[Thatzmister2u]

Originally Posted by JSanders

I would ask if you read the link above, but the last time I asked that in this thread I regretted it. But I still advise it. Post #2, and pay particular attention to applications running in the background of your BB, see post #5.

Isn;t it nice when you lend a hand and someone slaps it?!?!?! Oh well, they are the exception!

[JSanders]

true, and my memory is good for more than storing ringtones.

[Thatzmister2u]

Ha! Ha! Well you are a well respected individual around here and especially in my book. I have learned TONS from you posts!

Thank you JS!

E-

[JSanders]

Thanks!

I owe you a dollar, lol.

[roofus]

my b8830 battery crapped out after two months. Couldn't get it to charge above 25% thereafter charge dropped like a stone. Must have been defective . . . .

[roofus]

Originally Posted by roofus

my b8830 battery crapped out after two months. Couldn't get it to charge above 25% thereafter charge dropped like a stone. Must have been defective . . . .

Picked up a new battery yesterday. The defective one was made in Japan; the new one is made in China. I better not put it in my mouth

[JSanders]

Originally Posted by roofus

Picked up a new battery yesterday. The defective one was made in Japan; the new one is made in China. I better not put it in my mouth

Oh go ahead and lick it and report back?

[roofus]

Originally Posted by JSanders

Oh go ahead and lick it and report back?

Heh heh . . . . don't you wish . . . fed it to the dog instead

He's still standing but he's pretty tough (bull terrier)

[ofelas]

Heh...didn't realize I came across as snappy when I metioned I read the entire thread...

Anyways...I traced the discharging battery down to an extremely frequent "searching for signal" message...I reckon it was draining the battery at a rapid rate...

VZW says they've never heard of the "searching for signal" issue, and says it's a defective handset...

[rambo47]

Originally Posted by ofelas

Heh...didn't realize I came across as snappy when I metioned I read the entire thread...

Anyways...I traced the discharging battery down to an extremely frequent "searching for signal" message...I reckon it was draining the battery at a rapid rate...

VZW says they've never heard of the "searching for signal" issue, and says it's a defective handset...

Verizon never heard of this?! It's a known feature of CDMA phones and one of the prime reasons why CDMA gets worse battery life. I suppose a phone could have an internal problem and fail to lock in on a signal, but this basic searching for a signal is quite common, and not just with Blackberrys. If you stand in a low-signal area it will start this and keep going until you move into better coverage. Sitting at your desk, if that particular corner of your building is blocking your signal, will kill your battery in less that a day.

[ofelas]

Seems likely; I guess if all was well, and the issue popped up all of a sudden one day, that could be a piece of hardware suddenly gone bad then...thx.

[JSanders]

Ofelas, I honestly thought the 'searching for signal" issue was included in that FAQ, linked at the top of this thread. I am editing it to include as that is a common issue with low battery usage. Thanks for alerting me to that.

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by rambo47

It's a known feature of CDMA phones and one of the prime reasons why CDMA gets worse battery life.

It is? Do GSM phones not search for signal when they lose it? If so, how do they regain a signal later?

Even in excellent signal situations, CDMA handsets communicate more frequently with towers than do GSM handests...THAT is the primary reason for the shorter battery life on CDMA phones.

[rambo47]

The GSM phones I've had will search for a signal and quickly quit. They seem to restart the search quickly but don't get caught in a constant active search CDMA devices are much more aggressive in their search.

[sy32478]

You might also want to shut off Bluetooth if you are not using it.

[Mark Rejhon]

If you use a CDMA device and want to use multi-network chat software running in the background, give JiveTalk a test. It seems to use a relatively decent "battery miser" mode. It still eats battery faster than not using it at all, but your battery won't be dead in just 8 hours like with certain brands of chat software of the past...

RIM's own brands of chat software is relatively good on the battery too, able to run for a couple days non-stop in the background as well.

[Aspyred]

So I suppose this has always been the case for CDMA phones then? I've had a freebie phone from Telus in Canada (a CDMA carrier) and I used to work in area where there was limited cellular reception. It'd keep that "Searching for SVC" or whatever signal on the phone all the time, and kill the battery in a day, if not less.

Thinking it was a defective phone/battery, I had it replaced with another freebie phone from the same carrier -- obviously no difference at all.

Now I'm waiting for a Blackberry 8800 to come in on eBay, and since my Telus CDMA contract has since expired, I'm signing up with Rogers, a GSM network. Huge battery and less battery intensive network? Sweet.

[illy]

try this:

fully load battery before going to sleep
disable the radio overnight but keep blackberry on

see what happens in the morning. I have seen cases where the battery was dead when waking up and no, that was not a >10h sleep.

[rjansen3]

what poor battery life is until you have used a Nextel Motorola i930. I am glad I never got lost somewhere I didn't know well when I had that phone.