LOOOOOVE this new phone, but.. a couple questions

[Tailgun]

Finally got my new S3 a couple days ago and have been on a honeymoon ever since! It's amazing how many new, fun things I can do on this remarkable device. After two years of being hamstrung with my old D1 it's amazing just to be able to run stuff without worrying about RAM.

However, I have noticed a few things that I have questions about and am hoping you guys can shed a light:

1. I seem to be burning through battery like crazy. (I know, I know, New Phone User Syndrome - but this is even when I'm at work and not using it at all.) I can have almost complete battery discharge in about 8 hours. I installed Juice Defender Ultimate last night and am still on its learning curve so maybe this problem will sort itself out. Any suggestions?
2. In a related question, does having the WiFi enabled when there are no open networks cause a drain on the battery? I didn't use the WiFi on my D1 too much (had unlimited data plan) but I seem to recall this was the case for Android in the past.
3. Playing Temple Run (something else I could never do on my old phone), I noticed that the game volume was very low no matter how much I turned up the volume in Settings. Is there something else in the OS that controls master volume that I am missing? Quite a lot of media seems low-volume on this phone, as a matter of fact.
4. Does 'tap to top' work for anything else besides email, email lists and contacts? I don't use the default email client and I noticed it didn't seem to work in my Gmail messages. It's a nice feature, would be cool to use for web pages.
5. Smart Stay, that's supposed to detect if you're looking at the screen so it won't dim, is really not working for me so far. This is the most annoying issue I've had, honestly, as I really think it's a great feature. Is there any way to improve its functionality? I keep getting the screen dimmed even though I am looking right at it, even in good lighting conditions.

Despite the above, I love the many cool features of both the phone itself and the ICS OS. This phone is everything I'd hoped it could be and now my only real concern is that I never drop it (two years on my Droid 1 and never dropped it even once -- not so much as a nick anywhere on it. But this S3 is massive compared to my little old Droid!).

:i-m_so_happy:

 

[k1ngr4t]

1. Check the battery thread on the main page, lots of potential solutions. Mine turned out to be GPS.
2. No, wifi is actually better for the battery.
3. Haven't heard of this issue, sorry.
4. Works for Chrome and Maxthon browser at least.
5. Another ICS feature that's still in beta. It's nice, when it works. Just like facial recognition for the lock screen. Has it's moments, but not worth the trouble at the time IMO.

 

[LifeIsABeach]

1. Under Settings -> Battery what does it say is using most of your battery life. I stay away from things like Juice Defender. Usually cause more battery loss than they save.
2. Yes, constantly looking for wifi will help drain battery (not sure how much). Turn it off if you rarely use it. When connected to wifi it does use less battery than 4g or even 3g.
5. Turn it off and try downloading Screebl Lite from the market. Works much better.

 

[Tailgun]

1. Under Settings -> Battery what does it say is using most of your battery life. I stay away from things like Juice Defender. Usually cause more battery loss than they save.
2. Yes, constantly looking for wifi will help drain battery (not sure how much). Turn it off if you rarely use it. When connected to wifi it does use less battery than 4g or even 3g.
5. Turn it off and try downloading Screebl Lite from the market. Works much better.

1. Right now the two larget usage numbers are for "Cell standby" at 50% and "Screen" at 27%.
2. I do use wifi around the house but rarely when outside it. I guess I have to manually turn it on and off each time I leave? Seems like a pita just to keep it from draining my battery.
3. I'll look at that, thx.

 

[LifeIsABeach]

1. Not much you can do for Cell standby. Seems to be near tyhe top for all S3s for some reason. Try turning down the brightness on the phone for the Screen usage.
2. I got tired of that and leave it off all the time. The savings didn't seem worth it to me. YMMV

 

[k1ngr4t]

All Cell Standby means is the amount of battery lost while the phone was locked and the screen was off. 36% Cell Standby means you lost 36% of your battery while the phone was off. That's why screen usage is often underneath it, because having it on will be the first or second biggest battery drainer.

Also, no, having it on won't effect battery. If it does, it's marginal. I leave WiFi on all the time and am a moderate to heavy user and always have a charge by the time I go to bed. 15-17 hours give or take. It automatically disconnects when it's not in range, and is not constantly searching for a signal. The equivalent of having an app stored in the system cache for quick access. There are also MANY programs out there that will use GPS to activate WiFi when it knows your at home or others to turn WiFi off when you leave a signal, on when you find one.

 

[Tailgun]

Does anyone know if there's a way to enable "quiet hours" on the S3 so there will be no sounds during the night save for the alarm? My old D1 Droid can do this but cannot find the functionality on ICS.