-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Phone batteries lasting or not throughout the day
- Thread starter EpcotMark
- Start date
geekza
Well-Known Member
I actually recommend a decent Anker charger over the Fuel Rods. While it may seem convenient to just insert your old one into a machine and get a charged one, they actually hold very little charge and, with newer phones, sometimes won't even charge your phone up all the way. You can get an Anker one that is around the same price and holds enough of a charge to charge your phone up at least a couple of times fully before the backup battery would need recharging.
That was the other issue we ran into with them. In most instances the charging rate was just enough to keep the battery from going down. The only way we really got any increase in charge was if the phone was off.
The Anker I ended up getting would actually charge the battery while playing Pokemon Go (don't judge) with the screen at full brightness.
Sadly the biggest problem with iphone is the batteries are only good for so many cycles when you start nearing the end of the phone batteries life the time it take for the battery to lose its juice drops considerable. I used one and refused to upgrade until I was to the point that it would pretty much one call or less than an hour standby and it was dead... And sadly you can't cheaply replace the batteries in an iphone. Probably the biggest reason everyone in my family now uses android phones that allow the user to change the battery. One phone and a couple of spare batteries and you can do a trip without ever worrying. So if your iphone is getting long in the tooth their isn't much you can do. I would suggest you look for a good recharging pack with a high milliamp as when I was doing them with my old iphone I found that some didn't have enough juice to help that much, in fact one would keep my phone at whatever battery level it was at but didn't give out enough power to let the phone charge unless I turned the phone off while it was plugged in.
SuperStretccch
Well-Known Member
My battery can typically last the entire day and longer if I shut off location and don't use the Disney Wi-Fi. That thing is already a pain to use in general. It constantly connects and disconnects, causing loading issues and making the battery drain even more. It's much easier to just use data if you check for FPs all the time like I do. I only use the Wi-Fi in certain areas where there's no cell service, like inside of Mission: Space, and I believe Soarin' too. Otherwise, just use your data plan.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
All batteries degraded. That is nothing unique to the ones in iPhones.
Currently, many iPhones can have their battery replaced for $30.
geekza
Well-Known Member
Very true. Sadly, Apple jumpstarted the now-ubiquitous "feature" of not having easily-replaceable batteries on phones. I long for the good old days of simply buying a replacement battery when the old one wore out and popping it into my phone. Batteries are still replaceable, but you have to take it to a store where they know what they're doing and they have to take the phone apart to swap it out. I suppose, because of the increased effort, most folks just assume their old phone is useless once the battery life starts to decrease and they just go buy a new phone rather than going through the trouble of getting a new battery. It's one reason (of many) why I'm just not a fan of Apple. Others are, so to each their own.
Yes I think that's the new price Apple is charging because of the software scam they pulled on old phone users. When I was using an iPhone it was closer to a hundred dollars to get the battery replaced which is why I said bye bye to Apple when I finally upgraded my phone. But you'll also notice that Apple only offers the $29 battery change until the end of the year and it is only a one time deal per phone. So expect them to jack the price back up where it used to be at the end of the year.
Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
1) Turning off WiFi is a bad awful suggestion. Cellular data uses more power than WiFi. Since the Disney WiFi networks are all the same name, your phone does not waste battery power searching for signal.
2) Go to Settings -> Battery. You will see a battery usage screen and the app/functions that are using the most battery. If an app has a lot of usage and is labeled 'Background Activity', you can go to the main Settings page, scroll down to the app, and turn off 'Background App Refresh' via the slider. Or uninstall the app altogether. On my last trip, it was the tripadvisor app that absolutely destroyed my battery. Once I removed it, battery usage was extremely limited.
2) Go to Settings -> Battery. You will see a battery usage screen and the app/functions that are using the most battery. If an app has a lot of usage and is labeled 'Background Activity', you can go to the main Settings page, scroll down to the app, and turn off 'Background App Refresh' via the slider. Or uninstall the app altogether. On my last trip, it was the tripadvisor app that absolutely destroyed my battery. Once I removed it, battery usage was extremely limited.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Low Power Mode will turn off Background App Refresh without having to toggle individual apps you may otherwise want refreshing.
Kamikaze
Well-Known Member
LPM also turns off email fetch and photo sync, as well as changing auto lock. It doesn't allow you to keep things you may want to keep working since all background apps won't run (and therefore you might not get alerts).
The #1 way to save battery is to keep your screen as dim as possible.
SuperStretccch
Well-Known Member
Sorry, no. I can attest from personal experience that more battery power is used trying to constantly keep connection with the garbage Wi-Fi signal, rather than just using mobile data, which stays connected almost all the time with no hiccups, no matter where you move. I've used three different smartphones on my trips to Disney, and they all drained battery faster when I was trying to use Disney Wi-Fi versus turning it off and just using data.
Of course, if Disney actually had Wi-Fi that stayed connected no matter where you walk in the parks, this probably would not even be an issue. I cannot tell you how many times I've tried to use Disney's Wi-Fi, and then get pop-ups on my screen about two-to-three times a minute that the network was disconnected. Then the phone has to take a moment to switch back to mobile data until it can connect to Wi-Fi again. Sometimes, there are situations where the Wi-Fi signal is so weak, the phone keeps trying and trying to connect to the Wi-Fi, but can't. How does that save more battery versus just turning off the Wi-Fi and using mobile data to get connected? Not only does Disney's Wi-Fi cause battery issues, but extreme usability issues as well. MDE, most of the time, won't even load correctly on Disney Wi-Fi because it's slow and the signal is awful. You'd think it would be better, since the app has become so integral in the park experience now.
The only time you should have a problem with your battery when using data is if you have weak or no cell signal, because the phone uses some more battery than usual trying to hook on to a better signal. If you're in a place with great 4G coverage (a.k.a. most of WDW), never an issue. We're not in 2011 anymore. The technology has evolved and become more efficient.
I'd only advise to use the Disney Wi-Fi in areas that don't have service for some reason, or if you have a very limited data plan. Otherwise, no. If you value your battery life, just don't use it.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
Unless you're happy to wait in queues all day, I don't see how putting your phone away is an option. The ability to reserve new Fastpasses on my phone throughout the day is something I wouldn't give up.
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
I actually disagree with this after just returning at the end of last week. The wi-fi was spotty at best and highly draining. When I turned off wi-fi I kept a much higher level of charge on my phone. You would think that staying on wi-fi when able is better, but in general at Disney it was awful.
All of us decided to get rid of wifi and found that unless we were deep into rides covered in concrete we didn't need wi-fi anyway. I used my phone a LOT (auto uploading photos and using MDE a lot) and I made it through the day without any issue at all.
LittleBuford
Well-Known Member
I didn't say it had to be used all day long, every moment. I was merely responding to your suggestion that guests should put their phones away.
DisAl
Well-Known Member
You are correct on #1. Cell phones typically have at least 600mw output. WiFi max output is usually under 50 mw. Someone else mentioned that it is a lot of work to "fix" all these settings, but you have two choices. Make the changes or suffer a dead battery. No matter what you do though, your phone will use more battery power in weak signal areas as it ups transmitter power to get the job done.
Choice #3: $50 one time purchase for a high capacity backup and you can forget about all the other steps.
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
Again I am basing this on real life experiences last week. Not hypothetical articles. I am not Luddite either and work in technology. When the wi-fi is weak and the phone keeps losing connection as it did all week at Disney, wi-fi is a lousy option.
The rest of the time I leave my wi-fi on. I turn it off when I go to a few places that have known crappy wi-fi though. Also 9 times out of 10 my cell provider was significantly faster connection which meant I had the screen on less time finding what I needed to do.