Is the battery indicator accuate?

**withravenoushunger** · 03-18-2011, 10:56 AM

It seems after using it for 10-15 minutes the battery goes to half way but it will stay there for a good while even when playing games and using the internet. I can't tell if its a horrible battery or just a bad indicator. It did the same thing with my ipod.

**thinknate** · 03-18-2011, 11:22 AM

I think the battery icon in the status bar is misleading visually. I downloaded a free widget from the Market called Battery Watcher and it displays the percentage, accurate to 1%.

**Chrisy** · 03-18-2011, 11:36 AM

Does that widget drain the battery?

**realitydigg** · 03-18-2011, 11:41 AM

The one in that task bar is in big increments. There is an htc widget that shows percentage. yuo have to download it

**thinknate** · 03-18-2011, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Chrisy

Does that widget drain the battery?

Not that I can tell. It doesn't show up on my list within Battery Usage.

**drew66** · 03-18-2011, 11:58 AM

Originally Posted by Chrisy

Does that widget drain the battery?

Too funny! I was thinking the same thing

**Chrisy** · 03-18-2011, 12:02 PM

What are the widgets names? Market?

**leehblanc** · 03-18-2011, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Chrisy

What are the widgets names? Market?

Long press an empty section of a home screen. Select "Widgets" When the widgets appear, select "Get More HTC Widgets" at the top of the screen. The battery widget is the first choice

**Koato** · 03-18-2011, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by leehblanc

Long press an empty section of a home screen. Select "Widgets" When the widgets appear, select "Get More HTC Widgets" at the top of the screen. The battery widget is the first choice

It took me awhile to get this, but its really better then going to about phone every 30mins lol

**jas o** · 03-18-2011, 12:51 PM

Originally Posted by Chrisy

What are the widgets names? Market?

In the market there are tons, but I have had good sucess with Battery Time Lite. Used it over a year on my Dinc.

**Koato** · 03-18-2011, 12:57 PM

Is it better than the HTC battery widget jas-o? and why?

**thinknate** · 03-18-2011, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by leehblanc

Long press an empty section of a home screen. Select "Widgets" When the widgets appear, select "Get More HTC Widgets" at the top of the screen. The battery widget is the first choice

Thanks, good tip. But side-by-side, I think I prefer the Battery Watcher widget from the market... it's easier to read, and it has Battery Usage info available when you click it.

**acmorris** · 03-18-2011, 01:06 PM

Could try battery monitor widget measures battery, temp, mA, mV. Use with the battery indicator works great for my using!

**jmsdvs** · 03-18-2011, 01:06 PM

I use mini info from the market. Shows data usage, battery usage, it's actually pretty awesome.

**jas o** · 03-18-2011, 01:08 PM

Similar type home page widget, but more customizable if that matters to you. Colors / battery images/ sizes / tool bar status.

HTC gives you Healt / voltage & temp.
Battery Time gives you Times.

All depends on what you like. I am not sure HTC battery widget was out when I first got my Dinc a year ago. Might be why I started using battery Time????

**MhzMonster** · 03-18-2011, 01:11 PM

Any input on 'Battery Left' widget? I downloaded and installed it yesterday but im still running the battery down to calibrate it.

**samsuck** · 03-18-2011, 01:12 PM

Think if i get an app that i can disbale certain stuff from starting up will improve batt life?

**Koato** · 03-18-2011, 01:15 PM

Interesting thing is happening to me now, I have the phone charging and it's been at 98-99% for longer then it has been for the rest of the charge

maybe its struggling to keep a 100% charge while plugged in??

**Forgetful** · 03-18-2011, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by samsuck

Think if i get an app that i can disbale certain stuff from starting up will improve batt life?

Certain stuff like what?

For the most part a few process that are just sitting in the background will not take any noticeable battery.

