5 more tips to improve HTC EVO 4G battery life
As a follow-up to G&E's 20 tips to improve HTC EVO 4G battery life, here are 5 more tips (all submitted by readers!) to help you get more runtime out of your phone.
These tips are only meant to serve as guide. You do not have to apply all of them. Please pick and choose which ones suit your personal usage of the EVO.
Continuing on from the previous 20 tips . . .
21. Disable data roaming if you don't need it. Go to Settings -> Wireless networks -> Mobile networks. Tap "Data roaming" to uncheck the box to prevent the EVO from going into roaming mode when it encounters a weak signal. Thanks for the tip, Chris!
22. Make sure CDMA is the preferred network type. It seems that some EVOs were incorrectly set to GSM before they were shipped. This causes the phone to constantly search for a GSM network to connect to, which of course drains the battery.
To check the preset network type on your EVO, bring up the dialer and press *#*#4636#*#* to open a Testing menu. Tap "Phone information" and scroll down until you see "Set preferred network type" followed by a drop-down menu. If "GSM auto (PRL)" is selected, then tap it and choose "CDMA auto (PRL)" instead. Reboot your EVO and make sure your choice is still active. Thanks for the tip, DV8!
23. Consider using a different messaging app. The stock messaging app was blamed for a lot of battery drain in earlier versions of Android. This issue has reportedly been fixed but you can still download Handcent or any other messaging app to use instead. Be sure to turn off all notifications and alerts in the stock app too. Thanks for the tip, portablealli!
24. Turn on airplane mode when you don't need network connectivity. This may sound like a drastic tip but when you really don't need to use the phone or 3G/4G (e.g., watching a movie, hiking, other times you don't want to be bothered, etc.), enabling airplane mode using the preinstalled widget (+ button on your home screen -> Widget -> Settings) is an easy way to preserve your battery. A simple tap on the widget is all it takes to re-enable network connectivity, allowing you to make a call whenever you need to. While this may not be practical very often, turning on airplane mode for an hour or two at a time will help. Thanks for the tip, brandon!
25. Change the CDMA roaming mode. Go to Settings -> Wireless networks -> Mobile networks. Tap on "Roaming" and select "Sprint only" from the pop-up window that appears. Thanks for the tip, Chris!
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Got another tip to improve battery life on the HTC EVO? Please share it in the comments.
