Honest opinions on your Fascinates Battery Life!

earsly · Nov 3, 2010

Here's my usage for the day:

11% left - Unplugged for 19 hours and 34 minutes
Voice calls = 40% (Time = 39 minutes)
Display 34% (3 hours 16 minutes)
Cell Standby 14% (Time on = 19 hours 35 minutes, time without a signal 35%)
Phone Idle 8% (16 hours 20 minutes)
Android System 2% (CPU usage = 17 minutes)

The only thing that bothers me is 40% of my battery use going to 40 minutes of talk time. Can that be right?

saps · Nov 3, 2010

earsly said:
Here's my usage for the day:

11% left - Unplugged for 19 hours and 34 minutes
Voice calls = 40% (Time = 39 minutes)
Display 34% (3 hours 16 minutes)
Cell Standby 14% (Time on = 19 hours 35 minutes, time without a signal 35%)
Phone Idle 8% (16 hours 20 minutes)
Android System 2% (CPU usage = 17 minutes)

The only thing that bothers me is 40% of my battery use going to 40 minutes of talk time. Can that be right?

Sounds off. Usually it takes 3-4minutes to use 1% battery so worst case scenario 39 minutes should be 13%

travaman · Jan 14, 2011

I just got this phone 01/08/2011 and after an initial drain & full charge I'm lucky if I get a full WORK day out of this phone (mind you I use the term work lightly....because it's slow so I'm on my phone all day). I can't use wifi @ the office because they block it for email/chat. So I'm using my 3G signal. Everything else is shut off - including the screen, I turn it on, check my notifications then shut the screen back off..
I've only tried like 2 or so apps to manage battery but realize it's 6 of one-1/2 a dozen of another regarding the whole app running to manage battery but using more @ the same time.

I guess my question is - how the **** do some of you get 2 + days out of it? I listen to music on the way to and from the office (lucky if I can get home w/ 5% or so). From 6 am I'm out the door and home only 12 hours later running in the door to plug mine in

mkarps · Jan 14, 2011

I currently have a droid x and samsung fascinate. I read the reviews on how the Droid X is ranked best battery life and how the SuperAmoLEd actually used more battery....

From my experience the Sammy kills the X is battery life. I always make it a full day of work and sometimes leave it overnight. When the phone sits overnight does'nt seem to kill battery very much. I am stuck on Galaxy S for now....just waiting for Froyo. Anyone want to buy a Droid X?

nitsuj17 · Jan 14, 2011

mkarps said:
I currently have a droid x and samsung fascinate. I read the reviews on how the Droid X is ranked best battery life and how the SuperAmoLEd actually used more battery....

From my experience the Sammy kills the X is battery life. I always make it a full day of work and sometimes leave it overnight. When the phone sits overnight does'nt seem to kill battery very much. I am stuck on Galaxy S for now....just waiting for Froyo. Anyone want to buy a Droid X?

having had both as well...id give a slight advantage to the droid x in battery life...not much but noticable to me

but the battery on the fascinate is rock solid as well

mkarps · Jan 14, 2011

Really? Guess it just depends on the user lol. I didn't even think it was close. Im texting all day and the droid x usually needs to charge by 430 or so ( off charger at 730 am). the fascinate usually can go till late that night. I sometimes don't charge it till the following morning. I think that the X with the screen on texting constantly kills the battery life. However....they are both far superior to my old incredible.

nitsuj17 · Jan 14, 2011

mkarps said:
Really? Guess it just depends on the user lol. I didn't even think it was close. Im texting all day and the droid x usually needs to charge by 430 or so ( off charger at 730 am). the fascinate usually can go till late that night. I sometimes don't charge it till the following morning. I think that the X with the screen on texting constantly kills the battery life. However....they are both far superior to my old incredible.

how long did you have the droid x for? it took me a good 2 weeks before the battery finally broke in and it was magic...before that it was absolutely miserable

my fascinate was good within 3 or 4 charging cycles though

mkarps · Jan 14, 2011

That could be it. Only gave it 3 days maybe 4 days.....it was in the yellow by 230 or 3 pm sometimes. maybe didn't give it long enough. But either way the thing that really wins me over is the size of the Sammy. So light and thin.

SirKronan · Jan 15, 2011

mkarps said:
That could be it. Only gave it 3 days maybe 4 days.....it was in the yellow by 230 or 3 pm sometimes. maybe didn't give it long enough. But either way the thing that really wins me over is the size of the Sammy. So light and thin.

