Battery Saving with Tasker - Verizon Droid Incredible 2

Morning all.
I had been playing around with ways to use tasker to save battery life. Previously I had used juice defender pro, which is excellent but coarse. Additionally, I work in an office with terrible signal, so automating syncs with juice defender did not work well for me. The following is a short guide on using tasker to automate 3g on and off (the main function of juice defender) on a per-app basis, rather than location or time. It solves the following problems for me:
3g is on when I use a spesific app, off when I don't
Most of the time the 3g radio is off, without automatic syncing
I can customize this setup according to my own personal workday
Tasker will turn on my 3g when I leave the office (and enter good coverage)
It's worth mentioning that juice defender does all this, it just does it differently. For me the biggest difference is when this happens, I only care about this from 8-5:30, monday - friday. At all other times i wan the 3g radio on.
1st profile (I named it apps at work)
First context: application.
Second context: time
Third context: Day
Task: mobile data set on (go ahead and create an exit task as well).
For the applications, you could select everything. I chose a broad swath of apps, including things like kindle so it syncs if i read on my phone during the workday. The idea is that if you use an app, say gmail, it kicks on 3g, you can check your mail, then it automates turning 3g off.
For the time context set your work hours. Or whatever hours you don't get good signal, or however you want to set it up time wise. for me, this is 8am to 5pm.
For the day context, select days of the week, and pick the days you are at work. For me this is Monday - Friday.
The result is that when you pick up your phone to use it during the day, it only cuts the radio on when you are using an app you told it to. It's a lot more precise than Juice Defender's screen on - screen off setting, because you don't necessarily need the internet to play a game. In fact, you might prefer to have the 3g off when gaming.
In order to get fancy, I set up a second context which I call "work's out."
Context 1: time. I set this to 5:35 pm.
Context 2: days of the week. I set this to Monday - Friday.
Task 1: mobile data on.
This turns my data on when i am supposed to leave work. I also set a notification that vibrates the phone and displays an alert.
It seems to work pretty well for me. Here is a list of people for whom this would not work well:
Anyone who needs push email during the day
for that matter, anyone who relies on any internet - based alert.
So - it's not for everyone, but it worked well for me. I wanted to post it up to share. For me, I was just blanket turning the 3g radio off all day, so this helps me automate the on and off switching that I had been doing.
Additionally, if you want to stream music it *should* work with the screen off. App running = internet on. So let's say I step outside, and need to listen to my Judas Priest Defenders of the Faith, then I am good to go. I have not tested that out yet, tho.

How much of a battery improvement have you noticed?
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda app-developers app

It seems to be better. It's good for me because I have a crappy signal at work. If you have a good signal, this method is probably just going to be annoying / not save very much battery. Usual disclaimer - your results may vary.
Unfortunately, I did not bother to do any kind of baseline testing, which would have been useful. At the moment, I don't have a very good method for comparison, so let me think about it and get back.

Just to report back, I don't have a good way to measure success, other than it seems to be working well for me. My phone has be on for 12 hours, I used it at will, I have 50% remaining. Sorry for the lack of science.
Sent from my ADR6350 using xda premium

No sweat. I'm lacking in the scientific arena as well when it comes to android.
Thanks again for the info.
Sent from my Incredible 2 using xda app-developers app

Great guide! Thanks!
I have Tasker but haven't ever put it into use.
For tracking battery life, I use Battery Monitor Widget Pro.
-CM7 on DInc2

Thanks for the guide m8, I will give it a go. So far that is the only issue I have with the my dinc2 is the battery life. I have converted from iPhone and there is a huge difference in battery life.

Related

Juice Defender...who has it and how to you configure?

