Battery Differences btw HW versions - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I'll ask my question up front - has anyone found any discernible differences in the batteries between HW versions of the EVO, specifically between HW0004 and HW0003?
To make a short story long:
I bought my first EVO back in december from a guy on craigslist - he met me at a local sprint store, verified the ESN et al., and he basically told me he was getting rid of it in order to switch to the Epic. He said he'd had one EVO, it broke, and he got another one. I'm assuming the one I got from him was the second one, which looked refurbished (only in that the battery had some scratches on the sides). That EVO was HW0003. I primarily ran myn's Warm RLS 5 on it with netarchy/toastmod kernel (havs-more-sbc for anyone interested), got seemingly great battery life for how much I used it.
Back at the beginning of June, that phone went for a swim in the local lake. I retrieved it, and luckily I had sprint's TEP. Got a replacement overnight, but sent the old dead phone back and kept its battery. The new phone which I now have is HW0004 - was sent to me new in retail packaging. I have followed all of the same battery saving 'tricks' I've read on these forums and elsewhere, but the new phone with the new battery didn't seem to last nearly as long per charge, especially on Warm RLS5 with the same kernel as before. Yesterday, I decided to try an experiment - since I still had the old battery (even though it ostensibly has water damage), popped it into the new phone instead, and after fully charging it noticeably increased overall battery life. I'm running the Synergy RC1 ROM now, so I haven't compared with Warm RLS5 directly yet, but this indicates to me that there are differences in the batteries beyond just slight, circumstantial manufacturing differences.
Has anyone else noticed this or anything like it? I'll keep this thread posted with what I find once I flash back to Warm RLS5.

I can tell you from experience there are definitely differences. The original battery I got with my 003 EVO was the best. A friend that works at a Sprint store grabbed a couple more. One looked pretty much like the original and was roughly on part but the second one didn't look the same. The first two were black with the red label the second was wrapped differently and had silver showing. It was still an HTC battery but no where near the capacity of the other two. Pretty much like a cheap aftermarket battery. Hope that helps.
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA Premium App

both of these batteries show silver and are wrapped exactly the same - couldn't tell one from the other if it weren't for the scratches that have always been on the older (refurb?) battery and the water damage indicator being filled in now. What you're describing sounds like a possible change in third-party manufacturer of the batteries. Interesting though...

Related

Has Anyone Figured Out The Cause Of This Reboot Issue?

Well, My first generation EVO ran fairly well for about 4 months and then all Hell broke loose. Random reboots ranging from 2-10 times a day. I was unable to solve this issue no matter what methods I tried. I read about this issue that had impacted a wide array of EVO owners and it came down to 2 different categories of problem, hardware and software divisions.
First off, this issue has been effecting EVOs with AND without root. Meaning there is no clear justifiable reasoning that rooting your EVO may cause these things to occur. Heck, my friend bought a BRAND NEW 2nd generation Evo just last month and 2 days after he had bought it, he was showing it to me at the exact moment it started to freeze and reboot. It ended up doing it 5 times within the 3 hours we were at the mall together. It was enough aggravation for him to decide to swap it out at Sprint and sure enough, it rebooted right in front of the Sprint rep and he gladly gave my buddy a new one.
There were a bunch of people that just disabled data and started experiencing the problem thereafter, but they were able to resolve the situation simply by enabling data once more. Even though that, in its self, is an unusual and inexcusable flaw, it's no big deal compared to the other side of this problem.
The hardware issue seems to stem from overheating and the pattern is that the reboots occur either during phone calls, using juice extracting applications, or multitasking with many apps open. Upon further digging for clues, I found out what MAY be causing this problem just from a common sense standpoint and why it effects even the Droid X:
Because both the EVO and Droid X have large 4.3" Displays that are LCDs and not LED (AMOLED or RETINA) and are crammed into a very thin body, they generate a lot of heat that resonates to the motherboard. AMOLED and RETINA displays take up less power and create less heat than standard LCD displays. In addition, Samsung's cheap plastic may actually be a benefit to HTC's more expensive aluminum unibody because the metal body is just a magnet for that heat and retains most of it within the guts of the phone. Same can be said about the Droid X even though it uses less metal than the HTC.
I'm very convinced that this is the source of the problem, although I cannot verify it. I never had this problem with my Nexus One and I was way more of a hardcore user on that phone than my EVO. Heck, I was scared to be on the EVO for long periods of time just because of how paranoid this reboot issue had made me. I'm very disappointed in HTC and hope they rebound soon because I've always been a fan. Since my first EVO, I've switched to the Epic 4G and while I definitely don't think Samsung's build quality touches that of HTC, I will say that the reliability issues associated with the EVO are enough to keep me away from it. I really hope that this AMOLED shortage is resolved by next summer. I will never buy another Large LCD display phone again!
I never used my Evo not being rooted and I had some issues (with the various guides out). I finally got it rooted but since day one the phone locks up randomly and reboots. It might be heat related....seems to happen when its warm.........
Coming from an iPhone i have to say I'm EXTREMELY annoyed at this. i just want a damn phone that works at this point. WTH.
Its my work phone but I'm out of the country. I'm going to ask the phone group if they can replace mine for me. This is ridiculous.
I don't think it's heat
I had this issue with my daughter's phone. Hot or cold, wiped and reimaged it would sometimes reboot and loop 10 to 20 times. I finally had oit replaced by Sprint
Im having this problem. Ive noticed that when it reboots and i get it to turn on the phone temp is usually at 100 degrees or more, once it cools down i can resume what im doing until it starts to warm up again. Needless to say next week ill be getting my replacement phone, hope they dont give me any trouble.

