Google Nexus 4 battery drains quickly

[ChronoReverse]

I haven't been able to take Anandtech's battery tests seriously ever since I owned the Htc One X (ATT version).


Seriously, 9.93 hours of web browsing life? NOBODY in the One X forums has a clue how that's even possible with the stock battery (you'd be lucky to get over 6).

 

[lopri]

Here is what my N4 did last week:

I'm going to RMA this. It's the 2nd time. First time the battery completely died overnight when it was @70~80%. It's too bad because otherwise I have no problem with its battery performance in day-to-day usage. Hopefully the replacement won't behave like this.

Slightly off-topic: Do people really spend more than 6 hours (screen time) on a phone daily? Unrelated to voice calls and messages.

 

[lopri]

I agree that AT's battery test can only serve as one (biased) reference point. ^^

Even then, iPhone 5's battery life is pretty bad according to AT's charts. It's actually worse than iPhone 4S' when it's not on LTE.

 

[TerryMathews]

Here is what my N4 did last week:

I'm going to RMA this. It's the 2nd time. First time the battery completely died overnight when it was @70~80%. It's too bad because otherwise I have no problem with its battery performance in day-to-day usage. Hopefully the replacement won't behave like this.

Slightly off-topic: Do people really spend more than 6 hours (screen time) on a phone daily? Unrelated to voice calls and messages.

I do. The phone has replaced the computer for me for most tasks.

 

[lopri]

But don't you still have PCs at work and/or at home? Or did you deliberately get rid of PCs?

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with using smartphones as a main computing platform, but it sounds like rather rare circumstances. (e.g. job requiring you being a road warrior, traveling for fun or business)

 

[TerryMathews]

But don't you still have PCs at work and/or at home? Or did you deliberately get rid of PCs?

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with using smartphones as a main computing platform, but it sounds like rather rare circumstances. (e.g. job requiring you being a road warrior, traveling for fun or business)

Once you're used to the input methods and find something that works for you, it's better than a PC for basic tasks.

And I have a gaming PC, HTPC, a netbook sized laptop and a gaming laptop. My usage model though has switched to using them for specific tasks and the smartphone for general usage.

 

[Wildman107]

I charge my Nexus 4 just about every other day and I do just fine.

I'd say about 1/4 of that time it's on T-Mobile's 4G network and not on wifi.

Crazy to see the drastically different results in this thread.

 

[dguy6789]

Slightly off-topic: Do people really spend more than 6 hours (screen time) on a phone daily? Unrelated to voice calls and messages.

There's texts, phone calls, time wasting web browsing here and there, music listening(some of it streaming), GPS navigation, camera and video, and gaming. We're not at a point where people even use their phones how they want to use them; people deliberately try to use their phones in ways(not as much as they want) that make the battery last for the day.

 

[Chocu1a]

Here is a ss of my most recent battery usage: 1.5 hours screen time on

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

There's texts, phone calls, time wasting web browsing here and there, music listening(some of it streaming), GPS navigation, camera and video, and gaming. We're not at a point where people even use their phones how they want to use them; people deliberately try to use their phones in ways(not as much as they want) that make the battery last for the day.

People generally don't want to use a fiddly 4-5" device when at home, there's no real reason to unless you literally cannot afford anything else i.e a small tablet.

 

[TerryMathews]

People generally don't want to use a fiddly 4-5" device when at home, there's no real reason to unless you literally cannot afford anything else i.e a small tablet.

Lol.

Which is easier? Get the tablet off the bed or the Note 2 off my belt?

I'm not saying everyone does it, but for those of us who have had smartphones and PDAs for over a decade, and use them for work daily, a high end smartphone can replace a computer for general recreational usage.

It has for me. I'm sure for many others as well.

 

[Durvelle27]

Here is a ss of my most recent battery usage: 1.5 hours screen time on

nice battery life bud compared to mines

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

Lol.

Which is easier? Get the tablet off the bed or the Note 2 off my belt?

What? My tablet isn't on my bed and my phone isn't on my belt, it gets put on charge as soon as I get home and not touched again until I need to go outside.

a high end smartphone can replace a computer for general recreational usage.

It has for me. I'm sure for many others as well.

Phones are horrible to use in comparison to a single-hand-holdable tablet.

