v8.5 findings and fixes

I'd like to bring up battery life again. I know some have said it is not that good, yet others are saying it's the best ever. On mine it is not all that good, compared to v7.1. I wanted to wait a few days to let it settle in before saying anything. I'm using the same theme as I did on 7.1 (BBOS Amped). When I press the Berry button, the apps it says are running are: Phone, Browser, Home Screen, Messages and BBM.

Why are the Browser and BBM always running? I open them up from the list and Close the app and after a moment it shows up in the list again. I rarely to never use BBM, so I don't need it running in the background. GPS in enabled and Network Technology is set to 1XEV, which are the same settings I've used in the past.

As long as it stays in the pouch, the drain is not too bad, but if it's out for any period of time, the battery starts dropping quickly. I used to go 3 or more days on a full charge with typical usage; now it's more like a day and a half. Any suggestions or hints would be appreciated.

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Originally Posted by billr

I'd like to bring up battery life again. I know some have said it is not that good, yet others are saying it's the best ever. On mine it is not all that good, compared to v7.1. I wanted to wait a few days to let it settle in before saying anything. I'm using the same theme as I did on 7.1 (BBOS Amped). When I press the Berry button, the apps it says are running are: Phone, Browser, Home Screen, Messages and BBM.

Why are the Browser and BBM always running? I open them up from the list and Close the app and after a moment it shows up in the list again. I rarely to never use BBM, so I don't need it running in the background. GPS in enabled and Network Technology is set to 1XEV, which are the same settings I've used in the past.

As long as it stays in the pouch, the drain is not too bad, but if it's out for any period of time, the battery starts dropping quickly. I used to go 3 or more days on a full charge with typical usage; now it's more like a day and a half. Any suggestions or hints would be appreciated.

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BBM, Browser, Phone, Homescreen, and Messages are the 5 apps that are always running on the phone.. you can not close them

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Originally Posted by jnepsa

BBM, Browser, Phone, Homescreen, and Messages are the 5 apps that are always running on the phone.. you can not close them

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Thanks, Jnepsa, I figured that was the case.

Oh, in case anyone is about to suggest it, I'm letting it go completely dead now to recalibrate the battery sensor just in case that's the problem.

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Originally Posted by billr

Thanks, Jnepsa, I figured that was the case.

Oh, in case anyone is about to suggest it, I'm letting it go completely dead now to recalibrate the battery sensor just in case that's the problem.

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I'm pretty sure the web stays open all the time so you can get that push email - Blackberry Internet Service.

BBM you can't close but next time you load an OS you could shrink it (not install it at all), then it couldn't run. I don't think that's your answer though (getting rid of BBM).

If your battery life sucks with v8.5 then I would suggest wiping and reloading because it should be really good with this hybrid.

Are you using the .151 radio? that could be it too if you're not... I've ran v8.5 with .151 and .132 radio and .151 battery life was a little better for me.

Just as an aside, as long as we're talking battery life...
Many of us who have had the Storm from the beginning could very well be approaching the late stages of our battery's useful life...just something to keep in mind. But one thing is for sure. When it goes dead, you'll know. LiO batteries tend to remain pretty steady over their life and than dye quickly at the end.

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Originally Posted by TommyGrubz

I'm pretty sure the web stays open all the time so you can get that push email - Blackberry Internet Service.

BBM you can't close but next time you load an OS you could shrink it (not install it at all), then it couldn't run. I don't think that's your answer though (getting rid of BBM).

If your battery life sucks with v8.5 then I would suggest wiping and reloading because it should be really good with this hybrid.

Are you using the .151 radio? that could be it too if you're not... I've ran v8.5 with .151 and .132 radio and .151 battery life was a little better for me.

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Thanks, Tommy. I wondered why the browser stayed open. I agree that it's not likely BBM is the problem. I'm using the .151 radio.

As it turns out, letting it go all the way down to where the device shut itself off due to low battery then giving it a full charge seems to have helped. I should have tried that before posting :pat:. I'll followup later with long term results.

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Originally Posted by toytooii

Just as an aside, as long as we're talking battery life...
Many of us who have had the Storm from the beginning could very well be approaching the late stages of our battery's useful life...just something to keep in mind. But one thing is for sure. When it goes dead, you'll know. LiO batteries tend to remain pretty steady over their life and than dye quickly at the end.

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You are absolutely right about these types of batteries too. Case in point: my xbox controller. Brand new battery, left it plugged in for a good week or so and it fried. Now it wont hold a charge. Definitely don't wanna overcharge these things.

I would like to sher my exp & soln. I had sam battery challenges - not only with BB but with other NiMH & Li cells. Accidentally, once when I was taking a flight, the airhostess insisted that I put my laptop in chkin baggage due to some load issue. As she took my laptop when I was inside teh aircraft, It was in its leather bag. My Laptop battery was already past its useful life & it was mostly working on AC power. However that 6 hrs flight at -40C did wonders to my laptop batttery. When I connected it at home & realised after a few days that battery is retaining its full charge. I trid to run my lappy wout AC power & was shocked to see that the 'dead' battery is now retaining charge for upto 3 hrs. So I tried to put my other NiMH & Li cells in my fridger in a polythene bag & realised that ost of them are again as good as new. SO now I wekly put my Storm cell to fridger overnight.

U too can try at ur risk & see the result. Just note that when u take it out of fridge, let teh cell come to room temp befor u start charging it.

