Samsung Galaxy S111 Mini - v - my 'old' mobile

GillyFlower

I am only used to my basic mobile and really only use it for calls/texts/camera. I was given this S111 mini as a present on Sunday morning. I have got used to the layout, have looked at mini guides on my computer, etc.

But - I am now asking just how long should this battery last? It is back on charge now and it seems to want it everyday. I accept I will have used a lot of battery just 'travelling' around the phone for the first two days.

1. I have only used the phone for a few messages, phone calls and took two photos.
2. I have not even searched the internet - turned off Wi-Fi although have checked that I have a signal with BT-Fon.
3. Turned screen brightness down.
4, Switched on power saving - I think it was called.
5. Have read somewhere that it is a good idea to disable Google - but then I haven't even signed up for it. I do not know how to disable it.
6. I know how to make sure I have no applications running - however - did I read that Google can continue searching anyway. Can anyone tell me what is the G with two arrows underneath at the top of the phone 'menu' bar? I think I have noticed, sometimes, one of the arrows lit up.
7. I deffinately have BT Fon switched off.

At the moment I am so pleased I did not go out and buy one - lovely to get it as a present. So at the moment I would say it is not a phone that I am enjoying using but the challenge is good.

Any tips on what I might be able to 'switch' off that comes installed and uses battery would be helpful.

Update: Searching last night on my computer (not phone) discover lasting a day is 'normal'. So phone charged yesterday afternoon. Spoke to son and battery went down to 90% and this morning it is 52%! The screen switches off in seconds as I have it set up.

By the way I am a retired Grandma so this phone is really for communication and I like the touch screen that's fun.

Oh! I am not on facebook, twitter, etc. Summing it it looks like my phone needs to be plugged into the charger everyday at sometime even more often I suppose if I was to actually use it!

Thank you to anyone who can give me feedback on their experience.

d123

With minimal use you might be lucky enough to go 2 days, but charging every night is pretty normal with a smartphone.

GillyFlower

Thank you. They seem to like eating their battery life whilst they sit and do nothing - a whole new world for me to get used to.

Frozen_up_north

Smart phones are not very smart when it comes to battery life! My iPhone 5 needs charging every day if I browse the web, perhaps every other day if it's sitting dormant.

Check what Apps are running, some such as e-mail Apps may be checking for e-mail several times an hour. Others may be "phoning home" with details of what your phone is doing. Not only will this run the battery down, it will eat up your data allowance... Depending on what phone/SIM package you have this may be costly too.

Not having an Android phone I cannot advise you how to check what is running. My iPhone, even with Gmail running and the GPS enabled, only drops around 2% ~ 5% overnight. But do an hour of browsing around news web sites and the capacity will drop by 30%, depending on how strong the 3G signal is (weak signal = higher power transmit from the phone). An hour long phone call will drop the battery by a similar amount. I have brightness set to auto, the phone itself locks the screen and turns off the backlight to save the battery.

How the phone manufacturers manage to obtain the claimed battery life of their phones is a mystery, it's certainly not possible in the real world... Having to charge a smart phone every day seems to be pretty much the norm these days, unfortunately.

GillyFlower

Thank you again - really interesting. I keep looking at my old phone and thinking mmm it is lighter in weight, battery lasts a long time in comparrison to this - so - tempting to put that SIM card back in her.

Must keep giving it a good 'test run' and who knows as long as there is battery power if I get lost it will tell me where I am.:j

flashg67

The G with the arrows is the mobile internet - you can turn this off in settings if you don't need the internet - the phone will still work for calls & textx.

I don't have an S3 mini, but on the 'normal' s3, there is an easy way to turn some unwanted stuff off by dragging down the top bar - turn off wi-fi, mobile data and gps. I can get 2-3 days with moderate use by doing this

GillyFlower

OK - that's worth me trying and it helps with the 'learning curve'. I had wi-fi turned off (BT-Fon so I thought) on the menu. Then as I say I see on occasions the G come up and I thought it might be Google doing something on it's own. Can this phone do updates or something on it's own without me having Wi-Fi selected? Sorry if this sounds a silly question.

Perhaps I need to go into a phone shop and ask them to explain it as 2-3 days would be good without having to charge up each night.

Thank you again.

JJ_Egan

Auto updates for apps if set to auto update either via WiFi or mobile Data .

Two useful Android battery life apps are Better Battery Stats and Greenify .

jje

GillyFlower

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Auto updates for apps if set to auto update either via WiFi or mobile Data .

Two useful Android battery life apps are Better Battery Stats and Greenify .

jje

Thank you - can I ask these two questions -

1. So is it wise to keep Auto updates on?
2. Better Battery Stats and Greenify - is this something that I download and it works in the background to prolong battery life a little?

This phone is deffinately proving 'you are never too old to learn.'

JJ_Egan

GillyFlower wrote: »

Thank you - can I ask these two questions -

1. So is it wise to keep Auto updates on?


Personally no i just update when i am on home wifi .


2. Better Battery Stats and Greenify - is this something that I download and it works in the background to prolong battery life a little?


Better battery stats is a bit complicated as it looks for wakelocks that keep your phone awake .
Greenify hibernates stuff until needed .
Both from Google Play store .

jje