Often on the marketplace, I see comments such as "drains battery" or "saves battery" for many apps, such as task killers. Now, aside from the "oh look my battery seems to last longer" or "oh look my battery seems to suck now" subjective point-of-views after installing apps in question (there are various different reasons as to why battery performance can differ from day to day), how do people evaluate the effect of an app on battery? AFAIK if an app is not listed under "Battery use", then it has little to no effect on eating the battery (I don't know about helping battery usage).
Any input?
I use a fairly simple strategy to maximize my battery life. Two key applications help me wring the best life I can out of what I have going (Juice Defender and Spare Parts). Juice Defender presents a limited window of opportunity for background apps to sync themselves when the phone is asleep which helps with partial wake usage. Spare Parts allows me to examine relatively detailed statistics of what uses the battery when. And again partial wake usage seems to be the critical area one can take control of.
You can get some more detailed info about battery use with Spare Parts of course but probably the most important area to try to glean info from is "Partial Wake Usage". In order for many apps (news, rss, social networking services etc..) to function they have to periodically update themselves and most will do this from a partial wake state if the phone is off and in your holster or pocket. How efficiently these types of apps wake up get what they need and let the phone go back to sleep can have a huge impact on your battery life. How often these types of applications update themselves also plays a critical role in battery life as well.
I have generally excellent battery life, especially given all the apps I have that frequently update their data (Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Daily Briefing, NewsRob, Engadget, Fmylife) and the fairly frequent texts and calls I get.
DarkAgent said:
Often on the marketplace, I see comments such as "drains battery" or "saves battery" for many apps, such as task killers. Now, aside from the "oh look my battery seems to last longer" or "oh look my battery seems to suck now" subjective point-of-views after installing apps in question (there are various different reasons as to why battery performance can differ from day to day), how do people evaluate the effect of an app on battery? AFAIK if an app is not listed under "Battery use", then it has little to no effect on eating the battery (I don't know about helping battery usage).
Any input?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. And I don't see how automated task killers can benefit our android phones.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Good morning all,
I know we all try to get the most out of our battery in our phones, and it seems to be an ongoing struggle and brought up alot. I'm just curious how everyone measures their battery life. Do you go by total running time? Screen on time? Awake time? Another method?
Personally I tend to go by how much screen on time I get. Obviously it should be able to make it through the day as well. But at the end of my day if i'm trying to see if my battery is holding up as i'd like, i usually check how much screen on time i had throughout the day. I find that generally if i'm at about %25/hour of screen on time I'm Satisfied. (usually get about 4-4.5 hrs in a 14-16 hr day).
Obviously there is no perfect method (ie you'll get less screen on time if you spend alot of time streaming with screen off, playing games, etc). But i'm just curious as to how most judge whether or not their battery is holding up to their expectations.
Thanks!
Really long ruler.
The moment you start using your phone, there are too many variables that are going to change. There are also few optimizations you can do - screen fundamentally uses a lot of battery for example.
The key is to reduce baseline idle drain as low as possible - saving your battery for when you use the phone.
So when I'm hunting power management regressions or running tests, I focus on baseline idle drain. The method I use is sort-of covered in my Known Battery Drainers thread - charge to full, reboot on charger, remove charger after boot complete, reset timers in CPUSpy, let the phone sit overnight.
My definitely for "my battery life" is the amount of time between charges, aka. using time.
"Using time" does not mean time that I physically use it but the total time when it unplugged and ON (ready to use).
I guess each individual person has their own usage, some use more than others. I posted the "Battery Usage" image so that gurus can verify it "ok, it's typical" or "that's ok, it's normal for that much of usage" or "nah, something wrong, it's a defective"
Sorry, I just couldn't resist...
Screen on time plus phone calls and music time. Also gotta factor in the radios that were on (GPS, wifi)
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Hey guys, I am having a problem with my Amaze, more specifically, the battery is dying absolutely WAY to quickly. For example, yesterday morning, after unplugging my fully charged phone, I dropped it straight into my pocket, and maybe looked at it twice the entire day. When I pull it it at the end of the day, the battery is red, with 8% left. If I were to be using it, the battery would last about 30 minutes on a full charge, most likely. I've also noticed that the phone is really hot, even in my pocket. If it helps, I am on ICS and have been using it since it was leaked in April, however, this problem is new (about 2 days ago is when it first started), as I usually get about 8-10 hours with moderate usage. Can you guys please help me? Thanks!
