New N96 User from India - Some Observations / Clarifications

VSG12777 wrote:Hi everyone

I've been using my new N96 since 18 Sep 08 and I need some clarification on a few things that I have observed / experienced:

(1) If I connect the phone to the PC using the N-Series PC Suite (downloaded a few days back) and transfer music / videos / install themes etc on the phone, it drains the battery fairly quickly. Probably 5-6 hours max and the battery has only one or two bars left. Is this normal ?

Wow, so many questions... I will try to answer as many as I can. 😉

Regarding your first question, are you saying that the battery drains from the device being connected to the PC? Like, all you do is to transfer stuff with USB for 6 hours and it drains? And how are you connecting to the PC, with USB mass storage mode or PC Suite mode (which option do you select when you connect to the PC)?

I recommend to keep the device connected only while you are actually doing any transfers. Or, use one of those USB charging cables (mentioned here) while transferring if you really do it for 5-6 hours. Or, also plug it into a charger while doing the transfer 😉

VSG12777 wrote: (2) I love themes and I have installed quite a few of them in my N96. However, I find that sometimes an installed theme just disappears from the Themes list. When I try to install the same theme again using the Nokia Application Installer in the N-Series PC Suite, it says "xxxx already exists. Would you like to overwrite xxxx version xxx.xxx with version xxx.xxx ?" to which I say Yes. Sometimes when this is done, the theme reappears in the Themes list and sometimes, it still doesn't appear. How do I resolve this issue ?

Hmmm, thats strange. I have seen themes disappearing on Nokia phone whenever you install them on lets say the memory card or mass storage (N95-8GB or N96) while you are connected to the PC using mass storage mode. So if I connect your question above with this one, surely if you install your theme on mass storage and then keep the device connected to the PC for hours, then during that time, the phone cannot see that stuff as it is mounted on the PC.
Therefore, can you please clarify: are the themes disappearing while, or after you connected to the PC? And where do you have installed the themes (I recommend, for themes only, to install on C: drive).

VSG12777 wrote:
(3) As of now, I am not really very happy with the battery life. My N73 Music Edition phone used to last me 2 days without a problem. And I am not a very heavy user. I would probably do 20-30 mins of calling during the day, 5 or 10 text messages and that's it. Since I am in office for 8 hours a day, there is hardly any time during the day to use any of the multimedia features. Once I get home, I just fiddle with the phone a bit, changing the themes, ringtones etc. With this kind of usage, the battery drops 3 bars during the day if I've charged it the previous night. And what remains, is usually not enough to last me through the following day. This is becoming a nuisance, forcing me to carry my charger to office, or just charge the battery at home when there are 2-3 battery bars left. Would a future firmware update increase this battery life ? Or is there any other thing to do for this issue ? Is any of you facing a similar problem ?

I must say that for all Nseries phones, with moderately heavy usage, I have only ever made it through one day comfortably. The bigger the screen and the more features, the less chance to last through several days. That being said, what you are describing is a lot less than I use, and the battery should last very much more than one day with this. I get very comfortable through the day with lots of more usage. ... I recall several other forum posts that had battery life tips. If I find some good ones, i will try to post them here. But usually, if the battery drains very fast, there is some application or function running in the background. As first option: turn off bluetooth, wlan scanner, automatic screen rotation; restart the device, charge it all the way (through the whole night). If this does not fix it, can you list here the applications you have installed?

My N96 did come with a car charger which I tend to use, and also i have the charger from my older Nokia at the office. May be a worthwhile investment to have...

VSG12777 wrote:
(4) The included player software (Real Player I think) does not play all formats of files. I have some DivX video files (video songs and movies too) that I'd like to play in the phone and I am not sure which software to install to accomplish this. WMV files are played without any problem. But DivX AVI files and MPG files support would be good too. Is there any particular all-in-one software (like VLC Media Player for the PC) that would play all formats ? Kindly guide me in this regard.

Hi ninetysix,

Thanks so much for your answers and built-in questions !! Let me reply to your message section wise.