I got this app and the paid version, I'm currently at x1.30 useage. How do y'all configure it? I read post from other android users getting way way higher numbers. I just really don't how to configure it(total noob). I have root and got rid of the bloated sprintware. If anyone could post a guide or steer me in the right direction....I would ove you lots!!!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I am fairly new to android and I heard a lot about this app as well. I just let it configure my settings for me. I'm getting around 1.70x right now and its probably my 3rd charge cycle since I got it. It was around 1.30x at first. I got the ultimatedefender exension so it could prefer wifi before using 3g, I think that helps save on battery.
I hope there's other settings to tweak to get the most battery. I would love to go a entire day on this thing.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
A good overview of the settings and features http://latedroid.com/juicedefender
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I tried it a few times on the evo and felt it was not helping me. I didn't believe the numbers it said it was saving me.
on my hero it was incredible with collins battery tweak, as for the epic i dont think its fully compatible as my settings were to turn 3g off with the screen and to turn data on 5m every 2 hours to sync, 12am to 7 am airplane mode. and i didnt notice much on the epic, but then again it didnt shut my 3g off...
Mine currently says 1.74x. I don't think it's really helping though and it's kind of annoying having to pull the wait after I pull out the phone to get on the internetz
im not sure if it is helping either and it gets annoying when i am having a convo with someone on say gtalk and it disables data when my screen turns off.
I used to use it. My favorite thing about it was being able to turn off data while using certain apps/games. Also set it to check for emails every 15 minutes.
JD
I'm getting 2.25x. Install JuicePlotter and run without JD... and you can see your battery drain without JuiceDefender. I've used it for quite some time, and the graph matches my real time use (I've also used other battery monitoring apps and seen the same kind of results, JP just shows it in a nice graph). Then install JuiceDefender (I'm running the beta channel) and watch how much more slowly your battery drains.
When ACS released the latest SyndicateROM with Froyo I jumped on it and disabled JD because my girlfriend saw her battery lasting a LOT longer once TMobile (she has a Galaxy S with them) released Froyo. While it was better, it's ridiculously better with JD.
It will auto configure itself... but I customize it and have it disable during the night, 30 minute data off during the day, configured the apps I want (and yes, disabling data when using a game is a great way to save if you dont need data during the game).
Im at x2.14 now, self customized using JD Plus. 3G/Wifi turns off during certain apps running in the foreground, 3G/Wifi is off when the screen is off, Wifi automatically turns on/off depending if Im home or not. Best $1 ever spent.
I'm using super power, and JD and will be testing out, I'll let you guys know!
On custom. Data turns on every hour and during the night, data is off from 1:30AM to 8:30AM. Data is only activated after unlocking and ignores on low battery below 15%.
Everytime i use this app it starts ****ing with my permisiions and ****s up the phone i finally just said screw it. Its horrible.
I own Juice Defender Ultimate. I use the beta and It says I get around x2.35 on average. I use Advance settings and set them to my liking. I spent a week where i tried one day JD and next day no JD, same process the whole week. ended up as 30-40% more battery with JD.

[Q] SetCPU and JuiceDefender, are they needed anymore?

