25% drain in 1 hour?!

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:17 PM

I'm posting in the official battery life thread but it's getting buried with no responses.

I am getting TERRIBLE battery life on my GNex. I love this phone, but a phone is not a phone when it must be plugged in all day long. Please help...

I'm testing all sorts of methods on how to conserve the battery. I've installed Juice Defender. I'm not using 4g. I use WiFi only at home. I do not have GPS on. I have 2 emails set to sync every hour, one gmail and one yahoo. I have twitter set to sync. I usually use auto brightness but have since switched to darkest.

I text and use GroupMe most often. Play words with friends and read twitter lightly. No web browsing today, no videos. After charging up my battery at work, and taking it off, I've lost 25% in 1 hour! I have done nothing but text and play words with the screen on the darkest setting. I use the Beautiful Widgets clock and weather on my home screen.

I have all touch sounds and vibrations turned off. I uninstalled Skype. I don't know what else to do. How are people getting 15 - 20 hours on this when I'm barely getting 5?

My stats are:
Screen - 60%
Words Free - 18%
Android OS - 13%
Android System 3%
All others - 2% or less

Thanks for any help /

**haastyle** · 12-28-2011, 03:20 PM

welcome to the club man.....I'm having the same issues, I even got the extended battery, can't tell a difference in the battery life. I put the leaked radios on thinking that would help, nothing. I've tried all things you have and more. I'm going to return mine and hopefully get a new one that doesn't have any of these issues. My friends' phones are working great.

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:22 PM

Yea, it'd be different if I weren't reading so many posts about 15- 20 hour battery life on 4G, something must be off here.

**kesnik** · 12-28-2011, 03:25 PM

Sign out of Google + and facebook. The apps keep you phone awake when the screen is off.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

-kesnik

**haastyle** · 12-28-2011, 03:27 PM

done that, disabled, didn't help one bit

**kesnik** · 12-28-2011, 03:33 PM

It has to be some app that is doing it..... do a factory reset and start fresh (no apps installed). Install your apps like words one at a time and keep a eye on your battery life. Best answer I can give you ;-/

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**BSG75** · 12-28-2011, 03:35 PM

Was your screen on for that entire hour? Was it at full brightness? You can click the screen info in the battery stats screen to see how long it was on. Google+ doesn't hurt my battery. It's all a function of how long you keep the screen on. I can post pictures of over 20 hours of battery on my device, but that is with light usage (i.e., the screen was off most of the time). Stock battery. That 60% for the battery usage is pretty telling. Normal is more like 30% screen & 30% OS.

On an unrelated note, you didn't grow up in Plymouth Whitemarsh, PA, did you? I have a cousin in TN with a name similar to your nickname.

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:35 PM

kesnik - how can you screen 13% on 13 hours of use?

There has to be something else wrong here.

**davey11** · 12-28-2011, 03:36 PM

If you guys have the gumption, try installing a custom rom and kernel. Has helped immensely with battery life.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:39 PM

Originally Posted by BSG75

Was your screen on for that entire hour? Was it at full brightness? You can click the screen info in the battery stats screen to see how long it was on. Google+ doesn't hurt my battery. It's all a function of how long you keep the screen on. I can post pictures of over 20 hours of battery on my device, but that is with light usage (i.e., the screen was off most of the time). Stock battery. That 60% for the battery usage is pretty telling. Normal is more like 30% screen & 30% OS.

On an unrelated note, you didn't grow up in Plymouth Whitemarsh, PA, did you? I have a cousin in TN with a name similar to your nickname.

I have had the screen on the dimmest setting. The screen is on the majority of the time, but it HAS to be on to use the phone, right? lol.

Side note - nope not from PA.

**haastyle** · 12-28-2011, 03:39 PM

davey i installed android revolution hd 2.1.2 and the leaked radios.....didn't help my phone one bit. I reset the battery stats, so I'll give it a few cycles to see what happens. Even when LTE is up my phone can't seem to hold a connection for more than 30 minutes and everyone else gets full 4g at my work.

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by davey11

If you guys have the gumption, try installing a custom rom and kernel. Has helped immensely with battery life.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

not opposed to this, but don't want to ruin any chance of returning/exchanging if I infact have a bad phone?

**BSG75** · 12-28-2011, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by RyMac04

I have had the screen on the dimmest setting. The screen is on the majority of the time, but it HAS to be on to use the phone, right? lol.

Side note - nope not from PA.

Yup, you need to have the screen on for most uses, but that is what kills the battery more than anything. Periodically turning it on and running it for an hour straight are two different things. Sorry, but I don't think you can expect it to last much longer than you are seeing under those circumstances.

Juice Defender only goes into action when the phone is not in use, I believe, by keeping syncing to a minimum. That doesn't help you when you are actively using the device.

**haastyle** · 12-28-2011, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by RyMac04

not opposed to this, but don't want to ruin any chance of returning/exchanging if I infact have a bad phone?

you can put it back to factory settings, there are a few tutorials on it out there, that's my plan at the moment. I got it at Costco, 90 day return policy, so I got time lol.

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by BSG75

Yup, you need to have the screen on for most uses, but that is what kills the battery more than anything. Periodically turning it on and running it for an hour straight are two different things. Sorry, but I don't think you can expect it to last much longer than you are seeing under those circumstances.

