Signal Strength/Battery Life???? - Treo Forums

alpo · 01-02-2008, 05:55 AM

I have had my Treo for over a year, and it meets my needs perfectly. However, (there's always a However) now that I upgraded to WM6 I noticed a few issues. There are two issues that seem to be somewhat related. I noticed that on some days my battery life is quite limited (roughly 18 or so hours - WITH LITTLE USE!). I also noticed that when I lose my signal the phone has a hard time picking it back up. While the phone shows no signal I can turn off the phone feature and immediately upon turning it back on I pick up at least three bars. Putting those two together I believe that the phone uses more power while searching for a signal. I work in a Power Plant that has Concrete Walls and I routinely lose Signal, and even when going back outdoors the phone searches for a while before getting it back (Those are the days my battery discharges fast, Unless I force it by turning it OFF and back ON). Has anyone experienced either of these issues (The Phone having a hard time re-connecting even when a signal is present, OR that the battery will discharge faster while searching for a signal)?

leo96150 · 01-02-2008, 10:49 PM

Mine does the same thing. I have tried both the official ATT ROM and the unbranded ROM and both do it. Soft and hard resetting have no effect either. Sorry, no help here. I'm waiting for the answer too.

silvatomas · 01-04-2008, 02:37 PM

Same problem here, even in a good spot (with other phones with 3G full signal) e get very poor signal and it often goes all the way down and takes too long to get it again.

I'm thinking hardware problem, waiting for answer from Palm.

Cheers!

jfa · 01-05-2008, 12:35 PM

If yiou are in a 3g area guess what it uses more power and when you are in an analog area or low strength area it uses more power. Also if you leave programs open in the background you are using more memory and thats using up power as well. Its not ahardware problem its a memory issue and maybe an ATT tower issue. If your area is a relatively new #G area not all your towers may be 3g yet. Thats my situation and in a lot of places I only get 2 bars 3g. It will improve as towers get upgraded.

alpo · 01-07-2008, 10:47 AM

I can buy the sinario of 3G signal taking more power, but only if actually connected. I see extensive power drain while the unit is seeking a signal. As far as having multiple programs open, I use the unit no differently now than when I did before the upgrade to WM6, and power drain was nowhere near this significant in WM5. I also saw no where near the difficulty in picking the signal back up (when actually present) using WM5 either. I would not think that there has been an extensive Upgrade/Downgrade in Towers in my immediate area either, ruling that out. I am beginning to think there may be a software issue with Picking up Signals, and power drain in finding a signal. I have seen now that there are multiple cases of these deficiences out there making this not a single occurrance. I'll keep hoping that a fix gets found.

jfa · 01-07-2008, 02:07 PM

It definitely will use power while searching for a signal and it can be more a drain while doing so. And in marginal areas of 3G it will use more power and if you are marguinal with 3G bars and okay with Edge you might try getting off auto signal detection on 3G and switch to Edge and you may get better reception and less battery drain that way.

fastlerner · 01-07-2008, 02:13 PM

Before upgrading, WM5 was not fully 3G capable. Regardless of what your towers have, you were running GPRS/Edge. Following the upgrade, it now has 3G capability and will default to 3G if available.

There is a simple way to know for sure if the 3G radio is the culprit. Go into Start/Settings/Phone, choose the "services" tab at the bottom and click on "Band Selection". Change it from AUTO to GSM and run for a day or so. If your battery life comes back, then it's 3G radio draining it. If not, then it may be a device issue.

alpo · 01-07-2008, 08:14 PM

Thanks! I will do what you say, hopefully that solves my issues.

By the way what do I stand to lose if I remove the 3G capabilities? I do not use the phone for downloading, surfing, or mail - did I even need the 3G anyway?

fastlerner · 01-08-2008, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpo

By the way what do I stand to lose if I remove the 3G capabilities? I do not use the phone for downloading, surfing, or mail - did I even need the 3G anyway?

3G allows data connectivity at broadband speeds using HSDPA. Since it sounds like your a "voice only" user, it shouldn't hurt you one bit.

There is the possibility of coverage differences, but in today's world GPRS has the more robust coverage by far (my area just got 3G around Thanksgiving). That probably won't change until 3G is everywhere and they phase out GPRS (which is probably many years away).

Even if you do decide to surf or use data, it will be fine. You'll just be browsing at the older GPRS/Edge speeds which is what your probably used to anyway.

silvatomas · 01-09-2008, 05:55 AM

In the place i live (Lisbon, Portugal) 3G has wide coverage. With my SE k800i i have full 3G signal. With the Palm i get 1/4 of the full coverage and that's for like 2 minutes, then my signal just drops and it takes ages to get it back.

Even if i setup the phone to only use GSM the same happens... i believe this is a hardware problem or a software one... but i'm inclined to say hardware...

I sent a help e-mail to which they automatically replied that within 1 working day they would answer... since then working days have passed and no answer...

This was my first Palm and i'm getting pretty fed up with it... It looks great, works great but the signal problem is killing me...

My girlfriend almost broke up with me because she sent me 3 messages that only got delivered 1 hour later... she assumed i had turned off the phone and was avoiding her...

:/