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Hi guys, a simple Q&A here I hope!
I've had my device now for several months and find the battery life is abysmal, whilst there could be several issues like ROM, background apps etc I can't for the life of me seem to get more than 9 hours out of it. All I use it for in the day is music whilst at work and that's with sense disabled and the radio turned off also. From this I've just ordered the extended battery, but here is the question to see if I've made a noob error or not;
When I got the device I didn't do the 24 hour charge cycle, was too impatient about wanting to play with it, so is that the root of all my problems? I was under the impression that these newish batteries would only take a few hours and your away?
Any help/ lulz about me forking out £40 is greatly appreciated as always!
Thanks!
bates_1974 said:
Hi guys, a simple Q&A here I hope!
I've had my device now for several months and find the battery life is abysmal, whilst there could be several issues like ROM, background apps etc I can't for the life of me seem to get more than 9 hours out of it. All I use it for in the day is music whilst at work and that's with sense disabled and the radio turned off also. From this I've just ordered the extended battery, but here is the question to see if I've made a noob error or not;
When I got the device I didn't do the 24 hour charge cycle, was too impatient about wanting to play with it, so is that the root of all my problems? I was under the impression that these newish batteries would only take a few hours and your away?
Any help/ lulz about me forking out £40 is greatly appreciated as always!
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
The 24 hour cycle isn't needed. I didn't do it and get a good couple of days out of it with moderate use.
Playing music on it will drain the battery pretty quick, as speakers/headphones aren't the most efficient form of activity to use a battery with. Official audio playback is 12 hours max, and that'll be quite a low volume with standard headphones.
Sorry to say, but it might be best to hard reset, and then try installing each program/tweak one at a time, and testing the battery life in between.
The battery issues we seem to find on here are usually caused by a dodgy program / installation / process running in the background.
I was thinking that, looking at task manager I seem to have a constant 43%-53% variable on the program memory, that's on the latest energy rom after a few hard resets, not really got anything installed either as I've simply linked shortcuts from the sd card rather than reinstalling after every rom change/hard reset, backlight is always set to 30% yet in the time it's took me to type this I've already dropped 3%!
With the new Li-ion batterys I really don't think there is an optimal way to condition the cells before 'normal' use. Some people absolutely swear blind by it, but after owning 4-5 HTC devices I've always found the WM OS to be a bit of a dog where keeping charge is concerned, and after a few trys on various phones I don't bother with charge discharge cycles anymore.
And as for the extended battery, I would definitely suggest getting a cheapy from eBay, you can pick them up for a fiver and they just as good at the HTC stock ones. Save yourself a few quid and keep your phone streamline.
I'm thinking my best bet is to reset the lot, hard reset phone and wipe sd, could be something on there maybe? Might just do the trick if I run the phone 'stock' and install only must haves if I need them, if same problem occurs, defective battery maybe?
Worth a shot I guess before spending more money, cheers for the feedback guys.
just a quick update, thought I'd try a hard reset, clean sd card, used myphone to restore contacts, 3g connected, standby for the past 70 minutes bar quick look on BBC sport mobile, already dropped 17%!!!!!
Hello all! I have been a silent user of these forums for a while now. I am finally turning to you all for some help because I am unable to determine if the issues with my phone should be treated as related or unrelated.
My phone: Image attached, no outside URLs. In short, Galaxy S2, ATT, 4.0.3, not rooted.
I have had this phone since about March. Ironically, I had a model of the captivate that was subject to the random shut offs. ATT worked with me and since my upgrade was so close, they moved it up a bit. Badaboom this phone. Enough with the stories.
Applications: Some utilities I have on this phone include juice defender, advanced task killer, onavo data manager, eco battery protector. I do admit to the use of applications like instagram, facebook and browsing through some websites, but the effect on my phone is not necessary what I am looking to fix. Also, I use ADW, but I have been a long term user of ADW and find it to be light on my battery usage. Never even shows up in my battery summary. I just feel you should know.
