Top 10 HTC Desire Battery Life Increasing Tips [HD]

[DomSezXL]

Thanks very much for this video. I just changed a few things on my HTC Desire Z as a result because the battery life is appalling. It frequently gets down to nothing by the end of the day. I saw there was once a bigger battery for the G1, which lasted two days, but it made the phone look like it had a hunchback, so I didn't bother with that.

[DesireFanatics]

@DomSezXL Yeah that's the slight problem with the extended batteries. I wouldn't use one on a daily basis - just when I was going away camping for the weekend or something :) Glad you enjoyed the video

[hacingyourtech]

cheers mate helped alot i think i overcharged my desire hd battery it was on my charger for a full week once since then it's been rubbish for the battery

[dangtranngu]

A great app named SwitchPro has 17 options of widget ( includes everything you have on your left screen) and much more efficient than PowerControl since you can show 8 on-off options on a single panel.

[DesireFanatics]

@dangtranngu Nice, thanks for the tip! :)

[MrDeverill]

Can you not just set a battery saver profile?

[SuperBackpedal]

The video is great, just 1 small correction, new battery such as the one in DHD does not develop any memory or life cycles, and in fact it can be damaging if you let your phone discharge fully and then charge it, rather you'd charge it whenever you want for as long as you want, it does not effect your battery life timer. Even then, experts suggest that you change your battery once a year.

[DesireFanatics]

@SuperBackpedal Very true. The first few cycles you should try to follow the procedure but then just charge as and when you like. I was talking about the old-school batteries in this video, not the new-age Li-Ion ones ;) (doh!)

[SuperBackpedal]

@DesireFanatics Thats right man! But other then that, your tips are well thought of, great job finding those small tweaks to improve the overall user experience! :)

Cheers

[ballshok]

I remember an app called appkiller worked pretty back then

[IzaHackAlotDOIT4LULS]

@Booniebanana . Are you watching Porn 24/7? I use my phone like crazy and I charge it over night. and for 20mins at lunch time. Do you close your apps and turn off unwanted settings?

[kalodude]

Hi John,

I stumbled on your site after searching for my HTC phone battery saving ideas.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. :) Such helpful tips - You saved me from going back to the store to get battery saving tips.

I am definately subscribing to your channel !! Keep up the good work m8.

Love my HTC phone.

regards,

Kalo from Vancouver,BC,Canada

[DesireFanatics]

@kalodude Hi Kalo, great to hear - hope the tips work well for you. Be sure to ask if you have any questions :)

[BritishPRO]

And The Best Way to save your battery power is to shut your phone OFF and don't us it at all! ))

[masbaur]

best way to save your battery life is kiss my ass u dumb!

[masbaur]

john dude thanks a lot for your time that was informative.

[AJFedora]

Getting a Desire Z ! Thanks for the tips! They sure will come in handy!

[DesireFanatics]

@AJFedora Thank you and have fun with your new phone! :)

[DesireFanatics]

@Booniebanana LOL is it even possible to use and re-charge your phone 3 times a day? Maybe if you have the screen on full brightness and have it never switch off with 10 apps running in the background... ;)

[noah00n87]

Hi, I'm gonna buy one in a week, and I'd like some info. First of all, thank for the tips, I'm gonna try all of them. Secondly, I'd like to ask about the fully discharging. Should I fully discharge it, or I musn't do it. I can't decide. On some forums they say never disharge it fully, here you say do it. :S Please help, I love this phone :D

Thank a lot

[DesireFanatics]

@noah00n87 Good choice on getting a Desire. Lots of people say different things about batteries and I wouldn't recommend ever FULLY discharging the battery. Maybe leave it til about 3-4% and then recharge fully. This only needs to be done for the first 4-5 times of using the battery and then it should be fit for use.

[DBClay96]

Haha, I already do all these things with my phone, atleast top 5.

[RhysF436]

hello,thanxs for them tips, they have helped alot thanxs mate,x

[DesireFanatics]

@RhysF436 No worries, glad you found them useful :)

[PressyTCN]

Get the 2600 mah fat battery it runs double up but works best with external charger

[1AOR1]

yo, I have something called android OS thats taken loads of battery up, now I'm new to these android phones and I have no clue how to use them lol can I turn this off or what and if so how? thanks

[DesireFanatics]

@1AOR1 Android OS is the actual operating system of the phone and will therefore take up most of the processor time more likely. Think of it as the Windows XP running on your computer, it has to be loaded up or you can't use it!

