"Can" battery life get better?

[KenjiWB]

I leave my Bionic plugged in most of the time while I am at my desk etc, but that's mainly because I only seem to get 3-4 hours of use on a good day with (what I would consider) extremely light use. Is this an issue I will deal with for the life of the phone?

 

[aaf709]

I get 10+ hours and others get more. Part of the problem is where you are in terms of signal strength. At home it's pretty bad, but we live in a valley and I can go from 4G to 1X in a matter of feet. I do have the extended battery, just to let you know.

 

[brkshr]

I leave my Bionic plugged in most of the time while I am at my desk etc, but that's mainly because I only seem to get 3-4 hours of use on a good day with (what I would consider) extremely light use. Is this an issue I will deal with for the life of the phone?

Yesterday I got 33 hours with moderate use. Right now I'm at 90% (I have 1% increments) for 4 1/2 hours of light use.If your not in 4G area, make sure you turn it off under settings/wireless & networks/mobile networks select cdma onlyI also have a ton of bloatware removed Bionic APK listedit: I get at least 10 hours with really heavy use

 

[Speeding Wheels]

Make sure you kill any apps that poll 4G data constantly, such as Skype.
They are battery killers.

Of course you can use Skype whenever you want, but when you're done with it dont just shut it down, go into the built in task manager app and kill it.

 

[SSHGuru]

I would say that if your a light to moderate user most of your battery will be consumed by a bad signal. When I'm at home it drains much faster than when I'm at work with a strong signal.

I have the extended battery and even with a bad signal I can go 14 hours easy.

If I was at work I could go days.

 

[sevenwords]

Check out the app Tasker if anyone is interested in making battery life better. You can setup different profiles for your phone depending on location, time, apps running, etc. Example - turn wifi on when home, turn off when away, etc. It's got a steep learning curve, but a very powerful app that you can do a lot more with than just save a little battery. I have a profile that will announce a text message and read it out loud to me whenever in the car dock, but it's just a normal phone outside of the dock.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[dudeitsmattx]

Yeah you need to check ur settings. Because mine goes all day with normal use. Text, calls, fackbook, dolphin browser, and a few youtube videos, oh and hanging with friends.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[dudeitsmattx]

Also that's non rooted and stock battery

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[BayouFlyFisher]

Battery Life – BY: NoBloatware on DF

consider doing a factory reset. Do not sync apps, wifi connections, etc. with Google services as that may cause a problem. Install all apps and wifi connections from scratch. A bit of a pain, but not too bad.- install a home/launcher replacement. I use Go Launcher EX, which is free, and I love it. No reason not to try out an alternative launcher as you can always go back to how you had it.

- don't use an automatic task killer--not even the one that comes with the phone. Reboot your phone and look at what's running. If anything that you've installed is running and there's no reason for it, then uninstall it and find an alternative that behaves. Ignore any stock apps that run on boot as I've found them to be more or less benign.

- weather widgets, live wallpapers, news/social feeds, any app or service that you use that runs--do without it if you can.

- don't use antivirus

- the DLNA app pops up a dialog box that will set your WIFI sleep policy to never. The default is "turn off when screen turns off" and I personally think that this setting is the best thing for battery life. Under wifi settings view your connections then hit menu to see "Advanced options" where you can set the sleep policy

- if you have access to wifi, leave it toggled on as it is more efficient than 3G. This is different from the sleep policy.

- I leave GPS toggled on too by the way. Apps use it as needed. When I'm done with Maps or an app that uses it, I'm sure to return to the home screen so GPS can stop. Under wireless settings turn on "Google location services" so that an app is able to use network resources to get your location instead of GPS. I have "VZW location services" turned off--don't know why that option is even there. By the way, I increase the speed of voice output > text to speech > speech rate because I like the directions to get spit out faster. That saves a bit of battery. Turning off the display and just listening for directions help. Also, often I just get the directions and then exit back to the home screen: GPS uses so much battery I try to get it over with ASAP.

- when you get a new battery, do a factory reset, or an OS upgrade run your battery all the way down until the phone shuts off and then charge the battery all the way up. This will callibrate the phone's understanding of the battery's capacity. Do this once every month or two also, but don't do it too often if you can help it.

- I have my battery set to "Performance Mode" and data is on all the time because I am on call 24x7. If you don't mind, try out a more conservative battery profile to save more gobs of energy.

- set screen brightness to "Automatic"

- under Accounts, click on any account listed and turn off sync for any items that you're not interested in syncing. For example, Google Books if you don't use it. Don't use Backup Assistant--I prefer syncing my contacts with Google. You don't need both. Also go into your contacts > menu > display options > backup assistant > UNCHECK. Also do contacts > menu > more > settings > contact storage > and select your Google account and "remember this choice"

- if you never use bluetooth then toggle it off. If you do use it sometimes, it's fine to leave it toggled on all the time.

- consider turning off voice privacy. This may not be a big deal but it will save some processing (and therefore battery). It may also improve call quality.

- turn off haptic feedback, animations, and any un-needed sounds in Android settings and in your apps

- set your screen timeout to as low a time as you can stand (I use 1 minute) and manually turn the screen off when you're done using the phone. I use an app to lock the screen so I don't wear out my power button...as happened on my original droid.

- turn off in-pocket detection

- keyboard: turn off vibrate on keypress and sounds for any keyboards you use

- use a red screen background. On the original Droid screen--not sure about this Droid 3 screen--red was the most efficient color that could be displayed. Anyone know if this still holds true?