The issue: My phone is being a pain in the rear. I am trying to determine if my overheating and poor battery life are related. When in idle, my phone can drain within about 5 hours. When I first started noticing this, I would make sure wifi and sync were off 'cause I really didn't need it on at work. Still, maybe saved myself 45min of battery life in idle (some screen usage to check time and w/e). Then when I charge, the phone gets so hot I start to worry. I was used to my captivate getting kind of hot, mostly because of the cheat cover, so I've stopped using it and charging with it. Right now, I mostly use a dock to charge my phone overnight, but still, when I take it off its hot as Hades.
Usage: I have noticed a significant difference with juice defender on/off, maybe about a couple hours worth of usage. Usage for me is usually gmail, texting and sometimes yahoo instant messenger. (Yahoo has been pretty light on my battery, never really noticed too much : I have noticed a significant difference with juice defender on/off, maybe about a couple hours worth of usage. Usage for me is usually gmail, texting and sometimes yahoo instant messenger. (Yahoo has been pretty light on my battery, never really noticed too much and that kind of drainage is normal). Heavy usage might include me using my phone as my GPS when driving. I do this while plugged in otherwise it would be off before I exit my hometown. The overheating gets so so so hot that I might unplug it for a bit and turn the AC on. :crying: Also, I use things like instagram, facebook, gizmodo but I make sure to kill those tasks when I am finished using the various utilities I have. I make sure I'm on wifi when I use those and I have them set to only working over wifi with onavo.
Other Issues: Recently, there have been issues with charging. I have had random moments where my phone does not register it is being plugged in until I pull the battery. At first I thought it was my car charger and maybe the fuse on it was a dud but when I got home and tried my dock, it was still nothing. Then I tried USB to my computer and still nothing. After a battery pull, this was fixed. Happened about 2 times over the past 2 months.
.. I don't know what to do to get a balance back. This has been going on for about 2 months now and I can't keep looking for a power source a mere 4 hours into usage.
I am considering looking towards rooting and seeing what customization I can do to manage my phone better and achieve a balance right for me. I am familiar with the process and proficient enough to work through it. Due to my phone feeling too new, I have been avoiding it. I would hate to shell the money out for a new battery, given this phone is less than a year old.
Please please please gurus .... I need your help. I don't know what to do to get back to having my smartphone work for me efficiently.
Well first get rid of the battery savers. In my experience they crashed my brothers phone and don't save battery in the slightest. Just remember to turn WiFi and data off using a toggle. Also download betterbatterystats from the xda forums and cpuspy from play store and let the phone do its thing for a day
Sent from my SGH-I777
Task killers do nothing. Juice defender used to help back in GB days. No longer needed. Just use the phone normally. Also did u say yer on the stock ICS kernel? I was gonna suggest a factory reset to clear data and cache but if yer on stock ICS kernel don't do that.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
The first thing I would suggest is to get rid of the stock ICS root then custom rom ICS after that get a little app called battery calibration, fully charge the phone and calibrate the battery i have used this app and swear by it as far as juice defender i have used it and never really cared for it it really never did what is said it would.
Does your Nook go crazy when the battery gets around 15 percent? Mine will start opening and closing applications and then it will shuts down. You would think it would warn me ahead of time
I ran into this phenom several times, some with battery-level readings at even higher values in the 25-30% range.
I think part of the problem is the battery-level readings in many CM builds are not reliable: I've seen battery readings jumping as much as +/- 10 points immediately following an update to a different build -- hence there is a good chance the real battery level might not be where the reading says it is.
I thought that the accuracy on my build may be off. Guess the best think to do is put her on the charger at 20 percent
pepi4 said:
I thought that the accuracy on my build may be off. Guess the best think to do is put her on the charger at 20 percent
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digixmax said:
I ran into this phenom several times, some with battery-level readings at even higher values in the 25-30% range.
I think part of the problem is the battery-level readings in many CM builds are not reliable: I've seen battery readings jumping as much as +/- 10 points immediately following an update to a different build -- hence there is a good chance the real battery level might not be where the reading says it is.
