V551 Battery Life-What can I do?

I just signed up with Cingular and both me and my fiancee got a V551.
After reading the reviews it seemed like the perfect phone. Now that
I got it though it seems battery life is awful.
One thing I am discovering though is it seems not everyone has this
problem. Some people have it but yet others that don't have very good
battery life. I can't figure out if it's a problem with the phone or
the battery.
When I got it I did do a 4 hour charge until it said charge complete
but never did do any drain/recharge cycles so actually now I'm doing
it on both phones.
I noticed though the first day my fiancee's (she uses her phone far
more than mine) phone died in less than a day but she usually it
heavily that day for calls as well as bluetooth (tethering to her
Pocket PC).
Well this is when I researched the battery issue. Last night I
unplugged both phones and decided not to charge either until they ran
competely down. I have bluetooth off on my phone and hers has it
turned on. As well, I have not used my phone at all but she has made
two phone calls today, each around 10 minutes. As well, for around 10
mins. she went on the internet and used her phone tethered to her
laptop.
Well this is what I find interesting. I was actually thinking battery
time was doing well. After around 23 hours it showed 4 in the phone
status screen for battery. What is confusing is after just 30 more
mins. the low battery beep came on. How is it that after 23 hours the
battery is not even half empty but yet in another 30 minutes almost
completely empty? This to me does seem like a battery issue.
Anyway, I know a lot of people on here suggest just turning bluetooth
off. Well the problem is the reason she bought this phone is for
bluetooth use. Well it's easy for her to turn the bluetooth on and
off when using the internet with the PocketPC. The problem is as well
shortly she plans to start using a Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset.
Well part of the good thing about that is she can keep her phone then
in her purse and when a call comes in answer it on the headset.
Having bluetooth off just takes away most of the advantages of the
headset.
I will continue doing these charge/recharge cycles and only hopes it
helps. If not though what else can I do? Is there a extended life
battery available somewhere I can order? I have even though of a
second battery but if I go that route is there a battery charger as
well that I can use to charge a 2nd battery without having it on the
phone?
I have also emailed Motorola about this issue. There only response was
that leaving the bluetooth on all the time only uses slightly more
power. I know after 24 hours of no battery use my V551 is down to 5
bars which isn't bad at all.

---

› See More: V551 Battery Life-What can I do?

Leaving Bluetooth on doesn't draw a lot of power unless you're actually
USING it. Then it sucks the life out of it like the Wraith after a
10,000 year year nap. I have the UConnect feature in my new Jeep which
means that the phone is connected for as long as I'm in the car. After a
half hour, even if I have no calls, the battery drops by at least 35%. I
keep a car cord in the car for longer trips. Even without BT being used
I've always found that just charging the phone every night keeps it in
good shape all day.

From:MarkW
markwco(removenospam)@comcast.net

> I just signed up with Cingular and both me and my fiancee got a V551.
> After reading the reviews it seemed like the perfect phone. Now that
> I got it though it seems battery life is awful.
> One thing I am discovering though is it seems not everyone has this
> problem. Some people have it but yet others that don't have very good
> battery life. I can't figure out if it's a problem with the phone or
> the battery.
> When I got it I did do a 4 hour charge until it said charge complete
> but never did do any drain/recharge cycles so actually now I'm doing
> it on both phones.
> I noticed though the first day my fiancee's (she uses her phone far
> more than mine) phone died in less than a day but she usually it
> heavily that day for calls as well as bluetooth (tethering to her
> Pocket PC).
> Well this is when I researched the battery issue. Last night I
> unplugged both phones and decided not to charge either until they ran
> competely down. I have bluetooth off on my phone and hers has it
> turned on. As well, I have not used my phone at all but she has made
> two phone calls today, each around 10 minutes. As well, for around 10
> mins. she went on the internet and used her phone tethered to her
> laptop.
> Well this is what I find interesting. I was actually thinking battery
> time was doing well. After around 23 hours it showed 4 in the phone
> status screen for battery. What is confusing is after just 30 more
> mins. the low battery beep came on. How is it that after 23 hours the
> battery is not even half empty but yet in another 30 minutes almost
> completely empty? This to me does seem like a battery issue.
> Anyway, I know a lot of people on here suggest just turning bluetooth
> off. Well the problem is the reason she bought this phone is for
> bluetooth use. Well it's easy for her to turn the bluetooth on and
> off when using the internet with the PocketPC. The problem is as well
> shortly she plans to start using a Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset.
> Well part of the good thing about that is she can keep her phone then
> in her purse and when a call comes in answer it on the headset.
> Having bluetooth off just takes away most of the advantages of the
> headset.
> I will continue doing these charge/recharge cycles and only hopes it
> helps. If not though what else can I do? Is there a extended life
> battery available somewhere I can order? I have even though of a
> second battery but if I go that route is there a battery charger as
> well that I can use to charge a 2nd battery without having it on the
> phone?
> I have also emailed Motorola about this issue. There only response was
> that leaving the bluetooth on all the time only uses slightly more
> power. I know after 24 hours of no battery use my V551 is down to 5
> bars which isn't bad at all.

