The G3 Battery, Sat Nav & Screen in General...

[Stwutter]

Hi.

Had my G3 for a while now. Love the phone, the UI and so on.

I've posted a few times about battery life, and read numerous posts on how good/bad it is.

I'm a pretty intensive user, and I'm on my phone a lot of the day, using SMS, internet, bit of gaming to and from work, checking travel, e mail... As I said, quite heavy, but nothing that I would call extreme for a top-end smartphone in 2014. I'd say, on an average work day, I may get from 6am to 4pm and have 10-20% battery left (altho I often keep my phone on charge at work to save having on charge as soon as I'm home). In fact, on Saturday, I was busy a lot of the day, so my usage was minimal. From 8am to 5pm, my battery only dropped to 70% as I only checked a few sports scores, played a game for 10mins and sent a few emails. This at least shows that I don't have and rogue apps or errors eating my battery unnecessarily.

Yesterday, I used Sat nav for 30 minutes using nav free, and then 30 back from my original destination using Google Maps (in case it was one app. in particular that ate battery badly). In total, I lost 36% for this hour of mapping.

Is this what I should expect? I of course realise the G3 screen will eat power at a heavier rate than other lesser screens, but this does seem very high. I could do and hour mapping on my old Z30 and barely use 10%. It's a similar scenario if I watch a video or play a reasonably screen intensive game.

I have my screen brightness down as low as I dare with using Lux.

If this is just my 'lot' with the G3, then that's fine, but I'm interested in other users experiences with similar usage. I carry spares, so never get caught short, but it's just a bit of a pain knowing that taking my phone off charge in the morning, and then using the screen for an hour or so will basically leave me 70% battery or less from early in the morning.

Thanks for any responses and advice.

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[alighasempoor]

I have same problem on nexus 5 and as u said the main reason in screen ! But i think ( i said think not sure ! ) there is problem with kernel 4.4.4 .. Because it use battery more 4.4.2 ... And check your cell network..change it to 2G ... It helps and if u find answer for saving battery I'll glad to know .

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[Stwutter]

I have same problem on nexus 5 and as u said the main reason in screen ! But i think ( i said think not sure ! ) there is problem with kernel 4.4.4 .. Because it use battery more 4.4.2 ... And check your cell network..change it to 2G ... It helps and if u find answer for saving battery I'll glad to know .

Posted via the Android Central App

Thanks.

I'm on 4.4.2 anyway.

So far as using 2g instead, I see what you're saying, butI don't really want a flashy phone and then use 2g. Presumably switching to this will only give me 2g functionality and limit the phone considerably?

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[alighasempoor]

Use 2G help to save battery Because it doesn't always need HSDPA packet from network provider...but i say i don't have any idea about this battery and mine...
What is your battery info ? ( i mean how much is its mAH ? )

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[Stwutter]

Use 2G help to save battery Because it doesn't always need HSDPA packet from network provider...but i say i don't have any idea about this battery and mine...
What is your battery info ? ( i mean how much is its mAH ? )

Posted via the Android Central App

Here's the info. I have. Pls bare In mind I only installed this battery monitor last night so not sure how usefull this is yet...

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[alighasempoor]

3000 mAh is good and powerful battery ( mine is 2100 ! ) and as u can see screen use most power ... And if u use massager ( Facebook massager) it use battery a lot ...
And i still have your problem on my nexus ! So sad about this big problem .

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[stevovr]

If your driving why do you not plug the phone into a charger. If your walking, nav free maps are loaded on the phone. No data connection required. And walking does not require the map to be loaded and screen constantly on. Of the 36% total which used the most. What app were you using on the z30.the z30 has a far better antenna and a much lower pixel count and smaller screen.

Steve/Boanerges Performance

 

[Stwutter]

If your driving why do you not plug the phone into a charger. If your walking, nav free maps are loaded on the phone. No data connection required. And walking does not require the map to be loaded and screen constantly on. Of the 36% total which used the most. What app were you using on the z30.the z30 has a far better antenna and a much lower pixel count and smaller screen.

Steve/Boanerges Performance

Thanks.

