How much does cell signal affect battery life? - RAZR i Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'm on Arman's infinirom right now, and it is absolutely amazing in terms of performance and stability. However, I'm still falling to see any battery life improvements. Right now the best screen time I can get is 4 hours screen on over the course of two days. No gaming, just flipboard, music, and web browsing. I've tried to emulate everyone's settings on here, but to no avail. I did realize that I'm in a rural area with very weak signal. Not just data, but actual phone signal. Would this happen to be the issue?
Here's a shot of how weak signal is here :
Sent from my XT890 using xda app-developers app

Your phone is always hunting for a signal, and the weaker or more unstable the signal is the harder it’s going to work to find and keep latched on to it.
It’s for this reason that if I’m on a long train journey across open country I put my phone in to flight mode until I reach urban areas to conserve the battery. One thing I don’t like about the RAZR i is that it doesn’t hold a 3G signal anywhere near as good as any of my previous Nokia's. I’ve used Three’s network for many years with no problems until I bought the RAZR, and as Three doesn’t have a back-up 2G network sadly I’ve had to switch carriers because otherwise I’ve been extremely happy with them.
Hope this helps.

Related

[Q] Droid 4 GSM/UMTS Signal level?

Hello, has anyone compared signal levels of Droid 4 to 'real GSM/UMTS' phones?
I've been checking the signal level with android software BestPlace, best I've accomplished is -61dBm, and it's often -80 or smth. I've also never achieved the phone to show 5/5 on signal bar, always max 4/5.
With any other phone I can get decent signal everywhere, as the D4 drops out really often on highways and places with worse reception.
Obviously you can't wait this phone to have as good antenna as real GSM phones because there needs to be antenna for really wide range of frequencies.. But still, any way to make it better.. ?
IMO the 3G-GSM handover is really slow and does work like early 3G-phones.. Very slow switching from 3G to GSM and breaking calls during the switch.
bluri said:
Hello, has anyone compared signal levels of Droid 4 to 'real GSM/UMTS' phones?
I've been checking the signal level with android software BestPlace, best I've accomplished is -61dBm, and it's often -80 or smth. I've also never achieved the phone to show 5/5 on signal bar, always max 4/5.
With any other phone I can get decent signal everywhere, as the D4 drops out really often on highways and places with worse reception.
Obviously you can't wait this phone to have as good antenna as real GSM phones because there needs to be antenna for really wide range of frequencies.. But still, any way to make it better.. ?
IMO the 3G-GSM handover is really slow and does work like early 3G-phones.. Very slow switching from 3G to GSM and breaking calls during the switch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem, and despite extensive googling have not found a solution yet.
I tried everything I could find and I am now considering a custom rom.
Sadly also the custom roms don't seem to pay much attention to GSM/UMTS reception, but that search was not extensive yet
Netherlands / KPN
Same problem here. I've two droid 4 and both have a much worse signal strengh than cheep gsm phones.
At the moment i'm trying some build.prop tweaks.
Did you already try something (e.g modified radio)?

Loss of signal, poor reception, E instead of H (HTC One m7)

