Razr Maxx battery usage

[jefford]

A couple of questions from a new Droid Razr Maxx owner.

I just got this phone on Thursday and charged it to 100% that evening. It's been a day and a half and it's down to 40%, but I have only watched a couple youtube clips and made one brief phone call.  The rest of the time was spent either on standby or downloading a couple apps/setting custom ringtones. Is this normal?  I thought you were supposed to be able to watch 14 straight hours of movies or make 21 hours of calls on one charge.I do not have gps running.

My battery usage is as follows:

display: 31%

android os:22%

phone idle: 12%

cell standby: 10%

browser: 7%

Everything else is 2% or lower. What is the difference between phone idle and cell standby, and how can I lower battery usage for those?And again, is this battery drain in just a day and a half normal?

Thanks!

[bulldog69]

Make sure background data is turned off and wifi if not using and also bluetooth

[Ravy]

I am new to maxx as well...how do you turn off the background data?

[B33]

Bulldog is correct:  An i will add a few Tips Go into your Settings an to the Display Enter Display Tap on your Brightness an move the Slide Rule to the Left a bit an turn down the Brightness it Doesn't have to be set as high as the Factory setting an uncheck Auto Brightness it will Cut down some on your Screen Flicker. Then look in on your Screen time out mine is set at 2 min witch to me is enough for when i really need to look at the Screen an Animation Uncheck it as Well that is Unless you like the Display to Close in the Center after a while to me it got Boring so i Unchecked it. If your at home Most of the Time an you have Wi-Fi.. Kick your Maxx over to it. Even if you have 4G that Radio in your Maxx is constantly buzzing the tower or Towers around you Having it on a Wi-Fi keeps it locked to an a Constant signal an from Taxing the Battery as it's trying to Connect to the Towers.

But so the Battery life you reported sounds Good. Another thing i suggest an you may already do it Charge only from the Original O.E.M charger not the Computer the as that Charger was Designed for that Phone. An i let my Maxx go down to wear the Red led light Starts Flashing then i Charge it. It a can take up to 4 hours to Charge it. I usually let it Go an additional 2 to 3 to let it Trickle Charge the rest some people do some Don't.  But i Do an my Batteries have done very Well..

So i hope those Tips have helped if you need any more Help just throw a post an we'll help ya a soon as we can.. Good luck an Have lots of fun with your Maxx b33   

[Ravy]

I followed a few of your tips...turning off animations turning down brightness but can you please tell me if I turn on WiFi does the phone automatically stop using 4g? If not how do I switch it over as you say?  Thanks

[B33]

Yes using your Wi-Fi is the best thing to use when at Home that's what i got mine set on. Sometimes i will kick it off but most of the time it's on. I use the smart Action to kick the Wi-Fi on an shut off the Network when i come home it's a neat Feature..b33

[Ravy]

Can you tell me how you set that up

[B33]

The Smart Action: it's kind of hard to explain but i will try.. Ok here we go.. find the smart actions Widget in your apps Drawer..once found tap on it.. then tap on the green plus to a new rule.. you have three Choices.. Add a Sample , Start from Scratch, Copy from an existing rule.. Choose start from Scratch Tap the plus in the Triggers Column you will see a List of Triggers Choose Wi-Fi Connection an then click Check to add it then Save. Once that is done do the Same for the Actions Go in And Select Cellular Data for you Action an then Hit Save an that should Do it. To make this Work you will need to have your Wi-Fi on. Let me Know if you got it Going. Got Eat be back in a Bit.. b33

[Ravy]

Hey B33...thanks so much for responding back.  I followed your guide and set it up.  You did leave out that when choosing Cellular Data for the actions that I had the choice of enable or disable...I presumed disable.

[B33]

( Disable )  Sorry i forgot to include that it's hard sometimes to write out instructions b33

[Eskimo1]

Honestly guys, you're carrying a small computer.  Getting a full work day out of ANY mobile device without a supplemental charge is almost unheard of without some huge battery hanging off the back.

Disabling cell data when on wifi is OK, but I'm not about to make it harder to use by turning down the brightness or anything else just to make the battery last longer.

