Develop Bugs

Wifi drains too much battery?

I've bought Desire 4 days ago.
I've been running in some battery problems a lot. I've heard that battery should have 4-5 full draining and charging before having its max capacity, but I have a life span of about 16-20 hours of battery with Wi-Fi on.
How i found out that: Yesterday I went to the country and messed around with my gps and navigation (never used one, so felt like a little child with a brand new shiny toy). So the battery went dead and i charged it almost full. When i got home i turned the wifi on. Didn't manage to connect to my home network, due to Android still not supporting Ad-Hoc networks (sharing through my notebook) so i didn't bother more and used my data plan, but forgot to turn off the wifi.
In about 2 hours, the battery was nearly 60% from 90. When i went to see what's draining the battery I saw it was the Wifi. I turned it off and since last night, up to now (about 14 hours) the battery is 50% (only 10 percent for 14 hours).
Is there any way to make the phone not scan so agressively for Wifi when it's on ? I'm comming from iphone and it didn't matter too much if i had my wifi on or off there.

First of all, what you're experiencing is normal.
In fact, dropping only 30% with 2 straight hrs of heavy use is actually quite impressive.
If you don't want your device to scan for wifi, turn it off. Simple as that. Keep the WiFi setting widget on one of your homescreens for easy access.

It wasn't heavy use I killed all apps and left it there. 30% are just from WiFi scanning.
I know I must turn off wifi, i have the widgy button, but sometimes i just forget i have to shut it down. (Though that's a bit killing, since i didn't have to do this on my iPhone. Actually this is the only shortcoming i can think of now, great phone. Seems i have to get used to killing extra stuff )
Sadly i couldn't find an option to tell it to scan on rarer occasion, just to help absent-minded people like me.

Try downloading "Y5 - Battery Saver" from the Market.
It automatically switches WiFi on and off depending on your location (as determined by cell location, not GPS).
It allows you to leave WiFi in locations where you know you have WiFi, and automatically switches it off when you leave those locations.
I've installed it, but not exhaustively tested as yet as I've not really been out of WiFi coverage since I installed it.
Regards,
Dave

Try getting the WiFi On/Off widget from the market.
It lets you turn off the WiFi with one touch. Will save you a lot of battery when not using it.

@Gana1991 - i've already noted that i have the widget (no need to download from market)
@foxmeister - thanks, i will try that. (I have been secretly thinking about some app with this function )

indeed, there is a WIFI widget builtin.
If you really want another widget, check the WiFi Toggle by "JQ Soft", nice design.
The Y5-Battery Saver is nice....it seems to work properly.
But i am affraid it was causing some problems here, so i uninstalled.
I will reinstall and do some more tests.

WI-FI usage is actually much better than using the network which drains the battery more.
But deffo only have on when using, not all the time.

Or you'd use the standard HTC energy widged or the android wifi switch wich can be found @ widged -> settings -> wifi

Put the HTC battery widget on the screen, not only does it show what % you have left but selecting the widget pops up a small menu where you can adjust display, turn on /off WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth, vey handy indeed

I leave my WiFi on all the time at home because of the data constantly changing between G/3G it drains the battery amazingly fast. leaving WiFi on helps me save battery and keep a data connection. I took my phone off charge at 9 this morning, WiFi has been enabled all day and I have 80% battery.
once the battery has had a week or 2 of charging it will run loads better. also charging with the phone switched off gets you a bit more juice because of a firmware problem.

Software Guru said:
Put the HTC battery widget on the screen, not only does it show what % you have left but selecting the widget pops up a small menu where you can adjust display, turn on /off WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth, vey handy indeed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is this battery widget? I cant find it anywhere.
Oops, didnt know i had to look for it on the market. Found it.

Go settings, wifi, menu button and this brings up advanced settings. From there you can disable wifi after 15 mins of inactivity. When the phone wakes wifi kicks in. I have data turned off, wifi turned off, but if I forget to turn wifi off after using it, it's not too bad as it will be deactivated.

What's that widget called? All I can find is the power widget.

Ok found it
Only seems to be a meter though, no adjustments?

Go settings, wifi, then WiFi settings, then press the menu button,. From their you can select advanced WiFi settings.

When i got home i turned the wifi on. Didn't manage to connect to my home network, due to Android still not supporting Ad-Hoc networks (sharing through my notebook) so i didn't bother more and used my data plan, but forgot to turn off the wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you were using your data plan then your wifi wouldn't be on as the phone turns it off when your connected via 3G, it only uses one or the other not both at the same time.
That's the way it is on my Desire.

