Database Users

Universal suddenly shuts down; battery or other problem?

I recently acquired a HTC Universal for dirt cheap, and have found the first problem to explain the low price: Whenever I'm using a "power-hungry" application (TCPMP, Internet via Wi-Fi) it eventually just blacks out. Full shutdown without warning.
When trying to reactivate the unit, it reboots as if after a soft reset.
In fact, if I try to reactivate it too quickly, even the reboot fails.
None of the above happens when on external power.
This leads me to think that it's nothing worse than a battery that's lost its mojo, but since there is no warning about low battery, and when the reboot finishes successfully even SPB says the battery is somewhere around 70%, I want to run this by you guys.
What do you think? Just go get a new battery, or is there something else going on which will make buying a new battery just a waste of money?

I'd say it's the battery, 99% sure.
I'ts gotten old and its voltage breaks down under load. If you have proper equipment and a glimpse of an idea what you're doing you should drain about 300mA from the battery and measure its output voltage.
You'll most likely see it going below 3.0V quickly.

I'm afraid I don't have that equipment, but all I really needed to hear was that it's probably the battery.
Now I can stop thinking about it and just order a new batery.

Unexpected reboot - Apparently bettery issue
Hey Holybear, my device shows exactly same symptom, If possible let us know if bat replacement solved the issue>

Holy Bear said:
I recently acquired a HTC Universal for dirt cheap, and have found the first problem to explain the low price: Whenever I'm using a "power-hungry" application (TCPMP, Internet via Wi-Fi) it eventually just blacks out. Full shutdown without warning.
When trying to reactivate the unit, it reboots as if after a soft reset.
In fact, if I try to reactivate it too quickly, even the reboot fails.
None of the above happens when on external power.
This leads me to think that it's nothing worse than a battery that's lost its mojo, but since there is no warning about low battery, and when the reboot finishes successfully even SPB says the battery is somewhere around 70%, I want to run this by you guys.
What do you think? Just go get a new battery, or is there something else going on which will make buying a new battery just a waste of money?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I knew I wasn't the only one withthat problem. I think i've prooved it to be a battery faultt. as if you taake te battery out after it gets to that stage where you just can not get it too complete a boot up without it shuttinng down again
take out battery ,place finer oveer all battery trmminals and plug inn your mainss charger it should now boot up and runn fin off the charger unless your finger slips off the battery terminals. thisshsowws it's the temprature sensor in the battery.
I posted a more in depth reply to a guy in the wm6 threads as wifi heeaating up battery wass shutting off his device as well

@ cyberjak
Hmm, the idea that a temperature sensor in the battery causes this problems is interesting. I'd just expect the device not being cappable of rebooting instantly, because there should be a hysteresis implemented in the battery's protection circuit.
I had the exact same problems and described them elsewhere, but in my case it surely wasn't an issue of temperature.
I'd suggest to take out the battery and wait about an hour for the device and the battery to cool off. Most likely the battery will then take a complete boot but shut down soon after that - without having gotten near to "warm" yet.
If this happens you can be sure that the battery itself is dead without needing to measure anything.

Okay, to tell you what I tried:
I ran the Universal until it spontaneously went dead.
Started bootlaoder to see how much longer it would work on that. Was a bit longer, what with low energy consumption, but soon even that wouldn't stay on for long.
Then decided to try the "old wives' tale" (meaning I don't know whether there's any sense behind it or not) of putting the battery in the freezer for a little while.
When I took it out and let it get back to normal temp, I plugged it in and after a while booted the Universal. It showed 40% battery, lower than it had ever gotten lately.
Recharged for a full day.
Tried TCPMP: went dead after three minutes.
So in my experience the above didn't help battery performance.
Am going to get a new battery in a few days; I'll keep you posted on progress as I try with a fresh battery.

I had the same problem, whenever i did something cpu intensive, it would just black out.
I just bought a new 3100mAh battery. Best thing i ever did. It might be thicker now with the new battery, but it actually feels more comfortable as a phone. Plus the new battery only cost 13 odd quid, so definately well worth it. Oh and it doubles the battery life (3100/1500 = ~2... duh)
Hope that helps.

oh you know wat i have the same problem with my Jasjar and the bigest problem that there is no batteries on market for Jasjars in my country....its looks like im living in Jurassic Century!!!

If you want i can send you a battery xplayer, they're quite cheap here.

Rc-Blob said:
I had the same problem, whenever i did something cpu intensive, it would just black out.
I just bought a new 3100mAh battery. Best thing i ever did. It might be thicker now with the new battery, but it actually feels more comfortable as a phone. Plus the new battery only cost 13 odd quid, so definately well worth it. Oh and it doubles the battery life (3100/1500 = ~2... duh)
Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ordered a regular battery replacement, but maybe I'll add a 3100mAh as well.
I could use it as a media player during long train trips.

