35 hours, 90% battery left, on "standby"

[muzzy996]

It's all about the apps and settings which is why we can never all have the same drain unless we all have fresh out of the box installs and log into the same accounts during setup. Once we deviate after initial setup by using accounts with different activities (email volume for example) everything changes. Placing different widgets on the home screen without ever installing any other apps is enough to result in different battery consumption statistics.

The biggest culprits for drain that I've personally had were exchange set to push and other sync related settings for various applications like weather apps or news apps. The concept is simple, to minimize standby drain the CPU has to be able to go to idle for the maximum amount of time when the tablet is not in use. With dozens of applications (widgets are apps too!) all trying to sync or get information in the background at various intervals its easy for the CPU to be awake too much and the result will be heavy battery drain.

So focus when hunting for applications needs to start with sync intervals of all applications. For example my email app of choice (aquamail) allows a custom sync interval when the screen is off so I set that to every half hour. My weather apps/widgets are set to check conditions once an hour. Notifications on all nonessential apps are disabled so the only notifications that I leave on are for messaging applications and email. I uninstalled Facebook since that application had been notorious for drain (I use Dolphin instead with flash installed).

3rd party battery monitoring tools helps find wakelocks. Better Battery Stats is one, GSAM Battery Monitor is another. Some require root for better functionality but do have useful information without root. The key to using those is to do a fresh reboot when unplugged and not touch the tablet for an hour or two. Then come back and look for wakelock counts on all applications. Then starting with the highest-ranking applications try to change notification or sync settings and then repeat the testing process.

Root users have the best chance of maximizing battery life by forcing stubborn applications into hibernation using tools like Greenify or outright disabling them when they aren't wanted (I have probably a few dozen apps and services frozen in titanium backup that came with the tablet stock).

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

 

[goin_nil]

It's all about the apps and settings
...
The biggest culprits for drain that I've personally had were exchange set to push and other sync related settings for various applications like weather apps or news apps.

You are exactly right, muzzy996. Very good advice to check the app sync settings.

I had a battery drain issue with my work email sync through exchange. I changed the sync from "push" to "15 minutes" for peak time (ie M-F 8am - 5pm) and "1 hour" for off-peak time. Exchange Services went from the biggest battery hog to nothing.

Another time my calendar app went crazy (stuck in an endless loop) and I could literally watch the battery percentage drop a percent or two every minute - it was nuts. But, I worked with the developer (great guy) and he fixed the bug.

 

[goin_nil]

An analogy comes to mind -

Drastic battery drain when a tablet is not used much is like driving a car in heavy traffic and revving the engine constantly when you are stopped (ie when the screen is off or apps are closed). You will run out of gas much quicker than the guy who takes it easy and only presses the gas peddle when it's really needed.

Not to say that it's the users fault but rather poorly designed/configured apps that keep their foot on the gas when it's not really needed.

Even if we are careful to close all apps when the tablet is going to be sitting idle for a bit, there are always background/hidden services running for some apps (like exchange or Facebook). Configured properly, their impact can be greatly minimized.

 

[RoyalWulf]

That's what I was wondering. You might be having quicker battery drain (more so than a WiFi only tablet) from the 4G trying to get a signal and if the cellular signal is weak (father away) or you cellular antenna has to work harder to keep a 4G signal (such as when in a building). That can cause significant battery drain.

Do you notice the tablet getting warm or hot when using 4G? Heat quickly drains a battery and shortens it's life span too.

How often are you in cellular 4G vs 3G vs 1x? And how strong (# of bars) is your cellular signal? All things to keep an eye on.

If you are primarily on WiFi during the day, you should turn off the cellular antenna (sorry, can't remember how).

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AC Forums mobile app

My mobile has two sim slots so I put one in for each telco. I have no coverage at home with one of them and I found it was draining my battery trying to find a signal. When I took the sim out it solved that problem. Currently I don't have a sim in the tablet. Should it still be draining the battery?

 

[RoyalWulf]

Hi Peaches36

It sounds like there could be some app misbehaving (this has happened to me more than once). Most likely the tablet and battery are just fine. Have you done a factory reset and NOT installed any apps for a day or two to see how long the battery lasts? Then start to add back the apps slowly.

...

Also, post a screenshot of your battery stats graph (like I did above) and we might be able to get some info from that of what could be wrong.

It's amazing what apps cause problems, my Mum had a card game that cost heaps in 3G. I had an app that told me my mobile balance and after an upgrade to the app it drained my battery in a few hours, it took ages to find it out of the 40 odd apps.

 

[goin_nil]

When I took the sim out it solved that problem.

Should it still be draining the battery?

Those two statements sound contradicting. I guess you are saying that your battery life is better without the SIM but is still draining quicker than you would like/expect?

After a full battery cycle (when you go down to < 10% and just before you put it on charge, post a picture of your battery graph (full screen) back here and also how many hours your screen was on.

It would also be good to post a picture of you battery graph after 2 or 3 hours of the screen being off, not using the tablet, AND most importantly not being charged.

You could have an misbehaving app not allowing your tablet to sleep (even when the screen is off).

 

[Grimgrak]

Unfortunately i'm going to have to reconsider the sp3.
Charged from dead/powered off 6 hrs while I slept and it still didn't get to 80%.

 

[muzzy996]

Yeah if usage requires battery consumption to zero then the exynos based note pros are perhaps not a good choice. For those who don't go south of 30% daily a recharge while you're sleeping for the night is totally possible though. I'm never away from power more than several hours so battery life is less relevant for me.