

Thank you for this reply.

How much longer will an extended battery last me? What is the price?

A quick Google and I found something about having to buy a new belt clip case and cover to go a long with the new battery. I'm happy that I've found help here, but I'm unhappy with my purchase if that is the case. I feel like I should go back to the Verizon booth and demand a free extended battery and case from them. Because frankly I do feel a bit ripped off if the "free belt clip case," that came with it will become as useless as the battery. I'm assuming an extended battery would set us back anywhere from $30-$50 per phone?

As for Wifi, if I uncheck Wifi will it stop scanning for access points? Technically I only need wifi when I want to go online right? So how do I stop it? I don't want my phone wasting the battery for Wifi which I'm not using. It seems kind of idiotic that it was scanning all night. How about only scanning when I want to go online?

IN the Wifi Settings, I have Wifi checked off now, but Notify me and Auto-on are checked. What do these do exactly?

When I go to Notifications, there are 5 squares at the top. What do these do? One appears to be silent, airplane mode (which turns off 3G and wifi I'm guessing right?) and one says GPS.

Gmail: What exactly is syncing? I don't really understand it. The salesmen asked us for our gmail accounts so he could put them in the phone - seemed to be a requirement.

Also I noticed last night when I clicked update for the weather it would keep saying update failed. I had wifi on at the time so I don't know why it wasn't/isn't working.

The trick is the learning curve. Many of us here have put YEARS into learning Android and it's become second nature for many of us.

I understand the passion many people have for the niche. But I personally don't want to spend years learning/tweaking/customizing the phone if you know what I mean. Although I'm really happy that I've found help on this forum, I was extremely frustrated that I HAD to locate and create an account on a forum because I could not find answers in the instruction manual.

 

[Neph81]

Never trust the battery gage on a phone the first week that you have had it. It takes time to properly calibrate to which every battery you have in it. Same goes if you put in an extended battery. With that being said, let your phone get to 10% then fully recharge it. Do this a few times and you'll notice that your gage gets more accurate as time goes on and will be almost perfect in about a week.

 

[MrB206]

Phase 1: Root your phone.
Phase 2: Freeze all the bloatware like NFL and Finance
Phase 3: ??
Phase 4: PROFIT!

But in all seriousness, root your phone, freeze all the crap dicussed in the other thread and change your governor to the conservative one. I'm on 31hrs on a charge with light use and only @ 45%:

 

[coderaz]

Phase 1: Root your phone.
Phase 2: Freeze all the bloatware like NFL and Finance
Phase 3: ??
Phase 4: PROFIT!

But in all seriousness, root your phone, freeze all the crap dicussed in the other thread and change your governor to the conservative one. I'm on 31hrs on a charge with light use and only @ 45%:

Damn! Most I'm getting right now with the ext battery is about 16 hours. Mind sharing some of your tweaks?

 

[coderaz]

Thank you for this reply.

How much longer will an extended battery last me? What is the price?

A quick Google and I found something about having to buy a new belt clip case and cover to go a long with the new battery. I'm happy that I've found help here, but I'm unhappy with my purchase if that is the case. I feel like I should go back to the Verizon booth and demand a free extended battery and case from them. Because frankly I do feel a bit ripped off if the "free belt clip case," that came with it will become as useless as the battery. I'm assuming an extended battery would set us back anywhere from $30-$50 per phone?

Mine cost me $25 (half off sale), but it was a pain to find. I had to hit three stores. You might have better luck. You don't HAVE to have the case as the ext battery comes with a battery door, but I have one. It's nice and somewhat provides some protection.

As for Wifi, if I uncheck Wifi will it stop scanning for access points? Technically I only need wifi when I want to go online right? So how do I stop it? I don't want my phone wasting the battery for Wifi which I'm not using. It seems kind of idiotic that it was scanning all night. How about only scanning when I want to go online?

IN the Wifi Settings, I have Wifi checked off now, but Notify me and Auto-on are checked. What do these do exactly?

Yes, if you have WiFi off, it will stop scanning. The other two options (Notify Me and Auto On) will accomplish what you are looking for. By default, WiFi always scans when it's turned on. If you root your phone, you can change the frequency of how often it scans.

