How to Get Better Battery Life

[Channan]

I really can't take the battery life on my Nexus any more. I'm running a 4.1.1 ROM (flashed so long ago I don't remember which one) at the moment. Can anyone recommend the best ROM/kernel/radio combo to flash to get the best battery life? At this point I don't care about speed, features, or even what version of Android it is as long as it isn't extremely buggy. I just want my phone to last as long as possible. Thanks.

 

[zkSharks]

I've had good results on Leankernel for a while, but that's just me. I've been running AOKP for many months, with LTE on, brightness on full, and I routinely get a full day's use without problem. Battery life is usually more heavily impacted by your usage habits than it is by the ROM/kernel you're running. Do you leave Bluetooth on a lot? Screen brightness/timeout? Things like that.

If you don't already have an extended battery, the Samsung extended battery will fit inside the stock battery cover, and provides 15% more power if I remember correctly.

 

[davey11]

Here's my take on the gnex battery...it absolutely sux...HARD. I just put up with it because every other aspect of the phone is great. (well maybe not the camera). I have the 2100mah extended and when I first got it, it was noticeably better, nowdays not so much. It seems to have lost some juice. I can't tell it from the reg 1850 batt.
I been on many many roms and kernels and have adjusted governors, lowered clockspeed and just tried lots of things to try and get better life. Guess what....I find all the things I do, the difference is negligible. Like Lum said above, batt is determined mostly by your usage patterns. the problem lies is how do you compare different batt cycles to one another? It is impossible to use the battery the same for 2 cycles.

So, bottom line is just find someway to live with it (spare batts and chargers) because this phone is still one awesome piece of work.
Also, I been really considering getting one of them Hyperion or Seidio mega 3800mah suckers. It'll make the phone super fat but might be worth it. Seen the Hyperion on ebay for $19 the other day.

 

[gregs1213]

Get a new phone, I've figured it's the only way.. I leave everything off and lose like 10 an hour, and I don't even touch it!! I've tried wiping my phone completely, getting rid of all my apps, using every kernal/rom combo in the world.. It just sucks. I've tried all the battery programs, and my phone goes into deep sleep just fine. Screen on less than 20% brightness all day.. at night I go all the way to 1%. I think some phones are much more efficient. It's really hard for me to believe that some people get 3 hours of screen time.. I could probably wipe my phone completely.. put brightness on 1% and leave the screen on, and I doubt it would last more than 2 hours..

 

[Channan]

Lumenii, I know battery life will vary depending on how much I use it but that's not the only thing that affects it. I was hoping there were other ROMs and/or kernels that could extend my battery life a bit more. Just trying to get as much life as possible out of it. I don't leave Bluetooth on when I'm not using it and screen timeout doesn't matter for me because I turn my screen off as soon as I stop using it.

I have the 2100mAh extended battery but I really don't notice a difference between it and the stock 1850 one. I just keep the extended battery as a backup since I like the feel of the phone with the standard battery and cover a little more.

davey11, I agree. The main reason for upgrading to the Nexus from my ThunderBolt other than it being a Nexus was battery life. My ThunderBolt's battery life was terrible and everyone always blamed it on LTE being new, not integrated into the processor so it sucked up more power, and the tiny battery. I got about 2 hours of screen on time with my ThunderBolt. I figured with a 50% bigger battery (2100mAh extended) and a processor with integrated LTE, the Galaxy Nexus was going to have much better battery life but it isn't any better for me. I don't even notice a difference between the 1850 and 2100mAh batteries either. Never have.

I have been just dealing with it but it really sucks. I don't understand how Apple is the only one who can make a phone that has great battery life with a small battery. It takes Motorola putting a battery that's well over twice as big as the iPhone's to get comparable battery life. And to be honest, as much as I dislike iOS, I'd buy an iPhone 5 today if I could get free tethering without jailbreaking.

I might just get a RAZR MAXX HD or whatever RAZR MAXX comes out next year. I really hope Google can release a Nexus with outstanding battery life on Verizon by the end of next year though. :/

 

[tiramg]

I'm on codename android 3.8 and I have Franco #298 set to interactive. No other tweaks and using stock battery with screen on full brightness. Though I am on WiFi at home and work. I take it off the charger at 7am and leave work at 5pm with 60% battery left. Admittedly my phone usage is minimal while at work. But I am able to use it all evening and rarely have to put it back on the charger until bedtime. I would guess I'm getting about 2 hours screen on.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[jephanie]

I really hope Google can release a Nexus with outstanding battery life on Verizon by the end of next year though. :/

That won't happen, so you may as well scratch that off your "hope" list.

