I need the REAL scoop on the Thunderbolt

[johnriii]

I also came from the eris. What a lagging, slow, steaming heap. I HATED THAT PHONE, but the tb I absolutely love. One thing the eris did do for me was teach me all the battery conservation tricks. It's batt was terrible. That said, I usually get sixteen hours of heavy use on stock battery with no issues. 50 texts, ten phonecalls, multiple emails, Google chat, Facebook, internet surfing, etc. Battery loss is simple on this phone to take steps for prevention.
Turn that Damn screen down! #1 battery killer. Get an app from the market that you van set brightness %. I keep mine set at 20% almost always, unless showing pics or watching YouTube.
Keep wireless off
Keep Bluetooth off
Keep gps off
Periodically check battery status and screen that that tells you what is draining batt, and turn off or down whatever the drain is
Make toggles for all of these on one of the many
homescreens so you can easily turn on and off.
Space out your syncing more, so its not seaching every fifteen minutes.
I love this phone, I am stock with stock battery, and have zero issues. Not sure why everyone hates the battery, they apparently never had an eris.

aHA!!! so the things I've learned over the past 19 or so months WILL help me with the Tbolt!! THIS is the kind of info I was looking for!! thank you very much!!!

 

[johnriii]

thank you everyone for so much good information in a matter of hours, I feel much more informed about my decision than I did before I posted this. As I've stated before, I don't really care to have the "newest" or "fastest" phone, just one that will do what I want, without draining my battery unrealistically. I won't be watching full length movies, I will charge in my vehicle, and I rarely, if ever, use GPS. I'm an admitted "battery miser", I freak out when my phone is near 60%, but if I go with the Tbolt, it's obvious I may need to get used to that, considering the sheer power of what i'm upgrading from/to. what I DON'T want is to lose 40% battery while playing angry birds for 10 minutes, or 50% while using the music player for an hour while mowing the lawn. I'm never more than a couple of hours from being able to charge, so I think the Tbolt will be fine for me, IF the Bionic doesn't drop down to me.

thanks again guys, I'll be scouring the forums for more info (Like how to root this bad boy in about 3 or so months!) Peace and Hair grease!!!

 

[edgefever]

Kickstand is one thing I am really going to miss though.

 

[gutsploder]

No way, do not worry, you will be fine with your battery use. I took mine off charge at five am, and it is 7:20 pm now where I live, away from charger all day, and still at 35% as I'm typing this. Stock battery. Listened to an hour of pandora at work, texted a bunch, prolly twelve calls, a bunch of surfing, downloaded 605.5, and played a hour of solitair.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

thank you everyone for so much good information in a matter of hours, I feel much more informed about my decision than I did before I posted this. As I've stated before, I don't really care to have the "newest" or "fastest" phone, just one that will do what I want, without draining my battery unrealistically. I won't be watching full length movies, I will charge in my vehicle, and I rarely, if ever, use GPS. I'm an admitted "battery miser", I freak out when my phone is near 60%, but if I go with the Tbolt, it's obvious I may need to get used to that, considering the sheer power of what i'm upgrading from/to. what I DON'T want is to lose 40% battery while playing angry birds for 10 minutes, or 50% while using the music player for an hour while mowing the lawn. I'm never more than a couple of hours from being able to charge, so I think the Tbolt will be fine for me, IF the Bionic doesn't drop down to me.

thanks again guys, I'll be scouring the forums for more info (Like how to root this bad boy in about 3 or so months!) Peace and Hair grease!!!

FWIW, my sister and brother-in-law both had Erises...I can say that while the battery life on the Tbolt isn't fantastic, it's better than they used to get on the Eris.

I generally listen to Slacker radio or Sirius stream on my way to work (mass transit)...Generally, I'll lose about 20% battery in about 45 min of use, I'm usually also web surfing/checking twitter/email during that as well. Not bad if you ask me...and I just plug in to charge up when I get to work.

With normal "minimal" use (all sync on, occasionally checking email, SMS, etc, but no streaming or extended browser sessions), I'd say that in general, the battery loss is about:

4G: 7-12% per hour (this really fluctuates, depending on signal and use, but I usually plan on a solid 10%/hour)
3G: 4-6% per hour
WIFI: 3-5% per hour


I usually leave it on 4G all the time. I'm able to charge at my desk at work, so I don't usually have to worry about needing "hours" of battery time. When I do, I just drop it into 3G mode for the day, and forget about it.

