No battery life after system upgrade
dazzie
Enthusiast - Level 2

I've searched this forum and found a few notes about significant battery problems after Android upgrades. Immediately after upgrading my Droid X, my battery life went from more than 24 hours to about 4 hours. The battery is very hot and takes about 6 hours to charge. Clearly something is draining the battery. The Verizon tech folks declared it a faulty battery and are sending a new one. I am certain that's not the problem, especially since others have reported the same issue.

 

So I hoped to wipe the cache before having to do a factory reset -- it was suggested as a possible solution. I have found some instructions for wiping the cache, but I can't seem to get the instructions to work. I power off my Droid, then hold the home key. Nothing happens. So I can't get to the menu that gives the options mentioned. Can anyone help? I loved my Droid until this update... I really need my phone to work as I am self-employed. I am my own IT department! 

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
dazzie
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks to all who sent helpful suggestions. I do appreciate it. Here's how I fixed the problem:

 

As suggested, I downloaded the System Panel app. It showed that the CPU was running at a constant rate but could not identify the exact problem. It boiled down to a category: communications. The battery was about 106 F -- pretty hot to the touch and constatntly draining. This app has a history setting, so you can look at usage over time -- it showed constant activity, even at night. This is a handy app; and the FAQ pages in the app are great -- they explain a lot of technical stuff in plain language.

 

In one last effort before doing a reset, I deleted all my email accounts including my corporate exchange account. As soon as I did that, everthing settled down immediately. Like instantly! I reinstalled each, one by one, and nothing bad happened. It has been just fine ever since. Somehow the corporate email account was "stuck" in constant polling, consequently draining the battery. As soon as I took it out and re-installed, it behaved as it should.

 

I would guess that the upgrade causes some apps to run poorly, as some of you suggested. When the app is one of your communications apps, the result can be doom for the battery. I think that trying *228 is a good step but it did not solve my problem.

 

I hope this helps others who experience the same thing. My battery is back to its old self now.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
dazzie
Enthusiast - Level 2

I was able to wipe the the cache -- had to hold buttons longer than expected. Might have worked -- charging now and battery is not hot. At least, not yet.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
Cody21
Master - Level 2

You will "hotness" when/if  the phone is having trouble getting a good data connection ... e.g., 1X vs 3G ... or 1 bar vs. 3 or 4 bars ...  Also, if you are streaming music or video (internet) that uses the data component it can get HOT ... Not sure what causes that - presumably the 'SEARCHING' for the signal or something ... but that's been my experience over a year with all 3 OS's.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
dazzie
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks, Cody, but that's not the problem. The battery drained again last night. I have good signal and am not downloading or playing music or video. Something is running even when the phone is not in use and I don't know what it is. The techs at the Verizon store are baffled and noted how hot the battery is. I have not been doing anything different in the last three days -- except that I upgraded my system. That's when it all began.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
B33
Legend

@Dazzie:

I use the systen Pannel app you can download the app its free or paid version from the market an it will show you what your apps are doing another good app to download is Circle battery app it not only shows your battery level but when you touch on the widget it will take you to the info part of battery circle. Down on the bottom of its paige were information is you can touch eather Battery or Battery usage an it will show you what your battery is doing an whats using your battery. Give these both a try an i hope it helps you out. if it don't it may be time to replace your battery.  :smileyhappy:   B33 

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
Cody21
Master - Level 2

Also, if this is as reproducable as you say it is, I'd run in SAFE MODE for 1/2 a day and only run the apps necessary to do what I had to do and see if you get the same issue....  If you do NOT, it wold clearly be a 3rd party App causingyour issue and time to start uninstalling things until it settles down.  FYI,  I am able to run an entire day (7 am - 9 pm) without fully draining the battery ... I do a full charge 1st thing in the morning and I'm usually good for the rest of the day .... using the stock battery... And as B33 poin ted out, SYSTEM PANEL is a good App to help identify battery usage.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
AntonioC_VZW
Verizon Employee

Hi dazzie,

 

I understand your discontent; I would be frustrated if my phone's battery drained for no apparent reason. Please run your phone in Safe Mode as recommended by Cody21 (thank you!). Safe Mode temporarily disables all applications that have been installed via the Android Market. Performing this troubleshooting step is necessary to determine whether a 3rd party application is the cause of an Operating System / Application issue.

 

I have checked my resources and I learned that similar battery issues have occurred with other devices upon a software upgrade due to third party applications that are not fully compatible with the upgrade Operating System and a Factory Reset has resolved most post upgrade issues. Please do a Factory Reset as this may resolve your concerns.

 

Please keep in mind that performing a hard reset will remove ALL data including the Google account, system data, application data, application settings, and downloaded applications.

 

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
tfd
Newbie

Since update on 10/3 my Droid X drains charge completely in a little over 2 hours UNUSED. Verizon Store ran battery test and it is fine.  She said she has 8 similar issue since update yesterday and I need to wait until Verizon sends a new update whenever that is! Called Verizon service rep and he had me load Advanced Task Killer even though I have few apps and never had a problem until update.  He also says these problems are just coming to light and I have to wait until Verizon issues another update, again, whenever that is.  Now I cannot be away from a charger for more than 2 hours or I am completely out of service.  Why put out an update that has these many serious problems?  When will update be available?  Will I get a credit for downtime due to terrible update.? Isn't anyone telling customer service anything?  This is unacceptable!!!

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
sascol
Contributor - Level 1

I posted this in another thread....try this, it worked for me.  No issues since i did it.

 

I had the EXACT same problem.  I thought I needed a new battery.  The issue started sudenly on Thursday night when the battery that normally lasts me a full day with full use went from 60% to 0 overnight.  The next day I charged it to 100% and by the next morning....same thing, down to 20%.  After three days with the issue I called Verizon.  The tech had me dial *228 to update my phone.  I was skeptical but it worked.  Last night when I went to sleep the phone was at 60% and it was still at 60% this morning.

 

As the rep explained it, I had not done the *228 update in several months and this was causing the phone to work harder to find a signal and this was draining the battery.

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Re: No battery life after system upgrade
keiffers
Contributor - Level 1

take off ATK if you have it installed - my battery life improved drastically after I removed it and I haven't looked back since

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