Desire battery consumption

[IQ8]

??? First time yesterday night that I placed my Desire into airplane mode and used it as an alarm clock to wake me up. Battery still shows 100%!

 

[nx1977]

??? First time yesterday night that I placed my Desire into airplane mode and used it as an alarm clock to wake me up. Battery still shows 100%!

Mine only uses 4% in 8-9 hours with data sync and weather running.

 

[Mia]

What are your thoughts of leaving it on charge/connected to power even when full, especially if you are perhaps doing power hungry activities?

 

[brunop]

Hi

Just wondering anyone is having the same issue as me?

Basically if I am in my car and have the phone connected via bluetooth to my car kit (just for calls not music or anything)

And I have GPS switched on and am using Googlemaps to navigate.

I have the phone on charge via a 5v 1A cigarette lighter USB charger, the battery still loses charge! It loses charge fairly slowly, but if I take a call then it will drop by a few %.

I can't understand why the phone is not receiving enough charge to cope with these demands, I hate to compare it to my iPhone, but this never had the same issue with similar demands on the power.

Anyone have any ideas, or is it something I'll just have to put up with?

Thanks,

Bruno

 

[smithey253]

can any HTC Hero users compare the Desires battery life with the Hero?

Thanks

I went from a Hero to a Desire and I frankly haven't seen much change in battery life.

Like people said above, once the battery has been charged a few times, it easily lasts the whole day. To help it last that little bit longer I always have gps and wifi off unless I really need them and have "always on internet" turned off.

 

[Quazar]

I went from a Hero to a Desire and I frankly haven't seen much change in battery life.

Like people said above, once the battery has been charged a few times, it easily lasts the whole day. To help it last that little bit longer I always have gps and wifi off unless I really need them and have "always on internet" turned off.

Hello, thanks for the reply, but I have had my desire already for a while now! lol I would agree, the battery is very similar.

 

[sandozer]

Hi

Just wondering anyone is having the same issue as me?

Basically if I am in my car and have the phone connected via bluetooth to my car kit (just for calls not music or anything)

And I have GPS switched on and am using Googlemaps to navigate.

I have the phone on charge via a 5v 1A cigarette lighter USB charger, the battery still loses charge! It loses charge fairly slowly, but if I take a call then it will drop by a few %.

I can't understand why the phone is not receiving enough charge to cope with these demands, I hate to compare it to my iPhone, but this never had the same issue with similar demands on the power.

Anyone have any ideas, or is it something I'll just have to put up with?

Thanks,

Bruno

Same problem here Bruno, charger cant keep up with the phone when in navigation mode, Help...

 

[nekromantik]

Atm mine says 33% for cell standbye, 24% phone idle, 27% android system and 7% display. Does that look ok?

 

[marshalex]

i think the charger problems when doing stuff like google maps etc stem from a low amp car charger. the standard desire mains charger outputs at 1a (1000ma) where as most 'cheap' generic micro usb chargers will only output at 500ma. obviously when your using high power stuff if the power coming in is less than whats going out then your going to have a problem/ i'd probably get a decent high output car charger (such as the htc one or this belkin one Belkin Micro USB charger F8Z445ea Cheapest on eBay (end time 17-May-10 15:03:12 BST)
then you shouldn't have any problems. not had any so far with the gps, google maps running and music playing!

 

[brunop]

i think the charger problems when doing stuff like google maps etc stem from a low amp car charger. the standard desire mains charger outputs at 1a (1000ma) where as most 'cheap' generic micro usb chargers will only output at 500ma. obviously when your using high power stuff if the power coming in is less than whats going out then your going to have a problem/ i'd probably get a decent high output car charger (such as the htc one or this belkin one Belkin Micro USB charger F8Z445ea Cheapest on eBay (end time 17-May-10 15:03:12 BST)
then you shouldn't have any problems. not had any so far with the gps, google maps running and music playing!

Those were my thoughts exactly, so I bought a usb car charger from Maplin that is rated at 5v 1A and I still have the same issue.

Are you using Bluetooth as well as gps and music? I think Bluetooth+Gps may be the deciding factor here.

Wonder what would happen if a charger with a higher current than 1A was used?

 

[JayCee]

I can't understand why the phone is not receiving enough charge to cope with these demands

Because your phone is consuming more power than your charger can provide.
The phone battery is rated at 1400mA, that's 1.4A
Your charger can only provide 1A so your drawing more current and the charger cannot keep up with the demand.
Is it the official HTC car charger?

