Hi guys,
I have a Nexus One purchased from Google last year. I only started using 3G this month with Vodafone Australia. My battery drains ridiculously fast on 3G compared to 2G. On HSDPA("3.5G") network with everything off (including data) it uses 5-10% per hour standby. On 2G it drains less than 1% per hour. Using a battery monitor app I can see that 2G draws less than 10mA while 3G draws 25-100mA.
Since on 2G battery life is very good this should not be a problem with any software running in the background. I also tried the following with no help:
- Dial *#*#4636#*#*, set to WCDMA only instead of WCDMA preferred, and select radio bands to AUS BANDS
- Upgrade radio to the latest Korean version
- Force the phone to use UMTS instead of HSDPA network by editing build.prop
I tried both the stock 2.3.4 ROM and the latest CM nightly, but the problem persists. I really want to take the full advantage of 3G and leave it on all the time so this is very frustrating to me. I can use Toggle2G to automatically switch to 3G when screen is on, but that's not what I really want. I know although 3G uses more battery it should not be that dramatic. After all the specified standby time on 3G/2G are 250/290h by Google. With 3G my phone won't last even a day purely on standby.
I also wonder if it can be a problem with the network. My signal strength on 3G is around 2 bars - not particularly bad. It almost never loses signal. If anyone can post a ROM/radio from Vodafone Australia for me to try out that would be greatly appreciated too.
Thanks all!
2 Bars of Signal strength might be one of the reason that battery is drained faster. As the signal is not that strong enough, it keeps searching for stronger signal and results in faster battery consumption.
Personally the radio version '5.12' wasn't satisfactory. I prefer 5.08 version. (Signal strength, speed, battery...)
I recently upgraded from CM 7.0.3 to 7.1.0 RC1 and noticed battery life is much better.
So I am going to suggest a few things you might want to try:
- Downgrade the radio to 5.08
- Full wipe and flash CM 7.1.0 RC1 (or a different custom ROM)
- Try a different kernel (I personally like Cyanogen kernel though)
- Uninstall Task Killer if you have one installed.
zephyr18 said:
2 Bars of Signal strength might be one of the reason that battery is drained faster. As the signal is not that strong enough, it keeps searching for stronger signal and results in faster battery consumption.
Personally the radio version '5.12' wasn't satisfactory. I prefer 5.08 version. (Signal strength, speed, battery...)
I recently upgraded from CM 7.0.3 to 7.1.0 RC1 and noticed battery life is much better.
So I am going to suggest a few things you might want to try:
- Downgrade the radio to 5.08
- Full wipe and flash CM 7.1.0 RC1 (or a different custom ROM)
- Try a different kernel (I personally like Cyanogen kernel though)
- Uninstall Task Killer if you have one installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi zephyr, I previously had CM 7.1.0 RC1 with radio 5.08 and the Cyanogen kernel but the problem remained. I also tried to put my phone near the window, where it has 4 bars signal, but the battery drained just as fast. Thanks for your suggestions though.
I know T-Mobile in the states screwed up something on their network a few weeks back. In doing so, it caused massive power usage on devices when using 3G/4G. I wonder if Vodaphone Australia did something to their network as well...
http://androidandme.com/2011/08/news/is-t-mobiles-network-killing-your-battery/
install current widget, and take logs of your current draw in mA during idle to see what's going on. do an overnight test, then during the day. post your logs.
So I just stumbled across this thread. I've been having the same issue on my Desire, it started suddenly a couple of weeks ago. In 3G mode my phone drains about 120mA. In 2g it drops down to 4-8. I've eliminated all the usual suspects by doing a factory reset (using the CM7.1.0RC but have also tried the latest nightly build), so no apps running in the background, and tried different versions of the radio. I am also with Vodafone in Australia. One thing that I have found is that if I go into Phone Info I can force the phone to make an EDGE connection by choosing the "AUS2" frequency band, and with an EDGE connection I get the good battery usage. But if I choose "AUS" or "AUTO", the phone makes an HSDPA connection and this drains the hell out of my battery.
