About to give up and go back to iPhone

[Fairclough]

I've discovered, and I tend to not make generalizations, that droidsters like to get under the hood a bit and tinker, learn how to make things work better, and try new stuff. On the other hand it usually seems the ipeeps like to turn it on and push big buttons and everything always works perfect, in their own little world.

{ flame shields UP! }

I also noticed, Iphone user's are often very uneducated on their products. Generally speaking.

 

[masterpfa]

At the very least you have tried this phone and found it wasn't for you. Unlike others who have criticised without even using the device for one second.

Ultimately the choice is always yours and despite what some may think on these forums your choice is not a bad choice at all. The iPhone is a great bit of kit.

Don't forget you are always welcome to come back at sometime in the future.

 

[rteichman]

Everyone, I am trying very hard to keep this phone which is why I posted the original message and the follow ups. My 14 days ends tonight, but yesterday morning while loading an offline map for CityMaps2Go I discovered the compass issue and reached my breaking point. I decided to post rather than head back to AT&T in hopes of getting help, which I did, so thanks.

The most critical issue I had was Skype and it started working for reasons I can not understand. I had done all the suggested items previously, nothing worked, and BTW, I only use it on WiFi (that is the whole point when I am abroad), second, the startup I work for relies on it, so I can't use anything else.

It is really down to battery life. I installed and turned on juice defender balanced yesterday evening as recommended. Last night I went to bed and plugged my phone is as I always do. At 6:30am I got up, unplugged the phone and used the power switch to immediately turn off the screen. I did not touch the phone, other than moving it to my home office until 7:50am. I turned it on and had 5% power drain. The phone was at 95% never having used it! I went into the battery monitor and GSam. Both reported the same thing...App usage @ 55% which broke down to Media @ 30% and mediaserver @ 9%. Cell Standby was at 30%, as I had not used the phone screen and everything else was basically 0

I tried stopping Media, but it keeps coming back. From the notifications there were no downloads or app updates. Why is this app sucking so much power and how do I stop it. It's critical, loosing 5% power per hour when I don't use the phone is a killer. To answer the question of how long I want it to last, that's easy. From the time I unplug it in the morning till the time I go to bed and plug it in. Obviously if I use the phone heavily, I would expect to have to recharge it. However, if I use it only a few hours out of the day (calling, text messages, email, etc.) I need it to run all day. Especially on weekends when I might be out all day (16 hours). It's now a little after 8:00am, I received one call that lasted less than 2 minutes, and sent 2 texts, in addition I looked at the battery monitors. My power is down to 92%. I won't go to bed till 10pm tonight. The battery won't last

Now from reports here and elsewhere, this is clearly not the norm.... HELP

 

[ihbsbA]

Everyone, I am trying very hard to keep this phone which is why I posted the original message and the follow ups. My 14 days ends tonight, but yesterday morning while loading an offline map for CityMaps2Go I discovered the compass issue and reached my breaking point. I decided to post rather than head back to AT&T in hopes of getting help, which I did, so thanks.

The most critical issue I had was Skype and it started working for reasons I can not understand. I had done all the suggested items previously, nothing worked, and BTW, I only use it on WiFi (that is the whole point when I am abroad), second, the startup I work for relies on it, so I can't use anything else.

It is really down to battery life. I installed and turned on juice defender balanced yesterday evening as recommended. Last night I went to bed and plugged my phone is as I always do. At 6:30am I got up, unplugged the phone and used the power switch to immediately turn off the screen. I did not touch the phone, other than moving it to my home office until 7:50am. I turned it on and had 5% power drain. The phone was at 95% never having used it! I went into the battery monitor and GSam. Both reported the same thing...App usage @ 55% which broke down to Media @ 30% and mediaserver @ 9%. Cell Standby was at 30%, as I had not used the phone screen and everything else was basically 0

