Note: this is not a general complaint about the N95 standby time but a specific battery problem I'm having. I've posted this on a couple of other forums so apologies if you've responded elsewhere.
I'm getting a fairly random fast drain of my battery when the phone's on standby. WLAN scanning is off, 3G disabled, bluetooth off and GPS is not being used. All network connections are set to ask so shouldn't be connecting without asking me first.
This happens most days but not everyday. Typically the phone will be sitting on my desk doing nothing. An hour or two later I pick it up and find the battery has dropped from full to nothing or next to nothing. Scanning through apps shows nothing running but the back of the phone is always hot when this happens.
Orange reckon it's a wiring fault in the phone/battery and are willing to swap it for a new handset. However, I've noticed a few other people on various forums have reported this problem and am wondering if it's some kind of software rather than hardware issue. As such I'd rather not have to go through the process of reconfiguring a new handset to find it's doing the same thing again.
Anyone have any ideas what might be causing it?
Do a soft reset or update the firmware and don't adjust/install anything, just synchronize your personal data back to the phone so it can be used. Then try is out for a few days and see what happens. If it's ok, then you know you had some bad soft installed/bad settings. If the problem continues, consider having it replaced.
Thanks. Don't think I can do a firmware update on orange without debranding the phone and thus voiding the warranty (although I might be wrong). How do I do a soft reset?
How are you charging the phone?
How often? How long?
A firmware update will never debrand your phone, unless you hack its ID, so it is perfectly safe for you to try. Even if there isn't an actualy update available, you can always reflash your current firmware.
This is the easiest, cheapest and most bullet proof way of finding out if your phone is dead, but of course not the only one...
Dope on a rope - thanks for that
pa49 - every night for about an hour and a half (or until it bleeps at me)
sbc - when I reported the fault to Orange I asked the tech I spoke to whether I should update the firmware as this might provide a solution. He told me to not to although he was a bit vague as to why not. Mumbled something about Orange having not agreed/authorised the latest firmware update with Nokia or something like that. Didn't sound too convincing.
Anyway I'll try the firmware update in a few days but have noticed something else since I originally posted. I assumed the GPS only runs when I specifically ask it to or when running maps but have noticed that you can disable all GPS connections manually. Unlikely that it's using the GPS randomly but you never know. Will try this for a couple of days and if it's still happening I'll try the firmware update.
BTW the only other software I have on it is the Gmail app and any updates Orange have sent through so not sure what dodgy software might be eating up the battery. Some spyware might have got on there but then that would be trying to connect, right?
Anyway, thanks all for your help. Will report back with any progress.
The Orange guy most likely was trying to communicate that they haven't branded the latest v12 firmware yet, so only the v11 is available to you. This doesn't mean that it is unsafe for you to flash your device, it just means that it won't get you the latest Nokia update. Don't worry about that, you just need to get your phone in a usefull state right now.
The GPS isn't the problem, so don't worry about that either.
If you are kinda interested in trying out the firmware update but don't want to spend the time downloading and flashing, try the reset method instead. It is very fast and almost as effective. Just hit the keys *#7370# on the standby screen and accept the warning. All settings will return to default and everything installed is gone. You are back to factory defaults and can now sync your calendar and phone book back via Nokia Suite. DON'T restore a backup, or you'll be back at square one.
Stuff on your microSD card can autoinstall after a flash/reset, so you might want to empty your storage card too (format) or leave it out of the phone for a few days while testing.
Btw, try leaving the phone off and the charger plugged in all night, and only use the original charger supplied with the phone.
Good luck, what ever you decide to do 😊
Hotweldfire wrote:I'm getting a fairly random fast drain of my battery when the phone's on standby. WLAN scanning is off, 3G disabled, bluetooth off and GPS is not being used. All network connections are set to ask so shouldn't be connecting without asking me first. Anyone have any ideas what might be causing it?
This sounds like one of 2 things.
1. Faulty battery / charger.
2. Some app running in background consuming CPU cycles and power.
If we discount the battery / charger can you please launch the TOOLS -> App Manager and make a list of everything listed there, and post the list. Version numbers might help where you know them.
Not sure it was posted here, so sorry for dup.