 

[Chocu1a]

nice battery life bud compared to mines

Yeah, most of the time it is just in standby. My old GNex on Verizon would never had made it through a full day like that even in standby.
My wife makes a couple of call, checks facebook & snaps a couple of pics. Not a heavy user, or medium user, by any means.

 

[Durvelle27]

Yeah, most of the time it is just in standby. My old GNex on Verizon would never had made it through a full day like that even in standby.
My wife makes a couple of call, checks facebook & snaps a couple of pics. Not a heavy user, or medium user, by any means.

My old Galaxy S II which this replaced wouldn't even last 5hrs even in standby which really was a pain. Only thing i do on my phone is text, Facebook, web browsing, take pics, and play games that's about it.

 

[ChronoReverse]

Any time your "Android OS" battery use is higher than "Screen" it means you were using your phone lightly at best. Standby times for phones can be over 4 days (unless you have low signal or have some stupid app that syncs too much) with basic push services left on after all.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Yeah, most of the time it is just in standby. My old GNex on Verizon would never had made it through a full day like that even in standby.
My wife makes a couple of call, checks facebook & snaps a couple of pics. Not a heavy user, or medium user, by any means.

You're on Wifi though... Most devices run ok on wifi. I have my phone on standby on 3G and it drains like mad. Maybe 30 minutes Screen On total. 4%/hour average. That's pretty high. Even with latitude off I think the device drains a bit too much.

I'm not sure why Google+ syncs so often and creates such big wakelocks... As much as I hate Facebook, Google+ is making Facebook look good lol

 

[Chocu1a]

You're on Wifi though... Most devices run ok on wifi. I have my phone on standby on 3G and it drains like mad. Maybe 30 minutes Screen On total. 4%/hour average. That's pretty high. Even with latitude off I think the device drains a bit too much.

I'm not sure why Google+ syncs so often and creates such big wakelocks... As much as I hate Facebook, Google+ is making Facebook look good lol

Only when I was charging. My wife keeps her phone with her at work, 11 hour shifts. That was predominantly on hspa

 

[Durvelle27]

You're on Wifi though... Most devices run ok on wifi. I have my phone on standby on 3G and it drains like mad. Maybe 30 minutes Screen On total. 4%/hour average. That's pretty high. Even with latitude off I think the device drains a bit too much.

I'm not sure why Google+ syncs so often and creates such big wakelocks... As much as I hate Facebook, Google+ is making Facebook look good lol

I don't use wifi on my phone as its slow. I mostly be on HSPA+

 

[lopri]

Well, to be clear I have no complaint with my N4's battery performance other than its erratic behaviors once every month or so. I get 4+ hour screen time with moderate-to-heavy usage, and 1~2 hour screen time with low usage. The thing is, low usage means the phone lasts more than a day. So 1 hour screen time is not a big deal when it's because the phone was not charged for almost 2 days. I charge it almost every day and haven't run into trouble yet.

Only issue I have is the aforementioned bug that I experience in an unpredictable manner. (like 80% of charge disappearing when phone is off or asleep)

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

Internet forum talk re. phone battery life is always a ridiculous load of anecdotal nonsense. "My friend's S3 lasted longer than his brother's N4 ergo stock Android is worse than skinned.." or "My iPhone lasts longer than [insertlargescreenedandroiddevicewithcompletelydifferentspecs]"

So just to carry on with the tradition, here are some pics from yesterday's usage on my N4. Most of the screen time was streaming audio in the car through very patchy network coverage with autobrightness ramped. This is better than my friend's HTC ergo, stock > skinned and Nexus > HTC in battery life.

 

[Eug]

Only issue I have is the aforementioned bug that I experience in an unpredictable manner. (like 80% of charge disappearing when phone is off or asleep)

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

isnt one of the points of nexus to set a standard and show everyone what a cutting edge android phone should be like? then why are nexi such big fails on things like cellular connection, battery life, heat, updates etc...lg is the last company google should choose for a nexus

 

[ChronoReverse]

I already suspected LG when Nexus 4 was announced. Too bad they didn't prove me entirely wrong.

 

[TerryMathews]

isnt one of the points of nexus to set a standard and show everyone what a cutting edge android phone should be like? then why are nexi such big fails on things like cellular connection, battery life, heat, updates etc...lg is the last company google should choose for a nexus

No.

The Nexus phone line has never been cutting edge hardware. The cutting edge portion for them is software.