Battery Life Early Impressions

[doisy]

My dear new Lumia 930 is 24 hours old and I had to charge it two times already - even though it was at 60% when I first unpacked it -.

However, I couldn't help but notice the excessive heat of the phone after only a few minutes of usage and the terribly quick drain of the battery. I had to turn the phone off and back on for changing some settings, and the phone literally drained 6% of the battery on every turn-on.

I'm coming from a 1520, which has an excellent battery, so it might just be me. But I still would like to know if any of you guys who just bought it noticed this as well.
I am aware that the phone is still new and everything, but I never experienced any particular improvements of battery performance for my old 920, 925 and 1520, when they were charged for the first times.

Not going to lie, I indeed am worried that the battery life can actually be that poor. Can anybody assure me that this is just a temporary issue, that the battery is going to improve in the next days?

 

[rockstarzzz]

Off topic : How are you feeling with size difference? Between 1520 and 930?

 

[Roland Stoll]

My dear new Lumia 930 is 24 hours old and I had to charge it two times already - even though it was at 60% when I first unpacked it -.

However, I couldn't help but notice the excessive heat of the phone after only a few minutes of usage and the terribly quick drain of the battery. I had to turn the phone off and back on for changing some settings, and the phone literally drained 6% of the battery on every turn-on.

I'm coming from a 1520, which has an excellent battery, so it might just be me. But I still would like to know if any of you guys who just bought it noticed this as well.
I am aware that the phone is still new and everything, but I never experienced any particular improvements of battery performance for my old 920, 925 and 1520, when they were charged for the first times.

Not going to lie, I indeed am worried that the battery life can actually be that poor. Can anybody assure me that this is just a temporary issue, that the battery is going to improve in the next days?

Got mine last friday, so till sunday I excessively tested, installed and downloaded a lot - here could notice the heat at the back bottom...
Since yesterday I would say I use it nearly "normally" with no responsible heat noticed...

 

[doisy]

Off topic : How are you feeling with size difference? Between 1520 and 930?

Definitely better than the 1520. It has an awesome grip in my hand and I don't have to struggle anymore when taking it out of my pocket whenever I'm sitting somewhere.

 

[Mech0z]

Sounds broken, have you checked if you can see in the new battery usage what is causing it? Might be a broken background app?

 

[Roland Stoll]

Honestly, when I did a "re-setup" to my old iPhone 5 and started to load a the data and especially music from music match, the iPhone also become very VERY hot...
So don't worry (so far) - in normal use I couldn't notice a heat anymore....

 

[doisy]

Got mine last friday, so till sunday I excessively tested, installed and downloaded a lot - here could notice the heat at the back bottom...
Since yesterday I would say I use it nearly "normally" with no responsible heat noticed...

Thanks for your feedback. And yes, it does get hot, just like the 925 used to do for me. That is one of the cons of the aluminium I guess.

Sounds broken, have you checked if you can see in the new battery usage what is causing it? Might be a broken background app?

Yes, the first thing I did was checking it and I noticed that all of the Bing apps were running in background. Understandable, since the phone was just unpacked. However, even if I went to disable them they would just get enabled back by themselves, so I just uninstalled them for now. Right now I only have 4 apps enabled in background.

I let the battery get totally drained right now and I'm trying with a full, uninterrupted 100% charge.

 

[sandeepsb]

I can only compare the Nexus 5 right now

- The phone can get really hot at the bottom right (back) of the phone under some heavy usage. I noticed when using mobile data it can get a lot worse - I believe the hot weather is a contributing factor to all this

- The battery life for me tends to deplete pretty quickly, just this morning when using the phone to read news articles on my phone I saw the battery go down from 98% - 80% in 40 mins. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and test it more over the next few weeks.

 

[doisy]

I can only compare the Nexus 5 right now

- The phone can get really hot at the bottom right (back) of the phone under some heavy usage. I noticed when using mobile data it can get a lot worse - I believe the hot weather is a contributing factor to all this

- The battery life for me tends to deplete pretty quickly, just this morning when using the phone to read news articles on my phone I saw the battery go down from 98% - 80% in 40 mins. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and test it more over the next few weeks.

Thanks, I'll try and test it more too. I have heard of people who tried to soft reset their phones and noticed a battery life improvement, but I am not quite sure how reliable is that.

 

[stidblom]

I just switched from a 1520 to a 930 too. I agree with you that the 930 feels a lot warmer than the 1520 ever did. The size difference has really got me to rethink the situation. Once on has gotten used to the size of the 1520 it isn't really a problem except when sitting down. But after having used the 1520 for a couple of months it feels natural. Now the 930, even though it is a great phone feels little and even though I almost never used it I miss the possibility of having an SD card with media etc. I guess it will take some time to readjust to the smaller device but the 1520 is not that big.

As I give it a few more days Im sure I will come to love it, but as for now I am wondering if this was the right choice even though I waited since the Icon came out for the 930.

How are you feeling, is the smaller size bothering you Doisy?

As for the battery time. So far it's terrible to be honest. But then again, Im not sure if Im just spoiled with the 1520s battery or if this is because the 930 is still on it's first full charge. Maybe it will get better after it has been run down to 0% then fully charged again?

 

[sandeepsb]

Maybe it will get better after it has been run down to 0% then fully charged again?

