[Q] Motorola Atrix battery Problem - Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
This is what happened to my old Motorola Atrix 4g:
condition: unlocked carier, unlocked bootloader, themed extensively, lots of kernel additions. gingerbread 2.3.4
The phones wifi/bluetooth stopped working after I tried turning wifi on with the GO Launcher EX home screen widget and according to the IRC channel it was a hardware issue possibly caused by a software issue. Further using my phone and applying a wipe and a fruitcake led to bootloops, countless random phone restarts, and no fix for the wifi/bluetooth.
So I got a new bell motorola atrix and I am wondering if it is at !!ALL!! possible for my new phone to experience ANY issues if I use the battery from my old phone in my new one. Please only message if you are having a similar problem or if you are actually experienced enough to give an educated answer. The battery doesnt have any bumps that I can feel, it does have wear, probably from heat. I am not experienced enough to tell if the naked steel conductor part where it connects to the atrix is damaged, but it doesnt have any chips or bumps there. It doesnt reflect light evenly if looked at closely because the middle of each of the four boxes are quite shinier then the rest of the box. Sorry for being paranoid but I really dont want another $350 dollar piece of semi-garbage, Thank you for all those who contribute.
Also, if anyone knows a fix for my old atrix that would be appreciated, and can you also tell me some other things I can stay away from to prevent the same problem from happening again? Should I use titanium backup on my new atrix to restore applications from my old one including go launcher ex?
PS. I want to use my old battery as a secondary one for long days away from a charger.

I'll warn you now this will cause problems my dad and I had same cells I got my new ATRIX and he asked for the battery from my old cell (he wanted it for same reason as you do) it worked fine for him at first but then it started make his cell go really buggy and he was using stock ROM ,locked bootloader and non rooted if you still wish to take the chance I suggest that you wipe battery stats between changing battery's but since its a new cell I don't recommend it also I know with old cells (non android) the battery and cell share codes and don't work right in less it finds the battery has no code I.e a new never used battery gl and plz hit the thanks button
Sent from my ics+darkside multiboot mb860 using xda premium

Related

[Q] Another battery thread whith a diffrent approach.

Im starting this thread because of every battery thread I've read people NEVER seem to solve the problem unless they replace their ATRIX. Now a few questions. This is directed to any ATRIX owner in an attempt to find a solid solution.
1. Did your ATRIX only start having battery issues after upgrading to gingerbread?ATRIX or have you had issues beginning from stock froyo?
2. Has any solution suggested by anyone ever worked for you?
3. Does your ATRIX get hot and battery drains extremely fast?
4. Are you frequently connected to 4g H+?
If you answer no. To #2 and yes to #3 I suspect it may be a hardware problem...
on the battery this is what I see and find strange and this is the battery that came with the phone.
1880mah
1880/1930
Mah(min/typ)
7.0/7.1
Wh(min/typ)
Idk where to find production number so I guessed its this [GB/T 18287]
On the phone idk the specific so I took a guess too XD [SKU:65230]
if someone knows the two above please correct me but anyways I posted those because we can compare for those that have a problem and maybe pinpoint it to be a factory defect. Again I am doing this because this battery AND heating issue is aggravating and after 2 months I can't stand it anymore no fixes ever worked so help me and those with the issue out by providing information thanks.
Hello,
1-Yes
2-Not really, I have increase the battery life but not good as the stock Froyo.
3-Yes, but as I remember it get hot too on Froyo. Less or more... I don't know.
4-Always
I have buy an Andida 2200mAh battery and use it since 3 week, I will return to the stock battery tomorrow to check if there is a difference.
1- Nope, my battery has always lasted for around 8-10 hours everyday. (I play games and browse the internet everyday).
2-Never had any battery problem so....
3-Not at all. My Atrix has always been cool.
4. for about 4-5 hours a day (usually i am on wifi but wifi or not.....i have the same battery life).
It could be a ROM problem that you are having, maybe doing a clean install of a ROM could help you(do a complete wipe before installing the ROM). Are you using faux 123's kernel? It under-clocks your Atrix to as low as 216 GHz when your handset is idle but overclocks it to 1.1 GHz when it use. You could download setcpu to under-clock it for better battery saving and this will make your phone less hot.
You can and should also download a battery app from the market and see what your battery temp is like compared to other users. If it's a hardware issue indeed, you better return your Atrix and get a new one asap as it could cause you harm in the future.
Jibraldor said:
1- Nope, my battery has always lasted for around 8-10 hours everyday. (I play games and browse the internet everyday).
2-Never had any battery problem so....
3-Not at all. My Atrix has always been cool.
4. for about 4-5 hours a day (usually i am on wifi but wifi or not.....i have the same battery life).
It could be a ROM problem that you are having, maybe doing a clean install of a ROM could help you(do a complete wipe before installing the ROM). Are you using faux 123's kernel? It under-clocks your Atrix to as low as 216 GHz when your handset is idle but overclocks it to 1.1 GHz when it use. You could download setcpu to under-clock it for better battery saving and this will make your phone less hot.
You can and should also download a battery app from the market and see what your battery temp is like compared to other users. If it's a hardware issue indeed, you better return your Atrix and get a new one asap as it could cause you harm in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just it with everything stock gingerbread my friends ATRIX doesn't heat up as hot and eat through batteries like a fat guy an a dozen doughnuts in one sitting. We both had stock when I tried this his phone easily outlasts mine both on 4g and a factory reset I tested this when he asked me to root his phone I was gunna kill its bat and charge it to root and install unlock etc. And to my surprise holy sh#t his battery life WAY outlasted mine, AND HIS DEVICE IS ONE.MONTH OLDER i've had this ATRIX for 2 months now so its none of whatever everyone is saying about battery caliBS its a firm suspicion on a hardware flaw, the sooner people can find it the sooner Motorola can replace defective handsets, ridiculous, two stock gingerbread motorolas with 100% stock and mine only lasts about had as
long as my friends own who gets battery results everyone brags about.
i own 3 atrixes ive had an atrix since launch day had its issues at first but one thing that was never a problem was the battery it was always amazing lasted 2 days sometimes well since the offical ota uPdate i updated only one that way its my main phone and right away i noticed the heat coming from the metal clip holding the sd card then next i noticed the batt life was losing 10 every 20 mins or so. since i have rooted it just so i could try n use tb to freeze all the bloatware and still nothing then i tryed just bout every other method on this forum so i didnt wanna lose my warrenty on that 1 so i didnt unlock it so i took my other atrix with a slightly cracked screen it was running on 4.1.26 so i rooted it unlocked it and charged too 100 then flashed to alien v3 so wen it was done it upgraded to gb and right away i noticed the heat from it just like my other one and battery life was losing 10% every 20 mins just like my other one i have also tryed everything on this forum im lost now dnt no wat to do somebody please help also as upset i am about this happing im very relieved to c im not the only person with this issue

Dissapointed in SGS2

Well after the WOW effect wore off my phone, i am starting to HATE the flaws.
I bought this phone outright for a hefty $600 and hoping i did not waste my money switching over from blackberry.
MY problems
Bluetooth disconnects every 15 minutes, plus sounds like garbage, i did some reading on this and its a common problem yet appears to not be addressed yet? i am using a Jawbone Icon by the way and its dual connected to my work BB
Data(HSPDA) randomly disconnects at least once every 2 days and requires me to pull the battery to get it back going.