Juice Defender only goes into action when the phone is not in use, I believe, by keeping syncing to a minimum. That doesn't help you when you are actively using the device.

I guess I don't understand why people are getting so much better battery with "active use"? Go into the "Smug thread" and read everyone success with their battery - their usage doesn't seem any different than mine.

Texting and light words with friends over the course of an hour should not cause 25% drain. This is with intermittent screen on/off, not continuous.

**revickulous2001** · 12-28-2011, 04:03 PM

My current stats are 40% battery life remaining. My phone has been off charge for a little over 8 hours. My screen has accounted for 54% of the battery usage. But my screen has only been on for a little under 2 hours.

**wassct** · 12-28-2011, 04:10 PM

Words with Friends has always slammed my battery, on the Nexus and my old OG Droid. For some reason it's a battery hog. I always make sure to close it completely when I'm done using it but I think it's the guilty party in your case.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by wassct

Words with Friends has always slammed my battery, on the Nexus and my old OG Droid. For some reason it's a battery hog. I always make sure to close it completely when I'm done using it but I think it's the guilty party in your case.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

That's one thing I'm still unfamiliar with - closing completely out of apps on ICS.

I'm a converted BlackBerry user, and to close out you simply hit BB Button - Close. On ICS it seems each app is different, and the "app manager" is not necessarily a task killer.

To close Words - return key all the way out of it, correct>? thx

**g nexta** · 12-28-2011, 04:16 PM

Hey, I may be in the same boat as OP. This is my first smartphone, so I can only compare my experience with other's. I use it ALOT, and my daughter plays games on it too. However, I have to charge it over and over throughout the day. I thought that's the way it's supposed to be, like when I use my laptop. Now I don't know. I got battery defender (which, from what I understand improves your battery life over time by learning how you use it), and Advanced Task Killer, which I use all the time, esp when my phone slows down. Seems to help some (would appreciate negative feedback on those apps).

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by revickulous2001

My current stats are 40% battery life remaining. My phone has been off charge for a little over 8 hours. My screen has accounted for 54% of the battery usage. But my screen has only been on for a little under 2 hours.

maybe i AM playing with it too much. When do the "screen on" and battery stats reset?

**RyMac04** · 12-28-2011, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by g nexta

Hey, I may be in the same boat as OP. This is my first smartphone, so I can only compare my experience with other's. I use it ALOT, and my daughter plays games on it too. However, I have to charge it over and over throughout the day. I thought that's the way it's supposed to be, like when I use my laptop. Now I don't know. I got battery defender (which, from what I understand improves your battery life over time by learning how you use it), and Advanced Task Killer, which I use all the time, esp when my phone slows down. Seems to help some (would appreciate negative feedback on those apps).

You have a Galaxy Nexus correct?

From my understanding, Ice Cream Sandwich no longer has need for the "task killer" apps that exist in the market. It manages apps on it's own and each app will either have an "exit" option, or you simply escape out of it, and ICS will idle the app.

**chevyguy8893** · 12-28-2011, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by RyMac04

not opposed to this, but don't want to ruin any chance of returning/exchanging if I infact have a bad phone?

It is pretty easy to re-lock the bootloader and return the phone to stock.

I installed the AXI0M 2.1 rom after rooting my phone. I did a battery stats wipe afterwards after charging the battery to full, and then drained till it was dead. I unplugged my phone last night around midnight, so the phone sat idle for a while. I currently have 64% battery life left after 10 hours since charged. I have streamed pandora on 4G, surfed the web a bit, played music from the music player, and played solitaire for a while. I am running the extended battery though which only makes a little bit of a difference. I do try to run on wifi whenever possible which may be a difference.

Games and the screen are the big battery drainers. Words with friends has never been battery friendly on any mobile device for me.If you want to see a list of running apps go into settings, apps, select running at the top, and scroll through the list to see what is running. You can also end apps here if you find something that you don't want running. Also, you can disable apps you don't use under the "all" tab.

**Mathmatikus** · 12-28-2011, 04:30 PM

How long is your screen on for? I get 2-3 hours of screen on time before my battery starts crossing the "charge me" line with screen at 50% brightness and eating 68% of the battery.

**thebignewt** · 12-28-2011, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by RyMac04

You have a Galaxy Nexus correct?

From my understanding, Ice Cream Sandwich no longer has need for the "task killer" apps that exist in the market. It manages apps on it's own and each app will either have an "exit" option, or you simply escape out of it, and ICS will idle the app.

You are correct. In fact no android phone benefits from task killer apps. I'm sure this phone is not much different from any other smartphone in what drains the battery: GPS, other radios (LTE and 3G Data, voice, BT, WiFi) and screens. This has a bigger screen so that may drain more than others. I don't know how much LTE drains vs 3G, but I'm sure it searches more. Voice is voice. WiFi is WiFi, and BT is BT no matter what the phone. GPS is a killer, as we all know, because it's using 2 radios (satellite and data) constantly to track position and redraw maps. Use one of those golf GPS apps and leave it on and see how fast it goes. You won't make 18 holes.

**zacharyalexstern** · 12-28-2011, 05:00 PM

Originally Posted by haastyle

welcome to the club man.....I'm having the same issues, I even got the extended battery, can't tell a difference in the battery life.

That's because there is no difference. The extended battery is only 10% larger than the standard battery. Wait for the Seidio Innocell to come out. That's the only real option.