How I doubled my battery life...

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 04:53 PM

I recently noticed major issues with my battery life. I could take my phone off the charger at 9:30am and periodically make phone calls and receive emails from my aol and exchange accounts. And by 4:30pm, I was getting the familiar bell advising me that my battery was down to 20 percent.

Last night, I decided that I was tired of poor signal quality in my apartment. I would never loose a call but my signal would go from 1 bar to 3 bars, to 5 bars and back to 1 bar all within a 30 second period. I decided that I was going to do the "Roam only" hack making the phone stay on the roam all the time. After about a 10 minute hack, I went to bed last night. Today I woke up took my phone off the charger, made more calls than average as the stock market is going crazy...

Around 4:30 I decided to check my battery and: 54%

How could this be? Well, when in roam only you go from being on 3g to 1x and I suspect this was what caused the difference. I remember when the iphone 3g was first released, if 3g was turned on, your battery was dead in like 4/5 hours but if you turned 3g off it went to around 12. This was later corrected through software updates...

I found this to be a major improvement....

Just my 2 cents...

Best Regards!

Joe

oddlou · 06/25/2009, 04:57 PM

Sounds good. You might want to be careful with being roam only all the time, as Sprint could cancel your service if you're using the majority of your minutes while roaming.

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 05:02 PM

Thanks

jsabo · 06/25/2009, 05:03 PM

I swore I saw another hack that would allow you to set the phone to stay on the 1G network, which might also help.

1G vs 3G aside, if the phone is having a hard time staying on the Sprint network, that will also kill your battery faster, which could be part of the reason why switching to roaming helped you out.

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 05:18 PM

Yes, you can - just dial ##3836# and you can select to be on 1x all the time.

mikesm · 06/25/2009, 05:27 PM

This is the main issue I think with battery life. Lousy Sprint coverage causing the phone to constantly switch between 1xRTT and EVDO and Roaming mode. Try getting an airave at your house - it should fix the problem there.

I wish the Pre were on VZ or AT&T. Oh well, soon...

bushd · 06/25/2009, 05:30 PM

Testing the 1x battery drain now. I'll charge it tonight and see how long it lasts. I'm constantly going back and forth between Evdo and 1x due to the buildings.

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 06:00 PM

My past experience leads me to believe that by switching to 1x, one's battery life will double. This has been the case with other phones in the past....

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 06:02 PM

Of course, it reminds me of when apple sent out a statement saying for optimal battery life on the new iphone 3g (a year ago), one should disable 3g, wifi, bluetooth, and gps. I could not help but think to myself - why did i buy the new iphone if I cannot use all the features... Nevertheless, 3 months later, apple released a software update to correct the issue and I am confident that palm will too...

Darknight · 06/25/2009, 06:06 PM

Also, you may want to try to get an Airave from Retentions. I hear that helps a lot with poor reception at one's house. Not used it myself.

MiWolverine96 · 06/25/2009, 06:21 PM

hey...great hack! i work in rockville, md & my bars are all over the grid all day. ill give this a try. & give some feed back.

jhumberger · 06/25/2009, 06:39 PM

The hack works great and it is not as complicated as it looks... I guess this is one way of having a Pre on Verizon Wirelesses network, for the 2/3 of price. Just make sure you are on the "Simply everything" plan if you keep your phone on Roaming all the time. If you have a 500 minute plan, sprint will not allow you to use a total of more than 500 minutes roaming (including nights and week end minutes). The work around to this is using the Simply Everything Plan... they dont have this regulation on this plan.

trixx · 06/25/2009, 07:03 PM

Your data limit is like 300mb in roaming mode, so be careful.

RLovelett · 06/25/2009, 07:18 PM

Does not help with 3G coverage; you only get 1xRTT on the AIRAVE.

Also, I've been using the 1xRTT hack on the ##EVDO# screen. I have noticed a huge increase in battery life.

edwarto · 06/25/2009, 07:21 PM

Well since the update my battery life has gone from about 4pm time to put it on the charger at my desk to well its 5:20 pm now and I am still showing 80% and although the newness has made my use a bit less I believe that the connecting to wireless at my office has made the big difference too

BiG JeW · 06/25/2009, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oddlou

Sounds good. You might want to be careful with being roam only all the time, as Sprint could cancel your service if you're using the majority of your minutes while roaming.

+2 they will... and they can do it with out notice.

nmoreman · 06/25/2009, 07:59 PM

I'm looking at the screen. Can someone tell me what the differences are between 1xRtt, EVDO, Hybrid and the Rev 0 ? I would love to know to see what works best for me.

akatoast · 06/25/2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RLovelett

Does not help with 3G coverage; you only get 1xRTT on the AIRAVE.

Also, I've been using the 1xRTT hack on the ##EVDO# screen. I have noticed a huge increase in battery life.

how is this done?

RLovelett · 06/25/2009, 10:05 PM

Type the code in the phone app and then select from drop down.

Big_Red89 · 06/25/2009, 10:14 PM

Very cool! I may have to try it out!

