SMARTPHONE: Poor battery and even poorer SPRINT customer service

[LD1]

thanks big green. That makes me feel better

 

[sailfast]

You should probably install a better kernel.

Check for wake-locks.

Undervolt

And install Green Power Free to control data usage.

 

[General Lee]

What do you think would be an "acceptable" battery life???

Off to bed now...

That is hard to answer. My iphone will drain fast on a long phone call, a lot of web/video browsing, etc, BUT based on my user habits the charge lasts me all day or more. Some days I don't talk on it at all. Your battery life does seem short but like I and others said, its not unheard of from a smartphone. Is it right? No, it needs to be what you find acceptable and at least close to advertised. All users results vary......call time, use time, coverage area, etc.

 

[s219]

I am a mobile developer part time, and have a lot of experience with various devices. In general, older BlackBerry devices were the best (but then again, they are primitive by today's standards). Android devices are all over the place, but generally have poor battery life in general because they are going crazy with screen size and hardware features without corresponding software optimizations. iPhones are right in the middle, and battery life depends on how you use them. For my iPhone 5, I can generally go 2-3 days between recharges, and it gets down to about 35-45% when I decide to recharge, so it probably would have more time in it. That's mixed talk/internet/app usage. On the other hand, if I am running a nav app full time without being plugged in, it can suck down to 70% in just a couple hours.

Having dealt with all the companies and devices for the past 6 years, I'd say get an iPhone if 1) you care about battery life, and 2) you want to be treated well as a customer. I think they have the best balance between performance, battery life, and software support compared to many other manufacturers who push out phones with crazy features and then never update the OS or fix bugs (Samsung has about the worst track record). And you can always walk into an Apple Store or call their phone support and be treated with respect and efficiency. They do not repair bad iPhones within the first year warranty -- if there is a true hardware issue (not due to abuse), they will give you a new one on the spot. They won't dick you around. I know several friends and family members who are now Apple fans because of their customer service policies. It's an American company run by people with common sense, and they are fair to their customers.

 

[LD1]

Well...there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I did go to the store. Battery tested fine but he agreed that what I describe is horrible. And there were no obvious settings causing it. WiFi is off, GPS is off, screen is dim, etc.

So I call *2 again. This time they give me a direct number to an account executive. He works 3:15-12:15 CST though. So I left a voicemail and now I wait.

On a side note, as I type this, my phone has only been off the charger for 3 hours an 47% of my battery has been used up. And that 47% has got me 20 minutes of phone calls, and 45 minutes of screen time. Everything else is nil. Those two total 75% of my usage.

 

[riptides]

Well...there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I did go to the store. Battery tested fine but he agreed that what I describe is horrible. And there were no obvious settings causing it. WiFi is off, GPS is off, screen is dim, etc.

So I call *2 again. This time they give me a direct number to an account executive. He works 3:15-12:15 CST though. So I left a voicemail and now I wait.

On a side note, as I type this, my phone has only been off the charger for 3 hours an 47% of my battery has been used up. And that 47% has got me 20 minutes of phone calls, and 45 minutes of screen time. Everything else is nil. Those two total 75% of my usage.

I'd be curious as to seeing your battery stats display.

I am sure Sprint has on-line forums. Have you tried posting in there?

I had a Verizon update go wrong. Tied to go global on me, ended up "breaking" all service. I had to swap out the phone, not happy about that, but even the people in the brick and mortar were amazed at the "upgrade" behavior. Turned out, I saw it on the phone, and read about it on line. A few other, repeat few, had the same issue.

Perhaps you have a firmware issue.

 

[sailfast]

Well...there may be light at the end of the tunnel. I did go to the store. Battery tested fine but he agreed that what I describe is horrible. And there were no obvious settings causing it. WiFi is off, GPS is off, screen is dim, etc.

So I call *2 again. This time they give me a direct number to an account executive. He works 3:15-12:15 CST though. So I left a voicemail and now I wait.

On a side note, as I type this, my phone has only been off the charger for 3 hours an 47% of my battery has been used up. And that 47% has got me 20 minutes of phone calls, and 45 minutes of screen time. Everything else is nil. Those two total 75% of my usage.

That does sound odd. Can you take and post a screen shot of your battery stats screen?

When I added the Green Power Free app battery time increased about 35 %

New kernel about another 40%

And under volt about another 15%

My Nexus 4 went from about 8 hours with 2 hours screen per a charge to about 17 hours (full day) with 3 hours screen with some 10-13% battery remaining. I charge every night.

Went from intolerable to acceptable..

One should expect to charge their phone every night.

AS well I picked up an external battery for less than $30 to plug into wherever I happen to be if I am on a heavy usage day.

 

[Chilly807]

I replaced the battery in my Samsung Ace under warranty shortly after I got it, turns out the original wasn't up to snuff. So did my wife, she has an Ace as well. After that, the battery life is still just ok.. Samsung is noted for poor battery life, or are we just all used to flip phones that would hold a charge for 7-10 days if you didn't use them a lot?

I get about 2-3 days of use out of mine between charges, but I'm not a heavy user either. Maybe 30 mins a day of browsing, a dozen or so texts, and a 5 minute call or two.

Sean

 

[The kid]

I have a Samsung Galaxy Proclaim and it sucks on battery life. Not as bad as your describing though. I turn everything off when I'm out and about. If in the car I manually turn on the Bluetooth. I turn it off when not in the car. Since I'm not using the phone for a GPS. That is turned off too. I goto applications and shut down almost all background apps which does help on battery life. If your home tower is weak the phone will power up in output thus eating up the battery.

An alternative is to get a larger battery pack. You can buy extended batteries and matching rear cover that would extend your talk time two or three fold. I've seen them on ebay fairly reasonable. My phone is on the Verizon network and will probably get an extended battery pack and cover. -kid

 

[Tony_S]

Maybe that 47% of the battery used up is really only ummmm....errr...say, 27% of your battery used up. I say burn 'er to the ground...see how far she'll take ya till she circles the drain.