Battery drain is beyond crazy, i cant get 5 hours out of the phone with moderate use.
This thing heats up like crazy!!!
I know the last two things are software related, and people say upgrade to KG2, well my phone had 2.3.3 and KG2 and this is what it shipped with, so what should i go to?
Or can i just solve all of these issue by rooting the phone? if so, i will go that route.
Thanks.
Dustin
if you want to go that way(rooting,FLashing Roms)
Think twice, the SGS2 has a binary counter that counts how many times you flashed unofficial software on the phone,
if you brick it or something happens, screen breaks etc, you might ran into some problems @ samsung if they check the counter
you can reset it yourself by buying a JIG, google it!
I've had no issues with my bluetooth headset (logitech freepluse). i'd guess it doesnt like being dual connected
I've had no issues with losing my data connection (i did on galaxy s though). how strong is your signal before you lose it?
as for the battery drain, make sure you're exiting your apps + all the usual other stuff (turn off sync, wifi, bt, set to autobrightness). 2.3.3 does have the drainage issue for some people. i'm on villainrom 2.3.4 and have no drainage issues
rooting won't help you out.
HSDPA disconnects? if you have H always on that means you are either downloading or uploading something most of the time, H only turns on when there is data being pulled or sent, you should see the 3G icon MOST of the time, if you are streaming music/video then you'll see the H kicking in.
I have a Jawbone Cruiser and have no issues whatsoever I have 2 devices paired to it but only 1 at a time, A2DP works flawless and it even sounds better than the original Galaxy S.
duggyb said:
Well after the WOW effect wore off my phone, i am starting to HATE the flaws.
I bought this phone outright for a hefty $600 and hoping i did not waste my money switching over from blackberry.
MY problems
Bluetooth disconnects every 15 minutes, plus sounds like garbage, i did some reading on this and its a common problem yet appears to not be addressed yet? i am using a Jawbone Icon by the way and its dual connected to my work BB
I get zero disconnect .
Data(HSPDA) randomly disconnects at least once every 2 days and requires me to pull the battery to get it back going.
never happened yet on many roms .
This thing heats up like crazy!!!
Warm but not overhot .
I know the last two things are software related, and people say upgrade to KG2, well my phone had 2.3.3 and KG2 and this is what it shipped with, so what should i go to?
KH3 latest stock firmware on this forum .
Or can i just solve all of these issue by rooting the phone? if so, i will go that route.
Rooting has nothing to do with battery problems all it does if give user a lower level access to the OS .
Hundreds of battery problem posts with tips methods etc but for me the starter has to be ,
better battery stats .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179809
Find what apps are draining the battery .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear me another Apple fanboy on here
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
duggyb said:
Or can i just solve all of these issue by rooting the phone? if so, i will go that route.
Thanks.
Dustin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting will not solve these issues, but I can maybe enable you to start solving it.
However, before you start messing with kernels and firmwares I would really try to find out if some of the problems might be hardware related or not. If so, you could use your warranty to get a new one or get it fixed. Once you start messing with custom software you're never sure if they will grant you the warranty or not.
jonny68 said:
Dear me another Apple fanboy on here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure where you get that from? i actually hate apple and take that post as quite an insult, one and only thing i ever owned from them was a ipod way back, and it got stolen 2 mths after i bought it and i never replaced it.
that aside, i came from a Blackberry Curve 8330, although it sucked, it did have good bluetooth connectivity,decent battery life, and did not heat up, keep in mind it was a CDMA phone.
so i know i have some changes to expect with a new network, but it appears lots of these have been fixed by people and i am just trying to understand the software and device, KG2 KY this,etc is all new to me, so i have been reading lots but find it confusing since its so vast.
needless to say it will be kind of disappointing if i cant connect 2 devices to my jawbone icon at the same time and work flawless, as this is huge for me.
Also i NEVER see 3G data show up on my phone, its always the H with up and down arrows, should i see 3G? im up in Canada(Saskatchewan to be exact)
It appears i should update from KG2, yet KIES shows no update, i have not dove into Odin to try that out, maybe i should?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Dustin
jonny68 said:
Dear me another Apple fanboy on here :rolleyes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be scrupulously fair, the OP confesses to having come from Blackberry.
He is therefore not the spawn of Satan, merely just a second cousin of a minor demon...
Gustopher said:
To be scrupulously fair, the OP confesses to having come from Blackberry.
He is therefore not the spawn of Satan, merely just a second cousin of a minor demon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fair enough Blackberry not quite as bad unless your planning on rioting in your town or city
ill do my best
lool! some of these guys on here are too funny. ok how the f*** are u only getting 5 hours? i get 14-16hrs moderate use . i really would suggest rooting your phone. it really helps! i mean with the overheating problem i have under volted and under clocked my cpu and my phone doesnt heat up no more! woooop! lol. funny that my 3g and bluetooth is perfectly fine. oh and rooting is very very easy now and odin is quality and... simple . as im typing this im flashing another rom, lol. flashaholic . its a really good phone and ive had many many phones.
so now i have mixed reviews? should i root or not.
i really just want to solve my issues!
i installed Battery Stats but have no idea how to screenshot?
duggyb said:
so now i have mixed reviews? should i root or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting doesn't solve anything, just gives you access to hidden files. You need to flash a newer rom(kh3 or kh5) and hope it fixes those issues.
I agree with the above poster, I've been using android since inception and I don't believe in rooting a phone to mask the issues you are having, upgrade the software, there are many roms to choose from, get the device running well before you think about rooting.
People are giving new android users the impression that rooting is the answer for phone issues, it is not.
Rooting is for advanced users who want the extra access to explore the power of android.
Sent from my GT-I9100
I don't understand why everyone seems to be pushing the USB JIG, it's like there are people making and selling them here or something.
@BrokenPixel, H or H+ doesn't drop to 3G as fast, if your Telco doesn't support Fast Dormancy, or you have Fast Dormancy disabled.
I like Blackberries, it is lacking as a end-user smartphone, however for companies, I still like the privacy with point to point encryption. Android does not have that unless you purchase a 3rd party application which means both parties have to have it as well. Again, it really depends on what you are using the phone for. I still recommend using the right tools for the right job.
@Gustopher, calling Blackberries a "second cousin of a minor demon..." is like calling a screwdriver the bane of our existence, or a hammer "the killer of thumbs..."
peachpuff is correct, instead of rooting your phone, perhaps you should try changing the modem to something else instead, try KH3, KG6, KF4, KE4. Perhaps in the mentioned order. It really covers most regions, since we don't know where you are at!
LiFE1688 said:
I don't understand why everyone seems to be pushing the USB JIG, it's like there are people making and selling them here or something.
@BrokenPixel, H or H+ doesn't drop to 3G as fast, if your Telco doesn't support Fast Dormancy, or you have Fast Dormancy disabled.
I like Blackberries, it is lacking as a end-user smartphone, however for companies, I still like the privacy with point to point encryption. Android does not have that unless you purchase a 3rd party application which means both parties have to have it as well. Again, it really depends on what you are using the phone for. I still recommend using the right tools for the right job.