Simple example how to drain your battery fast. Connect phone to PC. Upload some content on it (it goes to memory card).
Disconnect. Phone's software will scan ever dir and file. If that was pictures, you're in troble - phone will make
3 thumbnails for every pic it will find. Not sure this is the case, but if you uploaded something prior to
battery drain......
My battery drain very fast after I had 2 pictures on my N95.So is there anyway to fix this problem.Thanks
Not to do with a connection to the pc as it does this fast drain at pretty random times. I will update the firmware on Monday as I need the gmail app this weekend.
dez_borders wrote:This sounds like one of 2 things.1. Faulty battery / charger.
2. Some app running in background consuming CPU cycles and power.
If we discount the battery / charger can you please launch the TOOLS -> App Manager and make a list of everything listed there, and post the list. Version numbers might help where you know them.
I know there's a theory floating around that there's something wrong with the phone's power monitoring, namely that it isn't really fully charged when it bleeps at you and tells you that it is. I'll try charging it overnight and see if that makes any difference.
I hadn't thought of checking the apps list - just as well you flagged that up as there's a bunch of weird search plugins in there that I didn't know about. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time viewing the version numbers as app manager is running with an incredibly slow lag. Takes about 30 seconds to bring up the details pop up for each plug in. Something's clearly not right here.
Anyway there are 19 different "Search-" plugins with names like "Search-localplugins-India" or "...-UAE". Any idea why I've got search plugins for random bits of the world?
Hotweldfire wrote:I hadn't thought of checking the apps list - just as well you flagged that up as there's a bunch of weird search plugins in there that I didn't know about. Unfortunately I'm having a hard time viewing the version numbers as app manager is running with an incredibly slow lag. Takes about 30 seconds to bring up the details pop up for each plug in. Something's clearly not right here.Anyway there are 19 different "Search-" plugins with names like "Search-localplugins-India" or "...-UAE". Any idea why I've got search plugins for random bits of the world?
30 seconds is not unusual. App Manager is very slow on all Symbian OS Phones, so there's nothing wrong.
I don't think the Search apps are likely to be the cuplrits, and they are installed with the Firmware. You can (probably) delete them without causing any problems if you don't use them but it won't save much memory, so personally I just left them installed.
If you post (or PM me) a list of installed Apps, we can try to identify which ones run automatically on bootup, or which ones might fail to close properly and consume the CPU cycles. One culprit I found in the past was a call-recorder app.
Ok, apart from the search local plugins here they are in the order they're listed on app manager:
MMSSync v 1.00(0)
System Rush Evolution v 1.00(0)
Welcome v 1.00(0)
Search v 2.20(0)
Search-globalplugins v 2.16(0)
Search v 2.20(0)
Photography v 1.32(32)
Search-CISPlugins v 2.17(0)
Welcome Demo v 1.09(2)
Snakes v 1.00(0)
Google Mail v 1.01(1)
I think the gmail plugin is the only one I've installed myself.
I'm starting to wonder if my problem isn't as weird and unusual as if first seems. My thinking is that there appears to be a big disjunct between different users' experiences of battery life on this phone. Some people manage to get the thing running for two or three days on low usage whilst some only get an afternoon's use on the same level of usage. The latter tend to be newer users whilst the former tend to be people who've had their phones for a while.
What I'm wondering is whether people who complain on various forums that the battery life on their N95 is rubbish and they can only get it to run for a day before charging aren't having the same problem as me but just don't know it. The thing is I can very occasionally get my phone to run for a couple of days on standby but most days it does this fast drain thing. Maybe my problem is an old firmware that causes some app to hog the battery randomly. Given that new users are likely to be using an old firmware too maybe they have the same problem whereas people who report decent battery time on their phone are using a newer firmware?
I know this is going to sound deeply implausible but I'm almost certain that this problem is being caused by the GPS. The only thing I changed at the beginning of last week was to disable the integrated GPS option and I haven't had the fast drain problem once. In addition I did use the GPS with navigation at the weekend and the speed of the battery drain as well as the heat on the back of the phone were very similar to when I've had the battery drain. Will re-enable the integrated GPS and run it for a week to see if the problem reappears.