Just wondering if the OP has had any joy with this?
stanleyguan said:
Hi guys,
I have a Nexus One purchased from Google last year. I only started using 3G this month with Vodafone Australia. My battery drains ridiculously fast on 3G compared to 2G. On HSDPA("3.5G") network with everything off (including data) it uses 5-10% per hour standby. On 2G it drains less than 1% per hour. Using a battery monitor app I can see that 2G draws less than 10mA while 3G draws 25-100mA.
Since on 2G battery life is very good this should not be a problem with any software running in the background. I also tried the following with no help:
- Dial *#*#4636#*#*, set to WCDMA only instead of WCDMA preferred, and select radio bands to AUS BANDS
- Upgrade radio to the latest Korean version
- Force the phone to use UMTS instead of HSDPA network by editing build.prop
I tried both the stock 2.3.4 ROM and the latest CM nightly, but the problem persists. I really want to take the full advantage of 3G and leave it on all the time so this is very frustrating to me. I can use Toggle2G to automatically switch to 3G when screen is on, but that's not what I really want. I know although 3G uses more battery it should not be that dramatic. After all the specified standby time on 3G/2G are 250/290h by Google. With 3G my phone won't last even a day purely on standby.
I also wonder if it can be a problem with the network. My signal strength on 3G is around 2 bars - not particularly bad. It almost never loses signal. If anyone can post a ROM/radio from Vodafone Australia for me to try out that would be greatly appreciated too.
Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Juicedefender Ultimate, it shuts down data when not in use. I see 1-2%/hr max when used with a good kernel.
ctfrommn said:
Try Juicedefender Ultimate, it shuts down data when not in use. I see 1-2%/hr max when used with a good kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alas it's not the data, this happens even with the data turned off. It's something to do with the baseband connection.
It's not data here either.
This just started happening on my 100% stock unlocked N1 about 2 weeks ago. (ATT)
Most of the time at work I'm on WiFi, yes the signal (cell) is very bad in my office. Has been for a long time, something else is strange.
No extra tasks running, nothing new installed.
Gets piping hot when on the charger - sucks juice like crazy when off.
Checked data log - nothing unusual transmitting...
What sort of area do you operate your phone in? My phone used to drain like mad inside my house (perth- vodafone) and in areas with spotty coverage. In my house my reception would be on the very edge of 3g with no bars and EDGE, constantly switching between the two. Do you have your wifi policy set to on while sleeping? Provided you aren't out and about all day, that would help, though i assume if you've had the phone that long, youd have changed the wifi sleep policy by now.
My wifi is always on - never has changed.
It gets hot at home where there is good reception and at work where there is crap.
I've had the phone for over 1.5 years and this just cropped up.
I rooted my wifes N1 and she doesn't have any issues...
liam.lah said:
What sort of area do you operate your phone in? My phone used to drain like mad inside my house (perth- vodafone) and in areas with spotty coverage. In my house my reception would be on the very edge of 3g with no bars and EDGE, constantly switching between the two. Do you have your wifi policy set to on while sleeping? Provided you aren't out and about all day, that would help, though i assume if you've had the phone that long, youd have changed the wifi sleep policy by now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also in Perth, on Vodafone. I get a pretty decent signal strength at home, and it seems to be happening to me wherever I go, unless I'm "lucky" enough to get an EDGE connection. This started overnight, almost exactly two weeks ago. I've been speaking with Vodafone about this at length but not really getting anywhere. Yesterday they swapped my SIM but it didn't make any difference.
Yep, wifi is set to never sleep.
I bought a prepaid SIM card from another provider a few days ago. I only get a UMTS connection with them, but still the current drain when idle is what is considered "normal", 4-6mA.
One thought I've had is that maybe I never had an HSDPA connection before but recent network upgrades have meant that I'm suddenly getting one. Still, 125mA is way too big a drain and seems to indicate something wrong with the phone.
The last test I can think to do is to swap SIM cards with a friend who is on a third network, who gets an HSDPA connection. He has a Nexus One and gets very low current drain. At least that way I can be sure of whether it is or isn't the network. We're doing that tomorrow so stay tuned
Related
This is very strange. As of yesterday my Tilt seems to be stuck in HSDPA mode.