I have a Motorola E550 and same issue. My friend has a V525 and same
issue here. Battery life: max 2 days (learn to live with it or buy
e.g. Samsung E700 - battery ca. 5 days).
I had a Motorola V70 - same issue (battery meter in V70 the same as in
E550). Bluetooth on or off - doesn't matter.
Battery meter will show e.g 6 (full), yet when you connect it to the
charger it will drop to 4 and charge.
Apparently full battery (6) will show in Mobile Phone tools only 60%
charge (i.e. 4). Battery at 4 (you think, well, it will last, will
drop after hour or two to 0 and then the damn beeping starts)
And yes, I know how to condition a battery and yes, I did it....
Either buy a stronger battery (will last for 3 days, although I would
not bet my life on it) or another cellular phone. Motorola never did
resolve this battery issue. Some say it's the new color screen - yea,
right, V70 ddidn't have a color screen and lasted also for about 2
days max .....
learn to live with it or else look for another brand.

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:27:19 +0100, Hagen_von_Troje
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have a Motorola E550 and same issue. My friend has a V525 and same
>issue here. Battery life: max 2 days (learn to live with it or buy
>e.g. Samsung E700 - battery ca. 5 days).
>I had a Motorola V70 - same issue (battery meter in V70 the same as in
>E550). Bluetooth on or off - doesn't matter.
>Battery meter will show e.g 6 (full), yet when you connect it to the
>charger it will drop to 4 and charge.
>Apparently full battery (6) will show in Mobile Phone tools only 60%
>charge (i.e. 4). Battery at 4 (you think, well, it will last, will
>drop after hour or two to 0 and then the damn beeping starts)
>And yes, I know how to condition a battery and yes, I did it....
>Either buy a stronger battery (will last for 3 days, although I would
>not bet my life on it) or another cellular phone. Motorola never did
>resolve this battery issue. Some say it's the new color screen - yea,
>right, V70 ddidn't have a color screen and lasted also for about 2
>days max .....
>learn to live with it or else look for another brand.
It looks like I may start looking at other brands. I have used
Motorola but my old phone was a P280. No battery problems and my
fiancee's was a V300, once again no problem so I had become sold on
Motorola phones until this happened.

I have a v551 and discovered that it has great battery life as long as
you don't use it. :^) I can get at least 8 days of standby time if
I use my phone minimally. The talk time is rated at 2.5 hours and I
can agree with that. I have found that the battery life indicator is
flawed and this appears to be true for the v551 in general. The
indicator shows 3 bars up until the end. Then it drops very quickly
to two then one then none in a single day. The lesson here is to
charge it over night every day. Or to keep it on a charger when not
using it.

I knew the rated talk time was outrageously short when I bought the
phone but I figured the phone was a nice one and I'd put up with the
short talk time. I'm not sorry.

CD

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:34:07 GMT, Cranky Dude
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have a v551 and discovered that it has great battery life as long as
>you don't use it. :^) I can get at least 8 days of standby time if
>I use my phone minimally. The talk time is rated at 2.5 hours and I
>can agree with that. I have found that the battery life indicator is
>flawed and this appears to be true for the v551 in general. The
>indicator shows 3 bars up until the end. Then it drops very quickly
>to two then one then none in a single day. The lesson here is to
>charge it over night every day. Or to keep it on a charger when not
>using it.
>
>I knew the rated talk time was outrageously short when I bought the
>phone but I figured the phone was a nice one and I'd put up with the
>short talk time. I'm not sorry.
>
>CD

...well, and I have discovered now an even better way to save battery
life: I swtich the phone off and keep it that way. I can get an as yet
undiscovered amount of battery saving time. Of course, the drawback is
that no one can reach me now, but that has nothing to do with the
battery, has it? :-))))
Sorry - coudn't resist .....:-))))

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 08:26:57 +0100, Hagen_von_Troje
<[email protected]> wrote:


>..well, and I have discovered now an even better way to save battery
>life: I swtich the phone off and keep it that way. I can get an as yet
>undiscovered amount of battery saving time. Of course, the drawback is
>that no one can reach me now, but that has nothing to do with the
>battery, has it? :-))))
>Sorry - coudn't resist .....:-))))

Well, let's see.... you could use a land line to get your voice mail
messages and to call people back. That way you'd never have to turn
your cell phone on. :-)

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 19:08:30 GMT, Cranky Dude
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 08:26:57 +0100, Hagen_von_Troje
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>..well, and I have discovered now an even better way to save battery
>>life: I swtich the phone off and keep it that way. I can get an as yet
>>undiscovered amount of battery saving time. Of course, the drawback is
>>that no one can reach me now, but that has nothing to do with the
>>battery, has it? :-))))
>>Sorry - coudn't resist .....:-))))
>
>Well, let's see.... you could use a land line to get your voice mail
>messages and to call people back. That way you'd never have to turn
>your cell phone on. :-)
>

Smoke signals, heliograph, semaphore. carrier pigeon, etc. Lots of
ways to get a message through.

