Develop Bugs

[Q] battery drain on gsm signal

hi all
recently i have just calibrate my battery.. and it works just fine
but now i found that it drains alot quicker using 3g signal compared to wifi...
the drain rate can take 10% /hour on 3g and only 4% / hour for wifi
why is that ?
is there something wrong on my gsm ?
btw am using leedroid froyo 2.0c and using latest radio 32.47.xxx
pls some one can tell me.. what to do ??any clues on this ?

3G has more power drain than wifi so it's normal.
Sent from my HTC Desire

elmalote said:
3G has more power drain than wifi so it's normal.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?

interqd said:
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3G has always had higher power drain than WiFi. There isn't really anything you can do about it other than to turn it off. Alternatively you can disable "Always on Data" under Wireless & Networks => Mobile Networks

interqd said:
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable automatic sync. My data networks are switched off since last week. Now my battery lasts 2-3 days. I only use wifi at home.
You can also use juicedefender to control battery use and sync intervals.

interqd said:
hi all
recently i have just calibrate my battery.. and it works just fine
but now i found that it drains alot quicker using 3g signal compared to wifi...
the drain rate can take 10% /hour on 3g and only 4% / hour for wifi
why is that ?
is there something wrong on my gsm ?
btw am using leedroid froyo 2.0c and using latest radio 32.47.xxx
pls some one can tell me.. what to do ??any clues on this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This can also be caused by low/patchy 3G coverage in areas you are in.
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
If you don't mind the slower data speeds, switch to 2G/GSM Only as this does not use as much power (due to 3G cell breathing - Google it )

r2b2 said:
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One way to alleviate *some* of that is to set the phone to "GSM Auto (PRL)".
Go to dialer and dial "*#*#INFO#*#*". That should take you to the settings screen.

r2b2 said:
This can also be caused by low/patchy 3G coverage in areas you are in.
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
If you don't mind the slower data speeds, switch to 2G/GSM Only as this does not use as much power (due to 3G cell breathing - Google it )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely true. Your cell will consume much more power when you are outside of coverage area. The antena will keep searching the network according to your preference. So if you have 3G active all the time the phones internal antenna will keep looking for it and will drain your battery quicker.

okey..
thx all 4 d answers...
goo that to know there's nothing wrong with my signal or battery..
i think my problem is bad signal coverage.. as i always be in the shop which is so inside ....
but cant make it to edge/gsm as 2g speed is awful here in indonesia...
i think i'll just use juicedefender
thx..

[Q]Which is better for battery? 2g/3g auto or only 2g?

As you may know desire has a built in feature that monitors when you do need 3g connection and when not, so when you do not need it it automaticly switches to 2g. I have also read somewhere that this feature consumes less battery then being always on 2g. Is that true? I still heard a lot of people that are most of the time on 2g while they do not browse the internet, reporting decent battery lives.
So, as the title says, which is better?

2g uses less battery than 3g. Use 2g when not using data for the best battery life.
Whoever said that 2g and sometimes 3g uses less battery that 2g only needs to go back to school, its mathematically impossible if 3g uses more battery.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

lvnatic said:
As you may know desire has a built in feature that monitors when you do need 3g connection and when not, so when you do not need it it automaticly switches to 2g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you completely sure about that? my phone seems to be always in 3G as long as it is available and switchs to 2G if it cant get a 3g connection.
anyway, 2G is the best option battery wise.

there is a video from google i/o 2k9 talking about this. I think it's this one : http://developer.android.com/videos/index.html#v=OUemfrKe65c

I have used both modes for some weeks, but i didn't see any difference.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=688492
How about this? Does it apply to desire as well? I am curently using gsm only when im not browsing the net.

