[four4usc]

Any tips out there to increase battery performance? What should I expect for battery life? Does playing music,GPS, or internet effect battery charge? Previous devices that I have owned worked best when battery charge was always kept above 50%. I was told that this would increase the battery life. Is this true on the Curve?

[lastraid]

Yes to all the above and so does a backlight and talking on the phone. My battery lasts all day and only goes down one tick by nightfall. I charge mine everynight as I have done with all my prior phones and I have never problem with batteries

[Jonecat]

Put your phone in standby when you are not using it. I have found that my battery life has increased a lot since doing this. Hold down the mute button on the top to put into standby.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[amazinglygraceless]

Five Tips: Get More Battery Life from Your RIM BlackBerry - CIO.com - Business Technology Leadership

[shorynot]

Ah, one of my favorite subjects. To answer your question four, yes playing music and browsing will deplete your battery faster. Especially GPS, because its constantly tracking your location.

Im not sure how familar you are with your device (im still learning things too). But if you hold the alt key and press the escape button (to the right of the trackball) it shows you all the applications you are currently running. Only leave things running if you have to, such as a email application that you want to constantly check. But besides that close everything else.

As far as your above 50% theory goes, it really doesnt matter. The one thing you dont want to do is run your battery to red and fully charge it every single time. There is no problem doing this periodically. But if you get in the habit of doing this it can decrease the overall life of your battery. Basically just charge it when you need to, i tend to charge mine at night when i go to bed. Sometimes ill be at 15-20% sometimes ill be at 60%. Just depends on how the day goes.

Next lets go to options>screen/keyboard and take a look at some of your settings. Rule of thumb is the brighter the backlight the more battery it will eat up. And of course the longer the backlight is on the more it will deplete also. I have my brightness set to 40 and it times out after 20 seconds. Now ive become pretty used to this by now, but use whatever works for you and is comfortable to look at.

Lastly, just like jonecat said. Get in the habit of using the standby feature (hold the mute button at the top left of your phone). What this does is power off the keyboard and backlight. You will still recieve all calls and sms alerts. I cant stress how much this helps. Anytime your not using it, or anytime you are charging it put your phone in standby. To take it out of standby simply press the mute button again (no need to hold it).

Hope this helps, if you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.

[BBIronMan]

Reduce the black light intensity and decrease the screen timeout. Turn off Bluetooth unless you're intending to use it in the short term. I turn mine off on days I'm sure I'm not driving and such. Turn off location based GPS the same. Reduce browsing, Messenger. Close out of actual third-party applications you're not using (like Viigo or Jivetalk). Set a standby overnight for at least a few hours. Set your phone to standby when you're going to be driving through known dead areas or in buildings you know have poor signal. If the signal is lower and it's searching or struggling to maintain integrity it's burning more battery.

[jenaywins]

Shory - great explanation, all very good points. Yay, you!!

Also, you are VERY correct on the GPS/battery issue. I accidentally left Google Maps running one day, and my battery was near dead in a matter of about 2-3 hours, due to it tracking me down all day. I would assume most users wouldn't even think about this - I know I sure didn't!

[shorynot]

Shory - great explanation, all very good points. Yay, you!!

Also, you are VERY correct on the GPS/battery issue. I accidentally left Google Maps running one day, and my battery was near dead in a matter of about 2-3 hours, due to it tracking me down all day. I would assume most users wouldn't even think about this - I know I sure didn't!

Thanks Jen, if theres one thing i feel confident about helping people with its battery issues. Im a freak when it comes to getting the maximum time/life out of my battery.

[amazinglygraceless]

Ah, one of my favorite subjects.

Well I guess so!! Great explanation there

[four4usc]

Thanks for all your help - I recently switched from a Palm T/X device and most of these tips are similar to what I am used to.

[Irwin R Shiester]

when i got my BB the other day, the girl at tmobile told me the battery was quite tempormental and to only charge it every few days. did this girl just have no clue what she was talking about?

[ScandaLeX]

I hear people say a lot t turn BT off- mine is on all day every day. By the time I get off work (8-14 hrs), I'm down to about 45-50%. BT has not affected me at all.

[Kathryn]

When should one optimally use Standby (the mute key), and when should one optimally use Lock (the K key)?

[avocent1]

Although in the original article, I don't think that it was emphasized enough. Bluetooth should only be turned on when you need it. If you never use it then obviously leave it off but if you do when you commute back and forth from work for example, try to get in the habit of turning it off in between those times. Leaving bluetooth on all the time will definitely drain your battery more.

