Why is my phone so hot?

[Algae998]

Ive noticed lately that my phone is always pretty warm. I downloaded a temperature sensor from the market to keep an eye on it and most of the time it about 100-125 degrees Fahrenheit. I usually notice this after its been sitting on my desk for a while, not using it or charging for a bit. I definitely notice it when its in my pocket. If Im using the phone or gaming for 15 minutes or so, it can jump to over 125 degrees.
A heatwave hit during the summer, if my phone was over 100 degrees, it would not charge unless it was next to the AC.
I have 3 batteries for my phone, some days I can by with one, other days I use all 3 and still need to charge.

Is this good or bad? I know electronics can get pretty hot or overheat, but its drains the battery much more when its hot.

Is there an app that can monitor whats chewing up the most system resources?

 

[hellmonkey]

It sounds like you have a lot of crap running especially if you are going through 3 batteries in one day. Have you tried turning off or uninstall apps, or maybe even doing a factory reset?

 

[Algae998]

I actually just did a factory reset and have been getting my phone back to working order. I have been installing a number of games, utilities and such but not much that should be running all the time. It seems as though its always very warm and the battery dies quickly after being unplugged.
I was thinking about trying out Watchdog task manager so I can see if any apps are eating up too much resources, but I dont know it that would only add to the problem.

 

[louy99]

Got to settings/ about phone/battery usage. That will tell you what's eating your battery. Did this happen after the GB ota update? Are you rooted?

Sent from my DROID2 using DroidForums

 

[chrstdvd]

I have the original D2 and I use Battery Indicator Pro to monitor what is eating up my battery. I just checked and it tells me that Screebl pro has used 44 percent of the power, phone idle 25 percent etc. I am at 90 percent charge now. I have noticed that with GB my battery lasts longer than before. Screebl is an app that turns off your display when you lay the phone down. My display used to hog all the power. Not so much now.

 

[Algae998]

I have a stock (non-rooted) D2. I also have battery indicator so Ill keep an eye on it with that. I usually notice its the display, cell standby and phone idle that chew up a lot of battery. Sometimes on my desk my phone has full 3G service and other times barely any bars at all, so Im sure the constant scanning and standby play a large part is my battery.

 

[Algae998]

I did a small test to see how much my battery would drain so I played a game for a little over a half hour and it drained half of my battery. Does that seem normal? The screen and games really go through the battery quickly.
I used to have an app that would show every process running and how much memory and battery it was using, but I forgot what it was called and lost it during my factory reset. The battery indicator and battery usage seem to only show major apps/games.

 

[Khiraji]

A half-hour of gaming plowing through half a battery? That seems quite excessive to me - I have the extended battery for my D2 (rooted, running the MonsterGB leak) and I have to really work to get it down to 50%. That means several long calls, some angry birds, dozens of texts, a few pictures, web browsing, and music playing the whole time. If you're getting that kind of performance from a battery, either that battery is dying or something's borked in your phone. You said you were observing this problem even after a factory reset (completely blank slate, nothing but pre-installed apps)?

Would you happen to be running the latest version of the Facebook app? I found that the latest version keeps running in the background, pinging GPS or something and destroying battery life.

 

[Algae998]

A half-hour of gaming plowing through half a battery? That seems quite excessive to me - I have the extended battery for my D2 (rooted, running the MonsterGB leak) and I have to really work to get it down to 50%. That means several long calls, some angry birds, dozens of texts, a few pictures, web browsing, and music playing the whole time. If you're getting that kind of performance from a battery, either that battery is dying or something's borked in your phone. You said you were observing this problem even after a factory reset (completely blank slate, nothing but pre-installed apps)?

Would you happen to be running the latest version of the Facebook app? I found that the latest version keeps running in the background, pinging GPS or something and destroying battery life.

Thanks for the reply, its always helpful to know what other people are getting out of their phone as a reference point. I was about just accept the fact the smart phones are battery hogs. I am getting a bit better battery life now, only a bit. I uninstalled a bunch of apps, ironically, the ones that were supposed to help increase battery life. I uninstalled watchdog, juice defender, a couple of games and a couple other utility apps that were supposed to help the phone. I was also having an issue connecting to my wifi, after uninstalling those apps I can now connect. Something must have been not working properly.

But, I am still not getting anywheres close to the battery life youre talking about. I have a non-rooted phone and recently did a factory reset due to a boot loop. I have been considering for a long time rooting my phone, for better performance, overclocking, etc. but have been a bit hesitant to do it. Im not sure if I have the latest Facebook app, but I hate the app so Ill uninstall it anyway. It seems that phone calls completely kill my battery. From 100% battery, a 30 minute call will knock my battery down to 50-60%. Ive only had my D2 for a year but bought 2 extra batteries online for backup.
Does your phone get very hot after a phone call or gaming? Mine reads ~120-140 degrees F afterwards. Right after I reset my phone I started installing my main apps, so Im not sure how it behaved without them.
Just the other night I had my phone in my pocket while at a restaurant for a couple of hours and my battery drained 20% without doing anything. I could feel it was warm while in my pocket, but had wifi and gps off.
Out of curiosity, what is the extended battery? Is it larger than the 1390/1420 mah stock battery? I think I will test out one of my other batteries for a couple days and see if my original is dying.

