Flipping out over battery life.

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#523039 19-Sep-2011 14:40

Ohk I read that Lifehacker page and it makes sense. But I only ever use that task killer to kill apps like google voice or facebook so they stop using the internet, or sometimes I use it to kill apps that start up when the phone does and I dont want to use them. I don't unnecessarily use it.

Right now I'm on a study period, last period of my school day, and it only just made it through lunchtime. Thats with me doing like.. a few texts through google voice, and even less actual texts over vodafone GSM. I have wifi, bluetooth and gps all off. Screen is at lowest. And its set to GSM only straight after and right before I had used Google Voice.

So the charge its doing right now is probably around its 5-6th full charge.

I went to battery manager. It says "Cell standby" has used 56% of my battery power. "Phone idle" and "Android OS" both using 18% each. Its even set to "Batter Saver" mode, with background data dissabled.

I really like this phone but if its a fault then I guess I have no choice but to take it to Telecom. :(

I'll look at getting that Juice saver app or whatever its called when I'm home and can get to wifi. See if it does any good.

Cheers guys, will post back when I try the other things out.

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tardtasticx

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#523061 19-Sep-2011 15:16

I called Telecom Botany and they said they have to send the phone away. I dont think thats accceptable for a 3 day old phone. Am I able to demand a replacement/refund on the spot?

uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek

#523075 19-Sep-2011 15:30

Most manufacturers will have an out of box failure period for their handsets. This is essentially a swap out period if a phone is faulty when you first buy it. Most brands it is 14-28 days.

You definitely should not have to send it away after 3 days.

tardtasticx

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#523203 19-Sep-2011 19:44

Stopped in at Telecom Sylvia Park on the way home from work and the guy wasn't able to offer much help, other than telling me I have to pay $55 to send the phone away, which is refundable too if they don't find any water damage etc... But I'm not paying them $55 to fix something thats not my fault. If it was out of warranty/CGA coverage then I'd agree but not when its only 3 days old.

blakamin

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#523214 19-Sep-2011 19:58

Running a task killer AT ANY TIME on android will chew battery.

Dont want something running? settings> applications> manage applications> select app> force stop

Sounds like a dodgey phone tho.... that and motolur

tardtasticx

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#523215 19-Sep-2011 20:03

blakamin: Running a task killer AT ANY TIME on android will chew battery.

Dont want something running? settings> applications> manage applications> select app> force stop

Sounds like a dodgey phone tho.... that and motolur

Yeh I'm not too keen on Motoblur, But I like the launcher on it.

Tomorrow I'll go into the Botany store and try get the manager to waive that fee. If he doesn't I'll try get in touch with the area manager. Failing that I'll research my rights under the CGA because I'm sure they can't make me pay that fee. Can they?

joff_nz

446 posts

Ultimate Geek

#523216 19-Sep-2011 20:07

The send away thing is pretty standard, 3 days is certainly plenty of time for you to have damaged the phone. I don't doubt you've looked after it but you certainly wouldnt be the first to have got it wet within the first 3 days.

Ask *nicely* for a loan phone seeing as it's an early life failure (assuming it is) and say that you don't think it's fair to charge you for the assesment fee but you'll be happy to pay it should the phone be found to be water damaged.

Make sure you return it with every single item including user manuals and headphones etc. If the repairer finds the fault, then the store will be credited and they will be able to give you a replacement off the shelf within a couple of days.

Disclaimer: Don't be too surprised if it is not confirmed as an ELF. in my experience a lot of handsets will take a few cycles before getting full battery performance and task killers are horrible for battery. Uninstall it.

tardtasticx

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#523280 19-Sep-2011 22:00

joff_nz: The send away thing is pretty standard, 3 days is certainly plenty of time for you to have damaged the phone. I don't doubt you've looked after it but you certainly wouldnt be the first to have got it wet within the first 3 days.

Ask *nicely* for a loan phone seeing as it's an early life failure (assuming it is) and say that you don't think it's fair to charge you for the assesment fee but you'll be happy to pay it should the phone be found to be water damaged.

Make sure you return it with every single item including user manuals and headphones etc. If the repairer finds the fault, then the store will be credited and they will be able to give you a replacement off the shelf within a couple of days.

