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CM7.1 cell standby costs 40% battery

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.

[Q] Battery drains 5%+/hr standby on 3G

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

WiFi and LTE/3G always on simultaneously?

Wondering if anyone knows what's up here?
On my D1 I either had WiFi OR 3G symbol in the notification vary. But since getting the Bionic I ALWAYS have WiFi and either 4G-LTE or 3G also. Is this normal? And if so, is it just a wonky indication or is it really accurate? I guess it doesn't really matter except in terms of battery usage, which seems fine. Of course if I turn WiFi off I then only have the LTE-4G/3G symbol.
This is all true regardless of whether I am in CDMA/LTE or CDMA Only.
Any/all guidance is appreciated.

les017 said:
Wondering if anyone knows what's up here?
On my D1 I either had WiFi OR 3G symbol in the notification vary. But since getting the Bionic I ALWAYS have WiFi and either 4G-LTE or 3G also. Is this normal? And if so, is it just a wonky indication or is it really accurate? I guess it doesn't really matter except in terms of battery usage, which seems fine. Of course if I turn WiFi off I then only have the LTE-4G/3G symbol.
This is all true regardless of whether I am in CDMA/LTE or CDMA Only.
Any/all guidance is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I noticed the same thing. LTE is on all the time with wifi, the is no handover whatsoever. It is killing the battery by cell standby. There is no way to change this in any of the settings except turning data completely off.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

Same here. I hope they fix that. Lol.
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

Actually I think you two are mis understanding the icons. If you read the manual, the one that turns BLUE is the active data connection. Some things (like the Verizon app) can only go over the verizon network. Additionally, you will ALWAYS have power to the cell radio (how else do you recieve an incomming call or a SMS?)
That is why LTE takes up so much batter across devices.
One of the best battery saving options (in my opinion) is to only use cmda unless you need the LTE - you can change that under mobile network options.
I am willing to bet people wanted to know IF they had cell reception in an area with out having to disconnect from wifi to see a graphical representation.
It isnt as sinister as it seems Keep in mind too that in order to do both voice and data, your data goes over LTE and your voice uses CDMA (that is off memory, i may have the bands reversed) so you are using two radios at once... welcome to the world of LTE battery draid

azwildfire said:
If you read the manual, the one that turns BLUE is the active data connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You had me at "if you read the manual"
This sounds about right. I had previously glossed over this because of being so used only seeing WiFi or Cell data. Makes sense now, thank you.

azwildfire said:
Actually I think you two are mis understanding the icons. If you read the manual, the one that turns BLUE is the active data connection. Some things (like the Verizon app) can only go over the verizon network. Additionally, you will ALWAYS have power to the cell radio (how else do you recieve an incomming call or a SMS?)
That is why LTE takes up so much batter across devices.
One of the best battery saving options (in my opinion) is to only use cmda unless you need the LTE - you can change that under mobile network options.
I am willing to bet people wanted to know IF they had cell reception in an area with out having to disconnect from wifi to see a graphical representation.
It isnt as sinister as it seems Keep in mind too that in order to do both voice and data, your data goes over LTE and your voice uses CDMA (that is off memory, i may have the bands reversed) so you are using two radios at once... welcome to the world of LTE battery draid
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually incorrect. There's a good amount of talk going around that the data radios (both 3G and 4G) aren't being turned off when switching to wifi, and causing even more battery drain. In GingerBread, the icons turning a different color (blue on Blur, green on basically everything else) doesn't mean it's got an active data connection, it means it's got an active connection to the Google services (for sync, etc). Every other phone shuts of the radios when connected to wifi, including the Charge, Thunderbolt and Revolution. And while you're connected to wifi, everything non-data related (text messages, calls, voicemail) is done over 1X, which is just the signal bars.

Interesting, so which radio keeps the 1x connection alive? how does it work when i am NOT on wifi and can browse the web and email while on a phone call? (Couldnt do that on my incredible)
And while comparing battery stats, cell stand by has a larger percentage on my T-bolt then it does on my Bionic (I checked them this morning, both were unplugged from the chargers when i went to bed)

They're separate radios, the 1X radio doesn't use nearly as much power so it can stay on all the time.

Are you implying the Bionic has 3 antenna? 1x - CDMA - LTE as all seperate antenna?
THe FCC filing shows only two. One that is a combined CDMA/LTE and one that is a combine WIFI and Blue tooth.
http://cdn.androidcentral.com/sites...w550h500/postimages/9274/droid_bionic_fcc.jpg
I am just curious as to your understanding. I think this is a healthy chat
And your previous mention of the icon color changing when they connect to Google services sort of affirms that it is the data connection (since I imagine they have to use the data connection to connect to google)

Interesting test. Wifi is connected, turned off mobile data under data settings and the 3g icon that looked to be connected disappeared... but I still had a data connection.
Is there an app that will allow you to write the logic- if wifi is on, turn off mobile data, and reset when wifi is turned off?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App

I'm getting really bad battery life. Right now I am connected to wifi. I have 3 icons....wifi, 4g LTE, and signal bars. All are blue except the up/down arrows under 4G. What does this indicate?

There seems to be a bug where the phone doesn't shut off the radio when turning on WiFi, I've reported it to motorola.

bobreiter said:
Interesting test. Wifi is connected, turned off mobile data under data settings and the 3g icon that looked to be connected disappeared... but I still had a data connection.
Is there an app that will allow you to write the logic- if wifi is on, turn off mobile data, and reset when wifi is turned off?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tasker is a great app that should let you do that
It is paid though, but I don't mind paid apps if they are good (no different than donating to the devs here in my opinion)

[Q] 2g vs 3g battery life.

Hi,
I just want to know how much battery does one really saves when switching to 2g only? With fast dormancy fixed in 3g mode, is there really that much difference? And for what I know, the fast dormancy for 2g is the one has not even been fixed.
Im using toggle 2g with power saving in mind, but everytime I turn on the screen, it takes a while to switch back to 3g and gives ard 5-8sec lag. I do need 3g since I have a data plan.... but just curious abt the power saving benefits of staying in 2g all the time.
Thanks.

Truly depends upon your service providers, frequencies it works on, FD enabled/disabled by your service providers.
But usually technically 3geats more power.
Suggestion: Trial & Error. What works for others might not work for you
Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk

spica1234 said:
Truly depends upon your service providers, frequencies it works on, FD enabled/disabled by your service providers.
But usually technically 3geats more power.
Suggestion: Trial & Error. What works for others might not work for you
Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you from me too!

Welcome
Sent from my LG-P990 using Tapatalk

I am also looking for data on battery consumption for 2G vs 3G. Some people said there is little differences and some said it make some impact on 3G network. I wrote an app to toggle 3G on/off in a set interval to extend battery life. Check this review: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1832442
It is call 3GBattery.

for me 2g with data off will last me 3 days no problem (usage only phone/sms). If i keep it on 3g with data off i get about one day and a half because the 3g coverage is poor in my country (even in my city) and it keeps searching for a signal. When i turn on data on 3g and start using facebook/youtube/browser i can see the battery drain (10% for about 30min).
Currently i keep my phone on 2g with data on every 15min (battery 2x) and turn 3g on only when i need it (2g is enough for mail) and i can get 2 days comfortably.

I use Toggle 2G/3G.
While on 2G my battery lasts at least 6 hours longer, I think even more, this is a conservative estimate.
Sent from my LG-P990 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Cell reception indicator constantly flips between "no reception" display and bars

[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.