Just got my droid bionic, battery tips?

[Hooblaim]

Just got my bionic with unlimited 4g

Anyways so upgraded from the moto droid 1 and loving it so far, so much faster and go 15mb/s on 4g, its so amazing, and I play a game that requires internet access, what is the best way to save battery? Thanks in advance.

 

[Xtra Big Kahuna]

Turn off 4g. Playing a game and 4g are the biggest battery killers on a phone so doing them at the same time will run the battery down quite bad. But turning off 4g and any other wireless setting you have on are the best ways to save battery. Also if you are in range of some wifi use that instead of 4g, it will save battery.

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[Hooblaim]

Okay, any other tips or is 4g the killer?

 

[Xtra Big Kahuna]

4g is the big one. The bionic does say that phone standby and cell standby are murderous too but im not sure if its just a messed up meter

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[k1ngr4t]

Personally, with everything I do on my Bionic, I couldn't be without the extended battery. I play games, leave 4g on, have everything that needs it to sync on unlock or when opening the app, usually get about 16 hours of moderate/heavy use. You can make do with the regular, there's a sticky thread at the top of the forum all about battery saving tips, but consider an extended...doesn't add TOO much bulk (it's perfect for me) and is completely worth it. They DID have them on sale for $25, not sure if that is still going on though...

 

[sweeeeet]

sometimes ill have 4g always on when im using the phone and shut off data when im not... data enabler is a real good widget for that... I still get Texts and calls just no internet or mms.. data off and wifi on at home seems to make the battery last longer as well... I haven't used juicedefender or task killers... haven't needed to

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[sweeeeet]

Personally, with everything I do on my Bionic, I couldn't be without the extended battery. I play games, leave 4g on, have everything that needs it to sync on unlock or when opening the app, usually get about 16 hours of moderate/heavy use. You can make do with the regular, there's a sticky thread at the top of the forum all about battery saving tips, but consider an extended...doesn't add TOO much bulk (it's perfect for me) and is completely worth it. They DID have them on sale for $25, not sure if that is still going on though...

+1 on that.. extended was a must for me.... I don't mind the weight/size I kinda like it better

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[billyk]

If you do a little research here, you'll find all of the recommendations that have surfaced thus far.

For me, I get 14-16 hours of moderate use, actually more since in the evening I am down to 20% or so. I've yet to turn my 4G off. Doing the obvious things like avoiding live wallpaper, selecting less frequent sync times, being careful about apps that you don't use that are left running in the background, etc, will all help. But you'll find all of that and more with a little research here. I have a second battery, but I've yet to need two batteries in one day.

If you are going to do a lot a gaming, the extended battery is probably your best bet, as you may need it, or simply a second regular battery. I've noticed that battery life varies quite a bit from one Bionic user to another, probably caused by the all of the configuration/customization options we have available to us.

 

[drakenhoffen]

Tasker

I use tasker at work to turn my gps off as i get no gps signal in the building i am in.
I also have it turn wifi on when i get home and off agian when i leave. no reason to leave it on when i am not near wifi i can use.

 

[billyk]

I use tasker at work to turn my gps off as i get no gps signal in the building i am in.
I also have it turn wifi on when i get home and off agian when i leave. no reason to leave it on when i am not near wifi i can use.

I tried apps that do this, and I think there are users that really benefit from them, but I wasn't one of them. I found that the apps continually poll to see where you are, or to see if a known wifi source is available. For me, that polling alone cost battery life that I could easily see. Although less convenient, I just turn my wifi on when I am home and I don't lose any power polling. But, for someone who is always moving between known wifi nets throughout the day, these apps would certainly benefit them.

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

Battery Life – BY: NoBloatware on DF (with some edits by me)


If you are having short battery life:

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. If you can’t do without it, lengthen it’s refresh time.

- Don't use antivirus

- Set your WIFI sleep policy to never. The default is "turn off when screen turns off". This will cause the wifi to reconnect every time you open the phone. From any Home Screen select Menu/Settings/Wireless & Networks/ and then use the Menu button to see some new options - select Advanced. Then select Wifi Sleep Policy and set it to Never. Home key to return to Home Screen.

- If you have access to wifi, leave it toggled on as it is more efficient than 3G. Wifi consumes less battery power than 3G.

- 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 1) new battery, 2) do a factory reset, or 3) 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 calibrate 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"

- Turn on Bluetooth only when you are going to use it.

- 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.

-T 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’ve finished using the phone.

- Turn off in-pocket detection

- Keyboard: turn off vibrate on key press and sounds for any keyboards you use

- Use a red or black screen background. On the original Droid screen--not sure about this Bionic screen--red was the most efficient color that could be displayed.

- 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. Put the phone on charger when you go to bed every night.

- Consider install the Home Replacement app Zeam. It is basic app that uses very few resources and will help with battery power.

 

[McGyver777]

Widgets and live wallpaper, avoid using to save battery life.

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[aaf709]

Take a look at the video at http://www.droidforums.net/forum/motorola-droid-bionic/180555-battery-saving-apps.html#post1824428 for some tips. There is a second video (which appears in the list when the video finishes) on data setting for best battery use.

 

[quizzard]

Alternatively, use a high power charger to plug in while you're gaming.

You can buy a tablet charging kit that comes with cigarette lighter adapter and wall plug, both single port rated for 2.1A output, for ~$30 at Walmart. I leave my phone on full power all the time since it barely takes any time to charge it.

 

[bluezdawg]

Personally, with everything I do on my Bionic, I couldn't be without the extended battery. I play games, leave 4g on, have everything that needs it to sync on unlock or when opening the app, usually get about 16 hours of moderate/heavy use. You can make do with the regular, there's a sticky thread at the top of the forum all about battery saving tips, but consider an extended...doesn't add TOO much bulk (it's perfect for me) and is completely worth it. They DID have them on sale for $25, not sure if that is still going on though...

What he said!