Optimize your Droid Eris battery life (READ THIS)

[Needsdecaf]

not running on my machine. i did the sms fix thing and it is never running in the background.

Follow the sms fix procedure, make sure you delete the widgets from your home screen and make sure you set Handcent as default sms.

Done, still running.

 

[jude21]

Ok I am getting very annoyed, I did the whole 3 day thing let it die then charge it. In about 30 mins I go from 100%-80% not cool cuz I don't use it that much that fast. Also the screen is taking forever to turn when I turn the phone as well to go from hor to ver or ver to hor. It never did that. I think I got a bad phone or battery. What do you think return the phone and get a different eris or ask for a new battery, or what cuz I just got it last Tuesday.

 

[Caddyman]

check out the display at the store and compare the horiz to vert switching times, etc, and see if you merit a exchange. many many people say that the battery goes from 100% to around 80% very quickly then drains much slower after it gets to that point.

 

[duncanhoo]

Sorry wish i could be more helpful but i have thrown in the towel on this device and it is going back to verizon. this sms 100% issue is so frustrating it has broken me. Going to try a more stable os like wm in the omnia 2.

Done, still running.

 

[jude21]

I called Verzion and they are sending me a new battery. It will be here Thursday, again I will do the drain and charge and then report back. I have till Christmas Eve to return it so after the new battery if it still does it, it will go back!

 

[Needsdecaf]

Sorry wish i could be more helpful but i have thrown in the towel on this device and it is going back to verizon. this sms 100% issue is so frustrating it has broken me. Going to try a more stable os like wm in the omnia 2.

LOL, Win Mobile - a stable OS.

ROFLMAO.

 

[W4LLY]

roflcopter

 

[hrbib21]

Question: If you use Handcent but don't do the "sms fix", will that have an affect on battery life? I dl'd Handcent last night but forgot to do the fix and unplugged my phone at 8am, was at 25% battery life by 1:30pm. Deleted Handcent and it's holding a charge like before Handcent.

 

[doo567]

Ok, there are a million posts on the Eris battery issue. So I thought I would just add to the most popular.

I have did everything possible to extend my battery life so I won't go over that. I have been getting 12-16 hours a day with light to moderate usage. Well here is a new twist. I will layout the timeline:

5:00am - remove from charger with 100%
7:00am - 89% no usage
3:15pm - 26% after moderate usage throughout the day, calls, google talk, email, web, etc.
3:15pm - put Eris on charger for 35 minutes. Then I leave work and continue to charge on car charger.
4:15pm - Battery charged to 67% taken off charger.
5:15pm - With WIFI on and constant web and google talk for about one hour the battery doesn't drop a bit, still at 67%.
6:15pm - 66% with little use, WIFI On
7:15pm - 63% with WIFI off, little use
7:30pm - 62% with WIFI back on, browse web

So i have dropped 5% in past 3+ hours!! That is crazy! I know this can't be true, because even with little to no use my phone will drop 4-5% per hour. That is on a good day! So I think the battery meter is really the problem. I would like to believe my battery has made a miraculous turn around, but I know this isn't the case.

The only thing different was I used my old BB curve charger and then used a USB to mini-USB car charger. I don't know why that would matter.

 

[cdeen]

I just wanted to post an update on my battery issue. I am at day 3 of the conditioning cycle. I have installed handcent but no app killers (because I don't know how to use them). My awake time fluctuates from 6% to 17% throughout the day. I've been keeping the mobile on to drain the battery for the conditioning. Although I did keep it off overnight while it was off the charger so the battery wouldn't be dead in the morning. I feel confident that when the conditioning is done the battery will be fine for my normal use. It seems all your recommendations are working. It is too bad that Verizon or HTC can't do something to avoid all this, but maybe they will read this and find a fix for the novice users who don't know about this forum.



Mostly I want to thank you all for your advice and wisdom. I was ready to return this phone until I found this forum, now I am having fun with it.