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Click to collapse
I don't think it's related to CyanogenMod. I recall getting this wonky battery behavior even on the original B&N operating system. I don't have the problem any more, but I've done so many tweaks to my Nook that I couldn't tell you definitively what did the trick. Mine will happily tick down to about 3% or so, then shut off calmly. You can try flashing one of the kernels that Demitrius has posted in the dev forum; that may help. I'm running his Nook on Fire/Showtime kernel with great success.
Of course, I do need to say that one of my tweaks was ripping out the old battery and replacing it (which happened about the same time last summer as flashing Nook on Fire, hence not being sure which fix did the trick). There are guides on YouTube to replace the battery, and you should be able to find a new battery for $30~$35 US. It's not technically challenging, but it is difficult -- everything inside that tablet is gummed up with adhesive, and you need to take great care to make sure you don't damage the case or the screen while you're pulling the old battery out.
spcagigas said:
I don't think it's related to CyanogenMod. I recall getting this wonky battery behavior even on the original B&N operating system. I don't have the problem any more, but I've done so many tweaks to my Nook that I couldn't tell you definitively what did the trick. Mine will happily tick down to about 3% or so, then shut off calmly. You can try flashing one of the kernels that Demitrius has posted in the dev forum; that may help. I'm running his Nook on Fire/Showtime kernel with great success.
Of course, I do need to say that one of my tweaks was ripping out the old battery and replacing it (which happened about the same time last summer as flashing Nook on Fire, hence not being sure which fix did the trick). There are guides on YouTube to replace the battery, and you should be able to find a new battery for $30~$35 US. It's not technically challenging, but it is difficult -- everything inside that tablet is gummed up with adhesive, and you need to take great care to make sure you don't damage the case or the screen while you're pulling the old battery out.
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Click to collapse
I may just try the Fire/Showtime kernel. I'm not sure if I'm happy with 10.3.1. I've been having WIFI problems also since I've went to it.
Thanks
spcagigas said:
digixmax said:
I ran into this phenom several times, some with battery-level readings at even higher values in the 25-30% range.
I think part of the problem is the battery-level readings in many CM builds are not reliable: I've seen battery readings jumping as much as +/- 10 points immediately following an update to a different build -- hence there is a good chance the real battery level might not be where the reading says it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's related to CyanogenMod. I recall getting this wonky battery behavior even on the original B&N operating system.
...
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Click to collapse
I agree that the problem of "NT going bonky at low battery" is independent of ROM version.
But false readings of "battery remaining capacity %" in some CM builds make the problem seem to occur at a higher battery level than actual.
Mine also started going crazy about a year ago when the battery got to around 17% left, this was on the original (rooted) B&N firmware, then about a month ago it would start going nuts when the battery was just below 90% full (still on B&N firmware).
I found that if the brightness was high or the CPU load was high then this made it worse, I used to use it a s portable wireless video player quite a bit and discovered I had to put the brightness to 50% or lower to try and stop it going nuts. Now it's so bad I leave it plugged into a power source all the time to use it, which has effectively killed its portability.
I have put CM 10.2.0 on it recently but that hasn't made the battery/touchscreen problem better or worse, except it can no longer read TF cards
Where did you get a replacement battery? That might solve the problem for me also.
Kevin Flynn said:
Mine also started going crazy about a year ago when the battery got to around 17% left, this was on the original (rooted) B&N firmware, then about a month ago it would start going nuts when the battery was just below 90% full (still on B&N firmware).
I found that if the brightness was high or the CPU load was high then this made it worse, I used to use it a s portable wireless video player quite a bit and discovered I had to put the brightness to 50% or lower to try and stop it going nuts. Now it's so bad I leave it plugged into a power source all the time to use it, which has effectively killed its portability.
I have put CM 10.2.0 on it recently but that hasn't made the battery/touchscreen problem better or worse, except it can no longer read TF cards
Where did you get a replacement battery? That might solve the problem for me also.
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It would seem that I also have this problem. I have rooted via the method at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1439630 I haven't installed many apps so I don't think that is the problem. I only rooted it last week, spring pad went down and Evernote only supports Nook HD for some odd reason from the B&N App store. I installed Evernote, Firefox, Tor, and the Tor browser from Google play/market. It only started doing this last night, at first I thought perhaps it was a virus or something. Then I realized it happened when the power got around 23%.
