Another rant about the INEXCUSABLY AWFUL battery life

[Exzaybien]

Wtf

Ok, so last night I go to bed at about 1:A and my battery is at 70%, wake up at 6:20 A, battery life is at 30%.

As I'm getting ready for work I play Pandora for like maybe 15 minutes, then when I get to work, battery is at 5%.

I plug into my work pc at 8:00 A, and leave my phone plugged in the entire time until 3 (took a break), check the battery, 70% WTF?!?!! 7 hours of charging and I don't even fill up?

I've had the phone now for about 2 weeks, and I have barely added any apps to it. And I haven't added any shady apps, just like Angry birds and Scrabble, and a couple others, but it's all mainstream stuff. And all of them are apps that I've had on my last Droid.

Oh and btw, I have a night time smart action based on a timeframe from midnight to 6:A that disables cell data, background sync and wifi, and I have another smart action that starts at 8:A (which is when I get to work) but all that does is turn my volume down and turns bluetooth off.

I keep coming to the forums to read about what other people are doing and I try it and nothing helps. Brightness has been set all the way down too since last week, before thanksgiving.

My previous phone, DX, never had these problems.

Oh and I've also tried going into airplane mode and even that doesn't stop the battery drain. I've set it to airplane, put the phone in my desk drawer and not touched it for a couple hours, and then when I check it, battery life has dropped 30% or more.

I just don't get it, I mean damn I'm even rapidly draining with airplane mode?

Since I've had the phone I've only been able to use it when I'm plugged in. I'm charging on my PC at home, I'm charging in my bedroom, in my living room, at work, in my car. And still... I barely get to see 100%.

My DX on the other hand... the other day I put that in plane mode before work and left it NOT charging, I come home from work at 6, phone is still 100%

I am beyond frustrated with this POS, Nexus can't come soon enough, I'll be returning this the day the Nexus drops. Sorry for the rant but UGH this has been the worst experience I've had with a device, and that includes my past ownership of a BB Storm.

 

[KayIslandDrunk]

When you check the battery what does it say is using the most power?

I'd say you got a lemon, I'd try to exchange it out for a new one if I were you.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[1812dave]

USB charging via a PC may not provide proper charging for your phone. I can't get much of charge from my PC. Be sure to fully charge your phone overnight, rather than playing "catch up" during the day. I really like the Razr's screen a lot, but can't justify having a phone with a non-removable battery. I've got 4 batteries to choose from, for my Bionic (the original, the $25 extended bat, one free one from Costco deal, and my wife's original bat--she uses only an extended in her Bionic). I use the living daylights out of my phone for all sorts of features, so I can't see having a phone that doesn't allow me a chance to swap batteries if the need arises. good luck man, I really like the Razr.

 

[jroc]

Whats funny is some ppl said the same thing about our beloved Droid X1....having bad battery life. I knew that wasnt the case tho.

Its possible you have a lemon. It does happen. May your next phone, whatever it is have good battery life and no issues. I will say this tho:

Wtf

I keep coming to the forums to read about what other people are doing and I try it and nothing helps. Brightness has been set all the way down too since last week, before thanksgiving.

My previous phone, DX, never had these problems.

Oh and I've also tried going into airplane mode and even that doesn't stop the battery drain. I've set it to airplane, put the phone in my desk drawer and not touched it for a couple hours, and then when I check it, battery life has dropped 30% or more.

I just don't get it, I mean damn I'm even rapidly draining with airplane mode?

ANY phone that drops battery life like that on Airplane mode....somethings definitely wrong with it, or an app is not playing nice. My RAZR doesnt do that in Airplane mode.

 

[xaerospace]

I second the comment about charging via the computer. The usb port does supply enough voltage to charge these start of the art phones. You need the full 5 volts supplied by your wall charger to get to 100% and you will get to it in a couple of hours.

I also agree that airplane mode should not drain the battery that quickly. How is your 4g signal? Perhaps turn off 4g for a single 24 hour period and see how well the phone works.

I would start with a full over night charge from the wall first and foremost.

Best of luck.

 

[youngzayiles]

Maybe its a lemon, but as stated above id never charge my phone on a computer. It makes it take forever to charge!

