FroYo Battery Usage Testing

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th3

Senior Member
Apr 13, 2010
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Most of my setup is 2-3 months old. The screenshot a few posts above shows its the first 2.2 release with its kernel. I didn't change the kernel nor do any OCUV or OJ mod, intentionally. I try to keep stock underlyings very much. My build.prop settings weren't as so, and indeed, CM devs and HTC/Android dev leaks were who I followed in understanding and changing parameters. CM usually holds a lot of such optimizations explored/tested which would help certain users quite emphatically. The WiFi supplicant setting decreases my average current draw quite substantially under idle loads as well as increasing my average speeds from 1-2Mbps to 6-6.8Mbps. Specifically affecting system idle and standby runtimes.

Just so you know, I avoid ROMs using Ext partitions pretty darn strictly. Ignoring the nuisances and major problems they have posed to me, 3/3, my runtime doesn't last long. There's a static underlying drain and CPU usage they bring including very slow transfer rates. There's always at least 90mA idle drain while doing absolutely nothing. Full black screen, and that's the lowest I have possible on ROMs using Ext SD card for storage.
Andy: The phone and this slave are both owned properties of a certain woman :/

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- HTC Desire via XDA App -
 

andycted

Retired Recognized Developer
Aug 20, 2009
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Hehe, no kidding !

I'm afraid the ext partition is all you say and possibly worse. I've surely tested and proved the difference in sd transfer speed, not huge, but significant. Something like 9MB/s vs 7MB/s if I recall correctly, which worsened as the card got full.

It's probably true for battery life too, but I really can't do without it, as I have 280 applications installed and an ext partition of 670MB almost full ! Normal a2sd wouldn't allow such things...

Sent from videotext, using the remote
 

bemymonkey

Senior Member
Aug 12, 2007
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Just so you know, I avoid ROMs using Ext partitions pretty darn strictly. Ignoring the nuisances and major problems they have posed to me, 3/3, my runtime doesn't last long. There's a static underlying drain and CPU usage they bring including very slow transfer rates. There's always at least 90mA idle drain while doing absolutely nothing. Full black screen, and that's the lowest I have possible on ROMs using Ext SD card for storage.
Andy: The phone and this slave are both owned properties of a certain woman :/

Ummmm... OMFG??? That would definitely be a possibility, since I've been using Apps2EXT nearly exclusively. Guess I'd better try it without A2EXT...

-edit- No dice. Even removed the EXT partition from my SD card completely, no change in power usage.

:(
 
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th3

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Apr 13, 2010
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I think there's a lot more but I don't have the tools to figure it out.

My last charge lasted 1d18h. WiFi/cell never off, 5.1h display on. I slept twice in that period and use was casual when needed, not all on in one go.

For instance. Right now, it's been 2h10m since I took it off charge with 12m display on and WiFi/cell on always. It's still at 100%. Is that what you get?

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andycted

Retired Recognized Developer
Aug 20, 2009
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First: I was thinking that it's weird (or not a good sign?) that there basically only 2.5 people here interested in testing this stuff semi-scientifically (me being the .5 person, as I'm not that accurate)

Second: I've tried to install the most stock-rooted rom, along with the radio and tried to replicate the same tests, even before installing anything. The result is exactly the same (actually even a few mA higher)... so definitely it's not the rom, the radio, or something WE do. It might be something YOU do or somehow the supposed better quality of the chip wafer you got your phone from. Or a different amoled screen possibly ??

Beside the possible most obvious thing: do you have buttons backlight off at 0 screen brightness ??
 

th3

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Apr 13, 2010
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First: I was thinking that it's weird (or not a good sign?) that there basically only 2.5 people here interested in testing this stuff semi-scientifically (me being the .5 person, as I'm not that accurate)
It's what happens with all lengthy threads. Very few if any want to read it all, or even have the time to ;)

Besides, I'd say both of you are akin to 50 people each with me being the 0.5.

Beside the possible most obvious thing: do you have buttons backlight off at 0 screen brightness ??
Yes. As mentioned before, the LED hack runs on boot automated switching them off.

I am suspect of standby, screen off discharge readings the HTC Battery module gives the most. I suspect, honestly, that my standby readings are considerably lower. But that wouldn't explain the difference in browsing values between me and bemymonkey. Mine never broke 300 while his reached as high as +500. Mine averaged considerably lower. If I have the button LEDs on, the test reaching -71 to -93mA still hits -81 to -99mA.

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andycted

Retired Recognized Developer
Aug 20, 2009
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I might have lost the mention to the led hack, possibly I can indict angry birds as the cause...

Anyway without counting the led light, my readings with a semi-black screen as mentioned are very close to yours, I think...

Funny enough, I think I've noticed that the stock rom drains a _tad_ more (than leedroid) in the same test. Just about 5mA on average I would say
 

th3

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Apr 13, 2010
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EXT partition from my SD card completely, no change in power usage.
Initially I assumed you ran a full discharge cycle to compare runtime differences at first. No?

In my case, I don't go off just one thing since such major differences have to be verified and translate into actual runtimes. And the difference is quite substantial for me with just this one variable in runtimes. Actually, it's massive.

Not about Ext but OpenDesire 3.0.1 to 4.0.3 was for instance a big difference. The latter gave me abysmal battery life, the former my norm. Exact same settings and apps. None of these tools could pick up why. All I did is update. Even a fresh install. Revert back and things went the same. From what I've seen, your battery life is the same as what I had on OD 4.0.3/4.0.4.

BTW, I highly doubt HTC Battery monitoring can collect and take SD card power usage into account, only the CPU usage it brings when you have +50MB on it through Ext.

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thecompany

Senior Member
Dec 17, 2006
210
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Somebody know how to completely disable the leds of the buttons? Im now using the gscript method, but when i turn off the screen for example, the buttons go back on.. Whose got a better solution?
 

th3

Senior Member
Apr 13, 2010
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BTW, the Sense HD ROMs have the HTC Battery Info issue fixed, at least to a great extent. They report figures as expected i.e. RCMix v0.11

http://bit.ly/aZE8gM
http://bit.ly/cb5XH2
http://bit.ly/aiDzkT
http://bit.ly/cFnEPM

In my experience, this ROM does not plague me with a number of major issues caused by A2SD+. Although reboot times are dreadfully slow (220-300s).

Somebody know how to completely disable the leds of the buttons? Im now using the gscript method, but when i turn off the screen for example, the buttons go back on.. Whose got a better solution?
The LEDs Hack app already mentioned many times works well.

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RogerPodacter

Senior Member
Apr 12, 2010
5,654
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Los Angeles, CA
Would anyone be interested in a re-run of this test with the 2.3 update?

Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

thought i would drop in on this thread. i made some edits to the battery driver of the nexus one, and got the changes incorporated into cyanogen repo. since the desire and n1 both have the same battery chip, ds2784 fual gauge, my edits work on both devices.

the changes allow some much faster and more accurate power measurements to be taken. it would be interesting to do some more studies, though i've done a ton myself already and the result you guys have in this thread are pretty much spot on. so there's not much more to do really.