Battery Issues Any Better Now?

[tea_b0ne]

I am getting ready to purchase a new phone and have been watching all the post about battery issues on the Thunderbolt. Soooo, after giving the Thunderbolt a couple of months how is your battery life now? I don't want to hear about extended battery users I want to hear from users that are using the original battery. I am a moderate "I think" user. Making 10 - 12 short phone calls, same at texting and getting on Facebook some with very little browsing on the net. Will this phone get me 10 - 12 hours usage per day? Plus I know that this has been discussed but it hasn't been discussed lately. Thanks for all comments and help!

 

[shneeko6]

It's a wonderful phone and all but the battery life is pretty bad. I'm rooted with a kernel and no 4g but my battery still drains quick.

The phone is like owning a ferrari. Its nice, fast, and has all the options you need, but with the gas tank being small, coupled,with bad mpgs.... Well, it makes things complicated to say the least.

Love the phone and will keep it for sure as I am pretty confident that the bugs will be worked out

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums

 

[Kid A]

I've found the battery life to be decent. I still have to charge it every night, but then again I was charging my D1 every night too towards the end of its life. Just be careful with the way you use the phone and its features, don't leave memory intensive apps running in the background and use Wi-Fi whenever possible and you should be good to go.

That said, if battery life is a priority for you, check out the Droid Charge. Engadget and Droid-Life have both reported getting over 2 days of life out of that 1600 mAh battery (which makes me want to know why HTC felt 1400 mAh was enough).

 

[tea_b0ne]

Thanks guys! just to let you know too, I am not in a 4G area and probably won't be for another year or so. I have heard this can make a difference but don't know how much of a difference it will make? I am currently using a Moto Droid 1 and I am having to charge it every night also. I waited to post this because I know how alot of people are when they get a new phone, they disgusted with it because the battery runs down sooo quick but they don't realize how much they are "playing" with it when it's new! Now that the new is worn off, how is the battery life?

 

[YankInDaSouth]

If you're not in a 4G area why not check out the DInc2? It seems to be getting good reviews ... just some food for thought

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

 

[Kid A]

I live in a 3G area as well and I haven't had enough 4G usage to say it helps the battery. From what I heard, most of the problems with the Bolt's battery have to do with the phone constantly looking around for a 4G signal when there isn't one. Luckily there's a free app that allows you to turn the 4G radio off.

 

[twistdhood]

For stock batteries, i'd ask that question again after we get the new update due any day now. Ive found that battery life is too short that I cannot just disconnect and spend a full 10 hour day without being careful about my usage. With LTE, you can just forget it.

I recently got 1700mah (not the 1500mah fakes, gotta be careful about that) batteries that fit the original form factor, no extended bump or anything because I love the case I got. Anyways, with the 1700 mah battery I've found I can unplug, work a 10 hour day, and not be afraid to go out later and have my phone die on me. I have more than 50% after a full 9 hours today for example.

With that in mind, I think from the word on the street about the impending update the 1700mah is a great buy. They come as 2, but we happened to buy 2 thunderbolts. If you're absolutely dead set against any batteries and not just the large extended one, then I'd say look elsewhere or wait for specs after the update.

I love my thunderbolt, but with the stock battery, if I didn't charge it mid day, it would be dead by 9:30pm. Much earlier if you're in LTE land. We went to the cherry blossom festival in DC and barely made 8 hours there. Luckily both me and my wife each have a thunderbolt, so we used the one up and had hardly used the other, so we had mine to use for the rest of the time.

Bottom line, I think the 1700 should have shipped with it originally. Unless this update really works miracles, but even then with LTE you'll still probably want to charge midday or cary a spare, etc if you want to go a full 10+ hours like me without charging.

Hope my experience helps.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

 

[LocalFiveOh]

I too am in a 3g area. The battery life really hast been a big deal for me. I came from a d1 and I don't see that much of a difference. I play with my phone a lot through the day. If it does run down its not a big deal to me to plug it in. At work I just have a power cable and sometimes plug it into the computer for a bit. Standard battery, not rooted. I would recommend this phone to anyone switching from a d1.

