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Beyond battery frustration

rhltechie

Newbie
Oct 7, 2012
12
0
sean76....I could not have said this better myself. I don't want to screw with my "developer settings"...I'm not a developer. I am a techie, but i dont want to spend all day trying to find a way to stop my phone from dying within 3 hours of being unplugged. I have went through so many threads here and on xda, i've killed everything I possibly can. I have a flippin black background, my mobile data is off, no widgets running, basically nothing running at all....and yet, i can unplug it at 100% and 2 hours later its half dead. I've owned an iphone, so it's not like i have unrealistic expectations of an awesome smartphone that will last for days without a charge. I just want to get through an entire day without a dead phone or being chained to the wall charger.

This is with no email syncing, no browsing, screen off, all tasks/apps closed, excellent coverage. The phone also gets very VERY warm. I've tried disabling wifi, mobile data, but there is no difference in the rate of battery depletion.

Please no flames....just looking to vent really as I have tried so many different things at this point I just want it to be done....I am either going to smash it and use my insurance to get something else or just be a seriously unhappy samsung user. also like sean said....really does suck. when the phone isn't dead, it really is awesome.

@ OP....Yup same problem here all over again with my phone dropping upwards of 50-60% while just sitting on my night stand overnight. This happen on my 1st unit a few weeks ago, and then out of nowhere 4 nights ago started with my replacement unit. I went through that BS with Better Battery Stats and dealing with all this nonsense with wakelocks, and codes, etc. I've honestly had it! I've had countless countless phones over the last several years between Blackberry, iPhones, l and Android phones and honestly have never ever had to deal with something like this. And if I hear one more person saying its just a false reporting thing I'm going to loose it....its real, its not a reporting issue, its a real life bug and Samsung ain't doing jack about it. I'm not rooted, nor am I rooting, I just want my phone back to normal and not have to wake up to a completely dead phone. Does anyone have a fix for this??

If there is no fix in sight, then I guess the best fix is a hard reset and to stick this thing on eBay and get rid of it. Shame because other then this issue, the phone is awesome.
 
I know how frustrating this can be! Even more so when you know that not everyone, in fact, only a small percentage of S3 users experience this problem.

Four people in my immediate family purchased the S3 at close to the same time. Three of us have no battery issues, yet one of us, my sister, has the problem almost as you describe! I have compared her settings with mine and see no difference and no app that can be causing it.

Before I got my phone, I purchased an extended battery and replacement back cover because it was on sale. I have yet to install it! My battery lasts longer then my Incredible did! I get all day use out of it and charge it at night like I was used to doing with the Dinc.

There has to be an answer, but it could be as simple as getting a lemon phone, with as many of these that have been sold, there are bound to be a few bad ones with a specific problem. My Sister is returning hers for a replacement tomorrow. I'll post back here if that didn't fix the issue.
 
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I know how frustrating this can be! Even more so when you know that not everyone, in fact, only a small percentage of S3 users experience this problem.

Four people in my immediate family purchased the S3 at close to the same time. Three of us have no battery issues, yet one of us, my sister, has the problem almost as you describe! I have compared her settings with mine and see no difference and no app that can be causing it.

Before I got my phone, I purchased an extended battery and replacement back cover because it was on sale. I have yet to install it! My battery lasts longer then my Incredible did! I get all day use out of it and charge it at night like I was used to doing with the Dinc.

There has to be an answer, but it could be as simple as getting a lemon phone, with as many of these that have been sold, there are bound to be a few bad ones with a specific problem. My Sister is returning hers for a replacement tomorrow. I'll post back here if that didn't fix the issue.

EXACTLY!!! My gf has the exact phone that I got her a few months ago. She plays games all day, does absolutely nothing to conserve battery life and goes two days without charging. i have compared model, android version, kernel, build, hardware....ALL the same. and yet....mine blows! i guess i need to think about switching it out for different hardware to give that a go. i'd love to know if that helps!
 
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The OTA update a couple weeks ago seems to have given me a pretty significant battery boost.

I typically use Juice Defender Ultimate, and with that, if I'm not using the screen much, I get about 36 hours (give or take). That would probably be 90-120 minutes of screen time.

With Juice Defender off, probably more like 20 hours with 2 hours of screen time.

For some perspective, because how the phone is used makes a big difference. I have wifi and bluetooth on all the time. At home and work I am connected to wifi (it dramatically helps battery, even though many mistakenly think using wifi hurts) and bluetooth connects only in the car, or at home.