 

[johnriii]

paintdrinkingpete:

thank you as well for that info. funny thing is, I have NO issue with the battery life of my Eris, at all. now, this is probably because I have access to a charger in my truck, desk, and several locations in my home. contrary to what people have tried to tell me, you CAN'T charge a phone too much. My Eris is on/off a charger probably 6/7 times a day, because I hate for my phone to get under 50%. this is the same battery I've had since I bought the phone, and i've had no problem with it. I know one person who has the Tbolt, and he says basically the same as most of you have: turn off 4G when you don't need it, turn down the screen resolution, and charge whenever and wherever you can, even if it's just for 15-30 minutes at a time.

I'm beginning to think that the nightmare stories about the battery's are in the minority...but I will probably find out for myself!!!

 

[anon(186320)]

Root, wipe battery stats, and presto. On stock FroYo I was getting a few hours with light use. Since flashing CM7, I can make it through most of the day. Rooting is a simple procedure once you have ADB set up and flashing CM7 is easier still.

 

[gutsploder]

15 hours and fourteen min. Away from charger and I'm still here. I just checked on my batt status. 25% Just got home and the batt icon just turned yellow. I talked for a half hour to gf, checked Facebook, read and posted twice here. All this since I posted that other stuff I did today earlier. I was the same way with eris. Always charging. Home, car, work. Your batt troubles are over with tbolt. I also should mention I don't have wireless at home, and this is my only phone, no landline. I use it for everything. If I wanna get on my laptop, I tether. Nuff said. You won't be dissapointed.

 

[TBoltJ]

Heres' a clue - 7 months later and we are all still complaining about this stupid phone.

 

[gutsploder]

Heres' a clue - 7 months later and we are all still complaining about this stupid phone.

No complaints here my friend

 

[Jude526]

I was with Blackberry for a very long time and then had the HTC Incredible. I upgraded to the Thunderbolt on August 30th and even with the quirks, this is the best device I have ever used. I don't care that it has been out over 7 months. It is awesome. Being able to talk and use data at the same time and on 3G is a plus for me. I love the size of the phone and all that it can do. I prefer HTC and the camera on this thing.....its amazing. I have friends who are jealous and there are co-workers in awe of it as well.....couple of them are on the iphone. If you need to wait, I would hold off for the HTC Vigor or whatever they have decided to name it. But seriously, if you want a phone on your exact upgrade date, you can't go wrong with the Thunderbolt. Go to Best Buy get it from them. They have a special buy back program and you and make a switch more easily with them. If you want to charge your phone to your account, then Verizon will allow you to do that. I happen to LOVE the Thunderbolt and the new phones coming out don't even make me envious or wanting to make a switch. I am very pleased and now that the fix on Gingerbread has been released the quirks I had are gone. NO phone is perfect. I can get thru the day without a problem on the stock battery. I do keep it on CDMA and even though I am only using the 3G it is quite fast on the Thunderbolt. You will like the phone. It is still a top seller. I am glad I have it.

 

[johnriii]

I was with Blackberry for a very long time and then had the HTC Incredible. I upgraded to the Thunderbolt on August 30th and even with the quirks, this is the best device I have ever used. I don't care that it has been out over 7 months. It is awesome. Being able to talk and use data at the same time and on 3G is a plus for me. I love the size of the phone and all that it can do. I prefer HTC and the camera on this thing.....its amazing. I have friends who are jealous and there are co-workers in awe of it as well.....couple of them are on the iphone. If you need to wait, I would hold off for the HTC Vigor or whatever they have decided to name it. But seriously, if you want a phone on your exact upgrade date, you can't go wrong with the Thunderbolt. Go to Best Buy get it from them. They have a special buy back program and you and make a switch more easily with them. If you want to charge your phone to your account, then Verizon will allow you to do that. I happen to LOVE the Thunderbolt and the new phones coming out don't even make me envious or wanting to make a switch. I am very pleased and now that the fix on Gingerbread has been released the quirks I had are gone. NO phone is perfect. I can get thru the day without a problem on the stock battery. I do keep it on CDMA and even though I am only using the 3G it is quite fast on the Thunderbolt. You will like the phone. It is still a top seller. I am glad I have it.

Jude526,
thanks for the info and encouragement, I actually dreamed about having a Tbolt last night! anyway, I am not envious of the new phones coming out, don't care for the "Iphone' at all, I know my financial limitations. I work two jobs for a reason: I have BILLS. I won't be any more financially able to afford $299.00 for a phone in March than I will right now. so, unless the Bionic drops more ($249.00 is still not in my price range), I will be going with the Tbolt.

Thank you all for helping me kick the Charge to the curb...I never really felt confident with it as my 2nd choice. it was 50/50 that I would go with the Dinc2 if the Tbolt battery issue hadn't been clarified for me. Now, to choose what cover/skin to go on my Tbolt..