@Gustopher, calling Blackberries a "second cousin of a minor demon..." is like calling a screwdriver the bane of our existence, or a hammer "the killer of thumbs..."
peachpuff is correct, instead of rooting your phone, perhaps you should try changing the modem to something else instead, try KH3, KG6, KF4, KE4. Perhaps in the mentioned order. It really covers most regions, since we don't know where you are at!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for actually being informative.
I am in Canada by the way(Saskatchewan) and i am running on the Sasktel network(Bell essentially)
I always thought i had to root in order to install something different then KG2?
i am not sure what my network supports, but i have NEVER seen 3g since the day i bought it.
i have turned off some of the recommended things to save battery life, it seems to be helping, we will see what i get
If your problems are related to your settings, flashing newer firmware (KG5 for example, works fine with me) will only really help if you do a complete wipe/factory reset. See the guides for that.
That would be done best by rooting with CF-root, going into CWM-recovery, doing a backup there, do all "wipes", reboot straight into download mode and flash the fresh firmware via Odin. The guides are all there.
Just make sure to play with some settings like gsm/wcdma in your network settings first.
5hrs use?
Your blackberry gave much better battery?
Sorry, but your talking absolute ****e!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
chrisjcks said:
5hrs use?
Your blackberry gave much better battery?
Sorry, but your talking absolute ****e!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you never heard of BB's? He came from a Curve..basically a glorified pager. He could probably go 3 days on that thing with a single charge. Kind of like going from a Commodore 64 to a high end laptop.
One thing I haven't heard mentioned about rooting is the fact with root you can install Titanium Backup..and with the Pro version..freeze apps (instead of deleting) which allows you to fiddle with perhaps some rogue apps that are draining your battery.
As usual with most Androids..make sure you don't have FB or Twitter syncing crazily (and if you're running multiple tweet or FB programs..be sure they aren't syncing as well). I'm not familiar with Touchwiz..but if they have their own "social networking" apps that you don't use (and you use the actual apps themselves instead) be sure to check those and make sure they arent sync'ing either (and better yet freeze them with TiBu).
chrisjcks said:
5hrs use?
Your blackberry gave much better battery?
Sorry, but your talking absolute ****e!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i am lying to your face in order to get you to help me fix my phone.....:facepalm
A. i get FIVE HOURS with moderate use on my current I9100
B. i ad a BB curve 8330 i would get 14-16 hours moderate use.
so no, i am not talking "****e"

Horrible battery life after 2.3.6

Ok, I installed 2.3.6 from AT&T and my bettery life has tanked.
Batter Usage shows the Android OS at 93%!!!
Not using my phone, it is dead in about 7 hours.
Kernel Version
2.6.35.7
Build Number
GINGERBREAD.UCKK6
I am not rooted and dont want to root.
HELP!
Tymong said:
Ok, I installed 2.3.6 from AT&T and my bettery life has tanked.
Batter Usage shows the Android OS at 93%!!!
Not using my phone, it is dead in about 7 hours.
Kernel Version
2.6.35.7
Build Number
GINGERBREAD.UCKK6
I am not rooted and dont want to root.
HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have an app that is driving data to your phone, causing the wifi chip to wake the phone all the time. Apparently a system app - a lot of people have been having this issue with KK6.
Beyond this - sorry, but if you are not rooted you will have to live with it. Identifying what is triggering the wifi interrupts requires obtaining a Wireshark capture, this is not possible without root. Even if a common root cause is found for what's going on with KK6, it's most likely in /system itself so can't be fixed without a custom ROM or at least rooting.
If you're not willing to root, why are you on a firmware developer forum? Have AT&T help you instead if you're on 100% bone stock unrooted.
Well if it's an APP causing it, then many many people must be running the same app cause all of the various forums out there are a lot of people with the battery drain after updating to 2.3.6. Even a lot of my customers have mentioned it also.
I doubt it is an APP doing it. I'd bet it is just some bad coding on Samsung's part. They are probably getting a lot of complaints and are most likely already looking into it.
As far as the why he is here if he doesn't root. Well I don't root as well and have no desire to being as stock works just great. (other than the battery drain)
This is a great place to hang out and keep up on other people using various phones. He posted in the General section, not the Developer's section for this phone. So I think his/her question was valid.
If he was asking the question in the Developers section I would understand your concern. But I don't feel you have to be into cooked ROMS to value this forum.
That's like saying to the people who like the "Fast and the Furious" moves to stop watching them because they have a Chevy and not a pimped up Civic.
Tymong said:
Ok, I installed 2.3.6 from AT&T and my bettery life has tanked.
Batter Usage shows the Android OS at 93%!!!
Not using my phone, it is dead in about 7 hours.
Kernel Version
2.6.35.7
Build Number
GINGERBREAD.UCKK6
I am not rooted and dont want to root.
HELP!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not rooted with wifi on all the time just got the phone 3 days ago and I'm getting 14-15hrs with no issue down to about 15-20% battery life left before I have to stick back on charger. Could be a bad battery or device, I'm coming over from Sprint after using rooted evo3d and rooted photon.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using xda premium
The forum is called xda-DEVELOPERS.com
If you don't want to root, you're probably better off in the AT&T support forums, because honestly, it isn't worth our time to try and help someone who doesn't want to root fix a problem that is almost sure to require root access to fix, or in this case, even diagnose.
I do believe many are having this issue after upgrading to kk6 (with same apps installed). I had the issue as well.
May be a system app, or something in /system causing an app to become unhappy.
Either way, it's not going to get fixed without Shark for Root captures from those encountering problems.
Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk
browncarpet said:
I do believe many are having this issue after upgrading to kk6 (with same apps installed). I had the issue as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it anything to do with KK6. As Entropy said its an app causing a wake lock. I'm run Ingram KK6 without any issues with battery.
Sent from my sgh-i777 using xda premium
Having this issue as well. Phone is stock. Ive been here since the captivate but I hang around with the sgs2. Never needed to root this phone as it works perfectly for me. But I did the update this morning at 100% charge and 9 hours later with no use it's down to 9%. I could go all day with moderate use and be at 30-40% by the time I go to bed.
I read on a rather long on a google forum that many had this issue after upgrading via ota but who knows. I found that wiping dalvik and flashing unnamed update again I have much better batter life. I did read in update that he reverted to an earlier kernel signature to fix the battery drain.
Im going back to 2.3.4 via this method.
http://galaxys2root.com/att-galaxy-s2/how-to-unroot-att-galaxy-s2-sgh-i777/
Losing 10% of my battery at idle /hour is ridiculous lol. Android os was at 87+% within 3 hours of restart.
Edit:
Okay so I did this method. Took about 5 mins after I got everything downloaded. I did not do the factory reset since it's not needed. Phones back to 2.3.4 and nothing was reset. Have all my sms's contacts, aps, wallpapers etc. Battery seems to be back to normal.
I recommend everyone who did that 2.3.6 update to revert back. To many problems with it.
I never entered download mode on this phone before. Just a tip: Keep holding all the buttons till the phone seems like it shuts off and keep holding them till you get into download mode. Do not let go or else it just powers off.
For the purposes of attempting to fix the problem, I really would like some people to take some Shark for Root captures as described in my Known Battery Drainers thread.
With that data, the root cause of the problem might be identifiable.
So far I've only seen one capture, I really need more unless I can reproduce the problem myself.