I've not used WiFi at all today yet apparently its consumed 25% of my battery. I've got it switched off via widget and its also set to disable after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Any thoughts?
thanks for any help

It's just occurred to me that perhaps the percentages run and run and are not reset after a charge?
Anyone know how it works?

Battery Life

I have a widget that shows me how much I have left and when I unplug it after a full charge, I have 6 hours left.
Ridiculous.
This is on auto brightness, wifi, twitter/facebook/mail updating every 15 minutes.
whenever I take my phone out the house I have to bring a charger...
bloody ridiculous.

couple of points.
1) When you leave the house, don't leave your wi-fi on! I find wi-fi to be the biggest battery drain out of everything ( expect gps)
2) I use a brightness widget, therefore when your in doors you can have it on low, then when your out doors have it on high, i assume this will use less battery then auto brightness
3) why do you need facebook updating every 15 minutes?? Do you honestly look at your phone that much when your out? change the settings so it updates every 15 when your on wi-fi at home, and every hour for when your not.

Wifi isn't an issue. I leave it on 24/7 as well as bluetooth and still can get 36 hours out od a charge. Its hooked up to wifi 20hrs a day as well.

Phil750123 said:
2) I use a brightness widget, therefore when your in doors you can have it on low, then when your out doors have it on high, i assume this will use less battery then auto brightness
3) why do you need facebook updating every 15 minutes?? Do you honestly look at your phone that much when your out? change the settings so it updates every 15 when your on wi-fi at home, and every hour for when your not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks!
1) whats the name of this widget? sounds good
2) is there a setting for that? cant find it

I have a widget that shows me how much I have left and when I unplug it after a full charge, I have 6 hours left.
Ridiculous.
This is on auto brightness, wifi, twitter/facebook/mail updating every 15 minutes.
whenever I take my phone out the house I have to bring a charger...
bloody ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Battery and other constantly updating widgets are one of the causes for battery drain. Get rid of it.
2. Battery widgets try to get an estimate of your typical use. They are mostly wrong in my opinion
3. I can get 6 hours of battery, yes, but only if glue the phone to my hand and use it constantly for that time
4. there are tons of battery threads around, use those suggestions (mid brightness, no live wallpaper, turn airplane on when you know coverage will be unavailable for long, etc)
5. Battery gets better in 10 days.
6. Most people can get at the very least one day of heavy usage. If you really need to hammer the battery get a spare one, they are cheap. Oh, and realize you are lucky because you CAN have a spare battery !
7. If you are using an automatic task killer, get rid of it.

callummc said:
thanks!
1) whats the name of this widget? sounds good
2) is there a setting for that? cant find it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) go to the market and search brightness level, or brightness widget, there are a number of these. The best i find is brightness level by curvefish, it lets you pick a percentage and keep at that .
2) Cant remeber actually where the settings are but there is a way. But i prefer to use another widget, autosync on/off, this allows you to update every 15 when on wi-fi, but when you want to save battery, turn auto sync off and it doesnt sync ,

I suggest you use switchpro widget. its like the power control widget but with more options to turn on/off things.

I typically charged my Nokia N97 every other day or so, even though I used it frequently, and needless to say the HTC Desire doesn't have the same stamina. I was quite frustrated by it, and I started thinking of ways to save power. I came up with 19 tips, and I have actually noticed quite a difference by following them
19 Tips to Keep the HTC Desire Running a Little Longer

Nice post thanks.ill give this a go. But I have a question to do with the positioning using data or gps. I believe your stating that you should turn data off for this purpose, and let the gps do it? however my phone was set to opposite. when I changed as you were suggesting and I clicked allow gps, I had a message come up saying to turn off to conserve battery? But your saying to turn on? And have data off? Also how do you get into htc facebook settings,i cant even find it!

dingdong3000 said:
I suggest you use switchpro widget. its like the power control widget but with more options to turn on/off things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep i also use this widget
also use a free juice defender or paid ultimate juice that keeps turning on and off your 3g every now and then depending on how you schedule it, my phone with snowstorm weather widget updating every 80 minutes + 30s of 3g every 5 minutes to update mail etc and average usage lasts about 36 hours which is good enough for me

I leave my WI-FI on at home and suffer hardly any drain.
At work like today leave my Mobile network on down to 47% with just twitter usage!
Pathetic is the mobile signals drain.