Before yesterday when the phone booted it would first momentarily display G mode, then media net would try to connect and it would go to 3G mode. Then as the boot completes the application which access the internet kick in and the phone jumps to H mode for the downloads. When the downloads were done, it would settle back into 3G mode. That is normal behavior for the Tilt as it was for my old Hermes.
As of yesterday it starts in H and stays in H all day and nothing I do seems to be able to get it out of H. I have tried turning off the phone, turning off and on the HSDPA setting, rechecked all my tweaks, no change. I have done everything I can think short of a hard reset.
I was convinced it was a software issue on my phone, until I looked at my wife's phone. Her Tilt is doing the same thing as of yesterday. She is on the stock AT&T ROM (no bloatware) and I am on the Official HTC TYTN II WWE ROM (6.1) So the phones are different in terms of software and tweaks.
Thus I concluded it must be a network issue here in the Orlando Area. The network has been changing here of late. So I call At&t and even their second level tech support could not understand. They said we will have to take the phones back and get new ones.
The batteries are draining very fast in this mode. Does any one have any other ideas? This has to be a network problem, right?
LJinFLA said:
This is very strange. As of yesterday my Tilt seems to be stuck in HSDPA mode.
Before yesterday when the phone booted it would first momentarily display G mode, then media net would try to connect and it would go to 3G mode. Then as the boot completes the application which access the internet kick in and the phone jumps to H mode for the downloads. When the downloads were done, it would settle back into 3G mode. That is normal behavior for the Tilt as it was for my old Hermes.
As of yesterday it starts in H and stays in H all day and nothing I do seems to be able to get it out of H. I have tried turning off the phone, turning off and on the HSDPA setting, rechecked all my tweaks, no change. I have done everything I can think short of a hard reset.
I was convinced it was a software issue on my phone, until I looked at my wife's phone. Her Tilt is doing the same thing as of yesterday. She is on the stock AT&T ROM (no bloatware) and I am on the Official HTC TYTN II WWE ROM (6.1) So the phones are different in terms of software and tweaks.
Thus I concluded it must be a network issue here in the Orlando Area. The network has been changing here of late. So I call At&t and even their second level tech support could not understand. They said we will have to take the phones back and get new ones.
The batteries are draining very fast in this mode. Does any one have any other ideas? This has to be a network problem, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
d/l a communication manager that has a 3g on/off button see if that works
i believe duttys 10 button com manager should do the trick.
Congratulations! ATT turned on HSUPA in your area. What you described originally (3G going to H when doing data transfer and then back to 3G) is what the Tilt does when you only have HSDPA in your area. Once ATT turns on HSUPA (so now you have HSPA for both uploads and downloads) it will stay with H until you leave and enter an area that doesn't have HSUPA.
Bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with your phones.
I am not sure why you are seeing poor battery life. I have been living with H for almost 6 months and haven't noticed any changes in battery and haven't heard other people complaining about that either.
jglev said:
Congratulations! ATT turned on HSUPA in your area. What you described originally (3G going to H when doing data transfer and then back to 3G) is what the Tilt does when you only have HSDPA in your area. Once ATT turns on HSUPA (so now you have HSPA for both uploads and downloads) it will stay with H until you leave and enter an area that doesn't have HSUPA.
Bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with your phones.
I am not sure why you are seeing poor battery life. I have been living with H for almost 6 months and haven't noticed any changes in battery and haven't heard other people complaining about that either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow jglev, thanks for the prompt info. Even the AT&T techies couldn't tell me that. I asked them about the network changes that have been going on. We have noticed that the name of the network has been changing over the last week fro "umts-AT&T" to "3G AT&T" to now just "AT&T" so I knew there were changes. But when i asked AT&T specifically, they couldn't tell me. Not surprising i guess.
My battery statement was more of an assumption I guess. it was my understanding from my past with the hermes that when the phone went into H mode the radio would take more battery power. and that is why the OS settles back into straight 3G mode in between downloads. Do you know if that is true on the Kaiser. What kind of battery life do you get in the HSUPA mode?
LJinFLA said:
Wow jglev, thanks for the prompt info. Even the AT&T techies couldn't tell me that. I asked them about the network changes that have been going on. We have noticed that the name of the network has been changing over the last week fro "umts-AT&T" to "3G AT&T" to now just "AT&T" so I knew there were changes. But when i asked AT&T specifically, they couldn't tell me. Not surprising i guess.