[1AOR1]

@DesireFanatics oh, ok! thanks alot, i've followed all your tips and for some reason I only got 2 hours 45 mins out of it before it died! I used it straight away when I got it and someone is telling me I shouldnt of used it at all until it was fully charged, are they right? 'cause if so I'm going to have to buy a new battery =(

[winston0024]

handy tips thanks dude

[marktf10]

hey how do u activate the htc desire to receive a text when ya get a facebook update???

[DesireFanatics]

@marktf10 You can set this up from within the Facebook app on your phone. Load it up and go to Settings. Next click on Notifications and you can set the update period and what sort of updates you want to receive. Have fun!

[h0ski]

You sound soo much like David Mitchell from  'peep show'

[DesireFanatics]

@h0ski LOL! Not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult! ;)

[S1CKS4M3]

This was helpful to my Desire HD :)

[stamosgang]

does weather clock need internet to work?

[AyzZainal]

I'm planning to buy desire 2morrow . The only drawback about HTC for me is the battery consumption and this is really nice video mate and very informative. Keep it up! subscribing.. :)

[DesireFanatics]

@AyzZainal Thanks! Enjoy your HTC - you'll never go back to anything else! ;)

[LogicalF]

nothing about cpu underclock ?

[DesireFanatics]

@LogicalF Ah this was done in the days before my Desire was rooted ;)

[grand433]

I am new to this phone so can you show me how you get what the weather is in a city in the background and at the same time what time it is ... nice if u would make a video about it . and more tips for the mobile

bad english..

[nuwaus]

Your started with green battery meter, and when end of the video, it's yellow.

[DesireFanatics]

@nuwaus A lot of people have noticed this. You should take into account that the phone had been used all day and when I started filming it was on the edge of the green battery indicator. 15 minutes of playing around with the phone showing you tips tipped it over the edge to show the yellow indicator ;)

[ALobsterProductions]

i love it how the battery halves in the time it takes him to make the video

[misterody]

poor battery , the phone generally is good , I was doing all the ''basic'' with my previous Iphone 3gs and still was ok for a day , with desire I am not really doing anything and the battery just getting low !!! REALLY DISAPPOINTING !!!

[MrHarry102938]

Thanks alot, this really helped

[anticman]

have you any idea how i get the pictures out of my phone i have got a USB cable with a micro USB on the end but nothing happens when i plug them in to my pc the girl did say when she GAVE me the cable this is the one for a blackberrry but i am sure it will work !!!!!!!

[DesireFanatics]

@anticman Hey, yeah you should be able to get it to work. Try doing the following:

Go to Settings -> Connect to PC and then select the Default connection type to "Disk drive". It will then show up on your computer as a removable disk. You could also make sure the tickbox "Ask me" is ticked so the phone will prompt you how you want it to act when you connect it to your computer i.e. as a removeable disk, or to charge only. Good luck!

[mattman99999]

great video lads...no crap..just info...but a bit fast at the start in getting widgits to work..ie try find them..but got them after a bit of messing around.. now to check out your site...thanks.

[DesireFanatics]

@mattman99999 Thanks, glad you found the video useful, sorry if I was a bit quick at the beginning! ;)

[ricestube]

@DesireFanatics hey its me again with another question.that guy said that his android is a developers android so he is able to broadcast signals, which i will automatically connect too despite turning off my internet roaming wifi etc. and after i auto connect onto his phone broadcasting signal, he will be able to force in apps into my phone. he says that normal androids are unable to do that, only a 'developers android' can broadcast signal and stuff. Is that true? pls reply im real scared now

[DesireFanatics]

@ricestube That's a complete load of rubbish. Don't listen to him.

[ricestube]

@DesireFanatics oh ok thanks thanks so much for the reassureance =D

[babisfoititis]

@anticman or simply go to the htc site and download the htc synch for android exe and install it on your pc

[ricestube]

hey i just got this phone and my friend (Android geek who MODS alot of android stuff) says that he when i on my phone it would use his broadcasting signal as hes is the strongest. then he can force an app into my phone that can allows him to control my phone. Can he do that? And if i turn off my data roaming and internet connection/data connection will i be "hit" that force app thing? Pls reply me im quite afraid now

[DesireFanatics]

@ricestube Sounds like a complete load of rubbish to me. I think he's just trying to scare you! ;)

[ricestube]

@DesireFanatics oh ok thanks! =D but there was one day when i didnt bring it yet, he showed me on his other android and he was able to force in an app to the other phone. is it like he already put a program on that phone so he could use another android to control it?

