Help Um, I think this battery issue will be a problem...

[cygone]

i mentioned earlier that i had installed a 1750 mah extended battery from my htc tp2.
i noticed that the device became somewhat warm while just sitting on the desk and shut off though the wi-fi was on. after about 2 hours of little use like this, i was down to about 60% battery. i'll keep experimenting between the original battery and the htc tp2 extended battery. but at this point it doesn't look like it makes a big difference.

 

[appleaj]

My battery lasted a little more than 12 hours today on a full charge. That was with me looking through the market and downloading stuff, and just playing with the phone in general. Definitely more than the average daily use though.

 

[mahsan88]

I think it is safe to say that my battery is defective:
Removed from charger at 9 am, did not TOUCH until 12 and the battery was at 91%
Downloaded a few apps, sent/received about 50 texts, took 3 pictures and browsed the internet for maybe 10 minutes and watched 1 music video.

phone was dead at 5!!

i have had it on at about 20% brightness, only syncing twitter and mail every 4 hours.
AND i have a task manager which kills ALL programs when i turn the screen off.

Based on what you are all saying, my battery died way too quickly.

i put it on charger at around 5:30, i took my phone off the charger at 8 p.m. and have downloaded 2 apps and browsed internet for 5 minutes; it is currently on 82%.

i need some input, i think my battery is defective, let me know what you guys think.. should i go to Verizon tomorrow morning or no?

 

[speedfreak]

I was hoping for battery life more like the moto droid. With 25 text 30 minutes of talking and looking up 10 addresses on the maps I could get 30 ish hours out of the Moto droid. (being really conservative with battery life)

I am hoping for at least 24 hours with conservative use. We'll see I am waiting for more reviews before buy it outright

 

[jamor]

Look, I agree with most of the posters above. When you have a smart phone, it's doing way more than making calls. The more you do, the more the battery will run down.

Just be glad you aren't waiting on the 4G iphone. I just talked to my Verizon rep and he said that in a test market, they downloaded a movie in 3 minutes (not on an iphone obviously). However, it pretty much drained the battery.

EXACTLY why it isn't time to wait for a 4g phone or switch to Sprint. It's pointless as the battery life simply isn't keeping up with phone technology and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

So be happy that we can at least get through a day. Well at least most of us.

 

[WalmartSecurity]

It's pointless as the battery life simply isn't keeping up with phone technology and it's going to get worse before it gets better.
.

When I was in China this summer nearly every cell phone commercial boasted a crank charger, where you could manually charge your phone. Old-school, yes. Desperate? Definitely.


But I'd actually be pretty comfortable looking like a caveman and cranking up some juice.

(Hopefully nobody over at Geico gets upset with me over that remark)

 

[Kilo7]

I don't know what you have running but I have had the thing on since 6:30am and I am at 60% battery.

You also have to realize that with multitasking some apps keep running in the background.

Go to Settings-->Applications-->Running Services

See what is running that you thought you closed out and kill those applications. This helped me with Slacker Radio draining my battery this morning.

I did exactly this.. I went to the verizon store and asked for someone knowledgeable with android OS. I said " i know I've got services running but i don't know which ones i need and ones i don't. Iended up stopping Gtalk,and maybe one more..this next app is a must...ADVANCED TASK KILLER. before I did this i was getting 2-3 hours..after i stop some services and kill 15 APPS!!! i had running in the background, I double the battery length..hope this helps

 

[jamor]

I did exactly this.. I went to the verizon store and asked for someone knowledgeable with android OS. I said " i know I've got services running but i don't know which ones i need and ones i don't. Iended up stopping Gtalk,and maybe one more..this next app is a must...ADVANCED TASK KILLER. before I did this i was getting 2-3 hours..after i stop some services and kill 15 APPS!!! i had running in the background, I double the battery length..hope this helps

How do I get it? I'm new to this stuff.

Do I go to the Market?

Also, has anybody noticed that the GMAIL application does NOT have a push setting that says whether or not you want hourly or manual updates? Am I missing something?