Holy Bear said:
Okay, to tell you what I tried:
I ran the Universal until it spontaneously went dead.
Started bootlaoder to see how much longer it would work on that. Was a bit longer, what with low energy consumption, but soon even that wouldn't stay on for long.
Then decided to try the "old wives' tale" (meaning I don't know whether there's any sense behind it or not) of putting the battery in the freezer for a little while.
When I took it out and let it get back to normal temp, I plugged it in and after a while booted the Universal. It showed 40% battery, lower than it had ever gotten lately.
Recharged for a full day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I revived two batteries by intense cycling to work quite well again. They still black out at 20%, but only under extreme load (active gsm connection, active wifi, bluetooth and having to render a webpage).
But you should be able to discharge them below 25% at least. Else they're most certainly "too dead" already. And you should do at least 3-4 cycles.
My guess would be that the freezer finished your battery off. I don't understand how this method should work anyway, as lower temperatures reduce the time affected capacity loss. Actually the best place to store a LiPo or LIo battery is the fridge, charged about half the way.
But I also ordered two 3100mAh batteries. I'm using the Uni as a laptop replacement and the permanent wifi usage together with some cpu load and the backlight kicks the battery's ass quite hard.
In Germany the China 3100mAhs are overpriced and it's hard to get your hands on an external charger, but on Ebay.co.uk there's a seller that offers battery and charger as a bundle for about 15€. This will give me a solid 6000+mAh per day and should be enough to forget about virtually every setting related to power consumption
@ xplayer
If you haven't donw already, take a look at Ebay.com, co.uk etc and look if one of the sellers there will ship to kurdistan. You may be lucky

Rc-Blob said:
If you want i can send you a battery xplayer, they're quite cheap here.
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Click to collapse
Oh Thanx Rc-Blob....bt there is No way even to send me no addresses no posting in my country...am from kurdistan of Iraq...thanks again its looks like u sent me one...bt I even have brother in USA he can't send me...except if some one come from there so i have to wait...thanks buddy...

EvilJogga said:
I revived two batteries by intense cycling to work quite well again. They still black out at 20%, but only under extreme load (active gsm connection, active wifi, bluetooth and having to render a webpage).
But you should be able to discharge them below 25% at least. Else they're most certainly "too dead" already. And you should do at least 3-4 cycles.
My guess would be that the freezer finished your battery off. I don't understand how this method should work anyway, as lower temperatures reduce the time affected capacity loss. Actually the best place to store a LiPo or LIo battery is the fridge, charged about half the way.
But I also ordered two 3100mAh batteries. I'm using the Uni as a laptop replacement and the permanent wifi usage together with some cpu load and the backlight kicks the battery's ass quite hard.
In Germany the China 3100mAhs are overpriced and it's hard to get your hands on an external charger, but on Ebay.co.uk there's a seller that offers battery and charger as a bundle for about 15€. This will give me a solid 6000+mAh per day and should be enough to forget about virtually every setting related to power consumption
@ xplayer
If you haven't donw already, take a look at Ebay.com, co.uk etc and look if one of the sellers there will ship to kurdistan. You may be lucky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hhh ok buddy you too for care....but there is realy no way i have to wait tell some one(my brothers friend) come from USA so he can get me one from there....its ok...i can use it yet as a normal mobile...i have some other devices for multimedia right now i can wait there is no any other ways....thanks...

Rc-Blob said:
If you want i can send you a battery xplayer, they're quite cheap here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx for helping the guy,yo folks on xda are the best

Just to give you all the end of the story:
I ordered a regular replacement and a 3200 mAh one, and both have returned my Universal to a well-used life.
Thanks again to everyone helping me out here.

For you guys does the device switch off only when the battery is low, or any time. Cause I have this problem as well, and I was SURE that it wasn't a battery problem until I read this thread. The phone switches off intermittently, sometimes after only 3' talk time right after it had been charging for a full 8 hours! Also, usually if I let it sit there for a few hours I could then turn it back on and it would last a full day, so I knew it wasn't due to low battery.
The overheating theory would explain my problem, as, now that I think about it, all my seemingly-random shutdowns were during radio activity (making or receiving calls, especially when the phone was searching for signal, or wifi, which would almost instantly kill it). Strange that it overheats like this, most phone batteries simply run out of charge faster and faster until they can't hold a charge at all, but mine lasts almost as long as it always lasted even though it's 2 years old - unless I get the shutdown thing of course.

I asked this in another thread, but since this one is full of people who got replacement batteries I'll repeat my question here as well:
How much thicker than the standard battery are the 3100 and the 4200mAh ones?

I also got this problem recently, so I bought a new battery and although it's only a 1600mAh battery it runs great again

hey roodkapje ive got that same problem with my battery for my spv m5000 the bad news is that i cant get that batery in barbados so im all out to see

HTC response on short Battery Life: Expect it!

