So you think your battery is an issue?

[michaelkahl]

Well, I will say it's less than stellar but so is just about every battery life on new smartphones. It's usually after an update or two and a good break-in period that battery life becomes better.
Honestly, I say look at Palm Pre Plus owners. They've had a couple of updates that "improve battery life" and to some extent it has but overall it's still worse than what I've experienced on the Incredible.
Here's what I'm doing, but it won't work for everyone...especially people who are always on the go. Be mindful, I'm using a Seidio 1750 and have had it for almost a full week.
I work in a building that has great wifi coverage. When I get to work I enable wifi and disable my mobile network. There is a catch to this however, wifi will power down after 15 minutes of inactivity UNLESS you change it's power setttings. From the home screen go to:
*menu
*settings
*Wireless & networks
*Wi-Fi settings
*menu
*Advanced
*Wi-Fi sleep policy
*Select Never
Make sure your phone is connected to the Wi-Fi network and viola you're saving a lot of juice by using Wi-Fi over the mobile network.
To make my life simpler I leave the toggle switches for wifi, gps, mobile network, and bluetooth on my first homepage underneath my clock widget. This still leaves me a row underneath for 4 icons or a bar-style widget like the Agenda calendar widget. I keep my 4 most commonly accessed apps there.
I'm on day two now with this method (using wifi at home and at work) and I'm sitting at 57% battery. My data works the same as if it was on the mobile network, I still get calls and texts. The only difference is that I'm consuming less power.
When I leave an area with wifi I just disable it and enable my mobile network. I'm always connected, still get email to push, and don't have to worry about my battery.

 

[FlyPenFly]

That sounds like a lot of work to turn on/off wifi everytime you leave an area. Personally, I got a smartphone so I can be dumb. I didn't get a dumbphone so I have to be smart.

 

[Bundy]

Do you know what happens when the WiFi powers down? Does the phone automatically switch to 3G or does it have no connectivity at all until requested by me or an application? If it just shuts down connectivity completely, that would use even less power.

 

[cdodge]

Yes there is a problem but not everyone has it. the issue is the battery does not charge all the way when the phone is powered on.

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/75220-battery-fixes-tips.html

 

[Bundy]

To add...what happens if you leave WiFi enabled all the time? Is it constantly searching for a connection, thus using battery power for no reason?

@ FlyPenFly - you don't have to do that, it's just a battery saving technique. You can opt to not do it and sacrifice battery power. It has nothing to do with capabilites that make it a smartphone.

 

[Bundy]

Yes there is a problem but not everyone has it. the issue is the battery does not charge all the way when the phone is powered on.

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/75220-battery-fixes-tips.html

Huh? What does this have to do with this thread?

 

[michaelkahl]

Do you know what happens when the WiFi powers down? Does the phone automatically switch to 3G or does it have no connectivity at all until requested by me or an application? If it just shuts down connectivity completely, that would use even less power.

So if your mobile network is off (3g data services) and wifi powers down after 15 minutes you lose all data connections. This is why I configured my wifi to stay on so I keep my data connection. No matter what sms/mms and voice calls still go through because you are still connected to Verizon's cellular network your just not using their data services.

------------------------------------------------------
FlyPenFly - I keep toggle switches on my home screen. I don't see it as a big deal, but it may be for you or others. It's certainly easier to unlock my phone and hit a toggle switch than it is to go through settings menus. If I forget to turn wifi off and the mobile network on when I drive home it's not a huge deal. I could care less about emails coming in anyway.
As far as getting a smartphone to be dumb? Well about the dumbest smartphone you'll find is the iPhone, and I mean this in a good way. It's simple, intuitive, and easy for novice users to understand. The only problem is that it's on Verizon and isn't robust enough for my liking.
Like I said, this won't be for everyone but for those with plentiful access to wifi it works great.

Good luck all.

 

[michaelkahl]

To add...what happens if you leave WiFi enabled all the time? Is it constantly searching for a connection, thus using battery power for no reason?

Bundy, I'm a real OCD type person so I don't tend to do this. It is a possibility, but I'm not sure how much drain it would be. I honestly wish that if I connected to wifi that it would automatically turn the mobile network off. If I turn wifi off the mobile network should come back on.
There are a few, albeit not a lot of scenarios where you wouldn't want this but that would only affect a small small minority of users. Until this type of automation is instilled or until a configuration exist that allows it this is the best I can do.

 

[Dream]

Yes there is a problem but not everyone has it. the issue is the battery does not charge all the way when the phone is powered on.

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/75220-battery-fixes-tips.html

This is the biggest load of crap, srsly people.