I don't think modern smartphone batteries work like this anymore. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[stidblom]

I don't think modern smartphone batteries work like this anymore. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

You are entirely correct. Modern batteries do not have a memory effect. What I am referring to is the calibration of the battery and software. Ie, if the battery is at 50% according to the phone software, is it actually at 50%? I know that in some rare cases both with macs and iphones (and basically most other electronics with batteries) that you might have to let the device run flat and then charge fully. By doing this you make sure that battery level the software shows is the same that the actual battery status level is at.

If you are interested there is more to read about the matter here:
How to Calibrate Your Laptop’s Battery For Accurate Battery Life Estimates

I believe the same thing can and should be applied to our cellphones.

If I am incorrect in thinking this please correct me.

 

[sandeepsb]

No you're right on that too, I totally forgot about calibration with the actual device.

 

[doisy]

I just switched from a 1520 to a 930 too. I agree with you that the 930 feels a lot warmer than the 1520 ever did. The size difference has really got me to rethink the situation. Once on has gotten used to the size of the 1520 it isn't really a problem except when sitting down. But after having used the 1520 for a couple of months it feels natural. Now the 930, even though it is a great phone feels little and even though I almost never used it I miss the possibility of having an SD card with media etc. I guess it will take some time to readjust to the smaller device but the 1520 is not that big.

As I give it a few more days Im sure I will come to love it, but as for now I am wondering if this was the right choice even though I waited since the Icon came out for the 930.

How are you feeling, is the smaller size bothering you Doisy?

As for the battery time. So far it's terrible to be honest. But then again, Im not sure if Im just spoiled with the 1520s battery or if this is because the 930 is still on it's first full charge. Maybe it will get better after it has been run down to 0% then fully charged again?

Well, the main reason for which I chose a 930 is because I loved my 1520. I mean, it is like a 1520 but with a smaller and more comfortable size, just what I needed. My eyes can't have enough of the screen (not really a fan of the brightness of the 1520) and I am totally falling in love with the green of the back cover.

The grip is nice, it gives me a great feeling of solidness. I can easily use my thumb for writing with the swipe keyboard now and, more than anything, I can finally quickly take it out of my pocket when sitting down and I don't have people staring at my phone's size like crazy anymore. Instead, they jealously stare at it because that bright green is just awesome.

So, as for the smaller size, I can only be positive. The 1520 is, indeed, a big phone, but you need to use it for weeks and after that, every other phone looks ridicolously small to you. The 1520 size never bothered me that much, except when carrying it in my pocket (looking at a rectangular shape in there is a bit weird, and you know what I mean) or when I'm sitting and I'm being squeezed between people on a bus or on a train, taking it out was a real pain.

But yeah, the battery life is the only thing I'm being worried about. As you said, I can't be sure if it's just me because I got too much used to the 1520 battery.

 

[maverick786us]

How good is the battery life compared to 920?

 

[MartyAB]

I got my 930 on monday and i went to the beautiful city off Copenhagen (Denmark) on tuesday (im from Sweden). Left home around 08:30 with fully charged 930.

And i used the phone extensively, Used as gps for 30min beacuse we got off at the wrong station and took 100 photos in Copenhagen Zoo. Sent a few sms and mms. Called my friends a few times beacuse we got seperated.

We took the train home at 18:00. I had 64% left off my battery charge. If its good or bad i dont know but i think its pretty good.

 

[chenhogi]

That sounds quite reasonable, Marty.

 

[Mech0z]

Hope its not as bad as when the Icon was launched

Nokia Lumia Icon battery life test - GSMArena Blog
Nokia Lumia 1520 battery life test - GSMArena Blog

Icon 14 hour talk time 2420 mAh
1520 28 hour talk time 3420 mAh

Wierd it has double the talk time but less than 50% more capacity

How good is the battery life compared to 920?

Here is how the 920 fared in the same tests

http://blog.gsmarena.com/nokia-lumia-920-goes-through-our-battery-tests-heres-how-it-did/

 

[Tafsern]

Strangely, I did noticed some battery drain the first 24 hours I used the phone after I took it out of the box (I did not charge it, just started using it). I charged it fully packed when I was sleeping today, and now it works great. With moderate use I have lost 4 - 5 % every hour. When it's on my office desk without using it I hardly notice battery drain at all.

Now it has been 6 hours since I took it of my charging plate, and it has drained about 21 % of battery with moderate use. I am happy with that, and find it a bit better than my L920, even with bigger screen.

About the phone, I simply love it. The orange color is really popping, the screen is gorgeous, +++ for implemented wireless charging, the buttons on the side is nice to use and goes really well with the aluminum frame, the bezel is actually really small and the phone itself is yet another masterpiece design from Nokia in my opinion. The weight and size is absolutely so spot on..not to light, not to heavy and I got fairly big hands so it's easy to use it. No problem getting it to fit in my pants either.

I have tried 1520, and that to is a beautiful device, but to huge for me right now. 5" is so far my favorite size

 

[doisy]

I got my 930 on monday and i went to the beautiful city off Copenhagen (Denmark) on tuesday (im from Sweden). Left home around 08:30 with fully charged 930.

And i used the phone extensively, Used as gps for 30min beacuse we got off at the wrong station and took 100 photos in Copenhagen Zoo. Sent a few sms and mms. Called my friends a few times beacuse we got seperated.

We took the train home at 18:00. I had 64% left off my battery charge. If its good or bad i dont know but i think its pretty good.

You're incredibly lucky.