I keep Bluetooth turned on and use it with car kit. Make a few short calls
a call and sometimes and hour or so business call. Battery meter at end of
long day is usually full and if I've talked alot, down to 2 bars on main
screen.

Not sure what everyone's problem is but I come home, plug it in.
Leave the house, unplug it.
Go on a business trip, take charger with me.
Forgot charger once, lasted two full days while out of town on the phone
alot.

Not sure why all the panic over it doesn't last over 23 hours if kept on
continuously. Seems that there are many people hesitant to charge the phone
when they go to sleep?

--
Steve
"MarkW" <markwco(removenospam)@comcast.net> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 11:27:19 +0100, Hagen_von_Troje
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I have a Motorola E550 and same issue. My friend has a V525 and same
>>issue here. Battery life: max 2 days (learn to live with it or buy
>>e.g. Samsung E700 - battery ca. 5 days).
>>I had a Motorola V70 - same issue (battery meter in V70 the same as in
>>E550). Bluetooth on or off - doesn't matter.
>>Battery meter will show e.g 6 (full), yet when you connect it to the
>>charger it will drop to 4 and charge.
>>Apparently full battery (6) will show in Mobile Phone tools only 60%
>>charge (i.e. 4). Battery at 4 (you think, well, it will last, will
>>drop after hour or two to 0 and then the damn beeping starts)
>>And yes, I know how to condition a battery and yes, I did it....
>>Either buy a stronger battery (will last for 3 days, although I would
>>not bet my life on it) or another cellular phone. Motorola never did
>>resolve this battery issue. Some say it's the new color screen - yea,
>>right, V70 ddidn't have a color screen and lasted also for about 2
>>days max .....
>>learn to live with it or else look for another brand.
> It looks like I may start looking at other brands. I have used
> Motorola but my old phone was a P280. No battery problems and my
> fiancee's was a V300, once again no problem so I had become sold on
> Motorola phones until this happened.

On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 03:17:12 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I keep Bluetooth turned on and use it with car kit. Make a few short calls
>a call and sometimes and hour or so business call. Battery meter at end of
>long day is usually full and if I've talked alot, down to 2 bars on main
>screen.
>
>Not sure what everyone's problem is but I come home, plug it in.
>Leave the house, unplug it.
>Go on a business trip, take charger with me.
>Forgot charger once, lasted two full days while out of town on the phone
>alot.
>
>Not sure why all the panic over it doesn't last over 23 hours if kept on
>continuously. Seems that there are many people hesitant to charge the phone
>when they go to sleep?

It's just that a lot of people, like my wife with her Nokia, can go 5
or 6 days without any problem. The Nokia also charges in less than
half the time of the V551. I still wouldn't trade her. When you get
used to that kind of battery life, then get a V551, you are bound to
be disappointed. I get 3 to 4 days on the V551. I'm happy with that.

But why not just charge it every night while sleeping anyway?

Fromick
LeadWinger

> On Thu, 10 Mar 2005 03:17:12 GMT, "Steve" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> I keep Bluetooth turned on and use it with car kit. Make a few
>> short calls a call and sometimes and hour or so business call.
>> Battery meter at end of long day is usually full and if I've talked
>> alot, down to 2 bars on main screen.
>>
>> Not sure what everyone's problem is but I come home, plug it in.
>> Leave the house, unplug it.
>> Go on a business trip, take charger with me.
>> Forgot charger once, lasted two full days while out of town on the
>> phone alot.
>>
>> Not sure why all the panic over it doesn't last over 23 hours if
>> kept on continuously. Seems that there are many people hesitant to
>> charge the phone when they go to sleep?
>
> It's just that a lot of people, like my wife with her Nokia, can go 5
> or 6 days without any problem. The Nokia also charges in less than
> half the time of the V551. I still wouldn't trade her. When you get
> used to that kind of battery life, then get a V551, you are bound to
> be disappointed. I get 3 to 4 days on the V551. I'm happy with that.