MapleDouglas said:
I typically charged my Nokia N97 every other day or so, even though I used it frequently, and needless to say the HTC Desire doesn't have the same stamina. I was quite frustrated by it, and I started thinking of ways to save power. I came up with 19 tips, and I have actually noticed quite a difference by following them
19 Tips to Keep the HTC Desire Running a Little Longer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, ive had another read of this and am now just even more confused! Are you saying to have gps turned off via settings and location aswell as data, or just having gps on? Are you saying that having gps selected via settings for the purpose of locating services uses les batty than via using data? Either way, it appeatss that the power control widget controls the gps the same as via settings. Right now ive deselected gps and the data location.

Dunbad said:
Ok, ive had another read of this and am now just even more confused! Are you saying to have gps turned off via settings and location aswell as data, or just having gps on? Are you saying that having gps selected via settings for the purpose of locating services uses les batty than via using data? Either way, it appeatss that the power control widget controls the gps the same as via settings. Right now ive deselected gps and the data location.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is what I'm saying:
"To let your device learn your location via wireless network triangulation requires less battery than by using the GPS for this purpose. However, using both methods simultaneously is probably not a good idea from a battery point of view. The GPS can handle this task by itself, although it will get a fix on your location a little bit slower. Also, wireless network positioning will be used to collect anonymous Google location data, which will drain the battery further. You can change this option from Settings > Location > Use wireless networks. "
In other words, to only use wireless network positioning will supposedly use less battery than by only using the GPS, but using both methods will naturally use the most juice

For me...
- Turn GPS On when I needed.
- Turn WiFi On when I needed
- Turn Bluetooth On when I needed
- Use 2G Network for standard internet, we use 3G if we want more speed such us watch video

jauhari said:
For me...
- Turn GPS On when I needed.
- Turn WiFi On when I needed
- Turn Bluetooth On when I needed
- Use 2G Network for standard internet, we use 3G if we want more speed such us watch video
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can get get good days heavy usage (except games) from mine, I haven't tried the 2G thing yet.
Apparently it is the connectivity thing that kills the battery, but turning off 3G, doesn't that take all the fun out of it???
If you just use it as a phone then I reckon you can get a couple of days out of it, or so I've read...

Cm6 stable battery tips

Can anyone give me tips on howvto save battery ...I have set cpu profiles but it seems to still drain...and auto sync is off too
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

There are so many ways but it all depends on how your phone is used.
Got to Settings>About Phone>Battery Use and see what all your battery life is being spent on. From there, figure out a way to cut back on that (if it's your screen, decrease the brightness or turn the screen off when not in use).

Here are a few tips from my own limited testing on a few ROMs like Villision and Enom's as well as CM6.1. First off, I use a helper application like XDA Superpower which basically turns off stuff when the phone is in power save mode like wifi, data, etc. It allows some flexibility of when you allow a data connection to be made. You can also set scheduling for night-time use if you want. The main for me was understanding how I use the phone. My phone use peaks around morning, lunch, early evening. Then I want the wifi or data to support me. I want to download new packages, play around, etc. Other times, the phone is just with me when I travel somewhere. I don't care for it to continuously poll for email. Also check out if you have apps like facebook and seesmic for twitter how often you allow background updates. I turn these way down and allow facebook to update every 4 hours and seesmic every 6 hours.
At the end of my day, I commonly have about 70% battery left after my three major use periods in day. This may include a few phone calls, some text, some intensive newsreading, downloading this or that. I don't listen to streaming music, watch any videos, etc.
I would say you should look at how you use the phone and when you don't. I use juicedefender on enom's and villision ROMs and XDA Superpower on CM.
I don't think there is a magic recipe but once you understand what you use the phone for, you can tailor how data and wifi works, how you get updates, how many widgets you run, etc.
Just some ideas... I'm still searching for a battery that goes forever

Thanks man this was really helpful and the xda app looks interesting ill give it a try
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I use "2g networks only" unless I need wifi or 3g. Honestly, that has doubled my battery life to 24+ hrs easy on med-hvy use daily. The "Netswidget" lets me quickly toggle the network status. BTW...stock, pershoot kernel, oc'd @1017 and @245 when screen is off. Try it out...
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk

i'm having battery problems too. i'm not a heavy user, but with the original sense rom on my desire z i had two days. the most power (arround 80%) was used by the display. now, on cm rom, i have 38% of mobile standby, 37 of inaktive mobile and 10% are used by android OS. the display is on 4%. all settings are the same on cm rom and sense rom...

i did several battery drains and i deleted the battery stats, ima drain the battery two more times and repeat. right now my phone is at 74% its currently 2:00pm and my phone was at 100% at 3:24am when i took off the charger.