My battery statement was more of an assumption I guess. it was my understanding from my past with the hermes that when the phone went into H mode the radio would take more battery power. and that is why the OS settles back into straight 3G mode in between downloads. Do you know if that is true on the Kaiser. What kind of battery life do you get in the HSUPA mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is true that any 3G mode uses more battery power than say Edge or GSM, but I don't know if full H mode is any worse than just HSDPA. I can easily go a full day without charging, but since I have a charger at home, in the office, in the car and one I travel with, I ususally don't have to. When the phone is displaying H, it doesn't mean it is actively transmitting data, just that the network is H (and if you have the little H by the signal bar, then you are connected to the data network). So even if it's dormant, you will see the H. There really isn't an easy way to see if you are actively transmitting data with the Tilt/Kaiser as far as I know. If I remember correctly when I had the Hermes (which didn't have the little 3G by the signal bar, just the larger square icon), you could tell from the icon (the little arrows would light up), but you can't with the Kaiser.
And yes, for the most part, you will find that the people here (and HoFo) know way more than those who works for ATT (but there are exceptions).
LJinFLA said:
Wow jglev, thanks for the prompt info. Even the AT&T techies couldn't tell me that. I asked them about the network changes that have been going on. We have noticed that the name of the network has been changing over the last week fro "umts-AT&T" to "3G AT&T" to now just "AT&T" so I knew there were changes. But when i asked AT&T specifically, they couldn't tell me. Not surprising i guess.
My battery statement was more of an assumption I guess. it was my understanding from my past with the hermes that when the phone went into H mode the radio would take more battery power. and that is why the OS settles back into straight 3G mode in between downloads. Do you know if that is true on the Kaiser. What kind of battery life do you get in the HSUPA mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense directed a KD8DNS, but the At&t Techs only know what their magical screen tells them, or if they are the few with brains, it's what they've overheard and learned in addition to the screen.
I worked a LOOONG time ago as a CSR for Voicestream, the Call Center people don't know item one on where the network is being expanded at what time. They have to wait for the "screen" the be updated, which can take a while.
OH and the fact there it phone says "H" now, is a good thing.
I've had "H" on my Tilt since the first time I powered it on last October. Even my 1 week stay in Pinellas County FL didn't leave me with an E/G.
As far as battery life is concerned, it is true that 3G/HSDPA will deplete your charge quicker that Edge. The way I get around that is using KaiserTweak to automatically kill my data connection after 1 minute of inactivity.
The data tweak combined with a nice low-power radio allow my phone to standby for 3-4 days.
Push Email and online IM with HSPA kill a battery in about 6-7 hours for me (stock Tilt rom/radio). I'm sure that if you only use data when you need to, it's not a big deal, but data being used pretty much all the time is killer compared to EDGE.
I've tried to stick with HSPA a few times rather than having to switch back and forth, but the battery life sucks (again, with push email and IM online) and the phone stays about 38c all the time at 'idle'. EDGE it's cold as ice all the time and the battery lasts about 24h.
I'm updating rom/radio soon, perhaps it is better with other radios.
Looking for some canadians who use the sony x1 and have had changed the radios.
I use rogers, and have messed with 3 radios
1.14
1.16
and
1.17
and so far 1.16 is to me the best of the 3, but im curious if others have seen better with different versions.
my issue is the internet connection
within any 5 minute span, the net will go E, 3g, E, H, 3g, E on and on and on.
never stable.
I use stock 1.14. Tried 1.17 but had issues (and false high bar signal quality indication). Never tried 1.16 due to concerns others shared here about text messaging and GPS. 1.16 is for Korea only, 1.17 is backported from Blackstone if I remember right. So the most optimized radio rom is the one that comes with stock Rogers ROM and it is 1.14.