Well if it just started happening recently, and you haven't made any changes, then the battery may just be going bad... If that's the case, you can call HTC and they will send you one free replacement.
sent from my NRGized Amaze,
powered by faux kernel v.10
could be just the battery.. but if you don't mind me asking - how long have you owned the device? I suggest you dl JuiceDefender from the playstore and see if that helps - Definitely helps my device get through the day with moderate use and one time charge every 1 1/4 a day but this could vary on owners usage. Also, check your settings to conserve battery life such as turning off wifi, gps, auto syncs on your fb, gmail etc. and adjust your brightness to the lowest if possible and OH... less widgets and windows > less power that the battery consumes. Hope that helps!
b33j7030 said:
could be just the battery.. but if you don't mind me asking - how long have you owned the device? I suggest you dl JuiceDefender from the playstore and see if that helps - Definitely helps my device get through the day with moderate use and one time charge every 1 1/4 a day but this could vary on owners usage. Also, check your settings to conserve battery life such as turning off wifi, gps, auto syncs on your fb, gmail etc. and adjust your brightness to the lowest if possible and OH... less widgets and windows > less power that the battery consumes. Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, this just started happening. I didn't just decide to leave all my wifi and GPS and Bluetooth on all day. Also, to answer your question, I've had it since the beginning of the year. I think it's just the battery. I'll call HTC and report back.
cool.. i'm hoping its just the battery.
b33j7030 said:
cool.. i'm hoping its just the battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. The overheating does concern me a bit, however.
HarryHyper said:
Thanks. The overheating does concern me a bit, however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're not alone in that dept but its highly tolerable... look on the bright side.. least you'll have a pocket warmer during WINTER lol
b33j7030 said:
you're not alone in that dept but its highly tolerable... look on the bright side.. least you'll have a pocket warmer during WINTER lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL.
Alright guys, looks like it solved itself. Interesting...
I usually only get 6-8 hours on my battery, and its been like that from the beginning. is there something wrong with my phone then?
erkk_69 said:
I usually only get 6-8 hours on my battery, and its been like that from the beginning. is there something wrong with my phone then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, battery life isn't that great with this phone, depending on how much you use your phone and what all you use it for you will get any where from 6-14 hrs + or - some. Also your Rom and kernel will make a difference..
sent from my NRGized Amaze,
powered by faux kernel v.10
I find usually its the user when it comes to battery I get roughly 20 hours with regular use
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
HarryHyper said:
Alright guys, looks like it solved itself. Interesting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice!... Glad to hear
This happens to me from time to time, and the phone is ALWAYS hot when this happens.
What I've come to discover that it's usually something that' activating the phone while asleep.
The phone is hot, because the processor is being used. That's why the battery is completely dead so quickly, something is pulling it out of deep sleep and causing it to run full bore. The key sign is the phone is hot.
I recommend you get an app that lets you see wakelocks, and what's keeping the phone awake etc (I use GSAM battery monitor) Whenever I notice my phone becoming hot for no apparent reason, I know for a FACT that my battery will be dead in a matter of hours. Lately it has been "Android System" that's the culprit, and I can't quite nail down what is doing it, but it's very random and not much of a problem because I do a reboot and things are back to normal.
First, try to reboot your phone. Get system tuner and see what processes are using the processor when the phone is hot (make sure you show ALL processes, even the default excluded ones). Check the wakelocks. Get battery monitor and check the mA usage (it keeps a running history). When my phone is running optimally, I have a mA drain of around 70-90mA when screen off/deep sleep, and it should maintain this type of drain... when my phone is becoming hot for no reason, I see numbers anywhere from 300-600mA drain for no apparent reason. A lot of the time there was an APP that was offending, so I would first check that. Like I said though lately it has been "Android System" and it's kind of hard to nail that down, but it's so random.
When my phone is cool to the touch most of the time, I know it's running optimally because it's achieving deep sleep. I've found a lot of it has to do with what you had running before you turn the screen off. A reboot ALWAYS fixes it for me. If you can't seem to nail down the offending app, do a full reset back to stock and you should notice that your phone runs very very cool when the screen is off and it's sleeping. I usually get anywhere from 24hrs-2 days of moderate use with the screen off governor set to conservative, and maximum clock for screen off ~600mHZ. I use interactive governor for screen on, but that's for responsiveness and you'll probably have better luck with ondemand for battery life. YOu can set these in System Tuner.