[mikefunkmc]

Very helpful...cheers man

[ollymilton05]

does this work on the desire hd?

[DesireFanatics]

@ollymilton05 All tips are compatible on the Desire HD but you may find menus in different places etc depending on your firmware verison

[jrichardson6]

thanks thats helpful Ive managed to get mine to conk out at four o clock rather than 3 oclock in afternoon very poor battery life this Desire HD shame phone is not bad..

[ShillBasher]

Great tips, many thanks. However it might be worth knowing that Lithium ion batteries do not need to be depleated fully. They can be charged from and too any point without detriment to cell life. The best way to prolong the viability of your Lithium cells is to charge them little and often. Heat build-up is the enemy for almost all types of battery cells. Long charging cycles create additional heat build-up thus shortening cell life.

[ThePrincessJuliette]

Ur a star cheers, very helpful. I have just done this!

[srivasvivaz]

Thanx a lot man! :D

[DevilsAssa]

You should mention that its NOT correct for Li-Io Accus to be recharged when there fully empty.

'The discharging below 51 percent should be avoided as it can come with "deep cycle" to larger capacity losses due to irreversible reactions in the electrodes. The battery is aging more rapidly, the higher is its cell voltage, so it should be avoided to keep a Li-ion Battery charged constantly 100 percent.'

-- from german wikipedia

[ricestube]

@DevilsAssa hey i just got this phone and my friend (Android geek who MODS alot of android stuff) says that he when i on my phone it would use his broadcasting signal as hes is the strongest. then he can force an app into my phone that can allows him to control my phone. Can he do that? And if i turn off my data roaming and internet connection/data connection will i be "hit" that force app thing? Pls reply me im quite afraid now

[Zyzienzergling]

Thumbs up for Roaming.

[msshanbhag]

thanks buddy, the tips especially the mobile widget is quite helpful.

[XRhia08X]

Ahhh thank you man!!!!!!

[DesireFanatics]

@XRhia08X No problem! :)

[mindwalkr]

just a quick clarification.. on Android you must manually enable wi-fi / gps / etc prior to use an app that needs them ? The app won't turn on those resources by itself and close them upon terminating itd execution ? That's how it works on my 5800 Symbian and the battery lasts well 2 days cause wi-fi and gps are only used when requested (although I don't do push notifications, etc... )

[DesireFanatics]

@mindwalkr I'm a previous Symbian user and know exactly what you're talking about. On Android it doesn't work quite the same way however. You can leave all options off and if an app needs to use GPS for example, it will notify you and let you quickly switch it on. It won't however turn it back off for you but GPS is only active when an app is using it.

Regarding mobile data, it will remain off unless you turn it on so an app may give a "server error" if it's not on.

Hope that makes sense.

[jesuisjamaiscontent]

Yes it works very well, I think the procedure forces balancing of the battery cells, in the manner that Apple uses for its devices. Unfortunately the Desire does not has charge balancing capability. I'm now seekign a charger that does this automatically.

Has anyone any info to assist my search?

[DesireFanatics]

@jesuisjamaiscontent I must be honest this is the first I have heard of this type of thing. Let me know if you find anything though as I'd love to give it a try

[DesireFanatics]

@Forgott3n36 I'll certainly look into it for a future video. Good idea

[jesuisjamaiscontent]

Try this tip from HTC given of the xda web forum:

To also help with Battery Life you can do these steps exactly: 1) Turn your device ON and Charge the device for 8 hours or more 2) Unplug the device and Turn the phone OFF and charge for 1 hour 3) Unplug the device Turn ON wait 2 minutes and Turn OFF and charge for another hour Your battery life should almost double, My Desire runs for about 40 hours on battery pwr with WiFi.

[DesireFanatics]

@jesuisjamaiscontent Thanks for the info, good tip

[DudeWithCrossbow]

@DesireFanatics How the hell is it possible to wait that long before using it D:

[DesireFanatics]

@DudeWithCrossbow I'd say nigh on impossible ;)

[jesuisjamaiscontent]

@DesireFanatics

Not so difficult, put it on charge overnight and do the top up routine in the morning during breakfast and then while answering those damned emails.

