What smart actions do you have set?

[eric.scheman]

I was testing out the cell data off and you can still receive the MMS messages and the notifications will pop up but you just can't download the message which is fine for me cause I just enable it to download the message then turn it off again.

 

[Deron]

I went to bed and noted my battery percentage was 87% at 0145. I turned the screen off, put the phone down, and did not touch it till awakening. I had the smart actions set to turn off cellular data and turn off wifi when screen was off. At 0746 (6 hours later) I turn on my phone, unlock it, and note that the battery circle widget says 84%. So, overnight my phone drained a half of a percentage point per hour of battery life using the smart action and just sitting passively next to my bed.

Contrast that to 35 percentage points per hour drained while watching Netflix via 4g (according to my battery experiments).

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[pico1]

I went to bed and noted my battery percentage was 87% at 0145. I turned the screen off, put the phone down, and did not touch it till awakening. I had the smart actions set to turn off cellular data and turn off wifi when screen was off. At 0746 (6 hours later) I turn on my phone, unlock it, and note that the battery circle widget says 84%. So, overnight my phone drained a half of a percentage point per hour of battery life using the smart action and just sitting passively next to my bed.

Contrast that to 35 percentage points per hour drained while watching Netflix via 4g (according to my battery experiments).


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Good research. 4G seems to be the most battery intensive feature that we have the ability to disable if need be...

 

[CharlieJ]

Since the smart action is using the 3g/4g and/or wifi, perhaps its location fix is not as accurate. Thus you may need to move significantly far away from home to undue the trigger. The location fix may be more of an estimation verses an exact coordinate that GPS can obtain.

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I read this morning (can't reference the article, bc I've read so much this morning)... Motorola says they use "coarse locations" for Smart Actions, etc -- not pinpoint. So, it might be a good idea to experiment with distance from your residence to see how far you need to go before the change takes place. Also, another idea just popped into my head. Once you find the fringe, set that as a location and tell the phone to turn on/off services as you leave/enter... and possibly continue to use the home location for other smart actions.

 

[joeygirl]

Okay, I'm an idiot. Still playing and I accidentally deleted the Smart Action for Home. Tried to set a new one up again (the sample has disappeared) and it won't let me access WIFI or Airplane Mode (both grayed out) in Actions. Can anyone help me get a good Home Rule set up again?

 

[Arsonman]

I have to say that the best SA is:
Triggers
Display off

Actions
Cellular data-disable
GPS-off
Background sync-off

This thing is lasting me all day long with medium use. I have not turned off 4g. Shutting things down when the display is off makes sence. I still receive phone calls and texts. I am loving this phone.

 

[eric.scheman]

Okay, I'm an idiot. Still playing and I accidentally deleted the Smart Action for Home. Tried to set a new one up again (the sample has disappeared) and it won't let me access WIFI or Airplane Mode (both grayed out) in Actions. Can anyone help me get a good Home Rule set up again?

For my home i just have the trigger as my GPS location of my house and the action is to shut off GPS. I have another action for my display off and the triggers are: display off and not charging and the actions: GPS off wifi off and cellular data off. That should help with the battery life

 

[Deron]

I read this morning (can't reference the article, bc I've read so much this morning)... Motorola says they use "coarse locations" for Smart Actions, etc -- not pinpoint. So, it might be a good idea to experiment with distance from your residence to see how far you need to go before the change takes place.

Thanks. You confirmed what I was guessing.



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[Deron]

I have to say that the best SA is:
Triggers
Display off

Actions
Cellular data-disable
GPS-off
Background sync-off

This thing is lasting me all day long with medium use. I have not turned off 4g. Shutting things down when the display is off makes sence. I still receive phone calls and texts. I am loving this phone.

I don't add the Turn Off Sync rule since (I assume) the phone cannot sync when cellular data and/or WiFi are off anyway.

Indeed, we seemed to have stumbled upon the holy Grail of battery conservation with this smart action app. The only thing I wonder is if repeatedly turning on and off cellular data will shorten the lifespan of the phone's cellular radios. ? Aren't some electronic components best if left in the on position? I am not knowlegable in this area.



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[jtpowell]

I don't add the Turn Off Sync rule since (I assume) the phone cannot sync when cellular data and/or WiFi are off anyway.

Indeed, we seemed to have stumbled upon the holy Grail of battery conservation with this smart action app. The only thing I wonder is if repeatedly turning on and off cellular data will shorten the lifespan of the phone's cellular radios. ? Aren't some electronic components best if left in the on position? I am not knowlegable in this area.



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These are solid state devices not flipping a mechanical switch rated at x flips. Either the current is flowing or it isn't. That changing on/off isn't going to reduce life. Heck if anything you would think it'd increase the MTBF (mean time before failure).

 

[kbrandt]

I am using the same triggers and actions with very good results.

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[Deron]

These are solid state devices not flipping a mechanical switch rated at x flips. Either the current is flowing or it isn't. That changing on/off isn't going to reduce life. Heck if anything you would think it'd increase the MTBF (mean time before failure).

Thanks

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[rherron]

"Quiet Time"

Trigger is Timeframe (9:00 PM -- 7:30 AM)

Action is Ringer Volume is silent

Doesn't save on battery. Probably costs some to have a Smart Action. But it does cut the volume so I don't hear anything at night when I'm sleeping if I forget to turn it down. I have work and personal email accounts on my device, both set to make a little ding when they arrive.

 

[JaBr1884]

rherron, instead of muting your ringer, you might want to disable background data or all data sources all together. This would keep the data from syncing, so your email wouldn't be delivered and you wouldn't have the notifications, but this would also allow you to wake from calls or texts in case of an emergency.

I'm loving SA! I only wish for more triggers and reactions.

Specifically, reactions of setting media volume to a specific settings (min/max), and one that would bring you back to the home screen (ie close an open app, like hitting the home button). These two, combined with the headphone plug in trigger and launch app (pandora) would allow me to simply plug my phone into my car's auxiliary cable and stream pandora to and from work and school without messing with the pandora widget or setting my media volume ahead of time. The new SA reactions I want would also reduce media sound to silent and close pandora app (the phone already pauses/closes pandora when I unplug the auxiliary cable) when I unplug and enter school and work. This would eliminate the only settings routine I'm forced to deal with.

I'm still trying to learn the details of the location settings, and whether I should use them instead of my wifi trigger. It was my understanding that wifi had to stay on for location services anyway, so instead of using location trigger for "Home", I use wifi: (home network ssn) trigger. So if my phone finds my wifi, it turns of cell data, if it doesn't, I'm still on 3g/4g. No issues yet of being in a location and not having data due to gaps in location/wifi range. If location is found by using the cell network, then I could use the location trigger and turn wifi off throughout the day. Right now since wifi is my trigger, I have to leave it on all the time. Has anyone determined if location trigger can be utilized without wifi?

 

[Sydman]

I set up a trigger for when I get to my house to turn off cellular data since I am connected to my WIFI. Question is when I leave the house and get away from that WIFI will the cellular data come back on, and also is there a way for me to turn off cellular data by myself without smart actions.