Quick questions...

[digipoo]

So I am set to receive a Droid 3 as a warranty replacement for my Droid X on Wednesday. After reading the forum here I have some question that I want clarification on.

1- The stock battery life on the device seems to vary from person to person but with the extended battery there isn't any problems?

2- To extend battery life I should:

*Change the radio to CDMA only through the settings menu or take out teh SIM card

*Use Wi-Fi when I download if it is available and when not in use turn it off since Wi-Fi idle uses more juice than 3G idle.

*Not to use live wall papers

*Use airplane mode when in an area with really bad or no reception

*Disable background data

*Use a task manager and/or a start-up manager

3- For the extended battery, the battery door for the stock battery will work but will cause a "bump" in the door. This is the only wave to use the extended battery with the shell and holster being sold by Verizon.

Correct me if any of the above things are wrong.
Thank you.

 

[brad92]

How did you get a D3 as a warranty replacement and not an X or X2?

SSX v2.0

 

[digipoo]

The story is long and short. It started about 2 months ago, right after the official and "final" Gingerbread build was released for the Droid X. Right after the update my Droid X went on the fritz. So I called the '#Warranty Center' contact. They were more than willing to send me a replacement device. This isn't the first time I had gotten a replacement. My first was right after FroYo was released for the phone. So waiting the several days with a basically useless phone that would reboot and freeze constantly, I get my new device.

The new device works for the first day perfectly. On the second day the problems begin to manifest. The freezing and reboots, this time I also have data and reception problems. So I called again and they were more than willing to send me a replacement. I wait the time it takes to ship.

On this device the problems are immediately apparent. Again with the reboots and freezes. On this one the music player (stock and Google Music) play a song part way and then it cuts the sound. The progress bar moves but no sound. I have to press forward to the next song to get sound again. So I do a factory reset (is that what a SBF is? I see the term all the time and am curious.) Without restoring from Google or from the backup assistant that Verizon provides. So without anything on the new phone it locks up during the setup process. A New problem also arises, this time it is the on-screen keyboard that just disappears and wipes all entry fields clear. So I call again.

Again I wait for the new device and upon receiving the new device The problems are prominent once again. This time along with the 'standard' set of freezes lock-ups, music skips, and keyboard, I had Bluetooth issues where it would drop the connection, I have to reboot sometimes just to make a call, I get a droid eye at boot-up that doesn't go away and the phone would not get past it sometimes, the phone would restart on its own sometimes to the droid eye killing my battery without me knowing.

I call yet again and this time the tech on the line offered me an alternative device, the Droid Incredible 2. I take it and he even gives me free Saturday delivery with free battery and door. It arrives on Saturday (the day after I called) right before the stated time. I eagerly await a working phone without problems since there aren't many complaints with this phone unlike the Droid X it was supposed to replace. The phone arrived DOA. The warranty center did not even bother to setup the phone with the right settings. The tech I was on the line with for over an hour told me to dial a number and get into a menu where i could edit the NAM and other information (does anyone know the number? I forgot to write it down, there seems to be a lot I could 'mess' around with there). After troubleshooting for over an hour the tech gives up and talks to her supervisor who takes over my case. She goes and has me do a factory reset and try again, She also has me read the ID and some other things. After that fails, she talks to her supervisor about getting me a brand new device. So I ask for a Droid 3 thinking the chances are I wouldn't get it. She comes back to me about 5 minutes later with the news that she will send me a new Droid 3.

TL;DR : Too many replacements in a short time got me a Droid 3. I think the fact that I did not have a working phone for 2 months while still paying for the services I could not use helped.

 

[Alcapwn89]

Battery life on the Droid 3 seems A LOT more dependent on your signal than my old Droid 1 was. If you have a good signal, battery life will be fine.

Whatever you do, STAY CLEAR OF TASK MANAGERS!! Don't download them, they are universally garbage. Android automatically does all that stuff for you

Yes, turn your radio to CDMA. There really is no reason to have it on global, unless your actually going out of the country.