Cheers...

[pats2nd]

OMG I hav had this phone for a month and didn't even know about the mute button. This site is the best.

[Bodyart]

I hear people say a lot t turn BT off- mine is on all day every day. By the time I get off work (8-14 hrs), I'm down to about 45-50%. BT has not affected me at all.

I agree, not saying anyone is right or wrong, just saying what works for me. I NEVER turn my BT off. I only charge my phone about every other day. Maybe I don't fiddle with my phone as much as some, but do text alot, holster when not using, seems to work out for my usage style I guess.

[WackBerry]

Ah, one of my favorite subjects. To answer your question four, yes playing music and browsing will deplete your battery faster. Especially GPS, because its constantly tracking your location.

Im not sure how familar you are with your device (im still learning things too). But if you hold the alt key and press the escape button (to the right of the trackball) it shows you all the applications you are currently running. Only leave things running if you have to, such as a email application that you want to constantly check. But besides that close everything else.

As far as your above 50% theory goes, it really doesnt matter. The one thing you dont want to do is run your battery to red and fully charge it every single time. There is no problem doing this periodically. But if you get in the habit of doing this it can decrease the overall life of your battery. Basically just charge it when you need to, i tend to charge mine at night when i go to bed. Sometimes ill be at 15-20% sometimes ill be at 60%. Just depends on how the day goes.

Next lets go to options>screen/keyboard and take a look at some of your settings. Rule of thumb is the brighter the backlight the more battery it will eat up. And of course the longer the backlight is on the more it will deplete also. I have my brightness set to 40 and it times out after 20 seconds. Now ive become pretty used to this by now, but use whatever works for you and is comfortable to look at.

Lastly, just like jonecat said. Get in the habit of using the standby feature (hold the mute button at the top left of your phone). What this does is power off the keyboard and backlight. You will still recieve all calls and sms alerts. I cant stress how much this helps. Anytime your not using it, or anytime you are charging it put your phone in standby. To take it out of standby simply press the mute button again (no need to hold it).

Hope this helps, if you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.

I havent had a problem with my battery but thanks for the info-I changed some of my options

[foundinSEA]

OMG I hav had this phone for a month and didn't even know about the mute button. This site is the best.

Haha tell me about it. After the first few days of having mine I was complaining to my girlfriend that one of the features I missed most after switching from the Treo to the Curve was the mute switch (the other was the threaded sms)...didn't even notice the mute button (thought it was the power button like on my brother's old 8700. Then after reading through this site did I take a closer look and notice it was a speaker with a line through it...duh!

By the way, doesn't putting the phone in the holster do the same thing as standby?

[Bodyart]

By the way, doesn't putting the phone in the holster do the same thing as standby?

Yes, as long as it has the proximity sensor magnent.

[TampaDude]

By the way, doesn't putting the phone in the holster do the same thing as standby?

I think so. I pressed the Mute button to put my BB in standby, then inserted it into the holster, waited a few seconds, and removed it from the holster...it came back on.

Guess that's why I get such great battery life...the holster!

[foundinSEA]

Thought so cause even with BT active from 5pm till midnight I barely notice a battery drain (I leave it on so I don't have to keep turning it back on when I get into the car). During the day I tend to have my phone holstered when not in use as well so I'm getting pretty good battery life.

[Phelos]

Great tip on the mute button. I received a free holster but it did not have a proxcimity magnet. So I never used it now I know I can with the standby tip
Thanks. Love this site. Learning something new every day.
=8')

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Bodyart]

Great tip on the mute button. I received a free holster but it did not have a proxcimity magnet. So I never used it now I know I can with the standby tip
Thanks. Love this site. Learning something new every day.
=8')

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Some holsters have them in the back. Try placing your phone in with the screen facing the back of the holster(while the screen is on of course, so you can tell if it goes off) I have a holster from Sprint and was told by the salespeople that it didn't put the phone into standby, but with the screen facing the back, lo and behold it does! I know not all holsters do this, but hey, it's worth a try.

[shorynot]

Glad you guys are getting osme useful info from this thread. Ive added it to my sig, because battery questions are becoming more and more frequent.

[johnnyshinta]

does 10 seconds of backlight really equate to dramatic battery use
i like having my backlight at like 30 or 45 seconds
but i don't wanna have to charge it every night