Hello,
Title says it all...
I would notice overnight that my battery would be completely horizontal (no drop) and thought it was the combination of SETCPU and JuiceDefender (night profile + screen off drop mhz).
But, after unisntalling them, I noticed the same "flat line" at night and also achieved over 30 hours of battery life.
My question is... do these apps really make a difference on our phones?
Or, are the phones advanced enough to handle everything just fine?
your thoughts are appreciated.
I agree... I got about 27 hours of life out of my battery without set cpu or JD (i've never liked JD anyway because its like putting my kid on riddlin)
h20wakebum said:
My question is... do these apps really make a difference on our phones?
Or, are the phones advanced enough to handle everything just fine?
your thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which version of JD are you using? If you have the Plus or Ultimate version, you can probably still gain some benefit, but you need to learn how to custom configure the settings so that you use the ones that are still relevant. For example:
Where Not Helpful: JD will turn off your GPS if an application isn't using it, but most of today's phones will do that anyway.
Where Helpful:: In advanced settings, you can provide a 'night schedule', wherein during this time, JD will disable mobile data, and thus polling, so your phone will not go out and check for mail, FB messages, Tweets, etc. Otherwise, mobile data is off unless you 'wake' the screen for some reason. Or another feature that 'trains' your wi-fi to only activate when you are at home or a 'recognized' wi-fi spot. These are a couple examples, there are others.
Where it MAY be Helpful: JD can disable mobile data for a custom # of minutes (10/15/30/60) and prevent background sync during those periods. It will awake, allow the sync, then turn mobile data off. Now some apps may only sync in these intervals anyway, but unless they're all syncing at the same time, you could have lots of 'up' time. Some of this may not 'wake' your phone from Deep Sleep, but depending on how sloppy the code is, it might.
Hope this helps.
h20wakebum said:
Hello,
Title says it all...
I would notice overnight that my battery would be completely horizontal (no drop) and thought it was the combination of SETCPU and JuiceDefender (night profile + screen off drop mhz).
But, after unisntalling them, I noticed the same "flat line" at night and also achieved over 30 hours of battery life.
My question is... do these apps really make a difference on our phones?
Or, are the phones advanced enough to handle everything just fine?
your thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think really depends on the ROM you are running. ViperROM has a script that changes the CPU speed and governer on the fly. So no need for SetCPU there. I'd say Juice Defender can still come in handy with turning data off when you aren't using it.
My 2 cents. Your results may vary.
Capp5050 said:
Which version of JD are you using? If you have the Plus or Ultimate version, you can probably still gain some benefit, but you need to learn how to custom configure the settings so that you use the ones that are still relevant. For example:
Where Not Helpful: JD will turn off your GPS if an application isn't using it, but most of today's phones will do that anyway.
Where Helpful:: In advanced settings, you can provide a 'night schedule', wherein during this time, JD will disable mobile data, and thus polling, so your phone will not go out and check for mail, FB messages, Tweets, etc. Otherwise, mobile data is off unless you 'wake' the screen for some reason. Or another feature that 'trains' your wi-fi to only activate when you are at home or a 'recognized' wi-fi spot. These are a couple examples, there are others.
Where it MAY be Helpful: JD can disable mobile data for a custom # of minutes (10/15/30/60) and prevent background sync during those periods. It will awake, allow the sync, then turn mobile data off. Now some apps may only sync in these intervals anyway, but unless they're all syncing at the same time, you could have lots of 'up' time. Some of this may not 'wake' your phone from Deep Sleep, but depending on how sloppy the code is, it might.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use ultimate. I did run a night schedule, but that kind of points back to my original observation... I'd have night setup from 11pm - 7am and see a horizontal line for battery during this time (wow JD is really working)... BUT, with it uninstalled, during the same period of time 11pm - 7am my battery was also horizontal line... So did it really do anything? I'm on wifi at my house so when I'm sleeping the phone is wifi and not constantly pinging the mobile network (does that make a diff. being on wifi)?
I also did like the wifi only when home setting.
With ViperRom, I probably don't need set CPU anymore... Maybe i'll throw JD back on.
One question.. were you running the beta JD? I noticed the beta would always throw errors in the log stating i needed to uninstall, reboot, reinstall (I never did) anyone else have that happen?
These numbers sound like you have the radio off and don't turn your display on. Pretty amazing numbers otherwise. Would love to know the rom + kernal you're using
edit: I see the post above you mention viperrom. Typically if you have data turned off and display off any device will last days. My OG evo lasts for around 48 hours just sitting there. Still really impressive if you're using your phone within that 30 hours
h20wakebum said:
One question.. were you running the beta JD? I noticed the beta would always throw errors in the log stating i needed to uninstall, reboot, reinstall (I never did) anyone else have that happen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never tried the beta; I started with standard, upgraded to Premium, then eventually upgraded to Ultimate (I use the 'Customize' setting, but rarely the 'Advanced' config).
I hear ya on the night-time wi-fi thing. But with this particular phone (and before I rooted and changed ROM/Kernel), on some nights I would be connected to wi-fi and get ZERO CPU sleep time, other nights it would sleep - I have no idea why. It is conceivable that if the only polling your doing is e.g., Gmail, that either it doesn't happen at night, or it happens in such a way as to not knock the phone out of sleep (it IS Google's OS after all).
On a related note, I'm using K-9 mail (my primary mail is Yahoo); it throws wake-locks all the time (set to poll every 15 minutes), but they don't seem to impact battery life or take the device out of deep sleep which is why I suggested that case above.
One other item I like about JD is the ability to permission each and every app for wireless/network access; obviously mail, calendar, phone, etc. need it, but some apps simply don't, and I've been surprised when I set it to 'notify' and some random game pops up seeking network access. Looking for an update? who knows, but I lock 'em down anyway.
AC
pandamaja said:
These numbers sound like you have the radio off and don't turn your display on. Pretty amazing numbers otherwise. Would love to know the rom + kernal you're using
edit: I see the post above you mention viperrom. Typically if you have data turned off and display off any device will last days. My OG evo lasts for around 48 hours just sitting there. Still really impressive if you're using your phone within that 30 hours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not turn off data/radio (no airplane mode).
I'm running ViperRom 2.2 with the latest loskernal experimental.
My display was on for roughly 2 hours (again, just used it as i happened to during the course of the day) and data was on.
Capp5050 said:
I've never tried the beta; I started with standard, upgraded to Premium, then eventually upgraded to Ultimate (I use the 'Customize' setting, but rarely the 'Advanced' config).
I hear ya on the night-time wi-fi thing. But with this particular phone (and before I rooted and changed ROM/Kernel), on some nights I would be connected to wi-fi and get ZERO CPU sleep time, other nights it would sleep - I have no idea why. It is conceivable that if the only polling your doing is e.g., Gmail, that either it doesn't happen at night, or it happens in such a way as to not knock the phone out of sleep (it IS Google's OS after all).
On a related note, I'm using K-9 mail (my primary mail is Yahoo); it throws wake-locks all the time (set to poll every 15 minutes), but they don't seem to impact battery life or take the device out of deep sleep which is why I suggested that case above.
One other item I like about JD is the ability to permission each and every app for wireless/network access; obviously mail, calendar, phone, etc. need it, but some apps simply don't, and I've been surprised when I set it to 'notify' and some random game pops up seeking network access. Looking for an update? who knows, but I lock 'em down anyway.
AC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting thing is with the latest JD build it has the bluetooth settings, so i can leave my headset paired, but the phone disconnects while not on a call and then when i get a call, it turns on... kinda cool.
In regards to the permissions... do i need to give the email applications permission for enable/screen off? (so that I'll still get the notifs?) or just enable (as in when screen on).
thanks,
RR