I wrote to HTC to ask how they measured their "up to 490 hours on Standby" and "up to 380 mins talk time" referred to in their HD2 website specification especially as people like myself were experiencing the battery going flat in <24 hours with almost zero usage of the phone.
Here's their official reply.
Thank you for your email. The specifications that you have referenced are laboratory test conditions, and are not indicative of real-world performance, nor do they take into account the considerable drain incurred by the myriad services and programs that run as a matter of course on Windows Mobile 6.5, as well as any other background applications that may be running, which may not be readily apparent. Please be advised that these laboratory test figures are in line with EU regulations concerning the testing of mobile device batteries, and the real-world battery time that you have quoted of 20-24 hours is well within what we would expect of this device. We have recently released a large capacity battery for use with the HD2, and this can be purchased from the following link :- http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_item.aspx?i=195058
So in simple terms, we mislead you in our advertising and you'll be lucky to get the battery to last 24 hours. We can't fix it so buy a bigger battery!
What's the point in publishing performance data that has no relationship to "real-world" conditions. Most customers won't be using the phone in a laboratory.
Perhaps we should start a new campaign to get HTC to be more honest about "real-world" expectations.

Bobins24 said:
What's the point in publishing performance data that has no relationship to "real-world" conditions. Most customers won't be using the phone in a laboratory.
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Click to collapse
Because as they said that measurement procedure is a standard that everybody follows, so it would be stupid to do it differently, why "not lie" when everybody does so (and they actually probably wouldn't be allowed to do it differently).

Bobins24 said:
I wrote to HTC to ask how they measured their "up to 490 hours on Standby" and "up to 380 mins talk time" referred to in their HD2 website specification especially as people like myself were experiencing the battery going flat in <24 hours with almost zero usage of the phone.
Here's their official reply.
Thank you for your email. The specifications that you have referenced are laboratory test conditions, and are not indicative of real-world performance, nor do they take into account the considerable drain incurred by the myriad services and programs that run as a matter of course on Windows Mobile 6.5, as well as any other background applications that may be running, which may not be readily apparent. Please be advised that these laboratory test figures are in line with EU regulations concerning the testing of mobile device batteries, and the real-world battery time that you have quoted of 20-24 hours is well within what we would expect of this device. We have recently released a large capacity battery for use with the HD2, and this can be purchased from the following link :- http://www.htcaccessorystore.com/uk/p_htc_item.aspx?i=195058
So in simple terms, we mislead you in our advertising and you'll be lucky to get the battery to last 24 hours. We can't fix it so buy a bigger battery!
What's the point in publishing performance data that has no relationship to "real-world" conditions. Most customers won't be using the phone in a laboratory.
Perhaps we should start a new campaign to get HTC to be more honest about "real-world" expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What can i say........except that HTC should look in to the real world more often!

I use many phones, from htc, and from other company , my last two nokia phones was "business versions" with "everlasting" battery - first e65 least 40h , second - better version - only 22h ( e66) - it's normal - in this world

If HTC say it's a standard EU process, then perhaps we should campaign to get the EU standard changed as the current published figures give no indication of the phones real performance.
Don't get me wrong, I love the phone but I've never seen one like this go flat in such a short time when on standby.

i love how they say it lasts up to 490 hours on standby, but 24 hours is what they would expect
it's actually ridiculous how deceitful these companies are, we deserve better than this
it's not right that they lie right to our faces to what we are getting and how we have no rights
just not right.

I think we need a bit of a reality check here. I'm not especially inclined to defend HTC but they have a point about the stuff that may be running on the phone. Anyone who has tried some new toys must have encountered one that sucks the life out of the battery for no obvious reason - scale that down and extrapolate across a raft of apps that most of us here will have on our phones and you will get a host of variations in terms of battery life...which is exactly what we do get.
Secondly, as kilrah said, that's the way battery life is measured. Instead of whining about it we should treat it as a relative indicator against other phones because that's about all it is good for. I suspect most say 'up to...' in small letters in front of their stand by and talk times anyway.
If I were to buy a car because the specs say that it does 40 miles to the gallon I'd be a mug to expect it to do that when I'm thrashing down the motorway towing a trailer with the windows and sun roof open. But I might well buy it in preference to a car that claims 30 mpg because in the long run it will probably cost me less in running costs.
You pays your money and you takes your choice...I don't personally see any significant misrepresentation in this, but there may be a little end user misunderstanding?

Bobins24 said:
...
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Click to collapse
No surprise here. I observed the same discrepancy on all my phones till now - Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, HTC.
Actually I use my phone a lot and I'm more than happy with its performance so far - huge and bright screen, powerful CPU... What are your expectations? 48 hours? A week?
If you think, this is something impressive, go and buy yourself a new monitor and then just measure the advertised contrast ratio - 10000:1 ? Seriously? In fact it is only 700:1. Nothing more to say.
Watch Out: Crazy Contrast Ratios

Exact. And especially on smartphones it's absolutely impossible for the manufacturer or a standards organisation to imagine how you will use your device.
If they can quote anything, it's stock configuration, open the box, put sim card in, press power on, enter your pin, put phone in standby, leave it there, note how long it lasts. That's all.
Knowing that you can do so many things on it, install so many programs that can do what they want to the phone, and that depending on usage the battery life can vary anywhere between 2 hours and 4 days it's totally impossible, by whatever means, to quote something realistic.

When you buy a WM device (or any other Lith-Ion device for that matter) you should know what to expect with regards to battery life, it's not rocket science.
Lithium-Ion batteries are poor, until battery technology is improved it's what we should have come to expect.

