S4 mini Battery Problems Solved

[mdawdy]

Looks like the battery problems are gone, at least for me and my SGH-i257M, Canadian, Rogers. I got a full 7 days from my last charge. I used to get 2 or 3 days.

I use it as a simple phone with perhaps a few calls each day. Occasionally, but not every day, i use the internet to check weather, do a search or find a location.

Not rooted. KitKat 4.4.2

Battery Doctor with most automatic options disabled. Location, BlueTooth, MobileData and Wi-Fi are turned OFF unless i am explicitly using them. Updates only by Wi-Fi which i turn on occasionally.

I have disabled all but a few of the built-in Apps as recommended by the CleanMaster AppManager, only keeping the ones that i need.

I have a 12000 mAh PoweRocks for trips where no plug-in is available. I get 5 charges from it before it needs to be re-charged. It needs about 12 hours plugged in to recharge. So i should be good for the best part of 6 weeks away from a plug-in.

Apps: NoWallPaper, BatteryDoctor, CleanMaster, S Planner, SmoothCalendar, TWN, CMBrowser, Banking, MyRogers, TapaTalk

Mick

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks for the update!

 

[Wm7Long]

...battery problems are gone...

Congrats Mick, on your success at minimizing battery drain. My S4 Mini is not far behind yours overall, and maybe ahead in at least 1 respect: Overnight (8hr) battery drain is just 2%, regularly, night after night. And since she sits on a charging cradel while playing music for several hours every day, battery level is usually in the 90s. She almost never dips below 80%. So I am considering DOWNsizing her battery! Got a 1500 mAh on order. It's for the S3 Mini, so this is definitely an experiment. If it works, she may become the lightest Android on Earth (~3.63oz).

 

[mdawdy]

My battery drain is 3% overnight. Hhmmmm, i gotta look into this more. The 1%age point is 50% better than mine

 

[Wm7Long]

...DOWNsizing...

Success, it works!



A couple small springs keep the shorter battery in place. Had to modify the hold-down tabs at top corners of new smaller battery. No big deal. In fact, this 1900 to 1500 mAh job was so easy (and the lighter phone feels sooo good), I'm considering downsizing further - to a 1350 mAh battery. It's for Galaxy Ace s5830 and will be more of a challenge.

 

[osvanberg]

Success, it works!

View attachment 139673

A couple small springs keep the shorter battery in place. Had to modify the hold-down tabs at top corners of new smaller battery. No big deal. In fact, this 1900 to 1500 mAh job was so easy (and the lighter phone feels sooo good), I'm considering downsizing further - to a 1350 mAh battery. It's for Galaxy Ace s5830 and will be more of a challenge.

That's just weird......

 

[AZgl1500]

Hmmm, I am really glad to hear that the S4 mini SHOULD be able to get good battery life.

I just bought one from Verizon for the wife's replacement from her old LG flip phone that gasp! actually has texting capabilities

It must be awful busy updating apps or something because the battery is just barely lasting through one day, and she does not talk on it much at all, and never plays with the thing.

I'm familiar with Battery Doctor, have used that for years but have not installed it on her phone yet.

Will have to start turning off apps until the thing is usable.

Thanks for your update, appreciate the shortcuts on this phone.

 

[DiveMazter]

Congratulations!
My girlfriends S4 mini is just one week old, and i really would like to get the problem fixed.
I didn't really get WHAT it was that did the trick for you. So please share or explain.

I've always used the same strategy as you, having everything off untill i explicitly need to use it (like Wifi, data traffic, GPS, BT etc).
I've noticed in the battery log, how the phone keeps waking up for short periods, like a hundred times in one night. It goes from 100% to 48% every night showing that the Clock(!) and Android battery sleep mode has used like 23% each.
I have KitKat 4.4.2 and no new apps except Gsam battery monitor and Wakelock Detector.
I've tried factory reset a couple of times. Tonight i will put it to flight mode to see if that helps.
I'm about to return the phone unless i get it fixed this weekend.
I have a Galaxy S5 with 4.4.2 which works like a charm.

 

[thethakuri]

I think its just wrong. How much weight are you shaving off anyway ?

 

[mocarela]

Success, it works!

View attachment 139673

A couple small springs keep the shorter battery in place. Had to modify the hold-down tabs at top corners of new smaller battery. No big deal. In fact, this 1900 to 1500 mAh job was so easy (and the lighter phone feels sooo good), I'm considering downsizing further - to a 1350 mAh battery. It's for Galaxy Ace s5830 and will be more of a challenge.

Hi,
I came to your post while seeking for a solution to my problem.
Some time ago I bought a fake S4 mini. It did its job well until the battery became so poor I had to charge it every day. Only then I realized that, although it is a good fake, it doesn't have S4 mini battery. Its dimensions are not those of a standard S4 mini battery. It is shorter and I suspect, from a photo you attached, that it is the same as the one you have used in downsizing.
Would you be so kind to report its dimensions and the model of a phone it is originally used in?
Thanks and best regards.

 

[mocarela]

Success, it works!

View attachment 139673

A couple small springs keep the shorter battery in place. Had to modify the hold-down tabs at top corners of new smaller battery. No big deal. In fact, this 1900 to 1500 mAh job was so easy (and the lighter phone feels sooo good), I'm considering downsizing further - to a 1350 mAh battery. It's for Galaxy Ace s5830 and will be more of a challenge.

Hi,
I came to your post while seeking for a solution to my problem.
Some time ago I bought a fake S4 mini. It did its job well until the battery became so poor I had to charge it every day. Only then I realized that, although it is a good fake, it doesn't have S4 mini battery. Its dimensions are not those of a standard S4 mini battery. It is shorter and I suspect, from a photo you attached, that it is the same as the one you have used in downsizing.
Would you be so kind to report its dimensions and the model of a phone it is originally used in?
Thanks and best regards.

 

[Wm7Long]

Hello mocarela,

Sorry to have not seen this sooner, since I no longer use that smaller battery because I have downsized even farther. So, you can have it. I bought it as a new replacement for the S3mini. It's still holding its charge like new. Shoot me a PM here at AC and I'll send it to you. I'm happy to find a good home for it,

 

[mocarela]

Hi,
I did not hope anymore you're going to reply. So... first of all thanks for that and of course thanks for a kind offer. But let first clear out the dimensions of the battery, since as I said, it's about a fake phone bought in Thailand for a couple of bucks. The dimensions of mine are (WxHxD) 51mm x 53mm x 4mm and while we were looking in the battery shop for more than an hour, we did not find any original Samsung's one suitable. As far as I remember, we have checked also S3 mini. I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt I will have more luck with yours at the end.
Thanks and best regards.

 

[mocarela]

... and of course, if anybody else knows which battery could fit in the phone, please let me know.

 

[Wm7Long]

...dimensions of mine are (WxHxD) 51mm x 53mm x 4mm...

Well then, you are correct that my S3mini battery would not fit. It's height is too tall. Dimensions (mm) are: 50x60x4

A quick search on eBay (for 1800mAh battery -charger in Cell Phones & Accessories) turn'd up this one that has the short squat aspect of yours. Maybe you can inquire the seller:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-battery-for-SAMSUNG-Galaxy-S2-SII-Epic-4G-Touch-Sprint-Cellular-Boost-Mobile-/141836068301?hash=item210616a5cd:g:SvYAAOSwf-VWU4u0