Found Out Why GB's Killing My Battery (with Temp Fix)

[google123]

Just read this....its for a Droid X but can be done on a Pro as well. Recovery is accessible using Power + R +M.....

@GaganToor: turning off background data fixed it for me as well, but without background data, you can't use Gtalk, so that wasn't a fix that I was going to live with.


After a bit more fiddling, it appears that I've fixed the issue altogether on my phone.
It lasted the whole day today locked in my pocket and was at 90% when I got off work instead of dead. Background data was on, and gtalk was connected, so it appears to be back to normal.

Here's what I did: (factory reset AND cache wipe to clear battery stats)
(warning: factory reset will remove all apps, contacts, favorites, etc... but will leave your photos/videos/music intact. Make sure you have everything backed up before doing it. At the very least, write down any free apps you have so you can re-download them, and make sure your contacts are syncing to google by opening Settings>Accounts>Google Account and making sure that Sync Contacts is checked.)


Charge your phone to full, then complete both a battery stats wipe and a factory reset.


Hold power until you get the power menu, select {Power Off}.
Wait for phone to shut down, then hold the [home] button and press/release [power] button.
Your phone should boot to the recovery screen that shows a little android logo with an exclamation in a triangle above it.
Hit both the [up] and [down] volume buttons at the same time.
Use volume buttons to highlight {wipe cache partition} and hit the [power] button to select it.
When the cache wipe completes, you'll be back at the recovery menu.This time select {wipe data/factory reset}.
When the factory reset completes, select {reboot system now}.



After the phone reboots, it will run the initial setup wizard that asks you for your google account login, and as long as it's the same account that you originally set your phone up with, it will re-download all your paid apps and resync your contacts from google contacts if you had them set to sync before the factory reset.

You will have to re-download any free apps that you had, so be sure to write them down before the reset so you can find them in the app store again unless you used something like titanium backup to back them up.


The factory reset and cache wipe together seem to have fixed whatever was causing my battery to discharge while the phone was locked. YAY

 

[jpcalhoun]

I'm holding onto a reset as a last resort. Everything I'm reading online says that it isn't solving the problem for those who have tried it.

I'm hoping if enough customers complain, Google/Moto/VZ will address it.

Skates12, I know this battery issue is about to drive you crazy...it would be also. I think the factory data reset process is the key to fixing the problem...here is why: It seems (not a scientific study mind you) that any Pro owner that had to do an sbf back to 2.26 in order to get the latest OTA update to Gingerbread is not experiencing the battery problem (I fall into this category). The reason is, I believe, is that part of the sbf process is having to clear cash in recovery mode and having to do a factory data reset. I know it is a PITA, but if you take your phone back to Verizon for troubleshooting or replacement that is exactly what they are going to do before giving you a replacement phone (and the replacement phone is probably going to be a pre-owned one). The most likely scenario is they will do the factory data reset and give you back the phone and tell you if that doesn't work bring the phone back. Save yourself a trip to Verizon...give factory data reset a shot if all else fails.

 

[bsweetness]

Skates12, I know this battery issue is about to drive you crazy...it would be also. I think the factory data reset process is the key to fixing the problem...here is why: It seems (not a scientific study mind you) that any Pro owner that had to do an sbf back to 2.26 in order to get the latest OTA update to Gingerbread is not experiencing the battery problem (I fall into this category). The reason is, I believe, is that part of the sbf process is having to clear cash in recovery mode and having to do a factory data reset. I know it is a PITA, but if you take your phone back to Verizon for troubleshooting or replacement that is exactly what they are going to do before giving you a replacement phone (and the replacement phone is probably going to be a pre-owned one). The most likely scenario is they will do the factory data reset and give you back the phone and tell you if that doesn't work bring the phone back. Save yourself a trip to Verizon...give factory data reset a shot if all else fails.

Sage advice. That's exactly what will happen. And if it doesn't, then the rep you're dealing with isn't following procedures. It doesn't solve everything all the time, but a factory reset is the answer to so many problems. I flashed the 2.26 SBF and did a factory reset on the way to the OTA Gingerbread. I always reset everything before an update because it knocks out a lot of potential problems. Like jpcalhoun, I haven't experienced any battery issues on the OTA Gingerbread.

 

[Skates12]

This excerpt is an example of what I'm seeing online:

"Unfortunately, clearing the cache and doing the factory data reset does not appear to restore normal battery life for everyone (particularly the worst cases) -- for those with the worst case, this is their most serious problem with GB 2.3.3 UPDATE"

I'm going to be patient and do the brave thing; wait until some other Pro users try it and monitor their results :-D

 

[jpcalhoun]

This excerpt is an example of what I'm seeing online:

"Unfortunately, clearing the cache and doing the factory data reset does not appear to restore normal battery life for everyone (particularly the worst cases) -- for those with the worst case, this is their most serious problem with GB 2.3.3 UPDATE"

I'm going to be patient and do the brave thing; wait until some other Pro users try it and monitor their results :-D

If you do find a "cure" for the battery issue please let us know. There are quite a few users experiencing the same problem.

 

[Skates12]

Here's what I know. The problem (in my case) is connected to Corp Sync, which I use to sync Hotmail.

3G communicates virtually non-stop (in blue mode, not white), and the bulk of the traffic is received by the Pro, not sent.

The phone runs very hot (today was over 107 degrees) and com.Motorola.service.main shows as the service hogging battery life.

I deleted corp sync and rebooted. 3G activity dropped to nil, phone temp dropped 15 degrees and battery seemed to improve.

Waited 30 minutes, re-added corp sync. 3G activity returned to non-stop and battery temp raised 10+ degrees.

In just 20 minutes or so, it's already received almost 5meg of data.