I'm on my second battery, hopefully I will get back to better than 36
hours I was getting with the battery that came with the phone, if not
I'm going to try a new phone (V551). The funny thing is with my
initial charge I got about 5 days, then less 3 days, then 36 hours.
All of this is without using bluetooth. I called Cingular and the tech
guy said he was only getting 3 days with his V551. I'm not sure where
they got the numbers they are advertising the battery is good for.

I agree that you can recharge each night but the fact that you HAVE to is ridiculous. The standby and talk time specifications for this phone are simply wrong and are extremely misleading.

Hello
I think some Steve is missing the point. ""Not sure what everyone's problem is but I come home, plug it in"


I just purchase a v551, I love the phone it has lot of neat features But the battery management it's just horrible.

They advertise this phone with :
Digital Talk Time: 7 Hrs

Digital Standby Time: 7 Days

I don't think it's even close

I don't care if charge it every hour or every month or keep it on the charger all day

The advertisement is false

Even knowing the V551 is a great phone it's heart is weak.

I will finish by saying that I will keep this phone but I will take it to the doctor for regular checks ;-)














"Hagen_von_Troje" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 18:34:07 GMT, Cranky Dude
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I have a v551 and discovered that it has great battery life as long as
> >you don't use it. :^) I can get at least 8 days of standby time if
> >I use my phone minimally. The talk time is rated at 2.5 hours and I
> >can agree with that. I have found that the battery life indicator is
> >flawed and this appears to be true for the v551 in general. The
> >indicator shows 3 bars up until the end. Then it drops very quickly
> >to two then one then none in a single day. The lesson here is to
> >charge it over night every day. Or to keep it on a charger when not
> >using it.
> >
> >I knew the rated talk time was outrageously short when I bought the
> >phone but I figured the phone was a nice one and I'd put up with the
> >short talk time. I'm not sorry.
> >
> >CD
>
> ..well, and I have discovered now an even better way to save battery
> life: I swtich the phone off and keep it that way. I can get an as yet
> undiscovered amount of battery saving time. Of course, the drawback is
> that no one can reach me now, but that has nothing to do with the
> battery, has it? :-))))
> Sorry - coudn't resist .....:-))))
>
>

"MarkW" <markwco(removenospam)@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just signed up with Cingular and both me and my fiancee got a V551.
> After reading the reviews it seemed like the perfect phone. Now that
> I got it though it seems battery life is awful.
> One thing I am discovering though is it seems not everyone has this
> problem. Some people have it but yet others that don't have very good
> battery life. I can't figure out if it's a problem with the phone or
> the battery.
> When I got it I did do a 4 hour charge until it said charge complete
> but never did do any drain/recharge cycles so actually now I'm doing
> it on both phones.
> I noticed though the first day my fiancee's (she uses her phone far
> more than mine) phone died in less than a day but she usually it
> heavily that day for calls as well as bluetooth (tethering to her
> Pocket PC).
> Well this is when I researched the battery issue. Last night I
> unplugged both phones and decided not to charge either until they ran
> competely down. I have bluetooth off on my phone and hers has it
> turned on. As well, I have not used my phone at all but she has made
> two phone calls today, each around 10 minutes. As well, for around 10
> mins. she went on the internet and used her phone tethered to her
> laptop.
> Well this is what I find interesting. I was actually thinking battery
> time was doing well. After around 23 hours it showed 4 in the phone
> status screen for battery. What is confusing is after just 30 more
> mins. the low battery beep came on. How is it that after 23 hours the
> battery is not even half empty but yet in another 30 minutes almost
> completely empty? This to me does seem like a battery issue.
> Anyway, I know a lot of people on here suggest just turning bluetooth
> off. Well the problem is the reason she bought this phone is for
> bluetooth use. Well it's easy for her to turn the bluetooth on and
> off when using the internet with the PocketPC. The problem is as well
> shortly she plans to start using a Motorola HS850 Bluetooth headset.
> Well part of the good thing about that is she can keep her phone then
> in her purse and when a call comes in answer it on the headset.
> Having bluetooth off just takes away most of the advantages of the
> headset.
> I will continue doing these charge/recharge cycles and only hopes it
> helps. If not though what else can I do? Is there a extended life
> battery available somewhere I can order? I have even though of a
> second battery but if I go that route is there a battery charger as
> well that I can use to charge a 2nd battery without having it on the
> phone?
> I have also emailed Motorola about this issue. There only response was
> that leaving the bluetooth on all the time only uses slightly more
> power. I know after 24 hours of no battery use my V551 is down to 5
> bars which isn't bad at all.

Try a bigger battery:

http://search.ebay.com/battery-door-...fsopZ1QQfsooZ1

I'm not 100% positive, but I think the OEM battery# is SNN5705, my wife has
this on her V400 and works great.

bamp