[INFO] Power Saving Tips

I'd like to get some feedback from this community on what people feel works and doesn't work as far as Dev Opts and other settings they use to maximise battery life.
I don't want this to turn into a *****-fest - because I personally have been getting on average about 15h + a day as a moderate user and think this phone/OS combo is capable of more.
I'm relatively new to Android and while there are posts in other forums none of them relate to GN/ICS. There are so many settings to play with and many of them might otherwise go unexplored and unexplained to a lot of users.
A perfect example of this is something I read elsewhere earlier tonight in another rant-based thread. Someone suggested turning Developer Options> Background Process Limit to "At most, 3 processes". I gave that a try and in both instances I got a SOD (not immediately but I'm thinking it may not be sound advice after all).
Something else to consider might be stock apps which are safe to disable.
Things that are known to work or have a majority consensus will be compiled into a list in this thread.
To make things easier, try use a path to the setting you're talking about: Settings > Apps and suchlike.
Thats weird, i've been using that setting all day. I wonder if its an app you have installed thats having its process killed and not liking it. Do you get the same if you set it to 4?
I haven't found much except the obvious screen brightness and setting it to 2g instead of 3g - but that can actually be worse if you have a lot of things syncing often and a congested GPRS network.
Oh and I also have Force GPU rendering on, but i don't think that has much effect.
Good idea for a thread btw.
Thanks. I've heard so many people quote the pitfalls of early adoption (now I'm one of them) I think there may be something in the apps point you make. Narrowing it down is going to be tough I suspect.
I use the below setting on my Nexus S to get two days moderate use:
Brightness at 8% fixed
Black still image wallpaper
Bluetooth off
Gps off
Wifi at home
Always sync off
Others sync off, facebook, gplus
Yupe, that suits my usage pattern. I dont like to bebothered with emails and social network notifications. If I need them, open and update manually.
Really big boost on battery life. I expect this is the same or better with ICS.
Interesting. Good tips gogol.
Yesterday/today I managed to get 1d3h out of the phone.
Admittedly, I didn't put the phone through the punishment I usually subject it to.
I never enable BT, and also turn down the brightness on my screen to about 10%. I do leave sync on but try to limit it to necessary apps only and not app contacts.
Yesterday though, I didn't enable wifi at all (didn't need to really, was in the office all day). I made a few calls, sent a few texts and did my usual commute (about 3hours there and back) listening to music (PowerAmp) and messing around with EQ settings a fair bit.
Because I got 1d though, I got in an extra morning (1. 5hours) of music on the way to work.
So overall I'm pretty happy that I can get on average 15h as a moderate user and a ton more as a light-ish user
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
I updated to the new K6 radio a few days ago and reset the process limit back to standard. I managed 1 day 3 hours with 28% left this morning. I used 2 hours 26 minutes of screen time.
For me the new radio seems to have made a massive difference. I think it has to do with it camping one band/tower for longer and not constantly switching between 3 and HSDPA when there's a data transfer.