(1) Yes the battery does get drained when connected to the PC. I usually connect it in PC Suite mode since the software is installed and auto starts with the computer. I use Windows Vista Ultimate. I don't do continuous transfer for 5-6 hours. Generally maybe 30-45 mins of transferring stuff, then another 10-15 mins of browsing and searching on the net etc and again transferring / installing stuff. USB charging cables - good option, but isn't is bad to just keep charging the battery even though it is not drained ? I have read that this reduces the life of the battery. USB charging cable is interesting and I shall definitely get one though.

(2) Well I install everything to mass storage only - applications, music, videos, themes etc since the phone memory available in only around 47 MB. It used to be 50 MB when I got the phone but now it shows 47 MB. The thing is there would be a theme which is there in the themes list for more than 4-5 days, but when I am installing some new themes, a few of these old ones are not displayed. When I try to reinstall those unlisted ones, it says the theme already exists and whether I would like to overwrite it. I click Yes and sometimes the theme comes back, sometimes it still doesn't. Even after I disconnect the N96 from the PC, the scenario is the same.

(3) Well, if my usage is very low compared to yours and my battery is dying in a day, I don't know what else could be causing it. I have checked everything you mentioned - WLAN scanner is already off, Bluetooth is always off, auto screen rotation is also always off. However when I check for open applications, it always shows 2 items - Menu and Standby. Even if I select Menu and then Exit, it still shows up in the Open Applications list. How do I get rid of this ? In my N73, it used to be the Music Player always running in the background without being able to exit this. In the N96, the Menu always seems to be open. But would this be consuming extra power, enough to drain the battery in a day ? This is really puzzling.

(4) Ok thanks for the heads up on the DivX player. I shall search and download the same. Yes WMV files seem to play fine. When I dragged and dropped some DivX files / MPG files onto the Nokia PC Suite window, it asks me whether I would like to convert it to mobile optimised format etc. I select Yes and then it gives me options of Best quality, medium, low etc. I always choose best. I have 3 music videos which were transferred to the phone in this way and the quality looks quite good on the phone. These seem to be in MP4 format.

Look forward to more info from you on the above, ninetysix !! Thanks in advance !!

Warm regards,
Venkat

VSG12777 wrote:Hi ninetysix,

Thanks so much for your answers and built-in questions !! Let me reply to your message section wise.

(1) Yes the battery does get drained when connected to the PC. I usually connect it in PC Suite mode since the software is installed and auto starts with the computer. I use Windows Vista Ultimate. I don't do continuous transfer for 5-6 hours. Generally maybe 30-45 mins of transferring stuff, then another 10-15 mins of browsing and searching on the net etc and again transferring / installing stuff. USB charging cables - good option, but isn't is bad to just keep charging the battery even though it is not drained ? I have read that this reduces the life of the battery. USB charging cable is interesting and I shall definitely get one though.

(2) Well I install everything to mass storage only - applications, music, videos, themes etc since the phone memory available in only around 47 MB. It used to be 50 MB when I got the phone but now it shows 47 MB. The thing is there would be a theme which is there in the themes list for more than 4-5 days, but when I am installing some new themes, a few of these old ones are not displayed. When I try to reinstall those unlisted ones, it says the theme already exists and whether I would like to overwrite it. I click Yes and sometimes the theme comes back, sometimes it still doesn't. Even after I disconnect the N96 from the PC, the scenario is the same.

(3) Well, if my usage is very low compared to yours and my battery is dying in a day, I don't know what else could be causing it. I have checked everything you mentioned - WLAN scanner is already off, Bluetooth is always off, auto screen rotation is also always off. However when I check for open applications, it always shows 2 items - Menu and Standby. Even if I select Menu and then Exit, it still shows up in the Open Applications list. How do I get rid of this ? In my N73, it used to be the Music Player always running in the background without being able to exit this. In the N96, the Menu always seems to be open. But would this be consuming extra power, enough to drain the battery in a day ? This is really puzzling.