[Q] GPS and Battery Drain

I've spent much of the last year honing my DHD for battery life with custom ROM's and automation apps like the fantastically versatile app TASKER. With it, I can automate just about any task such as turning on a data connection for 3 minutes every 4 hours to sync all my bits and pieces.
I als use another app, Juice Plotter to record a historical graph of batter use over time. It also has a widget which shows me amount of charge left in hours.
I've been using Tasker to automatically turn my GPS on when I open an app which uses it like CoPilot, Maps, etc... I've always thought that this would save battery life but recently ran a test where it's been left on continuously and I haven't noticed any difference in power use. I wonder if it only really turns on when needed and the GPS on is more of a standby until used, when it's immediately available.
I use tracking software should my phone get lost so would like GPS on constantly, but thinks that Prey and Avast! can turn it on when required anyway. I just haven't tested them.
Any thoughts?

use juice defender and autokiller memory optimizer

Zebede said:
I've spent much of the last year honing my DHD for battery life with custom ROM's and automation apps like the fantastically versatile app TASKER. With it, I can automate just about any task such as turning on a data connection for 3 minutes every 4 hours to sync all my bits and pieces.
I als use another app, Juice Plotter to record a historical graph of batter use over time. It also has a widget which shows me amount of charge left in hours.
I've been using Tasker to automatically turn my GPS on when I open an app which uses it like CoPilot, Maps, etc... I've always thought that this would save battery life but recently ran a test where it's been left on continuously and I haven't noticed any difference in power use. I wonder if it only really turns on when needed and the GPS on is more of a standby until used, when it's immediately available.
I use tracking software should my phone get lost so would like GPS on constantly, but thinks that Prey and Avast! can turn it on when required anyway. I just haven't tested them.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GPS is turned off until an application with permission to discover your fine location uses that permission. If you turned off GPS, it shouldn't turn on anyway, but if you turn it on that is when it will start searching.

[Q] Juice Defender: does it work?

Hi, Ive been reading a lot about battery saving apps that I started to get curious as to whether these apps really work.
I installed JD out of curiosity and I have to say that all it doea is disable automatically your phone connections to help you save power. Things that you can actually do manually. Like turning off wifi and mobile network. If im not mistaken you can disable mobile network under your phone's settings.
So my question is, if you can do it manually, what is the point of apps like juice defender? It eats up ram and runs as a background process which in my opinion does more bad than good to your battery unless your the i dont know how to disable connections manually in my phone kind of guy.
Somebody please enlighten me. Thanks.

I have used it for a long times. Since I used Xperia PLAY.
I think this program is good. Yes, if you can manually do it. But the feature I like the most is Screen. It can change CPU ghz according to your screen on / off.
It saves my battery a lot.
Press THANKS if you agree with me.

I am a long time user of jd but these days the only feature i use regularly is to disable data overnight.
Sent from my LT26i using xda app-developers app

- Airplane mode over night
- automatic wireless connection with "location" feature (if near a known wireless network it starts the wireless and connects, if not near it directly starts 3G)
- I do not have to mess with on/off wireless/3G
- automatically syncs every hour, so I have to do nothing but still get my mails
- with rooted phone underclock on screen off
- bluetooth off after 5 mins without connected bluetooth device
etc....
It is NOT for you if you want to have online connection all the time. And it is not for you if you don't mind to do all the things manually it does for you.
And in my opinion only the full version really helps, the free version does not much...
I think it's a great app! :good:

If you just need to auto toggle data, check out 3GBattery too.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wyLDEsImNvbS5teXN0aXF1ZS50aHJlZWdiYXR0ZXJ5Il0.

basically, there are 2 main things that drain our devices: 1) 3g/2g and 2) display brightness. I've been using JD since ever, and the difference is awesome with and without. Even the free version is enough to save some batt, in the Agressive mode (connects every 30min).
Besides JD, I am using Greenify. Which needs root to work and does a beautiful job with background apps like Facebook, GMaps etc.

works on both my devices :good:

Personally I think this app is useless.
As OP has said, you can just set up those things manually.
This app just eats RAMs and use your battery up more.