Regarding CM10.1

[cpackar]

Okay, so for some reason i can't post in XDA at all but I have CM10.1 and the battery life on any ROM i try is terrible. I get maybe 6 hours tops with moderate use... Sorry if this is the wrong place to post. I'm just curious as to how people get 20+ hours on their phone with heavy use...

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[digitalslacker]

So a few things to point out.
1) If you are installing ROMs, giving them a few hrs and moving to another ROM you'll be disappointed every single time. Not only does the process of flashing the ROM utterly kill your battery, it takes a few days before everything calibrates and you start to see consistent stats.
2) Your definition of "moderate" use probably isn't the same as others' definition of "heavy" use.
3) "usage" is arbitrary. So many things come into play when you talk about battery life that no ones use is the same as someone's else. Every factor is different.
4) You don't know what that person did to their phone in order to get 20+ hrs of "heavy" use. Most of the time they install a kernel/ROM, then tweak the hell out of their settings. Screen shuts off faster, reduce the brightness, keep it in an area with a strong cell connection/wifi, avoid using the phone, uninstall apps that run in the background, etc. Then they rave about the kernel/ROM having AWESOME battery life. It's not the kernel/ROM, it's that they handicapped their phone for bragging rights. Kernels can improve battery life but if you are getting 6-8 you might see an additional 30 min with a conservative kernel/ROM.

If you want to use your phone to it's fully extent and you want to have battery all day, then charge it when you can. I gave up years ago trying to get a full day out of a battery and went out and bought a bunch of chargers for the house, car and office as well as two battery packs for when I'm on the go. Then I stopped thinking about it. Any time I'm near a charger and the battery is below 50% I just charge it.

No kernel/ROM combo I have tried has given me 20+ hr battery life without my having to sacrifice something and I've been screwing with kernels and ROMs for years. Electronic devices use power when you use them.

 

[davey11]

I have always wondered about "usage". How do you measure usage? What is the threshold from moderate to heavy usage?
Like digital above, I just gave up on getting a few 'percieved' minutes here and there with tweaks. I just use the phone and battery life be dammed. Just charge the sucker up when it gets low.

One thing that has helped is I never activated Google Now. I think by not bringing up them dumb weather and "distance to home" cards, it saves alot of battery.

 

[digitalslacker]

I have always wondered about "usage". How do you measure usage? What is the threshold from moderate to heavy usage?
Like digital above, I just gave up on getting a few 'percieved' minutes here and there with tweaks. I just use the phone and battery life be dammed. Just charge the sucker up when it gets low.

One thing that has helped is I never activated Google Now. I think by not bringing up them dumb weather and "distance to home" cards, it saves alot of battery.

Yeah, usage is completely arbitrary, even when we are talking about comparing our own usage day to day. Something as simple as where you were that day and for how long can drastically affect it.

We have a bar near our house and if we go there for a couple of drinks my battery life is shot for the day, especially if their WiFi is down because there is almost no signal. Just enough to not force the phone to shut off the cell, but enough to make it work hard for a connection by boosting the power. I try to charge up the phone in the car on the way. No amount of setting tweaking or kernel/ROM combo is going to fix that unless I just enable airplane mode. And I only notice that because I go there too much. That type of things happens all day long in your pocket and you probably never even notice.

And I agree, since Google Now I've noticed a dip in battery on the Gnex where I actually enable it. But I find it useful so I keep enabled on the phone and off on the tablets.

I should clarify that I'm not suggesting you ignore your battery life and install whatever, run your screen at full brightness and then attach a 2lb battery pack to keep it going. If you find a particular app that you see little value you in that seems to be chewing through battery, get rid of it. I just don't think marginal gains in battery life gains make sense if it means sacrificing something you see value in.

I personally hate the GNex on auto brightness. It's horrible, so I keep it about 60-70% which eats battery but what's the point in having a phone with a screen that you don't like looking at? On the Nexus 7 (and hopefully the Nexus 4 when I get it!) I don't mind it on auto brightness so I keep it there and reap the battery life gains from it.

So don't ignore it battery usage, but don't let it rule how you use your phone. Battery stats and benchmarks are about as useful as App Killers.

 

[davey11]

I DO play around with voltages and governers though mainly for the placebo effect. lol

 

[2defmouze]

Digitalslacker = nailed it.



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[2defmouze]

Digitalslacker = nailed it.



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[digitalslacker]

Digitalslacker = nailed it.



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Digitalslacker = nailed it.



Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

So well apparently I get two posts indicating such! I'm honored. Thanks!