Battery Test

[AHDuke99]

Alright, so I ran the same exact test with the battery that Apple writes on their website:

Video playback: Testing conducted by Apple in May and June 2008 using preproduction iPhone 3G units and software. Video content consisted of a repeated 2-hour 23-minute movie purchased from the iTunes Store. All settings were default except: Call Forwarding was turned on; the Wi-Fi feature Ask to Join Networks and Auto-Brightness were turned off. Wi-Fi was enabled but not associated with a network. Battery life depends on the cellular network, location, signal strength, feature configuration, usage, and many other factors. Battery tests are conducted using specific iPhone units; actual results may vary.

And my phone played video for 4.5 hours before it died. Their site said I should get 7 hours under those conditions. Should I request another replacement? I just got my first one swapped out last week for a new one with battery issues, and after running through this one for 4 cycles, it's still draining. Yesterday, it ran down to 20% with 1 hour of iPod use, 1 hour of phone calls, and some minor internet use. I had 3G on, Location Services off, Wifi off, and Bluetooth off. The battery on this phone has been somewhat better than my last, but it still isn't what it was on my first gen iPhone.

Note: before I did this test on the phone, I let the battery drain till it died and charged it up from the wall rather than USB for the entire night and unplugged it in the morning.

 

[Small White Car]

I can't comment on what the site says, but my best time (before dying) so far has been:

4.5 hours usage
13 hours standby

In that case "usage" was all sorts of usage. 32 minutes of phone calls and 4 hours of other stuff (games, internet, video).

I don't know what I'm "supposed" to get, but that's about TWICE as long as my laptop will last, so I'm not not complaining. Your phone sounds very similar. The real question is, does that work for you? I find myself near a plug more than every 13 hours, and the darned thing charges halfway super-fast, so this won't be a problem for me.

 

[Hutch1]

I would try a couple of charge cycles on the battery before I took it back, but after a few cycles if its still the same I'd return it.

 

[Samuel88]

Are you positive that the movie used was in the same format as those bought from iTunes store, and that the volume was set to default?

I tested my battery with music instead of video. I used imported CD:s, which Apple used in its testing too. I got the 24 hours and a bit more at eight volume bars. Make sure that the format matches, volume is default etc. Also I disabled my mail account as I would guess the tests were conducted without the account activated.

 

[AHDuke99]

I can't comment on what the site says, but my best time (before dying) so far has been:

4.5 hours usage
13 hours standby

In that case "usage" was all sorts of usage. 32 minutes of phone calls and 4 hours of other stuff (games, internet, video).

I don't know what I'm "supposed" to get, but that's about TWICE as long as my laptop will last, so I'm not not complaining. Your phone sounds very similar. The real question is, does that work for you? I find myself near a plug more than every 13 hours, and the darned thing charges halfway super-fast, so this won't be a problem for me.

The problem with me is that when I do that half-charge thing, my battery just dies even faster. The battery meter seems to jump up fast and then drains back down even faster. I'm also not near a plug. Your usage sounds good if you are playing games a lot, cause those are the worst thing you can go if they are 3D games.


I'm not always near a plug, so I can't really say if I will need it to last a day or two or not. Sometimes on weekends if I'd leave campus last year for a weekend, I'd forget my charger, but I could always count on my iPhone lasting that weekend if I turned off email checking entirely. This one would not at its current state. Apple says that I am supposed to get 7 hours of video. The genius told me I should be getting 5 hours, but next time I come back, bring my charging equipment because I might not be charging it properly.

 

[Small White Car]

but I could always count on my iPhone lasting that weekend...

Hmmm...wow. That's not something I'd ever aimed for.

I've always charged every cell phone I've ever owned overnight.

Even my old Nokia, which COULD go 6-7 days between charges...I tended to always charge it when I went to bed anyway.

Yeah, the iPhone could be terribly frustrating with that sort of need.

 

[AHDuke99]

Are you positive that the movie used was in the same format as those bought from iTunes store, and that the volume was set to default?

I tested my battery with music instead of video. I used imported CD:s, which Apple used in its testing too. I got the 24 hours and a bit more at eight volume bars. Make sure that the format matches, volume is default etc. Also I disabled my mail account as I would guess the tests were conducted without the account activated.

Well it was a .m4v file, the movie was 2.24hours which is close enough. My mail PUSh and fetch were off, but the test doesn't say whether mail was on or off. The volume was set to half, as that was what it was set at when I first got it.

I could try music, but I don't have 24 hours where I could be without the phone. I will say I listened to my iPod last night for about 30 minutes and when I plugged the phone in (it was fully charged before), it was not fully charged and has some of the meter down. I'll go around another cycle before taking it back and see if it gets any better. I'm leaving for school Saturday and the store there is less familiar to me. Luckily, I have had good experiences with the geniuses here and they remember my case, and there I might not be as lucky.

 

[AHDuke99]

Hmmm...wow. That's not something I'd ever aimed for.

I've always charged every cell phone I've ever owned overnight.

Even my old Nokia, which COULD go 6-7 days between charges...I tended to always charge it when I went to bed anyway.

Yeah, the iPhone could be terribly frustrating with that sort of need.

I don't need it to do that that often, but when I do need that, it's nice that I could do it. I'm awful with remembering the charger a lot of times.