Entropy512 said:
For the purposes of attempting to fix the problem, I really would like some people to take some Shark for Root captures as described in my Known Battery Drainers thread.
With that data, the root cause of the problem might be identifiable.
So far I've only seen one capture, I really need more unless I can reproduce the problem myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also having battery issues but would like to try to fix it before giving up.
I've searched a bunch but can't find that thread. Not at home to try it on my PC so if you'll link it here, I'll do what I can to get some captures for you.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using Tapatalk
[REF] Known identified battery drainers
n7slc said:
I've searched a bunch but can't find that thread. Not at home to try it on my PC so if you'll link it here, I'll do what I can to get some captures for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
[REF] Known identified battery drainers
I read a possible solution on another forum and tried it with my SGS2 today and am amazed at the difference today in my battery life.
Worth a shot as it does not require anything more than charging your phone and pulling the battery.
Charge your phone to 100% with the phone off (hold the power button for 3 seconds or so until the menu comes up and select power off). When you reach 100%, unplug the charger and remove your battery (some said keep the battery removed for 90 seconds while others said 3-5 minutes). I left my battery out for 5 minutes or so. Put the battery back in and power on.
That was it. My Android OS went back to normal and the battery life today has been great if not better then with 2.3.6 than before I updated.
Screen grab of my current battery use after trying this method this morning is attached.
radeon962 said:
I read a possible solution on another forum and tried it with my SGS2 today and am amazed at the difference today in my battery life.
Worth a shot as it does not require anything more than charging your phone and pulling the battery.
Charge your phone to 100% with the phone off (hold the power button for 3 seconds or so until the menu comes up and select power off). When you reach 100%, unplug the charger and remove your battery (some said keep the battery removed for 90 seconds while others said 3-5 minutes). I left my battery out for 5 minutes or so. Put the battery back in and power on.
That was it. My Android OS went back to normal and the battery life today has been great if not better then with 2.3.6 than before I updated.
Screen grab of my current battery use after trying this method this morning is attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Placebo effect - did nothing a plain old reboot would not have done.
Entropy512 said:
Placebo effect - did nothing a plain old reboot would not have done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quite possible, but still running on the same charge from this morning and am at 28% battery after 14+ hours of normal use which is all I expect (calls, texts and light web browsing during the day over data) and then couple hours of web use at night over Wi-Fi when at home.
The last few days I was charging the phone when I got home from the office if I wanted to use it at night. Android OS was way up in the 60+ range after I first updated OTA and today it has been under 20% and more near 15%, so I'll take it.
---------- Post added at 11:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------
Come to think, I probably did not do a reboot after the update and could have been all that was needed.
radeon962 said:
I read a possible solution on another forum and tried it with my SGS2 today and am amazed at the difference today in my battery life.
Worth a shot as it does not require anything more than charging your phone and pulling the battery.
Charge your phone to 100% with the phone off (hold the power button for 3 seconds or so until the menu comes up and select power off). When you reach 100%, unplug the charger and remove your battery (some said keep the battery removed for 90 seconds while others said 3-5 minutes). I left my battery out for 5 minutes or so. Put the battery back in and power on.
That was it. My Android OS went back to normal and the battery life today has been great if not better then with 2.3.6 than before I updated.
Screen grab of my current battery use after trying this method this morning is attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did this and saw absolutely no change. 2.3.6 is draining my battery far faster than 2.3.4 ever did. The culprit is the Android OS running at 90%.
I read that it might be an issue with the wifi so I have turned that off and will report back if that seems to fix it.
I read on another forum that att and Samsung are trying to blame it on bad batteries and shipping out new batteries.
What a bunch of crap. People everywhere wouldn't suddenly all have bad batteries at the same time. Sounds like usual BS.
I personally think its just some bad coding that Samsung needs to figure out.
On a different note, I played with the Verizon Droid Razr yesterday. Man that is a really nice phone. I'm tempted to get it, but I work for att and get free cell service, so it wouldn't make sense to pay for Verizon service, even though I think their network is better.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
chocodough said:
I read on another forum that att and Samsung are trying to blame it on bad batteries and shipping out new batteries.
What a bunch of crap. People everywhere wouldn't suddenly all have bad batteries at the same time. Sounds like usual BS.
I personally think its just some bad coding that Samsung needs to figure out.
On a different note, I played with the Verizon Droid Razr yesterday. Man that is a really nice phone. I'm tempted to get it, but I work for att and get free cell service, so it wouldn't make sense to pay for Verizon service, even though I think their network is better.
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Android OS is definately eating up the battery now. I think it does have to do with wifi, because it seems to be much improved with it off. I'll take a free battery as long as I don't need to exchange the old one.

Various nooby questions about the Galaxy Note - Battery, ICS, Insurance, Display, ROM

As I said, I'm a noob when it comes to not the Galaxy Note but also the Android Operating system. Before switching to Android in April, I was stuck on iOS (iPhone 4) for more than 2 years; before that was the good old Symbian OS on a Nokia N95 8 GB. So far, since making the switch, the experience has been great. Themes, ringtones, tons of customization are just some of the things that are easily possible with "jailbreaking" on my former device.
That being said, I'm still adjusting to my new phone even after 3 months. Thats why I'm starting this thread; I need help on a few questions. So, here it goes (I did search for a lot of these, but no solid solutions) -
1. One of the great things about my old phone was the battery life. Even after using the phone's music function, checking facebook/emails/news/weather every now and then, I would still have around 60%~80% juice left after an 8~10 hour shift at work. None of that on the Note. Just having the 4G running leaves me with around 40%~50% juice after work, with no hard usage like going on the web, or using my phone as a music player. How come? I understand that most of the juice is used by the big-ass display; but there is a still a huge consumption even when the display is not turned on at all. I recently came across a term called deep sleep on the forum; I'm not sure if my phone goes to that or not. How do I check (keep in mind that I'm a noob; I installed CPU Spy, Battery Spy and BetterBatteryStats, but what am I looking for. I'll include a pic from all these apps)? Basically, how do I increase battery life?
2. Charging/Data cables - I dont understand this.. I have included a picture of 3 cables. The 1st one of my brother's from an old HTC phone. This is the only cable I can use to transfer date to and from my phone; that too with a lot care because if I move my phone around, the connection gets lost and I cant even charge my phone unless I unplug the cable, put my phone in a stationary position and replug the cable. The 2nd one is the cable I use to charge my phone. I cant use it to transfer data (I guess because of the little head converter); again, with this cable I cant move my phone around. I have to keep the phone screen-up for it to charge; cant pick it up or move it around or no charge. The 3rd cable is useless. It came with a pair of bluetooth head set. I cant transfer data, nor charge my phone. On some cables, my phone shows its charging; but it either charges very very slow, or shows its at a 100%, but as soon as I take the cable out, the % goes down to 60~85. The phone seems to charge fine on a car charger I have (not a USB car charger, this one has no removable parts). I think it might be the USB port on my phone, but not sure.
3. The 4th picture is of the Go Task Manager widget. Currently its showing 239 MB of RAM free. I closed Battery Spy, and it came down to around 300~325 MB free. Does Go Launcher take a lot of memory? How can I free more RAM? Didnt the Galaxy Note have 1 GB of RAM; what happened to the remaining 305 MB of RAM?
