Questions about weather and other things (coming from somebody new to DNA and Android)

[Jordan Miera]

Hi everybody,

Well, I finally did it...I got a smartphone (a DNA to be exact)! I have some questions that are probably pretty basic, but I just wanted to draw on your collective pool of knowledge.

First, is it worth enabling location for the weather app? In other words, does the stock weather app (where it's displayed on the homescreen) significantly drain the battery and use up lots of data?

Also, I should let the battery completely die and charge it all the way to condition the battery, right? Is there anything else I should do to condition the battery?

There is some bloatware that I've gone through and "disabled." However, if I go to manage apps and scroll through, I see that the bloatware is still technically there. Is there any way to completely remove it?

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer me!!!

-JDM

 

[harrisondisc]

Yes, enabling location for the weather app is worth it. It does not suck the battery, unless you use Standalone gps. Also, there is no more "battery conditioning." That hasn't been needed for years. Think of your battery like a sticky pad. Every time you plug into it, whether it's at 10% to fill it up again, or at 75% and you want to top it off, you are peeling a page off the sticky pad. There are only so many pages before the pad is useless. Same for your battery. There are anywhere between 300-500 (maybe more) charges in your battery, and every time you plug in, then unplug, you take one away. Ultimately your battery (even though in this case it cannot be removed) is disposable. At some point, it just will not last very long (like maybe a couple hours) after it's been charged. There used to be machines that would "recondition" a battery, but I don't know if it could be done on a non-removable battery like the DNA.

 

[mannw1977]

I use weatherbug for my weather appw with location on.. Love it. Battery is a lithium ion and is fine to do what ever really. As for batt drain with the apps, location, or widgets. This phone is the best with battery life I've had and I last all day on one charge. But if you work in an office all day and have room on you desk. A wireless charger would be a nice thing to have. I use one at home and love not having to handle a wire anymore. Wireless charging wasn't much to me at first. Till I used it and fell in love with it being one of best things about the phone. Bloat will never go away untill you root the phone. Rooting can have other advantages(free tethering).

 

[Jennifer Stough]

Harrisondisc said it very well. Welcome to android central forums and the DNA. If there's anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Jennifer Stough
Forums Moderator
Device: Droid DNA unlocked, s-off, rooted, running Hatka Supreme Sense 5.0, Android 4.1.2

 

[Daniel.Lynch]

If you're not willing to root you can install a launcher like Nova launcher and choose not to display certain apps in the app drawer.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Jordan Miera]

You all are fantastic. Thanks for the help!!!

Just a couple more questions: 1) We've talked about how the stock weather app (the one on the homescreen) affects battery life. Does it not use very much data either? 2) There is absolutely no way I could get the battery replaced, is there? Could I theoretically get somebody to open the phone up, take the old battery out, and put a new one in? 3) I saw the "300-500 (maybe more)" figure above, but what has everybody's experience been? I imagine it would be different with each phone, but how long has your smartphone battery lasted before you've seen significant declines in its ability to accept and/or keep charges?

Thanks again!

 

[Jennifer Stough]

You all are fantastic. Thanks for the help!!!

Just a couple more questions: 1) We've talked about how the stock weather app (the one on the homescreen) affects battery life. Does it not use very much data either? 2) There is absolutely no way I could get the battery replaced, is there? Could I theoretically get somebody to open the phone up, take the old battery out, and put a new one in? 3) I saw the "300-500 (maybe more)" figure above, but what has everybody's experience been? I imagine it would be different with each phone, but how long has your smartphone battery lasted before you've seen significant declines in its ability to accept and/or keep charges?

Thanks again!

1. It uses a very low incremental amount of data. As always, it is best to disable data or WiFi when either is not in use to help reserve data, and battery. A smart thing to do is set auto-sync to manual, so it refreshes when you want it to, or set the refresh time to a higher time (every few hours) to preserve data.

2. It is theoretically possible with enough money and an experienced enough technician, but the battery is fused to the back of the LCD.

3. My battery is still going strong since I've had it (February) and I recharge daily.

Jennifer Stough
Forums Moderator
Device: Droid DNA unlocked, s-off, rooted, running Hatka Supreme Sense 5.0, Android 4.1.2

 

[Daniel.Lynch]

My battery is fine, I've had it since like... December or November I think.