I don't what is being sent to the phone, because my Outlook Hotmail Connector on the client is set to only sync changes once every 30 minutes.

If I can isolate what's happening, maybe I can come up with a permanent fix.

I'm hoping power users who know more about these items may have a suggestion or two, meanwhile, I'll research further.

 

[doniago]

Though I have a DX rather than a Droid Pro, the problems discussed sound a lot like what I've been experiencing. Even with an extended battery and a full charge at 6 am I was down to almost no battery within 12 hours. I noticed that my Android OS was using a ridiculously high percentage of the battery (or so I understand), but couldn't isolate it any further. Doing a factory reset had no effect, nor did switching ROMs. I just froze Corporate Sync using TiBu and will be curious to see whether that helps.

Thanks to everyone who's helping out.

 

[jpcalhoun]

Here's what I know. The problem (in my case) is connected to Corp Sync, which I use to sync Hotmail.

3G communicates virtually non-stop (in blue mode, not white), and the bulk of the traffic is received by the Pro, not sent.

The phone runs very hot (today was over 107 degrees) and com.Motorola.service.main shows as the service hogging battery life.

I deleted corp sync and rebooted. 3G activity dropped to nil, phone temp dropped 15 degrees and battery seemed to improve.

Waited 30 minutes, re-added corp sync. 3G activity returned to non-stop and battery temp raised 10+ degrees.

In just 20 minutes or so, it's already received almost 5meg of data.

I don't what is being sent to the phone, because my Outlook Hotmail Connector on the client is set to only sync changes once every 30 minutes.

If I can isolate what's happening, maybe I can come up with a permanent fix.

I'm hoping power users who know more about these items may have a suggestion or two, meanwhile, I'll research further.

Stakes12, this maybe a work around for you. Let me make an assumption based on what I think I understand from your last post. Your primary mail is yahoo. You have Outlook setup to go get your yahoo mail and bring it into Outlook. You have corp sycn on your Pro going to Yahoo for the same mail and what appears to be the source of the battery drain issue. May I recommend the following: Don't make any adjustments to Outlook (that has probably been working just fine for you). Instead of having corp sync going and getting the yahoo mail, have go into yahoo mail settings and allow yahoo to forward mail to your gmail account. Gmail will push that forwarded mail to your pro...your phone won't have to do anything. The other option is to setup gmail to go get the mail from yahoo (it's call "fetch" in gmail and is a setting in gmail setup. Fetch acts just like Blackberry BES/BIS. The frequency with which fetch retrieves your mail depends on how active your yahoo account is. It could range from every 2 or 3 minutes on an active account to once an hour and a very inactive account. You can't adjust the frequency. This doesn't fix the technical issue, but it would avert the constant drain on your battery caused by corp sync. In either recommendation your phone doesn't have to do anything but receive the mail from gmail which is pushed to you. Saves battery.

 

[Skates12]

Sorry, your assumptions were wrong. No Yahoo (except IM). Using Hotmail Outlook Connector to sync calendar/contacts between my Outlook client and the Droid. I use no Google services and won't ever use them. I maintain an account only for the app market.

 

[jpcalhoun]

Sorry, you're assumptions were wrong. No Yahoo (except IM). Using Hotmail Outlook Connector to sync calendar/contacts between my Outlook client and the Droid. I use no Google services and won't ever use them. I maintain an account only for the app market.

Yeah I meant Hotmail, sorry. Understand about the Google services. If in fact the corp sync is the culpret, I recommend you post your findings on the Motorola Support Forum for the Pro. As you know, there are others having the same issue. I don't know how often Matt checks that forum (probably not often right now considering the issues they're having with the Bionic), but that information would be very helpful to Motorola in narrowing down the issue and fixing it in the next update.

 

[Skates12]

Appreciate you trying to help.

I actually posted a mirror of this thread over there the same day I created this one. 50+ people have read it and nobody has responded.

I'll post this additional information there.

 

[jpcalhoun]

Appreciate you trying to help.

I actually posted a mirror of this thread over there the same day I created this one. 50+ people have read it and nobody has responded.

I'll post this additional information there.

Always glad to try and assist another Pro owner. I hear what your saying about nobody responding to your thread. Matt and the "Motorola Experts" are all over on the Bionic support forum. If anyone thinks the Pro has issues after the update they should read the "fire storm" going on in the Motorola support forum for the Bionic. I think it is consuming all Motorola support personnel right now.

 

[Skates12]

Well, I decided to 'take one for the team' & call Vz. They passed me up to level II, but the tech admitted he really didn't know what to do, so he xferred me to Moto.

The level I tech was (predictably) useless. Her solution was "I'll instruct you how to turn b/g data off" as if that was a solution.

The level II tech put me on hold & consulted with level III. He said they're aware of the issue and acknowledged that com.Motorola.service.main has gone wiggy for some users and constantly churns data.

He said they're working on a fix that will be rushed out with version 4, but that's Ice Cream Sandwich and I understood it wouldn't be pushed to older phones like the Pro. He said he wasn't sure how a fix might be pushed to my device.

All I can say is, I tried. For now, the least painful workaround for me is to disable b/g data. Corp Sync has to remain or I lose my calendar & contacts. Email is handled directly to/from EarthLink servers, so the only downside is it no longer checks automatically. I'll just have to enable b/g data periodically to perform syncs, etc.

 

[Astaroth]

Wait, so what exactly did they say regarding Ice Cream Sandwich and the Pro?

 

[Skates12]

He said that they were having so many problems with GB that, rather than fix GB, they're "rushing to release Ice Cream Sandwich".

Problem is, as I asked the tech, everything I've read says that devices like the Pro won't be receiving ICS, so how will that help us?

He said he didn't know...