That's a bit simplistic, knowing that firstly there's nothing better yet, and secondly the good old phones we had that were lasting a whole week were also using the same batteries or even worse NiMH ones.
It's a combination of a lot of things.

battery life
I turned htc sense off on my phone and now the battery lasts 2-2.5 days with what i would deem reasonable use ie using the internet checking emails texting and 4 or 5 calls a day , if i turn sense back on the battery life drops to about 15 hours so i can live without sense !!! Im far more concerned about the speaker problems and pink photos than the battery )

kilrah said:
That's a bit simplistic, knowing that firstly there's nothing better yet, and secondly the good old phones we had that were lasting a whole week were also using the same batteries or even worse NiMH ones.
It's a combination of a lot of things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you are replying to me?
After having 4 HTC devices, I didn't expect anything more from the HD2 than I got from the Wizard or my Kaiser or my Diamond, if anything it was obviously going to be poorer due to the huge screen, hardware and all the software I knew I would be using.

I think your best chance of getting their claimed hours would be by:
1. Completely charging the battery;
2. Use a bare-bone ROM with absolutely nothing installed
3. Switching off all radio signals.. (that is, put the phone in flight mode so that the phone is not transmitting like wireless, bluetooth or anything else at all...)
4. leaving the phone on standby with the screen off.
Of course, noone uses their phone like that, but HTC have used the term "up to" to protect themselves...
HTC would be stupid to change the way they rate their times since every other company is using the same method. I doubt anyone would want to buy a phone that says "Standby Up to 24hours" when every other phone has "Standby Up to 500hours" At best, the rated hours could be used as a comparison/indicator against other phones.

I'm celebrating two weeks into life with my HD2, and after suffering water damage with my HD which had no effect except to bring battery life down to 8 hours a day, I'm really pleased with my 24-28 hours of battery life.
On days I'm using it a lot, I expect 15 hours. However the other day I barely touched the phone (no calls, no music, no random turning on the screen) and I was on 65% after 24 hours, which I felt was good.
I agree with the OP, their quotes are a joke, but I don't look at specs, I look at reviewers to tell me "I expect a day's life from this phone" etc. when I choose a phone. With a screen this size I don't expect miracles, but again, it does feel like a blatant lie when they suggest the phone can sit for weeks without dying, and i give manufacturers (including HTC) no credit for being economical with the truth to their customers.

My SEX1 used to last a few hours more, having a smaller screen, larger battery, and less than half the processor. They specced same timings, as I said I got a few hours more. I doubt Iphone or any other manufacturer, will spec their device like, Standby time 24hrs, talk time 4 hrs. Who would buy such a device?
Anyway I didn't expect it to last any longer. Good thing is I'm in front of my pc for long hours, no harm in letting the phone plugged in.

Isn't draining the Li-Ion actually shortens the battery life?
I'm told that letting the battery get lower than 2.3v isn't a good thing.
Let the battery get low, but not low enough for auto-shutdown

It's called Business Opportunity
All companies all over the world is like HTC.
Whenever there is a problem, they will direct you to purchase something to "solve" the problem.
HD2 problem that we are facing is poor battery performance (if you enable non-Sense). "Solution" is to buy bigger capacity battery.
Problem : screen easily crack
HTC "solution" : tampered glass screen (if HTC would advertise...)
Problem : Screen too sensitive
HTC "solution" : special screen protector (if HTC would advertise...)
Problem : this, that, this , that,
HTC "solution" : you pay, we gain profit!
That's the real world scenario....
Conclusion : HTC = poor quality product(s) at expensive price.

rickyoon.vegas said:
I'm told that letting the battery get lower than 2.3v isn't a good thing.
Let the battery get low, but not low enough for auto-shutdown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto forced shutdown is at 3.6V, which has a lot of margin not to cause damage.
HD2 problem that we are facing is poor battery performance (if you enable non-Sense). "Solution" is to buy bigger capacity battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sensible solution: if you want battery life of more than 1-2 days, do not get a smartphone, especially not one that has the fastest processor on the market and a 4.3" screen. And read reviews that will tell you "you'll get 1-2 days" and "it lasts just a bit more than an iphone". I.e. Educate yourself.
Problem : screen easily crack
HTC "solution" : tampered glass screen (if HTC would advertise...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sensible solution: Realise you have a large piece of GLASS in front of you, and take care of it as such. Don't drop it, don't sit on it,...
We know how the HD2 behaves. If you read a couple of reviews, you know too. If you now buy it and still complain, there's not much we, or HTC, can do for you.

Solution to Desire HD battery problem

Having tried just about everything to prolong the life of the battery on my Desire HD, I think that I have, at last, found a real solution.
I did not like the idea of buying a spare battery mainly due to the flimsy battery compartment on the phone and the thought of constantly swapping batteries. Swapping batteries would also involve switching off the phone and losing data (for example, if you are using GPS to track your movements).
I have tried lots of software solutions, most of which help to give me an hour or two of extra life. My favourite software solution is Juice Defender, which works well within the limits of HTC's awful battery.
Someone on another thread recommended the TechNet external charger, which packs a 5,000ma charge - enough for four full recharges of the HD phone. It plugs into the micro USB port on the phone and charges the phone as though it is connected to the power supply. It hot-charges, which means you don't need to swap batteries or switch off the phone. The device comes with lots of adaptors to charge lots of different devices. There is also an 11,000ma version... enough for 10 recharges.
Available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000NDQ92W/ref=oss_product
It also looks good and comes with a travel pouch and is smaller than the HD phone itself so slips into a bag without a problem.