4. ROM - FLOODED = the only word I can use after I saw the Android Development section. So many choices. Is it worth flashing my phone with one of these? Which one do you recommend? Is the one for CyanogenMod good? What exactly does Nightly Built mean?
5. Flashing the phone with a custom ROM voids the warranty, right? Does the "flashing counter" thing work (I read somewhere that there's an easy way of flashing the counter in Recovery to 0)? I included a pic of a crack thats on my screen (long story short, I dropped my phone screen down on a rock). I'm about to send it to AT&T (since I have insurance from them) for the screen (hopefully they'll send me a new one, which will fix the whole charging/data transfer problem too). Will they check the counter too? Should I flash the counter? I have to pay $200 for a claim, be it water damage, accidental damage, theft, loss, etc; if they do check the counter, should the just drop the **** out of the phone so it dosnt work at all?
Long read, I know. Just wanted to cram in as much information as possible so that I can get answers as soon as possible. Any and all answers will be appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read through the whole thread and replying (if you do).
Ways to increase battery life:
- I hear using wifi as much as possible instead of data is a huge improvement as well as turning off auto sync and you can turn wifi off when the display is off. Also the typical of having it on a low brightness, finding out if you have any rogue apps that are causing more drain than they should. The last resort is to get either multiple batteries or an extended one with a different back case. Aside from those things, you are only going to get so much on time display from the note. I get on average 3.5 hours and can push my phone to about 22 hours from 100%. Milestone 6 Rom, KingKangKernel 5
About the cables:
- Buy a new usb cable. If you ever intend on modifying your phone or even transferring any time of data, you are going to NEED to have a secure and trustworthy connection. And by a new wall adapter. (most phone cables come with the little adapter head for outlets so just make sure it comes included). Pop it off for computer use, and pop it on for wall use. There are a ton of threads about those in the accessories section so you may want to give that a peek. They also have info there about possible substitution batteries.
Ram:
-I don't understand this too much because haha I suck with some techy stuff. But I believe that touchwiz uses a lot of the ram (could be completely wrong) But, I know that a lot of those apps that you are never going to use AT&T(insert name here) apparently constantly are using power and resources. I used to try to clear the ram all the time and it never really went down. Haha sorry I can't help more with this part.
Roms:
- Milestone 6 with KingKangKernel5 ALL THE WAY!!! I would be willing to walk you through the process step-by-step with all the files and such that you would need if you'd like. Other than that, you need to have an idea of what you want before going to the development side of things. Do you want Touchwiz, OC, UV, BLN (YOU WANT BLN lmao), miui, cm9, cm10 (haha), aokp, aosp, aocp, a stock feel, customization out the ying yang. Decide all this stuff and then your choices will narrow drastically to about two or three. From there, it is easy to experiment and possibly decide you had your requirements all wrong and start the process from the beginning haha.
Warranty:
- Get your next insurance claim through BB (best buy). Their black tie protection covers anything as many times as you want without that 200 dollar fee (might as well get a new phone at that ridiculous price!!!) for only ten dollars a month. : D
-Don't know how AT&T does their insurance stuff but I feel if your issues are physical (scratch/ port) that they have no reason to deny you a claim even if there is proof of modification because rooting doesn't crack your screen or break your port. Hahaha, but they can be uptight so I would suggest possibly getting the claim first and then delving into the developmental side of things. There is an odin flashable zip to bring your counter back to 0. I have never tried it personally but many people have had a ton of success with it so I would suggest checking out that thread and just reading carefully what other people do so that you do not make a mistake with anything.
Hope this helps. Hahahahaha, sorry it's so long.
Custom roms improve batt life greatly because on a stock phone u have tons of apps running in the background if u root and flash a rom u can freeze all of them that u want plus now we can over clock our kernels to make r note fly as far as the rom for u ....well u just have to try them diff strokes for diff folks lol i use cm9 roms alot u got to remember ur note has a huge screen so its gonna pull more batt...i also use jucie defender ultimite ...bigjoe has a super everything thread for this phone u can find all ur answers there
sent from memosphere remix
1. Battery life varies strongly with usage, in CPUSpy each bar represents how much time the phone processor has spent at each speed. The more time spent at lower speeds the better for your battery life.
If you scroll to the bottom of the list the lowest speed should either be: 384 MHz or Deep Sleep
The phone only enters Deep Sleep if the phone screen is off, and no apps are calling for CPU time. This speed saves the most battery. Rogue apps could be preventing your phone from sleeping. BetterBatteryStats is a tool to help you discover these apps and either: change your usage patterns or uninstall them.
Check CPUSpy first. If Deep Sleep is not at the bottom, or its bar is relatively small then check BetterBatteryStats for the rogue app.
However even if it's in Deep Sleep if you get around the city a lot during the day the phone will be switching radio towers often, switching uses quite a bit of battery. If you stay in a single place for a while you should be able to leave it on a desk for 8 hours and find that you have lost none or almost no battery at all (Such as at night when you are sleeping).
This is a "4G" phone, carrier coverage is spotty and if you are in an area with bad reception or poor coverage, your phone's radio must switch to a higher power level to maintain a connection with the cell tower thus using more battery. 4G towers are more sparse, and therefore 4G has worse coverage compared to your previous phones.
2. You should be using the cable included with your phone. Charging cables obviously will not carry data. But data cables will do both, get yourself a good cable.
3. Don't worry about ram at all. Android has one of the finest ram management systems out there. The phone has 1 GB of ram, 200-300 MB is reserved for the kernel and kernel processes. Therefore you actually have around 700MB, the phone uses the remaining space to caches apps and other required data so that your experience is more fluid and "Lag-free". Not to mention the ram background services and apps are using. Which brings me back to my original point. Don't worry about it, fiddling with it could ruin your experience with the device and use more battery. Don't use apps to clear it, Google has already stated that this doesn't do much.
4. The original rom is your best bet if you want all of the features of the phone. Cyanogenmod is your second choice, Cyanogenmod does not have S-pen support and some of the services provided from Samsung. Cyanogenmod is very lightweight and is the most popular choice among all android devices.
Nightly-Built means that the rom is basically updated every night, so that you can receive the latest features and improvements. You can check every day and there will be a new update for your phone with the latest additions and fixes. However not all nightly builds are stable, but they are reliable at the moment.
5. The counter only counts when you use ODIN to flash bootloaders and kernels I believe. When most of us say "flashing" we mean flashing through ClockWorkMod or CWM for short. CWM does not advance the counter I believe. There are no reports of anyone being denied warranty because of the counter. Do not flash the counter reset, this does count as a "flash" and it is still detectable by AT&T.
tutusinghsohi said:
As I said, I'm a noob when it comes to not the Galaxy Note but also the Android Operating system. Before switching to Android in April, I was stuck on iOS (iPhone 4) for more than 2 years; before that was the good old Symbian OS on a Nokia N95 8 GB. So far, since making the switch, the experience has been great. Themes, ringtones, tons of customization are just some of the things that are easily possible with "jailbreaking" on my former device.
