everyones experience with battery life?

[thatmtnman]

Hi Everyone,

I got my Iphone 2 months ago (April 08)and the battery life is horrible. I get no more than 5 hours and 35 minutes, tops before it turns itself off.

I use edge for browsing as I don't have wifi at home and most networks are secure these days. Generally speaking I use under 200 minutes of talk time a week, play music not more than an hour a day, but do use the browser constantly. I manually get my mail, and I do use sms for maybe 20 messages a day.

Can I ask the forums experiance with battery life, and if my results are normal? Would the use of edge versus wifi have any effect on this?

Many thanks everyone!

[Eragon]

If my iPhone sits like a brick (unused), I can get much more than 6 hours. :wink:

Listening to music (audiobooks), I can get more than 6 hours, especially if I leave the device in airplane mode, and turn off the screen after it starts playing.

Active surfing the internet, sending photos via email, checking email in general, are all battery draining activities. If I check my iPhone 2x hour while checking my Travian.com account, I can be sure my battery will be gone in about 4 hours.

Watching a 2 hour video with default brightness settings will also consume my battery.

Bottom line, if you are going to use your iPhone for intensive applications or uses, get a portable battery (e.g., JBox or Juice).

[chazm]

This is all normal for a phone with a big screen and like you said, constant use of the browser....<-----this is the main reason.

Ive owned the blackberry pearl, dash and Shadow (all PDA style phones) and all had low battery life for me because I am a heavy internet user. I think the iPhone isn't as bad though becuase of the larger screen and its brighter, yet still get about the same as my other phones.

[thatmtnman]

Thanks Larry...I had no idea the browser would take so much juice...I think Apple is quoting a lot of hours?

Do you think using edge versus wi fi has any effect?

Cheers!!!

If my iPhone sits like a brick (unused), I can get much more than 6 hours. :wink:

Listening to music (audiobooks), I can get more than 6 hours, especially if I leave the device in airplane mode, and turn off the screen after it starts playing.

Active surfing the internet, sending photos via email, checking email in general, are all battery draining activities. If I check my iPhone 2x hour while checking my Travian.com account, I can be sure my battery will be gone in about 4 hours.

Watching a 2 hour video with default brightness settings will also consume my battery.

Bottom line, if you are going to use your iPhone for intensive applications or uses, get a portable battery (e.g., JBox or Juice).

[thatmtnman]

Of all of the phones you used, which gives the longest life if you browse? I have often thought of a Blackberry of some type...does it get much better life? Does it have the kind of really good web browser experience or is it more primitive?

Cheers!!

This is all normal for a phone with a big screen and like you said, constant use of the browser....<-----this is the main reason.

Ive owned the blackberry pearl, dash and Shadow (all PDA style phones) and all had low battery life for me because I am a heavy internet user. I think the iPhone isn't as bad though becuase of the larger screen and its brighter, yet still get about the same as my other phones.

[ravman]

I get about 2 days usage before I need to recharge.



Hi Everyone,

I got my Iphone 2 months ago (April 08)and the battery life is horrible. I get no more than 5 hours and 35 minutes, tops before it turns itself off.

I use edge for browsing as I don't have wifi at home and most networks are secure these days. Generally speaking I use under 200 minutes of talk time a week, play music not more than an hour a day, but do use the browser constantly. I manually get my mail, and I do use sms for maybe 20 messages a day.

Can I ask the forums experiance with battery life, and if my results are normal? Would the use of edge versus wifi have any effect on this?

Many thanks everyone!

[Eragon]

Thanks Larry...I had no idea the browser would take so much juice...I think Apple is quoting a lot of hours?

Do you think using edge versus wi fi has any effect?

Cheers!!!

I would think that EDGE would tend to consume more power given the longer download times. Some websites load slowly even with WiFi. Thus, the conclusions are mixed. A simple test you can do is to observe the amount of time the spinning wheel turns when you are actively using the radio (WiFi or EDGE). In general, long spinning times mean the radio is blazing with little or no result. If that happens, kill the application by stopping the web page load, or hold the Home button until the app closes.

[gotpancakes]

turn the brightness down to pretty much zero... ull get used to it and it gives at least 2-3 extra hours with high browsing etc. also when not in wifi..turn it off.

[chazm]

Of all of the phones you used, which gives the longest life if you browse? I have often thought of a Blackberry of some type...does it get much better life? Does it have the kind of really good web browser experience or is it more primitive?

Cheers!!