Looks promising. Thanks for the info bobby!

I purchased this before I went back to nz for Xmas. Well worth the purchase, has saved me several times. One thing to be mindful of is that if you accidentally turn it on without realising, the battery will drain, even if its not charging anything.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Is the battery really that awful? I can use the phone for 24hrs (including stand-by time, 14-16hrshrs of usage time) with wifi, 3g constantly on until I need a charge.
Which is really more then enough time for me in between charges, unless you go on trip for days without access to a computer or an wall socket.
Its nice to have a phone which last for days like the old days, but it really has no inconvenience charging it once a day, right?

+1 , left my phone in work the other day after reasonable useage in the time I was in work 0900-2000, came in the following morning , to find 13% charge remaining and that was in-spite of my alarm going off

I find that if you put your phone in power saving mode, even the remaining 10% can last you for almost a day.
Its quite useful if you know you gonna leave ur phone for a period of time.
Actually it would be quite useful to have a toggle widget to do that on ur home screen instead letting it activating itself below a set percentage. Is there any?

Howdy,
I was so frustrated with the battery usage I nearly ditched the phone. I decided to apply a different rom after reading and considering many posted here I went with Coredroid, which I downloaded from this site. (had the original vodafone rom) Great support and documentation and tons of help if it goes south.
I can say as of now my phone is 5 times at least faster and the battery life has extended 300%.
When you check battery usage the I found the number one battery killer is Display. With Coredroid its about the 5th item on the list. Wireless and bluetooth and the biggest now (if you can call them real big) but they are easy to turn on/off.
I was very nervous about a custom rom but I needed something. I can only recommend you look at other roms apart from you stock one -Im assuming. (Im not sure what warranty etc rules are gone, personally I don't care)
Cheers
Gamma

Yes, that was me, with the external battery pack/charger
Well, it's a heavy phone already, a huge screen to light up and render -it's pretty clear where the power is needed. But would the bulk associated with another 400mah really have tipped the DHD over the edge?
Anyway, it's designed now, and nothing can be done about that. I'm quite happy with it lasting until the night for normal/heavy usage (about 16 hours) - with it's out-of-the-box form factor.
And for those occasions when I'm using GPS tracking apps out in the open for 5-6 hours, broadcasting my location to a website, hooking it up to the external pack (mine is in fact a New Trent one, 5000mah) means it won't drain unexpectedly. That is, with 5000+1260mah combined!
The battery pack provides a "full" charge in about 2 hours, that is just like a mains charger (it is rated up to 1amp output, providing of course whatever amperage the device pulls).

That pack might be a solution for the battery problem, but I still don't think it's enough. I don't think that you should have to buy a portable power pack just for your phone battery to last. The whole point of mobile phones is that you have access to a medium of communication in a remote location. By not making the battery life long on a phone, I reckon HTC are actually limiting its main use. But that's just my 2 cents, and it does depend on how people like to use their phones.

5000 mah is not enough, why not make it larger

Thanks for the info.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Trent-I...rry/dp/B004CHMP50/ref=acc_glance_ce_ai_ps_t_2
New Trent Extreme Pack IMP1000 11000mAh External Battery
larger still

looceci said:
5000 mah is not enough, why not make it larger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must love the 1240Ma battery that comes with the phone.

You've enabled USB Debugging, yeah? I get 2 days, and I work in the middle of nowhere. The phone polls for a new cell constantly while I'm in my office.
If signal is good in your area, tell the phone to use GSM or WCDMA exclusively. Otherwise it will switch to whichever has the better signal, which can be problematic is you're in an area with good / poor coverage of both technologies.

I think the polling thing might be a big battery killer. I shall try that.
I friend of mine in the office, use to have a Sony smart phone that barely lasted a day and thats on standby. He ditched that for a DHD. His battery now lasts 4 days plus, with minmal use! Mine on ther other hand with minimal use can give 2days at most.
The difference is that he is on ORANGE and I am on T-Mobile. It must be down to signal strength because he use to be on THREE and the signal strength was very poor at his home location.
BTW, I find that Juice Defender does help and switiching off Flash in the browser.

This charger and the USB-Batteries are the best inventions ever

It would be great if this phone got accessory support like the fruit phone does. An extended battery case would be the most optimal solution to this problem but I haven't heard of any out there yet
P.S send me a PM if anyone finds an external battery case

how is it compare to eneloop 5000mah?

Ah! I need that one for when i go camping

Gutted, but I think this phone is going back...

