battery and apps

[bforcucci333]

Ok. I love this phone except for the battery sucks..I can be at work all day,sent 5 texts and have half a battery at the end of 8 hr shift. I noticied it has the sync symbol on top of the screen often but I have all sync items off

I also can't download any apps without going on wyfi or update apps..I never had to when I had a droid x

Any ideas out there,,

Thanx,
Becky

 

[ultra09hd]

Set your smart actions. They make a huge difference.
Only download over wifi...there is a setting to allow data over wifi ...data manager .. I think

 

[FoxKat]

Ok. I love this phone except for the battery sucks..I can be at work all day,sent 5 texts and have half a battery at the end of 8 hr shift. I noticied it has the sync symbol on top of the screen often but I have all sync items off

I also can't download any apps without going on wyfi or update apps..I never had to when I had a droid x

Any ideas out there,,

Thanx,
Becky

I appreciate your feeling as though the battery is not able to carry you through a day when you've barely used it. However, I would like to ask you just a couple questions.

• When you got the phone, did you get it through the mail or at a retail location?
• If you got it at a retail location, did the rep hand the phone back to you already powered on?
• If so, did you then begin using it even though it only had a partial charge?
• If not, did you take it out of the box and power it up immediately and then activate it?
• If so, did you then use it for a while before charging it?
• Did you ever perform the initial FULL CHARGE to 100% with the power off as the instructions indicate?

Many of the problems people face with these phones relating to displayed power consumption are NOT due to a poor battery life, but to improper charging practices. These phones ship with a partial charge, NOT so you can immediately activate and use them, but so that the batteries don't self-discharge too low and slip into an irreversible protection mode. The instructions recommend you charge fully before using. This is something MOST people ignore, and it sets you up for a myraid of potential problems, the least of which are what you are experiencing, and the worst of which are completely unresponsive phones that will no longer take a charge.

It is related to the "meter" which displays the perceived charge level, versus the actual level which can be far different. In other words, your phone may be telling you that you have only 50% of the capacity of the battery left, but you may actually have either significantly more or significantly less. It may also tell you that it's fully charged once it's been plugged in and charging while still powered on, yet it may never have actually reached full saturation. Both problems are due to a tracking error that causes the meter to incorrectly represent the relative remaining charge, and due to how the metering system's data can be corrupted, or "fooled" into believing the battery has reached 100% of capacity due to the parasitic load that the phone places on the charging system when it is charging while powered on.

To be SURE you have both a fully charged battery, and also a meter that accurately represents the true State of Charge (remaining charge level versus actual capacity), you need to do the following:

Power the phone off. Then, plug the cable that came with the phone into the wall adapter that came with the phone, and plug them into the wall outlet. Next, plug the other end of the cable into the phone.

The phone will boot into Charge-Only mode, where initially the phone will display the familiar red circle with white M logo and appear to be booting normally, however, the phone will eventually display a large battery icon that is animated and shows a moving liquid level and number in percentage to represent the current perceived level of charge. Don't believe this charge level immediately as it still can be misrepresenting the true state of charge. This icon will display for 10 seconds or so, then the screen will go Black. Allow the phone to remain plugged in for at least 3-4 hours, or until the large display shows 100%.

To see how far along the charging is at any time, tap the power button very briefly and release. It will take about 3 or 4 seconds before the battery icon displays. Only use the meter during this initial charge to let you know either when it has reached 100%, or that it hasn't yet reached 100%, but ignore where it tells you it is along the process. Let it time out to a Black screen again and check back later if less than 100%. If the phone should accidentally revert to a normal boot due to pressing the power button too long, simply power the phone back down and let it reboot back into the Charge-Only mode to complete the Full Saturation Charging process.

Once the phone reaches the 100% capacity level as indicated by the large animated battery icon, go ahead and remove it from the charger and power it up normally. Now, use the phone as you would during the day, but don't plug it into either a charger or USB plug on a PC throughout the entire day. Continue using it on battery power only, until it reaches the "Low battery" warning at 15% level.

Important: Don't ever let the levels approach 0% under nearly any circumstance if at all possible, but if it does, power it down immediately and wait until you are near a charger to plug in and charge completely before powering back up again.
​

Now, power the phone down and start the power-off charging sequence again. Once you've completed the power-off charging sequence the second time, the phone will now be properly calibrated to the battery's ACTUAL capacity (which is ALWAYS different than what the battery is initially rated for), and you may be surprised to find that your 8 hour day with 50% used could be 8 hours with only 30% used.

This procedure should be performed about once every 3 to 4 months, or every 40 charges or so. Once it has been completed, there is no need to do so again until that time elapses as I just mentioned, and instead you can use, charge partially and use again to your heart's content. In fact, the battery actually performs more efficiently if it is partially charged several times than if it is fully charged and fully discharged. The process of a full charge and discharge should only be performed to "train" the battery meter to the actual capacity of the battery which, over time gets less and less. If this procedure is not performed on a regular basis, the actual capacity and the represented capacity will diverge and you may be faced with an apparent "sudden battery failure" where it will seem to have lost a large portion of its capacity over night, for instance.

There is a ton of information about these batteries and scientific evidence of the issues I have described above, on the Basic to Advanced Battery Information from Battery University website, under Lithium Ion Polymer Batteries, but I am always here as well to help keep at least OUR forum members taking proper care of their batteries.

Remember, Batteries are people too! Good luck!

 

[ultra09hd]

I disagree on this...
They power it on to set up the phone, and this also allows for updates, sync account info etc. That's why it has minimal power out of the box. I've never done your 'cycle' thing and mine and I've never had charging or battery life issues ever on any phone. The battery never really gets to 0%, it will always have some charge to maintain memory. Something is eating the power...weather its an app, or its searching for service/ signal, data use...whatever.

