BBLight drains my battery [Archive] - BlackBerry Forums Support Community

VR6

07-27-2005, 05:39 PM

it drains it big time...i estimate my battery life halves when i have BBLight enabled (to turn the light on and leave it on when removing from the holdster and on activity)

anyone else experience this? i guess that's just the trade off then right?

Dawg

07-27-2005, 05:42 PM

nope dont have that problem

VR6

07-27-2005, 05:44 PM

what!?!?! impossible...i have a 7280 btw...

rcrivera03

07-27-2005, 05:52 PM

No way, no such animal running on any of my 3 bb's. My son has his set just like you and he's on it from sun up to sundown and he hasn't gone down past two bars. I don't think its the BBLight. I think there is something else going there. How old is your battery? Even rechargeable batteries die after a while. Is there something running in the background?

jwaters

07-27-2005, 06:07 PM

Maybe a silly question, but are you keeping the light on all the time? I use BBlight to keep it on when I'm doing something, but turn the light off when not in use. If you are actually keeping the light on all the time of course it will drain your battery.

VR6

07-27-2005, 06:12 PM

it is BBlight for sure b/c after i disabled it, the battery life returned to the normal 4-5 days...

I assume that the light goes out when i put it back in the holdster...when i was experiencing the power drain the BB was mostly in the holster

rcrivera03

07-27-2005, 06:16 PM

The light does go out when you put the BB in the holster. But if you have it in the holster most of the time, as I do, then you shouldn't have such a big drain. I have mine set to turn on on user activity. I take out of the holster, answer my call, email or whatever and put it back in the holster. I've gone down to one bar, but thats using my BB all day without charging again.

VR6

07-27-2005, 06:33 PM

let me try it again...something must have gone wrong...

maybe the light stayed on the whole time it was in the holster last time...

rcrivera03

07-27-2005, 06:39 PM

Try this, re-install BBLight and redo all the setting you like, then tonight, turn the BB off, completely, not standby, and let the battery get a good charge without being drained at the same time, then see what happens tomorrow.

Dawg

07-27-2005, 07:32 PM

KonTiki

07-27-2005, 09:21 PM

What type of holster are you talking about, the clip that comes with it or some sort of aftermarket one. If the holster does not have the magnet then it really is the culprit since the light will definitely stay on all the time then. I bought an aftermarket one with no magnet and had to cut through the edge stitching slide a magnet, glue it in place between the two leather pieces(this way it wont scratch the BB) and that did the trick, see I also had it so it stayed on all the time and it never went out when i put it in the holster either, now it does and battery problem is solved. On top of that I have found out that while at the computer I keep it connected via the USB and the battery is kept charged all the time, and finally by keeping it connected it disables the redirector so it is not sending to the BB while I can read it at the machine.

VR6

07-28-2005, 05:00 PM

i'm using the standard holster with magnet...

thanks Dawg...i'll change my settings to match yours

RIMemployee

07-28-2005, 05:53 PM

you idiot. of course it uses more battery power. I forces the light to stay on all the time.

Dawg

07-28-2005, 06:05 PM

No sense in that comment RIM be civil you idiot. of course it uses more battery power. I forces the light to stay on all the time.

Rancor

07-29-2005, 01:40 AM

you idiot.LOL!
I like that style........... :razz:

BUT!

of course it uses more battery power. I forces the light to stay on all the time.you idiot, did you read the whole post?
That is only ONE configuration option.

mgood

07-29-2005, 02:40 AM

Rancor

07-29-2005, 03:06 AM

newb here I have a brand new BB to and am having battery life issues as well, today it lasted a whole 13 hours with about 5 minutes of talk and 10 emails. So my questions would be how to you tell if programs are running in the background and also does keeping it in the holster make a huge difference? also it is a 7250
see the little metal part near the bottom at the back of the holster?
Thats a magnet, it triggers a switch to turn the screen off, which helps the Blackberry conserve power.
you can test it by using the back part (where you see the metal disk shape) and rest it against the space bar, you wil notice the screen go blank.
Pretty neat heh?

mgood

07-29-2005, 03:22 AM

lol I know that, I was just wondering if it was that much of a power drain, I mean 13 hours is pretty sad

Dawg

07-29-2005, 06:04 AM

how is your coverage if its searching for coverage it will drain the battery real quick

Dusty Saddle

07-29-2005, 07:06 AM

newb here I have a brand new BB to and am having battery life issues as well, today it lasted a whole 13 hours with about 5 minutes of talk and 10 emails. So my questions would be how to you tell if programs are running in the background and also does keeping it in the holster make a huge difference? also it is a 7250
To tell what programs are running, press the Alt (half moon) and escape (side button below trackwheel) and you will get a display of all programs currently running.

Dawg

07-29-2005, 12:12 PM

That doesnt tell you what is running that just lets you move to another screen while in a program

VR6

07-29-2005, 12:13 PM

you idiot. of course it uses more battery power. I forces the light to stay on all the time.

i never asked if it used more battery power, i asked is it supposed to cut my battery life in half...

if you're RIM employee i'm guessing your the janitor...

mgood

07-29-2005, 12:34 PM

how is your coverage if its searching for coverage it will drain the battery real quick
thats probably my problem I hate How it can sit o my table then be5 bars the have no coverage then a minute later be 5 bars again.

mgood

07-29-2005, 04:15 PM

wow new low 4 hours off the charger 0 call time 1 email, 55 percent battery left

Dawg

07-29-2005, 04:16 PM

how old is your bb mgood and what programs are you running on it? what model and service?

rcrivera03

07-29-2005, 04:20 PM

Out of pure curiosity I changed the settings on my BBLight to be on pretty much all the time. On when I take out of the holster, on user activity, and I even carried it in my pocket today. I must of answered 75 emails today took calls and DC calls and chatted in a group through BB Messenger and my batter just now hit two bars. I turned my BB on this morning at 5:00 AM. So I've only used three bars in 12 hours.

