Orbit 2 erratic battery drain

Richard47 · 28-04-2008, 05:44 PM

On occasions the Orbit 2 battery drains very quickly when there are no applications running. When I first got the phone I took the advice given in another thread and I use just GPRS data transfer. What puzzles me is why for no apparent reason the battery drains so quickly; this can occur when in flight mode too.

Do others have the same problem and will changing the battery make any difference?

As I use the GPS to tag photos I have wondered whether or not the GPS is still active even though the camera application is not running. I have not been able to check this as the GPS app does not show in the list of running programs. Can anyone suggest the name of a program that checks CPU usage?

neilm · 28-04-2008, 07:52 PM

The fact that it happens in Flight Mode is odd- most high battery drain (assuming 3G is off) is due to the phone seeking a signal in weak or 'dead-spot' areas.

You can tell if the GPS receiver is active by the flashing orange LED- generally it is only on by demand, so if you close a GPS application, the GPS receiver will close after 20 seconds.

I'm having similar battery drain problems with an HTC S730, but it is probably due to the push email system- in Flight Mode, the battery lasts for 2 days, but with GPRS & Emaail active, I'm lucky to get 10 hours.

boz · 28-04-2008, 10:09 PM

Silly question, but is bluetooth and wifi also turned off?

Richard47 · 29-04-2008, 06:47 AM

Yes 3G and bluetooth would be off. When away from home I turn wi-fi off and after running an application I usually close the application completely. I will try and narrow down the circumstances under which I have the problem and check whether or not the led is flashing orange.

Thanks for the replies

boz · 29-04-2008, 08:36 AM

That seems to leave an installed application or faulty device causing the drain.

ArmedJimmy · 29-04-2008, 09:43 AM

acbPocketSoft make both a task manager and an application that will show you how much battery is being used:

acbPocketSoft

You might want to try either to help to narrow down at least when the drain is happening and what applications are running at that time.

fowljr · 29-04-2008, 09:55 AM

I'll agree on the push aspect. I found my Ameo lasts for days now as I don't have push currently configured on it.

Michael_Mcr · 29-04-2008, 11:02 AM

My Orbit 2 is configured / has usage patterns as follows:

3G + HSDPA enabled, very little WI-FI usage

backlight brightness set to approx 70%, backlight set to go off after 1 minute of no use, device set to go to standby/switch off after 2 minutes.

Usage wise on a typical work day, i use bluetooth for approx 1 hour per day for handsfree and use the phone as needed. I use the internet occasionally via 3G and use GPS as needed (usually 30mins max per day).

My battery is usually down to about 65 - 70% after a busy day and as high as 80% after a day of light use.

In true standby mode (like a day of travelling where its in standby or flight mode most of the time), it seems to use about 15 - 20% from dawn to dusk.