10 replies to this topic

[RickDawson]

My mobile has  (in past 3 or so months) decided to every day, switch off early, like it has no battery power.
it used to last for 2 days when I first got it.
after about 6 months it very gradually went down to about 1.5 days.
I then began to charge it every night.
it's now (in past 3 months), not lasting a day of much usage
Yesterday it turned off whilst I was on the phone to my local Chinese takeaway.
it was on charge overnight (night before yesterday 25/05/2007)
it seems to show it's charged long before the time it used to take to charge up.

It was on contract with O2, but I finished the contract (12 months), and am now on t-mobile pay as you go web'n'walk (as of March/April)


what should I do?
replace my mobile, or just the battery?

where should I get a replacement (UK)?

Edited by RickDawson, 27 May 2007 - 09:23 PM.

[mjaaron]

RickDawson, on May 27 2007, 22:18, said:

now on t-mobile pay as you go web'n'walk (as of March/April)

I'm also on T-Mobile web'n'walk and in the last month or so my battery has been struggling to last 9-10 hours (used to last a few days) before phone switches radio off.

Around that time I had numerous problems receiving and making calls etc and T-Mobile suggested turning off 3G as they had widespread problems with it. It seems a bit of a coincidence that since the T-Mobile 3G problems started occurring my battery life has suddenly dropped considerably and disabling it resolves the problem... Of course T-Mobile business customer services have absolutely no idea what's going on!

I disabled 3G in phone options / band and so far it has lasted 3 days and still on 60%! This is with GPRS permanently connected and Direct Push enabled.

According to them, 3G is only required for making video call and nothing else. I can't quite get through to them that I have never made a video call in my life yet still need 3G for internet access.

[RickDawson]

thanks for the tip...
I will see if it works in the next few days.
/goes to turn 3G off to use gprs only.

[Shuflie]

Using 3G will drain the battery faster, so if your battery is dying then switching it off will help whether T-mobile are having problems with 3G or not. But a replacement battery should get your phone back to the way it was originally and still allow you to have high speed browsing.

[mjaaron]

Shuflie, on May 28 2007, 09:39, said:

Using 3G will drain the battery faster, so if your battery is dying then switching it off will help whether T-mobile are having problems with 3G or not. But a replacement battery should get your phone back to the way it was originally and still allow you to have high speed browsing.

As far as I'm concerned, when my device is lasting for 4 days and still going strong with data connected and push email enabled 24 hours a day, I'm happy there is nothing at all wrong with my battery!

I'm aware that 3G does add extra drain on the battery but reducing the standby time from 96+ hours to less than 10 hours is surley not normal???

I'm not denying that there is nothing wrong with Rick's battery, just pointing out that there are things he can do to try and determine the cause of his problems.

Edited by mjaaron, 28 May 2007 - 07:50 PM.

[Shuflie]

mjaaron, on May 28 2007, 20:46, said:

As far as I'm concerned, when my device is lasting for 4 days and still going strong with data connected and push email enabled 24 hours a day, I'm happy there is nothing at all wrong with my battery!

I'm aware that 3G does add extra drain on the battery but reducing the standby time from 96+ hours to less than 10 hours is surley not normal???

I'm not denying that there is nothing wrong with Rick's battery, just pointing out that there are things he can do to try and determine the cause of his problems.

It not all about the amount of charge that the battery is holding, but also its ability to supply that charge at a certain current drain. An old battery may still hold quite a bit of charge but is only able to supply enough amps (or should that be milliamps) to run the 3G radio for the 9-10 hours that your phone lasts on 3G. Switching the phone from 3G to GPRS reduces the current drain so the phone is able to keep supplying its stored charge for what seems to be a perfectly normal period of time at the reduced rate. I wasn't saying that there was anything wrong with your suggestion, in fact if you're not using your phone for intensive web browsing and/or video calling then switching to regular GSM radio makes a lot of sense (not just to increase battery life, its easier for the phone to stay locked onto signal if 3G isn't in use). If you do need the 3G radio to be on though then a new battery should sort out the problems you both have been having.

[RickDawson]

switching to only using GPRS and not using 3G has made no difference to the outcome.

I think it looks like I'll have to get a new battery...
Where is the best place to get one (UK) ?

I will consider a new mobile, if there's anything worth upgrading to (I've not kept up with what devices are available, since I got the Universal)
The usb port is a bit iffy... The plastic that hold the pins has perished, and cracked, so the pins can move and not contact all the time.
it used to work with all my usb plugs, but now it doesn't there's some it will still work with.

Edited by RickDawson, 29 May 2007 - 09:25 PM.

[RickDawson]

Is this a good place for the battery?
http://www.morpethmo...l...od=/C16a/CS
http://www.morpethmo...l...rod=/C8a/CS

[RickDawson]

So where is the best place to get a battery?

[Jasonkruys]

I bought my official one from expansys.co.uk. Not the cheapest, but it is a genuine battery, rather than third party.

[RickDawson]

I managed to get a battery a few weeks ago from a local independent mobile shop.
He got me an original one, and it works perfectly.

I just tried to sync my mobile to my pc today, and the mini usb port is now broken.
I will start a new thread about it.