 

[Khiraji]

The extended battery is great. It's 1860 mAh, and ever so slightly thicker than the stock battery - I actually prefer it because the added thickness (maybe 3mm or so) makes the phone a little more comfortable to hold in your hand... but just a preference. If you decide to get one, make sure it's a legit Moto battery (part #BP7X) - I've heard tales of problems with some of the cheaper knock-offs. The only time my phone gets noticeably warm is if I've been doing something 3G intensive for a while (an hour or more). Even then, the phone doesn't get hot but merely warm to the touch. Same thing after an Angry Birds session - not worryingly hot, just warmer than my hand. I've also had some super long calls (2+ hours) and even then my battery has only dropped ~15% or so.
Is your screen brightness all the way up? The screen eats a lot of power. It almost sounds like something's eating up CPU cycles - maybe try a CPU monitor app and see if something stands out? Voice calls shouldn't drain power like that...

Regarding rooting.... I'm happy I rooted my phone for many reasons (Gingerbread 2 months before OTA, hehe), but then again I've borked my phone a couple of times and had to do a complete restore (Nandroid backup, but still lost several weeks' worth of texts). Rooting opens the door for lots of awesome stuff, but it can also be a Pandora's Box if you're not careful. Still, millions of people worldwide have rooted their Android phones and they're still texting away merrily. If you're the kind of person who wants absolute control over your device - and with this power issue it sounds like you may have to become such a person - rooting is something I'd recommend investigating.

 

[biknut1]

I have been considering for a long time rooting my phone, for better performance, overclocking, etc. but have been a bit hesitant to do it.


The extended battery is great. It's 1860 mAh, and ever so slightly thicker than the stock battery - I actually prefer it because the added thickness (maybe 3mm or so) makes the phone a little more comfortable to hold in your hand... but just a preference. If you decide to get one, make sure it's a legit Moto battery (part #BP7X) - I've heard tales of problems with some of the cheaper knock-offs.



Rooting your phone is pretty easy- some of the apps only take one or two touches to root. Generally speaking it isn't rooting that causes the problems, it's what you do after the root. Don't go crazy with some of the apps that are readily available, just use some of the simple ones that you understand.

If you decide to root go to My Battery Life Writeup in the D2G forums here on this board. It tells you some of the stock apps (AKA battery suckers!) you can freeze that come on the phone with Titanium Backup. Freeze them maybe 1 or 2 at a time so you will know how to reverse if there are problems. Get the stock like you want it, then use TitBu to backup all of your apps. Then, in a disaster, you can reinstall them all without having to download them from the Market again. The key- just don't go crazy after rooting!

As for batteries, may I recommend the Gorilla Gadgets Extended Battery? It is twice the size (3500mA I believe) and is great in these phones. I have had one for several months now and I don't think I could live without it. I can go all day on it, with plenty of juice left at the end of the day.

Don't give up! Keep trying different arrangements on your phone until you get it to a point you can live with.

 

[Algae998]

Im too fed up, Im calling or going to Verizon today. From freshly charged, it was unplugged for 2.5 hours and with an 18 minute phone call it was down to 30%. Something is not right physically, electronically or processing wise.

Im definitely going to look into a larger battery. Does it fit inside the phone just like the stock, or is a different battery cover and phone case required?
I bought two spare batteries from DealExtreme, I believe. They were really cheap, same capacity as the original and looked almost identical. Plus they work just as well (or in this case just as bad) as the orignal.
Depending on how my quest with Verizon goes, I may end up rooting my phone. Does that require a factory reset that I should backup everything first? I do like the idea of using Titanium backup since its only for rooted OS's.

 

[Khiraji]

The Motorola extended battery comes with its own battery door, which is just a fraction fatter than the stock battery door. This means that snap-on cases will not fit when you have the extended battery installed, but IMO those are ugly anyway. I keep my D2 in a belt holster and, with a screen protector (Skinomi, highly recommend) it has fared just fine.

Yeah, that definitely sounds like something's borked. To drain that kind of power in that amount of time, either your CPU is running full-tilt (which shouldn't be the case after a fresh factory reset) or your battery is faulty and mis-reporting its available charge. Are your batteries legit Motorola batteries (part #BP6X, I believe), or are they third-party? I've heard of some third-party batteries malfunctioning, but have never owned one to verify or back up that claim.

 

[Algae998]

I have the grippy gel protective case on my D2. I like the added protection, plus the phone doesnt slide out of my pocket, but those benefits could be pushed aside for better battery life. Definitely looking into the extended battery.

Ive had my phone and the stock battery for about a year now. I ordered 2 extra batteries roughly 6 months ago from DealExtreme or Amazon, cant remember exactly. They were pretty cheap, about $5-10 each, but looks 99% identical to the original. They are the same shape, capacity, voltage, colors, Moto logos and everything, just the font is slightly different. Its hard to tell them apart but they all have BP6X on them. I knew I was getting cheap batteries, and probably knock offs, but I wanted the quantity for convenience. Im inclined to say its not my batteries that are malfunctioning and dying quickly just because they all act the same with the same running time. If it was one in particular, then it might make sense. I havent had any other battery related issues, like a cell going back or anything *knock on wood*. My AndroSensor app shows all my batteries are healthy.

Ive charged my phone twice today but looking at my battery use it now shows 7 hours on battery and Im down to 15%. Ive barely used my phone except for a handful of texts and a call. Display used 37%, voice calls used 21% for 9.5 minute call, phone idle used 11% time on for 6 hours and 9% for cell standby. Do those percentages seem normal?
I have it set to auto brightness and to shut the screen off after 30 seconds.
Maybe if I go into Verizon theyll have something that can run a diagnostic and see whats up. I should still be under warranty.

 

[angelinaS31]

Your issue seems to be an battery problem, but why are you using 3 batteries? for that, get an good battery for your phone, does your phone loose battery power soon?