When I go to Notifications, there are 5 squares at the top. What do these do? One appears to be silent, airplane mode (which turns off 3G and wifi I'm guessing right?) and one says GPS.

In order: Silent/Vibrate | Auto rotation | Bluetooth (on/off) | GPS (on/off) | Airplane Mode (on/off).

Gmail: What exactly is syncing? I don't really understand it. The salesmen asked us for our gmail accounts so he could put them in the phone - seemed to be a requirement.

Also I noticed last night when I clicked update for the weather it would keep saying update failed. I had wifi on at the time so I don't know why it wasn't/isn't working.

Syncing is the process of sending and receiving (in this case, emails. But it also applies to any sort of bidirectional communication. ). Android requires that you have a Gmail account for various reasons, most importantly, the Market (now known as the Google Play Store).

As for the weather, I have a stupid question. When you had WiFi on, did you have it connected to your home wireless access point?

I understand the passion many people have for the niche. But I personally don't want to spend years learning/tweaking/customizing the phone if you know what I mean. Although I'm really happy that I've found help on this forum, I was extremely frustrated that I HAD to locate and create an account on a forum because I could not find answers in the instruction manual.

I understand where you are coming from. 90% of the time, Android can be as easy as pick it up and use it. However, you were sold a high end phone. With that comes a bit of knowledge and know how needed to get the most out of the device. For someone like me (and many others here), we can take any device, tune and tweak it and get the maximum performance out of it and fully utilize it. That doesn't work for all people. To use my car analogy again, it would basically be like owning a Ferrari when you really only want to travel on local roads. You have all that power under the hood but no real desire to put it through it's paces. For most of us here, we covet that Ferrari and make regular trips to the Autobahn to really let it fly.

You can learn to use the device without a *lot* of effort. But, there is still going to be the learning curve. What I have seen of the people here, there are plenty of us willing to teach you.

 

[MrB206]

Damn! Most I'm getting right now with the ext battery is about 16 hours. Mind sharing some of your tweaks?

I just froze most stock apps and set my governor to conservative. You'd be surprised how much more juice you get with those small tweaks

 

[finndo77]

Couple of suggestions for you, get "onavo" from the "play store" this wpp will monitor your data usage (currently only 3g and 4g, but I have contacted the developers and they are working on adding wifi usage too). You can also force an application to only use wifi, I do not like how it does that, but it works.

I had the same battery issue the first night, I went back and got another lg spectrum and this one does better.

I also use "phone weaver" to schedule when my wifi turns on or off. Example: when I get home it turns on, at 10pm the phone goes into airplane mode and the screen timeout changes to 1 minute.

If you decide to root, it voids your warranty, if you go to Verizon and ask for help with your phone, do not tell them you "rooted" it,mor they may refuse to help.

If you still decide to root (not rooting, to borrow a previously used analogy... is like buying a Ferrari with a governor that prevents you from driving faster than 45mph, this is true for all android phones), use "Rom Toolbox" this allows you to schedule your CPU like I do with my wifi (this is a secondary feature of this app, but you will use other features as well, eventually). Example: I have it set my phone to use lower processor speeds as the battery charge decreases or if I am on a phone call. I will add some screenshots from my phone in a few minutes.

All of these will make your battery last longer, I have not tested mine yet, because I over paid for my lg spectrum and will be returning it Monday after I activate my new one. If any does not already know and does care, I made a thread yesterday about getting a spectrum for $19.99. If my wife's contract was up at Sprint, I would have a family plan and would have added a third line just to buy another Spectrum at $19.99! But it is not worth carrying a family plan for 10 months...

sent from my rooted Nook Tablet using Tapatalk

 

[NewSpectrum]

Hi guys. First I wanna say I really appreciate the enthusiasm you guys have for helping me out with my new spectrum.

Now with that out of the way, the more I learn, the more I feel like this phone or even possibly a droid just isn't for me. I don't know how to root, but a quick google/guess tells me it's something like homebrew or custom firmwares/hacking a PSP. Researching is work and it takes computer time. Thing is, I really don't want to have to bother with any of that. When I got this phone, I was in utter shock at how unreasonably fast the battery drained and it just and still does seem idiotic to me. It seems to defeat the purpose of a cell phone.

