Home Replacements and Battery Life - myTouch 4G Themes and Apps

Alright, I searched and couldn't find any direct discussions about this - so I'm asking it here. Does using a home replacement app (i.e. Launcher Pro Plus) use a lot more battery life than just using the stock launcher? It means your phone is running an entire extra hungry app, so I assume it does. Does setting the replacement launcher as the default do anything in terms of what is running? Besides this, what can you do to minimize what extra battery drain there is?
From what I gather, a LOT of users are running some kind of home replacement, so I assume people have some good info. Thanks!

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My battery life seems fine when I use ADW-EX or LPP. Customize your phone, use it like you want it then charge the hell out of it. Enjoy your phone...battery life disentangle last forever. Plus faux's kernel set on smartass is nice on any rom you use regardless if you use a home replacement launcher or not . I probably didn't answer your question...but just wanted to give some friendly advice.

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Thanks for the tip! I'm actually about to finally root the phone. While I'd been using stock and happy with it, I never felt like I needed to, but now that I've found another home replacement that I love, I'm ready to jump in and start really setting her up. In just the 1 day I've been using LPP, it shows up pretty high in the battery usage, whereas that wasn't the case with the stock launcher, but it may be because I was fiddling with it all day to set it up. But I'm hoping setting CPU under/overclock will help optimize battery life. Between that and an extra battery I should be okay. I'll def check out the kernel, thx.
Do you recommend the Unlockr's method to root? Or the one in the resource thread in the development section?

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The unlocker method worked super easy for me. And with your original question, set the home replacement app to default and restart your phone and use it for a few min then go to settings, undo the defaults set for it, and then click the stock launcher when you hit the home button. You'll have to wait a sec cuz it has to load up, which in my head makes it seem like it never really started running while your replacement launcher is always used/default.
Dunno if that helps, but I think it makes sense and is helpful, hence the sharing
Sent from my Orange Glacier MT4G using XDA App

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That's a good point! I have noticed that, and it does make sense. When switching back to stock after using the replacement for a while, you DO have to wait for it to load. Hopefully that's an indication that it's not being active in the background.
And thanks for the advice on the Unlockr, that's where I went to root my MT3G, so I'll probably use them again for this one.

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sunsean said:
Do you recommend the Unlockr's method to root? Or the one in the resource thread in the development section?
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I'm not sure what method unlocker used but I recommend NOT using gfree just as a personal preference. Use the visionary method. It should be visionary r14 unless there's been an update.
Sent from my HTC Glaciee using XDA Premium App

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Nicgraner said:
I'm not sure what method unlocker used but I recommend NOT using gfree just as a personal preference. Use the visionary method. It should be visionary r14 unless there's been an update.
Sent from my HTC Glaciee using XDA Premium App
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Thanks, yeah I got Visionary and have temp-root, just have to finish it off now for perm-root.
This is a side-question - but now that I've got temp-root, I started fiddling around with setcpu, which I got when I had my rooted MT3G, and my max is 1024 MHz. Doesn't the MT4G go higher than that? Do you know how to enable the higher MHz?

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sunsean said:
Thanks, yeah I got Visionary and have temp-root, just have to finish it off now for perm-root.
This is a side-question - but now that I've got temp-root, I started fiddling around with setcpu, which I got when I had my rooted MT3G, and my max is 1024 MHz. Doesn't the MT4G go higher than that? Do you know how to enable the higher MHz?
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You have to have a kernel that allows it to go higher, I'm like 95% sure about that, ha (brainfart). Try Faux123's kernels, I use them and love them, but dumfuq also has a really good one.
Sent from my Orange Glacier MT4G using XDA App

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I can place another vote in favor of the unlocker method. Worked great and easy for me. The higher speeds do require a different kernel. Stock is only good for 1024Mhz... Faux kernels are great!
Sent from my Glacier running CM7

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Using a different launcher shouldn't have any drastic impact on your battery life. Maybe if you're using something like SPD Shell 3D which has lots of graphical bells and whistles, but even then I don't think it'll be noticeably bad. (Me personally, I use Go Launcher EX and love it.)
The major sources of battery consumption are GPS and heavy screen use. Leaving WiFi or bluetooth on when not in use also wastes battery because your phone will be scanning for connections. If you're in an area with weak signal, your phone will spend more energy maintaining connectivity than it would in areas with strong signal. If after all those considerations you notice abnormal battery drain, you may have an app that's misbehaving.
If you're rooted and want even more battery savings, you can flash a new kernel that allows the processor to run at lower frequencies when the phone is idle. You can also flash an undervolted kernel, meaning it will perform the same functions but use less battery to do so (not all phones can tolerate this, but I've had no problems on mine). Faux123 has great kernels posted in development.
Nicgraner said:
I'm not sure what method unlocker used but I recommend NOT using gfree just as a personal preference. Use the visionary method. It should be visionary r14 unless there's been an update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This needs some clarification. VISIONary is used to gain temproot and then to permroot once you've run a necessary script. In theunlockr's method, the script is the root.sh file; in the gfree method, gfree is the script. You use VISIONary for both methods (unless you have something else for the temproot and permroot). Gfree is widely considered the better of the two because it can do many more things than root.sh can.