- 09-08-2012, 08:45 AM #1
[Support question posted in this forum because I truly believe my query is not specific to any mfgr or carrier]
I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Appeal i827 Android smartphone from AT&T. The specs say it should have a battery life on standby of about 12.5 days. I'm getting just one TENTH of that!! Mind you, I am not running any apps or widgets and I'm not even enabling the mobile network -- only WiFi, but the phone's own usage stats say that WiFi only contributes 10% to battery depletion. Without ever touching the sleeping/locked phone for 12 hours, it depletes from 100% charge to 70%. I realize there are many many factors which can contribute to the depletion.
Now I happened to be looking on a site mkwireless.com where they sell an aftermarket replacement battery for my phone, and they say "Maximum capacity is reached just after three full cycles". So does that mean that I should let my Samsung battery die (to 10%) and then recharge it fully and repeat this at least three successive times and then maybe it'll greatly improve battery endurance? It says nothing about such a procedure in my users manual.
If you're knowledgable, also answer me this: under the phone's battery usage stats that it maintains, it attributes my battery depletion 56% to "Cell standby" and 21% to "Phone idle" (the other two main drainers being Android OS 12% and WiFi 10%). MY question is what the heck is "Phone idle" and why would that add to my drainage. 'Sounds nutty to me.
My signal strength here is only about 2 bars (about 10 asu) and maybe that worsens the power drain problem?
Many thanks in advance!
› See More: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
- 09-08-2012, 02:19 PM #2Junior Member
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Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
I've owned a lot of touch screen phones. Usually the culprit is the touch screen itself. You can set the screen to dim and then turn off after a certain amount of seconds. I've found this extends battery life for most of my phones.
- 09-08-2012, 02:57 PM #3
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
Thanks for replying. But I said the power drain happens when the phone is completely idle that is, locked. No calls sent or received and no other use whatsoever ..just a cellphone standing by. The display isn't a factor.
- 09-08-2012, 05:37 PM #4/\/\s.Super/\/\odette
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Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
IMHO...
Phone Idle is part of the percentage the apps consuming power.
Phone Standby: Cell Radio (30%)
Phone Idle: Apps run background data syncs such as:
Facebook(10%), Twitter(10%), mail(15%), weather(15%), and task killers.(20%)
30+10+10+15+15+20=100%
Turn these radios & apps off or change the sync time from 15 min to 1 hour etc.
Never use a Task Killer on smartphones: Evertime task killer stops an app, the smartphone will restart the app thinking it crashed. This cycle repeats killing your battery.
Also see my post here: Smartphone battery life tips - Blogs - Cell Phone ForumsLast edited by camstuf; 09-08-2012 at 06:03 PM.
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- 09-08-2012, 06:33 PM #5
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
That's a mighty thoughtful reply, many thanks. And I also read your cited post; it's good, thanks.
The only background process that I've initiated and know of is for the device to check my email just once each day via POP3 protocol which should be very power-benign; and there are usually just 3 or 4 messages, mostly ads, and I presume images are not downloaded automatically. Wifi accounts for only 10% of my battery depletion so I didn't bother turning it off. But if I have to confront the seller, my local AT&T store, and claim an actual defect, then I will surely make a suitable well-controlled experiment to confirm the shortcoming. My battery life on pure idle standby is an order of magnitude (you know, a factor of 10) lower than what Samsung and AT&T advertise it might be.
Do you think poor signal strength contributes to the dilemma? I'm usually seeing just 2 or 3 bars, about 10 asu.
Getting back to background apps, my wife will be the primary user and she played with it the other day, visiting her Facebook page. I hope she didn't inadvertently initiate some background process. I really doubt it, but if push comes to shove I'll root out any such daemons.
I'll have a better grasp on things 4 or 5 days hence, after I've drained and recharged the battery several times. If that doesn't help then I'm an irate customer.
Again, my earnest thanks! 'Love to hear more.
- 09-08-2012, 08:28 PM #6/\/\s.Super/\/\odette
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Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
If you are dealing with a grace period, than take It to AT&T for testing before your time expires.
