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09/08/2011 07:46:37 AM · #1 |
I bought a new cell phone last Saturday - chosen primarily for having a 2mp camera, which most of the other cheap ones did not.
Everything seems to be fine with the phone, but the battery already needs charging for the 2nd time since I got it. I wasn't surprised when it went flat the first time because I spend a lot of time going through menus trying to work out how to use it. However I really don't use my phone a lot and haven't made any calls or sent any messages since I unplugged it from the charger just over 2 days ago after having it plugged in for about 16 hours. Yet it is already down to one bar and will need charging before the day is out. Could this be because it is still new, is the battery faulty, or could a fault in the phone cause the battery to get used up so quickly?
The phone seems to have been in the store since February. Could this be the cause of the problem? I have a week to get the phone replaced, but don't want to return a phone that is working alright. But if I wait they are likely to send it back for repair when it is probably only the battery that needs replacing. |
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09/08/2011 08:02:06 AM · #2 |
1. if you can replace the phone for free, do it. it's certainly not going to hurt and if the "old" battery is the problem then nothing will help other than a new battery
2. check which "features" of the phone are automatically enabled and possibly draining battery life i.e. GPS, bluetooth, wifi, etc. Even if these services aren't in use, of they're enabled they're big drains on the battery
3. battery life can be increased by conditioning the battery by fully charging then fully draining in 2-3 cycles. |
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09/08/2011 08:03:12 AM · #3 |
| Check bluetooth isn't turned on by default. It's a huge killer of batteries, though I would say for a new phone that's excessively quick to die! |
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09/08/2011 08:12:13 AM · #4 |
| I will check to see what is enabled - I don't know anything about things like bluetooth and wifi as I have never used them. I also heard about conditioning batteries over 2-3 cycles. My problem is that checking whether these things make a difference will take me beyond the 7 day return period. |
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09/08/2011 08:17:49 AM · #5 |
take the battery out, run your thumb and forefinger on both sides at once, if it feels swollen at all and not flat, it's bad
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 08:18:11. |
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09/08/2011 08:25:50 AM · #6 |
| I don't think the battery is swollen. I'm still trying to work out how to check the other settings. |
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09/08/2011 08:37:50 AM · #7 |
Bluetooth isn't activated. I can't find any reference to wifi or GPS, only a mobile tracker to let people know if your phone is stolen, but that hasn't been activated either.
I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to fancy features on phones, my previous one was the cheapest available at the time and had no fancy features. But even after nearly 4 years, the battery still lasted about 5 days. |
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09/08/2011 09:04:00 AM · #8 |
What kind of phone? Some are notorious for sucking down batteries.
I'd just take it back to the store and tell them about the battery draining so quickly. |
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09/08/2011 09:29:23 AM · #9 |
Is it a smartphone with a large display? I'm lucky to get 2 days out of mine, and that's hardly making any calls! I'm in the habit of plugging it in next to my bed every night and using it as an alarm clock.
I've just realised something. I'm paying €20/month for an alarm clock. |
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09/08/2011 09:34:15 AM · #10 |
Samsung GT-B3210. Seems to be quite an old model!
The display blacks out if the phone is not used for a few seconds and the phone locks itself as soon as the screen goes black.
Edit: Changed link to an official Samsung one.
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 11:02:18. |
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09/08/2011 10:31:34 AM · #11 |
| Just take it back...tell them about the battery draining so fast. |
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09/08/2011 10:38:52 AM · #12 |
I found this link -
How to solve the problem of battery's short lifespan - which made me wonder if I was expecting too much from my phone. None of these things can really be an issue though as I haven't used the phone since the last charge, but I have no intention of setting the ring tone volume low as my main issue with my old phone was that I never heard it ring.
Digging a bit deeper I found that the battery standby time is "Up to 316 hours" - that brings me 11 days short. I definitely think I need to take it back. Just wondering if I must ask for a new battery or a new phone. If their stock have been there since February, maybe they all have bad batteries. |
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09/08/2011 11:05:10 AM · #13 |
316 hours is if you don't touch the phone at all, and leave the screen blank. And even at that, you won't get the 316 hours (it's probably 'in laboratory conditions' lol)
But seriously, if I got even 4 days out of my phone I'd be amazed. 3 days is my absolute max. And it's a Samsung S-8000. |
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09/08/2011 11:14:51 AM · #14 |
 JH a variation that extreme sounds a bit strange. My father bought a phone about 2 weeks before I did. It is much more basic than mine, but does have a camera and a fairly large screen. He doesn't use his much, but uses it as an alarm clock (which I don't do). Then standby time on his is "Up to 280 hours" and he's getting about a week between charges. I certainly didn't expect 13 days from mine, but 2 seems a bit ridiculous.
Edit: Oops, messed that link nicely.