 

[FrankXS]

I will be going with the Tbolt.

You won't be disappointed with the ThunderBolt. In its current GB clothes it is one very powerful and minimum bugged phone. I am very happy with mine. I don't expect to have any difficulty fulfilling my contract before eying another phone purchase. The current crop of projected releases included.

-Frank

 

[gutsploder]

You won't be disappointed with the ThunderBolt. In its current GB clothes it is one very powerful and minimum bugged phone. I am very happy with mine. I don't expect to have any difficulty fulling my contract before eying another phone purchase. The current crop of projected releases included.



+1

-Frank

 

[rabernet]

I just wanted to address the extended battery part of your original post. I too resisted getting the extended battery, I couldn't imagine carrying around a hunchbacked phone.

My avatar somewhat gives away what I do for a hobby, which is breed ball pythons. As part of that hobby, I go to different reptile shows in the Southeast. This July I was at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for a show. Started at 9 a.m., ended at 5 p.m.

I arrived with a fully charged stock battery. By 1:00, I had to swap it out for another fully charged stock battery, because it was completely dead (not getting a good signal in there, so working harder to find that signal). Before the show was over, my back-up was dead.

Now, this was the worst performance the phone had ever given me on battery life.

There was another show at the end of September at the same venue. I broke down and purchased the extended battery and case from Verizon.

Arrived at 9:00 a.m. fully charged. Left the show at 5:00 with 50% battery still left. I haven't used the stock battery since. It really doesn't add as much bulk as I thought that it would, and now I even like the look of it as well.

After my personal experience, I went from "no way, no how" on the extended to now wondering why I objected and waited so long. It took my user experience to the next level.

 

[mikecove]

For anybody wondering the Thunderbolt has been the worst phone since the original Blackberry Storm 1. Between the initial constant re-booting(3 replacements), bad battery life, and poor updates, it converted me into an Iphone user. When you can be close to a power outlet and in 4G it was great, but it was not reliable enough. There are good Android phones out there, but this is not one of them.

 

[recDNA]

I'd take a hard look at the razr and the new nexus (when available).

Tbolt has so many great features but one little aggravation after another. Its the death by 1000 cuts.

 

[gutsploder]

its all a matter of opinion. The constant rebooting only happens to some, and the battery issue is easily overcome. I've had no issues. And find this phone far superior to any iPhone..

For anybody wondering the Thunderbolt has been the worst phone since the original Blackberry Storm 1. Between the initial constant re-booting(3 replacements), bad battery life, and poor updates, it converted me into an Iphone user. When you can be close to a power outlet and in 4G it was great, but it was not reliable enough. There are good Android phones out there, but this is not one of them.

 

[steve_ma]

I also came to the tbolt from a bb curve. I guess I'm a moderate user. Heavy email & texts and moderate calling. Some occasional games here and there. YouTube a couple of times a day. Regular Facebook user. I Love the TB and would get it again in a second.
I took some time to learn the battery conservation tricks, have a car charger, and I have no desire to get an extended battery. When I walk in the house, I plug it in. I do keep a charger at my office desk as well. If I am at say..... 60 to 70% charge, I do not need to worry about it dying on me during the night.
I understand the point about better phones being out there and the whole obsolescence curve, but frankly... I am not such a power user I see and additional couple of mhz of processing power or 10% more battery life being game changers for me.
Good luck and I hope this helps.

Sent from my ThunderBolt using TapaTalk

 

[johnriii]

For anybody wondering the Thunderbolt has been the worst phone since the original Blackberry Storm 1. Between the initial constant re-booting(3 replacements), bad battery life, and poor updates, it converted me into an Iphone user. When you can be close to a power outlet and in 4G it was great, but it was not reliable enough. There are good Android phones out there, but this is not one of them.

well, I appreciate your opinion, but if this phone is as bad as you describe, there would be blogs and internet posts all over the place telling us not to purchase this phone. the fact that HTC and Verizon have allowed the phone to get the Gingerbread update insinuates that the phone isn't as bad as some people make it sound. Just the other day, I spoke to two customers at my 2nd job (walmart) who happened to own the Tbolt, and both of them say the battery life is tolerable, without the fat battery, and with a few settings tweaks. No, it will not last you 12 hours, but what smartphone out there will do that? all I'm asking is if I can get 7-8 hours, with light-medium use. from the information I've gotten here, I feel my chances are good that I will get a Unit that won't cause me some unusual problems. My Eris wasn't a perfect phone, but Verizon always fixed what issues i had, when I had them. thanks again everybody....