I tried stopping Media, but it keeps coming back. From the notifications there were no downloads or app updates. Why is this app sucking so much power and how do I stop it. It's critical, loosing 5% power per hour when I don't use the phone is a killer. To answer the question of how long I want it to last, that's easy. From the time I unplug it in the morning till the time I go to bed and plug it in. Obviously if I use the phone heavily, I would expect to have to recharge it. However, if I use it only a few hours out of the day (calling, text messages, email, etc.) I need it to run all day. Especially on weekends when I might be out all day (16 hours). It's now a little after 8:00am, I received one call that lasted less than 2 minutes, and sent 2 texts, in addition I looked at the battery monitors. My power is down to 92%. I won't go to bed till 10pm tonight. The battery won't last

Now from reports here and elsewhere, this is clearly not the norm.... HELP

1.) The "Media" usage can be related to corrupt files on your sd card. Have you reformatted your sd card? This was my problem - I formatted my card and I'm not seeing "media" in the list of battery usage anymore.
2.) Are you in an LTE area? If you are NOT or are in a borderline area, I do suggest turning it off. It's lovely and fast...and beautiful, but when it's looking for a signal (if you're not straight up in a strong LTE area) then it becomes a battery culprit. (personal experience and troubleshooting here)
3.) Why don't you just carry an extra battery? What is the problem with this? I have a wall charger for my batteries - I also have a desk "dock" that holds/charges my phone while charging another battery. When my battery gets low, I swap the battery - boom, I have another several hours. You have to remember and understand - iOS doesn't do HALF the stuff Android OS does - it WILL use more battery. Get used to it, prepare for it, plan and be done with complaining about it.....lol - just make provisions. You can and will be able to do more with this phone than iOS - I have and use BOTH......I can affirmatively say that I use my 4.? whatever inch screen more than my 10" iPad because I CAN DO MORE on it.
4.) Are you on ICS or JB? Have you considered rooting?

Go look at my other posts about battery - I have plenty of power. I stopped ing about battery life a long time ago and started being proactive and making provisions. I use my phone how I WANT TO, I don't tweak it - I don't turn things off, disable things, etc.........I use it how I want and then I swap the battery. Done, problem solved.

 

[junkie88]

I also just switched from an iPhone about 7 days ago. I have always loved my iPhone but was really disapponited in the 5's screen size. After spending a month reading this fourm and watching various youtube video's I bought the Verizon S3. I really like the phone and want to keep it but the battery is the biggest draw back for me so far. By 10am everyday I am already in the 70's for battery percentange left after minimal use. I feel like I cant use the device the way I want because the battery will drain to fast. Everyday the draw seems to be something different, one day its the screen, the next its Android OS and another day its celluar standby. I want my battery to last from when I unplug it at 6:30am to when I plug it in at 10pm. I know I can shut all these different things off to make it last longer but i never had to do that with the iPhone before and the battery lasted.
I truly love the look and feel of this device as well as the screen. All the apps I used on iPhone work flawlessly on the new S3. My only other complaint is the SMS I liked the pop up on the iPhone and Ive been playing around with some of the different apps on this phone but none have really grabbed me yet with the work arounds.
So I also am torn between keeping what is a truly beautiful device with horrible battery life or switching back to a phone that last all day but has what feels like a tiny screen.

 

[nrm5110]

My wifes iPhone wont even do what your asking dude 16 hours with a fair amount of heavy use is insane im on a 1500mah battery and get the times I posted using taptalk for forums some texts browsing the web one or two YouTube vids and facebook my bet is if your using Skype which is intensive plus whatever else your doing your phone will need a second battery I dont use juice defender or anything like that but I can tell you a good thing to look at is your screen on and awake bars they should be similar if awake is up where screen on isnt you have something keeping your phone from going into deep sleep

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ihbsbA]

I also just switched from an iPhone about 7 days ago. I have always loved my iPhone but was really disapponited in the 5's screen size. After spending a month reading this fourm and watching various youtube video's I bought the Verizon S3. I really like the phone and want to keep it but the battery is the biggest draw back for me so far. By 10am everyday I am already in the 70's for battery percentange left after minimal use. I feel like I cant use the device the way I want because the battery will drain to fast. Everyday the draw seems to be something different, one day its the screen, the next its Android OS and another day its celluar standby. I want my battery to last from when I unplug it at 6:30am to when I plug it in at 10pm. I know I can shut all these different things off to make it last longer but i never had to do that with the iPhone before and the battery lasted.
I truly love the look and feel of this device as well as the screen. All the apps I used on iPhone work flawlessly on the new S3. My only other complaint is the SMS I liked the pop up on the iPhone and Ive been playing around with some of the different apps on this phone but none have really grabbed me yet with the work arounds.
So I also am torn between keeping what is a truly beautiful device with horrible battery life or switching back to a phone that last all day but has what feels like a tiny screen.