- camera app: i like keeping location on and flash on auto. Consider turning location off or at least returning to the home screen ASAP when using camera if location for camera is on.

- in stock browser the default home page is Google and it uses your location. This is a bad idea as it can waste your battery for no reason. Make something else your home page and make sure to close any web page that uses your location when you're done viewing it.

- charge your phone via the wall charger instead of computer USB as it is faster. Also, don't use long USB cords--use regular power extension cords instead. I stick with the charger that came with the phone.

 

[terigox]

Battery Life – BY: NoBloatware on DF

consider doing a factory reset. Do not sync apps, wifi connections, etc. with Google services as that may cause a problem. Install all apps and wifi connections from scratch. A bit of a pain, but not too bad.- install a home/launcher replacement. I use Go Launcher EX, which is free, and I love it. No reason not to try out an alternative launcher as you can always go back to how you had it.

- don't use an automatic task killer--not even the one that comes with the phone. Reboot your phone and look at what's running. If anything that you've installed is running and there's no reason for it, then uninstall it and find an alternative that behaves. Ignore any stock apps that run on boot as I've found them to be more or less benign.

- weather widgets, live wallpapers, news/social feeds, any app or service that you use that runs--do without it if you can.

- don't use antivirus

- the DLNA app pops up a dialog box that will set your WIFI sleep policy to never. The default is "turn off when screen turns off" and I personally think that this setting is the best thing for battery life. Under wifi settings view your connections then hit menu to see "Advanced options" where you can set the sleep policy

- if you have access to wifi, leave it toggled on as it is more efficient than 3G. This is different from the sleep policy.

- I leave GPS toggled on too by the way. Apps use it as needed. When I'm done with Maps or an app that uses it, I'm sure to return to the home screen so GPS can stop. Under wireless settings turn on "Google location services" so that an app is able to use network resources to get your location instead of GPS. I have "VZW location services" turned off--don't know why that option is even there. By the way, I increase the speed of voice output > text to speech > speech rate because I like the directions to get spit out faster. That saves a bit of battery. Turning off the display and just listening for directions help. Also, often I just get the directions and then exit back to the home screen: GPS uses so much battery I try to get it over with ASAP.

- when you get a new battery, do a factory reset, or an OS upgrade run your battery all the way down until the phone shuts off and then charge the battery all the way up. This will callibrate the phone's understanding of the battery's capacity. Do this once every month or two also, but don't do it too often if you can help it.

- I have my battery set to "Performance Mode" and data is on all the time because I am on call 24x7. If you don't mind, try out a more conservative battery profile to save more gobs of energy.

- set screen brightness to "Automatic"

- under Accounts, click on any account listed and turn off sync for any items that you're not interested in syncing. For example, Google Books if you don't use it. Don't use Backup Assistant--I prefer syncing my contacts with Google. You don't need both. Also go into your contacts > menu > display options > backup assistant > UNCHECK. Also do contacts > menu > more > settings > contact storage > and select your Google account and "remember this choice"

- if you never use bluetooth then toggle it off. If you do use it sometimes, it's fine to leave it toggled on all the time.

- consider turning off voice privacy. This may not be a big deal but it will save some processing (and therefore battery). It may also improve call quality.

- turn off haptic feedback, animations, and any un-needed sounds in Android settings and in your apps

- set your screen timeout to as low a time as you can stand (I use 1 minute) and manually turn the screen off when you're done using the phone. I use an app to lock the screen so I don't wear out my power button...as happened on my original droid.

- turn off in-pocket detection

- keyboard: turn off vibrate on keypress and sounds for any keyboards you use

- use a red screen background. On the original Droid screen--not sure about this Droid 3 screen--red was the most efficient color that could be displayed. Anyone know if this still holds true?

- camera app: i like keeping location on and flash on auto. Consider turning location off or at least returning to the home screen ASAP when using camera if location for camera is on.

- in stock browser the default home page is Google and it uses your location. This is a bad idea as it can waste your battery for no reason. Make something else your home page and make sure to close any web page that uses your location when you're done viewing it.

- charge your phone via the wall charger instead of computer USB as it is faster. Also, don't use long USB cords--use regular power extension cords instead. I stick with the charger that came with the phone.

There are some really good points in here especially about backup assistant. I wasn't aware of these default settings so glad you pointed these out!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

There are some really good points in here especially about backup assistant. I wasn't aware of these default settings so glad you pointed these out!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

Be sure to thank NoBloatware if you see one of his posts here. He wrote the original list.

 

[terigox]

Does anyone know if you're constantly switching from 4g to 3g does it drain your battery more as well? Are they the same antenna/chipset internally or is it constantly powering up different radios for the switch?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[McGyver777]

You should not keep it plugged in constantly like that. Fill it and let it run down. The more you train your battery the better time will be on it.

Leaving it plugged in will wear it out quicker than a properly charged and discharged battery due to the battery constantly cycling at full if left plugged in. The battery will also learn to discharge better (seem to last longer) if let to run down normally.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[McGyver777]

Anecdotal evidence says to make it stay in 3G if you are on a fringe area to conserve battery. Not tested this myself as I have good 4G here.

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[BayouFlyFisher]

Does anyone know if you're constantly switching from 4g to 3g does it drain your battery more as well? Are they the same antenna/chipset internally or is it constantly powering up different radios for the switch?

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

Here in the Baton Rouge area, it seemed to make a huge difference when I forced the phone to 3G only when not near the 4G area.