In addition, I have 5 push email accounts. One exchange account (built in email program) set to push and two gmail accounts set to sync/push email. I also use K9 Mail for three other email accounts that are setup to use IMAP Idle, which is a version of push email.

So, 24 hours a day, I have five email accounts keeping http connections open to various servers for email.

Now, after the recent OTA update, my time with Juice Defender off is what I used to get with it on, which is 30+ hours with a couple hours of screen time (plus wifi, bluetooth and all those push email accounts).

With Juice Defender, right now I'm sitting at 68% batter left, with 22 hours 28 minutes on battery, with would extrapolate out to about 70 hours. However, the caveat here is that I've only had 20 minutes of screen time, since I had it on charger until early afternoon yesterday, and then only exchanged a few texts and checked a few emails.

Still, based on previous days, after the OTA it looks like that with Juice defender, I will get 48+ hours with 3-4 hours of screen time.

Anyway, the reason for posting all of this, is that clearly the S3 in and of itself does not have battery problems. Instead, considering the horsepower and screen, it has incredible battery life.

Those getting horrible battery life, such as the OP, either have bad S3's or more likely are underestimating apps they install and the battery they are consuming.

Most don't have the patience, but when dealing with battery consumption problems, the smartest thing is probably to do a factory reset and then install NOTHING. Make sure that phone doesn't auto install your apps (which it will in certain situation, if you've had Android backing up your settings and stuff).

Keep it purely clean/stock. Use it for a few days and see if you still have the battery issues. If it's making it through the day with a reasonable amount of screen time (5+ hours isn't reasonable), then slowly, one or two at a time, add your apps, and then use it for a day or two after each batch of installs. That way you can actually isolate whether the phone is defective, or if it's an app, and more importantly, which app.
 
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Those getting horrible battery life, such as the OP, either have bad S3's or more likely are underestimating apps they install and the battery they are consuming.

Most don't have the patience, but when dealing with battery consumption problems, the smartest thing is probably to do a factory reset and then install NOTHING. Make sure that phone doesn't auto install your apps (which it will in certain situation, if you've had Android backing up your settings and stuff).

Keep it purely clean/stock. Use it for a few days and see if you still have the battery issues. If it's making it through the day with a reasonable amount of screen time (5+ hours isn't reasonable), then slowly, one or two at a time, add your apps, and then use it for a day or two after each batch of installs. That way you can actually isolate whether the phone is defective, or if it's an app, and more importantly, which app.

I know all about apps....I've had my nexus 7 for months and have been an avid android user for quite a while...before that i had an iphone...so i know the importance of keeping apps in check....that is what frustrates me so horribly. I have factory reset the phone, no apps....no difference. only thing i haven't tried is another battery. when i had a battery monitor installed, I had the "cell standby" issue that others on the net are experiencing where it reports falsely it's using most of the battery....not the screen as most would think. my auto brightness is off...i have it set very low. i'm down to it being the battery or the phone....when you have nothing running, there can't be anything to drain!
 
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These were just exactly my thoughts, i didnt want to plagurise. IMHO there isnt a fix until samsung or andriod puts one out.

I don't understand... you've tried everything possible and it's unfixable? if so, you're not looking for help, but just made the thread to vent your frustration? or are you looking for a solution? :thinking:

Have you tried exchanging the battery or the phone itself?
 
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IMO the OP could very well have a bad battery. Also for lots of folks they install tons of apps on their phones. Often apps stay open or running in the background which slowly but surely drains the battery..

Another thing to remember, not all apps are well coded.....

You see in the last 15 minutes I've posted this reply as well as another one on a different thread and my battery went from 98% down to 84%..aaccording to the android task manager I have 4 applications running.. the ebay app, the web browser, gmail & the Google play.
 
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IMO the OP could very well have a bad battery. Also for lots of folks they install tons of apps on their phones. Often apps stay open or running in the background which slowly but surely drains the battery..

Another thing to remember, not all apps are well coded.....

You see in the last 15 minutes I've posted this reply as well as another one on a different thread and my battery went from 98% down to 84%..aaccording to the android task manager I have 4 applications running.. the ebay app, the web browser, gmail & the Google play.

To add to this. I'll describe a problem I had. Every once in a while, I would notice a major drop in batter and would check and find that Gallery had been responsible for 40%+ of battery usage. I would kill it and assumed it was when I viewed a pic in forum runner or something that used gallery in a background fashion.