Help me understand..  why is it tough to plug it in when you go to sleep?

P.S. Draining the battery fully is good to let the razr learn what dead really is, but doing it daily isn't the best for battery life.  Do some research on Li-ion batteries and you'll see.

[landlocked]

I'm not trying to hijack this post, but I have had my Maxx for 2 days now and my battery is registering barely 5 hours of life, and the Android OS is running at 59% of battery.  I am assuming this is not normal, but I can't get it down, what can I do.  I have turned off the background stuff, lowered my display settings, and turned off the WiFi.  But I know these don't affect the OS, help!

[B33]

No but you raised my Eye Brows on it: With the Battery Life:  A few Questions what are U using to charge the Maxx with The Charger that came with in the Box or By your Computer if by the Computer stop doing that , Are you charging it About 4 Hours an with the Device Off, an What Apps Are you Running That you have Installed on it.. If you Running any Task Killers Get Rid of them.. 

[landlocked]

I am using the charger from the box, would never charge on a computer unless desperate.   I am not charging it with the device off, I didn't have to with my last smart phone,but new phone, new manufacturer so I can try that. I installed a soundboard (so a I have a not so annoying notification sound, since I work in a hospital and having loud sounds isn't such a great idea) and the Dolphin Web Browser that's it, between work and sleep I have not had a chance to install anything else.  And no task killers, I had one on the last phone and learned my lesson.  I was going to take it back to the store, but I'd rather reserve it as a last option.

PS. just looked it's down to 54%, but still worrisome

[B33]

Well the reason i suggested Turning it off is the phone won't get as warm trying to do Two things at once. I leave my Maxx on once in a while when charging but most of the time i shut it Down an it refreshes it as well.. but that's your phone as U should charge it as U want to.. Good Luck with your Maxx an Have Fun with it.. b33

[landlocked]

Thanks, I did a factory reset on the phone last night and the OS dropped significantly, I'm currently operating at about 9%.  My concern now is even though I have turned off the Social Location feature (or I though I did) it's using 20%+, is this because it's "off" and searching for a connection?

[B33]

Possibly when your Home can you Use Wi-Fi or at Work if you can i would. Even though 4G is nice an speedy..at times Wi-Fi has a Constant Signal an the Device doesn't have to search all the time for a Tower that's were some of the Battery is used Right now both of my Droids  X and Maxx are on my Wi-Fi  i don't have 4G yet were i live but even if i Did i would use my Wi-Fi most of the time..b33  

[boobdole]

One possibility is if you're in LTE mode but in an area where you only get 3G, it could GREATLY affect your battery life trying to obtain a 4G signal (sometimes being in a fringe area that often drops 4G and tries to recover it has the same issues).  You can check this by going to settings -> wireless networks - > manage networks (or something to that effect, I don't have my phone in front of me). 

That said, I don't have the RAZR Maxx but I understand it's a problem that is common in a lot of phones.  Good luck!

[B33]

Your talking about the CDMA/LTE switch i leave mine in this Position an was advised by Tear 2 tech to leave my Razr in this Setting an to Never switch over to CDMA only i asked why was that an he said it can have an Adverse reaction on the Radio an it's best not mess with it Unless it's at the up most critical situation to change it. An he seemed to now what he was talking about. I asked this an several Question a few days after Receiving My Maxx..b33 

[boobdole]

This is true as long as you're in an area with excellent 4G coverage.  If you're in an area with only 3G (as I am in Ventura, Oxnard), leaving it on "never switch to CDMA" would leave you with no data connection (so for me, I have to leave it in only CDMA mode as leaving it in CDMA/LTE mode has it constantly polling for a 4G connection, which drains the battery very quickly). 

Realistically, my suggestion is probably not the issue but I'm just throwing it out in there in case it's of use to someone. 

[landlocked]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.  I live in a town with a population of less then 30k in the middle of the sticks in between two reservations in Arizona.  So chances are pretty good that we don't get 4G out here.

By the way, I'm back up to 35%.  It has been slowly climbing since I did the store did a factory rest on the phone about a week ago.