06/25/2009, 04:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	How I doubled my battery life... I recently noticed major issues with my battery life. I could take my phone off the charger at 9:30am and periodically make phone calls and receive emails from my aol and exchange accounts. And by 4:30pm, I was getting the familiar bell advising me that my battery was down to 20 percent. Last night, I decided that I was tired of poor signal quality in my apartment. I would never loose a call but my signal would go from 1 bar to 3 bars, to 5 bars and back to 1 bar all within a 30 second period. I decided that I was going to do the "Roam only" hack making the phone stay on the roam all the time. After about a 10 minute hack, I went to bed last night. Today I woke up took my phone off the charger, made more calls than average as the stock market is going crazy... Around 4:30 I decided to check my battery and: 54% How could this be? Well, when in roam only you go from being on 3g to 1x and I suspect this was what caused the difference. I remember when the iphone 3g was first released, if 3g was turned on, your battery was dead in like 4/5 hours but if you turned 3g off it went to around 12. This was later corrected through software updates... I found this to be a major improvement.... Just my 2 cents... Best Regards! Joe
	Liked by Thanked by 1thing2add, Big_Red89, decibeat, dellibedaboss, Stingray821

06/25/2009, 04:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
oddlou Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,140 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 96 Thanked 164 Times in 105 Posts	Sounds good. You might want to be careful with being roam only all the time, as Sprint could cancel your service if you're using the majority of your minutes while roaming.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 05:02 PM	#3 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	Thanks
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 05:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
jsabo Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 418 Likes Received: 38 Thanks: 19 Thanked 35 Times in 26 Posts	I swore I saw another hack that would allow you to set the phone to stay on the 1G network, which might also help. 1G vs 3G aside, if the phone is having a hard time staying on the Sprint network, that will also kill your battery faster, which could be part of the reason why switching to roaming helped you out.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 05:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	Yes, you can - just dial ##3836# and you can select to be on 1x all the time.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 05:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
mikesm Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 330 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 3 Thanked 44 Times in 17 Posts	This is the main issue I think with battery life. Lousy Sprint coverage causing the phone to constantly switch between 1xRTT and EVDO and Roaming mode. Try getting an airave at your house - it should fix the problem there. I wish the Pre were on VZ or AT&T. Oh well, soon...
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 05:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
bushd Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 5 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Testing the 1x battery drain now. I'll charge it tonight and see how long it lasts. I'm constantly going back and forth between Evdo and 1x due to the buildings.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 06:00 PM	#8 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	My past experience leads me to believe that by switching to 1x, one's battery life will double. This has been the case with other phones in the past....
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 06:02 PM	#9 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	Of course, it reminds me of when apple sent out a statement saying for optimal battery life on the new iphone 3g (a year ago), one should disable 3g, wifi, bluetooth, and gps. I could not help but think to myself - why did i buy the new iphone if I cannot use all the features... Nevertheless, 3 months later, apple released a software update to correct the issue and I am confident that palm will too...
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 06:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
Darknight Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 120 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 68 Thanked 10 Times in 10 Posts	Also, you may want to try to get an Airave from Retentions. I hear that helps a lot with poor reception at one's house. Not used it myself.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 06:21 PM	#11 (permalink)
MiWolverine96 Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 59 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 3 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	hey...great hack! i work in rockville, md & my bars are all over the grid all day. ill give this a try. & give some feed back. __________________ ohio state SUCKS!! & michigan state will never measure up! p.s. lakers SUCK too!! GO PISTONS!!
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 06:39 PM	#12 (permalink)
jhumberger Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 32 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 2 Posts	The hack works great and it is not as complicated as it looks... I guess this is one way of having a Pre on Verizon Wirelesses network, for the 2/3 of price. Just make sure you are on the "Simply everything" plan if you keep your phone on Roaming all the time. If you have a 500 minute plan, sprint will not allow you to use a total of more than 500 minutes roaming (including nights and week end minutes). The work around to this is using the Simply Everything Plan... they dont have this regulation on this plan.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 07:03 PM	#13 (permalink)
trixx Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 27 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Your data limit is like 300mb in roaming mode, so be careful.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 07:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
RLovelett Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 76 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 10 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Does not help with 3G coverage; you only get 1xRTT on the AIRAVE. Also, I've been using the 1xRTT hack on the ##EVDO# screen. I have noticed a huge increase in battery life.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 07:21 PM	#15 (permalink)
edwarto Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 91 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well since the update my battery life has gone from about 4pm time to put it on the charger at my desk to well its 5:20 pm now and I am still showing 80% and although the newness has made my use a bit less I believe that the connecting to wireless at my office has made the big difference too
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 07:59 PM	#17 (permalink)
nmoreman Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 332 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 56 Thanked 27 Times in 24 Posts	I'm looking at the screen. Can someone tell me what the differences are between 1xRtt, EVDO, Hybrid and the Rev 0 ? I would love to know to see what works best for me.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 10:05 PM	#19 (permalink)
RLovelett Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 76 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 10 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Type the code in the phone app and then select from drop down.
	Liked by

06/25/2009, 10:14 PM	#20 (permalink)
Big_Red89 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 18 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 23 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Very cool! I may have to try it out!
	Liked by

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode