Battery life much worse under 8.1 Upgrade.

[Paul Verizzo]

Like all phone users, and perhaps especially WP users, I'm always trying to understand my several phone's battery consumption. I've posted a lot on several (??) threads about this matter. I try to be very objective, using real data and not "Well, I was online for 45 minutes" kind of subjectivity.

My default battery information is Battery Sense. Graphs things out, nice, cheap. In other words, I have numbers.

My phones are two: Nokia 810 and Nokia 925. Both have run original firmware, then via Preview for Developers, 8.1, then the Upgrade, and then the unnamed post-Upgrade upgrade. Both are current.

The original 8.1 did have battery issues that were corrected in mid-June.

My historical battery usage on standby, the only reliable baseline, on 8.1 was as little as <1%/hr, most often <3%/hr, not infrequently 4-5%/hr. Oh, these numbers are with Wifi and Glance always on. As we all know, if one uses satellite GPS, those numbers can easily shoot up to 30%/hr.

Now, with 8.1 Update (updated!), yes, I've seen those old time numbers occasionally. But honestly, almost never. Much more typically, 10-15%/hr just hanging around, sometimes more. Rebooting seldom corrects this issue.

Jeez, MS, you had it right and then you effed it up. (Banging head on hard surface.......)

 

[s2mikey]

Just to be sure, you do have unnecessary apps shut off, features turned off you don't use, limited data in background, etc, etc? Some people have reported that it took a few charge cycles for their battery to settle in and perform better after the big update. Not sure how valid that is but I did read it from more than one source.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Just to be sure, you do have unnecessary apps shut off, features turned off you don't use, limited data in background, etc, etc? Some people have reported that it took a few charge cycles for their battery to settle in and perform better after the big update. Not sure how valid that is but I did read it from more than one source.

All, oh so long ago. The variable is the Upgrade. Everything else has nothing to do with what apps I'm running (same) or battery health (same.)

I have supplied actual drainage numbers. Data points.

So the question is, is anyone else suddenly having this problem?

 

[s2mikey]

All, oh so long ago. The variable is the Upgrade. Everything else has nothing to do with what apps I'm running (same) or battery health (same.)

I have supplied actual drainage numbers. Data points.

So the question is, is anyone else suddenly having this problem?

I actually bought my phone and then it immediately updated to 8.1 so I have no data to compare it to. My battery life seems decent though. I'm not a power user by any means though and really only use the phone for texting, calls, and a little recreational stuff.

 

[ryanlow134]

L720, experiencing battery draining after Cyan update too.

 

[subliminal ray]

I have a MASSIVE battery drain too. I reverted back from PfD to WP 8.0 in order to install the latest Cyan update. That was before Nokia Software Recovery Tool had an update too, a couple of days ago. Using the NSRT was very troublesome, I have to say. I got the error 0x80131500 several times before my phone finally decided to respond. Before I did all that, the battery lasted a steady 30 hours with moderate usage. Now it will last only half of that. Just 15 hours. In the meanwhile, to reduce the power consumption I made every step you can think of and read about in these forums and with no better results. I'm quite gutted, to say the least. I'm on a 620 btw.

 

[NIRMAL RAJ THAMBI]

For me ; getting a Decent Battery Backup, may be a little better than 8.0 version.. Make sure that all the background apps are killed.. Cheers

 

[wuiyang]

go to email option, check if sync is under time, not 'based on....'. <-- this is the battery drainer
and updates (both system and windows phone store) are manually instead of automatic

 

[dubsack]

After updating my 1020 to 8.1, I too noticed the battery drain and began to worry, but after going through all my settings and turning off all the applications that were running in the backround that I didn't have running before the update and also cycling the battery for a few cycles over a period of about a week, it returned to normal, no better or no worse than before the update.

 

[DeathKnightRuin]

I ad the same issue at first. I was charging my phone 3 times a day and it was running hot at random times. My issue was my email accounts stuck in sync mode. I redid all of them and I have no issues anymore. If you can't locate the source then restore your phone.

 

[ryanlow134]

After updating my 1020 to 8.1, I too noticed the battery drain and began to worry, but after going through all my settings and turning off all the applications that were running in the backround that I didn't have running before the update and also cycling the battery for a few cycles over a period of about a week, it returned to normal, no better or no worse than before the update.

Cycling the battery, what does that mean?
Sorry for a stupid question

 

[Paul Verizzo]

Cycling the battery, what does that mean?
Sorry for a stupid question

Not a stupid question at all, friend! All Nicad, NmHd, and lith-ion batteries have a trait few know about: To get maximum life from a charge, the battery needs to be exercised first! This isn't hard, although it can be inconvenient.

All it requires is that you run the battery down as low as possible. In the case of a phone, until it shuts off. I further suggest that you let it sit for ten minutes, then turn it back on. It will have regained a small bit of life in that time, then it will shut off again. Do this three times, and you will be amazed at how much more life your battery will give you!

I have spent a half century in electronics, designed and built any number of battery packs using these different technologies for assorted purposes, and have followed my own advice for many batteries and devices. Despite some on this forum who insisted it would kill the battery, it does not. (That fear is based on the fact that without battery regulation that is built into every device for many years, a rechargeable battery other than lead-acid can go into a polarity reversal if put into total discharge. Can't happen with the charging/discharging controls in phones, etc.)

 

[Paul Verizzo]

OK, here's the OP with an update. A disconcerting one. Today was a day I didn't use the phone for anything. No calls, no camera, just sat around. It started the day, post charge at less than 1%/hr and now, 15 hours later, it's just at 2%/hr.

Yet, only yesterday after using a few functions like camera, or a stopwatch timer program, it was sucking 16%/hr! It just wouldn't settle back down after closing those programs. And this doesn't ever start to address the 30%+ using a GPS function!

If you haven't learned this, you can find out what is using your battery up by going into Settings/Battery Saver/Usage/Show apps that can run in the background.

Good luck!

 

[Laura Knotek]

I had bad battery life with the Preview for Developers and the Black firmware.

I'm still running Preview for Developers update 1, but I now have Cyan, and my battery life is great.

 

[NIRMAL RAJ THAMBI]

I had bad battery life with the Preview for Developers and the Black firmware.

I'm still running Preview for Developers update 1, but I now have Cyan, and my battery life is great.

Same here.... Cyan is great IMO

 

[uselessrobot]

So far it seems like battery life is about the same although sometimes I suspect it's slightly worse, especially if you're using the phone for anything. I find the phone getting warmer in Cyan than it ever did in the past, even doing simple things. It doesn't get hot like you might experience with a game, but it doesn't seem right that the processors would be getting taxed so much.

 

[Marcelo31]

All, oh so long ago. The variable is the Upgrade. Everything else has nothing to do with what apps I'm running (same) or battery health (same.)

I have supplied actual drainage numbers. Data points.

So the question is, is anyone else suddenly having this problem?

Hi Paul, I am experiencing this very issue and it is exactly like you explained. The only thing that changed a couple of weeks ago was the latest Developer Preview patch update, then my Lumia 520 is like garbage now. Battery is drained five times faster. I have tried factory reset four times now, have not reinstalled the prior 80 apps I had, have configured all the remaining to work in low profile and the stuff is still discharging that fast. For the first time ever I am considering to drop this device and go for an android. Sigh.

Question> Is there a way to roll back the entire Windows 8.1 and put original Winphone 8 back in my phone? At least til MS fixes this bugger. Factory reset always bring 8.1 back even when I have removed Developer Preview app and have not performed any update using the "phone update" feature inside settings.