 

[duncanhoo]

i think the guage is not working properly. it shows all sorts of whacky stuff for me. i basicly dont trust it until i get the dying battery warning.

 

[duncanhoo]

i realize how silly i was being. just was very frustrated...then went in and tried the Omnia2. Got religion after 20 minutes of fooling with windows and pushing that stupid "x" in the upper right corner.

Back (for now).

LOL, Win Mobile - a stable OS.

ROFLMAO.

 

[fenderplayer]

So I have been reading and was wondering what the SMS fix was. I think I might have missed that part in the post :S? I am in the current process of conditioning the battery. I am very impressed with the phone but as everyone else has said would like a better battery life. I have faith in HTC and Verizon in that matter to fix this problem.

 

[Caddyman]

the sms fix procedure is in the first post of this thread fender

@ cdeen, glad you are liking your phone

 

[eforma]

Has any one had problems with the time to charge for the phone? I started charging at 4:15pm and its now 7:26pm and my batter is finally in the 90% + range. This is my second battery for the phone because the first had the same problem (not to mention it drained 50% while sleeping overnight) but both have taken well over 3 hours to reach a full charge (from a full drain). That's all fine and dandy if I'm charging over night, but when I'm on the go I need my phone to charge faster, especially since the battery life can well, suck sometimes as we all know. (I had the Moto Droid prior to this, which I'm pretty sure has a bigger battery, and that thing charged in less than 2 hours after a full drain)

Does anyone else have this problem? Or does anyone know if it may be the charger or the phone itself, not the battery that has the problem? Any help would be appreciated.

On a side note, it's really disappointing having to kill apps on this phone. I started with the Moto Droid (couldn't deal w/ the bulkiness, but LOVED the OS, thus why I switched) and I never had to worry about battery draining b/c of apps running in the background - w/ few exceptions when I closed an app on the Moto Droid, it closed. Why is this not the case w/ the HTC? I downloaded the App Killer, because, well, it works for the most part. Does anyone know how to make sure an app CLOSES when you exit to insure that it doesn't stay on and drain the battery?

Thanks!

 

[tispectrum]

Is the phone off while charging? Faster charge that way.

 

[eforma]

Is the phone off while charging? Faster charge that way.

I realize that. However, I would like to avoid having to turn off my phone for 2 hours to charge it, especially if its in the middle of the day which happens to be when I use my phone the most. (Note: I have done no more than check and reply to about 2 SMS during the charging -- so everything but my mobile network is turned off -- all unnecessary apps, WiFi, GPS, and I keep my brightness at 25% --> phone finally charged after 3.5 hours).

For now turning off the phone to get a faster charge may be the best approach, but what I'm trying to find out is if this is something other owners have experienced, or if it is unusual for this phone to take so long to charge.

 

[jude21]

I realize that. However, I would like to avoid having to turn off my phone for 2 hours to charge it, especially if its in the middle of the day which happens to be when I use my phone the most. (Note: I have done no more than check and reply to about 2 SMS during the charging -- so everything but my mobile network is turned off -- all unnecessary apps, WiFi, GPS, and I keep my brightness at 25% --> phone finally charged after 3.5 hours).

For now turning off the phone to get a faster charge may be the best approach, but what I'm trying to find out is if this is something other owners have experienced, or if it is unusual for this phone to take so long to charge.

I too have that problem. It takes 4.5hrs with phone off to charge after full drain. I took it off the charger at 11am today and by 3pm it has at 57%! I hand nothing turned on and this is annoying. I have done the 3 day thing + some! The send day I drained and charged I got 26.10 hrs off one charge! Now it changed and is back to crap. I hope when my new battery comes tomorrow it will be better I will use it for a week if not I am gonna throw this through the Verizon window, and if they think I will pay the 35.00 restocking fee for it they can go to hell!