 

[762x51]

I honestly wish that if I connected to wifi that it would automatically turn the mobile network off. If I turn wifi off the mobile network should come back on.

I'm pretty sure this is actually the way the phone works. When I toggle Wifi on, my 3G/1X data icon in the notification bar disappears. When I toggle it off, the 3G icon comes back on. I assume this means that the cellular data connection is inactive when Wifi is connected.

 

[michaelkahl]

I'm pretty sure this is actually the way the phone works. When I toggle Wifi on, my 3G/1X data icon in the notification bar disappears. When I toggle it off, the 3G icon comes back on. I assume this means that the cellular data connection is inactive when Wifi is connected.

From what I've seen in battery life this isn't the case. Place both toggle switches on a home screen. Make sure mobile network is turned on and conencted then enable wifi. Notice the mobile network toggle stays green. I think what we see on the phone is an aesthetic change. The mobile network is on but the phone is defaulting to wifi for it's data signal.
I could be wrong, someone correct me if you know better.

 

[cdodge]

This is the biggest load of crap, srsly people.

Why because you dont have the issue?

keep your negative comments to yourself and read the forums to educate yourself on the issue.

 

[cdodge]

Huh? What does this have to do with this thread?

Its not directly related. I was just pointing out a thread that has other tips and tricks and i think this one should be added to it. sorry for trying to be helpful.

 

[sean76]

All this to charge battery and what not. how bout HTC just gets it right next time...this battery is way to small for this device anyway. the original should be 1750, and the extended should be 2100...typical nonsense.

 

[michaelkahl]

All this to charge battery and what not. how bout HTC just gets it right next time...this battery is way to small for this device anyway. the original should be 1750, and the extended should be 2100...typical nonsense.

The problems is, our phones are getting smaller and slimmer and that's what many consumers want. Batteries are playing catchup, they can only cram so much into so little. I personally find it on par with most smartphones I've used in the last year (iPhone 3g, 3gs, Palm Pre, Sprint Hero, Droid, & Droid Eris). Actually it's much better than the Pre.

I got the Seidio 1750, but in reality it may not measure up that high (but it's still more than the 1300. I'm willing to bet that HTC, Apple, and other high-end manufacturers have higher standards on QC than a company like Seidio or other 3rd party vendors.

We really need battery technology to catch up, I'm sure R&D money is going into it so we'll hopefully have a breakthrough sometime soon (next few years). Until then we have to learn to manage these devices. Honestly, the fact that this computer in my hand can go all day without being plugged in is awesome in my opinion.

 

[Dream]

Why because you dont have the issue?

keep your negative comments to yourself and read the forums to educate yourself on the issue.

Umm what? I have read the thread, and tried it out myself. I have the same "issue" everybody else has. I even have a few different battery's that I have tested (TP2, Seidio) and this charging while off is a joke. And its threads like this and people like you that get into people's head making them think there is a real "issue" when it really isnt.

 

[skunis1]

Yes there is a problem but not everyone has it. the issue is the battery does not charge all the way when the phone is powered on.

http://androidforums.com/htc-incredible/75220-battery-fixes-tips.html

I didn't read that entire thread above but I charge my phone with it powered on and it gets to 100% every time. I am not a heavy phone user and my phone is at 45% after 1 day and almost 22 hours off the charger.

It is all about app management. Just make sure that apps you are not using are not running in the background. Use Astro's process manager or the under settings and applications check what is still running and kill anything that doesn't need to be running.

Of course, if you are a heavy phone user you probably wont get close to a days use out of the battery and I suggest buying an extended battery.

 

[michaelkahl]

Everyone please remember, we're talking battery life here. It's nothing to get up in arms over. If you don't like the topic or aren't interested then move on. Nothing in here is deserving of a political demonstration or governmental uprising.

 

[MidnightRun]

I don't understand why you go through all of this trouble to turn off mobile, turn on Wi-Fi, change settings on Wi-Fi, etc., when you're at work. Why not just plug your phone into a wall charger instead? Wouldn't that be much easier?

As for the battery not reaching full charge when on. I have read the thread and monkeyed around with my phone to test it out. If I turn off the phone and plug in the charger once its full already, the LED lights up red...presumably, it is accepting more charge. But once you turn on the phone and unplug the charger, I don't notice anymore time before the battery widget tells me its dropped to 99% than when I charge the phone while it is on. If anything, its miniscule. I've been impressed with the battery life, actually...with as much as I do with the phone (calls, texting and data), I get quite a bit out of my battery. The standby time isn't as good as my last phone (Razr...hah hah, I know), but the time while using the phone is. There's more going on with the Incredible while the phone is in "standby"...but I would certainly expect that, given its capabilities. Battery technology has always been behind the rest of our technology. Thank god for Lithium Ion...could you imagine how bad NiCd would be for this phone?