Other than that, that's really it. The Droid 3 is fast as **** and absolutely flies. The build quality is fantastic as well. Feels nice and solid, not like a toy.

 

[solar]

Of you're getting one, I would get the extended battery. It helps. Most of the things you mentioned will help to some degree. The extended battery comes with a replacement cover that is only slightly larger. You can really only tell when you look at the camera lens; its slightly more indented with the extended door. Hardly noticeable.

 

[militant]

No need to disable background data. I've had it enabled constantly, at 70% charge with 19h off the hook here. Screen time is minimal, but its not as if I haven't used the phone at all today. Standard battery. Radio CDMA, wifi off.

 

[NoBloatware]

I don't know how the D3 does but on my Droid I leave WIFI on all of the time. By default, it shuts of when the screen is off. Also, it uses less power than 3G and it's faster so the screen can be on for less time. I don't think it uses much power just sitting there looking for possible connections. In my experience, leaving WIFI on actually improves battery life but your mileage may vary.

Don't use a task manager, don't turn off background data.

 

[solar]

Oh, and the ones you shouldn't do:

1. do not use any sort of task manager that autokills. its uneccessary and will cause issues. A passive one that only kills freezing task on command like System Panel or Android OS monitor)

2. diabling background wont do much for you and kinda defeats the purpose of having a cool smartphone that performs all kinds of cool tasks!

3. I would tuen off bluetooth and Wifi though when not in use. if you are wandering around not connected to hotspot, your phone will scan for hotspots which uses juice.

 

[blackmagick20]

The shell/holster combo case works perfectly fine with the extended battery and back case that comes with it. That's the case I bought. Also, if you're not using a familiar wifi network, turn off the wifi. It does use more power constantly searching for a connection than what leaving it on 3G does. I feel like this is negligible anyway, because either way, I'm getting over 20 hours of battery life with my D3

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[digipoo]

Thanks for the quick replies. I will be purchasing the extended battery and the shell/holster combo. I am currently using Advanced Task Killer but never used the auto-kill. I have used it only when I needed to. Is that okay or do I not need one completely?

 

[blackmagick20]

You don't need a task killer at all. If you do a quick google search, there is an excellent article that explains the reasons why not. Sorry I don't have the link handy. Also, to respond to your first posting...what is the reasoning behind not using live wallpapers? I love them! When I had my Tbolt, the only thing I sort of liked was when I would unlock the phone and it would show a quick weather animation as to my current conditions. The live wallpaper that comes on the D3 that displays current weather at all times is so much cooler to me!

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[solar]

I like and ans use the live wallpaper as well. Its worth the battery usage. They use a bit more juice then a static background because of the aniumation. How much CPU time they use varies on the wallpaper and how well they are optomized.

Like you say, Task Killers aren't necessary for the reason most people user them for, which is keeping ram free. Android takes care of ram usage itself and uses a lot because because it keeps apps cached for fast switching.
However, it is useful for an app that is hanging or no stuck syncing "killing" the task will reset the process and allow the program to start working again.

 

[blackmagick20]

Can't you just use the app section in the settings to do the exact same thing without an extra download?

Sent from my DROID3 using DroidForums

 

[Alcapwn89]

Thanks for the quick replies. I will be purchasing the extended battery and the shell/holster combo. I am currently using Advanced Task Killer but never used the auto-kill. I have used it only when I needed to. Is that okay or do I not need one completely?

You don't need one at all. The Droid 3 actually comes with a built-in task manager that works fine

 

[solar]

The built in one is not nearly as effective as System Panel or Android OS Monitor or some other system managment software. I don't use a strait task manager because they don't do enough either. Programs like these offer more insight into system useage and such in addition to helping you reset halting processes. also, the built in one is slow and more difficult to get to. when things are freezing, you want as few clicks as possible. these will place a shortcut in the task bar at the top for easy access. Built in is free, but nerfed compared to 3rd party software.