[calvin2]

3) Defective phone? Possibly. Likely? No. Here's why. That signal app I have also estimates your battery life. At 100% charge, it states I have about 18 hours of usable battery. Same app on my old Galaxy Nexus, with about 500 mAh less battery power is noted to give me an estimated battery life of 30 hours; that's 12 hours better than my S4. Considering my S4 has a larger and far newer battery, logic would make one assume the S4 will last longer off of the charger.

That's not logic, that's assuming. Logic would say the S4 would last longer *if* it uses no more power than the Nexus. If it does more than the Nexus that complicates the battery life beyond the area where logic can work. (Does more=uses more power. Larger battery=has more power. How much does each offset the other? Efficiency might also be a factor. Different hardware, different efficiency.)

[BBSeattle]

Another great reason for removable batteries....
Amazon.com: Ultra-thin 0.5mm Qi Wireless Charging Receiver Card Coil for Samsung Galaxy Note III 3 N9005 N9500 with Full NFC Support: Cell Phones & Accessories

Never liked the OEM charging covers due to their thickness and the difficulty finding a case and holster.
These work great, so thin the stock battery cover fits and you can use whatever case you like.

[Ed Briggs]

You know thinking about it Murph... Did you let the battery get real low all the time? That actually is bad for them and may explain your issue.

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.

Exactly what I was thinking. Most people don't give it a second thought to drain it all the way, then top it off. Most experts say it should stay between 20-80% at all times, maybe 10-90% at worst.

Plus, I think they put better batteries in the non-removable phones. It would make sense from a manufacturing standpoint to put a "not-so-good" battery in a phone where you can swap it out, because then they sell more and make more money.