I'm truly upset about this, because I think this phone is almost marvellous. But in the two weeks I've had it a few horrible problems have emerged, and I can't find solutions.
If anyone can help (REALLY help), I'd be very grateful.
So. Here I go:
1) The antennae (or whatever). I'm sitting here, in my study, which is in my garden, about 60 feet from the house. In the house (right on the kitchen window) I have a wi-fi AP, to boost the signal. In my study I have : a PS3; a desktop PC; a (Samsung) netbook; an iPhone 3gs; an HTC TP2, and the SGS2. Every single device has a good-to-excellent connection. Except the SGS2. Which says "poor", except that most of the time it can't get a signal at all - so that's not even as good as "poor";
2) I took a friend to hospital today. There were three of us in the waiting room. The SGS2 had no (phone) reception. The others did;
3) On the way to the hospital I needed to use Google Nav. I plugged the SGS2 into my car charger. It didn't charge. I've since tried three different chargers (and no, they weren't from Poundland). Same thing. The SGS2 just won't charge in my car if it needs plenty of juice. I've been trawling the webs and this seems to be a common issue - but nobody has a definite answer. I was about to spring for an official Sammy charger, but nobody seems to know for sure if it'll do the trick.
4) The sound isn't great, either in fidelity (and I'm using Shure SE530s, just so you know I care about good sound) or volume. It's tolerable, but only that. No comparison to my little Sansa clip, or even (I hate to say) the 3GS;
5) (though not as much as some, it would seem) the battery life is a bit meh. And I'm not a heavy user.
I read many people complaining about silly little things. A lot of them are down to software or simple ignorance. But a super-smartphone that has poor connectivity and can't be used as a satnav (whilst simultaneously charging). Well, I'm sorry, but...
As I said at the top, I'm genuinely miserable about this. I really, really thought that this was the Smartphone to Rule Them All.
And, again, if anyone can offer me hope that things will get better, please do. Sadly, I think I'll be going back to separate gadgets to fulfill my needs. A phone that works as a phone (and maybe a diary); a satnav that charges in the car; a music player that sounds good. Etc, etc.

ive got a crappy 8-in-1 car charger works fine.

I have none of the problems you said in your post so maybe you just got a **** phone, maybe return it for another.

rojdag said:
ive got a crappy 8-in-1 car charger works fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean it works fine when you're also using satnav? Because there seem to be many, many people whose SGS2 won't charge when running satnav.

That's what I was thinking maybe one problem is tolerable but all those things you mentioned I would've been took that boy back for a swap out. Unless you brought it online.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA Premium App

Mitty1990 said:
I have none of the problems you said in your post so maybe you just got a **** phone, maybe return it for another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, maybe I have a "**** phone". Then again, lots of people seem to be having similar issues. Do you think there was a bad batch? Can you charge the phone in-car whilst using satnav? Is your wifi strength as good as your other devices?
I think I may call Vodafone now and see if a replacement helps. That's if they'll still swap it out.

If you arent happy with the phone, return it/exchange it.
simple as.
As for advice, read the threads.

I also have none of the problems you are suffering. My wifi works as well as any other device I have had. Phone signal is better on the same network a my htc desire. Sound quality is better than my desire. Battery life is so far pretty good and will get better with use and even better once 2.3.4 comes out very soon.
As for your charging issues while using nav this is a common thing with cheap chargers, you might not have got it from poundland but its just not supplying enough juice. Had exactly the same problem when I first got my desire over a year ago, ended up modifying my car charger by soldering the data wires together to force it to max out its current output. Use that same charger for my sg2.

The only problem ive had is the car charger one which i didnt realise untill yesterday. All your other problems dont exist on my phone so mabey exchange it

barneypooch said:
Do you mean it works fine when you're also using satnav? Because there seem to be many, many people whose SGS2 won't charge when running satnav.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just been out to the car and can confirm, it charges fine with google navigation running - seems to make no difference with mine navigation or not.
keep soldiering on dont give up on yer sgs2 yet!

With reference to the car charger problem while using satnav look at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=670702&highlight=car+charger&page=2
Thats the thread from the HTC desire doing the exact same thing. If your charger is 1000ma you should be able to mod it or a cable so that it will happily charge your sg2, if not make sure the next one you buy can supply enough current.

barneypooch said:
1) The antennae (or whatever)
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Click to collapse
The phone seems to have love/hate relationships with different routers. In the way I use it, it works as well as a G2 and G2X connecting in the same locations. I have a beast of a router and what I tend to connect to (airports, hotels, airplanes) have better than average equipment. People have had some luck by replacing their router. If it's software, the imminent 2.3.4. update may help.
The SGS2 had no (phone) reception. The others did
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Click to collapse
There have been various postings on this. People with issues popped another carriers SIM in the phone and in a lot of cases the problem went away. Try replacing your SIM. If the phone's just not good reception wise in the areas you travel or on the network you use you may have to return it.
3) The SGS2 just won't charge in my car if it needs plenty of juice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using the LG charger from my G2X and it keeps the phone battery-positive using Nav and Bluetooth audio streaming. There's a thread dedicated to this somewhere, do a search.
The sound isn't great I'm using Shure SE530s
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same headphones and am quite pleased with the output. I also stream Bluetooth in my car and the phone easily outperforms the G2 and G2X. There's a long thread discussing audio and a couple of folks using Shure's were getting different results. It might be a hardware issue with your particular phone. But, judging audio is subjective so what's good for me may not be for you.
5) (though not as much as some, it would seem) the battery life is a bit meh. And I'm not a heavy user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's an issue with the suspend process in 2.3.3. that drains the battery at idle. The imminent 2.3.4. update should correct this.

