# LTE is such a power hog



## aaronDroid80 (Aug 18, 2011)

I am hoping that newer phones have better power management for the LTE radio. I rarely use the 4G on my phone because it is such a battery hog and makes the phone run really hot, and because I don't live in a 4G area. Today, I was working in a 4G area, and decided to upload some songs to Google...and this is where things are interesting. WiFi tether + LTE + AC power adapter = hot phone and battery DRAIN. That's right, the battery was draining at about 4 - 5% per hour when plugged in. Fun times.


----------



## andrewjt19 (Oct 27, 2011)

Juice Defender paid app will help a ton... I went from getting anywhere between 3.5 hours to 5 hours to 6 to 10 hours with JD. It works well and you can customize it the way you'd like.... Also a second battery and dock is only about $40 together. This helps a ton too.
Also a word of encouragement, I got the GNexus, love it but the 4G is not even comparable to the Charge. The Charge has way better reception than the Galaxy Nexus.


----------



## shrike1978 (Sep 2, 2011)

The problem with LTE is not that it is a big power drain. By itself, it's no worse than CDMA. The issue is that it only carries data...no voice, no SMS, no MMS. While you have LTE on, the phone is running two radios, both of which are draining power. LTE power drain isn't going to get much better until they can cut out CDMA completely. The carriers are working on solutions in the form of some custom VoIP solutions (VoLTE/IMS), but they aren't even close to market with it yet, so we're stuck with the status quo in the meantime. Even CSFB (LTE falling back to CDMA during a call) would be preferable to the SVLTE setup Verizon is using.


----------



## Falcyn (Aug 9, 2011)

shrike1978 said:


> The problem with LTE is not that it is a big power drain. By itself, it's no worse than CDMA. The issue is that it only carries data...no voice, no SMS, no MMS. While you have LTE on, the phone is running two radios, both of which are draining power. LTE power drain isn't going to get much better until they can cut out CDMA completely. The carriers are working on solutions in the form of some custom VoIP solutions (VoLTE/IMS), but they aren't even close to market with it yet, so we're stuck with the status quo in the meantime. Even CSFB (LTE falling back to CDMA during a call) would be preferable to the SVLTE setup Verizon is using.


The first part of this is incorrect -- LTE radios do drain more power than CDMA radios. The more data in a jammed into a radio wave, the more computing power and therefore battery power it takes to modulate and demodulate it. It's an unfortunately immutable fact that as networks become faster and more spectrally efficient, radios will consume more power.

However, you're right about the dual radio situation, and that's a big part of the current power problem. Still, even if everything were running over LTE, battery life would be less than on CDMA alone.


----------



## JihadSquad (Nov 2, 2011)

Falcyn said:


> The first part of this is incorrect -- LTE radios do drain more power than CDMA radios. The more data in a jammed into a radio wave, the more computing power and therefore battery power it takes to modulate and demodulate it. It's an unfortunately immutable fact that as networks become faster and more spectrally efficient, radios will consume more power.
> 
> However, you're right about the dual radio situation, and that's a big part of the current power problem. Still, even if everything were running over LTE, battery life would be less than on CDMA alone.


I think he meant per byte LTE drains less power. For example, downloading a 100MB file would take considerably less time on LTE, and the radio and CPU would be draining full power for a much less amount of time, although during its idle state it might drain faster.


----------



## Adrialk (Sep 27, 2011)

What charger are you using?

I am able to do the same and the phone still charges, slowly. Using OEM 1A wall charger.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk


----------



## JihadSquad (Nov 2, 2011)

Adrialk said:


> What charger are you using?
> 
> I am able to do the same and the phone still charges, slowly. Using OEM 1A wall charger.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk


Yeah the only way I experienced battery drain while charging was when I was tethering a torrent while talking on the phone and playing WWF. The phone was discharging and got so hot the signal dropped from the heat. It came back in a few minutes. I think the battery temperature got to about 135 degrees F.


