[sebastiaan]

Hello,

We have in our company various E-series devices ( E50, E51, E71, E75 )

I begin to have some big trouble with the battery life of those phones ( especially E51 ) We use Mail for Exchange on those devices, no wlan or other applications and yes bluetooth is on. New devices wont last till noon, so I started with dual sim cards and handing those people a second device, but they can bearly make it till the afternoon with their second phone. I was hoping to get through the day with just one battery/device..

Is there a way to solve this? I am getting headaches by people complaning about their battery lifetimes...

Thanks for your help in advance.

Sebastiaan.

[psychomania]

The battery killer is mail for exchange.

In the settings you will find a setting called "heartbeat".  Depending on how it is set it will have a massive effect on battery life.

If you use the search box above you should find many posts about it.

Message Edited by psychomania on 08-Jun-2009 01:11 PM

[shuntfield]

The E71 I have is using mail for exchange, and I can get two days running out of it no problems.

What Psychomania is saying is very much true, setting the heartbeat will offer some battery advantages, I would also suggest that if an E71 battery does not last six hours, then it is drawing around 250mA per hour, 0.92watts per hour, that for a handset of this type is an excessive power draw, which would certainly cause the device to warm up, if not at least the battery would be getting warm.

This would suggest that there is something not correct with the handsets operation, if applications are being left on, or if other services are running in the handset, additionally low or weak signal in primary areas of use will cause the battery to be consumed at a considerably faster rate, it might be worth checking different network operators, who may offer better signal power in places where your users are going to be.

Shunts...

[sebastiaan]

Hi thanks for replying,

I remember in an older version of the Mail for Exchange client there was a setting for heartbeat, but in the latest release there isn't anymore. I needed to install this version for the serious agenda problems with some users.

I checked some mfe logs from different devices, most have a heart-beat time about 57. The E71 device lasts longer then a E51 device ( ok, more mAh ), but also not longer then 8 hours.

1 colleague has now the function sync every 30 minutes instead off always on and bluetooth disabled, he now can work through the day, but its not a nice solution and it doesnt work for all the colleagues.

is there a test mode for those devices, or a (free) software app, to see signal strenth ( and power use ) maybe which logs it so I can read them out later?

thanks,

Sebastiaan.

[shuntfield]

There is a power profile application that tells you how much power your device is consuming, it normally resides at the Forum Nokia site, but I have not been able to find it today.

Try looking around at www.forum.nokia.com

Shunts...

[vmoisa]

My E90 is fully charged at 7:00 and fully discharged by 16:00. I have purchased a second battery and this is how I make it through the day. I do not use Mail for Exchange, but the 3G connection is ON almost all the time for other Internet applications. Just my experience.....

[sebastiaan]

Ok I downloaded Nokia Energy Profiler v. 1.2 maybe this will give me some idea of battery consumption, in the meanwhile I gave a lot of the E51 users a secondary cellphone. I think (hope) the E52 will be much better since it will also come with the 1500 mAh battery. We are also talking with our provider for an indoor solution to get better reception and less battery consumption, however this is not a cheap solution.

[vmoisa · Accepted solution]

sebastiaan,

Try to force the phone use only GSM, not "Dual mode" or UMTS. This should greatly improve the battery life, while the GPRS speed should be enough for Mail for Exchange.

My experience with this setting on a Nokia E90:

• Internet connection alway on 3.5g (UMTS), I get less than a day on a full charge.
• Internet connection alway on GPRS (GSM only), I get about 2 days (!) on a full charge.

So, forcing the phone to use GSM only (instead of 3G) has more than doubled my battery life ! 

Hope this helps.

[riversandlakes]

From what I've observed and read, the Nokia Energy Profiler should show <0.10W consumed when the phone is in standby mode (backlight off, screen off, etc).

Using GSM instead of "dual mode" does help me claw back some half-day of batt life. Now it's slightly less than 2.5 days.

[sebastiaan]

Oh my!

vmoisa, I forced 5 mobile devices to use GSM only. All employees were very satisfied, since they can make it through the day with only 1 phone now, although still barely, but ok this is a great improvement on battery life!

they can live with slower internet perf. since this group barely uses attachments in their mails. 

thanks for the great tip vmoisa o//

[hendikoischnur]

Hi,

I can´t actually add anything new to this thread as all the important aspects have already been covered.

I have an E61. I have Bluetooth off except when I need it which is pretty rarely, I have MfE set to only sync manually and I sync only on days when I´m not in the office. You could also just change the settings to sync regularly when you´re on the move and not at all when you´re in the office. I had to force my phone to GSM only since I have two SIM cards in and the adapter won´t work any other way. That way, I have an average battery life of 4-5 days (off during nighttime).

Regards,

Hendikoischnur

[vmoisa]

sebastiaan,

I am glad this solution worked for you. It took me a lot of frustration until I found it myself.

I think you should mark my message as a "Solution" to your post, so others could benefit from it.

Best regards.

[sebastiaan]

Hi Hendikoischnur,

manual sync is not an option in our environment. We use Mail for Exchange for our people in production. Sales send their orders to the production group and the people working at the machines know what to produce. a manual sync or interval sync is not an option for them.

and a battery life of 4-5 days sounds great. I can setlle with 1 day

I ordered a couple of E52's to check if the improved battery will help me get through the day.

thanks for your contribution