[App]Tasker - Automate Your Phone

Tasker
I found this cool app Tasker. It can do functions defined by you on meeting the circumstances you have defined. Like, I have a profile of enabling GPS on openining of maps and disabling afterwards.
Description:
Automate everything from settings to photos, SMS to speech ADC2 prize winner. Total Automation, from settings to SMS ADC2 finalist!
* Triggers: App, Time, Day, Location, Hard/Soft State, Event, Shortcut, Widget, Timer,Plugins
* Actions: 200+ built-in, plugin support
* Tasks: loops, variables, condition
* Scenes: design your own screen overlays,dialogs even simple apps
Play Store Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm&hl=en
Noob/Beginners Guide To Tasker:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1110775
This is illegal, if you cant buy an app dont use it.
It's a paid app
WORTH EVERY PENNY
I have automated mine to do the following
As soon as I enter my work car park, it drops the volumes, switches off WIFI
I leave my work car park, volume to max,
I enter home, WIFI on, Volume max
after 11pm - 6.30am everything on silent, wifi & data off
then when i scan my NFC tag in the car, switches on GPS, loads co pilot
re-scan tag, turns off GPS and closes co-pilot
winwiz said:
It's a paid app
WORTH EVERY PENNY
I have automated mine to do the following
As soon as I enter my work car park, it drops the volumes, switches off WIFI
I leave my work car park, volume to max,
I enter home, WIFI on, Volume max
after 11pm - 6.30am everything on silent, wifi & data off
then when i scan my NFC tag in the car, switches on GPS, loads co pilot
re-scan tag, turns off GPS and closes co-pilot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds cool
But mine is too extra complicated to share, I now have over 30
But the most i like is nightmode,
It make brightness 10/255 and opens an app screenfilter
It makes brightness extremely low and this all happens from 12am-3 am
IF YOU LIKE MY WORK, THANK ME BY THE BUTTON BELOW
Anyone knows what effect this has on battery life?
It doesnt waste battery that much, why dont.you try it and see battery stats
IF YOU LIKE MY WORK, THANK ME BY THE BUTTON BELOW
rickythefox said:
Anyone knows what effect this has on battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was thinking the same. Any partial/wakelock issues caused by the program constantly assessing the environment. As it happens I am thinking of using the program to reduce battery drain and shutting down WiFi when out of range of home networks but if it's negated by the situation above it seems pointless for my needs.
Any one care to comment?
I've been using Tasker for a couple of years accross 4 different devices now (X10i, DHD, TF101 and GS3). I have a lot of profiles set up to do various different things and I can honestly say I've never seen a noticeable effect on battery life.
That said though I don't use the GPS location state at all. I imagine that particular state would drain battery pretty quickly. I use the WiFi Near state a lot though and, as I've said, never really noticed a detrimental drain on the battery.
I suppose it depends on what you do with it but overall IMO it's a very well written app. Extremely useful too.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Waiting for app sale. The price is slightly higher than what I'm prepared to spend, especially because there is a free alternative from Microsoft called on{X}: http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/05/onx/
SunjinSak said:
I've been using Tasker for a couple of years accross 4 different devices now (X10i, DHD, TF101 and GS3). I have a lot of profiles set up to do various different things and I can honestly say I've never seen a noticeable effect on battery life.
That said though I don't use the GPS location state at all. I imagine that particular state would drain battery pretty quickly. I use the WiFi Near state a lot though and, as I've said, never really noticed a detrimental drain on the battery.
I suppose it depends on what you do with it but overall IMO it's a very well written app. Extremely useful too.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep! This is what I was hoping to use it for too. My betterbatterystats has identified my Wifi as the one real drain on what is still a very good battery life. So although I could turn it off myself I just know I will forget to turn it back on at home and would like a program to do it for me. BUT if one negates the other it's not worth the effort.
Greedyfly said:
Yep! This is what I was hoping to use it for too. My betterbatterystats has identified my Wifi as the one real drain on what is still a very good battery life. So although I could turn it off myself I just know I will forget to turn it back on at home and would like a program to do it for me. BUT if one negates the other it's not worth the effort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well your WiFi has to be on to use the WiFi Near state. You could potentially combine it with a Time state too though. Just for example you could have Tasker turn WiFi on for 1 minute once an hour to check for your network(s) then either turn off again if no network detected or connect and remain on if a network is detected... if that makes any sense!
It would save battery compared to leaving WiFi on all the time.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
What effect does it have on, I have a task to turn of Wi-Fi during 10am and 1pm; but I try to turn on Wi-Fi during this period. Will it automatically turn it off again, or allow me to continue to use Wi-Fi?
SunjinSak said:
Well your WiFi has to be on to use the WiFi Near state. You could potentially combine it with a Time state too though. Just for example you could have Tasker turn WiFi on for 1 minute once an hour to check for your network(s) then either turn off again if no network detected or connect and remain on if a network is detected... if that makes any sense!
It would save battery compared to leaving WiFi on all the time.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect sense. Thank you.
T__ said:
What effect does it have on, I have a task to turn of Wi-Fi during 10am and 1pm; but I try to turn on Wi-Fi during this period. Will it automatically turn it off again, or allow me to continue to use Wi-Fi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will allow you to continue to use it. That sort of profile works as a toggle based on the time state so at 10am it will turn it off - but only at 10am. If you were to turn it on again straight away it would stay on until you either turn it off manually or another profile kicks in which is set to turn it off again. The same goes for anything else such as ringer/silent/vibrate, mobile data, GPS etc.
@Greedyfly: you're welcome
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
You guys can try Llama...does the same thing and cost nothing....i am using it for couple of days and it is good.
Indian_dil said:
You guys can try Llama...does the same thing and cost nothing....i am using it for couple of days and it is good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Tasker can do wonders...but it requires you to be some kind of Tasker-scientist to get things done. I recently discovered Llama as well. It's free and simple but capable.
Yeah Tasker does have a reasonably steep learning curve admittedly. By no means insurmountable to most though.
I suppose it depends on what/how you want to automate. Tasker is very powerful but not so simple. Llama is free and easier to use but no so powerful.
Both are good automation solutions. Locale is another one to check out.
Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
I've been using Tasker for the best part of a year now, awesome piece of software. Negligible impact on battery life and it's astoundingly powerful. A few examples of profiles I currently use - detects headphones/bluetooth headset and reads any text and who sent it, useful when cycling or out on the bike. Disables screen lock when at home, I use the phone as a control for my media centre so it remains unlocked at home and turns the screen on as soon as the handset is picked up, controls a variety of connection states according to location and time.
These are just scratching the surface. On top of this I've had direct dealings with the dev on a couple of occasions, genuinely nice bloke who does his damndest to solve problems as quickly as possible. All in all, this and Titanium backup are by far the two most useful pieces of software I've bought:good:
wind0zer said:
+1
Tasker can do wonders...but it requires you to be some kind of Tasker-scientist to get things done. I recently discovered Llama as well. It's free and simple but capable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But Tasker is better, even if its complicated
Thats the reason i gave a link to a noob friendly guide
Press the "Thanks" button below if I've helped.
I love tasker even if it drains my battery(but it doesn't)
Press the "Thanks" button below if I've helped.