I do use a charger - I just trialled it to see how much juice it used without. What led me to do so was that, when I last used the charger, it gave me only about +1% battery PH whilst using it and having Nav Free on. I started on 70%, and, by the time I'd reach my destination 2 hours later, it was on 72%. I know you'll never get anywhere near the charge you would from a wall charger, but I found this odd, so was interested. On the Z30, the car charger would bump my battery up 5-8% ph at least whilst mapping.

To answer your Q's, the app I was using on the Z30 was also Navfree. The usage yesterday was pretty much split - about 18% each way. That's why I used NF one way, and Google the other - to check it wasn't app. specific.

I totally get that the BB Z30 was a 720 display, 'only' 5" and how their antenna's worked, but I just think that 30-40%ph drain on the G3 seems high, regardless of Quad 5.5" HD displays. TBH, the more I post about, the more I'm beginning to think that using the G3 screen for anything more than a few messages, SMS or bits and bobs is basically gonna kill it quick. I've even started mucking around with Nomone to see if I can lower the res. but it doesn't sit right, and I'm not having an odd looking phone for the sake of it.

 

[LeoRex]

GPS uses a substantial amount of processing to function... And the mapping software that uses it typically uses a fair amount to render...is not just the screen.

Its normal. You can reduce it with something like Franco's Per App Mode to reduce the clock rate of your processor when you are using a GPS app... But it's just the nature of GPS.

 

[urrl]

I am not a heavy user. Yesterday I downloaded about 3 full length movies, did a little Facebook, received a few calls and watched a whole movie "Dead Zone" in the evening, about 11:30pm, partly just to get the battery down to about 30% where I feel it would be better to recharge it. Is it just me or does recharging a phone at 50% nightly put a greater burden on battery longevity? Anyway some nights I have about 70% left. I never use Navigation in my car without it being plugged in. I understand that you just wanted to test it out unplugged but the reality of it is do you really need to travel unplugged? Mine does get heated at full brightness using Navigation plugged up and I notice the recharge rate is very slow, if any at all. I'm really waiting for a wider back cover and a thicker battery kit for my G3. I know others would not desire this, but I had a thicker battery with my last phone, a Galaxy S3, and it lasted twice as long and I didn't have a problem with the extra thickness or weight of the phone.

 

[Stwutter]

GPS uses a substantial amount of processing to function... And the mapping software that uses it typically uses a fair amount to render...is not just the screen.

Its normal. You can reduce it with something like Franco's Per App Mode to reduce the clock rate of your processor when you are using a GPS app... But it's just the nature of GPS.

Cheers.

I've downloaded Franco and switch a couple of the more intensive screen apps to a lower rate to see how I get on.

 

[Stwutter]

I am not a heavy user. Yesterday I downloaded about 3 full length movies, did a little Facebook, received a few calls and watched a whole movie "Dead Zone" in the evening, about 11:30pm, partly just to get the battery down to about 30% where I feel it would be better to recharge it. Is it just me or does recharging a phone at 50% nightly put a greater burden on battery longevity? Anyway some nights I have about 70% left. I never use Navigation in my car without it being plugged in. I understand that you just wanted to test it out unplugged but the reality of it is do you really need to travel unplugged? Mine does get heated at full brightness using Navigation plugged up and I notice the recharge rate is very slow, if any at all. I'm really waiting for a wider back cover and a thicker battery kit for my G3. I know others would not desire this, but I had a thicker battery with my last phone, a Galaxy S3, and it lasted twice as long and I didn't have a problem with the extra thickness or weight of the phone.

I'm not sure if a battery is better charged from a particular % or not. From what I understand, Lithium batteries prefer not to be drained very low, so it's best to get them on charge with a reasonable % left, altho' I only get this from bits I've read over the years.

You're correct in saying that there's no real reason to be 'unplugged' in reality whilst using Sat Nav, but, as I said, I was interested to see the battery drain and compare it to my previous device. Having said that, I often use GMaps around town when I need to find somewhere on the hoof, or often get asked to map somewhere if I'm out with friends in their cars - I'm a bit of a noob, but I've not gotten as far as carrying a car charger around 'just in-case' just yet

I've not really watched much downloaded video on the G3 yet, so can't comment on that.

