A little tough Love about battery issues.

[Big D5]

There have been a lot of threads in this forum about battery life so I have something to say about the issue. I want to start with a little background about me and why I think I am qualified to comment on this issue. First I will not be dumping a lot of disputable stats on you I have no technical data to back me just years of experience with Windows Mobile devices. I have owned every HTC and Palm WM device that Sprint has offered started with the 6600 it was my first WM smart phone before that I used an E-100 PPC and a regular flip phone for calls. When I got the PPC 6600 (400MHz Intel XScale PXA263) I was very disappointed with the battery life and with that device if the battery went dead or came off the device you lost all your settings and PIM I mean everything contacts calendar all of it so I had to carry a charger with me everywhere it was a real pain. I moved to the 6700 (416 MHz Intel PXA 270 X) it had Poor battery life but at least I could carry an extra battery and change batteries a couple of times a day. Then I got the 700wx (312 MHz PXA270 Intel XScale) it had better battery life but still poor compared to a regular flip phone, Palm has a way of making things a little more efficient, this device was truly amazing battery wise. I then got a Moto Q which had great battery life but was not WM professional I like my touch screen so the Q didn’t last long. Next was the Mogul (QUALCOMM 400 MHzMSM7500) nothing new here same issue no better battery life but the technology was leveling off it was obvious to me that HTC was making concessions to keep the battery life at a cretin level HTC limited the RAM on this device more RAM eats more battery when left running. Next I got the Touch (Texas Instruments 201 MHzOMAP850) same battery issues had to carry 2 batteries with this device as well. My next new device was the 800wx (333 MHz TI OMAP 2131) now that device has battery issues I had to carry 3 batteries with me just to make it through the day. Sorry Palm lovers but the 800wx was a disappointment to me Palm didn’t do their homework on that device (Can you say Treo Pro). Enough with the history, but I hope you are following the history here battery specific.

Now for the tough love, People you are pushing a Buss with a lawnmower engine here, the Buss is the Sprint Touch Pro and its 528MHz processor (larger than all the others listed above) and the lawnmower engine is the 1340mAh battery. It is no surprise to me that there are some people with issues about battery life on this device, when I read the specs on the TP my first thought was that PPC is going to have really poor battery life. When I got my TP and used it for a few days I was pleasantly surprised that the battery life was fare. If you had a regular phone and purchased this device you will hate the battery life on the TP but this is not a defect. All PPC devices have poor battery life (average 4 hours of use) but when compared to previous models HTC and Palm this device has a generous combination of features and still maintains a decent battery life. If you think you are going to drive from Dallas to Oklahoma City using GPS and an OTA connection to data running Telenav, while fielding phone calls from time to time, well, be ready to have a dead battery when you get there even with it plugged in and charging. This device will stay connected respond to all your calls get reconnected to Telenav all with out a hiccup, try that with a 800wx it wont happen, yes I have tried. All this activity on a 1340mAh battery and some want to complain that there is an issue with the battery life. I have to say to those people, please stop taking perfectly good TP’s back to the Sprint store and getting another there is nothing wrong with the battery on your Touch Pro its simply a learning curve for you. Get you an extra battery and keep it handy so when that first battery of the day is gone you can keep on going that’s what I do. I am not saying that there are no bad TP’s out there, if your sure of a defect take your device in and get it exchanged but if your new to these devices take some advice from the seasoned users of WM devices and start finding ways to make your new device work for you. If none of this is acceptable to you, then you will need to take your TP back and get a suitable device for your needs.

I hope everyone takes this in the spirit it was intended I don’t want a 800wx compared to the Touch Pro discussion started here this thread is not directed to any comparisons to any other device so if you post about that I will promptly delete your post. Please keep this thread on topic I want the New to Windows Mobile People to understand how these devices work and what they were made for. Please keep all posts in this thread related only to the Touch Pro and its battery life. Feel free to post any tips you have to increase battery life.

Dave

[dutchman71]

Battery life is as expected. Bad coverage areas are a problem though. The worst part about the device is that when using it plugged in, it still kills the battery because it stops charging due to heat build up. That is the real issue with this device.

[Big D5]

Originally Posted by dutchman71

Battery life is as expected. Bad coverage areas are a problem though. The worst part about the device is that when using it plugged in, it still kills the battery because it stops charging due to heat build up. That is the real issue with this device.

Very well put but if my choices are a broken device or stop charging then please stop charging.

[Alpine-]

Originally Posted by dutchman71

Battery life is as expected. Bad coverage areas are a problem though. The worst part about the device is that when using it plugged in, it still kills the battery because it stops charging due to heat build up. That is the real issue with this device.