SGSIII / General Android Battery Tips (Can triple battery life!) | Updated 8/27/12

This thread that I've revamped from my Evo 4G/3D days, hoping to share some of the love with newer users. Over the time I've been on android, I've learned a few simple things that can greatly assist in the battery life of our wonderful smartphones.
If you get anything out of the thread, please don't hesitate to rate it and drop me a thanks!
If you read the thread and like the tips, have a new one to suggest, or have a revision, please post it.
On a similar note, moderators, thanks for the sticky!
General Lithium Ion Battery Information
^^This link includes stuff about charging, including trickle charging aka SBC (Why NOT to use it, or at your own peril)
My tips for good battery life:
Tips for Non-Rooted users
1. Turn off all radios when not in use.
(Bluetooth, wifi, data, 4G/Wimax/LTE, NFC, etc) Use a widget like the default power widgets, Switchpro, or a similar app from the market. Newer android versions generally allows users to access these radios and other settings from the notification pulldown menu, , under the "Quick Settings" tab or a row at the top of the pulldown. The radios of the phone draw power if on even if the user isn't actually utilizing the radio's functions. A radio searching for signal (if you are in a low-signal area) drains more than a radio with good signal, so again, turn 'em off when you aren't using 'em.
To manually turn off radios without a toggle, go to menu>settings>wireless & networks.
Wifi uses less battery than 3G, so use wifi when you can.
Unlike the others, GPS radios only draw power when you actually need them, so you can leave it on all the time.
2. Juice Defender is one of my favorite apps. Basically it controls your data for you to maximize life.
More explanations are on their page, search it on the market for free, or upgrade for more features.
Here are my settings for it: Click me
Note that for me at least, juice defender likes to deny apps data privileges whether you allow them or not, so screen on = data on works best for me.
3. I love live wallpapers, and I’ve always been a fan of pixel zombies, but they are really only good for showing off due to their battery drain.
4. Sadly, the "always on mobile data" setting is gone. This tip is invalid.
Go to menu>settings>wireless & networks>mobile networks>disable always on mobile data.
Product F(RED) said:
To clarify, "Always On Mobile Data", when turned off, lets the 3G modem go to sleep after the screen has been off for 5 minutes. It doesn't interfere with anything like email or any other application that requires an internet connection at that moment because it turns on on-demand rather than being on all the time and wasting battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
5. Set your screen timeout to something that fits you.
The screen is the highest drain of battery power on any smartphone. BY setting the timeout, you can prevent your phone from staying on when you don’t manually turn off the screen. Also, manually turn off your screen when you’re done with your phone.
Menu>Settings>Display>Screen Timeout
I use 30 seconds.
6. Task killers used to be the shiz, but no longer.
Here is the ultimate, in depth, graphically assisted, explanation by the famous Fresh ROM's chef, Flipz. Shortly, in light of recent testing, really don’t do anything but force apps that the android OS needed to be open, and thus didn’t close, to re-open. So try not using them, unless for stuff like trying to figure out why your phone isn’t sleeping with system panel. You really won’t notice a performance difference, and the adverse effects you aren’t seeing will stop
+=+ A good alternative is the application SystemPanel Pro. It has a free version, but I highly reccomend purchasing the paid app. It basically monitors everything going on with your phone's usage both in real time an in terms of usage history. If your battery is draiging fast, it tells you what app was doing it, how much it was doing it, and allows you to stop it.
7. I'm sure you have all heard around that your phone isn't "sleeping".
This is referring to the phone's "awake" time, hence the name. When you go to Menu>Settings>About Phone>Battery>click on the small battery graphical, you can compare the two lines, time on and awake. Generally, up time refers to the amount of time since the last reboot. The "awake time" is how long the screen has been active. The problem is, a lot of the time, due to the endless possibilities of inconsistencies between apps/ROMs/kernels/phones, the phone will not go to "sleep", drawing power proportionate to the screen being in use when it reality the phone is sitting idle.
If you compare these numbers, and they are the same, or if you note the difference, turn off the screen for a minute, then re-check and they are the same, then your phone is not sleeping.
One solution is to reboot.
I recommend two apps to help monitor:System Panel and Better Battery Stats. These two apps (explained in their FAQ's and descriptions greatly aid in finding those rogues.
Usually, SystemPanel will show an app that has gone "rogue" and is keeping your phone awake.
-This is done by hitting menu>settings>monitoring enabled. Then after some time has passed, ht menu>monitoring>history>change tab to top apps, and see if anything is above, say, 2-4%.
Uninstall applications/reinstalling them slowly, checking after every install to see what is causing it is one tedious but surefire solution.
Lastly,
Follow these steps that I have discovered almost always work.
1. Reboot phone.
2. Instantly upon reboot, as soon as you gain control, open up some type of monitor/taskkiller
3. "kill all" tasks on startup; about 5 times in quick succession should do the trick.
4. Turn off the screen and leave it for about five minutes.
5. Check the up time v. awake time and see if they are the same.
6. If they are, repeat steps 1-5. If they are different, you are good.
8. Apps and Combinations to watch out for!
-Facebook- Tries to sync live feed all the time, HIGHLY recommend unchecking this box, as it creates a massive draw on data
-Skype- This app reportedly (I've seen it myself) likes to sync random data and open up the network for fun. Sign out of app when not in use to fix
A rogue process called "gsiff_daemon", associated with the gyroscope. Changing its name seems to be the only semi-permanent solution. It's located in system/bin.
Lightflow is a pretty damn cool notification/led manager, but it eats up ridiculous system resources using its alarm wakeups. Use at your own risk.
