what is up with this phone

[Golfdriver97]

I don't own an S4, so I can't speak from personal experience, but this is what I'm thinking:

Nexus 4 - 2100 mAh battery - my average screen time is 4hrs
GS4 - 2600 mAh battery - if you get anything less than 4hrs screen time, one of three things is probably happening:

• you have everything on and full brightness
• you are spending most of your times on games
• you have a defective device

I am highly inclined to agree. Another question to all who have an S4: Do you have Auto Brightness on? That feature is nice, but a battery killer. It frequently tests the ambient light and adjusts the screen brightness to accomodate.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Im in the same boat. Just got the phone yesterday from verizon. I suspect it didn't launch with the new update that att got, because my batter is not very good yet, its a little laggy and 1.08gb of my ram is used up on idle. I charged my phone too 100 and then unplugged it overnight. In the morning it had 75 battery left, and for some reason Maps used the most of it. I haven't even opened the maps app yet. In addition my phone gets hot on slight use (like now). I wouldn't say its overheating, but it's getting hot. I want to love this phone. Coming from the DROID 3, it's so much better, but it shouldn't have these problems.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Android Central Forums

What is your brightness level set at? Do you have auto brightness on?

 

[planoman]

Battery usage is highly subjective. I get great battery life from my iPhone 5. It lasts me 24 hours between charges. Having said that, Anandtech did standardized testing on the S4 and the iPhone 5 lasted longer in 2 out of 3 tests:

View attachment 69336
View attachment 69337
View attachment 69338

Your personal experience is not supported by scientific testing methodology.



Sent from my iPhone 7

Well you certainly cannot use this test as proof. They even say in the test that they are using a sprint model and that is a limitation. Also I was referring to my usage patterns with an ATT S4 and Verizon iphone 5. And yes, of course it is subjective as is most anecdotal data regarding battery life by users.

 

[planoman]

Yeah, iPhone 5 got way better screen on time. (And yeah it does measure screen time)



Wow, that's amazing.



I feel like I'll just get a speech on how things kill your battery (turn off GPS, Bluetooth, etc). How can I be sure to get a switch?

If you had taken your phone back during the two week remorse period, there would have been no questions asked and they would have exchanged it. Now you will probably have to show a defect to get a new phone during the warranty period. If you have a service center near you try to walk in and talk to them. They may still exchange it for you. Lots of folks have recommended that to you and as far as I know you have not done it...why?

 

[smooth3006]

to be honest sammy didn't really put this phone through much quality control. i think they rushed the product out to soon. that explains the lag and bad battery life.

 

[nj1266]

Well you certainly cannot use this test as proof. They even say in the test that they are using a sprint model and that is a limitation. Also I was referring to my usage patterns with an ATT S4 and Verizon iphone 5. And yes, of course it is subjective as is most anecdotal data regarding battery life by users.

You are partly correct. The limitation comes from Sprint not having LTE. So the test on Sprint's 3G network vs the LTE for the iPhone is the limitation.

However, when on WiFi there is no limitation at all. When on WiFi the iPhone 5 has much longer battery time than the S4.


Sent from my iPhone 7

 

[Calidoc]

If you had taken your phone back during the two week remorse period, there would have been no questions asked and they would have exchanged it. Now you will probably have to show a defect to get a new phone during the warranty period. If you have a service center near you try to walk in and talk to them. They may still exchange it for you. Lots of folks have recommended that to you and as far as I know you have not done it...why?

Because some people tell me to take it in and some people tell me my battery life is fine (just like in this very thread). My battery stats seem comparable to most people's. And I don't believe at any point there would be no questions asked. I expect they will by default assume all is fine and tell me how to monitor and conserve battery life and send me on my way.

So, I've waited because I wanted to continue to gather proof of defect, which I still haven't done. Today, I'm at 63% with 1.5 hours of screen usage. That seems on par with what most people get (unfortunately). I mean, I still have yet to really grasp how much battery life I'm supposed to get out of this beast. Maybe I'll take it tomorrow and see what they say.

 

[Tele_Phone]

Screen shot your stats. Have you disabled any bloat?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Android Central Forums

 

[Calidoc]

Screen shot your stats. Have you disabled any bloat?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Android Central Forums

Lol, this is exactly what I expect from ATT and why I've avoided going in. Yes, I've disabled everything conceivable. The only other thing I could do would be to put it in airplane mode. The other poster is referencing my many posts and screen shots of battery usage in other threads.

