I Found out what's killin my battery life.. and most likely yours.

[hchristians]

I assume most people are using Googles Email Address to sync/use the phone.

Well get this, when you use it, it automatically signs you into Google Talk.
TURN IT OFFF. its like havin AIM always on, major battery hog.


"Google Talk

When you sign up for the Google Market or Gmail with your Gmail account information, you are also signed in to the Google Talk instant messaging application. The Talk application tracks the presence of your Google Talk contacts in order to let you know who is available to instant message. Each presence change uses power, even if you do not have the Talk application open.

If you do not use Talk on your device or do not mind if it is only operating when you actually have the application open, then you can eliminate this extra battery consumption:

1. Press Menu then tap All apps > Talk > Menu > More > Settings
2. Uncheck the automatically sign in box.
3. Make sure you exit the application by going to Menu > More > and selecting Sign Out
4. In order to again receive Instant Messages through the Talk application, all you'll need to do is open the Talk application again and it will automatically sign you in.

Note: Make sure you always exit the application by selecting Sign Out to reduce battery consumption. Exiting the application by use of the back or home keys will not sign you out and battery life will not be improved."


Support - Article

Also remove it from Running Applications in your Evo Phone Settings. I dont think it shows up in the Advanced Task Killer list. I removed mine since the whole debate over using a Task Killer or not, so im trying to do without.

I also havent tested this, but I figure its worth a try. It's like AIM, so it must be pretty strenuous on battery. Let me know though!
I should change the title of this thread to "I Found Out What MIGHT be Killing Battery Life."

 

[mrkauffman]

hopefully your right, mine was checked to auto sign in as well

 

[MyFishWagon]

hopefully your right, mine was checked to auto sign in as well

Here as well...thanks for the tip !

 

[jsweets13]

Same here..thanks!

 

[eric3316]

I thanked you for the info and hopefully it helps out a bit. Otherwise I am coming to remove my thanks!!!!!

J/K

 

[some.devil]

I just turned Google Talk off. I was still getting 10+ hours prior.

 

[hchristians]

I just turned Google Talk off. I was still getting 10+ hours prior.

I kind of was too. I got on the internet on it ALOT, but I still got through the day. but hey the more battery, the better!

 

[Howie]

I would assume it uses Google "push" like they do with gmail to do alerts for Google Talk... which reduces battery drain. I never noticed a difference logged in or out with any of my Droid devices.

 

[bmwboyee]

thanks, mine was on as well.

 

[effluent]

Thanks hope this works. My battery life is brutal..been trying everything I can think of. Right now three hours of medium use and not much juice left.

 

[DeusInnomen]

For what it's worth, I run Google Talk 24/7 and I don't have battery issues. I guess everyone's mileage varies.

 

[neodorian]

I use Google Talk as my main instant messenger client so that stays on for me. Tracked my battery yesterday and it seemed that through 8 hours of moderate to heavy usage, I went down about 60%. The only thing really using the CPU was the battery monitor so it may be better with it off now. Essentially, I can use this thing for constantly checking messages and replying all night while browsing the web off and on and I still easily get 8 hours with 40% of the battery left to spare. I'm assuming this translates to maybe 10-12 hours before it dies at that rate. Way better than my last couple of phones which would have died after 6-8 hours of moderate to heavy use.

Either way I keep a charger by my bedside and one of my spare chargers at work in case I need to top off for some reason.

 

[NeoEVO]

Gotta love those little tips that just might add up big.

 

[eric3316]

Hmmm, maybe I am crazy, but my phone has been off since I changed that setting and when I turned it back on about 3 hours later, my battery level hasn't dropped at all....It usually drops just from sitting in my pocket.....

I will trully see when I try it tomorrow morning at 100% and see where I am by mid day..........

 

[Crash]

Turning off the Advanced Task Killer, or whatever it is called, has improved my battery life pretty dramatically. Ironically, the RS sales person put it on saying how much it would extend battery life..... I beg to differ.

 

[backdown]

Thanks, just turned mine off.

 

[SeauxCrazy]

Update: It's been a couple of hours since I turned it off and my battery has only dropped 2% so far. Mostly idle, but a few emails and one 10 minute phone call.

THANKS!

Also, might want to check QIK or FRING. Those are known to run in the background too when not being used. Make sure you sign off of them, exit them, or kill them.

 

[JMac202]

I get up at 5:20 am for work. I use my phone a little bit for calls and the internet for lunch and as of right now I have 63% battery life remaining.

Like someone else said hopefully little tips like this add up. I always worry Im gonna run my phone dead while at work. I would really like to use it as an MP3 player but that aint gonna happen.

Maybe I should just invest in a car charger. Lol.

 

[Orion]

It works for a little while. Once I turn the phone on again...the google talk is back on running. What's the deal?

 

[SeauxCrazy]

^ when you say turning it on ... Do you mean, after you've powered down and restarted? Mine hasn't shown up since I killed it. (From HTC killer, not a task killer I downloaded)

If I have to turn wifi and bluetooth off and on throughout the day, I can turn off Talk everytime I restart without a problem. lol

 

[Orion]

Yeah I powered down and turn it back on again. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[SeauxCrazy]

Open talk, when your contacts show up ... hit Menu, then Settings and uncheck 'Sign in on Startup'

Just tested it and Talk did not load for me on startup. I did the same for Qik, it didn't start ... but when I did it for Fring, it started up so I had to manually kill it even though I said to not startup.

Edit: I motion also for this to be a sticky, I can't say how much this has done wonders for me. Usually my wifi is up in % even when not doing something. I left my phone at 76% to do something outside, was out for about hour and half, came back and battery was still at 76%. Seriously, with killing qik, fring, and Talk ... its amazing. I no longer have doubts about my phone b/c of battery anymore. I'm ecstatic actually lol.

Thanks to OP again and again and again.

 

[FLEMTP]

Is there a way to just uninstall the google talk app? or would that mess up the OS? and.. if its safe to uninstall it... do I have to root my phone to do it?

 

[v01rider]

i completely removed it!

might also check menu > settings > applications > running services

 

[tenaciousdave]

Yeah I powered down and turn it back on again. Am I doing something wrong?

I have the same problem. Signing out and unchecking auto sign in did nothing for me. It's still in running services after I reboot.