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Originally Posted by clive

I would like to sher my exp & soln. I had sam battery challenges - not only with BB but with other NiMH & Li cells. Accidentally, once when I was taking a flight, the airhostess insisted that I put my laptop in chkin baggage due to some load issue. As she took my laptop when I was inside teh aircraft, It was in its leather bag. My Laptop battery was already past its useful life & it was mostly working on AC power. However that 6 hrs flight at -40C did wonders to my laptop batttery. When I connected it at home & realised after a few days that battery is retaining its full charge. I trid to run my lappy wout AC power & was shocked to see that the 'dead' battery is now retaining charge for upto 3 hrs. So I tried to put my other NiMH & Li cells in my fridger in a polythene bag & realised that ost of them are again as good as new. SO now I wekly put my Storm cell to fridger overnight.

U too can try at ur risk & see the result. Just note that when u take it out of fridge, let teh cell come to room temp befor u start charging it.

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great tip clive!!! if you try this method be forewarned to let the battery as clive said come up to room temp, before you place in the device as you could get condensation from the temp in your phone

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Originally Posted by Drukan

Has anyone had any MMS issues with 8.5? ive looked around and dont see any posts...

My MMS msgs like to randomly stop being "recieved". I get the msg, with the "message cannot be recieved, try again later" line. Similar to this is YOUMAIL visual voicemail wont update either when this happens. I do a BP, and go back to the msg i can hit "retrieve now" and it will retrieve. Also VVM updates after BP.
Any ideas? fixes? Did i screw something up ??

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Have we found any solutions to this? BP would be ok if it didnt require a 10 min reboot :irked: Other wise I am in Love with this. it is as close to 5.0 as i can get without all the glitches :D

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Originally Posted by mrolfe

Have we found any solutions to this? BP would be ok if it didnt require a 10 min reboot :irked: Other wise I am in Love with this. it is as close to 5.0 as i can get without all the glitches :D

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Im still awaiting some answer... I still have this issue.. but it may be isolated to me, since no one else seems to have spoken up about it.
Ive also wiped and re-installed v8.5 3 times, so it wasnt just an install FK up.:confused:

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Originally Posted by Drukan

Im still awaiting some answer... I still have this issue.. but it may be isolated to me, since no one else seems to have spoken up about it.
Ive also wiped and re-installed v8.5 3 times, so it wasnt just an install FK up.:confused:

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EDIT (here's a better answer): This is probably due to the fact that Direct TCP connection lasts only for about 1.5 - 2 hrs with the .151 radio, then you must reboot for it to work again. Youmail may require that connection or perhaps it automatically selects it and thats why it works for a little bit. See if you can change it to Bis-B.
I don't remember having issues with MMS when I had this on my phone but it could be due to that as well.

EDIT: The more I think about it the more I think this is it. Many apps will choose the fastest connection when you first open them - that would be Direct TCP. It will work fine for about an hour or 2 then stop because the Direct TCP connection stops working and the app is still trying to use it.

You can try swapping a .132 radio in there as a permanent fix. That's what I did to fix the Direct TCP situation until I went to 5.0. If you DO decide to try this make sure you follow the instructions I posted a few pages back or you could brick your phone.

I am pretty sure MMS runs off of the Carrier network and should have nothing to do with BIS or TCP.. I could be wrong remember I think lol

Been sporting this hybrid for well over a week now, wiped my Storm three times, reloaded with all the proper parameters checked.... and I'm still having MMS issues (sending and receiving). anyone have any ideas?:confused:

*Edit*
If I do a quick pull and reset my phone, I'm able to send and receive MMS'. But as the day progresses, I'm unable to send or receive yet again. :p

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Originally Posted by jnepsa

I am pretty sure MMS runs off of the Carrier network and should have nothing to do with BIS or TCP.. I could be wrong remember I think lol

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Direct TCP connection is a direct internet connection through the carrier's 3g network and has nothing to do with BIS.

I'm not 100% sure about the MMS issue here being caused by .151 but it sounds a lot like the app issue, which I am certain is because of the TCP issue associated with .151.

Like I said, for me it would work great for about 2 hours - always 2 hours (give or take a few minutes) then go kaput until reboot. There is no way around this other than swapping the radio.

I am seeing bluetooth weirdness. It seems to drop more often and take much longer to connect.

Thanks for all the work you put into these hybrids

When I try to log into facebook on my phone I keep getting a "could not connect because a data service is not available. Please try again later. If this continues contact your service provider for support" error. Or if it does log in I get a "your session has expired" error. Im not sure what to do. I have put v8 on my girls phone too and she can use facebook just fine.

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Originally Posted by Kryptonian

When I try to log into facebook on my phone I keep getting a "could not connect because a data service is not available. Please try again later. If this continues contact your service provider for support" error. Or if it does log in I get a "your session has expired" error. Im not sure what to do. I have put v8 on my girls phone too and she can use facebook just fine.

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Try re-registering your Host Routing Table and resending your service books. I would also try a battery pull.

ok so i just realized what i was running prior to v8.5, i for the last few months i was running crackmans 7.5 on the .151 base... i never had ANY MMS issues with that version. SO im goin to conclude that 151 is NOT the issue...

ideas? (based on this)

could a MMS cod be swapped to fix it? EDIT: Just got a tip to try this from the v8.5 release thread... Ill try it out tnite and report back for you others having the prob...

QUESTION: can i use BBSAK to swap MMS.cod on the fly, or do i need to do a wipe/swap/reinstall?

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Originally Posted by Drukan

ok so i just realized what i was running prior to v8.5, i for the last few months i was running crackmans 7.5 on the .151 base... i never had ANY MMS issues with that version. SO im goin to conclude that 151 is NOT the issue...

ideas? (based on this)

could a MMS cod be swapped to fix it? EDIT: Just got a tip to try this from the v8.5 release thread... Ill try it out tnite and report back for you others having the prob...

QUESTION: can i use BBSAK to swap MMS.cod on the fly, or do i need to do a wipe/swap/reinstall?

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Yes Drukan, you can us BBSAK... sorry youre having issues with MMS.