I also noted poor wifi signal. Changed my router to a better one and it fixed the issue, however I still have problems in my travels ( hotels, bars, airports ).
Regrading the navigation, I did a total of 2500km ( 2 long trips of 900 km each + other small and medium trips ) with the phone being in nav mode. I had the battery issue you described due to overheating, but as soon as I protected the phone from direct sunlight ( a small piece of paper over it ) or kept a small flow of air on it ( placed it near the AC vent and redirected the flow twoards it ) the issue got resolved. Using a 500mA car USB charger my phone stays cool at about 36 degrees C and the battery gets +1% every few mins ( navigation + wifi tethering on with Kies over wifi activated ). In regards to the software, I mainly use iGo or Copilot.
So solution: make sure you have a little airflow on your phone and a little space between the back of the phone and the phone holder. Satisfy these 2 conditions and you will eliminate the charging problems.

rojdag said:
just been out to the car and can confirm, it charges fine with google navigation running - seems to make no difference with mine navigation or not.
keep soldiering on dont give up on yer sgs2 yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, mate. Just to say: my phone "says" it's charging in the car; but when I do a drive with the satnav, then unplug the phone, it hasn't actually been charging. Again, I'm not the only one with this problem (or feature).

@azra2k
"So solution: make sure you have a little airflow on your phone and a little space between the back of the phone and the phone holder. Satisfy these 2 conditions and you will eliminate the charging problems."
Thanks for those suggestions. Really, though: why should that be necessary? It's all a bit Heath-Robinson, is it not? I don't have to put pieces of paper over other satnav devices, or lodge them in the a/c vents.
I may buy the official Samsung charger but there are people elsewhere who've had no luck with that.

barneypooch said:
Thanks for that, mate. Just to say: my phone "says" it's charging in the car; but when I do a drive with the satnav, then unplug the phone, it hasn't actually been charging. Again, I'm not the only one with this problem (or feature).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sat nav will max out the phones power draw, reducing charging to a trickle, it's just a case of taking out almost as much as you are putting in.
I find from using wifi analyser on a few devices what Samsung call two bars in signal strength, most other devices call 3.
Not sure why that is.

barneypooch said:
@azra2k
"So solution: make sure you have a little airflow on your phone and a little space between the back of the phone and the phone holder. Satisfy these 2 conditions and you will eliminate the charging problems."
Thanks for those suggestions. Really, though: why should that be necessary? It's all a bit Heath-Robinson, is it not? I don't have to put pieces of paper over other satnav devices, or lodge them in the a/c vents.
I may buy the official Samsung charger but there are people elsewhere who've had no luck with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm sorry, but I find it completely normal to say that some charger we got off eBay, third-party probably that's not even a brand name, isn't capable of feeding our next gen device that has not only a dual core processor, the most ram on the market on any phone, a GIANT screen, not enough dissipation space (for heat) to keep it thin as thin as thin. I'm worried about battery life as well, but oh well. It's the price we have to pay! hehe.

barneypooch said:
And, again, if anyone can offer me hope that things will get better, please do. Sadly, I think I'll be going back to separate gadgets to fulfill my needs. A phone that works as a phone (and maybe a diary); a satnav that charges in the car; a music player that sounds good. Etc, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear this...but the problem isn't the "GS2" it's your specific GS2. The vast majority of users have maybe one of your problems, which either fixes it self, or fixed through an update. There are even more, who don't even have any of those problems.
I think that you have a faulty unit and if you are upset, get a replacement, because the GSII is one fine device and capable of doing all you need it to do.

Please read my last post for the correct answer to the satnav power supply problem. It has nothing to do with ventilation and everything to do with the type of charger you are using.
You could buy a 1000ma very expensive charger and it still might not charge your phone when under extreme load. Some chargers will only supply 500ma as that is the max that a usb socket on your motherboard is supposed to supply. Doing the mod I described earlier solves this.

barneypooch said:
@azra2k
"So solution: make sure you have a little airflow on your phone and a little space between the back of the phone and the phone holder. Satisfy these 2 conditions and you will eliminate the charging problems."
Thanks for those suggestions. Really, though: why should that be necessary? It's all a bit Heath-Robinson, is it not? I don't have to put pieces of paper over other satnav devices, or lodge them in the a/c vents.
I may buy the official Samsung charger but there are people elsewhere who've had no luck with that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only make sure that the AC is blowing through the defrost holes also... the airflow required is minimum. This applies to all phones and even other dark colored gps devices I owned before... In the summer, the sun heats up the phone and/or gps device a lot. As a test, try leaving the phone in the cradle in the car ( under direct sunlight ) for an hour. The phone can be kept at idle, or even closed. It will heat up a lot... I remember I threw away a compact photo camera cause I forgot it on the dashboard for a day, in the summer (it was pretty much melted and very deformed)...
So a bit of common sense will fix the temperature issues... the charging problems appear due to the temperature issues. If the batter temp is above 50 degrees it will stop charging. When you keep the batter under 50 degrees, a 500mA decent charger will be more than enough to keep the phone running and slowly charge the battery.

