Finally Solved My Battery Issue!

[pilot25]

Maybe someone knows this. I added the bar the OP mentioned (Power Options. Didn't know it existed). My GPS was off (I never use it anyway), and my sync was on. I went into the setting and turned off background data. When I went back to my home screen, the sync option had been turned off. So I'm guessing sync and background data are the same thing?

If you don't run background data what's the point of having this phone?? Can't get gmail pushed, right? Turning off sync doesn't allow you to sync your gmail and google calendar. Seems like I should go back to a dumb phone then.

I have D1. Wife DX. Her battery power sucks. I installed batteryparts and the partial wake useage of the phone is all "Android System" something in the system is eating the life out of the battery.

 

[jroc]

I think someone may have found a GPS bug with the X. After exiting an app that uses GPS, the icon is gone, but Running is 100% in Spareparts.

Battery Drain due to Software Bug w/GPS? - Android Forums

Imma try this with the Droid and see if its there too.

 

[aminaked]

I think someone may have found a GPS bug with the X. After exiting an app that uses GPS, the icon is gone, but Running is 100% in Spareparts.

Battery Drain due to Software Bug w/GPS? - Android Forums

Imma try this with the Droid and see if its there too.

Whoa, good find. Seems like people are confirming that this is reproducible. Huge bug if true! So, did you see the problem on the droid 1 also???

Hm, Verizon is recommending that people turn off gps. Normally, that wouldn't be needed but if this bug is real then it's a workaround that's sure to work. Assuming the next update fixes this issue, do you think they'll go around telling everyone it's ok to turn gps back on? Yeah right.

A friend went to VZ today and was told to install an app killer to fix this problem. It's possible that, contrary to common wisdom, it really is a good idea because it works around this gps bug. Perhaps the droid x performs better with a task killer. Just speculating, but it's worth a try if you want to leave gps on. TOTALLY SPECULATING ON THIS.

 

[fbmustang69]

I think someone may have found a GPS bug with the X. After exiting an app that uses GPS, the icon is gone, but Running is 100% in Spareparts.

Battery Drain due to Software Bug w/GPS? - Android Forums

Imma try this with the Droid and see if its there too.

Nice find helped me out.

 

[TurboTech]

My battery was awful the first week I had the phone..But after many full charge, to full dead cycles, it rocks now...Easy 12-14 hours of mixed use all day..

Edit....

I leave gps, wifi, and bluetooth all on, and don't use a task killer...

 

[fbmustang69]

My battery was awful the first week I had the phone..But after many full charge, to full dead cycles, it rocks now...Easy 12-14 hours of mixed use all day..

Edit....

I leave gps, wifi, and bluetooth all on, and don't use a task killer...

That's funny cause motorola disagrees with this. If you go into help center and read FAQ on battery life it says not to let it discharge. I guess this just means that everything is a opinion about how to properly take carr of you battery.

 

[jroc]

@fbmustang69, np. This might be something everyone needs to check into for any Android phone.

I think someone may have found a GPS bug with the X. After exiting an app that uses GPS, the icon is gone, but Running is 100% in Spareparts.

Battery Drain due to Software Bug w/GPS? - Android Forums

Imma try this with the Droid and see if its there too.

Whoa, good find. Seems like people are confirming that this is reproducible. Huge bug if true! So, did you see the problem on the droid 1 also???

Hm, Verizon is recommending that people turn off gps. Normally, that wouldn't be needed but if this bug is real then it's a workaround that's sure to work. Assuming the next update fixes this issue, do you think they'll go around telling everyone it's ok to turn gps back on? Yeah right.

A friend went to VZ today and was told to install an app killer to fix this problem. It's possible that, contrary to common wisdom, it really is a good idea because it works around this gps bug. Perhaps the droid x performs better with a task killer. Just speculating, but it's worth a try if you want to leave gps on. TOTALLY SPECULATING ON THIS.

I tried but fell asleep, somehow the phone hit the floor and the battery fell out....lol I will have to try again when I get home.

I posted in that thread too. On the X, in Battery Manager under battery use, if u click on an app that used GPS, u will get a recommendation to turn off GPS when not in use. That to me kinda acknowledges they know there are issues with GPS being left on...Someone in that thread also said this effects some Samsung phones. It could be an Android issue.

I toggled GPS off and on a few times, then when I left GPS on, Running finally started going down. My X was actually sleeping when idle..So that could be a work around too. Safest way right now tho would be just leave it off if not in use if this turns out to be a real problem.

I'm testing with my Droid cuz it also has Froyo...

 

[kpiskin]

I too use the power control widget. However, the two items I always leave on/available are the syncing button and GPS. I mainly use that widget to control brightness (screen is the major power hog), wifi and bluetooth. I leave GPS on because my beautiful widget updates every hour and tries to get my location for the weather. I think part of the problem with power drain is having too many apps running that continually need to update. If you set these items to update every 15 minutes, then your phone will die rather quickly. However I've noticed that for many things I can live with hourly or half hourly updates. I typically can run my phone from 6:30AM to 5PM and still be at 70% or so battery. Making sure you turn off wifi and bluetooth is also important because those devices are inherently always looking for a connection. GPS mainly only comes on whenever requested because its purpose is different than the other two.

 

[Elkay]

I don't think it's a placebo effect. It's not that the GPS was turned on that was the problem, it's that you likely have something installed that is polling the GPS more than it should, so the GPS is staying active. Whatever app is/was using the GPS is silently not using it when it's deactivated. I'd review what you have installed and see if you can narrow down what might be polling the GPS so often that shouldn't be.

 

[Brent72]

I'll chime in with my findings. After messing around with a bunch of other settings in an attempt to increase battery life I finally decided to turn off GPS the other night to see if that would help. I charged the phone fully and now it has been on for almost 36 hours straight with moderate use and the battery status pro app still shows me with 30% left. I'm absolutely stunned at how long the battery has lasted since this latest charge. I don't know if it's fully a result of turning off GPS or just going through several charging cycles, but my battery is definitely a beast now and I'm quite happy about it. dancedroid

 

[Mule65]

I assume if anything ever uses the GPS the GPS icon will show up at the top. If its not at the top then it shouldnt be in use, unless there's a bug or something, or its being used while the screen is off.

That's it -- some are saying GPS is left running even though you see the GPS notify icon turn off after exiting Nav, Maps or whatever. So, turning off GPS may help.

 

[aminaked]

On the droid 1 you leave gps, wifi, bluetooth on. There's no reason to constantly toggle them. Just want to clarify what I feel is the proper/ recommended behavior.

 

[pilot25]

The DX has a problem with the GPS constantly running. I turned it off and checked spareparts then again with it on. I turned on maps then off and the icon in the status bar went away but the gps is still running. I checked spareparts again and it was and is running like crazy. Even though there were no apps using it.

They have to fix this. No reason we should have to keep turning on and off the gps.

 

[Droiduga]

I put that widget on my home screen on the first day I got the phone. Tip from a PC magazine article or somewhere. I found that leaving WiFi on will also drain the battery quickly. This widget enables you to see quickly what is off or on and save battery power.

 

[aminaked]

By default wifi turns off when the screen is off AND it uses less power than 3G so you want to use it when you can. GPS only comes on when an app/widget uses it (EXCEPT FOR THIS POSSIBLE DROID X BUG). Bluetooth doesn't use much juice either. I say try leaving them on and save yourself the headache. At least try it out.