Really, all my post was about was asking was if what I was getting was deemed normal or not. Despite having a mega 5.5" screen, I do think 30%+ph is rather a large drain on resources, regardless of the application, but then the G3 quad screen is a first, so doesn't really have precedent. A friend of mine has the Sony Z2, and says that his satnav off charger used 10-12%ph max., but then he has a 5" screen without the G3's huge PPI.

 

[LeoRex]

Cheers. I've downloaded Franco and switch a couple of the more intensive screen apps to a lower rate to see how I get on.

Yeah, things can take a little fiddling to get right. The trick is to find the lowest 'max' processor speed where the app performs well. As for the screen, you might be able to underclock the GPU (never really messed with that), but the screen's the screen.... short of reducing the brightness, you kind of have to just accept it. With turn by turn Nav apps that have spoken directions, let Samantha or whatever her name it guide you and turn off your screen.

Typically, what I would do was set my overall clock rate to a low value, then use that Per App stuff to ramp up the speed for apps that needed it...Much easier to raise the clock rate for a few apps than lower the clock rate for the rest.

 

[xocomaox]

Is it just me or does recharging a phone at 50% nightly put a greater burden on battery longevity?

No, it does not. It is best to charge randomly throughout the day in spurts and never let the battery get too low (under 5%). Also, don't use a poor charger that will not stop charging past 100%.

 

[Stwutter]

Typically, what I would do was set my overall clock rate to a low value, then use that Per App stuff to ramp up the speed for apps that needed it...Much easier to raise the clock rate for a few apps than lower the clock rate for the rest.

I may do that if I find it to be of any value.

I play a few games of Song Pop as a time-killer on my train home (usually a good 20%ph battery muncher...), so I've set that to as low as Franco will allow (300) to see how it performs, and, if it's still playable, whether that eats battery in the same way or has a noticeable positive effect.

 

[Stwutter]

No, it does not. It is best to charge randomly throughout the day in spurts and never let the battery get too low (under 5%). Also, don't use a poor charger that will not stop charging past 100%.

How many 'cycles' would you say you'd expect from the battery? I understand that they have a limited shelf-life to perform at or near their peak? I have 3 G3 batteries, so was wondering if it was good practice to swap them around as a matter of course every so often rather than just hammer one and only use the others as back-ups?

 

[xocomaox]

How many 'cycles' would you say you'd expect from the battery? I understand that they have a limited shelf-life to perform at or near their peak? I have 3 G3 batteries, so was wondering if it was good practice to swap them around as a matter of course every so often rather than just hammer one and only use the others as back-ups?

I don't have any numbers to throw out there, but that would absolutely be recommended to avoid corrosion of the cells.

Sorry for the de-rail here.

 

[Stwutter]

I don't have any numbers to throw out there, but that would absolutely be recommended to avoid corrosion of the cells.

Sorry for the de-rail here.

Cheers. I've been doing so anyway but good to know.

 

[LeoRex]

I play a few games of Song Pop as a time-killer on my train home (usually a good 20%ph battery muncher...), so I've set that to as low as Franco will allow (300) to see how it performs

Yikes.... that may not even work. I wouldn't go much lower than 1190 (or there abouts). And I think that even if you set it to 300, the MP-Decision stuff in the processor may override and bump it up a fair amount.

 

[LeoRex]

How many 'cycles' would you say you'd expect from the battery? I understand that they have a limited shelf-life to perform at or near their peak? I have 3 G3 batteries, so was wondering if it was good practice to swap them around as a matter of course every so often rather than just hammer one and only use the others as back-ups?

Depends on the battery.... but in general, going on the '1 a day' guess for people charging, I'd say that once you've hit a year on a cell, you're on bonus time. If you abuse the hell out of it (charge it to dead then leave it on a charger at 100% for a long time), you might send it to an early grave.

There are pros and cons.... If you cycle through them, the batteries would most likely last longer, especially if you pull them AFTER charging it to let them 'rest'.... but the flip side to that is that when they DO start to go, they'll all start going around the same time. But if you are cycling through THREE of them, I'd wager you'd replace the phone before the batteries start to die. You could always use one for a week, then switch them.

If you beat on one and use the others as backups, keep in mind that storing these batteries fully charged is also not exactly the best for them. If they are going to sit for a long time, I think you'd probably want them registering 25% to 50% in the phone prior to putting them away.