And what you guys are telling me, is to install/hack/homebrew/root/do something that voids the warranty - just so I can get what I damn well expect out of a cell phone. So let me get this straight...the bloatware is killing the battery -stuff that isn't even in use - and I cannot remove this bloatware without rooting the phone? That pisses me off, because had I known this, I wouldn't have went for this phone...

On that note, I've come this far so I'm still open to possibly staying with this phone if you guys will help me. However, I have to ask first if you could recommend a phone that suits me better. From what I can tell, they don't seem to make flip phones anymore and pretty much everyone moved on to smart phones. So as cell phone enthusiasts- I'm asking for your valued recommendation...

I want: battery life comparable to my old LG flip phone. I want control over the interface and whats running and without hacking the phone. I want to have the option to go on the internet when I want and activate 3/4G only when I need it.

Maybe it's like you guys said. I bought something that didn't really suit me. But at the same time, I think I'd be very well pleased with this phone if it A) Had decent/a few days of battery life and B) It was simple and offered me control out of the box. To me, those two conditions don't seem like much to ask. They seem fundamental. But seemingly, that's not what the LG Spectrum is about.

So that being said, does a phone that better suits me come to mind? Is the idea of a droid simply not suitable for me? I don't really know, but I'm definitely considering swapping this phone out at the moment for something I can rely on. What do you say?

And yes, I was using my own router for wifi.

 

[brianmaedche]

If your worried about losing your warrenty after root you dont have any worries what ever you do to it can be undone. There is a file in the Spectrum all things root like that has a all in one program that you run off your computer. you just plug your phone into your computer go to your notification bar pull it down and click "USB Connected" and then click Internet Connection and select Ethernet.
Go to your system settings now and go to applications and click on Development and enable USB Debugging. Go to this linkhttp://androidforums.com/spectrum-all-things-root/512151-one-click-updated-lg-spectrum-all-one-pkg-root-cwm-touch-recovery-unroot.html download file and run Root&RecoveryAIO. Select option 1 and press enter to root. this program will also unroot the phone put custom recovery on it and set it all the way back to stock. I can see kinda why you wouldnt want to void your warrenty but if for any reason you need to get a replacement phone just claim the one you have a stolen and you will be covered still. trust me i have had to do this before. i say just root it and get setcpu downloaded and change the govoner to conservative, the batter lasts alot longer with it. and you can also download Titanium Backup Pro and freeze all the bloatware thats slowing it down and draining your battery. there is a whole list of apps that you can freeze or even remove if you want in the spectrum all things root area. I can promise you that if you do these few steps it will make you enjoy your phone even more. ive only been using android for a year and i can tell you that rooting and changing stuff to where you like will get you hooked on using it.

 

[Neph81]

Honestly, give the phone at least three days of discharge/recharge before deciding if the battery life will be good for you. The first charge/discharge is completely off.

Secondly, a lot can be done to your phone without root. Home apps like ADW will redo your home screen and allow a lot better flexibility with your phone. You can also add widgets to your home screen to turn 3g/4g on or off with the touch of a button.

On to your final point thou, not much that comes out today will give you more then a day of battery life with 4G on a stock phone. Customers haven't demanded loud enough for it yet. The closets would be the Droid Razr Maxx, but even then it's not great. Going back to 3G is almost impossible for new phones as there is zero market for that unless you go for a non-smart phone.

I do wish you lots of luck, no matter what your decision thou.

 

[finndo77]

I am sorry if I scared you off when I mentioned rooting voids your warranty, but I wanted to make sure you understood not to talk to Verizon about it. Done if their employees know very well what it means to root and do not care if you do, as long a you don't "tell" them. My luck is so bad that I would run into the guy that would flag my account so everyone that pulled it up would know.

The rooting process took me about 10-15 minutes to setup and less than 5 minutes to do.

I took some screenshots if my battery use last night with the settings I mentioned previously.