2g only will use the least battery.
Auto is great but the issue is that it will preferentially seek 3g. To seek 3g more power is required. (Now this is a negligible amount on its own). However if comparing the battery use in only a 2g area the 2g phone will last longer.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

if you have signal i recommend to use 3g. the cells needs more power to have/transmitt fast data connections like hdspa and in that case the cellphone need less battery to connect to it. in Romania the network it's kinda new hardware, because we use cellphones later than anyone else and the tech was envolved when we first install the network, but remember if your cellphone go from 2g to 3g often, this will consume a lot of power.

Robert A said:
if you have signal i recommend to use 3g. the cells needs more power to have/transmitt fast data connections like hdspa and in that case the cellphone need less battery to connect to it. in Romania the network it's kinda new hardware, because we use cellphones later than anyone else and the tech was envolved when we first install the network, but remember if your cellphone go from 2g to 3g often, this will consume a lot of power.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you recommend wcdma only? Even when I don't use the internet? Its true that I have signal most of the time, but I am on "gsm only" all the time, switching to wcdma only when I browse the net.

I would recommend GSM auto (PRL) from the testing menu ( *#*#4636#*#* ) then in phone information. Your phone will still use 3G but only when the signal is strong. Otherwise it will prefer 2G.
WCDMA preferred will try to force 3G even when the signal is weak. Consuming more battery.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

2G only uses the least power.
3G only uses moar power.
Constant switching uses the most, it peaks at 600mA battery drain in the process.
3G only will only give you signal outages, therefore I would not recommend it. It is not widespread as GSM signal is.

Oh I finally know how to acces PRL options, thanks. But regarding this, I found this thread on the nexus one section, which says wcdma prl is better. Any of you know how accurate that is?
Edit:
sheek360 said:
He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nvm, it wasn't battery related anyway. And I found what I needed. Thanks a lot.

Im back to gsm only, gsm auto prl didn't seem to be better in terms of battery saving.

[Q] HTC Repair Failed. What should I do next?

Hello. I bought an HTC Desire, it will be 2 years in May, I think. Unfortunately, very early it was struck by two persistent issues:
Battery time limited to best case scenario of 10 hours, normal 2-3 hours
Frequent loss of signal, when phone switches between 3G and GPRS mode, with inability to regain signal afterwards. Only rebooting allows the phone to regain the signal.
I once reported this issue here, but no hard reset or changing roms seemed to make any difference.
So, I have sent the phone for repair at HTC, under warranty (2 years), like 6 times. The phone has had its radiofrequency circuit and then its mainboard replaced. It was also replaced entirely by a new phone 3 times. However these two issues persisted every time.
The HTC people at HTC Client Service are at a loss about what is the underlying cause. In my last two contacts, they point out that poor 3G cell coverage in my area affects the battery time of my phone. However, they are reluctant in definitely labelling the latter as the definitite cause for the battery issue. Besides, I've seen these issues manifest in other areas with strong 3G signal. In those areas, I tend to lose 3G signal inside some buildings.
Recently, they've asked me to replace my battery and while the new battery showed a slightly better performance, it did not solve these two issues. I have already reported it and they asked me to run some standard tests like soft and hard reset and a battery discharge test while in safe and emergency mode. No difference again.
My warranty is due in June 2012, although perhaps I could claim an extension seeing as in my invoice, there was a DOA issued when the phone was first replaced and thus a new warranty period of another two years.
My question is what should I do next? HTC Customer Service seems unable to figure out the problem and thus I've begun wondering if it would be better give up on repairing this Desire. Now I can sell it and use the money to buy a replacement or I can ask HTC that they replace my Desire by another smartphone of theirs. However, in the 2nd option I'm limited to HTC smartphones. I was considering the HTC Sensation, but some users are reporting issues with it. If I weren't limited to HTC, I would probably go with Samsung. The Galaxy line seems to be making a hit.
So, what should I do?
Thank you for bearing with me.

If you have had almost every component changed AND the entire phone changed. AND have ruled out settings and data by reset (no restore, no install) AND low signal area and it is still happening, you need to look at the only constants....
1. You. Well you are basically data and settings so can't be that.
2. Battery. Changed it?
3. Power source. Charged else where?
And most likely to me...
4. Dodgy sim. Get pay as you go. Same and different network. Test
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

I had the same problem with my original desire and I sent it off last year and they sent me a desire s
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App

Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A

faddys123 said:
I had the same problem with my original desire and I sent it off last year and they sent me a desire s
Sent from my Desire S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. Is it working without problems and did you pay any difference?

rootSU said:
If you have had almost every component changed AND the entire phone changed. AND have ruled out settings and data by reset (no restore, no install) AND low signal area and it is still happening, you need to look at the only constants....
1. You. Well you are basically data and settings so can't be that.
2. Battery. Changed it?
3. Power source. Charged else where?
And most likely to me...
4. Dodgy sim. Get pay as you go. Same and different network. Test
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have already ruled out the battery and dodgy sim. I've already bought a new battery and I have been using the phone with it. Slight better battery performance, but not enough.
I've tried leaving the phone for some hours without the sim inserted in, more than once. Again, no change. And also, I've done on request by HTC some battery discharge tests in airplane and safe mode and did not notice any change.
Regarding the charger (power source), it is still the original charger that came with the phone, but an assistant from HTC discarded it, as being an unlikely cause for these two issues. Regarding charging location, I have charged (with the same charger) in three different locations and I noticed no change.

Sorry, please could you elaborate on how you ruled out the sim? There is only one way to rule out sim completely and that is with 2 other sims. One on the same network and one on another network. If issue continues with all 3 sims, it is not sim. Unless you do this, you cannot rule out sim related causes.
Have you every done anything to update the radio either?

rootSU said:
Sorry, please could you elaborate on how you ruled out the sim? There is only one way to rule out sim completely and that is with 2 other sims. One on the same network and one on another network. If issue continues with all 3 sims, it is not sim. Unless you do this, you cannot rule out sim related causes.
Have you every done anything to update the radio either?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I confess I haven't done anything similar to rule out the sim. I just removed the sim from the phone, used the latter for a few hours and observed the battery percentage.
So, I will do that. And you suggest I get two other sim cards: one from the same network and another from a different network and use the phone normally until the battery runs down, one time for each of the two other sim cards. By the way, if I imply correctly, the rationale behind this is to rule out physical problems with my current sim card and network specific problems or problems that are specific to the interaction between the Desire and my current mobile network.
As to your second question, Yes I have done everything to update the radio, because before my the last substitution of my Desire, like any other xda fan , I used to flash the latest rom (not the latest development though) and also the latest radio (especially to see if I could get any improvements to this situation).

I agree, after having your phone replaced and repaired so many times, it's unlikely that the phone's hardware is at fault. I'd also blame the SIM, charger or the network.
For example, i live in a somewhat dodgy 3G signal building (old, sturdy, iron reinforced building) and if i use 3G, i get an about 30% less battery life than when i'm using 2G. That doesn't happen when i use 3G in a better reception area (the battery life is about 10% less than under 2G when i'm in a good 3G reception area).

TVTV said:
I agree, after having your phone replaced and repaired so many times, it's unlikely that the phone's hardware is at fault. I'd also blame the SIM, charger or the network.
For example, i live in a somewhat dodgy 3G signal building (old, sturdy, iron reinforced building) and if i use 3G, i get an about 30% less battery life than when i'm using 2G. That doesn't happen when i use 3G in a better reception area (the battery life is about 10% less than under 2G when i'm in a good 3G reception area).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It makes sense. However, I consistently get battery time under 10h in both strong and weak signal areas with 3G. Besides I have been using for some time my phone exclusively in 2G mode and where I live, 2G signal is strong. Battery time does vary with signal strength, application usage, Wifi and other regular factors, but it does not easily go over 10h . As a sidenote, sometimes I am under the impression that leaving Wifi constantly on does give my phone a bit more battery time (1-2h perhaps, cannot say for sure).
Still, I will test my phone with different sim cards first with one from a different network to rule out network or sim card related causes.