Hotweldfire wrote: Ok, apart from the search local plugins here they are in the order they're listed on app manager:MMSSync v 1.00(0)
System Rush Evolution v 1.00(0)
Welcome v 1.00(0)
Search v 2.20(0)
Search-globalplugins v 2.16(0)
Search v 2.20(0)
Photography v 1.32(32)
Search-CISPlugins v 2.17(0)
Welcome Demo v 1.09(2)
Snakes v 1.00(0)
Google Mail v 1.01(1)
I think the gmail plugin is the only one I've installed myself.
Yeah, GMAIL is the only one which I can imagine being involved. Do you have GMAIL set to run at bootup and check mail automatically, say every few hours?
Hotweldfire wrote:
I know this is going to sound deeply implausible but I'm almost certain that this problem is being caused by the GPS. The only thing I changed at the beginning of last week was to disable the integrated GPS option and I haven't had the fast drain problem once.
I can't see how GPS would be the culprit, but from your tests it does seem at least possible. I can't see what would be causing GPS to be active at all times though.
One thing worth checking:- Do you see the GPRS or 3G data symbols showing at all times?
(It's at the top-left of the display, just under the signal meter - GPRS looks like 2 horizontal lines on top of each other, kind like this == ) ?
In any event, V12 Generic FW should be giving you 2 to 3 days standby from one battery charge.
Gmail app settings aren't quite that detailed. The only setting that could be affecting the issue is "always keep me logged on" which is selected. However, if it is connecting periodically I should know about it. When I use it manually it always asks for a connection. It could be scanning and using whatever connection it can without me knowing but this would typically be GPRS and that would show up on my bill. I will disable this setting and try it out for a week to see if it makes any difference but I doubt it's the cause.
3G icon is never up and I've only noticed the GPRS when I've specifically told the phone to use it (hardly ever).
The GPS issue is very odd but, as I said, it's the only thing I've changed. Just managed to get hold of Orange tech support (after days of holding) and they say this sort of thing is a common problem with N series phones and they have no fix for it. To be honest I don't think the woman I spoke to knew what she was talking about but the bottom line is that Orange have no fix for it.
I'll try running it until the weekend with the GPS enabled again and if the problem comes back I'd have to conclude that the GPS is the culprit. I can only assume that there's a problem with the firmware that allows it to periodically check for position. I'll try the firmware update next week and see if that solves it.
Alternatively it could be a problem that I've just found on another forum. Can't post a link so here's a quote:
Im on my third N95 now, i started this thread back in April! When i went to change my second phone after a dodgy slider, i asked if they had investigated the previous overheating problem. They informed me that it had happened with all the N95s in that batch and it was due to component failure! Dont ask me to quote serial number or batch number as i dont know what it was. So i recommend you get it looked at if your phone overheats!! Its definitely not the battery as i still have the same battery from the first phone. Hope this helps!
Orange, however, deny that there's been a fault of this sort with any batches of n95s but I'm not too inclined to believe much of what they tell me.
If it was using GPS (albeit not noticably) then that would certainly explain the heat and shortened battery life.
It does sound software related, so perhaps a firmware change (or just a reflash to the same one) would possibly sort it.
Either way, at least you can get a new one if needs be.
Going over the topic and want to say I have a similar problem with the battery. This started less then a week ago (last thursday) and is slowly driving me crazy. Before this, I could use the phone for about 1,5 day to 2 days without the need to recharge. That includes some browsing, calling and some sms's. Turning on TomTom or Nokia Maps surges the battery all the time, but that''s nothing special.
As I wanted to just rule out all options I went from small change to big.
First I did a soft reset. This clears some of the settings, but you don't loose any data. Nothing helped.
After this I pulled out the memory card. All software I install on the devise, is installed on the memory card. this should rule out any running apps I'm not aware of. Nothing helped.
Now this afternoon I did a hard reset and still left the memory card out. That was around 16u. It's now 19.50 here and I made one phonecall of about 5 minutes and the phone is down to 4 stripes of power. I know it will be empty in a couple of hours.
If anyone has some additional suggestions except for returning the phone, I all ears.