Sometimes I think people will just complain to complain. The Incredible is an awesome phone. It blows BB out of the water and is better than iPhone IMO. I'm sure something bigger and better will come along soon, but its the cats meow right now.

Oh, and I prefer a light and slim phone with a little less battery life to a big and clunky phone with a battery that can last all day, but its so heavy your arm hurts from talking on it.

 

[myst]

Actually, I use an app called "Settings Profile". Technically, if you configure it correctly, you can make it turn off mobile web and turn on wifi when you're at home/work... That way it's completely hands off if you dont want to have to disable it yourself.

 

[dylo22]

Actually, I use an app called "Settings Profile". Technically, if you configure it correctly, you can make it turn off mobile web and turn on wifi when you're at home/work... That way it's completely hands off if you dont want to have to disable it yourself.

+1 for setting profiles. Love that app. So many features and configurations. Much better than Locale.

 

[sean76]

The problems is, our phones are getting smaller and slimmer and that's what many consumers want. Batteries are playing catchup, they can only cram so much into so little. I personally find it on par with most smartphones I've used in the last year (iPhone 3g, 3gs, Palm Pre, Sprint Hero, Droid, & Droid Eris). Actually it's much better than the Pre.

I got the Seidio 1750, but in reality it may not measure up that high (but it's still more than the 1300. I'm willing to bet that HTC, Apple, and other high-end manufacturers have higher standards on QC than a company like Seidio or other 3rd party vendors.

We really need battery technology to catch up, I'm sure R&D money is going into it so we'll hopefully have a breakthrough sometime soon (next few years). Until then we have to learn to manage these devices. Honestly, the fact that this computer in my hand can go all day without being plugged in is awesome in my opinion.

Yea, it's going to be another few years before they can cram a ton of juice into a tiny slim battery. However, my Incredible battery life is just plain no good. I just recieved my Seidio battery from FedEx about 20 min ago, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway in terms of other smart phones, and i've used alot....for most recently my 3Gs has been the champ, a full charge would last me a whole entire day and well into the late evening with very heavy use. Right on par with my old Blackberry 8800. Hopefully I get some good life out of my new extended...

 

[cdodge]

Everyone’s need and wants are different. I personally bought the phone to be a smart phone and don't want to disable things and have to tweak everything to get the same battery results i had on my other smart phones.

Some people would like the extra battery life over some of the smart phone features so disabling items and tweaking might be a benefit for them. Really there is no right or wrong way to do things, that’s what is great about owning a smart phone, you can change it the way you want and tweak it the way you want.

I tripled my battery life by doing the charging trick and I would hate for people to overlook it and just start complaining about battery life like i did at first . At first I was skeptical about doing extra charging but then after i tried it and it made a big difference.

I went from being very unhappy with my battery life to being extremely happy.

As far as why only some people have the issue and need to charge the phone while it is off is beyond me.

All I know is I went from getting 10 hours with no use to around 30 hours with minimum use. And I probably average around 22 hours with normal use if I charge using the steps.

The only thing I have shut off is the wireless and the Bluetooth. Everything else was left as it was when it came out of the box.

I do have an exchange and Hotmail account synced along with Facebook and twitter.

 

[cdodge]

Yea, it's going to be another few years before they can cram a ton of juice into a tiny slim battery. However, my Incredible battery life is just plain no good. I just recieved my Seidio battery from FedEx about 20 min ago, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway in terms of other smart phones, and i've used alot....for most recently my 3Gs has been the champ, a full charge would last me a whole entire day and well into the late evening with very heavy use. Right on par with my old Blackberry 8800. Hopefully I get some good life out of my new extended...

Cant wait to hear your results. My seido should be here in a week.

 

[michaelkahl]

I don't understand why you go through all of this trouble to turn off mobile, turn on Wi-Fi, change settings on Wi-Fi, etc., when you're at work. Why not just plug your phone into a wall charger instead? Wouldn't that be much easier?

I really don't feel like it's a lot of trouble, I'm just configuring the phone for my use. Changing the wifi sleep policy is a one time thing for me. As far as enabling/disabling radios, its the press of the screen for two radios.
As I stated before it's not a big deal to me. If it is for you then feel free to move on. I'm enjoying the results and am not complaining about my phone. I'm simply sharing some tips that are working extremely well for me as I'm still sitting at 44% battery life on day 2.

@Myst thanks for the tip on the app, I'll have to check it out. It may be an even simpler solution.