[amin22m]

@jesuisjamaiscontent

how often should i do this?

[jesuisjamaiscontent]

@amin22m

I cannot give you a sound scientific answer but from my experience I suggest one every 3 months. You should do a similar battery conditioning exercise with your portable computer.

The above procedure is essentially a means of managing the charge process to achieve optimum charge balance between battery cells, something that Apple do very well by the way.

I0ve been searching for an external charger that will do this automatically as it's a bit of a hassle but no luck yet.

[amin22m]

@jesuisjamaiscontent

thanks man.

[thechildrenzplace]

@jesuisjamaiscontent wtf...my dad was telling me about this. lol

[RChuckNorris]

@jesuisjamaiscontent can you send me a message with a link to the froum and particular thread?

[trickstyle48]

@jesuisjamaiscontent Just to tell you, by doing this, my phone has started lagging... I just followed your instructions and by the time I was done, the home screen menus were quite laggy... I had to take out the battery, restart my phone and put it into usb debbug mode, and then it was smooth again... Im never doing this again.

[DesireFanatics]

@trickstyle48 Really? How very strange, turning functions of your phone off isn't like to slow it down. Did you have any task killers running in the background? These can sometimes cause problems....

[trickstyle48]

@DesireFanatics Nope, no task killer app installed, maybe this was just a one off, but I'm not doing it again :(

[FuRyFriiTz]

@jesuisjamaiscontent Isnt there a risk of something called overcharging and the phone might die? I saw kinda the same coment on an other video but someone replied and said the phone broke and he couldnt get insurance. is there a risk?

[DesireFanatics]

@FuRyFriiTz No I don't think so. I can only ever imagine this happening if you used the wrong voltage charger on your phone. They have a safety cut-off so they don't overcharge themselves.

[smrcekivan]

@jesuisjamaiscontent

i tried this and it works! i have left my phone over night to charge, then follow your steps and VOILA! my battery is on 95% after 4 hours of constant work with 3G and edge on, and with brightness on full. i have surfed for a bit, 15min cca, and chat over whatsapp for 15min, and listen to a 3-4 mp3's. this rocks!

[gomii7]

@jesuisjamaiscontent can`t see if trolling..

[supersugardaddy]

Hey great tips!!

Question... what´s the see through calendar widget you have on your home?

[DesireFanatics]

@supersugardaddy Thanks! The widget is called CalWidget and is available on the Market for free!

[supersugardaddy]

Hey great tips!!

Question... what´s the see through calendar widget you have on your home?

[supersugardaddy]

Hey

thanx for the useful tips! Question.... whats the seethrough calendar widget you are using on your home?

[darnops]

rhe best way to save ur battery life is to shut down ur phone. well thanx for the tips =D i wonder how much battery can it save on my HTC desire HD

[DesireFanatics]

@darnops Let me know what sort of times you get on your HD - it'd be interesting to compare ;)

[badash786]

Hi John, Great tips, do you have any tips on managing running apps?? And also would you say its worth investing in a high power battery? i use facebook a lot on my phone

[DesireFanatics]

@badash786 Hi, thanks for your comment. The best way I find to manage apps is manually. Pressing the "back" button out of an app usually makes sure it quits properly whereas using the "Home" button will generally keep it running in the background.

Don't bother with a Task Manager, they cause more problems than they're worth. There's always a lot of discussion as to whether Android phones need Task Managers..

If you go for a new battery make sure it's high quality brand if you can....

[DesireFanatics]

@DD360ELITE I thought this too but I don't mind too much when it is turned off. If you are in a quiet room you can here your fingers tap the screen and it sometimes feels better to me...

[JinPark21]

I got a tip on HTC: Don't use a 1230mah battery on a very high power consuming device.

[DesireFanatics]

@JinPark21 LOL very true! :D

[IAmGoombaSniper]

I charge my phones before I go to bed and 3PM when I get home, so twice a day.

But with my BL40 I never had to charge it everyday which surprised me because the battery in the bl40 is SO small!

[DesireFanatics]

@IAmGoombaSniper It's surprising how long the battery can last when you aren't pushing the phone to its limits...

