For those with horrible battery issues...

[HyperM3]

One other thing you can do is turn off the haptic feedback when using the keyboard. Dont know if that was mentioned but knowing how many texts I do and typing webpages, thats gotta amount to something.

 

[ebolamonkey3]

What I've noticed is the top 30% goes by quickly and the last 30% last much longer, at least on my phone.

So I think in the other thread someone suggested a factory reset, this may recalibrate the battery meter to show info more accurately.

Also, killing background services like auto update for facebook/twitter is a good way to get some more battery life.

 

[sublime313]

Battery depletion added some battery time for me.

The other stuff is voodoo with the plugging and unplugging. Factory resets don't do a damn thing unless perhaps you've got your unit clogged with tons of hoggy apps. Out of the box, I don't think a factory reset is going to do anything.

My tips:

1. Screen brightness set to Auto
2. Go through all settings/apps and minimize Sync/update options
3. Don't use apps that constantly run in the background or sync/update often
4. No live wallpaper
5. Fewer widgets the better
6. Wifi / GPS to a minimum

7. pick up this nice $5 car charger from Amazon:
Amazon.com: Motorola SPN5400 Rapid Vehicle Power Adapter for Motorola Droid A855: Cell Phones & Accessories

 

[cafe]

I have had virtually no problems with battery life, and I frequently run apps that are total resource whores. Like the new N64oid emulator. I easily get through the day without any low power warnings.

I have never let my battery reach zero, and I always charge it via AC adapter or from the dock. I.e. Never USB. The point is, I couldn't be happier with the battery life for general use.

There is one thing to mention though, DON'T LEAVE ON STUFF YOU DON'T NEED. Especially GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi, and non-critical apps. Just don't do it. :]


Also, I'd like to point out that a number of sources for low battery life are "behavioral." Meaning that if you are constantly using your phone for battery intensive activities... it's going to run out. With other phones I got into the habit of bringing my charger with me when I think I might need it. It's worked pretty well for me.

 

[dmako]

I would lose 10% battery life every hour on my Atrix.Would charge phone to 100% at 9:00PM wake up at 5:00am and phone would be dead.

Also while running the Atrix got very hot, not the battery but under battery.

I tried everything such as WIFI, GPS, and BT off, Social only on WIFI, etc. Nothing worked bu this: returned the unit and got a new one. Now under the same conditions I lost 15% battery capacity over the course of 17 hours!

Now this is my 3rd Atrix, in a week of ownership first one simply would not even power up.

 

[b1aze]

The battery is no worse than the battery in my old iphone.

 

[cafe]

I would lose 10% battery life every hour on my Atrix.Would charge phone to 100% at 9:00PM wake up at 5:00am and phone would be dead.

Also while running the Atrix got very hot, not the battery but under battery.

I tried everything such as WIFI, GPS, and BT off, Social only on WIFI, etc. Nothing worked bu this: returned the unit and got a new one. Now under the same conditions I lost 15% battery capacity over the course of 17 hours!

Now this is my 3rd Atrix, in a week of ownership first one simply would not even power up.

It sounds like the CPU is being used intensely, there is a built in battery manager in the settings of the Atrix that can tell you which apps/activities are using the most battery. It might be helpful to look there. You can also set up notifications to force close apps that are taking up tons of resources.

But, if I new one worked fine... then maybe it was defective.

 

[softlikerose]

This info doesn't come from me but from 2 (I believe trustful) sources:​

Isidor Buchmann,CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc., in Vancouver BC, award winning author of many articles and books on batteries,has studied about rechargeable batteries for 2 decades
Fran Hoffart, Applications Engineer, Linear Technology, Milpitas, California​

Original web sites:
Battery University Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions about Rechargeable Batteries
http://powerelectronics.com/portable...-battery-0425/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYiTAbQyPfg​

Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries:

Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries keep you connected. Li-ion Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries have no memory effect and require two to three complete charge / discharge cycles to reach full performance. Motorola markets it as providing less than 9 hours of talk time. So this article looks at how today

 

[Deleted User]

Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries:Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries keep you connected. Li-ion Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries have no memory effect and require two to three complete charge / discharge cycles to reach full performance. Another important step that all cell phone users can take is to condition the battery, and this is something you should do with any new smartphone.

While most of the info is accurate, this part is wrong and contradicts with some of the info further in the article.