That being said, I'm still adjusting to my new phone even after 3 months. Thats why I'm starting this thread; I need help on a few questions. So, here it goes (I did search for a lot of these, but no solid solutions) -
1. One of the great things about my old phone was the battery life. Even after using the phone's music function, checking facebook/emails/news/weather every now and then, I would still have around 60%~80% juice left after an 8~10 hour shift at work. None of that on the Note. Just having the 4G running leaves me with around 40%~50% juice after work, with no hard usage like going on the web, or using my phone as a music player. How come? I understand that most of the juice is used by the big-ass display; but there is a still a huge consumption even when the display is not turned on at all. I recently came across a term called deep sleep on the forum; I'm not sure if my phone goes to that or not. How do I check (keep in mind that I'm a noob; I installed CPU Spy, Battery Spy and BetterBatteryStats, but what am I looking for. I'll include a pic from all these apps)? Basically, how do I increase battery life?
To increase battery life you can do a few things. Obviously, use as low brightness as you can stand using, and also try to use wallpapers with lots of black, as black pixels do not draw any power on amoled displays. Next, from your CPU spy pic it looks like a rogue may be holding your device in partial wake lock, as your 384 MHz stage has twice the time of your deep sleep stage. Uninstall any apps you dont need, like benchmarks and other one time use apps like that. Also, if you have stuff constantly syncing, that will drain battery with the screen off too. If you need push email, leave sync on, but change the sync settings of less essential apps to manual sync only, so your phone only syncs those when you use the app. Along with the syncing, if you are in an lte area, data usage will eat much more battery than the iphone for the same data usage. Lastly, if you have crappy cell service, that will also contribute to faster drain.
2. Charging/Data cables - I dont understand this.. I have included a picture of 3 cables. The 1st one of my brother's from an old HTC phone. This is the only cable I can use to transfer date to and from my phone; that too with a lot care because if I move my phone around, the connection gets lost and I cant even charge my phone unless I unplug the cable, put my phone in a stationary position and replug the cable. The 2nd one is the cable I use to charge my phone. I cant use it to transfer data (I guess because of the little head converter); again, with this cable I cant move my phone around. I have to keep the phone screen-up for it to charge; cant pick it up or move it around or no charge. The 3rd cable is useless. It came with a pair of bluetooth head set. I cant transfer data, nor charge my phone. On some cables, my phone shows its charging; but it either charges very very slow, or shows its at a 100%, but as soon as I take the cable out, the % goes down to 60~85. The phone seems to charge fine on a car charger I have (not a USB car charger, this one has no removable parts). I think it might be the USB port on my phone, but not sure.
Buy the stock Samsung wall charger/cable. It will do wonders for you. Solid connection, full speed charging, and data transfer.
3. The 4th picture is of the Go Task Manager widget. Currently its showing 239 MB of RAM free. I closed Battery Spy, and it came down to around 300~325 MB free. Does Go Launcher take a lot of memory? How can I free more RAM? Didnt the Galaxy Note have 1 GB of RAM; what happened to the remaining 305 MB of RAM?
Don't worry about ram usage, android as an os manages it just fine by itself. No need to constantly kill apps or use task killers other than the stock one if you absolutely need to kill something. Constantly killing apps/clearing ram can actually decrease your battery life as well, as constantly killing and restarting apps uses far more resources than leaving them running. Also, if you're constantly killing apps that have push syncing or interval syncing, they will just restart anyways, essentially just killing battery every time you clear ram. Lastly, use as few Widgets as possible. They are nice and pretty, but unless you need them they're just another service that is running, and will slow down your launcher performance if you have too many.
4. ROM - FLOODED = the only word I can use after I saw the Android Development section. So many choices. Is it worth flashing my phone with one of these? Which one do you recommend? Is the one for CyanogenMod good? What exactly does Nightly Built mean?
Remember, there's no rush, and no "best rom", so just take your time reading how to flash each rom, and try each one out that looks appealing to you. Nobody can tell you what will suit you best, and since all of the roms are great around here, you really can't go wrong trying any of them until you find what fits you best. Custom roms are totally worth it, as they have all of the fat trimmed and are really fun to play with. Be careful though, you may find yourself developing an addiction after you get the hang of things. =].
5. Flashing the phone with a custom ROM voids the warranty, right? Does the "flashing counter" thing work (I read somewhere that there's an easy way of flashing the counter in Recovery to 0)? I included a pic of a crack thats on my screen (long story short, I dropped my phone screen down on a rock). I'm about to send it to AT&T (since I have insurance from them) for the screen (hopefully they'll send me a new one, which will fix the whole charging/data transfer problem too). Will they check the counter too? Should I flash the counter? I have to pay $200 for a claim, be it water damage, accidental damage, theft, loss, etc; if they do check the counter, should the just drop the **** out of the phone so it dosnt work at all?
Yes, flashing roms does void your warranty but only temporarily. You can set it back to stock firmware again and be just fine returning or replacing it. People have also returned their phones with the counter tripped, as it seems that as of right now, neither att or Samsung cares about it. Have you flashed anything yet? If not, get your phone replaced before you do just to be sure, then when you get your new one back, you can have already read and downloaded everything you need to root and rom it as soon as you get it back. =].
Long read, I know. Just wanted to cram in as much information as possible so that I can get answers as soon as possible. Any and all answers will be appreciated. Thanks a lot for taking the time to read through the whole thread and replying (if you do).
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
tutusinghsohi said:
3. The 4th picture is of the Go Task Manager widget. Currently its showing 239 MB of RAM free. I closed Battery Spy, and it came down to around 300~325 MB free. Does Go Launcher take a lot of memory? How can I free more RAM? Didnt the Galaxy Note have 1 GB of RAM; what happened to the remaining 305 MB of RAM?
4. ROM - FLOODED = the only word I can use after I saw the Android Development section. So many choices. Is it worth flashing my phone with one of these? Which one do you recommend? Is the one for CyanogenMod good? What exactly does Nightly Built mean?
5. Flashing the phone with a custom ROM voids the warranty, right? Does the "flashing counter" thing work (I read somewhere that there's an easy way of flashing the counter in Recovery to 0)? I included a pic of a crack thats on my screen (long story short, I dropped my phone screen down on a rock). I'm about to send it to AT&T (since I have insurance from them) for the screen (hopefully they'll send me a new one, which will fix the whole charging/data transfer problem too). Will they check the counter too? Should I flash the counter? I have to pay $200 for a claim, be it water damage, accidental damage, theft, loss, etc; if they do check the counter, should the just drop the **** out of the phone so it dosnt work at all?
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Ok first keep in mind I came to android with almost the same background as you and about the same time.
Question 3: anything with Go in the name I have seen huge team usage... also custom Roms will be a great thing for your ram you will see big changes if you go with anything like AOKP AOSP or AOCP. These are as close to basic unmodified android as you will find with little to no extras.
4: cyanogen mods are good in my opinion, nightly builds are not finals they are updated nightly... as for a Rom I tried a few and have found my favorite is the collective builds.they just came out with the AOCP (newly updated coming soon) and there is one member of the team that likes ultra slim builds and he slims them down to the bear bones. When ready to flash give them a shot.
