Verdict on Nexus S battery quality?

Question

So... while I think my NS is a great phone, I am currently (very) disappointed with battery lifespan.

I mean, I don't have too much more than the usual installed - Whatsapp, FB, Maps etc. And I don't get more than 20h in battery... Worth to say, I'm not constantly using my phone for everything. From these 20h I get, I'd say 80%+ is standby.

Now, doing my googling, I have found two sorts of opinion:

1) People who is absolutely happy with his NS battery lifespan, saying things like "Gladly ditched my iPhone"

2) People calling it "The Nexus S nightmare"

Some reoccurring comment I see around, regards certain update (specifically 2.3.4, and some say earlier versions..). However, I did not find and proper or official documentation on any bug regarding the issue. For some other people, the phone simply seems to magically "start behaving well" at some point, and, well.. that explanation is just not enough for me.

Did anybody followed this issue to the end, and figured what is going on here? Just to be sure, let me ask, which is the latest Gingerbread version and what how's the battery going for you in that version?

Please guys, refrain from telling "Turn off this apps, NFC, This and that". I didn't buy a brick, it is a smartphone and will work as such ;)

ps.: Just for comparison, I also have a HTC Desire with very similar apps intalled and I usually get 40h+ of standby.... Why cant my super expensive NS do the same :'( ?

Thanks!

Answer 1

20 hours is not at all shabby for an advanced smartphone. Charging over night us just the habit you must get into. Before coming to Android I had a Nokia N95 and I was lucky if that made it through the day!

Answer 2

I don't think it's unreasonable to charge a smartphone every night if you are actively using it throughout the day. Some games/apps can be quite taxing on the CPU and actually generate some heat. That 3G radio you have probably has a long journey to the signal tower too.

I find that if I use my phone just a as phone - with the odd text message /phone call I could probably last over 2 days, but that's no fun :) If you are having issues be sure to check the battery usage in Settings > About Phone.

If for some reason you are unable to charge it is possible to stretch out the battery life loads by turning off background data/brightness/switching to 2G etc.

Answer 3

I got a Nexus S a couple of months ago. first thing I did was to root it an switch to CyanogenMod. Since then, it's all been a nightmare, but I can't really tell if it would have been better if I sticked to the stock ROM. Thing it the phone won't make it till 9pm. The battery use shows "Android OS" generally taking over 50% of my battery, way more than what the display uses (which in most phones is reasonably the main source of battery drainage).

My veredict is negative. A Nexus should be part of the most slick android saga out there. It get's the cutting edge updates right from google and the community care about it as well. Users shouldn't be having to worry about battery issues and which are the workarounds for this.

Sadly, I've decided to sell this phone and go back to my beloved Nexus one, which from my point of view, does deserve its place in the Nexus breed.