Anyone else having huge battery issues (problem with wifi connectivity?)

[boobdole]

So, I recently bought a 3500mAh battery online (thanks for the recommendation, JerryF) and since the update, I've seen a ridiculous decrease in battery life.  With my old extended battery, which I used to get 2 days of usage with) so I'm now expecting to get about 3 days of usage with it.  Yesterday, I got about 15 hours with it.  Now, it's possible the battery I bought was garbage.  But what I have noticed since the update is my wifi signal dropped down to near nothing EVERYWHERE (at work, at home, etc) and that it now constantly fights with and switched between 3G and wifi, which it appears is causing the battery life to decrease heavily.

Anyone else having this problem or have any suggestions?  I mean, I could reinstall llama and make it switch between everything for me, disable my 3G when wifi is available, etc but it looks like something isn't right.  Anyone have any suggestions as to what might have caused this?  I wish our phones kept track of when certain apps were installed (kind of like the system restore calendar so we can see the link between app installations and when we have battery problems). 

A few notes, my area doesn't have 4G so I'm only using CDMA mode, I have already reset my phone three times (on a sidenote, the phone boots a LOT faster now), and my battery usage page doesn't show anything major as far as apps go (most of it is the display but that's pretty common).  I know there are things I can do to improve my battery life (decrease screen brightness, decrease timeout time for screen, etc) and while those will help, I'm trying to find the core of the problem that caused me to lose 1-2 days worth of usage on my phone.  Any information/similar stories would be greatly appreciated. 

[JerryF]

Boobdole,

Try this...

1.  If you installed the FP1 update, reboot your phone THREE times in a row.  If you did it, try this again.  When I received my FP1 update the very first thing I did, before using the phone, was to reboot THREE consequitive times.

2.  BUMP charge your new 3500 mAh battery or whatever battery you want to use... look here:

https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/672997#672997

3.  Don't leave both WiFi and 3G/4G turned on at the same time.  Use the pull down notification panel to switch between WiFi and 3G/4G but only one at a time.

4.  Touch Task Manager and at the top of the screen there are four tabs.  Slide them to the left and touch Help to see Samsung's five suggestions that extend battery life.

5.  Touch Settings>Accounts and Sync and then UN-check both Background data and Auto-sync.  You might only RE-check them once every few weeks just to see if you have any APP updates.

Hope this helps.  Let me know...okay?

JerryF

[boobdole]

Heh, as I said in my post (cuz I knew someone was going to suggest it.  My fault, I should've put it in bold like I normally do), I've already rebooted my phone three times so that's not an issue. 

All these are good suggestions for getting better battery life (and to be honest with you, I didn't know about number 5 so I definitely want to see how that plays out.  If I have to switch between wifi and 3g, I'll just redownload llama.  I don't want to spend all day toggling between the two) but what I really want to know is what is causing this issue.  Fixes and work arounds are all fine and good but (as I also mentioned in my post) I'd much prefer to have a good understanding of what is going on with my phone so at least these fixes will make sense. 

Does anyone know what changed in the last update that might have caused this huge change in battery life?  Anyone else have similar experiences?

(for the record, JerryF, I don't mean any disrespect by this post so if it comes across that way, I apologize, it wasn't my intention.  Thanks for your help!)

[JerryF]

Boobdole,

No problem here. You should keep asking because someone may have a new idea to help you.

JerryF

[jco23]

what kind of battery life are you getting now?  for example, I get about 20 hours on 3G with the FP1 kernel (i'm also rooted on a custom ROM though).

the FP1 kernel is new, but have you tried going back to your old battery to see if the lack of life still persists?  I tend to believe that battery life is what we make of it (apps, usage, etc.).

I have noticed increased battery life whenever installing a new ROM - thus, sometimes doing a simply wipe of cache can do that (don't think you need to be rooted to wipe cache; once the phone is off, press and hold the volume up key + home button, then press and hold the power button until the samsung logo appears - once it appears, release only the power button - but still hold the other buttons until the CWM screen appears - from here, you can probably just wipe cache).

hope this helps...

[boobdole]

I actually have got significantly better battery usage since following JerryF's suggestions (I now get closer to two days worth of battery rather than just 14 hours) but something has definitely changed because I used to get two days worth WITHOUT having to make all those changes (if I had known to do these things, I might've been able to push 3 days out of the phone without the new update). 