Just remember, if the phone is HOT, it's using energy. If it's hot, something, somewhere, is causing the processor to run at a high clock frequency. If the phone is HOT after being in your pocket/screen off for a good amount of time, something is definitely wrong/rogue app. The phone should never be hot returning from deep sleep. I bet if you check your default battery monitor (The android one) you'll notice that the bar for AWAKE is probably almost solid blue, something is preventing it from going into deep sleep. If I notice my phone is hot when I take it out of my pocket, I immediately know that something isn't right. This should NOT happen.
sportsstar89 said:
I find usually its the user when it comes to battery I get roughly 20 hours with regular use
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just past my 9th day of using my Amaze 4G.... so far, if I turn off data and turn off autosync, my drain per hour goes below 1%/hour... so i could get >50 hour idle battery life + 4 hours screen usage
with data on and autosync off, maybe 2%/hour -> this translates to ~ 20hour idle battery life + 4 hour screen usage
with data on and autosync on, maybe 4%/hour -> 10 hour idle battery + 4 hour screen usage
I have only calendar widget on my home page, only Google Accounts on auto-sync (2 mail account, 1 contact, 1 calendar)....
EnergyROM 6.21.2012 ICS 4.0.3, faux kernel 0.07, ankor battery
ericdjobs said:
This happens to me from time to time, and the phone is ALWAYS hot when this happens.
What I've come to discover that it's usually something that' activating the phone while asleep.
The phone is hot, because the processor is being used. That's why the battery is completely dead so quickly, something is pulling it out of deep sleep and causing it to run full bore. The key sign is the phone is hot.
I recommend you get an app that lets you see wakelocks, and what's keeping the phone awake etc (I use GSAM battery monitor) Whenever I notice my phone becoming hot for no apparent reason, I know for a FACT that my battery will be dead in a matter of hours. Lately it has been "Android System" that's the culprit, and I can't quite nail down what is doing it, but it's very random and not much of a problem because I do a reboot and things are back to normal.
First, try to reboot your phone. Get system tuner and see what processes are using the processor when the phone is hot (make sure you show ALL processes, even the default excluded ones). Check the wakelocks. Get battery monitor and check the mA usage (it keeps a running history). When my phone is running optimally, I have a mA drain of around 70-90mA when screen off/deep sleep, and it should maintain this type of drain... when my phone is becoming hot for no reason, I see numbers anywhere from 300-600mA drain for no apparent reason. A lot of the time there was an APP that was offending, so I would first check that. Like I said though lately it has been "Android System" and it's kind of hard to nail that down, but it's so random.
When my phone is cool to the touch most of the time, I know it's running optimally because it's achieving deep sleep. I've found a lot of it has to do with what you had running before you turn the screen off. A reboot ALWAYS fixes it for me. If you can't seem to nail down the offending app, do a full reset back to stock and you should notice that your phone runs very very cool when the screen is off and it's sleeping. I usually get anywhere from 24hrs-2 days of moderate use with the screen off governor set to conservative, and maximum clock for screen off ~600mHZ. I use interactive governor for screen on, but that's for responsiveness and you'll probably have better luck with ondemand for battery life. YOu can set these in System Tuner.
Just remember, if the phone is HOT, it's using energy. If it's hot, something, somewhere, is causing the processor to run at a high clock frequency. If the phone is HOT after being in your pocket/screen off for a good amount of time, something is definitely wrong/rogue app. The phone should never be hot returning from deep sleep. I bet if you check your default battery monitor (The android one) you'll notice that the bar for AWAKE is probably almost solid blue, something is preventing it from going into deep sleep. If I notice my phone is hot when I take it out of my pocket, I immediately know that something isn't right. This should NOT happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what program do you use to measure battery drain? I use Battery Monitor Widget, but it's not giving me an accurate answer (lets say I had the phone on idle w/o data/sync... the available % is stable over 5 hours (~1% loss per hour), but the current usage says at least -100mAh)
for me, the idle battery drain (apps autosyncing/using data) is the problem
I see my device properly going to sleep (deep sleep is the majority of the usage, not too many wakelocks/processes.....)
with data off and sync off, idle battery usage goes to a minimum
paperWastage said:
I'm just past my 9th day of using my Amaze 4G.... so far, if I turn off data and turn off autosync, my drain per hour goes below 1%/hour... so i could get >50 hour idle battery life + 4 hours screen usage
with data on and autosync off, maybe 2%/hour -> this translates to ~ 20hour idle battery life + 4 hour screen usage
with data on and autosync on, maybe 4%/hour -> 10 hour idle battery + 4 hour screen usage
I have only calendar widget on my home page, only Google Accounts on auto-sync (2 mail account, 1 contact, 1 calendar)....