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 11:27:48. |
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09/08/2011 11:19:41 AM · #15 |
| I'd say take it back to the shop and explain the problem. It'll just irritate the hell out of you if you don't. I know the feeling. :) |
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09/08/2011 01:31:07 PM · #16 |
what kind of phone? is it a smart phone? im lucky to get 10 hours out of my Focus if i use it. it will last for two days if i barely touch it.
remember these things are little computers in your pocket expecting more than a day out of a smartphone is asking too much. |
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09/08/2011 02:29:11 PM · #17 |
Samsung GT-B3210
I really don't understand how they could claim 316 hours standby time and expect a person to settle for 2 days with a brand new battery. If what JH and  mike_311 are saying is correct, isn't this misleading advertising? |
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09/08/2011 03:14:06 PM · #18 |
| I just found a review which says the phone kept going for 3-4 days with normal use. Somewhat better than two days with zero use. |
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09/08/2011 03:22:28 PM · #19 |
| Do you live in a remote/ rural area? If so you could be using an older network that causes your phone to use more power communicating, and perhaps if you are in an area where there is bad or intermittent signal, then your phone will scan for a network very actively- eating through the battery at a much increased rate. |
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09/08/2011 03:31:09 PM · #20 |
| No Cory, I don't live in a remote area. I live in a big city where the phone signals are usually pretty good. All our previous phones have had good battery life. That's why I find this so surprising. |
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09/08/2011 04:56:26 PM · #21 |
all manufacturers do it, they aren't lying, the phone will stay charged for 316 hrs, if you leave the screen off, get no phone calls, nothing, the whole time. in reality we all use our phones and there are some pretty sizable processors inside today's phones.
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09/08/2011 05:16:36 PM · #22 |
Well I didn't actually expect a full 316 hours. But 2 days, when which all I did was check the phone a couple of times a day to see if there were any calls or messages I'd missed! I never even went as far as unlocking the phone. I doubt the screen display was on for a full minute in those 2 days.
If the review reported 3-4 days with normal use, I would have expected to get a little more than that, not even less. |
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09/08/2011 05:33:38 PM · #23 |
when i first got mine i thought the same thing considering my old dump phone which was a touch screen got 3-4 days.
but my wife and i both got the same phone and both have the same battery life.
i do find that if at work i turn off data, the battery life is much improved. in fact i could go the whole day with almost a full charge. it seems the phone constantly searching for data to upload or download really drains the battery. |
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09/08/2011 06:01:29 PM · #24 |
Check the available networks from your provider: 2G, 3G, Edge, UMTS, GPRS,... and than check which one is best-serving in your neighborhood. Disable all networks except 2G and Edge. These 2 should give you enough speed to send/receive e-mails, surf on the web etc.
3G consumes more of your battery then 2G and Edge together. Each time the BTS checks up with your mobile to see which network is best-received, there's data send over and of: battery consuming. The frequent frequency hopping: battery consuming. If not needed, disable it.
Also disable the touch tones when texting etc. This also consumes more of your battery.
Important: let your battery go completely down on regular bases. Don't keep it charged all the time. The lifespan of a battery decreases considerably when charged all the time.
If these points do not help: get that battery replaced. You have a warranty on it. If another battery gives the same result: try to get another cell phone. Some cell phones are equipped to do a lot of things, e.g. use 3G. But often the first "generations" are showing some problems to do what they are meant to do. Those little issues are in general solved with the successors.
Message edited by author 2011-09-08 18:02:45. |
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09/08/2011 06:41:57 PM · #25 |
 Nadine_Vb the networks available here are totally different to what you mention. However I did discover that my phone offers a choice between automatic or manual network settings. As my sim card is specific to one service provider, I don't know whether it makes any difference, but I changed the setting to manual. I don't use my phone for e-mails or internet so none of that should be enabled anyway.
I have reduced the volume of my touch tones, but not disabled it totally. I don't think this can really have affected me in any case if I wasn't using the phone, but whatever saves a bit of power is a help.
I don't generally charge my phone before it needs it, so no change needed there.
My issue at this stage is that the store will only exchange the phone until Saturday, when I am not free, which gives me only Friday to go back to them if required. I really don't want a new phone if this one is okay - I don't want the inconvenience of having to change my settings all over again. I just don't know if it is the battery or if the phone could be causing the problem, or even if this is just the maximum battery life I should be expecting. I doubt the phone is first generation as the info I found through Google seems to indicate this model has been around since 2009. The box was dated February 2011 though, so the battery must have had it's original charge then and not been used until now. I don't know whether this would have any effect on it's performance or not.
Sorry if I sound stupid. My knowledge of cameras is fairly good, but I'm not too clued up on cell phones, never having had anything more than the most basic phone before. |
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