 

[Steel36]

Okay, status update. I put the phone on for its 2nd charge last night and took it off when it hit full at 10pm. Of course it saw no real duty since then, just some exchanged texts and such.

It's now down to 2 bars, after 12 hours of very little use. Push and everything else was on overnight, so no processes have been killed, but it really seemed to start draining once I got to work. It's dropped from well over 60% to 20% since I arrived around 7:30am (2 1/2 hours ago). I'm beginning to think it is the reception. My previous dumbphone kept about a bar, usually requiring me to walk 30ft to a window for a clear call.

The Incredible shows no bars most of the time. With the 3G bouncing back and forth to 1X pretty often.

I'm not particularly pleased. Even my Sprint Hero could make it back to the charger the next night w/ juice to spare, and that was even with heavy use.

 

[skunis1]

I did exactly this.. I went to the verizon store and asked for someone knowledgeable with android OS. I said " i know I've got services running but i don't know which ones i need and ones i don't. Iended up stopping Gtalk,and maybe one more..this next app is a must...ADVANCED TASK KILLER. before I did this i was getting 2-3 hours..after i stop some services and kill 15 APPS!!! i had running in the background, I double the battery length..hope this helps

I have been told that a task killer may eat up some battery as well. It also is constantly running. You could save even more battery if you don't use one and just go in and stop the apps yourself.

 

[jamor]

Okay, status update. I put the phone on for its 2nd charge last night and took it off when it hit full at 10pm. Of course it saw no real duty since then, just some exchanged texts and such.

It's now down to 2 bars, after 12 hours of very little use. Push and everything else was on overnight, so no processes have been killed, but it really seemed to start draining once I got to work. It's dropped from well over 60% to 20% since I arrived around 7:30am (2 1/2 hours ago). I'm beginning to think it is the reception. My previous dumbphone kept about a bar, usually requiring me to walk 30ft to a window for a clear call.

The Incredible shows no bars most of the time. With the 3G bouncing back and forth to 1X pretty often.

I'm not particularly pleased. Even my Sprint Hero could make it back to the charger the next night w/ juice to spare, and that was even with heavy use.

I'm sorry to hear that. This does not make sense to me - I wish I could help you more but you obviously have something running that is just killing your battery. You could also have a faulty battery that happened with my first blackberry.

It's been 20 hours hours and I still have 30%/ 3 bars.

This is after my FIRST charge cycle AND I have been using internet, youtube, texting, 2-3 pictures, and lots of phone customization/tweaking.

I don't even have TaskKiller or an Extended battery yet.

NOTE Half of the 20 hours I have been in my basement where Verizon has to FIGHT HARD for a signal - the bars are at 0 but I can still make calls without being dropped. ATT + T Mobile don't work in my basement at all but Verizon is able to squeeze a signal somehow.

Doesn't seem to be killing my battery.

Go to settings, applications, running services -- and see what's running.

 

[tranceFusion]

the battery blows. lie to yourself and call others names all you want.

 

[Stockmoose16]

the battery blows. lie to yourself and call others names all you want.

There is definitely a problem with the inc battery. I literally take it off the charger and 10 min later, the battery has dropped from 99% to 91%. The entire phone dies within a few hours, even with very light use. I've noticed the phone constantly toggles between 3G and 1x. I once had this problem with my bb and it caused the same serious battery drain problem. I live in Los Angeles, and have never had a problem with signal strength.

As a former bb user, I'm very disappointed that my first experience with an Android phone has been negative. The phone itself is cool, but what good is it if it dies in a matter of 2-3 hours with almost no usage?

 

[mobilehavoc]

Every cell phone in the world that I'm aware of (personal experience with iphone 3g and Palm pre) will die quickly in low signal areas. The phone when in low signal will send additional power to antenna and spend time searching for signal. This happens with every phone including even Blackberry devices which have great battery life.

There's NOTHING that can be done about this except if you're in a poor reception area, put it in airplane mode until you're in a better reception area.

The battery on this phone is actually pretty good - in normal conditions!

 

[phositadc]

I was getting bad battery life too, because at both my office and apartment I get 0-1 bars and switch regularly between 1X and 3G.

