Wifi Really Does Help Battery Life!!

[Impulsebuyer]

Got that little tidbit from the main page here at Precentral and guess what it really does work!

Granted I did top off my battery at around 1130am with 50% remaining, (thats from taking it off the charger at 6am) and remember my job doesn't have the best signal ... but from 12:15pm to presently 10:00pm with wifi on the whole day my battery is at 33% ...

Now whether its the top off or the wifi that helped is out for jury but i think the wifi (since its also connected that way at my job minus the poor reception) has helped ...

[Vyruz Reaper]

Confirm for me at least.

I work in a fringe area, going from 2-0 bars to roaming and back. I tried all the hacks- sprint online, roaming only, evdo only and get the same result. Monday at work, i read one of Dieter's articles that stated that Palm claims that the wifi is very efficient.

So starting Monday I have been using wifi on and I am usually around 65ish percent batter by 1PM with no wifi ( i take my pre off of my touchstone at 8:30am) but with my wifi on I am at 75% for the 3rd day in a row. Same use. Same texting Same calls. I also turned of my aim. Use gchat whenever I want to be on. Thats a 10% increase on battery life. Not too bad.

Maybe using EVDO with a weak signal uses more battery that using wifi with a full signal?

Maybe...

[gabbott]

Originally Posted by Vyruz Reaper

Maybe using EVDO with a weak signal uses more battery that using wifi with a full signal?

Maybe...

I'd buy that theory

[bugking]

So why don't you post the follow-up post at one of the below threads???????? Do we really need another new thread?????????

http://forums.precentral.net/hardwar...ife-great.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...g-tips-10.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...-24-hours.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...tery-life.html

[jbg7474]

Originally Posted by bugking

So why don't you post the follow-up post at one of the below threads???????? Do we really need another new thread?????????

http://forums.precentral.net/hardwar...ife-great.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...g-tips-10.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...-24-hours.html
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pr...tery-life.html

Who died and appointed you the thread police?

[Vyruz Reaper]

i love soap!

[smoresrock]

Today, I was utterly surprised about my battery sustaining a significant amount of its charge past noon compared to any other day I've had the Pre. I was actually so impressed that I was about to create a new thread just for it, but I saw this one.

Since Wi-Fi being on was, in fact, the only difference in my phone's settings today from yesterday, I attribute part of this battery "miracle" to that. The other factor I am betting on is the battery's "break-in period". The last person to mention that to me was a Radio Shack rep who said that in around a week after first using the battery I'd notice that it would hold its charge longer. Anyway, that seems to be the case whether his statements were true or false.

You're probably wondering what "impressive" is to me. Well I actually woke up late today, so my Pre's day started at around 10:20. Unlike any other day, I kept the phone on Wi-Fi. I had forgotten to turn it off. I used the phone for browsing a little after noon for about 5 minutes. I checked the battery level immediately after that and found that some light browsing, and 2 hours later the battery was at 97%. I couldn't believe it. I recalled days where my phone was just on standby for that long and be below 90%.

Back at work I checked the phone around 3:30 and saw that the battery was at 86%. Unbelievable. This has never happened before. I took around a 10-15 minute break from there and browsed Precentral.net from my phone and answered a brief call. That left me at 83%, and I suspect that it's around 80% right now on standby. It's outside my office at the moment so I can't check. I'll be back on to post about the battery levels shortly after this post, though.

In any case, so far so good. 4:30 PM and 80% is great news for me! I'm happy with the battery today.

In short: 100% - (6 Hours) - (Light Usage) ~ 80%

[Dieter Bohn]

WiFi for me seems to help a bit when signal is weak, but when it's strong I'm not noticing a huge difference.

