Return Thunderbolt?

[Cruisin1]

Today is my last day to decide if I want to keep the thunderbolt. Battery is a HUGE issue for me and I like the phone otherwise. Getting the extended battery is not happening... not gonna carry a phone around that thick. I've tried everything to extend the battery life of this thing and have come to nothing good. I'm contemplating returning the phone and buying the Samsung Droid Charge next week.

What you opinion people? I also want to lock in the 4G unlimited plan and I suppose its a gamble thinking the droid charge will offer that.

 

[dguy6789]

If the battery life bothers you and you are unwilling to use the extended battery(I got one, it really isn't that bad, very manageable for me) then return it and get another phone. Do not settle for something you don't like especially something you're gonna be stuck with for a while. If you really want superb battery life you need to get a Droid X but you'll miss out on the 4G. It's unlikely that the Samsung phone is going to have amazing battery life. It'll likely be similar or marginally better than the Thunderbolt. It's possible the Droid Bionic will provide the best of both worlds(being a 4G phone with great battery life) but that also isn't rumored to come out until May.

Definitely no guarantee that unlimited 4G will exist for any of the other new phones. They could announce the tiered data plans any day now.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Yep, if you hate the battery life now it's only going to get worse. I'm in the same boat with my EVO but past the point of no return. Granted I came from the Pre so the 'poor' battery life I'm currently experiencing feels like a massive technologic triumph relatively speaking.

 

[CVSiN]

All of the modern smart phones have battery life issues.
all are much too short especially during heavy use.

just get in the habit of plugging in if its available.
or buy the big battery which is what I did with my EVO.
the 3200 lasts 2 days now.

 

[QueBert]

All of the modern smart phones have battery life issues.
all are much too short especially during heavy use.

just get in the habit of plugging in if its available.
or buy the big battery which is what I did with my EVO.
the 3200 lasts 2 days now.

The Droid X & iPhone 4 can both get 10+ hours of use out of the standard battery. HTC phones suck especially badly when it comes to the battery. A friend has an EVO with the extended battery. It's huuuuge and his phone still only gets about the same battery life his sisters iPhone 4 does. I might be exaggeration, it could be an hour longer, but the phone is gigantic with the battery/new battery door on it.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Charger and several stock batteries an option?

 

[CVSiN]

The Droid X & iPhone 4 can both get 10+ hours of use out of the standard battery. HTC phones suck especially badly when it comes to the battery. A friend has an EVO with the extended battery. It's huuuuge and his phone still only gets about the same battery life his sisters iPhone 4 does. I might be exaggeration, it could be an hour longer, but the phone is gigantic with the battery/new battery door on it.

Iphone 4 is half the machine (literally) than the EVO is no big surprise that a smaller screen and chip require less power to run..

I put my EVO next to a 4 yesterday and my screen is nearly bigger than the entire phone.. lol.

 

[Bman123]

I dont see how ppl can really expect something so powerful to get good battery life, the technology just isn't there when it comes to batteries yet. People always want the newest and fastest thing out but when it get's bad battery life they complain.

I have a crappy smartphone a LG optimus and I cant get even get a full days use out of it, I use the hell out of it. I knew when I bought it that I would need to charge it all the time because of how much I use it.

I could even expect to get a thunderbolt and get over 6 hours of actually used battery life, sure if you put the thing on stand by or whatever that the battery will last but if you use it alot like online it's just not gonna get good battery life

 

[Unheard]

Kernel source was just released, and we are starting to see undervolted kernels coming out. I would personally ride it out.

 

[Firetower]

I will be returning mine either tomorrow or friday.

I unplugged my phone @ 7am and it was dead by 12 with max 10 mins of use. Im on a 3g/4g line so its probably switching between the 2 killing my battery. I cant deal with it. Ive got a siedio battery and 1amp moto charger on the way but will prob return them aswell.

 

[CVSiN]

I will be returning mine either tomorrow or friday.

I unplugged my phone @ 7am and it was dead by 12 with max 10 mins of use. Im on a 3g/4g line so its probably switching between the 2 killing my battery. I cant deal with it. Ive got a siedio battery and 1amp moto charger on the way but will prob return them aswell.

turn off the 4g radio unless you are actively using it.
this and an advanced Application kill to get rid of apps (usually preloaded garbage) running in background and eating battery. (yes I know with Froyo and above this was not supposed to be necessary but it still is)

This should be able to get you through the day and then some.

 

[smartpatrol]

turn off the 4g radio unless you are actively using it.
this and an advanced Application kill to get rid of apps (usually preloaded garbage) running in background and eating battery. (yes I know with Froyo and above this was not supposed to be necessary but it still is)

This should be able to get you through the day and then some.