I wish they'd let us switch between updates so if one causes more problems, we can easily roll it back and use a previous version.  Oh well.  It is what it is.  Thanks for the help!

[jco23]

hmmm, was unaware of unchecking the background data and auto-sync... not sure if I'll stop getting notifications or not...  will give that a try....

I once got nearly 72 hours of battery life - but that also turning off mobile data, and just using wifi when available.

[JPHBucks]

My battery life has gone from great to awful with the most recent update - once got 16+ hours with reasonably heavy use, and now I run out of juice with an unused phone after less than 6 hours.  Absolutely inexcusable failure by Verizon or Samsung on this one.  I need to see how to revert to the previous OS release.

[yogila]

I have been completely unsatisfied with the Droid Charge!! It is ridiculous to have to turn off half the services on your smartphone to make the battery last more than 8 hours. My battery is usually below 15% by 7pm and I'm at work for 9 hours of the day! It does help just a little if I turn off the wi-fi, switch from 4G to 3G, and turn off all the background data and syncing. But then why am I paying for a smartphone when I could do that from a regular phone??? I really wish that Samsung or Verizon would do something to fix this, this isn't my first android phone but it is definitely the worst!!!!!!

[jco23]

this is typical of any smartphone.  I challenge you to find a smartphone that gets more than 20 hours in between charges with moderate usage and have all services on/running.

[JPHBucks]

It's not typical to have only 6 hours of battery life.  We're not complaining about 20 hours; we're complaining about far less.

[jco23]

understood - but most folks don't realize the primary guzzlers of battery:

1.) data signal (both type and strength)

2.) voice cell signal

3.) kernel installed

4.) apps installed - including bloatware

you can control 3 out of 4 of these:

1.) if 4G is too weak, switch to 3Gl if you don't need data, turn it off or stick with wifi

2.) can't do much here except go to airplane mode

3.) not accepting the FP1 update (or rooting to a different kernel has been known to help)

4.) monitor your apps and which ones access your data most often

[JPHBucks]

All these are useful suggestions.  On the other hand, most of us are not able to spend our time monitoring and adjusting the status of various functions of our smartphones - we just want them to work.  And when a software change forced on us by our phone company means they no longer work, I have to wonder why it's not a warranty matter. 

At some level, it's Verizon's responsibility to provide an effective solution.  Saying, "There's nothing we can do for you other than let you buy a new phone from us" (which is what they've done to me) is just not an acceptable response.

[jco23]

agreed!

not to sound condescending, however, if you wanted a phone that requires zero tweaking on the user's part, then you should have gotten an iPhone.

my point though, is that battery life is what the user makes of it.  same thing with MPG on cars.  sure some cars get better MPG than others, but even like models get different results as the drivers have different driving habits.

today, I recalibrated my battery and am testing my battery life on just a 4G signal.... after 2.5 hours, I'm at 87% (at that pace, I'll hit 0% at 20 hours). no real useage, but I do have background data turned on, so I am getting push notifications/updates/etc.

[yogila]

Tweaking shouldn't be necessary for my phone to last 12 hours with very minimal usage. I previously had an LG Ally(which sucks!) but I could get 18-20 hrs of battery life. It also is pointless to me to know how long my battery will last with almost everything turned off and with no usage. I pay extra to have the smartphone do all that it should.

I do agree however that I should have purchased an iPhone and will definitely do that with my next upgrade, but I'm stuck with this crappy phone in the meantime.

[boobdole]

your point about usage is true, but using your car metaphor, if you found out to achieve the mileage the manufacturer claims requires you to drive at a consistent 40mph and that going any faster would cause it to cut in half and having the company "upgrade" the computer chip in your car that supposedly fixes things but reduces your gas mileage even further would be incredibly frustrating (and would probably be something you'd like to know about when purchasing the car). 

personally, I've learned my lesson and I'll never buy another samsung again (their support, whether Verizon's fault of Samsung's, is terrible, major firmware updates take a long time and minor firmware updates seem to make the phone worse).  Only one more year . . . then I can decide if I even want to continue on with Verizon, much less Samsung. 

[jco23]

understood.

but keep in mind, there is no perfect smartphone - as there are just as many people complaining about iPhones as there about Android phones.  the issue (as much as I'd hate to admit it) has very little to do with Samsung, and moreso with the software and kernel placed on the phone.

regarding my battery life today, I'm at 30% after 8 hours with moderate useage.