Li-Ion batteries do NOT need any kind of conditioning or discharge cycling - they work better when NEVER discharged fully even for calibration procedures. To calibrate the phone (batteries don't get calibrated, the phone software does) to work best with the battery, you simply charge it and use it. There is no memory effect and Li-Ion batteries work best when topped up rather than depleted. The occasional full discharge when you can't top up won't harm the battery, but it's best to avoid it. Once a Li-Ion battery runs down to about 30%, you really should top it back up. Even a partial charge has no effect and does not affect the calibration.

Having said that, if your phone does need to be calibrated, it's best to find out HOW the procedure works for each phone as the software can be slightly different. But normally you simply turn off the phone, pull the battery for 10 seconds, re-insert the battery and charge the phone in the "off" state for at least 1hr after the charge indicators shows it's full. Then disconnect the charger, turn on the phone, attach the charger again and let it fully charge plus 1hr again. Once you unplug it, the phone is usually ready to go.

Just FYI, I've been working with Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, and Li-Ion technologies for up to 20 years and know most of the issues and proper handling techniques. Li-Ion is the best battery technology for cell phones currently available as the irregular charging pattern does not affect its performance. Just charge it and use it.

 

[Falchion]

Yeah I'm having a somewhat weird battery issue too just because I fully charge it and it drops to 50% alarmingly quick. I've only had it 3 days though so maybe more use will even it out.

 

[Revs9k01]

Best advice I can offer is to either install Green Power from the marketplace (free, you dont really need the premium version honestly) or go ahead and buy the premium version of Titanium Back Up and freeze the apps described on this post ([How to] Deal with Bloat Safely & Properly {Freeze Method/ROOT} | BIGGER LIST(S)! 3/1 - xda-developers).

Green Power by far gave me the longest battery savings (about 1 day and a half of charge while using the phone quite a bit) but you do have to keep in mind that the app will shut down your data and wifi signals while the phone's screen is off (calls and text messages still come in). It turns the signals back on from time to time to grab emails and other items from the net but you can decide how often it does that.

The Titanium Back Up solution did not give me the amazing amount of battery life that Green Power did but it did enough for me to stick with this method over Green Power. I prefer to keep data up and runnign at all times because I use gChat allot and Tango Calls as well so freezing those processes are the way to go for me.

Hope this helps.

 

[Komodo Rogue]

While most of the info is accurate, this part is wrong and contradicts with some of the info further in the article.

Li-Ion batteries do NOT need any kind of conditioning or discharge cycling - they work better when NEVER discharged fully even for calibration procedures. To calibrate the phone (batteries don't get calibrated, the phone software does) to work best with the battery, you simply charge it and use it. There is no memory effect and Li-Ion batteries work best when topped up rather than depleted. The occasional full discharge when you can't top up won't harm the battery, but it's best to avoid it. Once a Li-Ion battery runs down to about 30%, you really should top it back up. Even a partial charge has no effect and does not affect the calibration.

Having said that, if your phone does need to be calibrated, it's best to find out HOW the procedure works for each phone as the software can be slightly different. But normally you simply turn off the phone, pull the battery for 10 seconds, re-insert the battery and charge the phone in the "off" state for at least 1hr after the charge indicators shows it's full. Then disconnect the charger, turn on the phone, attach the charger again and let it fully charge plus 1hr again. Once you unplug it, the phone is usually ready to go.

Just FYI, I've been working with Ni-Cad, Ni-MH, and Li-Ion technologies for up to 20 years and know most of the issues and proper handling techniques. Li-Ion is the best battery technology for cell phones currently available as the irregular charging pattern does not affect its performance. Just charge it and use it.

I 2nd that - if you didn't read what softlikerose wrote, I strongly advise you check it out... I have seen people who are trying to take good care of the battery immediately hurt it multiple times!

 

[Evil.Bonsai]

"* battery cannot be reconditioned by over-charging - avoid higher than 4,2V current (which might boost capacity but shorten cycle life)"

This is stupid. The Atrix comes with a 5.1v charger. Seems to me someone is just copying outdated information and reposting.

 

[softlikerose]

"* battery cannot be reconditioned by over-charging - avoid higher than 4,2V current (which might boost capacity but shorten cycle life)"

This is stupid. The Atrix comes with a 5.1v charger. Seems to me someone is just copying outdated information and reposting.

i think you do not read full article .. and u do not understand what i want share .. where is say Atrix charger work with only 4.2V ? read again just this paragraph for Motorola Atrix .. i hope u understand what i want say
you cant say i share wrong information ..

Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries:

Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries keep you connected. Li-ion Motorola Atrix 4G Batteries have no memory effect and require two to three complete charge / discharge cycles to reach full performance. Motorola markets it as providing less than 9 hours of talk time. So this article looks at how today’s cell phone users can conserve battery life without diminishing the overall smartphone experience too much. Cutting-edge Android smartphones demand a great deal of power. Take the Motorola Atrix, for instance. It has a dual-core 1000MHz CPU, a 4.0-inch HD display, Wi-Fi capabilities, Bluetooth, two cameras, video recording capabilities and so forth. But in order to keep overall price and weight down, Motorola includes a 1930mAh battery, which is good for about 9 hours of talk time. Talk time doesn’t factor in using apps, watching videos and listening to music. So let’s examine at how cell phone users can conserve battery life. We’ll focus on the Atrix, but much of this advice will be universal. Like all popular smartphones, there’s a wide array of Motorola Atrix accessories on the market. A Motorola Atrix case and Motorola Atrix screen protector rank among the most popular. But unlike most smartphones, the Motorola Atrix has a built-in charger, and you can simply snap it into a docking station on a laptop. This is the wave of the future, but right now, the Motorola Atrix is one of the few smartphones offering this capability. So the first step an Atrix user can take to conserve juice is to have it connected to the laptop whenever possible because the laptop battery has more life and drains slower than the smartphone battery.

Another important step that all cell phone users can take is to condition the battery, and this is something you should do with any new smartphone. To do this, run through the initial setup, and then pull the battery. This will turn the device off completely. Now you can reinsert the battery, leave the device off, plug it in via an AC charger and let it sit like that overnight or at least 4-8 hours. Then use the phone until it you discharge it completely. Do this 3 times or at least twice, which will ensure that your smartphone battery operates at its maximum capacity. The next step is to configure your smartphone’s services. Android devices in particular are notorious for a large number of default always-on services that you won’t actually ever use. Each of these services drains a little power, and while it might not seem like much, it adds up quick. So go through them all, look those up online if need be, and shut off all the ones you don’t need. Don’t worry about making a mistake since you can always turn them back on. And if you install an app that needs the service, it will usually take care of it or prompt you. The most power-hungry aspect of any device, including the Motorola Atrix, is the screen, so turn screen brightness down considerably. On a high-quality device like the Atrix, you can turn the screen down to as much as 30% and still have it be usable and look great. Another step you can take is to turn off email notification. For most people this is a waste of juice because they check their email so often anyway. Take these steps and you’ll be sure to get the most out of your cell phone battery.​

 

[Evil.Bonsai]

you cant say i share wrong information ..

I never said wrong. I said outdated As in, it doesn't really pertain to current smartphones (or at least, the Atrix, which has a lithium ion polymer battery). As bfksc states above, conditioning isn't needed and could damage the battery that is in the Atrix.

I'll even quote from one of your source links:

From Battery University:
Do not discharge lithium-ion too deeply. Instead, charge it frequently. Lithium-ion does not have memory problems like nickel-cadmium batteries. No deep discharges are needed for conditioning.

 

[skoalcandy]

I was having horrible battery issues. I would get like 5 hours tops of battery life with very minimal use, display mostly on 7% (lowest without display app), and lots of battery management. I brought my phone to AT&T and they said I was the first one to complain. I was one day over my 30 day period but they honored it regardless. They did not have a spare battery laying around (since it is a new phone and all) so they just replaced the phone. They were nice enough to allow me to go home and back up everything and come back. I got my replacement, set it up exactly how I had it before. Today was my first full day having it, I let the battery run out before sleep and charge to 100% while I slept. I used my phone today on the bus ride to school, during school, and the bus ride home (from 7:00am until 2:30pm) with a lot more usage (including WiFi, Phone Portal, and Games) and I just now hit 30%. The fact of the matter is, batteries can be defective. I am very happy with the new battery and I can't wait to see how long it lasts once I fully break it in.

 

[Fountainhead93]

The voltage from the wall adapter is regulated. Inside the phone is a voltage regulator built into a Lion battery "manager". It reads the temp of the battery, it's voltage level, and adjusts to/from a constant current/constant voltage charging profile. It's actually quite intelligent and charges the battery optimally to preserve the health of the battery. So, when a user thinks the battery is "discharged" and the indicator is low on the display, the battery is actually at a certain level below fully charged, say for instance, 3.35 or so volts, not completely discharged.
The guys above are correct, charge the battery regularly and don't chronically run it into the dead zone. Once in a while? That's OK and the battery can take that but there is no sense in these crazy "cycles" people put the batteries through to make them "condition" and last longer.