5: flashing will void warranty, with that said so did the crack you have. This counts as physical damage. So insurance is the best option. I do agree best buy ins is great but as you have att ins might as well use it. With a crack screen I think you will get a different device to fix charge port but will most likely get refurb phone. I would root and flash with this one so you can do it and IF anything goes wrong you need an instant replacement any way and your not out anything
Other 2 questions I didn't feel I was the one to answer nor am I a expert on any of this, just the info I have
Sent from my AoCP Note
Battery life isn't the greatest on the Note, but it's acceptable. If you use it a lot, the battery will drain. You can try using a different CPU governor (lulzactive, smartassv2, etc. in custom kernels) to improve battery life or just use powersave (which decreases performance but improves battery life). You also have to account for the huge screen which is OLED, not LCD. With an LCD (like the iPhone 4 has) there is an array of white LED's that illuminate the screen. There's probably 8 or so of them. The LCD glass is a color filter which colors the white light from the backlight. The LCD itself uses little power, and the LED backlight only has 8 or so LED's. The Note uses an AMOLED screen (Active-Matrix Organic LED) in which each individual pixel is four independent LED's (RGBG). They're small LED's and use little power on their own, but you have 1280x800x4 of them (well, not quite due to the pentile arrangement staggering pixels). When they're all on (white screens) it uses a lot of power, especially when brightness is up. On the plus side, when they're all off (dark screens) they use much less power. To save power on an AMOLED, use a darker background/theme.
As for RAM usage, the Note has 1GB and you really don't need to worry about checking it. Android manages RAM very well, especially when it has 1GB to work with. When you leave an app in Android it isn't closed, merely pushed back in an application stack. Only when Android determines that RAM is filling up does it start removing stale apps from this stack.
Personally I've used my Note with many different cables without issue. The included Samsung charger and cable work very well, and I think has the most solid connection of all of them, but I've had success with a cord from my Archos media player as well as my HP TouchPad tablet. The TouchPad's wall charger also gives a slight charging boost as it provides more power (2A vs. 1A) but the Note's highest charge rate is around 1.1A so you don't see a huge difference. It does need a bit more than a standard 500mA USB port provides, so if you plan to charge it off your PC or a 500mA charger, you need to turn off the screen and leave it off, otherwise the screen will eat up the power, leaving none for the battery.
My favorite ROM is CyanogenMod 9. This is a built-from-scratch (Google's source + modifications) ROM that includes a lot of nice features while retaining the stock Android look and feel. I personally do not like TouchWiz or the customizations that Samsung added to their Note ROMs but many people do. It's all about personal preference. A nightly build means that a new release of the ROM is posted (usually by an automated system) every night. This is what CyanogenMod uses for most devices, as their project has many developers and is constantly updating. You don't need to update every day, but a nightly ROM means that you always have access to the latest updates if you want them.
As for the flash counter, I would warranty the phone before flashing a custom ROM. I generally don't take warranty into account on my tech purchases because with all the hacking I do it's often void, but usually if you restore the stock firmware they will fix hardware issues obviously not caused by your ROM flashing..
Thank you all for the quick replies.
Regarding the cable, I've come across this on amazon - /gp/product/B007JZGO6S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=AR2TEZS0WRV7S
Good to buy?
@Ph0n3D0rk - Thank you. Due to the short battery life I've been experiencing, I always use my phone on brightness all the way down with "Automatic Brightness" option turned off. I only have 200 MB per month data, so wifi's the only way to go . I've been looking into extra (or extended batteries); maybe soon. I read into Milestone 6; seems pretty interesting. I might give it a go (maybe when I get the replacement). I'll private message you about it.
@JB calhoun - Thank you. I've started looking into different kinds of ROMs. Is it possible to try out 2 different types or ROMs at the same time? What I mean is that say if I install CM9, then I want to try Milestone 6; will I have to remove CM9 to try Milestone 6? Also, does installing a new ROM every time (almost all instructions say to do a "Wipe data/factory reset") means all my data (on the phone ofcourse and not on the SD card) will be lost? I'm mainly worried about my text messages and whatsapp conversations (I think all other data settings are saved by Google, and reapplied once the app is installed back again, right?)
@SkyStars - Thank you. I tried using BetterBatteryStats, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. Should I be looking at Processes, Partial Wakelocks, Other or Kernel Wakelocks; and then what in these? I've heard a lot about CyagnogenMod. When you say it does not support S-pen, does it mean that the phone has no use for it at all? Can we still maneuver the screen with it, or take screenshots? Or does it just stop working? So, I should stay away from flashing the counter? My counter (I think) right now says 4.
@welchertc - Thank you. I found out about keeping a black wallpaper to decrease battery use a few weeks ago; I've had a black wallpaper since. I'll remove useless apps, then lets see what happens. Is the link I provided in the beginning ok, or should I search for something else? I was wondering about killed apps popping up after some time (Facebook for example). I have email sync turned off. I've been trying to turn off sync for a few apps, but some of them dont give me such an option (eg. The Drudge Report). I have started looking for some ROMs. But I ask you the same question I asked JB about ROMs - Can I have only 1 ROM at a time? And, will have to erase everything every single time? The warranty problem's the same with Apple. Just like you said, it seems to be the same with Apple - just reinstall the stock iOS, and you're ready to go (I had my iPhone changed after I went back to stock from a jailbroken firmware after it also developed battery issues; the new phone I received was brilliant in the battery department). I think my counter is up to 4.
@spade1031 - Thank you. Milestone 6 is an AOKP release. I'll look into the other releases you've mentioned as well. I've been using the Go Launcher because I tried AWD, and didnt like it. Any other nice ones out there? (But maybe I wont need them after a ROM install).
@CalcProgrammer1 - Thank you for the very informative and in-depth writing. What exactly is a CPU governor? If it is what I think it is, then I think I used one back when AT&T hadnt rolled out ICS, and I had (somehow) rooted the older version. I installed an app (dont remember the name) that basically let me create profiles in which I could set the max and min CPU usages; is that it? So I shouldnt worry about closing apps using any witget? The reason I ask is because the phone tends to get a bit slugish when a lot of apps are open, and available RAM (as shown on Go Taskmanger is around ~75 MB). I'll try not closing any apps from now on and note the difference. If I do go with CyanogenMod, what exactly will I be losing in terms of TouchWiz? I have flashed before (tried ICS before it officially came out), so my flash now is at 4. Should I take a chance and turn it in as is and see if they still change it; or should I try flashing the counter before turning it in?
Once again, thanks everyone for the replies.
tutusinghsohi said:
Thank you all for the quick replies
@spade1031 - Thank you. Milestone 6 is an AOKP release. I'll look into the other releases you've mentioned as well. I've been using the Go Launcher because I tried AWD, and didnt like it. Any other nice ones out there? (But maybe I wont need them after a ROM install).
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Dude your gonna hate me but this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538926
Best launcher for the Note? Has a ton of info.. most people will still use a custom launcher after a Rom but it is all personal pref. I like apex (got the paid version) nova isn't bad but not for me... I'm now playing with sslauncher, like this as landscape and portrait can be set 2 different ways and has text icons built in and also NO GRID you have to follow for the icons
Sent from my AoCP Note
spade1031 said:
Dude your gonna hate me but this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538926
Best launcher for the Note? Has a ton of info.. most people will still use a custom launcher after a Rom but it is all personal pref. I like apex (got the paid version) nova isn't bad but not for me... I'm now playing with sslauncher, like this as landscape and portrait can be set 2 different ways and has text icons built in and also NO GRID you have to follow for the icons
Sent from my AoCP Note
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for the link.. I'm going through the thread now..
Go Launcher is alright (for now) because of all the widgets they make.. They turn out pretty crappy when used with other launchers..