Yesterday, I decided to try something new. I switched Mobile Network off (so only voice/SMS will come through Verizon) and I turned my WiFi on. It has now been almost 24 hours, and I still have 8 bars of battery life.

In that 24 hours, I've sent and received a dozen emails or so, used Google Talk for a little while, and done a few other brief things.

Obviously, when I leave my apartment or Office, I switch Mobile Network back on so that my data connection works.

So for those of you whose phone spends most of its time in poor-signal areas, turn Mobile Network off and switch WiFi on (if possible). If you don't have WiFi, then you are probably stuck with poor battery life when you are in the poor-signal area.

 

[Stockmoose16]

I was getting bad battery life too, because at both my office and apartment I get 0-1 bars and switch regularly between 1X and 3G.

Yesterday, I decided to try something new. I switched Mobile Network off (so only voice/SMS will come through Verizon) and I turned my WiFi on. It has now been almost 24 hours, and I still have 8 bars of battery life.

In that 24 hours, I've sent and received a dozen emails or so, used Google Talk for a little while, and done a few other brief things.

Obviously, when I leave my apartment or Office, I switch Mobile Network back on so that my data connection works.

So for those of you whose phone spends most of its time in poor-signal areas, turn Mobile Network off and switch WiFi on (if possible). If you don't have WiFi, then you are probably stuck with poor battery life when you are in the poor-signal area.

It does seem to be a signal issue - as my phone toggles between 1x and 3g - but I live in Los Angeles, where this shouldn't be happening. I literally have one or two bars (or less) almost everywhere. My VZW blackberry usually had full signal in my office and home, and I've never come close to getting the same signal on the incredible. I got a bad BB Tour when it first came out, and it had this same problem - weak signal, always switching between 1x and 3g - and the result was also the same: battery drained in a matter of a couple of hours. I replaced that Tour and never had another problem.

So the question is, is it my particular Incredible? Is it all Incredibles? Is it the battery? Is it the signal strength?

 

[Stockmoose16]

Every cell phone in the world that I'm aware of (personal experience with iphone 3g and Palm pre) will die quickly in low signal areas. The phone when in low signal will send additional power to antenna and spend time searching for signal. This happens with every phone including even Blackberry devices which have great battery life.

There's NOTHING that can be done about this except if you're in a poor reception area, put it in airplane mode until you're in a better reception area.

The battery on this phone is actually pretty good - in normal conditions!

I don't think you read my post correctly. I live in Los Angeles and have never had a problem getting VZW service at home or work (or for that matter, anywhere). With the Incredible, however, I rarely get more than 2 bars, and the phone constantly switches between 3g and 1x, which saps the battery rapidly. I'll literally lose 8% off my battery in a matter of minutes.

I did get a bad BB Tour once with the same problem - signal dropping in/out; battery drained rapidly - and returned it for a new one that worked fine.

I'm wondering if this problem is unique to my phone, or if everyone with an Incredible is having this issue.

 

[inTECHrity]

It does seem to be a signal issue - as my phone toggles between 1x and 3g - but I live in Los Angeles, where this shouldn't be happening. I literally have one or two bars (or less) almost everywhere. My VZW blackberry usually had full signal in my office and home, and I've never come close to getting the same signal on the incredible. I got a bad BB Tour when it first came out, and it had this same problem - weak signal, always switching between 1x and 3g - and the result was also the same: battery drained in a matter of a couple of hours. I replaced that Tour and never had another problem.

So the question is, is it my particular Incredible? Is it all Incredibles? Is it the battery? Is it the signal strength?

All incredibles. I had full 3G bars with my BB curve and now I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 with the incredible. I sure hope this gets a software fix..

 

[Quintessence]

I don't think you read my post correctly. I live in Los Angeles and have never had a problem getting VZW service at home or work (or for that matter, anywhere). With the Incredible, however, I rarely get more than 2 bars, and the phone constantly switches between 3g and 1x, which saps the battery rapidly. I'll literally lose 8% off my battery in a matter of minutes.