Unless you turn Facebook sync off, you will sync quite a bit.
Settings -> Accounts & Sync -> select app -> make sync selections as required.
You can even remove some Apps from the Sync settings menue.
I only sync Google (All checks except Movies and TV) and Weather (Updates every 3 hours)
Weather will update manually each time you open it.
Here is my usage: it adds up to 100% Click on pic to make it bigger
Time on=1d 5h...Last edited by camstuf; 09-08-2012 at 08:40 PM.
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- 09-09-2012, 06:09 AM #7
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
Great stuff. That's really helpful.
This thread, you see, is about determining if my unit is uh 'defective' or not and whether I should therefore demand a replacement. I'm not totally convinced yet. If it's not defective then I do love this phone!
Anecdotal input: At Walmart.com, 3 out of 8 people who purchased and later reviewed this phone complained about poor battery charge endurance. One of those 3 said that his battery charge went from 100% to 30% in just six hours! He got his unit replaced (with same model) and was fully satisfied with the new one. My problem isn't nearly so acute as what that fellow's was, but I have reasonable suspicion. I am striving to make every possible effort to clear up suspicion before balking to the AT&T store.
- 09-10-2012, 04:47 AM #8
things improving now
Recent experiment shows substantial improvement: my phone discharging battery four times more slowly now
I think the biggest reason is I'm placing the device in a part of my home where it gets the best signal, while running a test of discharge rate. I've also shut off all Web access (WiFi and Mobile). I've also recharged the battery several times and one time it was down to emergency 10% reserve. That may (as this thread title suggests) help to 'condition' the battery, who knows
So anyway, I really love this phone and no longer suspect it of being defective. I'm not an irate customer after all.
But dang, cellphones technology is complicated! I believe the nearest tower is about 1.4 miles away from me. When you consider that this tiny handheld device with a 3.3-volt battery has to transmit through concrete building walls and all that distance, I am just plain astounded!
Thanks for being there, fellow forum goers!!Last edited by Kenso; 09-10-2012 at 04:57 AM.
- 09-14-2012, 04:45 PM #9Junior Member
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Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
This video is helpful when it comes to everything you need to know about batteries. It has a section on "cycling your battery.
Replacement battery and Extended battery info | How to choose the right battery - YouTube
- 09-14-2012, 05:21 PM #10
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
Definitely on point. Funny though that it claims you may need to cycle your replacement battery (ie let it die then recharge it fully, several times over). It doesn't say to apply that to original batteries. But I think that's mostly because the video spot was produced by a company that vends replacement batteries. Maybe original batteries come sort-of pre-conditioned, or maybe I'm wrong. I am currently working to cycle my original battery, for what it's worth..
- 09-15-2012, 11:30 PM #11
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
You may know how to make money, Wireless Emporium, but you sure don't know science. The term mAh does not stand for "milliamperes per hour" as asserted in that youtube video ...mAh is not a measure of current per unit of time. Current is already a measure of charge per (ie divided by) unit of time. No, the term stands for milliamp-hours or current multiplied by time, thus cancelling out time and denoting an absolute value of charge conveyed. I believe it therefore represents the total capacity of the battery in charge (not energy). I knew it didn't sound right when I heard the video and double checked the facts.
But I had occasion to visit my local AT&T Store yesterday for an unrelated issue and balked slightly that this phone was getting only about 2 days standby time. Charlie responded, "That's good! ..better than typical." So I reminded him that the specs claim "up to 12.5 days standby time"; I accused Samsung (with AT&T complicit) of issuing a hollow boast. He replied, "Yes".
- 09-19-2012, 05:39 AM #12
Re: Does cellphone battery require several recharge cycles?
Sorry, OkPhoner, but I cannot comprehend a sentence that lacks viable grammar.
Sorry, OkPhoner, but I cannot comprehend a sentence that lacks viable grammar.
Sorry, OkPhoner, but I cannot comprehend a sentence that lacks viable grammar.
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