9. Manage your syncing.
This is a big one, and it differs from person to person. Go to Menu>Settings>Accounts and Sync, and take a look at what's going on there. The green or checked or activated box to the right of the option means that there is an account syncing data. I for example have four email addresses, facebook, dropbox, box, weather, etc. That is bad. You should go through and turn off syncing for nasty apps you didn't even know where accessing the internet, or limit the access of apps and services that you do want to allow.
The problem lies in the way this syncing is handled. Each app/service runs on its own schedule, making it particularly likely that your phone could almost always be establishing a data connection and trying to download data for your various apps. See step 2 regarding the app Juice Defender to handle this problem.
10. Vibrate Settings
Vibration and haptic feedback eat up a surprising amount of battery. If you have the haptic feedback enabled, then every time you press anything your phone puts out some juice to make itself dance.
At least on the GSIII, the settings are in menu>settings>sound
Some apps have their own haptic feedback settings, and notifications are their own set entirely.
Root Tips LIVE
Tips for Rooted users:
1. Try out custom kernels.
By going to the Galaxy S III Android Development section of the forums, you can see all of the different kernels being developed. These allow for all kinds of modifications like underclocking the CPU and undervolting, both of which save battery. To see how to use them, read the FAQ's in each thread's OPs.
Here is a great guide to custom kernel's by mroneeyedboh.
2. Use SetCPU in compliance with whatever your custom kernel allows.
This site will explain the basics of SetCPU: http://www.setcpu.com/
-Profiles from SetCPU should usually involve these for battery life optimization:
-Screen off at the minimum clock speed for both, with the max raised on level if sluggishness is apparent
-A temperature greater than “X”
-General power related profiles that lower cpu speed at lower battery levels
-Here are my SetCPU profiles: 1 , 2 , 3
-My profiles change a lot as time goes by, because different kernel creators recommend different settings. I suggest reading up on whatever kernel you are using to gather settings.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
*Some apps or processes begin to run at startup and keep the phone awake. These apps are not detected by things like spare parts or system panel, unless sometimes represented in the "system" process, in which case its usage will be unusually high.
This shouldn't take more than three repeats, and if it does, you need to factory reset, and slowly add apps back to see what's causing the problem.
___--- When it comes to actually "calibrating" one's battery, there are a couple of methods floating around. The method I first learned is to charge the phone all the way, boot into recovery immediately, and "wipe battery stats". Then reboot quickly, and run your phone all the way to death without charging it, then charge it all the way without interrupting it, and you should be good to go. Do this when changing ROMs/kernels for best results.
----When it comes to people claiming 20 plus hours of moderate/heavy use out of their current setup or other ridiculous absurdities, consider my position: No matter what you do, the Evo battery is the Evo battery. You can tweak it and customize it with kernels, ROMs, and settings, but none of that will turn it into a car battery. The main problem (besides a false sense of pride) that leads to these reports is the misunderstanding of what the usage levels are, so here’s my best summary:
* *Light usage – Phone screen actually on for maybe 0-2 hours. Things like a few texts, some emails, 20 minutes web browsing, etc.
* *Moderate usage – You watched a few youtube videos or similar apps, sustained web browsing, hundreds of texts, some games. Hours range from about 2-5 of screen on
* *Heavy usage – LOTS of video watching and games, 3D pics or video, or some high def gaming/movie watching for at least an hour to an hour and a half in total, with lots of emails and texts, browsing, and other app shenanigans. 5+ hours
*I’m sure everyone doesn’t agree with all these numbers, but this is most likely a good average of what powerusers think. All specific hourage may vary due to differences in phones, batteries, ROMs, and kernels… Which also means that most battery comparisons are pointless; it’s only what you can improve on that counts!
I’ll update this whenever I see good stuff, people remind me, or I remember/come across things I do.
Hope it helps everybody!
Hit the "THANKS" button if I help you!
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Nice tips
I'm not quite sure if leaving the GPS on actually eats up battery now. I've seen articles now that state that GPS is only used if a program needs it. When I go into battery and usage, GPS will only show it has been used only a couple times with the apps that I opened such as Facebook, Speed Test or Gas Buddy. I think with ICS, it has changed in the way that GPS actually works and it is not actually constantly using battery.
jhuff83 said:
I'm not quite sure if leaving the GPS on actually eats up battery now. I've seen articles now that state that GPS is only used if a program needs it. When I go into battery and usage, GPS will only show it has been used only a couple times with the apps that I opened such as Facebook, Speed Test or Gas Buddy. I think with ICS, it has changed in the way that GPS actually works and it is not actually constantly using battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct and I have confirmed it. Just haven't updated the op.
Thanks for calling that to my attention.
The one about turning radios off is one that makes all the sense in the world, but I'm not sure in practice if it makes a significant enough difference to override the inconvenience of having to flip things on and off as needed.
I can only speak from personal experience but for about two weeks my wife and I, both with S3's, were shutting radios off when not needed out of habit from our Epic days. However, since then (well over a month now) we just leave everything on all the time... and I do mean *everything*: GPS, Wi-Fi, NFC, cell radio, BT... and the difference has been... wait for it... so little it's actually been hard to quantify!