Not sure if these are rotated correctly or not, they look correct from my phone; however when uploading tapatalk shows then still sideways. Anyway, the big bar at the top is battery power, you can see all night it sat around 75% without change, the bottom section show how active the CPU was all night and the usage percent, right around 1-3% each time. Because I have it set to only allow a certain amount at night and the phone switches to airplane mode. To note, I was home most of the last 24 hours and I leave wifi on in my house, unless I am setting my phone down for an expected duration. Add my wifi at home I have to pay for if I use it or not, without any realistic limitation, vs. my Cell plan, and I have certain apps set not to run unless I am on wifi.

Please ask plenty of questions before deciding! Although I will give you a hint... Everyone here is biased to talk you into getting a smartphone

Last thing, you have some of the best people available to help you here any time you have questions, and any other device you get will still have a learning curve. If you don't want to do a lot for good battery life, just expect to plug your phone on every night and probably once per day.

 

[cryoaura]

If you don't have the time to mess with the phone, then yes a non-android may be better. I will say though, installing itunes on your pc is just like the phone bloatware except it affects your pc. Also you must have an itunes account for an iphone just as you need a google account for a droid. Battery life out of box will be better on the iphone but still will not compare with your old one. Its not really that the iphone has bad hardware, i came from a 4 and never had responsiveness issues or anything, the hardware it has works great for the software it utilizes. You will not get the same battery life on a smartphone as with those normal phones. Major reason is one you aren't thinking of directly. All you CAN do on a std phone is call or play snake.

Remember, you are on androidforums.com, so many will take using an iphone as blasphemy. Honestly, ive become a fanboy myself, but i also have a father i would never allow to own a droid, for his own good. Most people with droids are geeks, so we find ways to make things better. For me, a non-jailbroken iphone is junk. But my dad can use it well, and out of box it truly does work great. Even the windows phones are nice, easy to use. Try each and see which one is easiest to use.

All this being said, I just got and rooted my spectrum, have basically done everything formentioned, and I wouldn't have gotten anything else. If you are willing to put the time into, and understand the battery woes of a smartphone, you won't regret it. The iPhone just gets, well, boring. And it seems everyone has one these days...

 

[NewSpectrum]

Ok guys, thanks again for replies. But I have to say I want to know my other options first before even considering rooting. I simply don't want to bother with it. I am extremely unsatisfied with this phone. At 2 am last night, I brought it to 56% battery life. At 11 am this morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone turning off because it was dead. Wifi was off. This thing is absolutely pathetic as a cordless phone when it comes to reliability - that much is certain. I don't want to charge the stupid thing twice a day and still worry about it running out. That is nonsense and I hate it. And to tell you the truth, I think the audio quality is worse on the spectrum than my old LG flip. My younger brother agrees on the audio issue as well.

So guys, first and foremost, what phones have the BEST battery life, and don't come with unremovable bloatware that saps the power? I am now almost certain I will return this phone. The battery life sucks and the lack of app control really annoys me.

Also, is it even possible to turn off 3-4G completely so it does not sap the power when I am not using it on the spectrum? Are there cell phones with this ability? I see no reason to be connected to 3-4G when I'm not online.

PS: My dad and I were wondering, if we are at home connected to our router, it does not use up data correct?

 

[MrB206]

The answer to your question is NONE. All phones have bloatware and the quantity varies by carrier. In my experience, the Motorola phones have less than this LG does, BUT, Motorola uses other proprietary apps to suck up battery life.

As for 3g/4g, you can turn it off with apps like Quick Settings, but turning on wifi and using your home connection will essentially turn off mobile data, unless you get a txt. But 'smartphones' are designed to use background data 24/7, to update your widgets and other crap. You can reduce drain by not using widgets or controlling when they use data (weather apps like Beautiful Widgets allow for update only when 'awake' or in use). If you're at home, use wifi.... it uses SUBSTANTIALLY less battery than cdma/4g, because it's less work for the receiver, than searching for cell towers. There's a Verizon app that can even turn on your wifi when you're within a mile of your home and when you get in range of the wifi signal, it'll connect. I use it on all my phones.

The simple solution for the battery is to root the Spectrum, get an app like Root Toolbox Pro (best $5 you'll ever spend) and freeze all the stock apps, except for necessary ones like LGHome. If you ever want to remove the root, simply use the tools to unroot OR use the 'hard restore' method that comes with the phone. Then, use wifi when at home.