 

[fenderplayer]

I realize that. However, I would like to avoid having to turn off my phone for 2 hours to charge it, especially if its in the middle of the day which happens to be when I use my phone the most. (Note: I have done no more than check and reply to about 2 SMS during the charging -- so everything but my mobile network is turned off -- all unnecessary apps, WiFi, GPS, and I keep my brightness at 25% --> phone finally charged after 3.5 hours).

For now turning off the phone to get a faster charge may be the best approach, but what I'm trying to find out is if this is something other owners have experienced, or if it is unusual for this phone to take so long to charge.

I have had the same experience. I am in the process of conditioning the battery and am on the 2nd charge as I type. It took me over 3.5 hours to charge the phone. I also notice, and I think there is other posts with the same finding, that when plugged into a computer it takes longer for the phone to charge, if it even charges :S.

 

[eforma]

I too have that problem. It takes 4.5hrs with phone off to charge after full drain. I took it off the charger at 11am today and by 3pm it has at 57%! I hand nothing turned on and this is annoying. I have done the 3 day thing + some! The send day I drained and charged I got 26.10 hrs off one charge! Now it changed and is back to crap. I hope when my new battery comes tomorrow it will be better I will use it for a week if not I am gonna throw this through the Verizon window, and if they think I will pay the 35.00 restocking fee for it they can go to hell!

Just to note...to avoid the restocking fee...I'm pretty sure you can just switch back to your old phone, then wait a week or something to get a new one and your fine (check what the receipt says), cuz trust me, they are lame about lifting that fee.

I'm glad I'm not the only one w/ this problem...but I'm curious why it is a problem? Has anyone tried charging the phone w/ a different charger (ie: a non-stock charger)? I'd be curious if that might help, but I don't know if I'm willing to shell out the bucks to find out and be disappointed.

 

[Rockytop]

Weird stuff going on with this Eris battery. My battery was at 57% when I decided to watch some YouTube videos (of Eris reviews) in my vehicle during my lunch break. I plugged up the phone to a car charger so it wouldn't drain the battery any more.
I watched about thirty minutes, unplugged the charger and the battery went to 51%!! THEN...when I got back to the office...with NO usuage...it drops to 29%!!!!! What the heck is going on? I've done all the "battery reduction" suggestion of this and other forums.
I'm on day 4, and am thinking it won't make it to day 5 if it keeps this up. I may go to the Moto Droid, even though I much prefer the form factor of the Eris.

 

[Ataranine]

Most of you guys aren't even bothering to condition the battery are you?
You just get it from the store, use it like there's no tomorrow, and bitch about how fast the battery dies.
You have to condition the battery guys, power cycle it at least 3 or 4 times and tell me the battery life isn't significantly improved.
You can't expect this phone to last a week with one charge and heavy use.

 

[Rockytop]

Most of you guys aren't even bothering to condition the battery are you?
You just get it from the store, use it like there's no tomorrow, and bitch about how fast the battery dies.
You have to condition the battery guys, power cycle it at least 3 or 4 times and tell me the battery life isn't significantly improved.
You can't expect this phone to last a week with one charge and heavy use.

Excuse me, but you should ASK if that's been done before you make that kind of statement...or at least read what I said..."I'm on day 4". That means it has been charged and completely discharged FOUR DAYS IN A ROW! If anything, it's getting worse!

 

[Ataranine]

Excuse me, but you should ASK if that's been done before you make that kind of statement...or at least read what I said..."I'm on day 4". That means it has been charged and completely discharged FOUR DAYS IN A ROW! If anything, it's getting worse!

That wasn't specifically directed towards you. Did you leave it OFF while you were charging it all the way up until the LED turns green?

Here's a tip if so: put it down every once in a while..

 

[eforma]

I've been draining the new battery before recharge and I've drained the new battery 3 times now (also the batthey was dead when I got it as a replacement from Verizon). The there times I have charged this battery have taken over 3 hours each time. Conditioning the battery seems more relevant for when the battery is discharging..not charging. Either way..my time to charge seems awfully long compared to other smartphones I have experienced