 

[gozershalmoser]

If your not using the Motorola charger that came in the box, the battery wont charge properly. A Blackberry, universal or HTC charger will damage the battery. OP the issue you are having is not normal.

 

[KillerG]

Whats funny is some ppl said the same thing about our beloved Droid X1....having bad battery life. I knew that wasnt the case tho.

Its possible you have a lemon. It does happen. May your next phone, whatever it is have good battery life and no issues. I will say this tho:



ANY phone that drops battery life like that on Airplane mode....somethings definitely wrong with it, or an app is not playing nice. My RAZR doesnt do that in Airplane mode.

He hit that perfectly, if battery is draining in Airplane mode, the phone is doing something wrong. Try sleeping it and tell us what the battery life is afterwards. Check the battery stats, make sure the battery isn't being sucked by an app for some strange reason. The screen or cell standby should be the top battery user. When I first bought my Bionic, I thought I might have a lemon, but it ended up being I was running too many apps at one time, so I've had to force some apps to not start unless I tell them to, and be careful of what apps are running when. I still have a significant battery drain compared to others with less apps (last time I counted I had around like 104 or so, more now. And I use a good amount of those often, and I usually have about 30 or so apps running at a time quite a lot). I also keep my data radios off most of the time, unless I'm using them (using Juice Defender) or I'm on WiFi, or if I actually do need them constantly going. But I can get home at like 40-60% (depending on usage) on my Bionic, and the Bionic and Razr aren't too different (the Razr screen will drain more battery of course, and the CPU will use just a little more when being used intensively). If it's not an app, I would think you'd have a lemon then.

 

[Mac58]

LOL. Sorry I dont mean to laugh at the OP, but I rented the droid razr for me (getting nexus) and bought one for my girl and we have been getting EXCELLENT battery life. LTE is on everytime I leave the house and whenever I am not within wifi. (I have smart actions enabled to switch cellular data off when wifi is connected). I dont know if maybe because I use smart actions like this, and this is why my battery life has been so stellar, or maybe me and my girl just got ours from the good batch. My phone last the entire day from 7am off charger until I get home at around 4pm-5pm (and I have music streaming via blue tooth headphone for at least 1-2 hours out of that time) and will still have about 30% left on battery. I am a power user so its not because I dont use phone. My girl on the other hand can literally leave her phone charged one night and last her two days (she uses no smart actions but she doesnt use phone that much).

Again not trying to stir the pot, just want everyone to know that EVERY razr doesnt have terrible battery life. I am actually going to miss the battery on this phone after I switch to the nexus, if the nexus's battery isnt as good.

To the OP? Do you use any smartactions on your device?

Edit: Nevermind I see you use smart actions. Maybe you have a dud..?

 

[anon(40376)]

Problem is very seldom the cord (unless you get one of those .99 chinese specials at the local service station). USB cords should be able to pass the current from the charging device to the device being charged. In addition, USB ports output the same required voltage (believe it is a min. of 4.75 volts to a max of 5.25 volts). And the terminals on the USB cords are all the same. The problem lies with the current (wattage) output from the charging device to the device being charged.

Some computer do not put out the required current for some devices. Some will output enough to charge a device if it is turned off, but the output is not enough to charge while it is on. Wall chargers tend to output as much current as any USB power device requires.

Personally, I have no idea where my Moto charging cords are. My X is charged at night on a Seidio charger plugged into the wall and a Seidio cord. In the vehicle, it is charge on a Verizon (labeled) DC charger. So far, I have never had a problem with it charging on either device. If I plug it inot my computer it will charge slower than when on the AC or DC charger, but it will charge.

 

[tkz4]

Agree that no phone should run down on airplane mode.

With previous phones I have seen the batter get run down if it is constantly scanning for a good signal. But I don't know if that is the case with the Razr- and that won't happen on airplane mode.

 

[rayj2B]

When I had my RAZR I would fully charge it up at night and put it in sleep mode. I always left it on the network with WIFI off. I too had battery issues which wrote about in the forums. I lost 20% in three hours with the phone just sitting there. I believe my problem was I had it in 4G LTE and after I returned the phone I looked at the network coverage map. I am close to the LTE band but in 3G area. I'm guessing the phone was constantly searching for the LTE signal. That would drain the battery I believe.
My iPhone 4 was also charged fully charged on the 3G network and didn't lose only a drop of 2% over the same three hours. Loved the RAZR but once I leave home I have no access to an outlet for power.
Hope my suggestions help. Put it to sleep and check to see if your in an LTE area. Maybe switch CDMA at night if you need the phone on for calls because in sleep mode no data is running. As for receiving calls in sleep mode is something you'd have to test.
Good luck and hope it works out for you.