[smoresrock]

i am VERY impressed, astounded, and surprised.... now..

it doesn't even seem like i own the same phone i did the past week. the battery is STILL going on the charge from 10:20 AM today... it is currently 12:47 AM (technically not the same day anymore) and i have DEFINITELY used the phone quite a bit since my last post.

i am now trying to see how fast i can run the battery out but it seems like it doesn't want to lose its charge. it is now at 28%. it's been streaming pandora for the past 10 minutes. i made 5-8 calls, one of which lasted 30 minutes earlier, browsed the web, and used the calculator... i'm seriously confused at this point..

a couple days ago it would go from 100% to 80% in a matter of 3 hours being mostly on standby... today it took half the day to get to 80... what? is? going? on?

i'm happy about my palm's battery now. no more complaints

[smoresrock]

today, it started off pretty well, but it then progressed to something not as impressive as yesterday's battery performance. I don't know if my phone has been lying to me, but i took the phone off the charger at 9:18 AM this morning... i quickly made some setting changes (put in a simple key) so that i can leave my phone outside the office (i forgot to mention that phones aren't allowed in the locked area i'm working in). i came back out around 12 to grab some lunch, and the first thing i did was check the battery level... it said 100%.

i was like ***, mate. so i used the phone a bit and got on a couple short calls. after that (~10 minutes), the battery was at 95%.

then, around 1:45--after browsing the web for about 5-7 minutes--the battery dropped down to 87%.

it's almost 2, and i want to check on the battery level again to keep track of its performance.

i think i'm becoming slightly obsessive over here. someone ground me.

[pomokey]

im glad you guys are having great battery life now. mine seems to be getting worse

I unpluged my phone at 9am today, its now a bit after 2 (so ~5 hours)

I've made 3 phone calls, about a minute or two each, installed the flightview app, sent/received only 12 text messages, and have wifi enabled. right now, I am down to 53% battery.

my phone also gets dangerously hot while charging, and the slider is very wobbly. I think I will try exchanging it this weekend.

[smoresrock]

Originally Posted by pomokey

im glad you guys are having great battery life now. mine seems to be getting worse

I unpluged my phone at 9am today, its now a bit after 2 (so ~5 hours)

I've made 3 phone calls, about a minute or two each, installed the flightview app, sent/received only 12 text messages, and have wifi enabled. right now, I am down to 53% battery.

my phone also gets dangerously hot while charging, and the slider is very wobbly. I think I will try exchanging it this weekend.

how long have you had the phone?

[zullnero]

Originally Posted by pomokey

im glad you guys are having great battery life now. mine seems to be getting worse

I unpluged my phone at 9am today, its now a bit after 2 (so ~5 hours)

I've made 3 phone calls, about a minute or two each, installed the flightview app, sent/received only 12 text messages, and have wifi enabled. right now, I am down to 53% battery.

my phone also gets dangerously hot while charging, and the slider is very wobbly. I think I will try exchanging it this weekend.

I've heard that a lot of the power efficiency problems have something to do with the text messaging, oddly enough. Something polling the server too often or somesuch. You might also be just doing all that stuff over your data plan WHILE your wifi is enabled. I don't remember what the deal was, but I wasn't sure if the phone switched to use wifi exclusively if in range of a known ap over data or not.

Anyway, I'm still waiting on the list for my Pre...fun wait. I have a centro with a busted backlight that I can't get replaced because the third party company that handles it are jerks and won't let me.

[pomokey]

Originally Posted by smoresrock

how long have you had the phone?

I got my phone on june 6th. Perhaps its just poor service in my area? It's just strange that my battery life was better yesterday (not great, at all, but better than this..)

[smoresrock]

Originally Posted by zullnero

I've heard that a lot of the power efficiency problems have something to do with the text messaging, oddly enough. Something polling the server too often or somesuch. You might also be just doing all that stuff over your data plan WHILE your wifi is enabled. I don't remember what the deal was, but I wasn't sure if the phone switched to use wifi exclusively if in range of a known ap over data or not.

Anyway, I'm still waiting on the list for my Pre...fun wait. I have a centro with a busted backlight that I can't get replaced because the third party company that handles it are jerks and won't let me.

it'll be worth the wait.

Originally Posted by pomokey

I got my phone on june 6th. Perhaps its just poor service in my area? It's just strange that my battery life was better yesterday (not great, at all, but better than this..)

hmm, yeah... inconsistency is also my experience. that's why i'm trying my best to document my battery's behavior on this thread and will probably continue to do so for another day or so...

it's currently at 73% @ 5 PM.

[smoresrock]

last night, i ended up in the same predicament as the day before. i was unsuccessful at killing my phone. i used the phone extensively yesterday (making phone calls left and right.. viewing pictures, webpages, etc..). i even let pandora stream 1-notch below full volume for nearly an hour, and it lasted past midnight...