Battery suddenly rubbish

[Guest mr-mac]

Ok....

So got a B7610 late last year and have been happy with it in the most.

Battery used to last about 3 days making about 30 mins of calls a day and sending a few texts etc.

The last 4 to 6 weeks battery can't even last 24hrs.

If I have it on charge at work and leave work at 5pm when I get up at 6am the battery is always down to 2 or 3 bars left and it will be dead before 24hrs is finished. Now I know this isn't correct and is a lot worse than it used to be.

Got fed up and decided maybe something wasn't working like it should so decided a hard re-set followed by a long charge was a good idea yesterday. I have phone set up same way as always. HSDPA is on, email is set to retrieve every hour (and only get small/first part of emails), data connection is only set to be active when required. After hard re-set I haven't got any other software going online for updates installed. I am using WM6.5 home screen (not samsung) and using WM6.5 sms/email screens. Bluetooth and wi-fi are switched off.

This is effectively how I have always had the phone setup since day one.

Anyone got any ideas as I really can't put up with the crap battery life any more. (also tried turning cpu to slow and turning HSDPA off but doesn't seem to help). Not 100% sure but have a feeling HSDPA reception doesn't seem as good as it used to be but not 100% sure on that.

Hope someone can help

Cheers

John

Edited August 10, 2010 by mr-mac

[Guest mr-mac]

Phoned samsung...

They said the problem pointed to battery and blamed intensive use... Wi-fi, bluetooth etc. I said I didn't use those features and charging every 4 days is not intensive use for a smartphone. I stated I had used smartphones for the last 10 years and have some 4yr old smartphones that have original bettery that still offer better battery life than this phone.

He said nothing they can do as battery is only garunteed for 6months and it is just under 2 weeks out of garantee.

After some more pissing about I got annoyed and said I would go and buy a new battery at my expense and if it isn't battery I would call back for service centre details but made it clear I was very unhappy that a £400 phone (sim free) didn't even last 6 months before I see battery issues and would not buy a samsung mobile ever again.

Suddenly guy says hold on.... puts me on hold... then comes back and says... as it is only 2 weeks out of garantee they will replace battery for me...

Still got a feeling there is something hardware as it was a step change from lasting 3-4 days to lasting less than 1 (not a gradual change) and as I say never ever had a bettery last only 6months.

We will see... Will update everyone and let you know if battery resolves the issue or not.

John

Edited August 10, 2010 by mr-mac

[Guest valcon]

My B7610 is about 9 months old (oktober 2009). The setup and use are about equal to yours: 3G/HSDPA every 15 minutes (Exchange sync) from 7:00-17:00, half an hour of calls, 2 or 3 SMS, and 5-10 replies to e-mails. I also use it as a radio at work, so 8 hours straight connected to the headset. The device is charged throughout the day (USB), but never at home. When I return the next day, the battery indicator is full or almost full (one bar gone). It lasts the entire weekend without charging (last charge at friday around 16:00) 'till monday 6:30 (one or two bars left). So it isn't a problem with all of the batteries. So the battery of my B7610 works quite well.

A battery should last longer than six months. In Europe, the guarantee guidelines [of the European Union] state that a consumer device should last, without problems, for about the period one could aspect the device to last without problems. For a washing machine that is five years, a television three years, and a mobile phone two or three years. Even if the manufacturer states otherwise in it's guarantee text, the European guideline overrule this. Unfortunately, many manufacturers don't comply with these guidelines and than the only way of getting things done under guarantee, is by getting a lawyer or by working with a consumer rights organisation. Exposure in national media is also an option.

[Guest Davka]

Backup your data and do a hard reset. I'm sure it's a software problem.

or if you don't want to reset your phone, uninstall applications one by one and check the battery drain.

[Guest mr-mac]

Backup your data and do a hard reset. I'm sure it's a software problem.

or if you don't want to reset your phone, uninstall applications one by one and check the battery drain.

Nah seems common in Uk for mobile batteries to only be covered for 6 months now I check (phone longer but battery 6 months).

I did a hard re-set the other day and it made no diffrence.

However, I am wondering if there is a hardware issue.

I installed WMLongLife yesterday and I left it overnight and then have used it for about 30-40min browsing today and still have all 5 bars.

One thing I have noticed... I used to get a 3.5g signal in the livingroom at home and I used to easilly get one at smoking area outside work but now I only get 2g at home and rarely get 3.5g to show up at work. I still get a 3.5g signal in city etc. but am wondering if something is causing the reception not to be as good as it was so the phone is now constantly searching for a 3g network....

Still can't grumble, got a free battery out of it.

My issue is if I send it to repair centre complaining the 3g reception is not as good as it was they are likely to pop it on a test rig and say hardware is working as 3g is still working just not as good as it should be.

What say you all? does it sound likely?

John