Critical battery temperature

Hey. Does someone you know, what is the highest (read: critical) battery and HW temperature in this phone? I am a little bit scared when I'm getting even 55*C on battery when I am using it as a navigation connected to charger in a car. I know it's too high because when it's heating over 49*C it stops charging. My question is how dangerous is such high temperature for HW and Battery? Is it normal behavior?

I never had such high temperatures, and I live on a hot country (Brazil). Try to check apps running in background, or, if you are using 3G and charger, it can get really hot. But I think it's normal, since my phone reaches 45ºC while charging, and I don't use 3G.

with 3g my phone gets crazy hot. i once left it on overnight (it didnt go to sleep) and when i woke up it felt dangerously hot, musta been 50deg or something
otherwise, with wifi it just gets warm... still worrying though, considering none of my other portable devices have ever gotten this hot before... just shows where all of the battery life goes to! :S
i dont think its the battery getting hot though, it must be the cell chip. my batt temps are usually pretty low, and the batt itself doesnt seem to get hot. its just the panel above the battery that warms up

My phone got so high temperature (55*C) when I was using navigation. Moreover it was pluged to the car charger (but wasn't charging because of high temperature) and mounted to the window in hot sunny day. And I'd like to know how dangerous is such high temp. for the device.

I wonder if we have dud phones? my battery life sucks ass... bare able on wifi, but **** with 3g

Agree with scott. With prolonged use my battery doesnt heat up, just the panel above the battery (where the camera is)
And my battery life sucks too. Gotta keep it charged in the car for even short (30 min) trips with navigation
Sent from my MotoA953 using XDA App

Try checking the manual (if there is) for operating temperatures etc.
I'm not exactly sure of how it'll affect the phone but it poses health problems due to higher radiations.
Try preventing this by ensuring all other (running) apps that you don't need are closed by using a task killer and all connectivity stuffs (eg. bluetooth, data sync) ESPECIALLY THE BACKGROUND DATA if you don't need it. Also, if possible try to refrain from covering the back panel (mainly the area near the camera) and allow ventilation to let it cool so it won't overheat.
What else I do is leaving the keyboard opened so there's even more surface area for it to cool.
The problem isn't just about damage, but that you don't want to be holding hot metal.
Yes it sucks but its a price to pay for such high specs packed in such a tiny casing.
My friend who owns Samsung Galaxy II has his phone heating up even more frequently and quickly, so we're not the only ones

Its annoying because we know its avoidable and shouldnt have been allowed in the final design by motorola

I've never seen such high temperatures with my M 2.
Highest was 47ºC while charging and playing a game. It usually sits around 35-36ºC idle, and 40-42º during games.

scottyn said:
I wonder if we have dud phones? my battery life sucks ass... bare able on wifi, but **** with 3g
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Click to collapse
newbietown said:
And my battery life sucks too. Gotta keep it charged in the car for even short (30 min) trips with navigation
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Click to collapse
That's normal guys... Every device dying in a "few minutes" with 3G. And U know what? From my last 3 devices which I have been using to surf in the Internet with 3G (Moto RIZR Z8, Nokia N86, Moto Milestone 2), MM2 lasts the longest.
newbietown said:
Agree with scott. With prolonged use my battery doesnt heat up, just the panel above the battery (where the camera is)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's right, but every app just showing the battery temperature

Damn..
Yesterday my milestone 2 became hotter as ever, just above the battery (where the camera is, like newbietown). First I turned it off, but it stayed hot even then. After I removed the battery it became cool again.
But! Now my MS2 is completely dead...
It's really not turning on again, and charging is really weird (irregular flashin led). And my warranty is void because of me installing argen2stone I guess ..

Well, just flash a stock rom and they'll never know...

My phone is not recognized on my computer using USB . Can I still use rsd lite?

First get to bootloader mode: Power + Volume Up (or down) + Camera
If battery is too low you'll need to buy a relacement or a external charger.
Sent from my Milestone 2 XDA App

Try taking it to warranty. Argen2Stone is so lightly modded, maybe they won't mind it. Anyway, you have nothing to lose now. And this really looks like a HW problem, not SW
Sent from my A953

Beginning of next week I will hand it in for warranty. I think it has something to do with the power circuit in the phone. Sometime i've used HTC chargers (1A) instead of the motorola charger (0,85A).. That could be the cause Hopefully they cannot see that.

I don't think that's a problem. I always use a Nokia charger, I find the original charger too short, the Nokia has a good lenght. And I never had problems with overheating. Also, 1A is the maximum current that the charger can provide, not the nominal [email protected] anytime
Rocking with my M2 and XDA app