3G -> H -> 3G is constantly changing, but this should not bother you. When there is data transfer phone switches to HSPA (H), when data transfer is idle, phone switches to 3G (UMTS) to conserve power. That's perfectly normal.
true...i use it in hamilton, ontario...and i have version 1.14, i tried using 1.16 but didn't notice much difference...but my internet connection never goes to EDGE!...its always 3G or H!....it seemed though that 1.16 was killing my battery faster....but didn't do any extensive testing to prove it i am just going to stick with 1.14 for now....
goodluck.
well i tried 1.14 but maybe i didnt let it run long enough..
as i switched quick to another.
but im in kitchener, and im running 1.17 and i have to say im so far liking this.
battery lasts almost all day
**email checks every hour
**weather updates every 30
but mind you i dont call alot with my phone.
The problems I had with 1.17 were mostly connection in low signal areas being very unstable. Phone shows 4-5 bars signal, but struggles to keep data link flowing smoothly, while under same circumstances, stock 1.14 radio, despite showing only 1 or 2 bars, downloads at a decent speed without any lockups or drops. Plus I couldn't go over 3Mbps when tethering with 1.17, while with 1.14 I have seen speeds north of 6Mbps
As far as power consumption goes - mine lasts 2 days+ with exchange push email enabled 24x7, average 30 mins calling a day, and some brwosing. With your usage pattern, you should certainly get longer battery run (if battery is still good of course). Check the rom you use, it might have some power issues.
you also probably need to do some experiment with the RIL radio combination
ya thats what i was just going to ask.
i am using the one that has rogers name display.
any suggestions on that?
well difficult to tell, different service provider, location, call or data ...but here is good to read.
Hey guys,
I flashed cm7.1 rc1, it's cool but I found the cell standby cost 40%, and phone idle also takes a lot of juice. My previous rom is arhd 1.10, on which the cell standby only takes 4%. I'm on the virgin's network in Canada. The virgin is acquired by Bell and of course it's using bell's network.
Is this network HSPA only? So in the *#*#4636#*#*, can I set the network mod as WCDMA only? Or by toggling 2G/3G to 3G only? Not sure if this will save some battery?
Switching to 2G only should save you a bit of battery. However, by far the best way to save battery is to switch mobile data off completely when you're not using it. I do this and my battery loses only 2 or 3% on standby overnight.
Switching to 2G wont work as Virgin Mobile/Bell does not have a 2G network backend like rogers or fido only 3G/4G so switching to 2g would make you have no service.
Yes. Virgin/Bell only use 1900MHz, the PCS band for their mobile communication, both voice and data.
In my opinion, use 3G only will save some power because the phone won't scan 2G frequency range. Moreover, setting the band as US band also will limit the scanning scope to save power. But after one day using, I didn't find much enhancement on battery life.
Ah, didn't know that. My apologies.
geeti said:
Yes. Virgin/Bell only use 1900MHz, the PCS band for their mobile communication, both voice and data.
In my opinion, use 3G only will save some power because the phone won't scan 2G frequency range. Moreover, setting the band as US band also will limit the scanning scope to save power. But after one day using, I didn't find much enhancement on battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They act trully. Use 850/1900, bands ( for get the band number ) also if your in a area of low to no signal it kills battery becuase the phone is continues to serch for a signal almost as bad as call for battery. Also give you phone a week to calabrate your battery
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA Premium App
if not just calibrate your battery I switched back to android revolution just cause i couldn't deal with the terrible camera app in cyanogen mod. And now display is back to my number one battery killer.
this is a "feature" of CM7.1, i found too
Yes, I also conclude this is a feature of AOSP.
I thought this battery use is a transient value for each process on battery draining, but now I found this is an accumulative statistics. The cell standby and phone idle's high usage make sense.
In the stock firmware, the fact that display always takes majority of the juice doesn't make sense actually, cuz the screen isn't always turned on.
After 2-3 days of not messing with the phone anymore (flashing, putting root apps, etc) my somewhat alright LTE signal has now turned into 3G with no circle around it meaning it's connected to the network, but not actually getting data. It happened while I had the phone in standby for a few minutes, so I can't think of any one app that caused it. Reinstalled rom even after a full wipe.
The strange thing is I will sometimes get a faint signal of 3G which then dissapears within a minute. I did the latest OTA before I flashed my rom so I should have the newest radios and everything. I can't update profile either. My family is getting good signal so I know it's something with my phone. Any ideas?