Wait, I'm confused here - So the TP stops charging the battery when under heavy use (GPS navigation in car + calls)? Or when you using it in ANY capacity it stops charging? In other words, you cant use it in car for GPS (plugged into AC adapter) and expect a fully charged battery when done?

Can someone who has used this clear this up for me? This seems like a pretty annoying feature flaw. Whats the deal here? It never charges when "in use" or sometimes (hopefully rarely) when under heavy use and high heat it stop charging?

Originally Posted by rransburgh

I agree that the battery life is acceptable. However, the fact that my phone will die while I'm talking when it is plugged into the wall is NOT acceptable. There is no reason why an AC connection shouldn't be able to run this device. If it overheats it should quit charging and use power from the cable until it cools. It is a design flaw but isn't enough to make me give up an otherwise great phone.

This actually happens? Say you have a dead battery and you plug into AC with only 2-3% power you can actually go dead and the wall outlet wont be enough? With my mogul once you get some power into it all is well. This is a bit disturbing, I guess I didn't know this about the TP. Makes me hesitate on my upgrade.

[ScrapMaker]

Originally Posted by Alpine-

Wait, I'm confused here - So the TP stops charging the battery when under heavy use (GPS navigation in car + calls)? Or when you using it in ANY capacity it stops charging? In other words, you cant use it in car for GPS (plugged into AC adapter) and expect a fully charged battery when done?

Can someone who has used this clear this up for me? This seems like a pretty annoying feature flaw. Whats the deal here? It never charges when "in use" or sometimes (hopefully rarely) when under heavy use and high heat it stop charging?

I'm hesitant to post about the issue--but on my Touch Pros, it would drain ANY time the radio was active. If I was on the phone OR running GPS (that used an active data connection, like Telenav,) then it drained.

Other's have reported battery-drain while plugged in and doing GPS as well.

An offered solution, (that sometimes works,) is to slide open the keyboard to allow the radio to cool better.

Ridiculous, but apparently it's the only option Sprint Touch Pro owners have.

[Alpine-]

Originally Posted by ScrapMaker

I'm hesitant to post about the issue--but on my Touch Pros, it would drain ANY time the radio was active. If I was on the phone OR running GPS (that used an active data connection, like Telenav,) then it drained.

Other's have reported battery-drain while plugged in and doing GPS as well.

An offered solution, (that sometimes works,) is to slide open the keyboard to allow the radio to cool better.

Ridiculous, but apparently it's the only option Sprint Touch Pro owners have.

Wow, the issue is much worse than I thought. I'm a bit surprised.

Is it a misstatement to say that the TP literally will not charge unless the phone is completely inactive? Will a fully charged TP at least maintain its charge plugged into Power when using GPS. Or will it also drain the battery first, attempt to recharge and then overheat?

Originally Posted by Bill Cordray

The original battery in my Touch Pro was defective. I am a Sprint dealer and all 3 Touch Pro devices have defective batteries. I replaced the battery in my Pro and it works and performs perfectly. Because accessories are in very short supply for the Pro finding a battery is difficult. We replaced a Pro battery with a Touch Diamond battery in one of our other Pro's and it immediately cured the battery issue, This is the same exact 1340mah battery that powers the Diamond.

I'm hoping this guy is onto something and its just an early faulty batch of batteries. Otherwise, this could be a pretty serious design flaw. I wish someone could definitively clear it up. You would think by now it would have been.

[dr g]

Originally Posted by Alpine-

Wow, the issue is much worse than I thought. I'm a bit surprised.

Is it a misstatement to say that the TP literally will not charge unless the phone is completely inactive? Will a fully charged TP at least maintain its charge plugged into Power when using GPS. Or will it also drain the battery first, attempt to recharge and then overheat?

Yeah it's a misttatement. You can do a certain amount of stuff, and sometimes a differing amount from unit to unit, and the TP will continue to charge indefinitely. It's when you are pressing it and causing a lot of heat, such as streaming video or streaming audio + bluetooth, that the charging seems to stop. It will charge until it hits the cutoff point, and resume charging once it falls below the cutoff point again.

[hibby50]

D5, great thread 100% agree, although I haven't been around the block as many times as you, I can't begin to explain my Apache battery life! I had to carry around a portable charger and a ****load of AA batteries in one pocket with the brick in the other .

[Lylej2k]

Very well put sir. I especially like the "Pushing a bus with a lawnmower" part. Gave me a great visual. Now I do know a few tractors that will push a bus but that's besides the point...

[JJFrigle]

Very well put indeed... I just don't understand why HTC went from the 1500mAh battery that came with the Mogul to a 1340mAh in the TP. I was pleasantly surprised with the battery life on the Mogul. I came from the world of Blackberries and the Mogul matched them very well in the battery life field. Oh well, gotta live with it, and I agree that it's acceptable for what the device can do.