(4) Ok thanks for the heads up on the DivX player. I shall search and download the same. Yes WMV files seem to play fine. When I dragged and dropped some DivX files / MPG files onto the Nokia PC Suite window, it asks me whether I would like to convert it to mobile optimised format etc. I select Yes and then it gives me options of Best quality, medium, low etc. I always choose best. I have 3 music videos which were transferred to the phone in this way and the quality looks quite good on the phone. These seem to be in MP4 format.

Look forward to more info from you on the above, ninetysix !! Thanks in advance !!

Warm regards,
Venkat

Well I checked it out, and if you leave your device connected via USB, it uses power even if no transfer is in progress. So use USB, then disconnect. Always use the "Safe disconnect" or "Safe eject" option on the PC, and disconnect the phone side of the cable first, then optionally the PC side.

If you like to leave the phone connected to the PC for long periods of time, then simply use the CA-126 USB cable which also charges at the same time, or plug it into a charger at the same time.

And, modern batteries do not have the "memory" as they used to in the past, so it is OK to charge them all through the night or for hours when you are at work. Just once or twice a month, try to discharge the battery completely and then charge it completely.

Hope this helps.

ninetysix wrote:
And, modern batteries do not have the "memory" as they used to in the past, so it is OK to charge them all through the night or for hours when you are at work. Just once or twice a month, try to discharge the battery completely and then charge it completely.

It was my understanding that it was not advisable to let modern batteries fully discharge and this is why most phones (nokias anyway) have an auto-cutoff once the battery level reaches 5%.

My phone remains plugged in for the whole workday and whenever I remember at home!

VSG12777 wrote:Hi everyone
I've been using my new N96 since 18 Sep 08 and I need some clarification on a few things that I have observed / experienced:

(1) If I connect the phone to the PC using the N-Series PC Suite (downloaded a few days back) and transfer music / videos / install themes etc on the phone, it drains the battery fairly quickly. Probably 5-6 hours max and the battery has only one or two bars left. Is this normal ?

Yes. The phone does not charge via the USB Port so unlike most devices that are powered of them the phone uses its own internal power. This will occur regardless of whether the phone is transferring or not. If your going to leave the phone plugged into PC Suite then plug in the charger too or buy a cradle / cable that splits the power from the USB. Personally I find using two USB ports ( one for data and one for power ) better.

VSG12777 wrote:
(3) As of now, I am not really very happy with the battery life. My N73 Music Edition phone used to last me 2 days without a problem. And I am not a very heavy user. I would probably do 20-30 mins of calling during the day, 5 or 10 text messages and that's it. Since I am in office for 8 hours a day, there is hardly any time during the day to use any of the multimedia features. Once I get home, I just fiddle with the phone a bit, changing the themes, ringtones etc. With this kind of usage, the battery drops 3 bars during the day if I've charged it the previous night. And what remains, is usually not enough to last me through the following day. This is becoming a nuisance, forcing me to carry my charger to office, or just charge the battery at home when there are 2-3 battery bars left. Would a future firmware update increase this battery life ? Or is there any other thing to do for this issue ? Is any of you facing a similar problem ?

Ah the old battery winge 😞 Nokia phones have never been known for fantastic battery life. Back in the day a quoted standby time was roughtly double what you would expect. Now with 3g/bluetooth/colour screens etc, their just laugthable and its lucky you get a quarter of what is quoted.

It depends what you use the phone for.

1) Switch of 3G if you have poor/no 3g coverage or dont make any use of the high speed data. You can turn it back on if and when needed but its not needed for calls or texts ( baring video ) and usually adds 40% to your battery life. I normally turn mine off for long drives or if im staying out somewhere. with it switched on the phone will happily dump full 2G signals for poor 3G reception which it then looses a mile down the road. Unless your in a good coverage area this constant changeover ( and 3G in general ) will eat your battery life.

2) Switch off Bluetooth. Having it "always on" will constantly zap the battery and once paired it doesent need to be constantly broadcasting for every man and his dog in the pub, street to try sending you porn, dodgy videos and push advertising. If you need it leave it on but hidden.