Been using my HTC One now since it's release day and although I wasn't a huge fan when it came out, it's grown on me like moss and i'm now 100% confident that I made the right choice in getting this instead of the S4.
However......
On my daily commute to work, a journey I've been taking for over two years now, I seem to have less signal than all the phones before this one ?
It's the same sim card, same number and the same network.
What happens is the signal will go really low to around 1 - 2 bars and the mobile data connection will teeter around Edge and 3G and come back up to H in parts.
My previous handset as you can see from my signature was a galaxy s3, it didn't ever drop below 3G, was mostly on H and never once went to Edge, on the same trip for well over a year, I've also used an EVO 3D which acted in the same manner as the S3, but the HTC One is really annoying me now as I'm not able to check things on the internet and such, which I've been able to do for as I said a few years now on previous handsets.
I'm currently on Venom rom 1.2.1 and I have an Orange Sim card in the UK.
My baseband is 4A.13.3231.27_10.31.1131.05L
I did try another Radio, however it had little impact on the reception and I was just wondering if anyone else had witnessed similar drops in signal quality themselves?
I'm using a case too, I have three, Double dip flip, Double dip and a silicone case, I've also had the phone without a case and it makes no difference at all.
Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.
same problm
I'm in the US , recently unlocked my but but mine all of the sudden drops from 4 bars to no signal. I have noticed that while I have WiFi on, the network signal seems more stable. I've been reading a lot of ppl have the same problm.
I am on TMo in London. When I first got the phone my signal was awesome. I had H with 3 plus bars all the time all the way from home to work, in work, at home. Since the update I have the exact same issue as you. I lose signal completely, it goes to E a lot of the time now. All in all a very poor experience. I was thinking of installing the original radio to see if that would do the trick(I think it was mentioned that the new update had a new radio). I just do not want to root and lose my warranty. I am getting pretty p'd off though so may just take the plunge
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
I'm in the same boat with you guys. My signal varies a lot from H+ to 3G and E and few times is just disappearing completely, taking a good 1-2 minutes until it comes back. I tried like 4 different radios, all with the same behavior.
I'm on GE 4.3 ... stock.
issue solved
ro_explorer said:
I'm in the same boat with you guys. My signal varies a lot from H+ to 3G and E and few times is just disappearing completely, taking a good 1-2 minutes until it comes back. I tried like 4 different radios, all with the same behavior.
I'm on GE 4.3 ... stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was also facing the same issue. Finally realized that it was because my network setting was on GSM or WCDMA i.e. 3G.
I changed my network to 2G and everything is fine.
try this out.
same issue!!
Is it possible 2b a Hardware problem !

Cell Standby causing insane battery drain

I have been using my N6 for the past couple of days and the battery life has been quite disappointing for me so far. It seems the biggest culprit for me is the poor signal in my area leading to a huge amount of drain from Cell Standby. Even when idle, my battery drains quickly. I lose 1% every few minutes without even turning my screen on and about 10% over an hour. As of now, my device has been on for 2h 49m and 24% of that time has been without signal.
I understand that poor reception is causing the radio to constantly look for a signal but my Moto G and Nexus 5 are in the exact same environment and fair much better when it comes to battery life. Anyone else experiencing this insane battery drain? At this point I'm debating sending the device back, getting a refund, and dealing with the bloated and Touchwiz filled Note 4. It's a bummer because I absolutely love this phone otherwise. The screen, build quality, WiFi signal strength, and audio experience make this phone an absolute delight but the battery drain might be a deal breaker for me. Thankfully I still have a couple of weeks to make up my mind on whether or not I'll be keeping the phone or returning it and going for another phablet. Thanks to the N6, I can no longer return to a phone with small display.
As I mentioned earlier, I am not having this issue with my Moto G or Nexus 5 and both devices have excellent idle battery life.
Battery stats: http://i.imgur.com/Qmx3vkh.png
Detailed Battery stats: http://i.imgur.com/Qmx3vkh.png
Cell Standy: http://i.imgur.com/gvSbxLp.png
I have noticed the same thing with my device. Might not be to the extent you are experiencing because the cell coverage is a little better but cell standby is one of the main causes of my battery draining.
dleonard1122 said:
I have noticed the same thing with my device. Might not be to the extent you are experiencing because the cell coverage is a little better but cell standby is one of the main causes of my battery draining.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This seems to be an issue with Lollipop and people with the Nexus 5 are also experiencing this. There is a thread over at /r/android discussing this issue.
I absolutely love this phone and I will be holding out for a patch as long as I can. This phone is so awesome though.
I don't have this issue with my new N6 or my N5 on lollipop. I have very strong signal though in my area.
I would like to point out though it's not that bad considering your without service for over 20% of the time at that point.. From that it looks like you'll have a12 hour day.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
godsafk said:
IAnyone else experiencing this insane battery drain?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, my N5 running LRX21O has the same since I activated my N6. In my case (Wi-Fi only) I can just turn off the mobile radios.
I actually already started a thread about this. At first I thought it was a sprint issue turns out to be widespread.
TwelfthMan said:
I actually already started a thread about this. At first I thought it was a sprint issue turns out to be widespread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know about your own thread discussing the same issues, I have posted there as well. :good:
This cell standby drain reminds me of eclair and froyo days. I believe the temp solution for this was to briefly put it into airplane mode. Then turn mobile network bank on. It would sort of reset the existing bug. Anyone remember this from way back when?
posted while using my note 3
hasbrobot said:
This cell standby drain reminds me of eclair and froyo days. I believe the temp solution for this was to briefly put it into airplane mode. Then turn mobile network bank on. It would sort of reset the existing bug. Anyone remember this from way back when?
posted while using my note 3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember it well I had the Eris. But I think it's different today. I think it's a reporting issue not a signal loss issue. Imo
Ahh... memories, I had the eris as well. Actually 5 of them, ha ha. Man android has come along way.
posted while using my note 3
Just a thought.. try changing it from LTE preferred to 3G. I'm not saying to use this as a permanent solution but just try it out. I was in the -90 to -103dB range in signal on LTE and it would randomly crap out entirely for a few seconds every couple minutes (at best). I have no idea why - didn't have that issue on my older galaxy S3. Anyway, switching to 3G suddenly gave me fantastic reception (at least in terms of signal strength).
If it helps you - that might be the cause of your battery drain: poor signal.
Me too I've switched to 3g and I'm my nexus isn't constantly looking for a 4g signal
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
I just did 12 hours in a hospital where my S3 couldn't make it much past lunchtime. I'm at around 15 hours now and have 70% left. Full time on 4G.
pifsworld said:
Me too I've switched to 3g and I'm my nexus isn't constantly looking for a 4g signal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did this too which helped a ton.
Also flashing the latest modem in fastboot also appeared to help.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/ref-nexus-6-modem-collection-t2969380
Like others have mentioned, forcing it to a specific network mode will typically save power, especially when you kill something as power hungry as LTE.
From the regular system menu, you only have the options to set "preferred" LTE/3G/2G, but this does not actually disable LTE or 2G when you select 3G.
From the dialer, enter *#*#4636#*#*, select phone information, scroll down to "set preferred network type" and choose "WCDMA only". With this, it will actually turn off the LTE and GSM radios.