 

[Channan]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Negative.

 

[tony bag o donuts]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Negative.

He's right though. That DNA looks sweet though.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[Channan]

He isn't right. He's only guessing. It might be unlikely but it isn't guaranteed.

 

[moosc]

Best battery tip turn off cellular radios, turn on Wi-Fi check gmail every 4 hours put it back in the desk drawer. Poof greet battery.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

 

[dmmarck]

He isn't right. He's only guessing. It might be unlikely but it isn't guaranteed.

He's mostly correct though, although it could have been stated differently. The GNex's poor battery is mostly related to the fact the stock battery (and heck, the extended battery) is fairly small. On top of that, the internals are of an older design that saps battery, particularly if LTE is on. Lastly, the screen does the battery life no favors whatsoever.

 

[Channan]

Still not guaranteed so I still have hope.

And I wouldn't say the batteries are small. They aren't huge but not really small. Not many phones have more than a 2100 mAh battery. Sorry to bring up the iPhone again but the battery in it is 50% smaller than the Galaxy Nexus' extended battery and gets more than triple the battery life (my dad gets over 6 hours of screen on time on his iPhone 5 with LTE on while I get about 2 even with LTE off).

I know it's got different internals, a smaller screen, and a different OS but I don't think I'm crazy to expect much better battery life out of a 2100 mAh battery.

I don't mean to sound like I'm just complaining about this phone because I'm not. I don't need people telling me "just get an iPhone since that's what you really want" because I don't. I really do like pretty much everything else about my Nexus. I've had it since the morning it came out last year and the novelty is finally starting to wear off. I can't fully enjoy it since I'm always avoiding using it to save the battery.

 

[jephanie]

Thanks for the advice Mr. Negative.

Read up a little bit on how/why Google specifically launched the Nexus 4. I'm not being negative. I'm being realistic based on what Google has made all too clear.

Instead of reacting the way you have so far (name calling and such), go do a little bit of reading first (Google makes a very nice search engine and not just smartphone operating systems). Probably the best summation of the issue is written here on The Verge.

Until CMDA is dead and Verizon is forced to play fair via open access rules on their LTE network, I wouldn't expect Google to get into a repeat of what they dealt with on the Galaxy Nexus.

 

[Channan]

Read up a little bit on how/why Google specifically launched the Nexus 4. I'm not being negative. I'm being realistic based on what Google has made all too clear.

Instead of reacting the way you have so far (name calling and such), go do a little bit of reading first (Google makes a very nice search engine and not just smartphone operating systems). Probably the best summation of the issue is written here on The Verge.

Name calling? Mr. Negative? That was hardly an insult. It was a tease and didn't think you'd take it personally. I apologize.

Google doesn't sell a CDMA Nexus 4 in the Play Store because they can't without the carriers' permission. That doesn't mean they won't partner up with other carriers at some point to provide the Nexus 4 to more people like they did with the previous two Nexuses. It'll never be available in the Play Store but that doesn't mean it'll never exist.

BTW thanks for the Google search engine tip.

 

[jephanie]

Name calling? Mr. Negative? That was hardly an insult. It was a tease and didn't think you'd take it personally. I apologize.

I didn't say it was an insult.

BTW thanks for the Google search engine tip.

Glad to be of help. Typically, though, I refer people using this site. LOL

 

[gb525]

Just had to share this cause I've never gone much over 2 hrs screen time, but with this combo.....

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

 

[gb525]

I got these results

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

 

[Bobaroo]

Usually struggle with battery life as well 2 hr screen time would be amazing. I flashed Francos #300 kernel and was shocked at my battery life. Wifi was on all day and I was using the phone pretty heavily (web browsing, texting, assorted apps/games). Total time 12h 38min, Screen time 3hr 14min with 11% battery left when I put it on the charger. By far the longest battery life I have ever had, I honestly kept trying to drain the battery but no go.

 

[jephanie]

Usually struggle with battery life as well 2 hr screen time would be amazing. I flashed Francos #300 kernel and was shocked at my battery life. Wifi was on all day and I was using the phone pretty heavily (web browsing, texting, assorted apps/games). Total time 12h 38min, Screen time 3hr 14min with 11% battery left when I put it on the charger. By far the longest battery life I have ever had, I honestly kept trying to drain the battery but no go.

I've been able to do that on stock. But WiFi is where its at. The minute it gets dependent on even 3G, you can cut that time in half.