 

[omnius]

I never said wrong. I said outdated As in, it doesn't really pertain to current smartphones (or at least, the Atrix, which has a lithium ion polymer battery). As bfksc states above, conditioning isn't needed and could damage the battery that is in the Atrix.

I'll even quote from one of your source links:

From Battery University:
Do not discharge lithium-ion too deeply. Instead, charge it frequently. Lithium-ion does not have memory problems like nickel-cadmium batteries. No deep discharges are needed for conditioning.

I think I understand the problem here. This original thread is from a forum that I don't believe is owned or operated by Motorola. The person who created that thread linked 3 different websites as his source but you'll notice that none of the links actually contain any of the information provided in his actual post. It's actually his own post that contains the wrong information (especially the part about repeatedly fully draining the battery!) very confusing.

softlikerose, I would wipe out the first paragraph of his article you pasted here, the stuff all above: Charging Tips

That section also contains what I understand to be incorrect info about how the Android OS handles those services (namely, that they don't really put any extra strain on the Android OS and aren't really a battery issue)

 

[omnius]

look for the link from bfksc 2nd post down in this thread

This is the best info I've found regarding this battery and how to care for it. Those of you who still advocate the repeated full drain seasoning method we're used to using for traditional cell batteries are in for a surprise. you don't need to break in this battery, you just need to discharge/recharge once every 1-3 months to keep the battery life meter calibrated, but that has nothing to do with the battery life.

 

[omnius]

credit to bfksc for giving me this extremely useful info which dispelled a lot of myths about the atrix's battery type care and told me exactly how it works and how to maintain it

 

[skoalcandy]

In relation to my last post, day 2 of my new phone(battery) I went from 100%-30% in an outstanding 14.5 hours. (7 of which were on standby) but still impressive seeing as I was at work the other 7 hours and used it pretty frequently. That Lithium-ion seasoning (charge to 100% once you reach 30%) seems to be working great.

 

[sugs00]

"* battery cannot be reconditioned by over-charging - avoid higher than 4,2V current (which might boost capacity but shorten cycle life)"

This is stupid. The Atrix comes with a 5.1v charger. Seems to me someone is just copying outdated information and reposting.

its voltage not current

amps=current
thus if u had high voltage you would theoretically have lower current

 

[Evil.Bonsai]

its voltage not current

amps=current
thus if u had high voltage you would theoretically have lower current

That is true. That is not what the post says, however.

The bad copy job states 'do not use higher than 4,2V' with no number for current. The Atrix charger is 5.1V 850mA (which is being pushed into a 3.7V 1930mAh li-po battery)

My whole point being the OP was merely copying/pasting outdated info that does not pertain to this phone.

 

[softlikerose]

That is true. That is not what the post says, however.

The bad copy job states 'do not use higher than 4,2V' with no number for current. The Atrix charger is 5.1V 850mA (which is being pushed into a 3.7V 1930mAh li-po battery)

My whole point being the OP was merely copying/pasting outdated info that does not pertain to this phone.

Evil.Bonsai above person show your mistake .. you dnt know about V or A difference .. you dnt know V = voltage or Current Is A=Ampere and its not bad copy paste its very useful information your mind very open not in just for atrix i share some information about atrix .. and other information is correct for others Mobiles Chargers .. if we get new update then its not mean your old update useless .. Motorola is not just for Motorola Atrix you are trying to wrong and misguide the people about this information.

 

[Evil.Bonsai]

Evil.Bonsai above person show your mistake .. you dnt know about V or A difference .. you dnt know V = voltage or Current Is A=Ampere

Can you show me where I posted volts as amps or current? Here, I'll copy what I DID post:

Originally Posted by Evil.Bonsai
"* battery cannot be reconditioned by over-charging - avoid higher than 4,2V current (which might boost capacity but shorten cycle life)"

This is stupid. The Atrix comes with a 5.1v charger. Seems to me someone is just copying outdated information and reposting.

There, I've put in bold where I talk exclusively about voltage. YOUR post included 'current' after 4.2V, with no mention of an actual value for the current (I helpfully included that in my 2nd post.) I really don't think I'm confused about any of this. Oh, and this IS the Motorola ATRIX forum, so yes this about the Atrix. Plus, I posted the link to your 'source' and even THEY state not to do what you posted.