Did you read my post directly above yours? iOS is nothing compared to Android OS. The two are oranges and apples - one is a drawing with color and shading and detail (Android) the other is stick figures (iOS) -- SO many things that you can't compare to iOS. So many reasons your Android device won't be like your iOS device. Thank God.
Get an extra battery or two. Swap it when you need to, use your phone like you want. Yes iOS makes it all day, so what? There are dozens of things I can't do on an iOS device that I CAN on Android. I will take the battery trade off ANY DAY.

GO SMS - has your pop ups. This is the ONE thing I hear most iOS people complain about, but I gotta tell ya - I FRICKEN HATE things popping up when I'm doing something else. It stops my video, it gets in my way - but I do know that app has what you want.

I still feel you have a superior phone in your hands - get over iOS..............move on!

 

[vernotzy21]

Please don't go.......we all float down here

Sent from my SPH-M820-BST using Android Central Forums

 

[nrm5110]

How are people getting these iPhones to last like that my wife is always needing a charger she burns hers out within around 8 hours

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cbass6411]

What honestly helps me with my battery life is turning off 3G. I turn that off and my phone will easily last me all day until I go to bed. I just simply don't use 3G unless i'm checking my bank. I only use WiFi, because I can't simply stand the slowness of 3G, and sprint doesn't have 4G LTE in my area yet. But like you said you probably have to use 3G or 4G for whatever you need. :/.

 

[jdub251]

OK so my first smartphone was an HTC hero. (Hated it) Then it was a Motorola milestone. (It was OK) However both was a lil glitchy. So I left Android and got an iPhone. I said I was never going back. Apple makes a good product. My wife got the Motorola Atrix when it came out. And after playing with it a lil I thought it was a nice phone and almost came back to android because what I have always loved about Android it the freedom and customization that u have. I just wanted to find that one device that was a worth the switch. Well I have found it in my S3. It dies everything my iPhone did and more just in different ways. Talk about losing money. It just wasn't about that for me. The S3 is FAR more capable than the iPhone in almost every way. And even more capable than the manufacturers specifications. You just have to be open minded about the switch. If you do that then you should be more than happy with the S3. And I've do e everything u can possibly do to an iPhone and to be perfectly honest, performance wise over time it gets WORSE. I hope I've helped making your decision a lil easier by sharing my experience.

Sent from my freaked out blazing fast S3 on AOKP Milestone running ktoonsez kernel that can operate as fast as i can think it. FTW!!!!

 

[rteichman]

1.) The "Media" usage can be related to corrupt files on your sd card. Have you reformatted your sd card? This was my problem - I formatted my card and I'm not seeing "media" in the list of battery usage anymore.
2.) Are you in an LTE area? If you are NOT or are in a borderline area, I do suggest turning it off. It's lovely and fast...and beautiful, but when it's looking for a signal (if you're not straight up in a strong LTE area) then it becomes a battery culprit. (personal experience and troubleshooting here)
3.) Why don't you just carry an extra battery? What is the problem with this? I have a wall charger for my batteries - I also have a desk "dock" that holds/charges my phone while charging another battery. When my battery gets low, I swap the battery - boom, I have another several hours. You have to remember and understand - iOS doesn't do HALF the stuff Android OS does - it WILL use more battery. Get used to it, prepare for it, plan and be done with complaining about it.....lol - just make provisions. You can and will be able to do more with this phone than iOS - I have and use BOTH......I can affirmatively say that I use my 4.? whatever inch screen more than my 10" iPad because I CAN DO MORE on it.
4.) Are you on ICS or JB? Have you considered rooting?