 

[FoxKat]

I disagree on this...
They power it on to set up the phone, and this also allows for updates, sync account info etc. That's why it has minimal power out of the box. I've never done your 'cycle' thing and mine and I've never had charging or battery life issues ever on any phone. The battery never really gets to 0%, it will always have some charge to maintain memory. Something is eating the power...weather its an app, or its searching for service/ signal, data use...whatever.

I appreciate that everybody has their own opinions about how things work, and for some, even somewhat unorthodox methods of charging and discharging can result in what that person deems as satisfactory operation. However the truth is that when placed in a scientific environment and cycled under close monitoring of both charging and discharging rates, these batteries perform in a very unique and clearly identifiable way. The truth is in the scientific results.

Am I saying that your battery isn't performing well...well, no. What I am saying is that if you have never done a power-off Full 100% saturation charge and then followed it with a full discharge to 15% (Low battery), and then again to 100% Saturation, your meter is lying to you since the actual capacity of the battery is not known, and is not only different than what it is rated at, or what it left the factory with, but as time progresses, the actual capacity diminishes. Without "training" the meter to the new relative capacity on an infrequent basis (recommended every 2-3 months or every 40 partial charging cycles), the meter is basing the discharge cycle values on an outdated and incorrect capacity. It may tell you that you have 30%, when it's actually 20%, or 40% or even more variance. Whether that causes you stress or not is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things for the community, and yet very relevant in your own personal world as clearly it isn't.

By charging and discharging and then recharging with power off, you set the full capacity 100% level flag and the low battery 15% flag and from then on and for a good while, the meter knows what the REAL capacity of YOUR battery is and then can both represent the respective levels during discharge more accurately, and can also tell you more accurately when the battery is both nearing full charge and nearing depletion. There are volumes of information that I have combed through which back my claims, and I have posted much of this in any number of posts here and on other threads and other boards. The theme is common and the results are quantifiable.


"BATTERIES ARE PEOPLE TOO" (A phrase I coined).

[h=2]Caring for the Battery[/h] In many ways, a battery behaves like a human being; it senses the kindness offered and delivers on the care and attention given. Looking after the battery well will return the benevolence bestowed and deliver good performance over a long life. There are exceptions, however, as any parent raising a large family will know, and the generosity given may not always deliver the anticipated returns.


To become a good custodian, we must understand the basic needs of a battery, a subject that is not taught in school. This section teaches what to do when the battery is new, how to feed it the right “food” and what to do when putting the pack aside for a while. The next articles also look into restrictions when traveling with batteries by air and how to dispose of them when their useful life has passed.


Just as we cannot predict a person’s life expectancy at birth, we cannot date-stamp a battery. Some packs live to a great old age while others die young.Incorrect charging, harsh discharge loads and exposure to heat are the battery’s worst enemies. Although we have ways to protect a battery, the ideal situation is not always attainable, and as battery custodians we try to do our best.

A discharge/charge may be beneficial for calibrating a “smart” battery, but this service only addresses the digital part of the pack and does nothing to improve the electrochemical battery.


Straight from BatteryUniversity.com...

[h=2]Simple Guidelines for Charging Lithium-based Batteries[/h]

• A portable device should be turned off while charging. This allows the battery to reach the threshold voltage unhindered and reflects the correct saturation current responsible to terminate the charge. A parasitic load confuses the charger.
• Charge at a moderate temperature. Do not charge below freezing.
• Lithium-ion does not need to be fully charged; a partial charge is better.
• Chargers use different methods for “ready” indication. The light signal may not always indicate a full charge.
• Discontinue using charger and/or battery if the battery gets excessively warm.
• Before prolonged storage, apply some charge to bring the pack to about half charge.
• Over-discharged batteries can be “boosted” to life again. Discard pack if the voltage does not rise to a normal level within a minute while on boost.

Some portable devices sit in a charge cradle in the on position. The current drawn through the device is called the parasitic load and can distort the charge cycle. Battery manufacturers advise against parasitic load because it induces mini-cycles. The battery is continuously being discharged to 4.20V/cell and then charged by the device. The stress level on the battery is especially high because the cycles occur at the 4.20V/cell threshold.


A portable device must be turned off during charge. This allows the battery to reach the set threshold voltage unhindered, and enables terminating charge on low current. A parasitic load confuses the charger by depressing the battery voltage and preventing the current in the saturation stage to drop low. A battery may be fully charged, but the prevailing conditions prompt a continued charge. This causes undue battery stress and compromises safety.

 

[thelastbill]

ANOTHER battery post. Get a 10 year old Nokia flip phone please and stfu

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[94lt1]

I know for sure that FoxKat is right and the battery doesn't reach full charge when its on and plugged in. I always turn my phone off to charge, but last night I didn't just to check and see.... wouldn't ya know it... my battery life today is pretty average compared to how great it holds up when I turn it off.

That being said..... phones and cars are like people. I mean this in that they are all very different. Same components, given a personality all their own, from how they are used or abused and maintained.

Also IMHO, no two electronic devices are alike even from the factory. I was once told in an electronics class, that its extremely difficult to place a life expectancy on any electronic device. This may have changed in the 4 years since I took it.... but, just saying.

sent from my MAXX.

 

[Sydman]

Another thing to consider with how you might have done things in the past and they "worked". That those things were done with a phone that had a replaceable battery, the Droid Razr/MAXX does not. Unless of course you want to bust open your phone, void your warranty, and chance you can put it back together right.