That's ultimately what won me over, too, as a previous Droid X owner. I made big strides in battery life by always using night mode on my eReaders, turning off all the automatic syncing crap, rooting and uninstalling all the crap and bloat I could, and running AutoKiller (don't run Automatic Task Killer or other variants. AutoKiller for root users is the only one I've tested that doesn't create a noticeable drain on battery life, personally.) If you don't want to root, turning off the autosyncing stuff, using a non-live wallpaper, and using night mode while using eReaders helps a lot. I tried using night mode on DolphinHD browser, but it only works so-so. Decent for text only pages, but there's a slight conversion delay.

The darker you can make things on a SuperAMOLED phone the better. If you put an eReader on auto-scroll in night mode on both the Droid X and the Samsung Fascinate the battery life tables flip flop. Just the way the tech works.

Oh, and I installed an undervolted kernel as well. That probably helps, too.

saps · Jan 15, 2011

SirKronan said:
That's ultimately what won me over, too, as a previous Droid X owner. I made big strides in battery life by always using night mode on my eReaders, turning off all the automatic syncing crap, rooting and uninstalling all the crap and bloat I could, and running AutoKiller (don't run Automatic Task Killer or other variants. AutoKiller for root users is the only one I've tested that doesn't create a noticeable drain on battery life, personally.) If you don't want to root, turning off the autosyncing stuff, using a non-live wallpaper, and using night mode while using eReaders helps a lot. I tried using night mode on DolphinHD browser, but it only works so-so. Decent for text only pages, but there's a slight conversion delay.

The darker you can make things on a SuperAMOLED phone the better. If you put an eReader on auto-scroll in night mode on both the Droid X and the Samsung Fascinate the battery life tables flip flop. Just the way the tech works.

Oh, and I installed an undervolted kernel as well. That probably helps, too.

Coming along nicely SK, uv is nice on the SF if you can handle it

nklenchik · Jan 15, 2011

Battery life and performance are probably my, and everyone else's main concerns. I made big strides to save on battery and usually get a full day on it. I also leave on at night without a charge.

I'm no expert, but I learn pretty fast. My tips on saving battery life for the Fascinate:

1. Your system. If you're rooted, use a undervolted kernel. It saves you big if your screen isn't always on.
2. Your screen. You need to turn the brightness down. Mine's almost all the way down and still looks more vibrant than my friend's Incredible. (If you don't mind putting it all the way down, put it down)
3. Your wallpaper. Don't use live ones. If you want a bright wallpaper that uses 80% of your battery, go for it. I use an almost black wallpaper that generally seems to save that backlit screen from working as hard.
4. Your apps. When you're not using them, don't run them. I use an app called Autokiller Memory Optimizer that, go figure...automatically kills them when it notices I'm not using them.
5. Your data connection. When you need to use the internet, use WiFi. When you don't, turn that WiFi off. It's better to use for data, but also consumes battery if left on.
Also, if you don't need emails syncing on time, I suggest you use an app called Juicedefender i (if you're rooted). I stopped using this because of the email thing, but it saved me battery by controlling when my 3G was on and off intelligently.
6. Don't always charge your phone. Let your phone run until it's almost dead, then charge it back up to 100%. Smartphones are like little laptops. If you have them plugged in constantly, you'll see a drop in battery life.

That's really all I can think of right now

davidnmegan6907 · Jan 15, 2011

nklenchik said:
Battery life and performance are probably my, and everyone else's main concerns. I made big strides to save on battery and usually get a full day on it. I also leave on at night without a charge.

I'm no expert, but I learn pretty fast. My tips on saving battery life for the Fascinate:

1. Your system. If you're rooted, use a undervolted kernel. It saves you big if your screen isn't always on.
2. Your screen. You need to turn the brightness down. Mine's almost all the way down and still looks more vibrant than my friend's Incredible. (If you don't mind putting it all the way down, put it down)
3. Your wallpaper. Don't use live ones. If you want a bright wallpaper that uses 80% of your battery, go for it. I use an almost black wallpaper that generally seems to save that backlit screen from working as hard.
4. Your apps. When you're not using them, don't run them. I use an app called Autokiller Memory Optimizer that, go figure...automatically kills them when it notices I'm not using them.
5. Your data connection. When you need to use the internet, use WiFi. When you don't, turn that WiFi off. It's better to use for data, but also consumes battery if left on.
Also, if you don't need emails syncing on time, I suggest you use an app called Juicedefender i (if you're rooted). I stopped using this because of the email thing, but it saved me battery by controlling when my 3G was on and off intelligently.
6. Don't always charge your phone. Let your phone run until it's almost dead, then charge it back up to 100%. Smartphones are like little laptops. If you have them plugged in constantly, you'll see a drop in battery life.

