Finally Solved My Battery Issue!

LunaImages

Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Location
Albuquerque, NM
I've been having the common issue of "my phone is dying after six hours of standby time" ever since I got my DX. After searching and searching through the forums, the best I could find is "use an app killer" and "the battery won't last long because the screen is so big."

This contradicted everything else I'd read about the phone before I even purchased it, that the battery life was one of the main reasons to consider the DX. I felt like I was doing something wrong.

After trying a million different attempts at solving the problem, I finally resorted to calling Verizon. The woman on the phone was polite, and told me they've been receiving tons of calls regarding the same issue. The problem, she said, is that people are leaving their GPS transmitters on and not realizing it. I didn't think that could have possibly been the issue, since I always used an AAK to kill maps when I was done using it. She walked me through a process:

1) Bring up the "Add to Home Screen" menu and select "Android Widgets."

2) Add the "Power Control" widget to your home screen.

3) This will bring up a bar that has five different icons. The middle icon is the GPS transmitter.

At this time, I realized it was left on and I immediately

facepalm.jpg


Ok, in case you didn't get that...total FACEPALM.

So I turned off GPS, and was told to leave the second from the right one on (it controls sync). In addition, to save more power I turned off background data in the data manager under settings.

The widget, obviously, allows one to activate GPS when needed and turn it off when the user is finished.

It's been several hours since I made the change, and all of a sudden, the battery indicator isn't moving!! NOW I'm getting phenomenal battery life out of my DX, and I've uninstalled AAK on top of it.

Just thought I'd share my story with anyone who hasn't tried this and is still having battery life issues. If you already know about it, disregard. Hope this helps someone.
 

HankB

New Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
25
Reaction score
0
...
3) This will bring up a bar that has five different icons. The middle icon is the GPS transmitter.
Thanks for the tip. I wondered what that icon meant.

That's receiver, BTW. But I'll cut you some slack on that because I had no idea what the icon was for.
 

HawaiiDroidX

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
is this power control widget kinda the same as the 4 "switches" that are on 2nd home screen from the left? at the top? with the 3g hotspot, bluetooth, gps and airplane mode? if i add this app maybe i can get rid of those "switches" and put this widget in its place?
 

Sydman

Premium Member
Premium Member
Rescue Squad
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,867
Reaction score
605
Location
Austin, Tx
Current Phone Model
Nexus 6P
is this power control widget kinda the same as the 4 "switches" that are on 2nd home screen from the left? at the top? with the 3g hotspot, bluetooth, gps and airplane mode? if i add this app maybe i can get rid of those "switches" and put this widget in its place?

Yes............
 

HawaiiDroidX

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
is this power control widget kinda the same as the 4 "switches" that are on 2nd home screen from the left? at the top? with the 3g hotspot, bluetooth, gps and airplane mode? if i add this app maybe i can get rid of those "switches" and put this widget in its place?

Yes............

cool so i can make room on my home pages for things lol..this widget is big haha
 

HawaiiDroidX

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
oh and should i uninstall the advanced task killer? because i kinda use it often..to make sure the apps are off and i save some battery..
 

Interpol

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
40
Reaction score
0
3) This will bring up a bar that has five different icons. The middle icon is the GPS transmitter.
Except that the GPS chipset doesn't transmit anything, it's a receiver. And even though it uses power when it's on, it's only on when an app needs it on - it's not on continuously.
 

bamfsig45

Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
882
Reaction score
0
Location
ICT
GPS should only run/work when an app is requesting it. Like if you have geo location on in the camera, or a weather app thats trying to get a fix on your location, etc. Also if your browser page is on google.com and you're signed in on that page it will search for your location with gps so it can filter your search results.

I leave gps on all the time, no issues.
 
OP
LunaImages

LunaImages

Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Location
Albuquerque, NM
My apologies. You guys are correct, it is a GPS receiver, not a transmitter. I'm guessing either twitter, maps, or trapster kept trying to access the GPS and using battery. It seems like my problem is more or less solved. I'll of course keep you guys updated in the coming week.
 

HawaiiDroidX

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, Hawaii
i just turned it off lol..since im on twitter alot and they dont need to know where i am all the time haha..so i guess if ur like me (on twitter and stuff alot) then u can turn it off when not really needed right?
 
OP
LunaImages

LunaImages

Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Location
Albuquerque, NM
is this power control widget kinda the same as the 4 "switches" that are on 2nd home screen from the left? at the top? with the 3g hotspot, bluetooth, gps and airplane mode? if i add this app maybe i can get rid of those "switches" and put this widget in its place?

Yes. But for some reason, the GPS on the power control bar doesn't seem to directly link to the single GPS icon, and I have no idea why. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable on this forum can answer.
 

Interpol

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
40
Reaction score
0
i just turned it off lol..since im on twitter alot and they dont need to know where i am all the time haha..so i guess if ur like me (on twitter and stuff alot) then u can turn it off when not really needed right?
Twitter doesn't use location services.

As mentioned before, the GPS chipset is off unless an app specifically requests it to be turned on. I seriously doubt it's the GPS causing all your battery power issues.
 

mountaineerndixie

Active Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
2
Location
Charleston, WV
I can't believe Verizon is telling people this stuff. If they would only hire one of the senior members of this forum as a consultant, maybe people would get real help when they call the corporation they spend hundreds of dollars with each year.

That's embarassing, imo. Nothing towards the OP because he didn't know any better and I applaud his efforts to help others but Big Red has failed to help anyone I have read about here.
 
Top