Short troubleshooting guide:
1) Get a new, cheap, prepaid SIM on a different network;
2) Borrow a phone from a friend or use an "old" one if you have one handy and insert your current SIM into it so people can get in touch with you blah-blah;
3) Insert the new SIM into your Desire and leave it idle in 2G mode. See how long the battery lasts*.
* In idle mode, my battery discharges about 2-4% per 8 hours. So if i leave it at 90% when i go to sleep, i'll find it at ~86% when i wake up in the morning. Yours should behave the same way. If it doesn't, you may have an app/a bunch of apps which drain your battery, in which case i recommend you do a factory reset and redo the experiment (without installing any 3'rd party apps). If the problem persists, try to charge your phone to 100% via the USB port of your computer (it's slower - 500 mAh vs. 1000 mAh, so expect a much longer charge time) and redo the experiment (to rule out a charger issue). If the problem persists, there must be something wrong with your device, in which case you should call HTC and either request they give you a Desire S or a NEW Desire.
Please keep us posted in regard to this issue.
P.S. - To be clear, if you use the phone for gaming (1-3 hours) and you talk more than hour/day, 10-12 hours/charge is considered to be good/standard behaviour for Sense ROMs.
P.P.S. - Please post a screenshot of your battery usage statistics screen from the Android OS. Settings - About Phone - Battery - Battery Use. If you're rooted, you can use AndroSS from the Market to take screenshots (it's light and easy to use).

[Q] Non-LTE Battery Life

I've been thinking about getting a nitro HD for use on Tmobile prepaid so I won't be using LTE. I was wondering if somebody who usually has LTE off could post about the kind of battery life that they experience? Thanks

I go into and out of LTE coverage all the time, so the phone is always searching and switching networks.
If I leave the LTE option on my battery life can drop to 4hrs without even turning the screen on.
Turn it off and it will last a good 10hours of medium use.
Maybe if I was in LTE 24/7 it would be better, but maybe someone else can chime in.

The going in and out of LTE really kills the battery.. 4g is good enough.
Also get the Hyperion 3800mamp battery helps a lot
Sent from my LG-P935 using Tapatalk 2

typhoonk said:
I go into and out of LTE coverage all the time, so the phone is always searching and switching networks.
If I leave the LTE option on my battery life can drop to 4hrs without even turning the screen on.
Turn it off and it will last a good 10hours of medium use.
Maybe if I was in LTE 24/7 it would be better, but maybe someone else can chime in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you turn off the LTE? (sorry if this is a stupid question)

[Q] Battery Usage, Cell Standby, & Network Mode ?

Samsung Galaxy S4 mini SGH-I257M , 4.2.2
I would like to understand whatever relationships exist among Battery Usage, Cell Standby, & Network Mode.
I am seeing that Cell Standby accounts for 40% of my battery usage - with GPS, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Data all turned off. I would like to be able to reduce this %.
Under Network Mode i have 4 choices ...
GSM/HPSA/LTE auto connect
GSM/HPSA auto connect
GSM only
HPSA only
Will my choice among these affect my battery usage?
What is the difference if i do not choose an auto connect option? I am guessing that auto connect simply means that the phone will choose the best option, so auto connect is not necessary when there is just one choice.
I do not need the extra hi speed of LTE. Rogers coverage in Canada is slightly better with GSM/EDGE than with HPSA. So i am considering setting my phone to GSM only.
Will i save battery usage with this choice? What do ya think?

GSM only will amount to about 50% battery saving.
Auto connect will chew through the battery life as phone radio has to search for 3G and 2G continuously.
LTE will make you run for your charger by 3 PM everyday.
Sent from my GT-P5100 using Tapatalk 2

nelsonoski1972 said:
GSM only will amount to about 50% battery saving.
Auto connect will chew through the battery life as phone radio has to search for 3G and 2G continuously.
LTE will make you run for your charger by 3 PM everyday.
Sent from my GT-P5100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I set my phone onto HPSA Only. I'll see how this works out over the next while.

my battry is low