Samsung Fascinate Battery Drains Too Fast
jh123
Newbie

I recently downloaded the new software upgrade from Verizon Wireless.  My battery now drains in just a few hours - it used to last all day and then some.  Any suggestions?

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akwest66
Newbie

Many of us are having that problem since the update. Verizon is aware and is hopefully coming up with a fix...soon.

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EdW_VZW
Verizon Employee

Thank you for your feedback. Adding to what was stated, in helping Jh123, many things can drain the battery fast. Below, I have provided ways to better your battery life and steps for closing the applications that you are not currently using with instructions to adjust some features that can use less battery power. I hope these suggestions can help.

 

Instructions to stop running applications your not using:


  1. From the home screen, select Applications.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. Select Applications.

  4. Select Running services.

  5. Select a service.

  6. Select Stop.

 

Instructions to turn Bluetooth on/off when your using this option:

 

  1. From the home screen, select and hold the status bar (located at the top).

  2. Drag the window shade down.

  3. Select Bluetooth.
    Note Enabled when a green indicator is present.

 Instructions to change display settings to limit use of some features:

 

  1. From the home screen, select Applications.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. Select Sound & display.

  4. Select a option. (Orientation, Animation, Brightness, Screen timeoutt, Unlock settings, or Power saving mode)

 -----Listed below are steps for some of the optionns above-----

 

Animation

  1. Select Animation.

  2. Select one of the following settings:
    • No animations
    • Some animations
    • All animations

Brightness

  1. Select Brightness.

  2. Adjust the Brightness as necessary then touch OK.
    Note To manually adjust BrightnessAutomatic brightness adjustment must be disabled (unchecked).

 

Screen timeout

  1. Select Screen timeout.

  2. Select one of the following settings:
    • 15 seconds
    • 30 seconds
    • 1 minute
    • 2 minutes
    • 10 minutes
    • 30 minutes


Power saving mode

  • Select Power saving mode to enable / disable.
    Note Enabled when a green check mark is present.

 

Tips for better battery life

  • Follow the manufacturer's instructions for properly charging the device.
  • Do not store the device in direct sunlight or hot locations.
  • Do not rely on the device's vehicle power adapter as the battery charger for the device. The vehicle power adapter is meant to be a temporary low battery level solution until the device can be properly charged.
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chipsand
Newbie

Good answers to saving battery life but not the cure to the problem.  The battery drains very quickly since the update.  What is the actual cure for this problem? The helpdesk told me that only fix was to turn off internet unless you are using it.. Really?  That is an unacceptable answer.  I should be able to click on the yelp and find dinner or click on the weather icon and see when the rain will start/stop without going back and turning on the data.  Is there a remedy coming soon? 


EdW_VZW wrote:

Thank you for your feedback. Adding to what was stated, in helping Jh123, many things can drain the battery fast. Below, I have provided ways to better your battery life and steps for closing the applications that you are not currently using with instructions to adjust some features that can use less battery power. I hope these suggestions can help.

 

Instructions to stop running applications your not using:


  1. From the home screen, select Applications.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. Select Applications.

  4. Select Running services.

  5. Select a service.

  6. Select Stop.

 

Instructions to turn Bluetooth on/off when your using this option:

 

  1. From the home screen, select and hold the status bar (located at the top).

  2. Drag the window shade down.

  3. Select Bluetooth.
     Enabled when a green indicator is present.

 Instructions to change display settings to limit use of some features:

 

  1. From the home screen, select Applications.

  2. Select Settings.

  3. Select Sound & display.

  4. Select a option. (Orientation, Animation, Brightness, Screen timeoutt, Unlock settings, or Power saving mode)

 -----Listed below are steps for some of the optionns above-----

 

Animation

  1. Select Animation.

  2. Select one of the following settings:
    • No animations
    • Some animations
    • All animations

Brightness

  1. Select Brightness.

  2. Adjust the Brightness as necessary then touch OK.
     To manually adjust BrightnessAutomatic brightness adjustment must be disabled (unchecked).

 

Screen timeout

  1. Select Screen timeout.

  2. Select one of the following settings:
    • 15 seconds
    • 30 seconds
    • 1 minute
    • 2 minutes
    • 10 minutes
    • 30 minutes


Power saving mode

  • Select Power saving mode to enable / disable.
     Enabled when a green check mark is present.