Just tried Nova Launcher. Seemed good, but I think I've gotten used to Go Launcher.. But I will definitely make a switch soon..
Also, one of the very first replies to the thread you posted about suggests overclocking. Will I be able to do that when installing custom ROMs?
Regarding how to read Better Battery Stats, the developer of the app is very active on xda and you can actually get help reading the logs from the app on the app thread on xda.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179809
Make sure you read the OP to see how to post the logs and also it'll give you insight into how to understand what the app is telling you.
tutusinghsohi said:
@welchertc - Thank you. I found out about keeping a black wallpaper to decrease battery use a few weeks ago; I've had a black wallpaper since. I'll remove useless apps, then lets see what happens. Is the link I provided in the beginning ok, or should I search for something else? I was wondering about killed apps popping up after some time (Facebook for example). I have email sync turned off. I've been trying to turn off sync for a few apps, but some of them dont give me such an option (eg. The Drudge Report). I have started looking for some ROMs. But I ask you the same question I asked JB about ROMs - Can I have only 1 ROM at a time? And, will have to erase everything every single time? The warranty problem's the same with Apple. Just like you said, it seems to be the same with Apple - just reinstall the stock iOS, and you're ready to go (I had my iPhone changed after I went back to stock from a jailbroken firmware after it also developed battery issues; the new phone I received was brilliant in the battery department). I think my counter is up to 4.
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Click to collapse
To turn off all auto syncing, like I do, Just go into accounts and sync under settings and there should be one box or slier to uncheck to turn off all auto syncing. You can also leave it on and configure your individual accounts such as email, twitter, and facebook to sync automatically or not. =]
And yes, you can only truly run one ROM at a time. You could make a nandroid of one ROM, flash another and configure it, then nandroid the second once you have it set up, then keep restoring those two nandroids every time you want to switch. Although that is pretty ineffective if you like to keep switching things up on your homescreens, as the nandroids stay exactly the same.
You also don't need to erase everything per se. All of your pictures and stuff are a good idea to backup, to your computer or an sd card, if you're flashing a rom that requires a full wipe. Your apps and app data will be wiped, so definitely buy titanium backup pro if you haven't already, as that will allow you to restore all of your apps between flashes. Also, there are various sms backup apps, though I've never used one so I can't recommend any. email you can obviously resync quite easily, same with contacts once you have them all synced to your gmail account. Other than that, about the only thing you can't restore afaik is exactly how you have your homscreens/wallpaper setup.
tutusinghsohi said:
4. ROM - FLOODED = the only word I can use after I saw the Android Development section. So many choices. Is it worth flashing my phone with one of these? Which one do you recommend? Is the one for CyanogenMod good? What exactly does Nightly Built mean?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is really only like 3-4 unique roms in there. The majority of them are peoples themed versions one of those.
CM9 is by far the smoothest but I am having problems with GAPPs 7/19 build. Im currently running AOSPxXx until I can sort out the GAPPs issues Im having.
tutusinghsohi said:
Thanks a lot for the link.. I'm going through the thread now..
Go Launcher is alright (for now) because of all the widgets they make.. They turn out pretty crappy when used with other launchers..
Just tried Nova Launcher. Seemed good, but I think I've gotten used to Go Launcher.. But I will definitely make a switch soon..
Also, one of the very first replies to the thread you posted about suggests overclocking. Will I be able to do that when installing custom ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I tried overclocking only once am I was on a super light weight Rom, with that I didn't see much improvement but I have noticed the people do see am improvement are also using bigger Rom s. Again I'm sure you will see this many times more you are on here "flash it and find out" the reason is no one has done every combo out there. But over clicking will help at times just keep in mind your not happy with the battery now? And your gonna run your phone harder? Lol
Sent from my AoCP Note
Just wondering how it going? Get your new phone? Flash anything? If so what and what do you think of it?
Sent from my AoCP Note
My two words of advice is
1. Get extra batteries/wall charger I bought 3 batteries and charger for like 12 bucks
2. Get cm9 its amazing
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda app-developers app
My personal impression regarding Go launcher is that its very complete (widgets included) but for my experience its a heavy battery drainer so unfortunately i had to uninstall it
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Getting S3 soon; I have some questions needing answering

1) I've heard on numerous occasions that the phone feels rather fragile... however, I'm curious as to whether it feeling fragile attributes to it being fragile. What I mean is, just how 'fragile' is the phone. I was planning on getting a case for the phone ASAP, even ordered one, but I want to know if it's as needed as I think it is. Would a fall from 4 feet or higher crack the screen or cause some internal damage? I ordered a 3 layer ballistic casing for mine, but I'm thinking of getting a screen protector as well. I rarely drop my phone, as I take good care of my phones. My old phone, the HTC Evo Shift 4G, hasn't a crack or chip on it, but it seems that newer phones are breaking rather easily now. Most older models of phones (bulky ones) I've seen don't even have a crack on it, yet a lot of newer ones I see do have at least one.
2) Battery Life: I've heard that the battery life for the S3 out of box has very bad battery life. 9 Hours talk time is rather low, isn't? The HTC One has almost twice that I think? What's up with that? Would you recommend an extended battery to offset this problem? Would I be needing a new case if that would be the case? How long do you guys go on the standard battery? Has rooting helped significantly? I'm no stranger to rooting devices. , as my old phone lasts literally 2 - 3x as long as it used to due to tweaking and optimizations. If you recommend an extended battery, of what size do you recommend?
3) Rooting: I know there are numerous rooting guides, but there's one called "CF-Auto-Root", but it says it keeps it as close to stock as possible. Would it be possible to go from there to flashing ROMs and custom recovery, or should I just try the other more advanced method? Also, how satisfied are you guys about the amount of mods produced by the community? I know my old phone only has a select few ROMs that actually work efficiently, limiting my amount of choices greatly. Do you recommend any ROMs and/or kernels? Do you overclock/underclock your phone, would there be a need to with a phone this powerful?
That is all, thanks in advance!
Hello there mate, The S3 is rather a thin phone, but its all down to the way you treat the phone, I am very heavy handed, but got myself a nice cover/screen protector, and no problems at all, except fingerprints lol
The battery life is very good, ignore what you heard or read from other places, its how you use the phone, basically, I charge the phone overnight, unplug about 7am, have the phone with wifi permanently (and when wifi not available its on HSPDA network), I browse using opera about 2 hours max, text about 50 odd messages a day and the odd call, and my little boy plays the odd game...by 7pm, the phone still has 55-65% battery, the battery is superb, my last androids (galaxy s2, xperia arc) would be down to 30% by 7pm
basically rooting, first download odin, a stock firmware and chainfires stock kernal (read the forums for this), flash the firmware using odin, then chainfires kernal (cant remember if this includes clockwork mod recovery or not - otherwise you will have to add a recovery), once you have recovery installed, you can install custom roms and other kernals.
In my opinion (might not be opinion of others) you really dont need to under or overclock, its a powerful enough phone as it is, the 4.1.2 roms are the most stable roms, 4.2.2 and 4.3 roms are good, but as they are based on leaked roms, not everthing is perfect, but it will be.
The rom situation, there are many roms, my opinion again the best 3 roms (based on 4.1.2 are ultimarom, android revolution HD and omega roms, they offer a big choice on what you can have in your rom.
anyway if you want to know more, just send me a message mate

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