----------



## aaronDroid80 (Aug 18, 2011)

Adrialk said:


> What charger are you using?
> 
> I am able to do the same and the phone still charges, slowly. Using OEM 1A wall charger.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk


I'm using the OEM 700mA charger from my old Fascinate when I'm on the road. Makes sense that it would discharge like that. I never really paid much attention to the current rate of that charger.

Sent from my Tweaked Charge using RootzWiki.


----------



## imnuts (Jun 9, 2011)

The Max charge rate for the Charge is 800 or 850 mA. Either way, most new smart phones are able to draw more power through use than the charger provides. It happened on my Fascinate, Charge, and now my Nexus. Just make sure your phone is close to fully charged if you plan on using it heavily.

Sent from my 7" Galaxy Tab 2


----------



## yarly (Jun 22, 2011)

JihadSquad said:


> I think he meant per byte LTE drains less power. For example, downloading a 100MB file would take considerably less time on LTE, and the radio and CPU would be draining full power for a much less amount of time, although during its idle state it might drain faster.


Downloading can potentially do considerable drain on the battery life of an LTE device as well. Mainly due to how strong the signal was to begin with (the lack of that is) and also the signal to noise ratio. Although charge owners cannot measure it as they don't use show the real signal of LTE (just 1x, but anyways). GB and before only had CDMA signal measurements built into the OS (handoffs and the actual data remained in the radio) and data reported to the user (aside from saying it was LTE or 3G) was only related to cdma.

If you were able to see the RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) db signal, a signal of that in the range of 95db-100db (versus say 70-70db) loses around 30% of its efficiency from noise/interference and packet loss. If that goes into the range of 110db or so, it's nearly down to around the range of 3G in terms of throughput and eating way more battery than 3g would to download the same file. RSRP is usually like 7-12db worse than what you're used to seeing for the signal under settings in the charge, but can still vary as it's not giving you the signal for LTE there (even when you're using LTE).

Again, you can't measure this on the charge, but I am just using it to point out that LTE usage can be a huge battery killer whether it's idle or not. It's only a real battery killer when it's idle is when the SNR (signal to noise ratio) is high and is having problems staying connected efficiently to a tower (so it's having to use a more powerful signal to stay locked on). That or it's switching back and forth to 3g quite a bit.


----------



## aaronDroid80 (Aug 18, 2011)

^^^ true dat.

Sent from my Tweaked Charge using RootzWiki.


----------



## neyenlives (Aug 5, 2011)

http://www.amazon.co...A/dp/B004WOBMIE

includes second battery for $35, I use mine every day, I hammer the crap out of my device and don't care because there is another fully charged battery waiting on me. It also charges both the spare battery and the battery in the phone simultaneously when docked. It also allows you to plug in a audio cable in the back so when docked my pc speakers are now playing whatever is on my phone so it turns my phone into a multimedia center basically. Win-win


----------



## aaronDroid80 (Aug 18, 2011)

Very nice.

Sent from my Tweaked Charge using RootzWiki.


----------



## stueycaster (Aug 24, 2011)

neyenlives said:


> http://www.amazon.co...A/dp/B004WOBMIE
> 
> includes second battery for $35, I use mine every day, I hammer the crap out of my device and don't care because there is another fully charged battery waiting on me. It also charges both the spare battery and the battery in the phone simultaneously when docked. It also allows you to plug in a audio cable in the back so when docked my pc speakers are now playing whatever is on my phone so it turns my phone into a multimedia center basically. Win-win


I got a similar one when I got my phone. I would suggest one to anybody. If your battery is low and you need to go somewhere just slap the other battery in. I use it for my alarm clock while it's charging. I don't worry about battery usage much at all.