Happened to me too..I re activated with Hands Free activation to reset the data connection to Sprints network..Only worked twice for me through out the day then the phone was just stuck in the same spot as yours (3G with circle around it). Nothing we did reset the data link to sprints network(cust. svs rep).I brought the phone back to where I bough it and they didn't allow an exchange unless they held the phone over night to test it..I didn't have time for it and everything i hear about the Triband set up Sprint is doing not allowing data while in a call and the growing pains of the network rebuild have worn down on me after 10 years so i had to return the phone and buy it on a network that allowed the phone to operate the way it was meant to..
When I first got the phone, it would hold an LTE signal much better than my m7. Then last night I notice LTE cutting in & out where it was pretty stable before. I check it was trying to connect to Band 26 which is 800 LTE. It might have been from a further away tower. This was the first time I have ever seen Band 26 in my area which is currently being deployed. The constant cutting in & out also drains my battery down. This has nothing to do with my phone but the towers which my home tower has been having issues since last July. For now I set my phone to CDMA only since I have wi-fi at home & work anyway I don't need the phone on LTE. Even when LTE was working on 1900 which was stable, the signal was still pretty week and would drain more batter than a strong 1X signal. Since LTE is data only right now, there is no reason to have the phone prefer LTE when wi-fi is on. With CDMA only it's not bouncing around all over the place.
[Q] Cell reception indicator constantly flips between "no reception" display and bars
I'm using the Xperia Z3 Compact on TMobile's network in the US.
About 1/4 of the time when I turn on the display the phone indicates that it has no cell reception:
1) The phone shows no bars of reception, and a red X over the bars
2) The lock screen reads "Emergency calls only"
However, within a second or two the phone appears to acquire an excellent signal and I get a full 3-4 bar display. All of the areas in which I use the phone are marked as "Excellent" on TMobile's coverage maps.
This also happens intermittently while I'm using the phone. I'm not sure if it's actually losing the signal or if it's just a software issue. I've never had it drop a call or cut out while I'm talking.
I'm getting only acceptable battery life from the phone (about 25% at the end of the day) despite light usage and conservative app installation, even though this phone has a reputation for excellent battery life. My theory is that this might have to do with the phone constantly disconnecting from the network and then having to re-aquire a signal.
Anyone else had this experience with the Z3C?
Hey mate.. I posted the exact same issue a couple of months back. I was experiencing this exact same issue.
I've had my LTE disabled for about a month now and haven't had a single drop.
Not sure if LTE is a dealbreaker but since my device is a business line, I can "suffer" with better battery life and slower internet if I'm not dropping calls. I've considered trying a ROM with updated radio firmware but figured I'd wait to see what the current Lollipop update does ('ll re-enable LTE once I install it and see if it repeats the same behavior) for my phone before trying a 3rd party system.
Hope this helps
sh0nuff said:
Hey mate.. I posted the exact same issue a couple of months back. I was experiencing this exact same issue.
I've had my LTE disabled for about a month now and haven't had a single drop.
Not sure if LTE is a dealbreaker but since my device is a business line, I can "suffer" with better battery life and slower internet if I'm not dropping calls. I've considered trying a ROM with updated radio firmware but figured I'd wait to see what the current Lollipop update does ('ll re-enable LTE once I install it and see if it repeats the same behavior) for my phone before trying a 3rd party system.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Really gratifying to know that it's not just my device. Seems like there's a strong possibility this is the issue since I'm on a MVNO that's only been on this LTE network a few months. I've flipped the device into GSM only mode and we'll see if it helps.
Dumb question how do i flip it into gsm?
qylie said:
Dumb question how do i flip it into gsm?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Settings>More>Mobile Networks>Preferred Connection type> GSM only
Sent from my D5803 using XDA Free mobile app
Thanks!!!
I'm having the same issue as you have described. For now I've set the phone to 3G prefered. Looks instantly better. Signal strength is also better.
Provider: Simyo (KPN network) - The Netherlands
Edit - Issue solved:
I switched from the Lollipop Baltic ROM to the Lollipop KPN carrier ROM for The Netherlands. The switching is gone for me. Battery life drastically went up.
Any update on this? I just started experiencing this issue out of no where about 2 weeks ago. I'm not rooted or anything, can't afford to due to job security requirements and such.