Very Simple Way to Improve Battery Life

[LarryB56]

OK, I found a simple trick that has dramatically improved my battery life.

Up until yesterday, I thought my battery life was pretty poor. About 4-5 hours of heavy usage, and maybe 8-12 hours of moderate to light use. I had tried all the tricks of turning off radios, turning off updates to services, etc. None seemed to make a huge difference.

Yesterday at work, I did what was becoming my normal practice of recharging before leaving so I would have enough battery to last through the evening. But instead of recharging by plugging into an AC outlet, I recharged via USB to my work computer.

When I went to bed last night 9 hours after the USB recharge, I still had 70% battery life left after light to moderate use in the evening. This was by far the best performance I've seen.

Before going to bed, I plugged into the USB port of my home computer and recharged over night. Now after 7 hours of light to moderate usage unplugged, I still have 90% battery life left.

My theory for the difference is that the AC charger or the phone does not do a good job of trickle charging after the fast charge has completed. I think USB charging might fix that because I'm guessing USB charging is by default a trickle charge. I also suspect this is a similar fix to the one previously noted by many others to charge with the phone on, unplug, charge with the phone off, etc. In both cases, it may be a way of correcting a trickle charging problem. However, the latter solution did not work for me because when I would charge (via AC) with the phone on and then unplug, turn off the phone and then plug in again, I would immediately get a green light. So that method wasn't working for me.

Charging via USB is working for me and has made a dramatic difference in my battery life. At least last night and today and hopefully from now on. For those who are not satisfied with their battery life, this is a pretty simple thing to try.

 

[horadin]

As far as I know these phones don't trickle charge. It charges the battery to 100% then stops charging until the phone battery drops to about 90-95%. Once this happens it tops the battery off again over and over until you unplug it. If you happen to unplug it when the battery is at a lower percent you will see that initial drop in power that people complain about. That is my experience anyway.

If what you describes works for you then great! As long as it seems to give you better battery life then there is no reason to stop doing it that way regardless of what others tell you.

Good luck!

 

[coolguy949]

USB charging definitely works better than the wall. It takes about twice as long but the slower charge seems to be a better quality charge.

 

[LarryB56]

As far as I know these phones don't trickle charge. It charges the battery to 100% then stops charging until the phone battery drops to about 90-95%. Once this happens it tops the battery off again over and over until you unplug it. If you happen to unplug it when the battery is at a lower percent you will see that initial drop in power that people complain about. That is my experience anyway.

If what you describes works for you then great! As long as it seems to give you better battery life then there is no reason to stop doing it that way regardless of what others tell you.

Good luck!

Perhaps trickle charging was not the correct terminology. Perhaps slow-charging is more accurate. As I understand it, all lithium ion batteries are rapidly charged to most of their capacity, and then topped off with a slow charge. Perhaps there is a flaw in the final slow-charging via AC that is causing the battery to not be fully charged.

At any rate, I do know that this is more than the placebo effect. I'm off the cord for 7+ hours and still have 90% of my battery left. Prior to today, by 7 hours I would be at no better than 40% to 50% even if I had used the phone very little, and more like 20-30% if I had used the phone alot.

And there is certainly nothing simpler for those with battery life issues to try.

 

[seigex]

I did find it interseting that it only takes 2 - 2.5 hours to charge when using AC.. i'll try this.. maybe something is getting confused in the algorithm that causes it to see itself 100% when its not really... or even within the smart features of the battery (which could be why only certain people have this problem) ....

as far as it going to 100% and down to 95% and continuing the cycle while charging.. i doubt it because right when mine turns green i take it off and it drops to 98% within a couple seconds

 

[BigHAZE]

I have been using the USB cable to charge the EVO from my computer, and my battery life has been excellent.

+1

 

[reallynotnick]

USB charging definitely works better than the wall. It takes about twice as long but the slower charge seems to be a better quality charge.

That's because the power adapter is 1A while standard USB is 500mA.

 

[bigddybn]

Guys the "charger" is in the phone. The only difference between the charging methods is available current. The "chargers" you are talking about do not trickle, fast or any other kind of charge. They simply provide voltage to the phone. There is no "quality" involved here.

 

[LarryB56]

Guys the "charger" is in the phone. The only difference between the charging methods is available current. The "chargers" you are talking about do not trickle, fast or any other kind of charge. They simply provide voltage to the phone. There is no "quality" involved here.

Here is an article about how lithium ion batteries charge.
Charging lithium-ion batteries

Initial fast charge, then a slower topping charge. Like I said, I suspect the slow charging portion of the charge isn't working right when charging via AC.

Regardless of the reason, my battery is easily lasting twice as long via USB charging than it did via AC charging.

 

[LarryB56]

Update, after 18 hours and 20 minutes of moderate usage, I'm going to bed and will plug back in with 60% of my battery remaining. I even turned some of the stuff back on (bluetooth, wifi, automatic updates) that I had turned off to conserve battery life.

In one day, my battery life has gone from poor to astonishingly good.

 

[excav8ter]

Great post, thanks for the info.... i am gonna try it. I unplugged this am @ 6:45 and have only checked the forums for 5 minutes and I am down to 82%.

 

[myriam]

OK, I found a simple trick that has dramatically improved my battery life.

Up until yesterday, I thought my battery life was pretty poor. About 4-5 hours of heavy usage, and maybe 8-12 hours of moderate to light use. I had tried all the tricks of turning off radios, turning off updates to services, etc. None seemed to make a huge difference.

Yesterday at work, I did what was becoming my normal practice of recharging before leaving so I would have enough battery to last through the evening. But instead of recharging by plugging into an AC outlet, I recharged via USB to my work computer.