Soapm

07-29-2005, 04:22 PM

wow new low 4 hours off the charger 0 call time 1 email, 55 percent battery left

Did you break your battery in according to Mark's FAQ? Try turning the radio off when not in use to see if your discharge time changes. You are probably going to have to narrowm the problem down by removing apps one at a time or something but if you get down to basic OS and still have the problem then it must be the unit itself.

mgood

07-29-2005, 04:23 PM

hey its 5 days old running on bell and all i did was add the orange theme to it.oh and its a 7250

Dawg

07-29-2005, 04:24 PM

yes you need to read marks faqs and condition that battery

mgood

07-29-2005, 04:26 PM

Did you break your battery in according to Mark's FAQ? Try turning the radio off when not in use to see if your discharge time changes. You are probably going to have to narrowm the problem down by removing apps one at a time or something but if you get down to basic OS and still have the problem then it must be the unit itself.

Yep i broke it in just like it said. forgive mu newbness but what is the radio and how do i turn it off, does it get am or fm? ok the last part was a joke but what is the radio seriously and how can i check what apps are running?

Dawg

07-29-2005, 04:31 PM

the radio is what is transmitting looking for service

Mark Rejhon

07-29-2005, 04:36 PM

you idiot. of course it uses more battery power. I forces the light to stay on all the time.I heard that RIM prefers their employees to play nice with their customers. So it may be a good idea to read your company's policy on posting in forums.

(Your IP address, which I can see, nslookup's into "_________.rim.net" so you're clearly a RIM employee)

Dawg

07-29-2005, 04:53 PM

The man chimes in.. hello mark dont see much of you anymore.

VR6

08-01-2005, 07:09 PM

yep i turned BBLight back on and it might not have halved my battery life but did lessen it considerable...i think it might have to do with me being on the phone...the light stays on the whole time when i'm on the phone and i don't even talk that much!

well i guess i'll just have to live with a dark screen or charging my battery every 2 or 3 days, instead of 5 days...

thanks everyone

Dawg

08-02-2005, 05:08 AM

lol I charge mine daily lol sometimes twice a day

PingGuy

08-02-2005, 10:13 AM

lol I charge mine daily lol sometimes twice a day

Yeah me too, oh the fun of the 7520.

Also I should point out that I have an earlier version of BBLight and it used to leave the light on IN the holster if plugged it in while in the holster. This went away when I upgraded to the latest OS though.

VR6

08-02-2005, 12:02 PM

best to keep it topped up with Li Ion batteries I guess...

KonTiki

08-02-2005, 01:02 PM

I find that if i keep it plugged to my computer while at work and at home the battery is not an issue since it always remains topped off.

Crank_It_Up

08-03-2005, 09:12 PM

I have the stock charger at home, a $7.00 automobile charger in my truck, and the USB cable on my PC at work. That way I can charge it anywhere.

ntron1

08-04-2005, 06:35 AM

Here's something I found helpful on my 7100. I use BBLight and a Sena flip case. I took the magnets out of the stock holster and put them in the flip part of the case. When I use the handset, the flip part of the case folds against the battery door and turns the light off. Thus, the battery drain when using the phone is minimized.

flash24

11-07-2006, 04:58 AM

I just downloaded BBlight on my 8700g.. cool app. Thanks for all the tip guys!

bjchantry

11-07-2006, 07:17 AM

I have mine set to
Activate on startup
poll interval 1000
on user activity
on remove holster
on external power

I also have several programs that utilize the light like notifire and i very rarely go past two bars on my battery i use the direct connect all day maybe 50 emails a day rambler running in back ground BB messenger going off everytime I turn around and I never loose full power.

I set my settings just like yours but the backlight stays on all the time when the unit is out of the holster and not an external power. Any ideas, could it be conflicting with PocketDay's light settings or something? Thanks.

flash24

11-07-2006, 11:39 PM

I set my settings just like yours but the backlight stays on all the time when the unit is out of the holster and not an external power. Any ideas, could it be conflicting with PocketDay's light settings or something? Thanks.
That's how it suppose to be because you have User Activity set to ON right? uncheck it and that should solve the problem.

bjchantry

11-08-2006, 01:25 PM

What is considered User Activity. Are there any instructions for the different settings that I haven't found because User Activity to me means something is happening, not lying idle on my desk for 45 minutes. Thanks.

flash24

11-08-2006, 03:27 PM

User Activity is one of the option.. once you put a check on that and save it then the light will be on unless you put it in a holster. If you don't want your light to be on all the time.. then I suggest you uncheck it. :D

tbdiscovery

12-15-2006, 10:46 PM

I had the same problem. I figured out, through the forums and a little diddly fingers, that althought my 7100i case is a good fit for my phone, the magnet is too far up the front of the phone and the light has been staying on when holstered. Maybe I'll get another holster.

Dodge DeBoulet

12-16-2006, 08:26 AM

So what's the point of the "On Remove Holster" option? My 8703e's backlight comes on automatically when I remove it from the holster even without BBLight installed . . . is this not the default behavior on other BlackBerries?

greggebhardt

12-16-2006, 09:54 AM