Sent from my ADR6400L using DroidForums

 

[Kid A]

I recently got 1700mah (not the 1500mah fakes, gotta be careful about that) batteries that fit the original form factor, no extended bump or anything because I love the case I got. Anyways, with the 1700 mah battery I've found I can unplug, work a 10 hour day, and not be afraid to go out later and have my phone die on me. I have more than 50% after a full 9 hours today for example.

With that in mind, I think from the word on the street about the impending update the 1700mah is a great buy. They come as 2, but we happened to buy 2 thunderbolts. If you're absolutely dead set against any batteries and not just the large extended one, then I'd say look elsewhere or wait for specs after the update.

What company makes this battery? I've seen Seidio's 1600 mAh battery, didn't know there was a 1700 mAh that fits the stock cover.

 

[perfoliate]

I also came from a D1 and am in a 3g only area most of the time. I would say I'm a moderate user and I always make it through the day. Sometimes with only 10 or 20% left but Ive always been in the habit of charging every night anyway. With the right rom and kernel combinations I think it's comparable to the D1 as far as battery life is concerned or maybe a little less. But I think the performance boost is well worth it in the big picture. I have no regrets.

 

[twinklystar129]

I would like to share my battery usage experience as well. I'm in Los Angeles, CA with very good 4G LTE coverage, and I leave 4G ON THE MOMENT I UNPLUG UNTIL I GO TO BED. I am able to get about 15 hours easily (6:30am - 9:30pm), up to 18 hours (6:30am - midnight) on the stock battery. I'm rooted, but mainly to get rid of the bloatware. I am NOT using another custom rom, just the stock rom. I guess I consider myself a moderate user. Here is what my usage/settings consist of on a normal working day:

- 30 mins - 1 hour phone call on the drive to work in the morning
- 10-30 texts per day, sometimes more
- checking twitter (set to sync every hour) & facebook (set to sync every 4 hours), I have the widgets on my screen
- brightness set to 25%
- power saver mode on at 20%
- about 1 - 1.5 hour of music everyday when I'm working out/driving
- 4-5 short 10-15 mins. phone call daily
- some market/internet browsing

I usually have about 50% left when I get off work around 6pm (which is after almost 12 hours unplugged). When it's around 9pm, sometimes I will still have around 30-35% left, and this is when I try to run it down before I charge it going to bed. I would have my bf play angry birds on it for 1-2 hours or I'll play random games/mess with the settings/features. After about 1-2 hours of angry bird have gone by, it'll run the battery from approx. 30% to about 5-7%. That's when it's plugged in around 11pm or midnight.

Of course on the weekends, I use it more. With that, I've never had to charge my phone or have it die prior to 11pm. Remember, this is with 4g on all day on the stock battery. With just 3g, I imagine it to be better. Hope this helps!

 

[tea_b0ne]

Once again Thanks guys for all the comments! This is making it an easier choice to make. I have been in the last few days trying to decide whether to purchase an HTC Incredible 2 or the Thunderbolt. It really makes it hard to choose the Thunderbolt when you read about all the horror stories on here. But ya'll (remember I'm from Texas) have given some great input to help put a positive on the Thunderbolt.

 

[twistdhood]

1700 mah I bought from chichitec on amazon. Do not buy from any of the other distributors as you'll get 1500 instead. I don't know if that is amazon fault or the distributors, but if you click on some of the images here are some that clearly say "only from chichitec"

How the guy from LA gets that usage is beyond me. Probably the custom kernel and config. I'm running stock non-rooted. forgot to mention that. I also came from a phone I could charge once a week, so this is a big change no matter what android device I bought.

Out of the box it is just shy of being able to work all day and go out till 11 pm without being mindful of your usage, and is like it to be where I don't really have to worry about how much I used the phone today to go out with it.

Like I said tho, its still a great phone and I suggest nothing else right now.

Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt

 

[AlexSB]

Car charger is your bestfriend

 

[hookbill]

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