When I went to bed last night 9 hours after the USB recharge, I still had 70% battery life left after light to moderate use in the evening. This was by far the best performance I've seen.

Before going to bed, I plugged into the USB port of my home computer and recharged over night. Now after 7 hours of light to moderate usage unplugged, I still have 90% battery life left.

My theory for the difference is that the AC charger or the phone does not do a good job of trickle charging after the fast charge has completed. I think USB charging might fix that because I'm guessing USB charging is by default a trickle charge. I also suspect this is a similar fix to the one previously noted by many others to charge with the phone on, unplug, charge with the phone off, etc. In both cases, it may be a way of correcting a trickle charging problem. However, the latter solution did not work for me because when I would charge (via AC) with the phone on and then unplug, turn off the phone and then plug in again, I would immediately get a green light. So that method wasn't working for me.

Charging via USB is working for me and has made a dramatic difference in my battery life. At least last night and today and hopefully from now on. For those who are not satisfied with their battery life, this is a pretty simple thing to try.

I have a silly question. When you charge your phone with the USB, do you turn your phone off or leave it on?

 

[Sim-X]

I hate usb charging, you always get mixed results. I only buy genuine htc wall chargers. The cords are longer on the genuine ones vs the cheap generic ones. Granted I paid a little more for them but that's fine with me. Sucks I had to buy new wall chargers coming from TP2 my htc chargers didn't work. The genuine htc micro usb chargers are actually not as common as you would think. There was only 1 seller on eBay that had them. They are still really cheap considering how much you pay at a retail place for a generic charger.

 

[LarryB56]

I have a silly question. When you charge your phone with the USB, do you turn your phone off or leave it on?

Off

 

[myoung206]

I have been using the USB cable to charge the EVO from my computer, and my battery life has been excellent.

+1

i charge my evo through a standard usb cord via my PS3... i see only a minor difference. usb charging being alittle better however.

 

[karong]

I am definitely going to try this tonight.

 

[rican408]

Tried it as I was reading. This looks much better so far... constant use after dc charge then usb charge for an hour. Constant use for 1 hour and 20 mins. Just dropped to 90%

 

[slow4g63]

you could also get a 500mA charger couldn't you??
Amazon.com: 3-in-1 Charging Kit "500mA" for SanDisk Sansa Connect, Includes USB Wall Charger, USB Car Charger, USB Charge/Data Sync Cabl + DBROTH Microfiber Cleaning Cloth: Electronics
$8.98 after shipping

 

[coolguy949]

Not sure about that. From the picture it looks like the same charger Monoprice sells. I haven't been able to get that charger to work. Use caution.

 

[harleyless]

interesting find...I switched from stock charger to a Belkin mini surge protector with usb charger for what ever reason, well mainly because my phone was dead by 2pm...and now my battery life seems to have doubled after I stopped using the factory charger...

Amazon.com: Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger: Electronics

output on stock is 1a
output on Belkin is .5a

GO FIGURE!!!

ps I leave the phone ON all night charging. Never turn phone off...

 

[Rigmaster]

Did a full charge in my car last night from 8:15-9:45p while driving. At 50% power at 2pm today (14+ hours) with pretty good use. Have sent over 60 MMS, made 15 mins of calls, watched 30 mins of SprintTV, and did about 20 mins of websurfing via 3G. Definitely more life than during first 7-10 days. If I can get to a point where I'm just charging overnight with normal use, I will be pleasantly surprised. Smartphones seem to require a lot of juice, but one charge per day would be way better than I expected.

 

[RJSH_1727]

Yesterday at work, I did what was becoming my normal practice of recharging before leaving so I would have enough battery to last through the evening. But instead of recharging by plugging into an AC outlet, I recharged via USB to my work computer.

When I went to bed last night 9 hours after the USB recharge, I still had 70% battery life left after light to moderate use in the evening. This was by far the best performance I've seen.

It's amazing how I ran across these forums. I was wondering why today my battery life lasted like four hours less than it had last night. And I remembered it was b/c I had charged mines via USB, too! I went to sleep and woke up in the middle of the night, and it was STILL charging! About a GOOD 4hrs. It's a long process, but definitely worth it! So it's best to charge at night when asleep!

 

[MDtoka]

Maybe the phone off while charging is key. I tried usb charging after I read it might make your battery last longer, but it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference. I'll try with the phone off

 

[JohnJSal]

When I went to bed last night 9 hours after the USB recharge, I still had 70% battery life left after light to moderate use in the evening. This was by far the best performance I've seen.

Before going to bed, I plugged into the USB port of my home computer and recharged over night. Now after 7 hours of light to moderate usage unplugged, I still have 90% battery life left.

Do you have anything on your phone that is not stock? Is it rooted, or using special apps to help with the battery, or using a different battery?

Also, during these times of good performance listed above, did you have 3G turned on? I ask because with 3G turned off this past weekend, my phone went 15 hours and was still at 90%. 3G is a HUGE drain on the battery.

Granted, without 3G I didn't use the phone much, and made only one or two phone calls, but that's why I'm asking about what exactly you did with the phone during these times.

 

[takirb]

This doesnt work for me. I charge all night with my wall charger, and during the day I use the usb on one of my work computers (laptop or desktop, whichever im using). Been doing this since day 1. I've never seen a difference in battery life either way. With the same usage vs different charging method, I still get the same battery life. Congrats to those who its working for, but charging by usb/computer, car adapter, or wall, only varies the charge time on mine. I generally average 15 hrs of usage with about 20 texts, quite a few emails, couple of phone calls, and forum/google browsing on a regular basis.