HTC Desire battery life issues?

[Ben]

Hey all!

Got a friend with a HTC Desire that's suffering very poor battery life - it's not even lasting the day anymore.

What's the best way to a) find out what could be hammering the battery and b) disable any 'usual suspects' that could be causing this?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

[The Mullet of G]

I have similar issues with an HTC Desire, its the only phone I've ever owned that takes longer to charge than it does to go flat again. If you want to check whats using the battery go into settings and scroll to the bottom and select "About Phone" then "Battery" and finally hit "Battery Use" and it'll give you a break down of whats using what, although I'm somewhat skeptical about the information it gives, as it seems to be saying that Cell Standby is using 76% of my battery, this gives the impression that most of my power is being used maintaining connection to the network, when in reality the phone doesn't even have a SIM card in it.

You can re-calibrate the battery if the phone has been rooted, charge the phone till the light on the front turns green, unplug it then switch it off and plug it in again, wait till the light is again green, then boot into recovery mode and use ClockWorkMod Recovery and select "Advanced" then "Wipe Battery Stats" Not sure if this works or not, but I reckon it did improve my battery situation slightly.

As to disabling resource heavy stuff thats running, this is one of the issues I have with Android, its task manager is a bit rubbish, and the 3rd party efforts I've tried failed outright, I dislike not having a decent level of control over whats running.

[Hands0n]

As always - have a read up on BatteryUniversity.com - find out about the specific battery technology and regime to ensure optimum capacity and life.

[hecatae]

turn off Google Sync, turn off Turn to Mute, couple of others that will help

[Ben]

Thanks guys!

[gorilla]

Right, there's something wrong! I abuse my desire everyday and can get at least 12 hours out of it. You should get between 24- 36 of normal use. Some reports over xda of people getting 48 hours.

I'd be tempted to root and install a custom rom and update the radio. I'm using defrost and the latest radio at the minute and can easily get a full days use.

If you can't root, turn off automatic updates or lengthen the update interval. Sounds obvious but some of the apps (by default) update every few minutes.
Turn down the screen brightness.

To be fair I have had similar battery performance to the iPhone 3GS, both of which aren't great, but do you expect more from a smartphone?

[Hands0n]

Hey all!

Got a friend with a HTC Desire that's suffering very poor battery life - it's not even lasting the day anymore.

What's the best way to a) find out what could be hammering the battery and b) disable any 'usual suspects' that could be causing this?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

I really cannot vouch for what is being suggested at this website http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/08/htc-desire-battery-life-booster-trick/#comment-21352 But the feedback comments suggest that it really works.

In a nutshell:

Here's something to try out on your HTC Desire to improve the battery life. Particularly useful if the battery life has dropped off to ridiculously low levels.

http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/08/htc-desire-battery-life-booster-trick/#comment-21352

Follow the process EXACTLY and without change.
1) Turn your device ON and Charge the device for 8 hours or more.
2) Unplug the device and Turn the phone OFF and charge for 1 hour.
3) Unplug the device Turn ON wait 2 minutes and Turn OFF and charge for another hour.
Your battery life should almost double

My thinking on this is that there is something going on with the HTC Desire's internal charge and metering circuitry. Likely, it loses its way and does not let the battery charge to full capacity even though its displayed meter suggests otherwise. Following the cited procedure suggests, to me, that it is performing some kind of reset or recalibration of the handset's charging circuit.

In any event, it is certainly worth a go and a more likely reliable solution than purchasing another battery.

Please feed back on how it works for you.

[hecatae]

zte blade has similar issue, states fully charged at 90% battery

[The Mullet of G]

I really cannot vouch for what is being suggested at this website http://www.eurodroid.com/2010/08/htc-desire-battery-life-booster-trick/#comment-21352 But the feedback comments suggest that it really works.

In a nutshell:


My thinking on this is that there is something going on with the HTC Desire's internal charge and metering circuitry. Likely, it loses its way and does not let the battery charge to full capacity even though its displayed meter suggests otherwise. Following the cited procedure suggests, to me, that it is performing some kind of reset or recalibration of the handset's charging circuit.

In any event, it is certainly worth a go and a more likely reliable solution than purchasing another battery.

Please feed back on how it works for you.

That basically sounds like the same procedure I mentioned in my first post, except I shortened it somewhat. Also your version doesn't wipe the battery stats which I have a feeling is an important step here. I suspect that leaving the phone on charge while the green light is on means the charging circuit isn't actually charging the battery, so I think its more a case of getting a decent charge then wiping the battery stats, I'm unsure what the battery stats are, but I think they might be the reason why the phone gets a little confused and thinks the battery is full when it isn't, wiping it effectively resets/re-calibrates it. Having done it myself I have seen an improvement in battery life, although it still takes an absolute age to charge, I timed it yesterday and it was about 6 and a half hours.


zte blade has similar issue, states fully charged at 90% battery

Try the charge cycle trick then wipe your battery stats. I suspect this issue probably happens on a lot of Android phones, but people will tend to notice it more on phones that already struggle in the battery department.

[hecatae]

I would have to use ClockworkMod to wipe my battery stats

[Hands0n]

T... although it still takes an absolute age to charge, I timed it yesterday and it was about 6 and a half hours.

It may well be your charger not outputting the required amperage. Have you tried another USB power source?

[The Mullet of G]

I would have to use ClockworkMod to wipe my battery stats

Yup, but its super easy.


It may well be your charger not outputting the required amperage. Have you tried another USB power source?

I've tried it with my iPhone 4 charger and my PC, my motherboard supports a high powered USB output for quick charging phones and the like but still no dice. I think its either faulty or just naturally slow to charge.

[Hands0n]

I think its either faulty or just naturally slow to charge.

It does seem to be that way fella. My family's two HTC Desires do not exhibit any of that behaviour. Not even close to it!