 

[Shappy]

I came from a Bionic and my battery life is ok but I admit I use a lot of data sync and I read a lot of books using the Kindle app but I get at least 6 hours off charger before I get my first low battery warning. It is frustrating that the battery is not removable but I have 4 of those rechargeable battery packs you can pick up at stores all bought for a total of 15 bucks that give me enough juice if I need it. The only other phone that I know of with another non-removable battery is my girlfriend's iphone and her battery life isn't great especially since the last update she regularly has to charge it at work

 

[robyn25]

I agree. Try charging at home on the charger that came with the phone.If you still have these problems def. exchange. I have way way better battery than this, with NO smart actions, and screen brightness 100% all the time. I am not one that will turn my screen down at all so I have to make sure It will last when on 100% and mind does. When I am actively using it I can see the battery drop like others have stated, but when not in use it makes up for it by dropping very very slowly. I can easily make it through a day, sometimes even all the way from 630A to 11:00P depending on how I use it. Hope this helps at all.

 

[1LoudLS]

i agree completely about a PC not always giving a good charge, when my bionic gets below 30% while im at work, i will plug it into my desktop. the battery will never charge any higher than what its at, even if it is on for hours, at least it never gets any lower either. however during the 15 min ride home it will jump up over 20% while plugged into the cig socket.

 

[moosc]

It's simple don't use PC and always charge the phone at night no matter how low battery is. Having the charging stand makes it for a great alarm clock. Also have a spare wall charger at work.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[Kuro]

Pull the battery! Oh wait...

Seriously tho, I have the Rezound. I had to take the first one back because it was obviously defective. With the phone off (battery drained dry) it had only charged to 60% over 6 hrs. And that was on the OEM charger. It also reached 120F during that charge period. The battery life also sucked, barely lasting 6 hrs with almost no usage (off work till mid Dec). On the final day, it couldn't get any data signal, showing 4 bars but no network indicator (1x / 3g / 4g).

Took the phone back since I'm in my 14 days and got another. New phone, 0 problems whatsoever. Take it back and get another. There's no way the Razr gets that type of battery life. And the symptoms sound too familiar to my 1st Rezound

 

[total_telecom]

don' buy a phone with no removable battery, once the warranty is up and the battery goes bad its a paperweight after my droid x I'm done with motorola. I don't know what the F??!k they are thinking. Do they want to be apple?

 

[318sugarhill]

If your not using the Motorola charger that came in the box, the battery wont charge properly. A Blackberry, universal or HTC charger will damage the battery. OP the issue you are having is not normal.

I call BS. You don't know what you are talking about. Chargers are the same when they come from a OEM manufacturer. They may put out different wattages, probably not but maybe, but they certainly WILL NOT damage the battery. My wife and I swap chargers all the time. She has a D2, I have Dinc.

Using USB from a computer will definitely not charge the phone quickly at all. If you have a full charge on your phone and want to keep it, then use the charger from a computer. Otherwise, you will probably use 50% of what is coming through, resulting in a slow charge rate. Same goes for a car charger. They do not provide the same watts as a wall charger. It's the same reason an iPad can't charge from a computer. Only the wall charger as the usb port doesn't provide enough watts.

amp x voltage = watts. Even if your charger uses more amps, therefore using more watts, the result is faster charge time, not damage to the battery.

 

[RoninX]

Ok, so last night I go to bed at about 1:A and my battery is at 70%, wake up at 6:20 A, battery life is at 30%.

As I'm getting ready for work I play Pandora for like maybe 15 minutes, then when I get to work, battery is at 5%.

What percentage of battery usage is being used by Android OS? Also, if you look at the battery usage graph, is it a constant decline, or does it drop off at specific points in time?

From the other reports, I'm guessing that there's some sort of bug that keeps Android OS running at full speed, even when the phone is sleeping.

It would be nice if there were something like the Unix "top" command that could be used to see which processes are using what amount of CPU...