Just forgot, I already had the latest firmware (12.x) since it was delivered. So I don't think that's the issue.
jdewit wrote:Going over the topic and want to say I have a similar problem with the battery. This started less then a week ago (last thursday) and is slowly driving me crazy. Before this, I could use the phone for about 1,5 day to 2 days without the need to recharge. That includes some browsing, calling and some sms's. Turning on TomTom or Nokia Maps surges the battery all the time, but that''s nothing special. As I wanted to just rule out all options I went from small change to big.
First I did a soft reset. This clears some of the settings, but you don't loose any data. Nothing helped.
After this I pulled out the memory card. All software I install on the devise, is installed on the memory card. this should rule out any running apps I'm not aware of. Nothing helped.
Now this afternoon I did a hard reset and still left the memory card out. That was around 16u. It's now 19.50 here and I made one phonecall of about 5 minutes and the phone is down to 4 stripes of power. I know it will be empty in a couple of hours.
If anyone has some additional suggestions except for returning the phone, I all ears.
Have you tried disabling the GPS? It's the only thing that seems to work for me:
Applications>Tools>GPS Data>Options>Position Settings>Integrated GPS (and all others)>Disable
I'm now pretty certain that it's the GPS. Enabled it yesterday morning on a full charge and by 2pm was down to one bar. This didn't happen once last week when it was disabled.
Bit worrying that you have v.12 firmware and that it's still happening, I was hoping updating the firmware would solve the problem for me. Are you on Orange? I'm starting to wonder if this isn't something to do with the Orange build rather than the firmware.
No, I'm not on Orange. Last Friday I switched from Vodafone to KPN (Netherlands), but as far as I can tell, the problems started just before the switch.
No, I haven't tried switching of the GPS completely. I did however turned of the positioning based on the mobile network. That didn't help. This morning I rang my supplier. They are gonna pick up the phone for repair. As I spoke to the person he told me they were going to put newer software on the phone as this solves most problems they had with battery and N95. When I told him I was already running the latest firmware it became quiet on the other end of the line 😞. Still, they will try to solve the problem. In the meantime I'll get a N73.
I've just started gettig a rapid drain, yeserday and today. I also noticed the phone was warm but was in standbywith no apps running. It had been at 4 bars and then suddenly I got a beep and it was at one.
Additionally, when I plugged it into the charger, a note came up saying the battery was not being charged. I had to go to Switch it off and charge it that way.
I will disable GPS and see if that does anything.
Don't know if I struck lucky, I've had the phone on standby, used it a couple of times, played a couple of games of golf on it, sent a couple of texts , used the sat nav three times for 20 min journeys and gone on the net every day for about an hour via my wifi/broadband.
I last charged it Sunday night and at the moment (Thursday morning) it shows its lost just one bar (there are five still showing). The only thing I have disabled is the AGPS. I have the new firmware installed and have debranded it
That sounds great. Hopefully I can do that to when I get my phone back from repairs.
whitedb wrote:I've just started gettig a rapid drain, yeserday and today. I also noticed the phone was warm but was in standbywith no apps running. It had been at 4 bars and then suddenly I got a beep and it was at one.Additionally, when I plugged it into the charger, a note came up saying the battery was not being charged. I had to go to Switch it off and charge it that way.
I will disable GPS and see if that does anything.
I've had similar experiences as well. I've had this when I used the WiFi connection get grab some podcasts. Sometimes the connection with the WiFi is somehow dropped, but not disconnected. The phone get's warm when it uses the WiFi, or at least my phone get's warm. The battery looses power pretty fast when this happens. Shutting down the phone is the only solution for me when this happens.
So long in fact - new owners may not be aware ..
so check your wifi power settings .. default Tx level is 100mW .. use tools / settings / connection / Wireless LAN / options .. advanced settings (ignore warning) .. scroll down to TX power level .. change it to 10 or 4mW .. this is more than adequate for most situations.
enjoy better battery life 😊
Can't find this setting...but there's one which says always seek wifi connection (which you can disable) so that may be the culprit
busker wrote:Can't find this setting...but there's one which says always seek wifi connection (which you can disable) so that may be the culprit
Yes, it's there. See post above. With "Option" = Left 'blue' key on keypad. Then 'Advanced...' =>...