Or else just return your phone and get one where all this crap isn't necessary.

This is coming from a former Evo owner. I had to constantly toggle the different radios (4G, GPS, wifi etc.) based on what I was doing and what kind of reception I got. I ran Advanced Task Killer a couple times a day to kill off unwanted apps. Leaving the 4G radio on in an area with spotty 4G reception was a great way to kill the battery. Anyway, even with all that micromanagement, you still have to keep a constant eye on the battery level and charge it as soon as you get a chance.

That is an additional level of stress and BS that IMO you shouldn't have to deal with on a smartphone. Return the Thunderbolt and get a smartphone that will at least get you through the day. Being able to use your smartphone as much as you want, and knowing your battery will be good until you get home at night to charge it, makes a HUGE difference.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Mine tends to end the day at like 75%, and I haven't really done anything to it although there's no 4g in this area. I only make a couple of calls daily no more than thirty minutes to an hour and browse the web/play games for maybe 2 hours throughout though. I charge it every night. Once 4g comes to my area, I imagine I'll grab the extended battery. Thing is any 4g phone you get is going to have terrible battery as far as I know.

 

[Unheard]

Also, checkout 'green power' app in the market. It turns off 3g/4g data when the screen is off.

 

[cheezy321]

Iphone 4 is half the machine (literally) than the EVO is no big surprise that a smaller screen and chip require less power to run..

I put my EVO next to a 4 yesterday and my screen is nearly bigger than the entire phone.. lol.

Evo has terrible terrible battery life. I cant believe some people put up with that.

 

[bonkers325]

my thunderbolt gets horrible battery if i leave 4G on for no reason. otherwise, it lasts the full day (16+ hours off the charger) with moderate use; texting, browsing, 2 hours of gaming/reading on the train, couple of phone calls, downloading a free app everyday from amazon...

if you haven't rooted your phone, you should because all the VZ bloat is constantly accessing the internet for background updates. Blockbuster app is a particular offender, as it updates even if you've never opened it.

 

[CVSiN]

Evo has terrible terrible battery life. I cant believe some people put up with that.

Not mine goes all day and most of the night between hookups.

Comes off the charger at 6 am goes on at midnight for bed.

 

[zerocool84]

Evo has terrible terrible battery life. I cant believe some people put up with that.

People will put up with things for the phone they want like horrible carrier reception, small display, etc, everyone has different priorities.

 

[fbrdphreak]

If you can wait for the Droid Bionic, it's supposed to have a pretty large battery (1900mAh I believe, compared to the Thunderbolt's 1400mAh).

A reasonable option IMO is a spare battery and charger (the multimedia dock will charge a spare battery). Seidio has a higher capacity 1600mAh battery for the Thunderbolt (at $50 MSRP), so it will last 13% longer.

Keep in mind you have two things working against you: 4G and the small battery. The Bionic and others may have a larger battery, but it seems 4G will still destroy your battery. It is what it is.

 

[Bateluer]

I'm curious, has the OP only done 'stock' things to address battery or has he rooted the phone? Now that the devs have full, perma root and kernel source, we're going to see the battery life double over the next couple of weeks.

Also, you can turn off the 4G and force the TB to use only 3G, which will help quite a bit. I posted a link to it in the big TB thread a while back.

 

[Cruisin1]

I'm curious, has the OP only done 'stock' things to address battery or has he rooted the phone? Now that the devs have full, perma root and kernel source, we're going to see the battery life double over the next couple of weeks.

Also, you can turn off the 4G and force the TB to use only 3G, which will help quite a bit. I posted a link to it in the big TB thread a while back.

I rooted the phone and still very dissatisfied with battery life. As for turning off 4g.. why else would I have this phone. If I plan on rooting the phone anyway would purchasing Samsung phone be a bad idea..

 

[fbrdphreak]

Care to share how you use your phone and the resulting battery runtime you get?

Have you considered cleaning up the widgets and default installed programs a bit? Rooting the phone by itself doesn't do jack. It's the custom ROMs and optimizations that other devs make that improve the phone. Rooting just lets you do whatever you want to it.

 

[MoxJr]

People will put up with things for the phone they want like horrible carrier reception, small display, etc, everyone has different priorities.

ROFL I wonder which phone you are talking about here!

 

[s44]

Return it. It doesn't look like they're pulling unlimited 4G until at least the initial "free tether" period expires.

 

[rcpratt]

If you're not happy with the battery, return it. Personally, I have no issue with the battery life on mine...it has been great.