 

[harrisondisc]

I've had mine since December as well, and the battery is great. Since I've been messing withvROMs and kernels, my charging habits have changed a bit, but the stock ROM and stock kernel were always good to me. My biggest advice is to not use Google Now (as in don't enable the card system) and keep things like standalone GPS, Bluetooth and NFC off unless you're using them. If you have a WiFi connection USE IT. You will get better battery life connected to WiFi than cellular data. Also its probably faster anyway. Don't worry too much about my 300-500 number. Basically, you should be able to charge it fully once a day, hopefully at night, and you should be fine until its time for another phone. Yes I know 365x2 is greater than 500. Its just an estimate.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Jordan Miera]

Thank you all again for your awesome answers to my newbie questions! I love my new DNA already and I love knowing that this community is here to help me as I figure things out as well.

One more question: do you happen to know if the official Gmail app (I downloaded it from the Play Store) "pushes" new emails to the phone when they come in, meaning that the phone doesn't use data checking for email when there isn't any? Also, do you happen to know how to put the official Gmail app in the place of the more generic mail app on the bottom of the screen (where the phone, messages, and camera icons also are)? Please let me know if my questions aren't clear enough.

Thanks a million!

 

[Daniel.Lynch]

Thank you all again for your awesome answers to my newbie questions! I love my new DNA already and I love knowing that this community is here to help me as I figure things out as well.

One more question: do you happen to know if the official Gmail app (I downloaded it from the Play Store) "pushes" new emails to the phone when they come in, meaning that the phone doesn't use data checking for email when there isn't any? Also, do you happen to know how to put the official Gmail app in the place of the more generic mail app on the bottom of the screen (where the phone, messages, and camera icons also are)? Please let me know if my questions aren't clear enough.

Thanks a million!

I'm relatively certain that it does not "push" them. I'm pretty sure it will check with the server however frequently you set it to do so in the GMail settings. If I may add a bit of opinion, I think you might be worrying a tidbit too much about data. If you don't mind me asking, how much data do you have? My father, stepmother, me, and two 4G tablets together maybe use 2.5 GB a month.

As for putting GMail in place of the Mail app, I honestly don't remember how it works in sense 4 haha. Maybe you just touch and remove it like any app? I'm sorry, haha, I've been using Nova launcher.

 

[Shawn_S]

Thank you all again for your awesome answers to my newbie questions! I love my new DNA already and I love knowing that this community is here to help me as I figure things out as well.

One more question: do you happen to know if the official Gmail app (I downloaded it from the Play Store) "pushes" new emails to the phone when they come in, meaning that the phone doesn't use data checking for email when there isn't any? Also, do you happen to know how to put the official Gmail app in the place of the more generic mail app on the bottom of the screen (where the phone, messages, and camera icons also are)? Please let me know if my questions aren't clear enough.

Thanks a million!

I don't know about the data part. However, on my moto Droid X and now my DNA Gmail comes instantly (within 15 seconds). There is no delay. It doesn't fetch like my verizon & yahoo accounts.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Jordan Miera]

I'm relatively certain that it does not "push" them. I'm pretty sure it will check with the server however frequently you set it to do so in the GMail settings. If I may add a bit of opinion, I think you might be worrying a tidbit too much about data. If you don't mind me asking, how much data do you have? My father, stepmother, me, and two 4G tablets together maybe use 2.5 GB a month.

As for putting GMail in place of the Mail app, I honestly don't remember how it works in sense 4 haha. Maybe you just touch and remove it like any app? I'm sorry, haha, I've been using Nova launcher.

That's good to know. I'm currently signed up for the 1 GB plan, but I kind of want to see if I can do with the 300 MB plan...at least until the school year starts. And you were right about how to put the Gmail app down at the bottom. It was pretty easy, really. I feel kind of silly for asking now!

 

[Daniel.Lynch]

Oh wow, you're pushing for really low data. Well you can get a power control bar and use it to turn off synchronization unless you're on Wi-Fi if you'd like to do that.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[jasoraso]

For the record, by default the Gmail app uses Push rather than Pull, but I think you can change that.