I did get a bad BB Tour once with the same problem - signal dropping in/out; battery drained rapidly - and returned it for a new one that worked fine.

I'm wondering if this problem is unique to my phone, or if everyone with an Incredible is having this issue.

Don't go by the bars. Go by signal strength in numbers. In LA, my Incredible has been stronger and more reliable then ever in terms of signal.

But the battery issue isn't too easy to pinpoint, its all about using your own judgment, if you have wifi in your home, why use 3G? If you don't get 3G or Wifi in a building, why waste your phone battery anyways?

 

[Steel36]

I was getting bad battery life too, because at both my office and apartment I get 0-1 bars and switch regularly between 1X and 3G.

Yesterday, I decided to try something new. I switched Mobile Network off (so only voice/SMS will come through Verizon) and I turned my WiFi on. It has now been almost 24 hours, and I still have 8 bars of battery life.

In that 24 hours, I've sent and received a dozen emails or so, used Google Talk for a little while, and done a few other brief things.

Obviously, when I leave my apartment or Office, I switch Mobile Network back on so that my data connection works.

So for those of you whose phone spends most of its time in poor-signal areas, turn Mobile Network off and switch WiFi on (if possible). If you don't have WiFi, then you are probably stuck with poor battery life when you are in the poor-signal area.

Dude, if relying on wi-fi instead of mobile data saves you battery, we do have a problem. and this is happening on mine and my brother's phones. He works in a nearby city where you walk around with full 3g all of the time, and works in a 1-level building w/ no real shielding. He took his off the charger this morning and it died on him at 2pm.

It's starting to look like the antenna/signal could be the issue.

 

[inTECHrity]

Don't go by the bars. Go by signal strength in numbers. In LA, my Incredible has been stronger and more reliable then ever in terms of signal.

But the battery issue isn't too easy to pinpoint, its all about using your own judgment, if you have wifi in your home, why use 3G? If you don't get 3G or Wifi in a building, why waste your phone battery anyways?

I don't really go by bars with the incredible, I just watch it switch from 3G to 1X. If it has ANY bars on 3G service is speedy and clear. The switching back and forth is what worries me, and it happens constantly.

 

[skunis1]

All incredibles. I had full 3G bars with my BB curve and now I'm lucky to get 1 or 2 with the incredible. I sure hope this gets a software fix..

Check the actual signal strength. You may be getting the same service just the bars may not be showing it. Known issue with HTC.

Closer to 0 is a better signal. i.e. -67 is better than -80.

 

[ejkeebler]

yeah this has got to be a consistancy issue right? I did the whole charge the battery before you touch it thing, 4 hours green light used it, some that night, the next morning i was plugging it in at 8 am, so last night I charged it while i slept. Today I tried out the GPS on my way to work, 25 minute drive, left the mobile network toggled off, except to download a few apps and toggled it back on, had gps off, wifi off, and turned everything back on when i got my low battery signal of 14% just to help drain it faster so I could start charging it again. Problem is I sent and received about 10 total text messsge used the phone for 1 10 minute phone call. My uses were android 94% maps 2% cell standby 2% and display 2% (i keep the display about 23%)

 

[thecrock0984]

I charged mine last night. Barely used it and its was on half charge and back on charger by 2. iphone did not do much better.

 

[skunis1]

yeah this has got to be a consistancy issue right? I did the whole charge the battery before you touch it thing, 4 hours green light used it, some that night, the next morning i was plugging it in at 8 am, so last night I charged it while i slept. Today I tried out the GPS on my way to work, 25 minute drive, left the mobile network toggled off, except to download a few apps and toggled it back on, had gps off, wifi off, and turned everything back on when i got my low battery signal of 14% just to help drain it faster so I could start charging it again. Problem is I sent and received about 10 total text messsge used the phone for 1 10 minute phone call. My uses were android 94% maps 2% cell standby 2% and display 2% (i keep the display about 23%)

It is so weird but my phone never shows display. But those percentages r just the current usage. If you opened more apps it would adjust accordingly.

You should be looking under applications to see what apps are actually running in the background and kill any app you currently aren't using and do not need running in the background.