 

[Luffer]

I don't understand the people saying "The charger isn't good enough". I know exactly what you're saying but why is the Desire using so much power to do these tasks? The iPhone can do the same things and use less power, why does the Desire need so much more?

For example, I could use GPS navigation, stream music and have Bluetooth calls via my Parrot car kit. The iPhone would work fine doing all the activities and STILL charge up. The Desire can't manage this, it still drains the battery even when on charge. It makes no sense...

I have had appalling experiences with battery consumption (yes coming from iPhone). Had the Desire about two weeks and I had to charge my phone TWICE today, I haven't even used it much. It's just been sat on standby most of the day!

Yes I have wifi on, and I've got contact / calendar / facebook / email / twitter sync enabled. BUT, I had exactly the same setup with the iPhone, that would get me through a whole day with maybe 10% battery remaining by the time I went to bed and put it on charge.

The Desire on the other hand only gives me 4-5 hours before needing a charge! How can the discrepancy be so large? It's madness I tell you!

 

[willy792003]

i found this tip from another forum and it has helped me a lot! i think u guys should try this.

settings > wireless & networks > mobile network (2nd one) > enable always-on mobile

disable the above setting (by default it's on). i can have my emails push, auto update widgets, etc and my battery still lasts!

let me know how it goes for you guys.

 

[Gwynn]

I'm finding I'm getting a solid two days charge out of my handset, with fairly reasonable use of internet (typically two or three hours both days) along with usual mobile use of SMS, calls etc. Have GPS and WiFi off, as I don't need them while at work.

Occassionally I can get it to three days depending on use, but haven't had any dramas so far with it dying midway through the day.

 

[wuthton]

It is easy to tell if your charger is charging at 1000ma. If you get the options screen for choosing mount as disk drive etc then it is charging at 500ma. If no options screen appears and your phone just goes on charge then it is charging at 1000ma.

 

[brunop]

Because your phone is consuming more power than your charger can provide.
The phone battery is rated at 1400mA, that's 1.4A
Your charger can only provide 1A so your drawing more current and the charger cannot keep up with the demand.
Is it the official HTC car charger?

No it is not the official HTC car charger, but I doubt that is rated higher than 1A as the mains AC charger is only rated at 1A also. Has anyone used a charger rated above 1A?

Luffer has made a very good point, why is the phone drawing so much juice for these tasks? I think this is just pure bad design on HTC's part. Whether it can be fixed through software is unknown, but I feel very unlikely.

I have sent a message to HTC regarding this an am awaiting a response. I'll update this thread if I hear anything.

Bruno

 

[Asphyxsia]

I been using mine as an ipod all day (9am to 5:30pm), wifi and bluetooth off. Hourly sync of 2 emails and calendar with 50kb download of emails. got about 14 mails today. Really bad coverage area - about 1 bar all day. charged for 30 mins at lunch over usb was at 40% at that point (1:30pm).
Sent a couple of emails with attachments.
took some pics.
4:30 to 5:30 was playing audio over bluetooth to car.
Didn't really start to die until i got home at 5:30 and made a long phone call, checked ebay and played a game for 10mins, then it had a sook about low batt.
I think if you leave the screen off or dim it youll be right as rain.
Oh, phone is 3 days old and didnt charge it until i'd played with it a few hours on first start either.

iphone would have been out for the count by middayish in the same situation.

 

[Asphyxsia]

OH, biggest thing i have found - turn off live wallpapers!! falling androids was using about 50% of my battery on average.

 

[mi_canuck]

Atm mine says 33% for cell standbye, 24% phone idle, 27% android system and 7% display. Does that look ok?

it does, but at the same time highlights the big problem with most HTC Android devices... the cell radio is the biggest draw even when idle....

guys on the Incredible forums are claiming 2 days on a charge when they turn off cell data (of course, you lose the push notification if you're not near wifi so it's kind of silly, but I guess it works for some that don't need immediate notifications)....

for some reason HTC just can't seem to design a decent radio that is efficient for power consumption, let alone have decent reception compared with some other devices out there... and it's been proven many times - signal strength (in dBm) on HTC handsets is offset 5-10 dBm weaker... got to be their antenna design or something... they just can't get it right...

 

[sandozer]

Did some tests using a power supply and DMM.

Regardless of what the phone is doing, Switched OFF, in Nav mode, Screen OFF or ON, apps running or not.....

The following applies......

The Phone only ever draws 400ma from the supply when on charge. So if the tasks in hand draw more than 400ma, the battery will not charge and in fact eventually go flat. I had a calibrated 5v supply to the USB, if the voltage is nudged upwards to say 5.2V the current supplied does increase very slightly. May be mileage in increasing this, but dangers are associated and not recommended unless more info can be obtained on the charger circuitry in the phone

Bad News for a long trip using navigation and brightness on high....

