Sanyo 4900 -- Does This Sound Like a Battery or Phone Defe..

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I recently received a free re-conditioned Sanyo 4900 phone after
arranging for month-to-month (i.e., no-contract) service with Liberty
Wireless, a service provider which uses the Sprint PCS network. (I'm
a latecomer to the cell-phone world, and the idea of going with
Liberty was to develop an idea of how much I'll actually end up using
mobile service before locking into a contract with one of the majors.)

Anyway, the 4900 is great, except for the fact that I'm definitely not
getting the 4-or-greater hours of talk time the phone is supposed to
provide. In fact, I'm typically getting just over one hour after a
full charge. I live in a major metro area, and I am using
conservation measures such as minimal LED-on times. And I don't use
the web capabilities (actually I don't even have the option to…but
that's one of those Liberty "surprise, surprise!" stories that I won't
get into here).

Anyway, does this low talk-time suggest that the battery may be
defective? Or that the battery is draining too quickly for some
reason -- either due to a phone or battery defect? In fact the top
part of the phone gets pretty warm after less than ten minutes of
use...does that support the battery-draining too quickly theory?...and
if so, does that reflect a defect in the phone itself or the
battery?...or is the warmth normal for this phone? I notice that,
even though the free accessories sent with the phone do have the Sanyo
name on them, the battery appears to be an aftermarket no-name
instead.

The last thing on earth I want to do is have to mail the phone back to
Liberty, and the fact that some customers call them "Liberty
Worthless" should give you a quick clue as to why. And I don't really
trust them to give me reliable advice in the first place, especially
since there's no bricks-and-mortar store for me to visit -- just
phone/online "customer care". That's why I'm hoping it may just be a
battery issue, since I'd happily shell out for a new battery to avoid
a return.

BTW, does the battery drain quicker when using the speakerphone? How
much quicker? How about SMS messages receipt ? (Liberty sends
unsolicited messages about anytime minutes balance, etc.)

Sorry about the rambling post, but any thoughts on the
barely-over-an-hour talk time would be greatly appreciated, especially
from current or former 4900 owners.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

David G. Imber <imber@maniform.com> wrote in message news:<n2bkd0tqmlbu38498vf0ivfmilgakoqo2b@4ax.com>...
> On 23 Jun 2004 15:32:52 -0700, haroldse@yahoo.com (Harold) wrote:
>
>
> >
> >Sorry about the rambling post, but any thoughts on the
> >barely-over-an-hour talk time would be greatly appreciated, especially
> >from current or former 4900 owners.
>
> My wife and I had 4900's for a long time and just purchased
> 4920's to replace them.
>
> One hour on a charge is definitely NOT normal. It is probably
> a battery defect. For comparison, a full charge would give us about a
> week of relatively idle usage before showing any diminished charge
> (according to the charge icon in the upper right). If I used the phone
> a lot - that is, more than two hours a day - I'd still get at least
> 2~3 days before the battery would begin to lose charge. In fact, the
> 4900 offered near-spectacular charge longevity.
>
> Two things make a big difference. First, is your
> software/firmware up to date? Sprint, in any case has been able to
> improve battery drainage with firmware updates. Second, are you
> roaming? I keep my phones set to "digital only" when I know there'll
> be no need to roam. The process of checking for digital and analogue
> signals itself is a battery drain. A 3G phone on a digital system uses
> very little power. OTOH, when I was traveling in the west Texas desert
> and there was no digital signal whatsoever, a full charge lasted us
> exactly one day.

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try a new battery first; maybe the one
they sent me is actually used. Rememeber, this is a (purportedly)
manufacturer-reconditioned phone. If that doesn't work, I'll look
into your other ideas, although I can tell you now that roaming isn't
an issue -- I've always been well within the Sprint digital network
area

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <40ab9e53.0406241253.5c09ca39
@posting.google.com>, Haroldharoldse@yahoo.com says...
> Not roaming at all.
> Thanks for the ideas.
> HS
>

What about searching for service? If there's no signal,
the phone will actively seek one out, and that's almost as
battery intensive as being in a call.

--
-+-
RØß
O/Siris
I work for SprintPCS
I *don't* speak for them.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

O/Siris <0sîrîs@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message news:<MPG.1b46d27f33b4b9b2989a2d@netnews.comcast.net>...
> In article <40ab9e53.0406241253.5c09ca39
> @posting.google.com>, Haroldharoldse@yahoo.com says...
> > Not roaming at all.
> > Thanks for the ideas.
> > HS
> >
>
> What about searching for service? If there's no signal,
> the phone will actively seek one out, and that's almost as
> battery intensive as being in a call.

Except for a few uses during a trip I took a month ago, the phone has
always found a signal within seconds.

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

David G. Imber <imber@maniform.com> wrote in message news:<np7ud01fgt9uku85rn5gnpqsv9d0hl2si5@4ax.com>...

> But I'm still convinced that you have a problem with this
> unit's power usage.
>
> Best of luck w/that.
>
> DGI

Thanks. Unfortunately, it turns out that you and the others who
suggested that this is likely a problem with the phone itself were
apparently right. I tried a brand new standard battery in the 4900
and it only bumped up the talk time a little bit, still under
high-conservation conditions.

Rather than deal with the well-documented pitfalls of trying to
arrange a successful repair or exchange via mail with Liberty
Wireless, I'm going to spring for an OEM extended battery (getting a
new one for $25 from a reputable seller on eBay), and hope that brings
my talk-time to what I should be getting with a *standard*
battery...which is sufficient for my needs. Hopefully it will be as
simple as that with no further complications, though I'm only mildly
optimistic.

HS