Disclaimer: Don't be too surprised if it is not confirmed as an ELF. in my experience a lot of handsets will take a few cycles before getting full battery performance and task killers are horrible for battery. Uninstall it.

Ok I've uninstalled that task killer as well as heaps of other apps that I don't need. Whats an ELF?

timmmay

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#523287 19-Sep-2011 22:15

tardtasticx:Ok I've uninstalled that task killer as well as heaps of other apps that I don't need. Whats an ELF?

It's a short mythical creature.

tardtasticx

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#523289 19-Sep-2011 22:16

timmmay:
tardtasticx:Ok I've uninstalled that task killer as well as heaps of other apps that I don't need. Whats an ELF?

It's a short mythical creature.

I knew someone was going to do that >.<

keewee01

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#523316 19-Sep-2011 23:17

tardtasticx:
timmmay:
tardtasticx:Ok I've uninstalled that task killer as well as heaps of other apps that I don't need. Whats an ELF?

It's a short mythical creature.

I knew someone was going to do that >.<

Early Life Failure... the other variety of Elf's are much friendlier until you piss them off!

michaelmurfy

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#523561 20-Sep-2011 14:55

Sounds like a ELF / OBF to me - There is a 7 day swap-out period in case if this happens.

To qualify for this,
1) Make sure that the box is complete, return it how you bought it.
2) Attempt to do a factory reset, on the Flipout this normally takes about 1hr (I know, it's long) but /could/ fix the issue.
3) If all else fails, take it back to the store you bought it from, say it's a "Out of box failure" due to it's battery not lasting more than 6hrs (sounds right?) - Know what you are about to say, treat them nice, they /should/ replace it in store with a brand new one.

If you can't get 3 to happen, ask to speak to the manager. If the phone is under 7 days old and has no physical signs of liquid / impact damage they have to just replace it.

I know for a fact the Flipout has a poor battery life, if you want something with a reasonable battery life (aka, lasting slightly longer than a day, sometimes 2) and also a nice phone to use in general even ask if it is possible to pay the difference and go for the LG P500. Otherwise I would say the new Flipout you should get will last about 12hrs or so on a single charge.

Tips to improve battery life on Android:
Android 2.1+ - Using Task Managers kills the battery, and in some cases can cause issues with removal memory etc, just avoid them and let Android do it's own thing. The Linux Kernel has a Task Scheduler built into it, each Android task runs as it's own task, you will notice a huge improvement in battery life by avoiding task managers in general and letting Android do it's own thing (high ram usage in linux environments is a good thing).

Use "Juice Defender" - activate it once and forget about it. Will improve things quite a bit.

Use a custom rom - there are heaps out there, make sure you know what you are doing before flashing one of these things since if you don't know what you are doing you could brick your phone with no way of going back / claiming warranty.

Disable Background Data - if you are on a small data plan this could be a good thing anyway.

Minimize use of widgets, use another launcher such as Launcher Pro.

You get the picture ;) Hope this helps.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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timmmay

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#523564 20-Sep-2011 14:57

I use a program called Auto Airplane - that puts my tablet into airplane mode when the screen is switched off. I know there's a preference to do that, but it doesn't work, WiFi stays on.

Should this program affect battery life? It uses virtually no CPU, according to the stats in the settings.

michaelmurfy

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#523573 20-Sep-2011 15:09

timmmay: I use a program called Auto Airplane - that puts my tablet into airplane mode when the screen is switched off. I know there's a preference to do that, but it doesn't work, WiFi stays on.

Should this program affect battery life? It uses virtually no CPU, according to the stats in the settings.

On my Motorola Xoom I don't even need to do that, I get about 2 days use out of my phone (Samsung Galaxy S2) + close to a week out of my Motorola Xoom with no restrictions on how I use it (check out this screenshot: http://db.tt/OQoEN5C)

timmmay

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#523574 20-Sep-2011 15:12

I installed it as much for functionality as battery life savings. I don't want/need it checking email or facebook when it's meant to be off. I might not use it for a few days, I don't want those little things it's doing all the time draining the battery.

I might test with and without it installed, but my usage varies heaps day to day so it'd be difficult.

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