Forum Home
PC World Chat
 
Thread ID: 137625 2014-07-31 06:12:00 Battery saving on phones and tablets John H (8) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1380379 2014-07-31 06:12:00 Hi all.

I doubt this will be a surprise to most of you phone geeks, but it may help some ignoramuses like me:

www.payetteforward.com

And for people who use a phone or tablet with a sensible OS:

www.payetteforward.com

I believe that some phones use an OS from Microsoft, but who cares? (Sorry, I don't mean that).

I have tried some of the tricks, but will not know for a day or so how effective they are.
John H (8)
1380380 2014-07-31 08:24:00 I used easy battery saver and task killer for a while. Don't think I really saved power, because I tended to use more apps and browsing, maps, etc with the saver. Though had 4 modes for saving, one which you could get it to turn off WIFI/Bluetooth for a set time (night mode), set up polling net interval, etc, which perhaps saved a little. Could get it to go into low power mode at set battery percent.

But could not figure out why no updates/emails for a while as it had turned off sync. Note you can turn of app updates under settings for the play store app (usually defaults to WIFI auto update), and restrict background services for individual apps (press) listed under data usage in android settings. You may have to roll back the date range to display more apps used previously to restrict their services as well. Though don't know to what extent are the restrictions.
kahawai chaser (3545)
1380381 2014-07-31 08:53:00 They don't. Android has absolutely fantastic memory management and the power savings are just fine. You should *only* use those apps to automatically turn WiFi / Bluetooth etc off, and never use it to close applications. Chilling_Silence (9)
1380382 2014-07-31 09:09:00 The best power saving function is the off button, I mean why do you need your phone on when your asleep. I have always turned my phone off at night ever since I've owned one.

When I was a tradie my phone got turned off at lunchtime on Friday and not turned back on until Monday morning and I always had more work than I needed.

I really don't understand this concept of being permanently connected to the world, I like being disconnected each day for a while.
gary67 (56)
1380383 2014-07-31 10:17:00 Hi all.

I doubt this will be a surprise to most of you phone geeks, but it may help some ignoramuses like me:

www.payetteforward.com

And for people who use a phone or tablet with a sensible OS:

www.payetteforward.com

I believe that some phones use an OS from Microsoft, but who cares? (Sorry, I don't mean that).

I have tried some of the tricks, but will not know for a day or so how effective they are.

So what phone do you own?
Webdevguy (17166)
1380384 2014-07-31 10:22:00 I doubt this will be a surprise to most of you phone geeks, but it may help some ignoramuses like me:

www.payetteforward.com

Count me in as an ignoramus too, John. :blush:

Thanks heaps for posting these links as I have been grumbling no end about the poor battery life of my iPod and now I have, hopefully, discovered why. Have shared both links with family members as well as they are really good tips. :thumbs:
FoxyMX (5)
1380385 2014-07-31 22:48:00 I'm not an android wizkid but what works for me is ..
- turn off data , turn off wifi, turn off GPS . Thats all super easy with Samsung phones : no special app needed, its via a top screen swipe.
It will go into power save in 5 minutes . In powersave mode the batt lasts for days.
1101 (13337)
1380386 2014-07-31 23:30:00 The best power saving function is the off button, I mean why do you need your phone on when your asleep. I have always turned my phone off at night ever since I've owned one.

When I was a tradie my phone got turned off at lunchtime on Friday and not turned back on until Monday morning and I always had more work than I needed.

I really don't understand this concept of being permanently connected to the world, I like being disconnected each day for a while.

Coz some of us like to be available for family, if they get into sticky situations. Younger brother, 15, had his first job working in a cinema in Auckland CBD, missed the last bus (They didn't take him seriously, small kid trying to hail a bus, happens all the time where the driver thinks you're just being silly) and was stuck in town at 11PM at night. Scrawny little kid alone in the big smoke late at night, no money, panicing... Rings mum, her phone is off. Rings dad, his phone is off. Rings home phone, nobody answers. Rings me, no worries I'll come pick you up in 10 minutes.
Things like that happen, and while that doesn't appeal to everybody, I like to be available to help people.

Same deal for jobs. I don't get out of bed for a couple of bucks, but if a server is on fire or the sky is falling, I'm gonna get paid a few hundred bucks to wake up and do 10 minutes work, so why not keep my phone on? :D

Finally, games, I like to play Ingress, and if the enemy team happens to try and setup something in my local area, I've done more than a few midnight runs to clear it.

Some people like to be disconnected, all power to ya, but not all of us do.
Chilling_Silence (9)
1380387 2014-08-01 00:26:00 I should have been clearer with my original post. I am not concerned about the battery life in my phone - Huawei Y360. I really only use it for txts with my daughters and for emergency phone calls. All other phone stuff happens on our landline. The cell phone is useful to keep in touch with family when we are away in the campervan, but again that is only for txts and availability for emergencies. There have never been any emergencies, so that has never used any cellphone power. I have never worked out why anyone would want to play games, surf the interweb, or engage with (anti)social media on a stupid cell phone, but that is just me. I am an old fart, and my family don't go in for any tricky situations that can't be handled through txt if I am away from home. If my kids get drunk, they handle it without any intervention from me.

My concern has been the battery usage on my tablet - first generation Nexus 7, made by ASUS and ruined by Google. I have had mine since they first arrived in NZ, so I guess it is possible that the battery is showing signs of wear. However, it could also be that it is the junk I have installed, second only to the crap installed by Google, that is using the power. Secondly it could be the way I am using the tablet; ebook reader, email from time to time, newsreading (The Listener, NZ Herald, Stuff, The ChCh Press, and a non-Rupert Murdoch newspaper from Britain), web, and way too many downloaded videos).

However, I have followed many of the recommendations in the article related to Android. Secondly, following that article led to me getting to understand my tablet better, so I have done some other things not mentioned in the article:
1. I have got rid of any apps that I have not used in living memory. Some were running in the background even though they were not being used.
2. I have got rid of most adware, because they were "phoning home" for ads, and also blinking and flashing away. Presumably this all took battery power.
3. I have recently been on a mission to get rid of (or not updating) any apps that have a formidable list of permissions, including wanting my inside leg measurement. One app that fits all three of the above criteria was Skype (bye bye Skype). The latest update wanted a pile of additional permissions, so I hadn't installed it. I finally got rid of the whole thing because of 1, 2, & 3. We use Skype on the home laptop instead.
4. I have gone through all of the installed apps, and any that did not survive 1, 2, or 3 got Force Stopped and Disabled if I couldn't uninstall them. I didn't realise how many apps simmer away in the background even though they are unused and unwanted. I learned how much crap was installed by Google that cannot be uninstalled, so most of them are now stopped and disabled. Contrary to the warnings, and consistent with the article, I have not experienced any problems as a result of this process.

BTW, I have not installed any of the utilities recommended in the article - they didn't survive 1, 2, or 3. .. And no, I am not prepared to root my tablet to get rid of all the Google garbage.

I hope the articles help some people who are in a similar dumkopf category to me. Even if they haven't led to any longer battery life for me, at least I understand more about my tablet!
John H (8)
1380388 2014-08-01 03:46:00 So for your Cellphone, turn off WiFi, Bluetooth, and mobile-data. Sorted, it'll now last a lot longer, no need to install anything.
DONT manually kill the apps yourself, or have another application try and do it, it's pointless and usually ends up burning more battery life by doing-so.

For the tablet, Google includes very little aside from its own core services such as Mapping, Gmail etc, so I dunno what this nonsense is about Google bloatware / junk? Perhaps you've not seen a Samsung phone lately for comparison?
Chilling_Silence (9)
1 2