My own take on that rule is to leave everything on and see what you see... it's always easy enough to turn things off if you find your battery life not living up to expectations and if it winds up being a trend, so be it, leave things off as suggested in the OP. For my wife and I at least we can get through an average day and finish up before going to bed around 30%-40% battery most days. To me, even if I could get that to 40%-50% left, that 10% difference I can accept for never having to worry about what's on or off.
Laziness has a price, and it's around 10% of my battery life apparently
great tips!!!! definitely improved my battery with these!
The radios are extremely dependent upon your area, signal strength, the walls of your house, the apps you have installed that actually call upon the data... So ideally, if your area has amazing signal, your walls are hyper radio permeable, and you don't have many data intensive apps, then you can probably get by with minimal loss. People who are feeling the itch to test should certainly go ahead and try, but the same could be said with most of these tips. This is simply a guide of suggestions. YMMV
fzammetti said:
The one about turning radios off is one that makes all the sense in the world, but I'm not sure in practice if it makes a significant enough difference to override the inconvenience of having to flip things on and off as needed.
I can only speak from personal experience but for about two weeks my wife and I, both with S3's, were shutting radios off when not needed out of habit from our Epic days. However, since then (well over a month now) we just leave everything on all the time... and I do mean *everything*: GPS, Wi-Fi, NFC, cell radio, BT... and the difference has been... wait for it... so little it's actually been hard to quantify!
My own take on that rule is to leave everything on and see what you see... it's always easy enough to turn things off if you find your battery life not living up to expectations and if it winds up being a trend, so be it, leave things off as suggested in the OP. For my wife and I at least we can get through an average day and finish up before going to bed around 30%-40% battery most days. To me, even if I could get that to 40%-50% left, that 10% difference I can accept for never having to worry about what's on or off.
Laziness has a price, and it's around 10% of my battery life apparently
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gps Radio?
Really? The radio, even if left on, uses power only when an app needs the position. I am kinda boggled by this? Wouldn't it take longer to aquire the location from the 3-7 sateilites upon the request and then shut back down. What would be the diference? This can't be true about the GPS not sucking any power in ICS when idle.
BUMP
551skydiver said:
Really? The radio, even if left on, uses power only when an app needs the position. I am kinda boggled by this? Wouldn't it take longer to aquire the location from the 3-7 sateilites upon the request and then shut back down. What would be the diference? This can't be true about the GPS not sucking any power in ICS when idle.
BUMP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try leaving it on for the day and go into battery and click on the graph. You will see that it should be black across the board for GPS if the signal was not used. Only time it would be green is when a program utilized it.
ICS changed the Battery Stats. It doesn't display that information in About Device. Uptime is there but awake time isn't.
sekigah84 said:
ICS changed the Battery Stats. It doesn't display that information in About Device. Uptime is there but awake time isn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, that's incorrect. Menu>Settings>Battery>click on the small graph picture. It gives you many things, including time on battery, Awake time, Screen on time, and charging time. It's just graphically represented.
How do you accomplish #4?
Go to menu>settings>wireless & networks>mobile networks>disable always on mobile data.
---------- Post added at 08:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:06 AM ----------
found it under Data Usage
---------- Post added at 08:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 AM ----------
well, when I turned Mobile Data Off, didn't receive any data (emails, etc.) so I turned it back on
I'm curiouis about this 1 as well. How do we accomplish this as I don't see that option?
Remove that "wipe battery stats" from your tips. its a old myth that needs to die permanently.
Shoulon said:
Remove that "wipe battery stats" from your tips. its a old myth that needs to die permanently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct.
www.landofdroid.acom/2012/to-wipe-battery-stats-or-not-to-in-androidthat-is-the-question/
I disable everything when I go to sleep at night, or when I am putting my phone on charge in middle of the day to maybe help it gain battery while not draining it, sort of like a power charge I like to think. It's so easy to do, just slide down status bar, uncheck everything (WiFi, Mobile Data, Sync, dim screen all the way) and that's it. I had 22h1m running since last charge today when I was at 4%.
General Android Battery Tips (Can triple battery life!) | Updated
Thank you for sharing this is to improve life of the battery
battery
shuiguo said:
Thank you for sharing this is to improve life of the battery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It helps to use the right ROM and know how to work your phone:
:good:
Also, apparently Google apps backup is broken for some users. I had a problem with the phone not sleeping and traced it to google backup, apparently it's a common problem with ICS. This is unrelated to contacts/calendar sync. If you have the phone device rooted and use titanium you can leave this off, and as long as you don't lose your phone it's no big deal. Setting is under system settings -> backup and reset.
Figure I would show this off here, had the flu last week and was basically comatose for 30 hours. Only about 2 hrs screen on time, but all radios on and even passed out with navigation on after checking traffic at one point. 51 hours
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
I would try disabling Google backup so it no longer updated/synced my info to the web until I next turned it on, but the option says it deletes all the info already stored on the web. I suppose this is good if someone wanted to delete this info for privacy concerns, but there should be an option to just turn the syncing off, or to schedule it for once a day or something.
I have not tried disabling it as I do not want to wipe my info.

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