EVEN MORE BATTERY SAVERS

As I continue to peruse the web in search of the Android Holy Grail (aka - the secret to battery life) I uncover more and more good stuff...I WISH I could take credit for these things but alas, I am a mere mortal who is only capable of passing on the words of the Android Gods to the rest of my fellow Androidians...here my friends is even more tips and tricks...I have done all of these as of this post and I will update you as to my findings as the next couple of days go by...

1) Turn off the “Always-on” mobile data connection.

On the Home screen, select Menu => Settings => Wireless controls => Mobile network settings and de-select “Enable always-on mobile data”. This tweak probably has the biggest impact on battery life.

2) Disable Wireless network usage for positioning purposes

This can be disabled via Menu => Settings => Location => Use wireless networks. This will turn off the anonymous (?) Google location data collection that uses the wireless data connection frequently. I still keep the GPS tick box checked as it is not an always-on configuration. Any app that will need a location will turn on the GPS separately. Please note that turning off wireless network usage for location purposes will slow down the GPS positioning fix when needed but that is a trade off I’m ready to do.

3) Turn off “Background data” usage (but not if you use Google services!)

This checkbox is hidden behind Menu => Settings => Data synchronization => Google => Background data. This will minimize background data usage that keeps the Aria's network connedtions active and use a lot of power during the day. Note! If you are using Gmail, Calendar and Contacts on your Hero you need to have this enabled or it will disable automatic sync with Google online servers.

4) Always keep Wi-Fi off when not in use – automate this with Y5 Battery Saver

Personally, I have my Wi-Fi connection turned off all the time as I have a flat rate 5 Mbps 3G connection providing sufficient bandwidth for anything I do on my Hero. The Wi-Fi can be disabled from Menu => Settings => Wireless controls and de-select “Wi-Fi”.

If you still want to use your Wi-Fi connection I highly recommend installing the completely free Y5 Battery Saver application. It automatically turns off the Wi-Fi when when out of range and enables it again when you are close to known access points to save battery life . Please not that this app itself will use some resources and can slightly reduce battery life but you should still be on the winning side if you are away from your known Wi-Fi networks most of the day.

5) Always keep Bluetooth off when not in use

6) Avoid usage of push or very frequent email polling – configure it to sync every 15 or more minutes

The default HTC mail client does not by default have push or “always-on” mail configured. Having that would keep the mobile network connection active all the time and drain the battery pretty quick.
Mail sync frequency is set through Menu =>) All programs => Mail => “Menu” button =>  More => Settings => Send & Receive => Set Download frequency => e.g. Every 15 minutes. I have also kept the Mail size limit at 5 KB as larger downloads consume more battery power.

7) Turn off automatic Weather updates

The weather widget on the Aria is also using the network connection frequently even if weather forecasts are not updated that frequently. For me it tries to get new weather data every time I happen to scroll by the widget on one of my home screens. Once again, this turns on the network connection. These triggered updates can also momentarily freeze the UI and that is why I decided to disable automatic updates and instead just press the the little update icon on the bottom of the Weather widget when I want to see the latest forecast. Yes, it is one extra click but personally I am not hysterical with always having the latest weather forecast in my face. Do this from Menu =>) All programs => Weather => “Menu” button =>  Settings => disable Update automatically.

Set a reasonable update frequency for Twitter, Flicker and Facebook

The HTC Aria provides great integration into social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Of course, this integration needs to constantly ping network severs that use battery power. Personally, I’m much happier to get updates every 2 hours and not every 15 minutes as it I get less interruptions during my day. For changing Twitter settings try Menu =>) All programs => Peep => “Menu” button => Settings => Send & Receive => Check frequency => Every 2 hours. The Facebook and Flicker update settings are hidden in the phonebook, i.e.Menu => All programs =>) People => “Updates and events” tab => “Menu” button =>  Data connection settings.

Now some of you might say "what's the point in the kick ass phone if I turn everything off?!?!?"  Realize that by adjusting the above mentioned you are not turning anything "off".  You are simply creating a few more manual clicks to see things like weather updates, finding a WI-FI connection, getting social updates and email updates etc... 

I find it worth the few clicks if it means I get the battery time that the manufacturer claims versus what I saw in the first couple weeks of owning the phone.

Let me know any questions.

UPDATE: Did all this, also have had my Mobile Network disabled since I unplugged my phone (about 1 hr ago). Have not used my phone at all this hour as I have been in class. EVERYTHING IS TURNED OFF. GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth, sync, mobile network, the whole works. Awake time < 10 percent. After 60 min I am at 86%. This is completely unacceptable.

what do you think it could be? how do i find out? i refuse to use task killers because i believe they do more harm than good.

UPDATE: Tweeked some more settings, it is 2:30am and I have 14% battery life with phone unplugged since 11am. This is a HUGE increase in battery life. I'm not sure exactly what I need, I think i disabled "always enable mobile network". I am pretty please to have my phone go 16 hours and still have > 10% remaining.

LD10562 can you PM me or reply with what your settings are? I cannot seem to make it past around 18 hrs with most things turned off.

If i am running Mobile Network I am lucky to get 5 hours..

Use google search.

Type HTC Aria Manual.

You will get a nice PDF file that you can save to your hard drive.

It's 238 pages.

Here's a link.

http://member.america.htc.com/download/Web_materials/Manual/DROID_ERIS_Verizon/DROID_ERIS_Verizon_English_UM_11_5.pdf

Advanced Task Killer is fine and recommended.  The hub-bub in the early days on that app, and I was a non-believer, was due to the bugs that the programs like that held.  Those are all updated and fixed at this point and it is something to get.

Check out the developers site for logs and answers specific to their application.

http://y5.polidea.pl/

There is an FAQ