[Mase9921]

I know there are a lot of threads on battery drain and signal volatility, but I thought I'd start one for anyone to follow who is thinking of exchanging their Bold.

when i got mine on the friday after the launch i immediately put the battery in a charged to 100%. After i took it off the charger it starting draining. No apps installed. signal constantly bounced in and out of service and from 0 to full bars in 3G. i tried all the sim card tricks and changing settings ect. gave it about 10 days and it just seemed to get worse. I was at 5-10% by 8-9pm with probably half the use i had with my 8330. No wifi, minimal browsing. So anyways, today I decided to go to the store and see what they had in their notes. (By the way, the .732 update did not change anything). They first said they'd replace the battery, then a manager came over and said just replace the whole thing - and he said it in a way that made me think he may have known this was an issue that may be known - but fixable by replacing the device. Or maybe I'm just nuts, which is very possible.

Anyways - i got my new bold with the battery at 20% in the middle of a workday so I had to use it before I could charge it. Battery was down to 3% before I put it on the charger and charged to 100%. Took it off the charge and the signal looks ok. Bouncing around a little, but not in and out of service. 3 hours later and battery is still at 100%. With my previous Bold, after a couple hours of no use, it would be under 75% or more.

this is where i'm out so far, not sure if i'm in the clear, but i hope so. Just thought i'd share.

[Jared DiPane]

The battery will need some conditioning, usually about a weeks worth of charging / discharging will help improve the lifespan of the battery.


For signal issues - not sure if you have read about it, but flipping the SIM card in the device appears to help steady the 3G signal. I did this before putting my battery in for the first time, and it has been great since.

[ecs racing]

I just got a brand new 2600 battery just for my new Bold and I only get like 12 hrs. before it gets to 20%. I'm hoping it will get better after the battery gets conditioned like drm2blv said. I have MeterBerry and it shows about -5 every 1/2 hour.

[Mase9921]

tried flipping the sim card as well as removing it. Didn't make a difference. I really am starting to think my first Bold was bad or the battery was bad because my phone is still at 100% battery

[cbreze]

tried flipping the sim card as well as removing it. Didn't make a difference. I really am starting to think my first Bold was bad or the battery was bad because my phone is still at 100% battery

Sounds like you got a bad first one as some others did also. My first had hardware issue. Glad it's all good. Your thread could motivate someone else to exchange theirs for battery/sig issues. Better to try another than give up as even some others have said they were going to do.

[cdf3]

I see that others had to do the same thing. My first one kept fluctuating signals, ran hot, and the battery would drain like there was no tomorrow. After others here on the site convinced me I had a lemon, I finally returned it. I'm glad I did. My replacement Bold has been great ever since.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[juttin3]

I finally was able to exchange bold yesterday and the signal issue is still the same. Flipping the sim helps a lot. I found removing it did same thing as keeping it in right way. Maybe cause pins are loose and free. The keys on this new on feel more soft to press or u don't need to press as hard. Battery door is loose on replacement. Side to side loose. Bezel seems more solid and less able to move it on sides.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[ABV]

This is my reply copied from the "signal" post: Sprint swapped my phone out yesterdy, got a brand new one. Already dropped 2 calls, 1 yesterday and 1 today. And it's a little laggy and my other one wasn't. My 30 days are now up since yesterday was my last day, so they basically said if this one doesn't work I'm stuck with it or have to go through the manufacturer's warranty. What a joke this thing turned out to be.

[Mase9921]

my phone was replaced using the warrant so it didn't count against my insurance. It was painless. I had my battery off the charger for a full 12 hours (at night) and the battery stayed at 100. Started using it this morning and it seems a little better than before - signal is def. better. hopefully a little battery training and i'll be a happy camper

also - i'm trying this $3 app called Radio saver. just wanted to see if it helped - i'll post back if it does

[aplimted91]

I bought my phone from a authorized third party dealer. Can I take it to a Sprint store and exchange it?

I'm having the same battery issues. I have it charged to 100% and take it off the charger and after am hour or so it drops 20% after only sending a few bbms and reading emails.

[Accidental Post]

The battery will need some conditioning, usually about a weeks worth of charging / discharging will help improve the lifespan of the battery.


For signal issues - not sure if you have read about it, but flipping the SIM card in the device appears to help steady the 3G signal. I did this before putting my battery in for the first time, and it has been great since.

What is the best cycling pattern?

I often get asked by the readers, "how deep can a battery be discharged and still achieve maximum service life?" There are no definite answers. Batteries are like us humans. Suppose we ate all the vegetables our mother heaped on our plates and do our daily exercise, would we life longer? Perhaps. But by how much, no one will know. Batteries lose capacity as part of aging, cycling and exposure to heat. Nickel-cadmium also loses capacity due to lack of exercise because of memory.

To maximize service life, satellite batteries are kept at a cool temperature and undergo a very shallow discharge of only 10% before recharge. Nickel-based batteries in space also receive a periodic full discharge. This regime allows ten of thousands of cycles. Closer to earth, the ideal charge/discharge patterns cannot be scheduled; neither is the temperature always perfect. As a result, a replacement will be required sooner or later.

If possible, do not discharge lithium-based batteries too deeply. Instead, recharge more often. Allow a nickel-cadmium battery to fully discharge once every 30 cycles or so. This also applies to nickel-metal-hydride but to a lesser extent. Exact data as to how often a nickel-based battery should be discharged is not available. Neither do we know low long a lithium-ion will last under different depth-of-discharge regimes. Manufacturers typically specify lithium-ion at an 80% depth-of-discharge.