**Koato** · 03-18-2011, 01:33 PM

still at 99% O_o'

nvm.. finally hit greenlight

**SoDev** · 03-18-2011, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by leehblanc

Long press an empty section of a home screen. Select "Widgets" When the widgets appear, select "Get More HTC Widgets" at the top of the screen. The battery widget is the first choice

Big help to an Android noob! Thanked!

**Cory Streater** · 03-18-2011, 02:49 PM

Originally Posted by Chrisy

Does that widget drain the battery?

It is a widget that is polling the battery/system for status, so yes it will to some extent.

There's already a sticky on this, but it's worth mentioning here as well, since it has come up. Some of these bullets overlap.

Task managers - be extremely careful with these. Froyo has a built in task management within Android. If you kill system processes or apps that rely on other apps, your phone will go into an endless loop of trying to restart them, which impacts battery life even further.
Update frequency for social network apps, the HTC Widgets that use the network to download updates, Facebook sync, and pretty much anything that auto syncs with the network on whatever interval it is configured to update
Get detailed information about what's using what from settings > about phone > battery use
Check GTalk auto sign in settings or any other IM app for that matter.
3G/4G data arrow activity (frequent solid white arrows?) could indicate problems. Something is pounding the network and is consuming battery life if those arrows are solid white more often that not.
Check email configuration (update frequency for Exchange, IMAP, Gmail,
Check 3rd party applications setting (including battery percentage widgets & instant messaging applications)
Update frequency settings for various applications in settings > accounts & sync.
You can get detailed information about what's things are consuming battery life via settings > about phone > battery use. Remember though, it is based on total percentage. If it says display is equal to 75% of the total, that doesn't mean you have a display issue. It just means that everything else collectively makes up for the other 25%. I would be more concerned if you had an app with a really high percentage.
GTalk auto sign in settings.
4G/3G data arrow activity - the arrows are solid white - something is using the network.
Check email configuration (update frequency for Exchange, IMAP, Gmail, POP)
Do not use USB chargers in the car. Use one like this one with an output of at least 1A. The TB will not draw any more than 500mAh from a USB car charger, which is not enough to keep up if you are running GPS and other radio type functions.
Turn on power saver to automatically switch to power saving mode when the battery level goes down to the level that you set. See “Optimizing
It's a misconception that just because an app is shown as running in the app list, it is consuming battery.

**schartzr** · 03-18-2011, 02:51 PM

So my widget said I was at 100% as it was charging. Then was fully charged. I took it off the charger and with in 30-45 seconds it dropped to 95%. Is this right? I know the samsung phones do this but OUCH I cannot lose 5% that quickly.

**Rhyyker** · 03-18-2011, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by schartzr

So my widget said I was at 100% as it was charging. Then was fully charged. I took it off the charger and with in 30-45 seconds it dropped to 95%. Is this right? I know the samsung phones do this but OUCH I cannot lose 5% that quickly.

I think this has to do with the "bump charge" thing some people were talking about. Basically your phone runs off the battery even when you are charging, so when you pull it off the charger it technically isn't at 100% anymore. I noticed this with my incredible as well as the thunderbolt.

The solution is apparently to charge the last hour or so with the phone shut off, it worked on my incredible but I haven't found time for this ridiculous "off" concept on my tb yet lol.

**thedeceiver** · 03-18-2011, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Cory Streater

It is a widget that is polling the battery/system for status, so yes it will to some extent.

There's already a sticky on this, but it's worth mentioning here as well, since it has come up. Some of these bullets overlap.

Get detailed information about what's using what from settings > about phone > battery use

Great points that Cory brought up but I wanted to mention something about this one... a lot of times apps you install on your phone are calling native services in the Android OS. So, for example, Yahoo Mail's app KILLS battery life because it's using Android's cloud listening service to get new mail notifications. Those new mail notifications a ding against the Android OS in terms of battery usage, not the Yahoo Mail app. So, you can't always trace it back accurately but it'll give you an idea.

Another thing to consider is that if your battery life is good now but suddenly goes downhill, start uninstalling apps that you had installed recently to find the culprit.