That's really all I can think of right now

Not shooting down your list to bad but auto killers are bigger battery killers unless you take the time to actually set them up properly, not saying you didn't just stating the fact. And constant charging of the batteries in this phone is not harmful. Actually letting these batteries fall all the way to empty is bad, I know I'll start a battle with someone on this one, so I'm going to say that is my opinion about battery.

But thanks for putting together a list its really a great thing for everyone giving each other a hand

reisb · Jan 15, 2011

travaman said:
I just got this phone 01/08/2011 and after an initial drain & full charge I'm lucky if I get a full WORK day out of this phone (mind you I use the term work lightly....because it's slow so I'm on my phone all day). I can't use wifi @ the office because they block it for email/chat. So I'm using my 3G signal. Everything else is shut off - including the screen, I turn it on, check my notifications then shut the screen back off..
I've only tried like 2 or so apps to manage battery but realize it's 6 of one-1/2 a dozen of another regarding the whole app running to manage battery but using more @ the same time.

I guess my question is - how the **** do some of you get 2 + days out of it? I listen to music on the way to and from the office (lucky if I can get home w/ 5% or so). From 6 am I'm out the door and home only 12 hours later running in the door to plug mine in

So you talk on the phone all day and listen to music on the way to/from work? and want to know why battery only lasts 12 hours?

On your cell phone all day? do you have bad signal at "work"? GPS turned on?

lasportsfan · Jan 15, 2011

I finally gave up and just carry a car/wall charger everywhere I go. Now I let my Fascinate run like it should live wallpaper, etc. with no worries.

djb28 · Jan 15, 2011

I play on my phone all day long. Music, Web browsing. You tube. I text alot. Use the cam corder. BUT.. When i get in my vehicle i always plug the phone in. So i never have gone a full day without some kind of a charge. Its always been the way i use my phone.

So when i go to bed at night i am usually at 50 to 60 percent. Even then, I plug it in and screw around with it until i am tired. In the AM it is fully charged and ready for the day. I did order a 3000mAh battery off Ebay for $13.00. Why? I dont know.

SirKronan · Jan 16, 2011

davidnmegan6907 said:
Not shooting down your list to bad but auto killers are bigger battery killers unless you take the time to actually set them up properly, not saying you didn't just stating the fact. And constant charging of the batteries in this phone is not harmful. Actually letting these batteries fall all the way to empty is bad, I know I'll start a battle with someone on this one, so I'm going to say that is my opinion about battery.

But thanks for putting together a list its really a great thing for everyone giving each other a hand

AutoKiller specifically is the one anomaly, and seems to work great on the Fascinate when set to "Optimum." It won't aggressively close things out unless they're incessantly wasting CPU or you're running low on memory. It's pretty lax on phones like the Fascinate that have quite a bit of memory. That way it's not creating unnecessary demand on the CPU always closing out apps like many of the other auto task killers do.

saps · Jan 16, 2011

nklenchik said:
Battery life and performance are probably my, and everyone else's main concerns. I made big strides to save on battery and usually get a full day on it. I also leave on at night without a charge.

I'm no expert, but I learn pretty fast. My tips on saving battery life for the Fascinate:

1. Your system. If you're rooted, use a undervolted kernel. It saves you big if your screen isn't always on.
2. Your screen. You need to turn the brightness down. Mine's almost all the way down and still looks more vibrant than my friend's Incredible. (If you don't mind putting it all the way down, put it down)
3. Your wallpaper. Don't use live ones. If you want a bright wallpaper that uses 80% of your battery, go for it. I use an almost black wallpaper that generally seems to save that backlit screen from working as hard.
4. Your apps. When you're not using them, don't run them. I use an app called Autokiller Memory Optimizer that, go figure...automatically kills them when it notices I'm not using them.
5. Your data connection. When you need to use the internet, use WiFi. When you don't, turn that WiFi off. It's better to use for data, but also consumes battery if left on.
Also, if you don't need emails syncing on time, I suggest you use an app called Juicedefender i (if you're rooted). I stopped using this because of the email thing, but it saved me battery by controlling when my 3G was on and off intelligently.
6. Don't always charge your phone. Let your phone run until it's almost dead, then charge it back up to 100%. Smartphones are like little laptops. If you have them plugged in constantly, you'll see a drop in battery life.

That's really all I can think of right now

Nice post.

Im inclined to agree with just about everything you said. Wont split hairs on small differences either. I will say Auto Killer is a try and see app. I tried it and now Im off it.

davidnmegan6907 said:
Not shooting down your list to bad but auto killers are bigger battery killers unless you take the time to actually set them up properly, not saying you didn't just stating the fact. And constant charging of the batteries in this phone is not harmful. Actually letting these batteries fall all the way to empty is bad, I know I'll start a battle with someone on this one, so I'm going to say that is my opinion about battery.

