Battery questions

[jmr1015]

I have a few questions regarding the battery in my AT&T (now carrier unlocked) iPhone 4

1. When replacing the original battery: Is OEM the preferred choice for replacement batteries? Or are there iMore-approved brands for aftermarket batteries? (Such as higher capacity units)

2. I've noticed since switching my iPhone over to Straight Talk, that my phone seems to suck up battery even faster than it did on AT&T. Anyone else have experiences like this?

Before, on AT&T, my phone would maybe sip five to ten percent of battery life, per day, if constantly in Standby/sleep. This is with 3G on, WiFi on, GPS off. Reception on AT&T is spotty at my house, usually one to three bars of 3G at any given time.

Now, on Straight Talk, my phone averages one percent of battery life per hour in Standby/sleep. This is with 3G off, WiFi on, and GPS off. Reception on Straight Talk is also spotty at my house, usually one to three bars of EDGE at any given time. 3G reception is worse than AT&T, which is why I have it disabled while I'm at home. (I'm always on WiFi anyway)

and 3. For users of battery cases, how do you like them? How often do you actually use the extra juice from the case?

 

[Just_Me_D]

1. I recommend OEM replacements for high-end products.
2. I have no experience with Straight Talk mobile
​3. I've never used a battery case.

 

[bamf-hacker]

1. If you need to replace the battery, OEM is the best way to go.
2. Straight talk is an MVNO so they might not use all of the carriers towers. It is possible they phone is boosting juice to get signal
3. I use a Mophie Juice pack and love it. It is not on my phone daily, but I use it on long days away from power. It gives me a full recharge and lets me stay running for a full day if not more.

 

[Just_Me_D]

1. If you need to replace the battery, OEM is the best way to go.
2. Straight talk is an MVNO so they might not use all of the carriers towers. It is possible they phone is boosting juice to get signal
3. I use a Mophie Juice pack and love it. It is not on my phone daily, but I use it on long days away from power. It gives me a full recharge and lets me stay running for a full day if not more.

​What's MVNO?

 

[bamf-hacker]

​What's MVNO?

Mobile virtual network operator

Vendors that piggyback off of the major carriers networks, Ting, Straight Talk, etc...

 

[Fausty82]

I have a few questions regarding the battery in my AT&T (now carrier unlocked) iPhone 4

1. When replacing the original battery: Is OEM the preferred choice for replacement batteries? Or are there iMore-approved brands for aftermarket batteries? (Such as higher capacity units)

2. I've noticed since switching my iPhone over to Straight Talk, that my phone seems to suck up battery even faster than it did on AT&T. Anyone else have experiences like this?

Before, on AT&T, my phone would maybe sip five to ten percent of battery life, per day, if constantly in Standby/sleep. This is with 3G on, WiFi on, GPS off. Reception on AT&T is spotty at my house, usually one to three bars of 3G at any given time.

Now, on Straight Talk, my phone averages one percent of battery life per hour in Standby/sleep. This is with 3G off, WiFi on, and GPS off. Reception on Straight Talk is also spotty at my house, usually one to three bars of EDGE at any given time. 3G reception is worse than AT&T, which is why I have it disabled while I'm at home. (I'm always on WiFi anyway)

and 3. For users of battery cases, how do you like them? How often do you actually use the extra juice from the case?

1. I have never replaced my battery (not interested in cracking my phone open to do that )... so I cannot answer your question about better/alternate sources for replacement batteries.
2. The accelerated battery drain on a different carrier can easily be explained by your comments for question #2. If you have spotty coverage, your phone is constantly looking for a signal, working to keep a signal and looking for a better/stronger signal. All of that work takes power... so your battery is draining searching for a better signal.
3. I have a Mophie battery case on my iPhone 5... and I activate it about 2-3 times per week, depending on where I am and what I am doing. I would not be without it... it does add a bit of size/bulk to my phone, but the extra battery is worth it to me. My wife also has a Mophie on her iPhone 5, and she uses hers more than I do - no wifi in her office, so she needs the extra juice. IMHO, these are among the best inventions of all time.

 

[jmr1015]

Thanks for the answers everyone! I'm glad to hear good reviews for the Mophie Juice Pack case. I have my eye on the Juice Pack Air.

My Straight Talk service uses a T-Mobile SIM. The 3G reception is much worse around my neighborhood than it was on AT&T, but the EDGE reception is as good, or better, than the 3G reception on AT&T, so I figure being on EDGE all the time, I should have similar battery drain... but that is not the case.

I know when setting up for this service, the carrier settings on the phone changed dramatically... I now have "Personal Hotspot" and "Carrier" options in the main settings screen, and under Settings>General>Cellular; I now have "Cellular Data Network" as an option, where I can manually change Data and MMS APN values... none of these were on the phone when running the AT&T SIM card.

I guess my question would be: Does anyone know, all other things being equal (reception, signal strength, etc etc) can carrier settings alone change the power management profile of the phone? Thereby increasing or decreasing battery life?