4g signal strength health issues

Hey guys yesterday i upgrade to 4g sim card and got 4g signal for the first time in my life lol. However after using for a few minutes using phone i start to feel nausea tired dizzy. Dont kniw why. I guess the reason is the signal from the phone is too strong. My tel service provider use 1800mhz band. Does anyone experience similar issues or is it just my imagination lol
Probably just your imagination! Lol. The SAR values of these phones are within the acceptable levels and aren't harmful in majority of cases. People who set these guidelines and standards go through a lot of research so that we end consumers don't have to. So it is safe to say that it is just your imagination that 4G is the cause. Your mind is just trying to associate two different events; getting 4G for the first time and a random episode of fatigue or a headache. Considering you also mention that 4G signal is quite strong in your area, your phone only requires very less power to lock to the network, meaning very low or negligible radiation.
But it would be best to visit a doctor who may be able to help you with the symptoms.

battery life and London

No idea why this happens but everyone I go to London my battery life goes to hell in a handcart. Don't think I use the phone differently. Don't think it is the underground as this doesn't happen in Barcelona or Stockholm (places I visit regularly) any ideas?
Going to London regularly you should be more concerned about your own life than your Battery's.
Poor reception will kill your battery faster than anything.
Check the signal strength (in Settings>About phone>Status>SIM Status>Signal strength) in London, versus your home area. You may find the answer right there. In which case, not a whole lot you can do about it.
Also remember the signal strength number is negative dBm (which folks often mix up). Therefore a signal number such as -70 is actually stronger/higher than -100.
Cheers that.makes sense.
Battery also dies due to cold. My battery backup also got effected in winter.
No difference in time of year. I think 8t is the amount of towers in London that cause the oroblem., Especially as I'm with three.

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