 

Tips for better battery life

  • Follow the manufacturer's instructions for properly charging the device.
  • Do not store the device in direct sunlight or hot locations.
  • Do not rely on the device's vehicle power adapter as the battery charger for the device. The vehicle power adapter is meant to be a temporary low battery level solution until the device can be properly charged.



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Not applicable

Hi Chipsand:

 

From gathering feedback from the community, I have some good news.  The ED05 software released 07/28/11 does extend battery life noticeably.  Please check for updates if you haven't done so already.  Check out this link to view instructions and benefits of the software update.

 

Please follow up on this thread and let us know if your battery life has been increased.

 

Thanks again for posting! 

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swilson317
Newbie

Funny that the features listed for the update don't even include a mention of addressing the battery drain issue.  Under"Call Features," it only lists, "Properly receive incoming calls."  That seems to be a pretty important feature for a phone!

 

My fiance just went through Verizon Wireless hell on this.  The "fast food" level sales reps in the store didn't have a clue of the known issue.  So they just ordered her a new phone. <sigh>  Wonder if she would have gotten a straight answer had she called customer service intead.  But I would think that in this day and age of help desk abd knowledge management software, that Verizon would be tracking these issues and fixes and providing a means for customer service AND local sales people to have access to the information.  The only way she found out about this issue was due to a sales person at another store who happened to have the same phone and knew about the problem.  ARGH!

 

Steve

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thornbe
Enthusiast - Level 2

Unfortunately, this is not the case for my wife's Fascinate.  Prior to the ED05 update, I talked her into doing a Factory Reset and it did not improve the device battery life.  She applied the ED05 update and she still has to charge the phone 2 to 3 times a day.  Even after the update, the Signal Strength is very low to non-existent.  The "Time without a signal" is anywhere from 50 - 70%.

 

Since I also have the Fascinate, poor battery life, low signal strength and slow network speeds are always a daily topic in our household. :smileysad:

 

- Tim

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nickjr
Contributor - Level 3

thornbe wrote:

Unfortunately, this is not the case for my wife's Fascinate.  Prior to the ED05 update, I talked her into doing a Factory Reset and it did not improve the device battery life.  She applied the ED05 update and she still has to charge the phone 2 to 3 times a day.  Even after the update, the Signal Strength is very low to non-existent.  The "Time without a signal" is anywhere from 50 - 70%.

 

Since I also have the Fascinate, poor battery life, low signal strength and slow network speeds are always a daily topic in our household. :smileysad:

 

- Tim


Check the date in which the unit was manufactured, certain phones are having issues and many of us feel it has to do with the date they were made.
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thornbe
Enthusiast - Level 2

My Fascinate has the following information:

 

Model: SCH-I500 V

10.10

STA: 02/25/2011

 

- Tim

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thornbe
Enthusiast - Level 2

My wife's Fascinate has the following information:

 

Model: SCH-I500 V

10.10

No STA Date

 

My sticker under the battery is diiferent, probably since my Fascinate is a CLN replacement.  My wife's sticker still reads Samsung, where mine does not.

 

- Tim

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AnthonyTa_VZW
Verizon Employee

thornbe wrote:

Unfortunately, this is not the case for my wife's Fascinate.  Prior to the ED05 update, I talked her into doing a Factory Reset and it did not improve the device battery life.  She applied the ED05 update and she still has to charge the phone 2 to 3 times a day.  Even after the update, the Signal Strength is very low to non-existent.  The "Time without a signal" is anywhere from 50 - 70%.

 

Since I also have the Fascinate, poor battery life, low signal strength and slow network speeds are always a daily topic in our household. :smileysad:

 

- Tim


thornbe,

 

The concerns with the poor battery life since update has been raised up to our product development team. As soon as I get more information on the battery life and a fix, I'll post here again!

 

Thank you for your patience!

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pastelball
Newbie

As I am having the signal problem and my battery does ok then it just goes fast. I have a lot of apps that will run in the back ground its usually the ones i don't open. tried the factory reset and it didn't help. May they could release Gingerbread and fix everyones problems.

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RMSato
Newbie

So what is going on with the lousy battery life with the Fascinate and the Verizon Team that is going to fix it? Tuning on or off services is NOT a solution - just a "get along" that diminishes the values of even having the device. Can we get some sort of definitive answer within this week?

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