Its hard to say, I would definitely say my dash was the least conservative. I'd really have to say the Pearl gives the best battery consumption I guess, but probably very close to the iPHone and given the iPhone has a bigger brighter screen, I would give the nod to the iPhone.

Also, do what gotpancakes said. Turn down the brightness, I did that and it helpls

[adseguy]

WiFi consumes much less power then EDGE does, not because WiFi is faster, but because the signal strength is much much much less. Look it up if need be.

Biggest battery hog is the screen. If you can get that to as low as you can be comfortable with, this will help you a lot. Browsing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest application hog (besides 3rd party apps) so not much you can do their.

5 and half hours seems about right for usage time. If you mean 5 and a half total hours including standby then, yes, you have a problem. I can't believe that you have five and a half hours a day to play on your phone.....you need something to do :P

[thatmtnman]

Thanks for your info...I will try to get wifi instead of edge. As for the screen...I love that pretty bright screen! LOL! I hear there are some batteries that are about the same size, and clip on to the phone itself...maybe that is the route to go?




WiFi consumes much less power then EDGE does, not because WiFi is faster, but because the signal strength is much much much less. Look it up if need be.

Biggest battery hog is the screen. If you can get that to as low as you can be comfortable with, this will help you a lot. Browsing is one of the biggest, if not the biggest application hog (besides 3rd party apps) so not much you can do their.

5 and half hours seems about right for usage time. If you mean 5 and a half total hours including standby then, yes, you have a problem. I can't believe that you have five and a half hours a day to play on your phone.....you need something to do :P

[kokogirl]

My battery lasts all day during a normal work day. I check my email on edge while my husband drives us to work, or check on EIC. The iphone sits on my desk at work, with wifi on, but I do not use it at work except to occasionally talk or check my calendar.

I run out of battery FAST if we are taking a long car trip and I am surfing web on EDGE, or watching movies. That made my trips boring. :frown: I will need to get reserve battery power for this summer.

[linkerjpatrick]

My battery power is excellent however I rarely have wi-fi turned on and another thing I do to save battery life is keep the brightness turned way down. The only time I turn my brightness up is to see better outside or to show photos to friends and family.

On top of that I sync up just about everyday as I'm a big podcast listener and so it gets recharged a little bit each time during that process.

I normally only need to do a full recharge every week to week and a half.

[caymindiver]

Ahhhh, battery life. My experience has so far been positive. I did have to modify my settings. Such as screen brightness and wifi. Also if you turn off the auto brightness it'll help with battery life.

[thatmtnman]

I've changed my phone settings-thank you so much for the suggestions..though I can barely read my phone now :(

Ahhhh, battery life. My experience has so far been positive. I did have to modify my settings. Such as screen brightness and wifi. Also if you turn off the auto brightness it'll help with battery life.

[thatmtnman]

that has to be a world record! Are you using the standard charger?

Thanks!

My battery power is excellent however I rarely have wi-fi turned on and another thing I do to save battery life is keep the brightness turned way down. The only time I turn my brightness up is to see better outside or to show photos to friends and family.

On top of that I sync up just about everyday as I'm a big podcast listener and so it gets recharged a little bit each time during that process.

I normally only need to do a full recharge every week to week and a half.

[caymindiver]

Well it's a trade off. I leave my "auto brightness" on so in daylight it's easier to read. Had to laugh when you wrote that though. Hey, who knows maybe Apple will bring out a stronger battery with the new phone.

[linkerjpatrick]

that has to be a world record! Are you using the standard charger?

Thanks!

Mainly my USB sync cable or my FM Belkin Transmiter charger thing in the card. Of course I don't do a whole lot of phone calling or web surfing. Most of my web stuff is checking twitter updates via Hahlo, checking in on Digg and the occasional Google or Wikipedia search.

[cosmo420]

also when you are done with the broser do you hold down the home button? if not I come to find out that the browser stays on thus consuming the batt. also I do a home/off push button at the same time after a charge like once a month. I too listen to my music for about an hour check my email like 4 or 5 times a day, play a game of hangman wile on the toilet and of course text and talk for about an hour a day, I only have to charge mine every 2 days, but I never let it go below 20 percent.

[Elbacanazo920]

Battery Life is one of the least problems I have with the iPhone. It actually works very well for me. Sometimes i go 1 1/2 days without charging and still got some energy on it. Wifi is off, so is bluetooth and i just mainly use all of its features quite a lot especially web browsing.

[thatmtnman]

Thats a great hint! Wondering if anyone knows how much power the browser might use??