 

[marshalex]

Did some tests using a power supply and DMM.

Regardless of what the phone is doing, Switched OFF, in Nav mode, Screen OFF or ON, apps running or not.....

The following applies......

The Phone only ever draws 400ma from the supply when on charge. So if the tasks in hand draw more than 400ma, the battery will not charge and in fact eventually go flat. I had a calibrated 5v supply to the USB, if the voltage is nudged upwards to say 5.2V the current supplied does increase very slightly. May be mileage in increasing this, but dangers are associated and not recommended unless more info can be obtained on the charger circuitry in the phone

Bad News for a long trip using navigation and brightness on high....

where are you getting this info from? if it was true then a generic 500ma usb charger and the standard htc charger would charge at the same rate, which they dont (4.5 hours using generic from dead and 3 using htc from dead).

 

[pk1209]

i found this tip from another forum and it has helped me a lot! i think u guys should try this.

settings > wireless & networks > mobile network (2nd one) > enable always-on mobile

disable the above setting (by default it's on). i can have my emails push, auto update widgets, etc and my battery still lasts!

let me know how it goes for you guys.

What effect (other than saving battery) will this have on the phone?

I love the phone so far, but battery disappointing me - took it to work this morning on full charge, and had to plug it it at 7:15 with only moderate use in the day!!!

 

[sandozer]

where are you getting this info from? if it was true then a generic 500ma usb charger and the standard htc charger would charge at the same rate, which they dont (4.5 hours using generic from dead and 3 using htc from dead).

Measured it using a Lab power supply set to deliver 5V output and monitored the current consumed.
So unless other logic inputs on the USB are being monitored, i was only supplying the rail voltages..?

 

[nx1977]

i found this tip from another forum and it has helped me a lot! i think u guys should try this.

settings > wireless & networks > mobile network (2nd one) > enable always-on mobile

disable the above setting (by default it's on). i can have my emails push, auto update widgets, etc and my battery still lasts!

let me know how it goes for you guys.

I tried it for a few days, and it killed the battery as everytime a widget/app needs net access it has to create the data link - using more power.

I can get 36-40(ish) hours from a charge, keeping data on 24/7 (it only uses 3-4% at night). BUT, if I disable always on data on my Tmobile Desire, then it's dead in under 36 hours. I use a lot of data through the day, so that's lots of start up and shut down.

If you use very little data, then fine you may see *some* saving. Likely next to nothing.

it does, but at the same time highlights the big problem with most HTC Android devices... the cell radio is the biggest draw even when idle....

guys on the Incredible forums are claiming 2 days on a charge when they turn off cell data (of course, you lose the push notification if you're not near wifi so it's kind of silly, but I guess it works for some that don't need immediate notifications)....

for some reason HTC just can't seem to design a decent radio that is efficient for power consumption, let alone have decent reception compared with some other devices out there... and it's been proven many times - signal strength (in dBm) on HTC handsets is offset 5-10 dBm weaker... got to be their antenna design or something... they just can't get it right...

Comparing the Desire to the wife's Samsung i5700 Spica (also android but 1.5) and my old Hero, they always show the exact same signal info when side by side, so your HTC crap quality antenna theory is BS.

Remember a phone eats more power in low signal areas, so if your cell standby % is higher than 20%, then you have signal issues with your location/network.

My old N96, without SIM, lasted almost 3 weeks from a full charge (forgot to kill it after transferring stuff to my interim HTC Hero). With SIM, on 3G and little usage I'd be lucky to get a few days standby.

And as a comparison, the Mrs gets a similar battery use to me on the Desire. She plays solitaire rather than surf, but if she does use the net there's not much between power consumption - I'm using approx 3% per 6 min on net surfing (wifi or 3G)

 

[nekromantik]

it does, but at the same time highlights the big problem with most HTC Android devices... the cell radio is the biggest draw even when idle....

guys on the Incredible forums are claiming 2 days on a charge when they turn off cell data (of course, you lose the push notification if you're not near wifi so it's kind of silly, but I guess it works for some that don't need immediate notifications)....

for some reason HTC just can't seem to design a decent radio that is efficient for power consumption, let alone have decent reception compared with some other devices out there... and it's been proven many times - signal strength (in dBm) on HTC handsets is offset 5-10 dBm weaker... got to be their antenna design or something... they just can't get it right...

Im getting better signal quality then my SE C905 which is surprising as SE mobiles always have given me good coverage.