 

[Jordan Miera]

I suppose I should have read the Gmail app description in the Play Store. It says there that it is push. Thanks for chiming in. So basically that means that the app just uses data when there is incoming email, right?

Also, I've had some luck staying on a WiFi network since I got my DNA (although I won't always be so lucky). One thing I've noticed is that the Verizon's data counters and my DNA's data counters seem to be a bit different. My Verizon says that I've used 6.59 MB so far while my DNA says that I've used 11.12 MB. I went on a short walk with TuneIn on and both counters seem to have updated to reflect that (I'm pretty sure they were both different than they were right before I left on the walk), so I'm guessing it's not just a case of My Verizon lagging behind. Should I just go with what My Verizon says since that is what will be used in billing? Or has anybody had experience with My Verizon not being incorrect or not up-to-date?

 

[bespinct]

Thank you all again for your awesome answers to my newbie questions! I love my new DNA already and I love knowing that this community is here to help me as I figure things out as well.

One more question: do you happen to know if the official Gmail app (I downloaded it from the Play Store) "pushes" new emails to the phone when they come in, meaning that the phone doesn't use data checking for email when there isn't any? Also, do you happen to know how to put the official Gmail app in the place of the more generic mail app on the bottom of the screen (where the phone, messages, and camera icons also are)? Please let me know if my questions aren't clear enough.

Thanks a million!

Yup, it is push.

To move GMail to your tray, press and hold it until you can drag it down to the tray. To remove unwanted items from the tray, press and hold until you can drag it out.

Steve

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

 

[Shawn_S]

I suppose I should have read the Gmail app description in the Play Store. It says there that it is push. Thanks for chiming in. So basically that means that the app just uses data when there is incoming email, right?

Also, I've had some luck staying on a WiFi network since I got my DNA (although I won't always be so lucky). One thing I've noticed is that the Verizon's data counters and my DNA's data counters seem to be a bit different. My Verizon says that I've used 6.59 MB so far while my DNA says that I've used 11.12 MB. I went on a short walk with TuneIn on and both counters seem to have updated to reflect that (I'm pretty sure they were both different than they were right before I left on the walk), so I'm guessing it's not just a case of My Verizon lagging behind. Should I just go with what My Verizon says since that is what will be used in billing? Or has anybody had experience with My Verizon not being incorrect or not up-to-date?

Have you set the cycle date according to your billing cycle? Settings >data usage.

If you have then all I can think of is the Verizon widget doesn't update until you open it. It doesn't update in real time.

There is a very small difference between the widget and phone. Right now my phone states 'about 134mb used', widget states 134.14. It's always this close whenever I compare the two.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using AC Forums mobile app

 

[SouthernDroid]

Yes, enabling location for the weather app is worth it. It does not suck the battery, unless you use Standalone gps. Also, there is no more "battery conditioning." That hasn't been needed for years. Think of your battery like a sticky pad. Every time you plug into it, whether it's at 10% to fill it up again, or at 75% and you want to top it off, you are peeling a page off the sticky pad. There are only so many pages before the pad is useless. Same for your battery. There are anywhere between 300-500 (maybe more) charges in your battery, and every time you plug in, then unplug, you take one away. Ultimately your battery (even though in this case it cannot be removed) is disposable. At some point, it just will not last very long (like maybe a couple hours) after it's been charged. There used to be machines that would "recondition" a battery, but I don't know if it could be done on a non-removable battery like the DNA.

What setting do you recommend for the weather so that it does not suck the battery as fast? Also, I can not believe how good the battery life is on this phone!

 

[harrisondisc]

What setting do you recommend for the weather so that it does not suck the battery as fast? Also, I can not believe how good the battery life is on this phone!

It used to be just called "Google Location Services," but the name has changed a bit over the versions of Android. On mine, (4.2.2) it is called "Access to My Location" and there is an On/Off slider. I also have "Wifi and mobile network location" checked as being on as well. That one actually comes on when you turn on Access to My Location, and if you try to uncheck it, it turns off AtML.. "Standalone GPS" or "GPS Satellites" is what drains the battery. That should only be used for navigation.
SO. Short answer? The only option that isn't Standalone GPS.