Battery drop in low coverage areas.

mikes1

Android Enthusiast
I have a question with the battery. I went to see Django Unchained last night and I wanted to see how much my battery would drop in the movie theater. Now I realize that the movie theater doesn't have great reception and it would bounce from 3G to 1X on Verizon. I saw the movie which was 3 hours total with the previews and such, with my battery starting at exactly 50%. When I got to my car my battery was all the way down to 22% and I didn't even use it at all. That seems ridiculous. 3 hours to lose that much battery. Nothing was on either. No wi-fi or anything. Is losing 28% of battery in 3 hours in low service areas normal? Is there anything to combat this battery loss while in areas like this without going to airplane mode?
 

silentwitness

Android Expert
if ure in a low coverage area the battery would drain as it keeps searching for a signal. Best option is going to airplane mode. Dont know if there is any other solution to it.
 

SUroot

Extreme Android User
Try putting your phone in a locker and see the results. If the signal is low, the phone would constantly search for a better signal which uses power.

Non 3g / LTE connections use less power so maybe switch it to only use that. Also turning mobile data off will also help
 

mikes1

Android Enthusiast
Thread starter
Ah yeah I didn't even think of turning off mobile data. I guess I wouldn't need that if I was seeing a movie. I still like to have service though just in case. Maybe I'll try that next time and see if it's any better. Thanks
 

valorian

Android Expert
What happens is when you are in a low coverage area, the PA (Power Amplifier) inside the phone has to ramp up to max power to hold onto what little signal it has. This is a big drain on the battery.
 

mikes1

Android Enthusiast
Thread starter
What happens is when you are in a low coverage area, the PA (Power Amplifier) inside the phone has to ramp up to max power to hold onto what little signal it has. This is a big drain on the battery.

I guess I have a few more questions then. Would putting it in power saving mode help this at all? And also I'm running google now with the location services. I only have it active for traffic, weather, and sports though so since I did that I noticed during the day the battery has been fine. But does location services also cause battery drain when the phone itself or the PA is trying to get that signal?
 

valorian

Android Expert
The PA is only trying to hold onto the cellular signal strength from the cell tower. The GSP or other features are not controlled by the PA.
 
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