But thanks for putting together a list its really a great thing for everyone giving each other a hand

Yeah AutoKiller is more of a memory manager than a task killer. It claims to save battery and many see this. I tried it for a month when I first got my SF, been off it since October though I dont miss it. UV kernel is way better for me and the way I use my SF.

SirKronan said:
AutoKiller specifically is the one anomaly, and seems to work great on the Fascinate when set to "Optimum." It won't aggressively close things out unless they're incessantly wasting CPU or you're running low on memory. It's pretty lax on phones like the Fascinate that have quite a bit of memory. That way it's not creating unnecessary demand on the CPU always closing out apps like many of the other auto task killers do.

Speaking of people who stole my avatar and turned me onto AutoKiller, even though I moved off said avatar and AutoKiller

nklenchik · Jan 16, 2011

I'm pretty much double what Optimum would be right now

I think I'm set at 110, 120, 130 haha but I started at 70, 80, 90 and kept pushing until I found the perfect settings; for myself anyway.

nitsuj17 · Jan 16, 2011

davidnmegan6907 said:
Not shooting down your list to bad but auto killers are bigger battery killers unless you take the time to actually set them up properly, not saying you didn't just stating the fact. And constant charging of the batteries in this phone is not harmful. Actually letting these batteries fall all the way to empty is bad, I know I'll start a battle with someone on this one, so I'm going to say that is my opinion about battery.

i find that auto killer (or mini free manager which is a less feature rich but same thing app) is fine if you know what your doing with it....many people put it on extreme or ultimate and its counterproductive to battery life as its killing everything left and right...personally after much experimenting found that moderate or optimum works well for me on touchwiz based roms...its pointless in aosp though as so much is free at boot

nklenchik said:
I'm pretty much double what Optimum would be right now I think I'm set at 110, 120, 130 haha but I started at 70, 80, 90 and kept pushing until I found the perfect settings; for myself anyway.

yup everyones perfect settings are different

davidnmegan6907 · Jan 16, 2011

nitsuj17 said:
i find that auto killer (or mini free manager which is a less feature rich but same thing app) is fine if you know what your doing with it....many people put it on extreme or ultimate and its counterproductive to battery life as its killing everything left and right...personally after much experimenting found that moderate or optimum works well for me on touchwiz based roms...its pointless in aosp though as so much is free at boot

Yea thats what I was trying to get at. That it can be ok if you take the time to set it up. There are just so many ppl that put apps on expecting that they are set up to make their phone better without tinkering with them.

critofur · Jan 21, 2011

Hmm - since this has AMOLED screen... would using a black background and smaller/darker icons significantly extend battery life? ("Display" is always the largest consumer of battery on mine) How about some kind of universal default setting to use black backgrounds with light text instead of light backgrounds with dark text on apps like email?

jodicoble said:
...sometimes when a new phone comes in that we don't know very well we will put the phone together and just check it out a bit. In doing so, we would obviously have to open the battery and put it in the phone. It's still a new phone*...

No, it is no longer a new phone, it's used - you used it. The price should be reduced accordingly and it should not be sold as "new". You could call it "like new" since it's probably not damaged in any way.

(* emphasis mine)

SirKronan · Jan 21, 2011

critofur said:
Hmm - since this has AMOLED screen... would using a black background and smaller/darker icons significantly extend battery life? ("Display" is always the largest consumer of battery on mine) How about some kind of universal default setting to use black backgrounds with light text instead of light backgrounds with dark text on apps like email?

Absolutely true. I have an eReader app on mine that can make all the text white, and everything else black, even eliminating the status bar at top. I get an astounding amount of hours reading with that app. It literally sips battery. If more websites and browsers had more black and less white, it would affect any amoled based screen tremendously.

And I promise I'm not trying to be racist.

Bearly · Jan 23, 2011

Mine says 16 hours in my Battery Left widget and it gets close to that, but sometimes when I take it off the charger early morning the drain is ridiculous. It will drop 10% in under an hour even if I don't do anything.

It charges up quickly too, which also doesn't feel right.

sean76 · Jan 24, 2011

Well after having great battery life the last few months, I have to say after the recent update, my battery is TERRIBLE! Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper right now.

SirKronan · Jan 24, 2011

sean76 said:
Well after having great battery life the last few months, I have to say after the recent update, my battery is TERRIBLE! Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper right now.

Make sure you dial the *22899

Also make sure it didn't inadvertently turn on any background or syncing stuff that you didn't want on. In addition, check backlight and power saving settings to make sure those are where you want them. And finally, I think that having the touch sensitive buttons on always with the screen, while minimal, will still have a slight affect on battery life, just as NoLED or something similar would.

Honest opinions on your Fascinates Battery Life!

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