[IAmGoombaSniper]

@DesireFanatics yeah, I go on the web in school and text heavily with maybe 20 minutes of calling in a day. I don't do that gps stuff.

[Dotov]

i dont have the power control in my settings

[DesireFanatics]

@Dotov What version of Android are you running? Are you going to the Add Widget screen? It should be called "Power Control"

[sunj010]

great tips...

[aznacid]

There's a huge debate on whether your final statement in the description box is true. I'm a little skeptical myself. What makes you say that draining the battery completely and then recharging betters the battery? I sort of see it from two perspectives...so?

[DesireFanatics]

@aznacid Hi, it used to be true with NiCad batteries (and still is) but as more and more devices use Li-On batteries this is no longer a problem. You are still limited on the number of times you can charge the battery however. Search for Memory Effect on Wikipedia and look under 2.2.2 Age and Use for more info.

[Syphadeus]

Handy tips but Daz555Daz is correct about the battery info at the end. Lithium-ion Polymer batteries do not suffer the "memory effect" of older battery types, whereby you'd have to leave them to fully discharge else loose capacity. Over time they reduce capacity anyway, but this is in relation to the number of overall charge cycles. They are not impeded by "top up" charging.

[DesireFanatics]

@Syphadeus Hi yes, you are completely correct. I was thinking along the lines of NiCad batteries (showing my age and force of habit) which did have this problem.

[Athaeus]

After seeing this, I have only ONE question; Why is Katie going to bone birds? Seems a bit kinky.

[DesireFanatics]

@Athaeus LMAO! Even if I explained, you wouldn't believe me!

[fenkuultra]

does this also work for the HTC Wildfire ???????

[DesireFanatics]

@fenkuultra These are general tips which will work on any phone. Your widgets may differ but the general premise is the same.

[samuellee1996]

how do you put ur hotspot and the mobile simbol become like tat

[DesireFanatics]

@samuellee1996 Go to add a Widget and then go down to Settings to select the different "settings" widgets.

[Daz555Daz]

Guy is 100% wrong about the need to fully charge/discharge the battery to preserve it. Apart from that, good tips.

[carlitos1259]

tx m8

[yossef713]

can u tell us what is this live wallpaper :)

tnx!

[DesireFanatics]

@yossef713 Sure, it's called "Halloween Live Wallpaper II" by the developer Wolf Labs. It's free too ;)

[milkykungnaja]

Thank you for your good tips :D

I find the auto-sync feature a battery drainer lol Not to mention if I have twitter/google/facebook all up and running along with live wallpaper and always-on 3G. Boy, half a day would be too good to be true :P

Cheers,

[DesireFanatics]

@milkykungnaja Really?! Wow that's not good. The brightness is always a big battery killer. Also, it's best to use WiFi rather than a network data connection such as 3G because it uses less battery power...

[louboo88]

Hi

Thanks for the tips. Just got my desire on Nov 10th. Nov 11th I got just shy of 13hrs with the device, playing with it quite a bit. Not too impressed but time will tell. One question is there a widget that gives you a larger view of the battery status and not just what is using the battery?

[DesireFanatics]

@louboo88 Hi, glad you found the vid useful. There are plenty of Battery Widgets for the Desire. Load up your Market app and then just do a search for "battery widget" and you'll find loads of free ones. Just browse through and choose a style you like. I believe there's even a Hello Kitty style one if you're that way inclined! ;)

[jesuisjamaiscontent]

@louboo88

I suggest conditioning your battery, I was getting similar battery life to you at first but after playing with all the gadgets all the time - well its a bloody great little computer - I conditioned the battery as per the routine I gave above and now, playing less with the gizmos I get over double that.

[mrwv86]

Funny to see the battery drains for about 20 % while this video of 10 minutes was shot! :p I also have the DHD, hope the tips help, thanks!

[DesireFanatics]

@mrwv86 LOL, Good spot. I started filming as the phone was just on the edge of the battery icon turning from green to yellow so it's a bit unfair really ;) glad you liked the tips!

[vectraB97]

I think you can replace all of your power widgets with quick-settings from sergej shafarenka.. you can make it show all your important settings.. and you can ad quick setting shortcut to search buttun by holding it in..

[DesireFanatics]

@vectraB97 It's a good alternative for sure. I used to use it in the past before I discovered the built-in widgets. I think I just prefer not having to load up an app to change my settings. It's all about the quick-access for me!