It just started doing this last night. The only other thing I did was update the NTHiddenSettings app via Google Play. Thinking that was it, I reinstalled the previous version but nope no difference. Other than what I have listed this NT is stock.
I did find a great battery removal video (and place to get them) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F0glSyvj2s I hope that is not the case as I really don't want to buy/replace the battery. But if need be...ok. I really like this tablet and it does all I need.
If anyone has fixed this (besides a battery replacement) please do post. Thanks.
Oh I just found on another forum someone posting about battery calibration https://market.android.com/details?id=com.nema.batterycalibration&feature=search_result which sounds like it may be our problem. Something messed up the calibration would certainly make our NT's go crazy. Anyone ever try this?
UPDATE:
After digging around I found that the battery calibration app in question doesn't do much other than delete a file that is deleted anyway as soon as you plug in your tablet and charge it. So that is not it.
And on another note with the "spare parts" app the 'battery history' option errors with "the application spare parts ) process.com.andriod.spare_parts_ has topped unexpectedly, please try again." Is this normal? It is version 2.3.7. NT Hidden Settings app application settings/battery use works fine and shows the amount of everything that has used the battery since it was last plugged in/charged. Could this error be a sign of the problem with the phantom touches and inaccurate battery display? And if it is a sign of something broken, what and how do I fix it?
This problem recently got a lot worse on my (nearly 3-year old) NT -- random opening/switching of app screens now occur at battery readings in the 65-85% range (used to be ~25%).
I contemplated replacing its battery, but with the cost of the replacement battery ranging from $22 (on eBay) to $40 (from New Power 99) and the risk of messing things up during the replacement process, I opted to simply trade in the NT for $30 of credit (trade-in offer valid till 01/17/15, see http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/tra...FILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-TnL5HPStwNw-_-10:1&r=1) toward a new Samsung Tab 4 Nook on-sale (in-store, ending today 12/21) for $129.
FWIW, when restoring the NT to stock ROM (for the purpose of the trade-in inspection at the store), I noticed that the battery reading in stock ROM is ~20 points below the reading shortly before while running CM.
This one is a weird one...
About a week ago, I needed GPS to navigate out of a town - I waited and waited and didn't get even any satellite reception... It turned out that I found the way by myself and just closed the navigation. A few days later, same situation, no visible satellites at all... Didn't have time to reboot the phone, so I just closed the navigation and went my way.
Now, something weird is going on with my phone... Usually I get about 2 days of battery life - but since last charging, it looks i will get about 4 days and I have been using quite a few apps, browsed the net, made SIP phone calls, made normal phone calls... (more than normal usage for me anyway).
Is it just me or are those two things connected in any way? Can it be that GPS has crashed somehow and in the result, lowered the power consumption of the phone? Is it possible to turn off the GPS 'on demand' to extend battery life?
All other stuff is working like a charm...
I am using stock ROM (4.1.2, radio: I9100BULS1, build: JZO54K.I9100XWLSD)
Why do not you try installing a different rom see why.
duykhanh187 said:
Why do not you try installing a different rom see why.
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Well, a colleague of mine has the same phone and has experimented with various ROMs - none gave him so much more battery life. It is not the question of which ROM is better in terms of battery life, but whether some weird (non-functional) state of GPS (I have it normally disabled almost all the time via drop-down menu) can cause the extended battery life. And if this is possible, can this be done on purpose?
The ROM stock give many problems, you're not in fact the only that the strikes. I advise you to try some Sammy Rom! JellySNAP v6 and, for example, a great ROM based-stock Sammy
-Marco said:
The ROM stock give many problems, you're not in fact the only that the strikes. I advise you to try some Sammy Rom! JellySNAP v6 and, for example, a great ROM based-stock Sammy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am bumping this topic to continue the discussion...
I am aware of other ROMs and have experimented with a lot of them on another phone. Due to extensive set of installed applications, loads of data and relatively stable stock ROM, I haven't really taken the time to do the transition.