Case in point, here's my stats, rooted with most apps frozen I don't use and my widgets on 'only when awake' mode and yes, that's after streaming Sirius for 45 mins; I'm still @ 91%:

 

[NewSpectrum]

The answer to your question is NONE. All phones have bloatware and the quantity varies by carrier. In my experience, the Motorola phones have less than this LG does, BUT, Motorola uses other proprietary apps to suck up battery life.

I was just chatting with a Verizon sales representative on their site. I told him what my gripes were and he said he owns an Iphone 4 8GB and it lasts him 5 days on a single charge.

As for 3g/4g, you can turn it off with apps like Quick Settings, but turning on wifi and using your home connection will essentially turn off mobile data, unless you get a txt.

This might be my last question here: Does 3G/4G have anything to do with call quality or are those features specifically for the Internet only?

 

[finndo77]

Doing better than me, but you can see how much I use the phone here...

 

[MrB206]

I was just chatting with a Verizon sales representative on their site. I told him what my gripes were and he said he owns an Iphone 4 8GB and it lasts him 5 days on a single charge.

Yea, keep in mind he's a SALES guy. Sure, with all data connections turned off, Apple reports you can get 'up to' 200 hrs standby time: Apple - iPhone 4S - Technical Specifications But that's maximum and they get those stats by charging a phone, turning off the radio and letting it discharge. I doubt the VZ rep uses his phone that little, so I call bullshit, since the 'use' rates are less than the newer RAZR (not the maxx) has similar stats: DROID RAZR

Yes, iPhones are great for teenagers and people who want a phone that does what they want, when they want it and they don't want to know HOW it's doing it. Android phones are for PC users that don't mind some bugs because they can mod their phone. My parents both have an iPhone, but they're 60 and don't want to futz with a phone. I don't mind some glitches if I can tweak my OS. Different strokes for different folks, but ultimately, iOS and Android are just different ways of running a phone; one isn't better than the other (though technically Android is better, since it's open source).

This might be my last question here: Does 3G/4G have anything to do with call quality or are those features specifically for the Internet only?

Not usually. If you get a call in 4g, you won't notice any difference than on 3g. You may notice if it drops to '1x', but that's rare for most states, since VZ has towers everywhere.

 

[brianmaedche]

The answer to your question is NONE. All phones have bloatware and the quantity varies by carrier. In my experience, the Motorola phones have less than this LG does, BUT, Motorola uses other proprietary apps to suck up battery life.

As for 3g/4g, you can turn it off with apps like Quick Settings, but turning on wifi and using your home connection will essentially turn off mobile data, unless you get a txt. But 'smartphones' are designed to use background data 24/7, to update your widgets and other crap. You can reduce drain by not using widgets or controlling when they use data (weather apps like Beautiful Widgets allow for update only when 'awake' or in use). If you're at home, use wifi.... it uses SUBSTANTIALLY less battery than cdma/4g, because it's less work for the receiver, than searching for cell towers. There's a Verizon app that can even turn on your wifi when you're within a mile of your home and when you get in range of the wifi signal, it'll connect. I use it on all my phones.

The simple solution for the battery is to root the Spectrum, get an app like Root Toolbox Pro (best $5 you'll ever spend) and freeze all the stock apps, except for necessary ones like LGHome. If you ever want to remove the root, simply use the tools to unroot OR use the 'hard restore' method that comes with the phone. Then, use wifi when at home.

Case in point, here's my stats, rooted with most apps frozen I don't use and my widgets on 'only when awake' mode and yes, that's after streaming Sirius for 45 mins; I'm still @ 91%:

What's that Verizon app called that you use to connect to wifi within a mile?

 

[MrB206]

Lol. Damn auto correct.

 

[coderaz]

What's that Verizon app called that you use to connect to wifi within a mile?

Verizon Auto WiFi. It's not bad. I use Smart Profiles. It's by Antutu. Has manual, timed and location based profiles.

 

[MrB206]

Yup. I've tried a few location apps, but surprisingly, the vz one works best for me.

 

[finndo77]

here is a reasonably well informed post about batteries and charging...

How and when to charge your tablet battery | TechRepublic

only read the lithium ion battery info (the third one on each point), you can skip most of the article and just read the bullets. I agree with about 85% of it.