Can't decide whether or not I should get a replacement

I bought my Nexus from Best Buy on Saturday... I love the phone, but it overheats really bad...I know people have been complaining about there's overheating but a Verizon rep told me that mine shouldn't get as hot as it does because it will swell... 2nd reason for taking it back is I have really bad signal.. and apparently verizon is now saying its imaginary... but again the rep told me she hadn't heard about anything that I have been reading on the internet and it was the second time I called and they tried the same thing twice to improve it...but it didn't work either time, so they think it is a faulty radio
Here is why I can't decide to take it back...I haven't dropped it at all but I am some how cursed by a few barely noticeable scratches and one noticeable one and I don't want Samsung to charge me full price for the phone.
I had to return my droid incredible 1 when I had it, and it had damage and they told me if HTC says anything they will have to charge full price.they never did, I was sent a replacement with no problem. However, that was HTC... this is Samsung and I don't know anything about them.
So what do you guys think?...will I have a problem returning it?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Unless you really beat the crap out of the phone, I'd be shocked if Best Buy gave you any problems.
You're still within the first 14 days so Verizon/Best Buy should replace your phone with a new one on the spot.
Get a battery temp measuring app, I use minimalistic widget so I don't know what app can, then see what it's at.
I think the thinness of the device lends itself to a more prominent temperature change - even though it's nothing different on other devices.
When my GN feels hot, it's around 42C, which is about what my previous phones reach.
I took it back with no problem...and my new phone seems to get a tad bit better signal...its not as spazmatic as my other one...my old one would fade in and out really badly...this one does, but it takes a little while for it to do it.
Also on my new one, for some reason the screen seems better...it seems to get better whites than my old one

Quality of certified like new replacement from VZW?