So, I am not really looking for a solution to fix GPS, but the opposite way. I want to know if I can break GPS on next boot in order to obtain such long battery life... How many days of inactivity do you get with non-stock ROMs? At the moment, I am getting 5 days of light use WITH stock ROM (WiFi, Bluetooth, data disabled, only connected to mobile network to accept and make calls). I was never been able to do more than 3-4 days and my battery is now over 2 years old....
So, please, don't try to persuade me to install other ROMs by stating that they are better and more stable - list your battery lifes in case of light use or inactivity.... Do you get 5 days on 2 year old battery?
If you think breaking GPS is somehow responsible for greater battery life, you're going to end up rather disappointed. That concept defies logic given GPS only uses battery when you're actually using it. How is it possible for battery life to somehow magically double as a result of GPS being 'broken' ?
Thus far you've not provided one duplicable 'test' that other people can try to see if they get similar results, and all you've done is blabbered nonsense in a couple of posts. I mean, do you honestly think people here are going to delete a bunch of GPS system files to see if they can get some magical extension in battery life ? I know I'm not, because trying to put that stuff back when your silly theory doesn't work is a pain in the arse.
Did it ever occur to you that given the battery is two years old it's quite probably on its last legs & is very likely chemically unstable (this is why 'old' batteries swell up & sometimes even burst). This instability might be causing the extra battery life as the battery approaches the point where it's no longer useful. Put it this way, that's far more likely than busted GPS causing the extra battery life.
So, please don't try to persuade us that breaking GPS somehow doubles your battery life with a 2 yr old battery. Logic & almost 3 yrs worth of different people's experiences on here with this phone just don't support your ridiculous assertions.
That was a spicy reply, MistahBungle
Some facts:
- No system update was installed in the last month
- No application has been removed
- System hasn't been rebooted for a month or so
- Never got more than 2-3 days out of battery in idle
- Battery is 2 years old and is physically not damaged or swelled
- GPS isn't working (not even receiving or predicting a satellite on a clear day)
- System is rooted for a year or so
- Battery lasts 4 days now (instead of <2days a month ago)
- Connected to 3G network (no data connection)
I would try to reboot my phone, but I am afraid that it will all be over...
So, to stay with firm facts - how much battery life do you get with alternative ROMs in real life? Is 4 days (5-6 days with new battery) something usual?
That concept defies logic given GPS only uses battery when you're actually using it.
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Can you then explain me the difference between Cold and Warm GPS start? As far as I know, phone tries to keep as accurate GPS time as possible and a bunch of ephemerisis data in order to decode GPS data faster, next time you enable GPS. This defies logic that GPS is completely OFF when it is 'disabled' by GPS button in Android system.
I mean, do you honestly think people here are going to delete a bunch of GPS system files to see if they can get some magical extension in battery life ?
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No, I don't expect it to. I am looking for information whether anyone experienced anything similar.
Did it ever occur to you that given the battery is two years old it's quite probably on its last legs & is very likely chemically unstable (this is why 'old' batteries swell up & sometimes even burst). This instability might be causing the extra battery life as the battery approaches the point where it's no longer useful.
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In Lithium-powered batteries, I haven't come across the fact that battery capacity is increased with battery ageing and sweling up... On the contrary, internal resistance goes haywire and capacity drops, contributing to even more heat being spent internally by the battery and speeding up the process of degradation...
I may have not been cooking my own ROMs and writing drivers for phones, but I have quite extensive background in embedded systems and electronics. Battery life can not increase just by itself - there must be a reason... My lifestyle hasn't changed, my environment also didn't change, other phones at home didn't experience such battery life extensions... The only thing that I noticed is that the GPS is not working. I opened this topic in order to discuss whether that's the true cause or not.
So, based on '3 yrs worth of different people's experiences on here', what could be the cause for such prolonged battery life? How can I debug it by myself without rebooting the phone?
My wife and I both have the Galaxy S4, verizon flavor.
My phone's battery usage is very nice. Most of the time I go to bed with 30-70% left on the battery. Hers does the same. The only difference is I use my phone a lot and she barely uses it during the day. A couple of texts, maybe a phone call and on occasion an internet search. Before this happened, and I don't know what was the tipping point, she use to charge her phone every third day, now she charges it every night.