But I was wondering what happens when I go from browsing to say using the the music player....If the browser stays on, that is just a waste of power. Can you explain how to turn off the browser? I guess I should also ask how to turn it back on then?

I didn't realize you could actually turn it off.

Thanks Cosmo!


also when you are done with the broser do you hold down the home button? if not I come to find out that the browser stays on thus consuming the batt. also I do a home/off push button at the same time after a charge like once a month. I too listen to my music for about an hour check my email like 4 or 5 times a day, play a game of hangman wile on the toilet and of course text and talk for about an hour a day, I only have to charge mine every 2 days, but I never let it go below 20 percent.

[caymindiver]

also when you are done with the broser do you hold down the home button? if not I come to find out that the browser stays on thus consuming the batt. also I do a home/off push button at the same time after a charge like once a month. I too listen to my music for about an hour check my email like 4 or 5 times a day, play a game of hangman wile on the toilet and of course text and talk for about an hour a day, I only have to charge mine every 2 days, but I never let it go below 20 percent.


I also have heard that if you begin to experience a battery that will no longer hold a full charge, that if you allow it to fully discharge then charge it - it should "reset" the battery memory. Now I have no idea if this really works or is just a rumor . . .

[psylichon]

I also have heard that if you begin to experience a battery that will no longer hold a full charge, that if you allow it to fully discharge then charge it - it should "reset" the battery memory. Now I have no idea if this really works or is just a rumor . . .

It's not that the battery can't hold a full charge, it's that occasionally the battery indicator on the phone will not reflect reality. It will drain nonlinearly, or not appear to charge fully. Wearing the phone down to no charge and then charging it fully every couple months will prevent this.

But the battery does not exhibit "memory"

[cosmo420]

Thats a great hint! Wondering if anyone knows how much power the browser might use??

But I was wondering what happens when I go from browsing to say using the the music player....If the browser stays on, that is just a waste of power. Can you explain how to turn off the browser? I guess I should also ask how to turn it back on then?

I didn't realize you could actually turn it off.

Thanks Cosmo!
not a problem, to exit your browser when finished just hold the home button down until the screen goes back to main icon page,you know time,weather,calender,you tube etc. thats all then you can go to your music or if you are done entirely, this happened to me one day I was browsing the internet and my break was over, I left it on and went to my music and started listening then after a little while my battery was dead when I had a full charge before I left for work, then I came over here and did a search on tips for maximizing your iphone battery.

[SwingOnThis]

turn the brightness down to pretty much zero... ull get used to it and it gives at least 2-3 extra hours with high browsing etc. also when not in wifi..turn it off.

I know lowering the brightness extends the battery life but a big part of the reason i love my iPhone is the big, bright, crisp display. Frigging gorgeous. I'll sacrifice some battery life for that.

[SwingOnThis]

not a problem, to exit your browser when finished just hold the home button down until the screen goes back to main icon page,you know time,weather,calender,you tube etc. thats all then you can go to your music or if you are done entirely, this happened to me one day I was browsing the internet and my break was over, I left it on and went to my music and started listening then after a little while my battery was dead when I had a full charge before I left for work, then I came over here and did a search on tips for maximizing your iphone battery.

So you're telling me that if i don't 'exit' safari the way you say (by holding the button down until the home screen pops up), it will continue to drain the battery EVEN IF the page that it's on has already loaded and the little wheel is not spinning? That doesn't make sense. Why would it keep sucking the battery?

[psylichon]

That doesn't make sense. Why would it keep sucking the battery?

I don't really think it does.

I remember when I first got my phone it was FW 1.1.1 and it seemed to get hot when I was doing lots of things... bouncing around between text, email, youtube, safari. It seemed like it would get overloaded, and in those times, closing programs with the 6-second-home-button thing worked to alleviate the problem.

I have to say I haven't experienced anything like that from 1.1.2 on, I believe. I think Apple did something to more efficiently allocate resources dynamically. I think now, apps in the background are relatively dormant to the point where, for all intents and purposes, they are closed.

I have no actual evidence to this fact, other than I know Apple is being strict about SDK apps not being allowed to run in the background. Who knows.

[Hayesimus]

Well, for those that don't know me that well, I work nights. 12 hour shifts. And I usually take my phone directly off the charger fully charged when I leave for work. I use it on my breaks, about 5 20-minute breaks. Maybe one break will be a phone call but most are just browsing the web and posting in the forum. Well, I've always had fairly good battery life.