----------



## droid3r (Dec 8, 2011)

I also have one. Sometimes the battery charge wears off so fast that the one i have charging is not 100%

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## HaloLegend98 (Nov 7, 2011)

neyenlives said:


> http://www.amazon.co...A/dp/B004WOBMIE
> 
> includes second battery for $35, I use mine every day, I hammer the crap out of my device and don't care because there is another fully charged battery waiting on me. It also charges both the spare battery and the battery in the phone simultaneously when docked. It also allows you to plug in a audio cable in the back so when docked my pc speakers are now playing whatever is on my phone so it turns my phone into a multimedia center basically. Win-win


I bought this from Verizon about two weeks after I got my Charge (back in August). I used it for a while and it's nice, but then I slapped a case on it because the phone is slick as h***; it was annoying to take the case off every night for this dock. However, when I'm going on long trips I'll take my 2nd battery. It really is good to be able to use a phone without worrying about the drain.

At school I'll typically go through at least two batteries per day; I love listening to Google Music which drains battery like crazy. I'm usually gone from 7 AM to Midnight, so I go through both batteries....

My mom has a GalNex and she uses a nicer dual charging option: http://www.amazon.co...l/dp/B006GV04G2
I would love this one^ for my charge. The dock is a pain cause you can't use the phone very well while it's charging.


----------



## neyenlives (Aug 5, 2011)

HaloLegend98 said:


> I bought this from Verizon about two weeks after I got my Charge (back in August). I used it for a while and it's nice, but then I slapped a case on it because the phone is slick as h***; it was annoying to take the case off every night for this dock. However, when I'm going on long trips I'll take my 2nd battery. It really is good to be able to use a phone without worrying about the drain.
> 
> At school I'll typically go through at least two batteries per day; I love listening to Google Music which drains battery like crazy. I'm usually gone from 7 AM to Midnight, so I go through both batteries....
> 
> ...


I moved from streaming across Google Music to playing local files on the sdcard with Poweramp for that reason. Yes you are right you cannot have a case on it. I've been using my phone naked since day one without any issues though. No scratches on the screen and only minor scratches on the back. Dropped it several times with no issues whatsoever. Lady tried to sell my wife a screen protector for her new Razr Maxx today. I told the lady I pay $200 for a phone with Gorilla Glass for a reason and that those protectors dont protect anything and only make it more difficult to use the device. What a rip off. Spending top dollar to get Corning Gorilla Glass to spend another $20 to get a useless film to put over it. ...


----------



## HaloLegend98 (Nov 7, 2011)

Yeah, they're selling screen covers like crazy. And Gorilla Glass on phones is very easy to replace IF it breaks or damages. The sales lady tried selling my mom a cover for her ipad a few weeks ago. Pfft

The only issue I have is that I can't grip the Charge well; it's too glossy on the back.

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## JihadSquad (Nov 2, 2011)

HaloLegend98 said:


> Yeah, they're selling screen covers like crazy. And Gorilla Glass on phones is very easy to replace IF it breaks or damages. The sales lady tried selling my mom a cover for her ipad a few weeks ago. Pfft
> 
> The only issue I have is that I can't grip the Charge well; it's too glossy on the back.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2


Hey if it's an apple product then you want all the protection you can get.

And the charge slips out of my hand occasionally, from waist-shoulder height on tiles and concrete. I have one slight dent in the metallic bezel.


----------



## neyenlives (Aug 5, 2011)

the Charge was by far one of the most durable phones I have owned. It doesn't feel as solid as say a Motorola, but that has a lot to do with the weight and balance. The Samsung designs all use a plastic housing which can honestly be just as strong as metal when you start talking about filled ABS material. There's more to plastic that most people understand, I work in an industry that uses all sorts of plastics, some filled with other things to make then as strong as metal (depending on the load it is being subjected to). The thing is they take impacts very well by absorbing the kinetic energy and they also have much less mass per volume and therefore there is less inertia and less energy to transfer to begin with. Less weight typically means less damage upon impact. In my experience the Charge was no exception to that rule.

I am excited about my SGSIII because it weighs roughly half an ounce less than my Charge yet has a larger screen despite having not much larger overall dimensions

http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Samsung-Droid-Charge,Samsung-Galaxy-S-III/phones/5126,6330


----------



## rll6fd (Jan 7, 2012)

No post


----------



## cujo6801 (Aug 9, 2011)

Same

SENT FROM THE DOG POUND


----------