Her phone is also 6 months newer than mine. Both are running stock, both are Android 4.3. I have both phones setup as close as possible so I can make comparisons between the two. Obviously she has different needs and will have different apps running/installed.
I have taken all of her apps off the phone and it hasn't changed the battery problem. I have reset the phone and still the battery drain persists.
I have put Battery Monitor Widget and GSam on her phone and I really haven't been able to locate the offending app/program/function. The only possibility is the 1013 system and "AudioOut_2". But that seems unlikely as this drain is about every 20 minutes and goes on all day.
Usually she runs with her phone in minimal activity. Data off, Sync off, GPS off, Power Saving on.
Here is a chart from a while back, everyday looks similar with the drains. My phone has long periods of straight white lines when inactive, hers just keep going down.
can't post the image of the battery chart. Gonna make it more difficult to solve.
Just wondering where to look and if this is something that can be solved or is possibly a phone problem/defect. As I mentioned, mine works nice and I have it setup as close to my phone as possible to get results that can be compared.
first of all im no expert, but i think it could go either way. before assuming its hardware it wouldnt hurt to back everything up, try a factory reset and a wipe mk2 odin flash. then seeing if the issue persists. just throwing my thoughts out there. hope it gets resolved regardless. :good:
Leo G said:
My wife and I both have the Galaxy S4, verizon flavor.
My phone's battery usage is very nice. Most of the time I go to bed with 30-70% left on the battery. Hers does the same. The only difference is I use my phone a lot and she barely uses it during the day. A couple of texts, maybe a phone call and on occasion an internet search. Before this happened, and I don't know what was the tipping point, she use to charge her phone every third day, now she charges it every night.
Her phone is also 6 months newer than mine. Both are running stock, both are Android 4.3. I have both phones setup as close as possible so I can make comparisons between the two. Obviously she has different needs and will have different apps running/installed.
I have taken all of her apps off the phone and it hasn't changed the battery problem. I have reset the phone and still the battery drain persists.
I have put Battery Monitor Widget and GSam on her phone and I really haven't been able to locate the offending app/program/function. The only possibility is the 1013 system and "AudioOut_2". But that seems unlikely as this drain is about every 20 minutes and goes on all day.
Usually she runs with her phone in minimal activity. Data off, Sync off, GPS off, Power Saving on.
Here is a chart from a while back, everyday looks similar with the drains. My phone has long periods of straight white lines when inactive, hers just keep going down.
can't post the image of the battery chart. Gonna make it more difficult to solve.
Just wondering where to look and if this is something that can be solved or is possibly a phone problem/defect. As I mentioned, mine works nice and I have it setup as close to my phone as possible to get results that can be compared.
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Click to collapse
Have you tried Better Battery Stats + a Wakelock Detector? Between those two it should be really easy to see if this is a software problem or perhaps a bad battery.
I'll link you to the wakelock detector I use. In my opinion it's the easiest to use.
Here
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uzumapps.wakelockdetector
You can see wakelocks in BBS as well.... But I just like the options this one gives
Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
I haven't tried BBS+, but Wakelock Detector has been running since the problem was detected. That is how I found the 1013 and Audio2_Out running. At the beginning it seemed to correlate with the problem but as time moved on it seemed less and less the culprit.
I haven't really found anything using wakelock detector. I could give you some stats off of it tonight when I have access to my wife's phone again.
Any stats that you'd like me to post I can do that. Eventually I'll be able to post that Battery Monitor Widget graph so you can see what is happening.
Pretty sure we can rule out a bad battery. About 99.9% sure.
First things first I would swap batteries between the two phones. Lets rule out a faulty battery first, because trying to figure out battery drain with a faulty battery can be maddening!
Coycaine said:
First things first I would swap batteries between the two phones. Lets rule out a faulty battery first, because trying to figure out battery drain with a faulty battery can be maddening!
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OK, all day with swapped batteries. Same thing. My phone is fine, her's is still doing the same stair step battery drain.