I googled and tried to find an answer and found nothing. I even disabled Gallery for a while, but didn't like only using the third party ones.

Anyway, after this happening multiple time over months, I finally found the answer.

At some point, they had added Picassa Pictures web sync (or something like that) to the gmail sync settings. Mine was set to sync, and periodically it would try and upload years worth of pics that I've transferred from one phone to another.

It's the reason you need to review the battery usage info to see what's using your battery,and why you really need to factory reset and test for a few days to determine if the problem is apps or phone.

Also, as someone else mentioned, the mobile radio can be a killer. I would estimate I get about 25-30% better battery life when connected to wifi then hspa+. If you are in a weak signal area, or if you live in an area where it is bouncing from 2G to 3G or 3G to LTE, it can really burn battery quick.
 
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by all means......someone let me know what to post. the problem with most battery monitors is that have a false report of "cell standby" being the major battery sucker.... Samsung DOES have an issue.

It's a reporting issue....not an actual battery drain issue. I have betterBatteryStats, but it's a bit difficult to read. i will be MORE than happy to be wrong and have something sucking my battery....but quite honestly, I have made sure i have no background apps. I have turned off syncing completely. as a side note, I spoke to verizon last night. they are sending me a new battery to try.

also....side note. I unplugged this morning at 7am, it was 100%. It is 9:45am, I have sent 3 texts, the rest of the time the screen was off. my battery is now down to 45%. NO apps running.
 
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I've had similar problems to the OP. I can have a fully charged battery before going to sleep, then I get woken up in the middle of the night with the "low battery" warning. I've tried toggling WiFi, syncing, altering app settings, my display is literally the darkest possible. I run power saving modes, turn vibrate off, etc... I've done it all. Yet I wake up to a dead battery some of the nights.

Screenshot_2012-10-08-07-09-29.jpg

Screenshot_2012-10-08-07-16-50.jpg

Screenshot_2012-10-08-07-07-40.jpg

As you can see, my phone SHOULD be asleep. But as evidence from the pics, it isn't a faulty app causing the problems. It's the "cell radio" however when I click on it, it reveals I have excellent coverage. I go to sleep, remove all apps, etc... So IDK what could be causing it.

And as you can see from the pic, it gets steady during the night. This is because got woken up from a low battery warning last night, so I put airplane mode on. This fixes it but still, I shouldn't have a 90% battery drain overnight.

This is my first android. Always been an iPhone user. And I love this phone too, but this is just annoying and frustrating.
 
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I don't understand this problem for people. It had to surface within your time period to return the device. Why not just take it back for a new one.?

because having a telco actually send you a new phone takes an act of congress....i have tried. this has been happening since I got the phone, and still...they are only sending me a battery. they refuse to send me a new phone to try as well. i REALLY hope it is the battery, i just dont think it is.
 
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by all means......someone let me know what to post. the problem with most battery monitors is that have a false report of "cell standby" being the major battery sucker.... Samsung DOES have an issue.

It's a reporting issue....not an actual battery drain issue. I have betterBatteryStats, but it's a bit difficult to read. i will be MORE than happy to be wrong and have something sucking my battery....but quite honestly, I have made sure i have no background apps. I have turned off syncing completely. as a side note, I spoke to verizon last night. they are sending me a new battery to try.

also....side note. I unplugged this morning at 7am, it was 100%. It is 9:45am, I have sent 3 texts, the rest of the time the screen was off. my battery is now down to 45%. NO apps running.

As you said, it's a reporting issue, not a battery drain issue. Just ignore it. If you're having trouble figuring out how to use BBS to isolate the issue, take a look at: Help
 
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There are some shots from GSAM....I dont believe any of them. My partners phone has almost exactly the same shots from GSAM and gets at least an entire day....playing games all day at that.
 

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There are some shots from GSAM....I dont believe any of them. My partners phone has almost exactly the same shots from GSAM and gets at least an entire day....playing games all day at that.
How does his have "almost exaclty the same shots from GSAM"? Gsam tells him his battery is good for 4 hours but it lasts all day playing games? You certainly say a lot of confusing things....

At any rate, despite radio standby being reported erroneously is a known issue, given Gsam reports nothing else using it, I would tend to believe something is wrong with the radio in your phone. Even though you can't trust the reading, there simply isn't anything else being reported indicating it's something else.

Before concluding that however I would recommend grabbing Watchdog Lite from Google Play and track to see if anything is using large amounts of cpu cycles.

Oh.. btw did your new battery arrive yet?
 
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