First I should mention that it's "Media -- Download", Second I am in an LTE area but I can see the tower, so its a strong signal. Third, I understand about an extra battery, I don't like the idea because I don't want to have to remember to carry it around. I just want to know why other people get maybe 1% power drain when the phone is asleep and I get 5% per hour drain in the same situation. That is what my main problem is. I wake up, dress, put the phone in my pocket, 12 or 14 hours later I want to use it I want to have enough power....

I do have an 32GB SD card, and I did format it when I got it, but did it in my Mac where I transferred my music onto the card. I have not tried reformating it. Should I? If yes, where in the phone or on my Mac again?

 

[rteichman]

How are people getting these iPhones to last like that my wife is always needing a charger she burns hers out within around 8 hours

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

When I was surfing on the iPhone, or playing games, I could actually see the battery level drop. I expect that from any phone, it takes energy to power the screen, processors, and radios. I would not have an issue if screen was my main battery user, but it isn't it's way down there. In sleep mode the iPhone can sit for days without depleting the battery. My S3 can't make it through a full day, it's a constant 5% per hour drain while the unit is sleeping... OK the LED is flashing to tell me I have a message (something the iPhone can't do), but that's it.

 

[Bond32]

No offense OP, but it sounds like youre searchingfor the absolute perfect phone.

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nrm5110]

When I was surfing on the iPhone, or playing games, I could actually see the battery level drop. I expect that from any phone, it takes energy to power the screen, processors, and radios. I would not have an issue if screen was my main battery user, but it isn't it's way down there. In sleep mode the iPhone can sit for days without depleting the battery. My S3 can't make it through a full day, it's a constant 5% per hour drain while the unit is sleeping... OK the LED is flashing to tell me I have a message (something the iPhone can't do), but that's it.

Messages can keep phone awake post a screenshot of your battery usage stats and of screen on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nrm5110]

Heres some screenshots of the app I use to monitor everything on my phone from battery to cpu to apps. In this case just a little battery info

Edit will post when taptalk figures out I want to post via ac and not their shiz

First is general battery info

Second is a graph over several days top being percent remaining bottom being ma usage

Then estimates of time remaining on battery based on usage

Lastly are global estimates of how long my battery can last doing a certain task

I can look at my app usage with this app along with tons more it helps me to diagnose issues

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nrm5110]

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[rteichman]

I can't seem to get the screen shot (I tried the swipe and all that). Here is what I think my problem is:
Download - Media
In the past 52 minutes since I restarted and recharged the phone (to reset things), it has:
CPU Total 3m 28s
Stay Awake 10m 30s
Included packages
Media Storage
Download Manager
DRM protected Content Storage
Downloads
com.sec.android.providers.downloads

Nothing was downloaded during this time. I am about to reset it again, remove my SD card and see what happens. I should mention that NOTHING was done on the phone for those 50 minutes. After it was fully charged I just unplugged the phone and let it sit for those 52 minutes. During that time 4% of the battery was consumed.

 

[nrm5110]

I can't seem to get the screen shot (I tried the swipe and all that). Here is what I think my problem is:
Download - Media
In the past 52 minutes since I restarted and recharged the phone (to reset things), it has:
CPU Total 3m 28s
Stay Awake 10m 30s
Included packages
Media Storage
Download Manager
DRM protected Content Storage
Downloads
com.sec.android.providers.downloads

Nothing was downloaded during this time. I am about to reset it again, remove my SD card and see what happens

Screenshot is either vol - and pwr or home and pwr

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[badbrad17]

Thanks for the speakerphone tip. I just tried that and it works! It also makes me feel better that its not just me.

Another update. After 4 days of trying everything I could, to get Skype working, and I do mean everything, restarting the phone, reinstalling, scouring the internet for recommendations and following them, with absolutely no success. I could never complete a call. For "fun" I just tried it again (no reinstall or anything since the last attempt yesterday) and it worked. I was able to make several calls with zero problems. As long as it continues this way this is great news. My two biggest travel issues have been resolved. I just hope that it keeps working.

Hopefully juice defender will give me more battery life and you guys will have helped me to keep the phone. The balance has definitely shifted back into the S3's favor.

This is great news. It's very cool to read the responses and effort so many AC members put into this thread. Good luck as you continue with Android.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Android Central Forums