A Tip For Anyone With T Mobile G1 With Poor Battery Life

Quietgirl

Hi,
I have just got a T Mobile G1 phone. The first problem I had with it was really poor battery life. What I did to rectify it was firstly I downloaded the power management software from the android market. Then I totally flattened the battery. I then charged it with the phone turned off. Also I ensure that the backlight is set really low. Plus I have bluetooth, wifi and GPS turned off unless I need to use them. Also I set it to go into standby mode in 30 seconds rather than the default 1 minute. After I have used the phone for whatever I want to use it for I also press the standby button rather than waiting for the phone to go into standby on its own.

Before I did this I was charging it up on a regular basis and it even ran out of juice before my working day was complete. Now I just charge it once at night and it lasts all day, including browsing, email, listening to music and making and taking calls.

Hope this helps anyone else who might be having problems.

abomb1969

Just about to buy one many thanks for this!

Quietgirl

Yes I was pretty miffed at it. I rang T Mobile, and they told me take it into the shop and try another battery. I haven't bothered yet after reading on the net I found these different things to try and it seemed to have worked. Another tip I read is not to play with it when charging it or when you first charge the phone. Apart from that I know it looks a tad bit ugly but it's an extremely good phone and hopefully with it beings early days with the new android platform they will make updates to it which will improve consumption. One thing I do like is that it does over the air updates.

Sid_Harper

...but the power management hasn't been fixed in an OTA update?

How 'livewithable' is the phone?

i'm coming up for renewal and like it as an alternative to Apple but thinking I'll get hacked off with the size/weight/battery/build quality.

Then again it could be a nice pressie for Mrs Harper who is on maternity leave!

Quietgirl

Well, I've had it since last Saturday so since I managed to get the battery life lasting longer I find it's ok to live with. I've text, talked on the phone listened to music etc and I'm charging it once a day but part of me is wishing I went to vodafone for the new blackberry. I suppose I could send it back but then again I'm undecided.

carrieparkinson

this is a well known issue with the phone. there is a fix for it on the t-mobile website or call 150 and talk to customer services regarding this.

Sid_Harper

I popped into the TM store yesterday and the guy said "well the battery life is always poor on handsets with 3G and all you can do is keep 3G off, batteries haven't developed quickly enough".

No knowledge of the fix when I mentioend it to him. I had a quick look at their demo handset and it doesn't feel like a prototype to me - quite nice actually and similar weight to my blackberry.

Quietgirl

Well, I ended up sending the G1 back to T-Mobile. I am waiting for them to text me so I can terminate my account. I am now using the Blackberry Storm, which I got from Phones 4 U. The phone is far superior and the battery life is great and I can do anything I want on it I even leave AIM, and MSN running all the time, listen to music on the way to and from work I only charge it every other day and that includes making phonecalls and texting too.