 

[dragonsamus]

Im in the same boat. Just got the phone yesterday from verizon. I suspect it didn't launch with the new update that att got, because my batter is not very good yet, its a little laggy and 1.08gb of my ram is used up on idle. I charged my phone too 100 and then unplugged it overnight. In the morning it had 75 battery left, and for some reason Maps used the most of it. I haven't even opened the maps app yet. In addition my phone gets hot on slight use (like now). I wouldn't say its overheating, but it's getting hot. I want to love this phone. Coming from the DROID 3, it's so much better, but it shouldn't have these problems.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Android Central Forums

I noticed maps was killing my battery so I uninstalled the most recent update. My battery is normal now. I had the phone unplugged for 13 hours and barely used it and only lost 26% battery life. Before I would be at 40% without even using the phone. Maps doesn't show up in GSAM battery now. Try uninstalling the maps update.

Sent from my HTC One using Android Central Forums

 

[planoman]

Because some people tell me to take it in and some people tell me my battery life is fine (just like in this very thread). My battery stats seem comparable to most people's. And I don't believe at any point there would be no questions asked. I expect they will by default assume all is fine and tell me how to monitor and conserve battery life and send me on my way.

So, I've waited because I wanted to continue to gather proof of defect, which I still haven't done. Today, I'm at 63% with 1.5 hours of screen usage. That seems on par with what most people get (unfortunately). I mean, I still have yet to really grasp how much battery life I'm supposed to get out of this beast. Maybe I'll take it tomorrow and see what they say.

Yes but in the 2 week period after getting the phone, there are no questions asked. You can return the phone for no reason whatsoever if you like, and they would rather exchange it that to lose a phone upgrade. They would switch out the phone just because you thought your battery was not up to snuff now they may troubleshoot it. This has been bothering you for some time because I keep seeing you post about it. When in doubt, change it out. The chance of getting a 2nd phone with the same battery issue (if you have one) is remote. Not trying to be critical, but you spent too much on that device to have any concerns.

 

[Calidoc]

Yes but in the 2 week period after getting the phone, there are no questions asked. You can return the phone for no reason whatsoever if you like, and they would rather exchange it that to lose a phone upgrade. They would switch out the phone just because you thought your battery was not up to snuff now they may troubleshoot it. This has been bothering you for some time because I keep seeing you post about it. When in doubt, change it out. The chance of getting a 2nd phone with the same battery issue (if you have one) is remote. Not trying to be critical, but you spent too much on that device to have any concerns.

I see what you're saying. At this point I'm just going to keep monitoring and try a new battery. We'll see.

 

[BKlip]

Awful battery life here as well. And this is my second S4 (first one was uploading upside-down photos and videos).

Since disabling Google Location Services, it's been a bit better. But as I'm looking at it right now, it's been off the charger for 5 hours. Some Spotify streaming via wifi / bluetooth and a max. 15 minutes of screen time (checked email, replied to a text, checked the weather), and I'm already down to 74%.

I've also had to disable every Samsung feature like Air View, Smart Scroll, etc. A bit disappointing.

 

[bclinger#IM]

Heck, your battery level is higher than mine at the same intervals. Set up, individual needs and signal strength are important factors.

Sent from my Sprint Note 2 via Tapatalk.

 

[20blks]

I have no lag and have experienced the best battery life of any Android I've ever owned

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Calidoc]

I have no lag and have experienced the best battery life of any Android I've ever owned

Posted via Android Central App

What are your battery stats?

 

[r2t]

I really think these battery issues has to do with the software. I am currently rooted and on a custom ROM on my i9500. I'm able to get on average 5 hours of screen time with everything on except bluetooth and NFC. My phone is able to go for the whole day without charging ever since I had switched to custom ROM.

I know that rooting and flashing custom ROM is not what everyone wanted as a solution, but other than custom ROMs, Samsung or the carriers need to come out with a better software to optimize the battery usage. That's just my two cents.

Sent from my GT-I9500

 

[Cigar-Junkie]

Signal strength is big on the list of what kills a battery, if you work in a metal bunker its gonna kill it quick. I installed an external antenna and repeater at my office to get around this. Coming from a Gnex the phone does better. I finally got WiFi working so that should only improve things. Still settling in but as a all on kind of guy (WiFi, Bluetooth, sync all accounts) I am not disappointed.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[stepaul8]

Wow what a response I really appreciate it. It seems as though Iacked some details. When I was talking about when I was using spotify, the area I was in had a lot of trees and stuff so I can understand, but a lot of the areas including my home has full bars of lte. I dont use mobile data very often, at school I just connect to the school wifi and I have home wifi. I barely use my lte. My brightness is almost on empty because this screen is so bright. It seems as though when my phone is asleep it rarely uses any battery but even though I dont use it at school it still manages to drop in battery quite a bit.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[nj1266]

Since disabling Google Location Services, it's been a bit better.

You should not have to disable GLS. The way GLS works is not through GPS. It uses the carrier towers to locate where you are. On my iPhone 5 Google Now and Google Maps are always on. They do not drain the battery at all.

When Google Now first appeared on iOS people were freaking out because the location icon was always on in the status bar and people thought it drains the battery. It did not do that.



Sent from my iPhone 7