Need Some Advice

[dolpns13]

My early upgrade came about a week ago so as soon as it came out I went and bought the Rezound. I love this phone but am returning it because the battery is horrendous. I bought the phone understanding that the battery wouldnt be as good as my Droid 1 (the phone I upgraded from) but I expected it to last for at least half the day with normal use. Yesterday was the last straw when I took the phone off the charger at noon, didnt use it AT ALL (maybe sent one text) and it was completely dead and shut off at 8pm. An 8 hour battery life without even using the phone is really unacceptable and although I do love everything the phone offers, I cannt live with a battery life like this. it really sucks because the phone is awesome.

So can anyone give any advice as to a good phone I could get that offers an even good to decent battery life? I know probably all the new 4g phone that came out wont offer good battery life so I might be willing to sacrifice the 4g for a battery that lasts. Im thinking about an Iphone 4s, or maybe holding out for the iphone 5 although Im not sure about getting an iphone because i know im going to hate going from a customizable Android to an uncustomizable Iphone. Everyone I know who has an iphone loves it. I love my Android though.

Any suggestions?

 

[Shadez]

Have you tried smart actions on the phone?

 

[dolpns13]

Have you tried smart actions on the phone?

No, but I shouldnt really have to if the phone is alseep should I? I didnt use it except for once to send a text. I also dont have alot of apps on it because on my Droid 1 I had alot of useless apps that I didnt use. I got rid of them because I didnt want to clutter up the Rezound. I also have the brightness display to the lowest level when I use the phone. Im reasonable; I could understand the battery only lasting for 8 hours if I used the phone throughout the day, but literally I didnt use the phone at all. It was asleep all day.

 

[Shadez]

I'm not to familiar with the RAZR as I have never used one. May be you just got a dud, it happens. But you do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

 

[Droid Firefighter]

Smart actions will help with the battery life. So will turning your refresh rates up to several hours or to manual on things like Facebook, email, Twitter, etc. I haven't used smart actions myself but have seen several posts that other people have had some success with it. Finally, if all else fails, my Dinc 2 has great battery life. Plus the red Dinc2 is free right now with your upgrade. Good luck!

This post is Incredible 2!

 

[dolpns13]

I'm not to familiar with the RAZR as I have never used one. May be you just got a dud, it happens. But you do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

Thanks.. Im definitely returning it today and will just go back to my Droid1 until I find something else that has a decent battery. Im willing to give up the great display and maybe even the 4g lte for something with better battery life. Just not sure what I want to get now. It took me like 3 weeks to decide to get the Rezound.. lol.. I read about this, Motorola Bullet that is supposedly coming out early 2012. I might hold out for that. I like the size of the droid.

 

[BayouFlyFisher]

My early upgrade came about a week ago so as soon as it came out I went and bought the Rezound. I love this phone but am returning it because the battery is horrendous. I bought the phone understanding that the battery wouldnt be as good as my Droid 1 (the phone I upgraded from) but I expected it to last for at least half the day with normal use. Yesterday was the last straw when I took the phone off the charger at noon, didnt use it AT ALL (maybe sent one text) and it was completely dead and shut off at 8pm. An 8 hour battery life without even using the phone is really unacceptable and although I do love everything the phone offers, I cannt live with a battery life like this. it really sucks because the phone is awesome.

So can anyone give any advice as to a good phone I could get that offers an even good to decent battery life? I know probably all the new 4g phone that came out wont offer good battery life so I might be willing to sacrifice the 4g for a battery that lasts. Im thinking about an Iphone 4s, or maybe holding out for the iphone 5 although Im not sure about getting an iphone because i know im going to hate going from a customizable Android to an uncustomizable Iphone. Everyone I know who has an iphone loves it. I love my Android though.

Any suggestions?

Here's a battery saving menu that was written for the Bionic, but most will apply to your phone as well. Just look through the list and pick the items that don't seriously compromise the way in which you want to use the phone:

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.

This is a link to some very good videos about saving battery power on the Bionic (there are 4 parts and the other parts will show up as available videos when part 1 finishes):

Battery Saving Video

Part 1: [video=youtube;cvWg7SbUgsI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cvWg7SbUgsI[/video]

 

[dolpns13]

Thanks for the write up... Most of the things you listed to conserve battery I had applied to the phone. Use wifi when I can, no live wallpapers, the brightness was always on the lowest setting, when I go out I changed to conservative battery, I didnt really have alot of of apps, the biggest one being beautiful widgets, I havent used the gps or bluetooth, so I keep that turned off too. I also dont use any antivirus. I mean Im not a techy guy and dont do alot to completely drain a battery. I mean yesterday didnt use the phone at all all day and it died

Here's a battery saving menu that was written for the Bionic, but most will apply to your phone as well. Just look through the list and pick the items that don't seriously compromise the way in which you want to use the phone:

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.

This is a link to some very good videos about saving battery power on the Bionic (there are 4 parts and the other parts will show up as available videos when part 1 finishes):

Battery Saving Video

Part 1: [video=youtube;cvWg7SbUgsI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cvWg7SbUgsI[/video]