I could do this all night and then in the morning still have as much as 40% left. Well, suddenly a couple months ago, my battery was sick or something. I'd barely make it 5 hours before it was going dead. Don't know what started it. But it was that way for a couple weeks at least. Then one day, out of no where, it was back to normal. I was so glad too. I was afraid I was gonna have to send it back! :( But anyway, still working fine today!

[SwingOnThis]

I could do this all night and then in the morning still have as much as 40% left. Well, suddenly a couple months ago, my battery was sick or something. I'd barely make it 5 hours before it was going dead. Don't know what started it. But it was that way for a couple weeks at least. Then one day, out of no where, it was back to normal.

Your iPhone battery sounds a lot like my wife. :tounge:

[Eragon]

Oooooooh! :smile:

Has anyone used their iPhones so much that they've essentially worn the battery out?

[psylichon]

Has anyone used their iPhones so much that they've essentially worn the battery out?

I'm curious about this too. I haven't heard of any i-Dayers running the course of their 400 charge cycles yet... It seems everyone has experienced something necessitating an exchange before the battery runs out.

[thatmtnman]

I didn't know you could do that! It seems then, that I leave my browser on all day...do you think that could be the reason why I am only getting the 5 hours a day?

Cheers!

not a problem, to exit your browser when finished just hold the home button down until the screen goes back to main icon page,you know time,weather,calender,you tube etc. thats all then you can go to your music or if you are done entirely, this happened to me one day I was browsing the internet and my break was over, I left it on and went to my music and started listening then after a little while my battery was dead when I had a full charge before I left for work, then I came over here and did a search on tips for maximizing your iphone battery.

[chazm]

Another little tip:

After making a phone call, text, email or even surfing the internet I immediately hit the button on top of the phone. This automatically puts it in sleep mode, or whatever you call it. This can save your battery because I think the light may stay on for 30 seconds or whatever you have the setting at.

[thatmtnman]

I've taken all of your advice and it seems to be working better, my only complaint is I have the screen turned down so far, its hard to see :( Maybe I will get one of those additional power supplies. Apparently there is one that clips on to the back of the phone, essentially doubling the thickness of the phone, and rumored to get 3 or 4 times as long. I just wonder how long it will be until some smart battery company comes up with a replacement that works longer.

Thanks!


Another little tip:

After making a phone call, text, email or even surfing the internet I immediately hit the button on top of the phone. This automatically puts it in sleep mode, or whatever you call it. This can save your battery because I think the light may stay on for 30 seconds or whatever you have the setting at.

[Youngbinks]

You may have a defective battery. If you think it is bad enough I would suggest visiting an Apple store. If that's already been suggested and isn't possible, sorry, I didn't read the entire thread. I charge nightly but it's usually only at 1/2 life at worst despite pretty intense use.

[projectdarkside]

about a day 1/2. but I charge everynite anyways :)

[chazm]

I have an iphone.

How's that workin out for you buddy? :confused:

[skiz420]

i get about 2 days before i need a recharge.... listen... turn your brightness down to about 1/4 of the bar... shut off the join wifi feature... and set your auto lock to 1 min.... also maunal check your email... and everyone needs to remember one more thing... IF YOU HAVE NO SERVICE YOUR KILL BATTERY... no or low service will eat up battery because the phone is constanly in search mode trying to lock on to a tower... this is true with every phone i ever had nextel,tmobile, and the iphone... keep service and your battery will be find and dandy.... hope this helps to those with short battery life....

[thatmtnman]

many thanks for the suggestions...I'm giving them a try right away...

cheers

i get about 2 days before i need a recharge.... listen... turn your brightness down to about 1/4 of the bar... shut off the join wifi feature... and set your auto lock to 1 min.... also maunal check your email... and everyone needs to remember one more thing... IF YOU HAVE NO SERVICE YOUR KILL BATTERY... no or low service will eat up battery because the phone is constanly in search mode trying to lock on to a tower... this is true with every phone i ever had nextel,tmobile, and the iphone... keep service and your battery will be find and dandy.... hope this helps to those with short battery life....

[kneshoba]

I'm not a heavy browser or video user with my iPhone. I can generally get 6 hours of use and 2 days standby without plugging it in. Overall my total lifetime is 14 days 23 hours and I bought mine on release date.

[projectdarkside]

I'm not a heavy browser or video user with my iPhone. I can generally get 6 hours of use and 2 days standby without plugging it in. Overall my total lifetime is 14 days 23 hours and I bought mine on release date.What does "The total lifetime" thing mean? I must have missed something?