EnergyROM 6.21.2012 ICS 4.0.3, faux kernel 0.07, ankor battery
what program do you use to measure battery drain? I use Battery Monitor Widget, but it's not giving me an accurate answer (lets say I had the phone on idle w/o data/sync... the available % is stable over 5 hours (~1% loss per hour), but the current usage says at least -100mAh)
for me, the idle battery drain (apps autosyncing/using data) is the problem
I see my device properly going to sleep (deep sleep is the majority of the usage, not too many wakelocks/processes.....)
with data off and sync off, idle battery usage goes to a minimum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use battery monitor widget to measure drain.. as far as accuracy, I'm not sure? I don't know if it's EXACT but it seems to be a pretty good indicator of drain. When in deep sleep the phone usually measures anywhere from 70~mA-120mA. Usually it stays below 100. Before I changed the screen off governor / max freq (screen off) it was almost always 100+. Screen off governor is conservative with a max freq of ~600MHz.
I have no idea how exact it is, but when it's reporting ~300mA, my battery is definitely draining much faster.. and when it's reporting 500-900mA~ my battery is draining incredibly fast, so it at least seems to be a solid indicator of current usage.
ericdjobs said:
I use battery monitor widget to measure drain.. as far as accuracy, I'm not sure? I don't know if it's EXACT but it seems to be a pretty good indicator of drain. When in deep sleep the phone usually measures anywhere from 70~mA-120mA. Usually it stays below 100. Before I changed the screen off governor / max freq (screen off) it was almost always 100+. Screen off governor is conservative with a max freq of ~600MHz.
I have no idea how exact it is, but when it's reporting ~300mA, my battery is definitely draining much faster.. and when it's reporting 500-900mA~ my battery is draining incredibly fast, so it at least seems to be a solid indicator of current usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my previous phone (LG Optimus T / Optimus One/ P509, CM9 ICS ROM), Battery Monitor Widget reports more accurate readings (idle with data off= -2mA or -20mA<dont remember>, accurately representing that 1% of battery would last at least 2 hours)
Phone with the new kernel (KozmiK Ruby -0.5a) still goes battery drain crazy (even with Juice Defender installed now).... I hit 10%, then got fed up, turned off data... then the phone slowly sipped battery for the next 3 hours going down only 1%.... sigh
I think Facebook Messenger is the data hogger in my case, since I do use it often... will try a new ROM build without logging onto facebook messenger, see how it goes
paperWastage said:
I'm just past my 9th day of using my Amaze 4G.... so far, if I turn off data and turn off autosync, my drain per hour goes below 1%/hour... so i could get >50 hour idle battery life + 4 hours screen usage
with data on and autosync off, maybe 2%/hour -> this translates to ~ 20hour idle battery life + 4 hour screen usage
with data on and autosync on, maybe 4%/hour -> 10 hour idle battery + 4 hour screen usage
I have only calendar widget on my home page, only Google Accounts on auto-sync (2 mail account, 1 contact, 1 calendar)....
EnergyROM 6.21.2012 ICS 4.0.3, faux kernel 0.07, ankor battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you said is true, at least for data on - autosync on. My battery last around 10 hours idle + 3.5 - 4 hours on screen usage. It seems that autosync eats a lot of battery. Will try to turn that monster off and see how much it will improve. I have bad habit to push refresh button on gmail/facebook widget, even with autosync on,
I used to get 14-16 hours. Now my battery won't last more than 6 hours. I gotta replace my Anker
Sent From My HTC Amaze 4G via Someone's Room
Most recently I got 1 day and five hours with a fair amount of use by using faux 011 kernel and using CPU editor script to set it to battery saving profile. I'm at 45% right now with fairly heavy use after over 18 hours.
Battery life is totally under your control, it takes some work to get it where you want it.. but you also have the option of buying a bigger anker battery with external charger for $20 and carrying that spare battery, and simply not giving a damn.
Just saying, battery doesn't have to matter for a very small price and a little space to carry the spare battery in your pocket.
Sent from my HTC_Amaze_4G using xda app-developers app