Hey all,
Having some charging issue with my device that will likely necessitate a replacement device. I've been hesitant to make the move given the quality issues of CLNR with Verizon in the early months of the GNex existence.
For those who have recently received replacements, did you encounter much problem? It seemed like the issues were mainly related to the screen or reception issues. I had my Gnex since day 1 and never had any dropped calls or weak/fluctuating 4G signal. I'm hesitant to give it up!!
Thanks in advance!
I just got a replacement 2 weeks ago and mine has been great. No issues at all. But every device is different
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Its probably the charger cable,battery the USB port is broke. I suffered similar issues with a CLN HTC incredible. Try switching batteries cables or adapters. If all else fails take it back
I had similar issues with my original galaxy nexus after owning it for 8 months. The replacement they shipped me the ear piece on it didn't work. Sent that one back and the one after it I've had for almost 4 months now with no problems. A lot of it is just random bad luck, if I was you I'd send the old one in and hopefully your luck will hold up.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
It might be a good time for a refurb, considering VZW just retired the phone.. Is it possible the remaining Gnex stock was pulled for refurbs?
About two weeks ago I got mine replaced by verizon due to my phone having charging issues as well. I went into the store, didn't call before hand.
I had flashed back to stock before i went in. Told the girl there that it wasnt charging right and i have multiple batteries and they all do the same. she went to look up on some database if others were reporting similar issues (there were none). after giving her my phone number and 5 minutes later she said a replacement is on the way and to mail my old one back in the same box (shipping was paid for)
I was very pleased by how quick and painless it all was. She never touched or looked at my phone at all and asked hardly any questions. my phone also had a chip in the screen (about 2 cm at the bottom right, no cracks though)
the replacement phone had a sticker saying "like new" replacement but it was absolutely pristine. absolutely 100% perfect cosmetically and works great as ever (screen colors seemed better than my original one imo).
Thanks for the heads up. Went ahead with the replacement. Will wait and see.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Just realiezd there's a scratch on the screen of the device I'm sending back... Any advice on what to do? I don't wanna get burn... I heard that VZW can charge an arm and a leg for returns that have damage...
kl323 said:
Just realiezd there's a scratch on the screen of the device I'm sending back... Any advice on what to do? I don't wanna get burn... I heard that VZW can charge an arm and a leg for returns that have damage...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing to worry about. Mine also had a chip in the bottom right corner (about 1/4 in long and 1/8 in high) as well as light scratches near the top of the screen. Luckily the chip did not develop a crack, but none-the-less, the lady at the VZW store didnt say anything of it even when i pointed it out, and my return was accepted with no charges incurred.

Exceptionally bad battery life.

Now, I know...the M9 has ALWAYS had a reputation for being bad on batteries.
I also know, that Facebook and Messenger are two nasty apps that eat batteries alive.
Saying all of that up front, the battery life on my M9 has very suddenly become VERY bad (even with Facebook and Messenger not installed). I thought it might have been a battery calibration issue, but trying a calibration program out seems to yield no improvement (even in the accuracy of the battery indicator).
So, now, if I'm lucky, I'll get about 2.5hrs of battery life even if the phone is in airplane mode indoors. My battery will get to about 65% and then the phone will shut off. When I try to start the phone, I'll get a 0% indicator sometimes, but after plugging it into the charger, I'll then see about 65% battery instantly.
Is there anything I can do or should I throw in the towel and upgrade to an HTC 10? Things are to the point I can't use the thing when its plugged into the charger!
I was using the last nightly build of CM on the thing for months before it got THIS bad. I thought maybe keeping it plugged into the charger too much was the problem, but wiping the dalvik cache after fully charging might help too... no change. I tired flashing Lineage and the battery life is the roughly the same.
Should I try flashing back to stock or try a firmware upgrade or somekind? I honestly have no clue what to do with this thing.
I honestly believe it's a hardware issue. I've tried most anything and I'm there too! I was just going to buy a lightly used m9, flash my current ROM onto it, and wait for the Pixel 2 (the HTC is looking like a disappointment).
My brother​ had a similar issue with his M8. Sprint refused to acknowledge any kind of hardware issue and insisted that he must have too many apps running, even after a factory reset. He eventually switched to an HTC 10.
I currently have my HTC 10 in for warranty so I have to us my M9 in the meantime. I tried upgrading to a nougat rom only to get terrible battery life. I switched to the santod stock debloated marshmallow and it lasts the day and a couple of hours. I read on the thread that there are no nougat radios for the M9 which causes the battery drain.
I figured it out. It was the battery all along. Replaced the battery, and the phone is getting the best battery life it has ever gotten.
TheXev said:
I figured it out. It was the battery all along. Replaced the battery, and the phone is getting the best battery life it has ever gotten.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you replace it yourself? Was it that hard? My battery will randomly die at 23% sometimes. Debating on replacing it. Can't afford a pixel at the moment.
Flyhalf205 said:
Did you replace it yourself? Was it that hard? My battery will randomly die at 23% sometimes. Debating on replacing it. Can't afford a pixel at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I replaced it myself, and your situation sounds VERY similar to mine. It was one of the trickiest operations I have ever done on a phone by far, but the M9 has a few things that make it much easier to do then the M8 for sure (I was dreading having to replace a USB port on my old M8). I replaced the USB port for my M9 while I was in there and also did the thermal mod to help cool the CPU down. I have a very steady hand and some experience doing these types of things, but am by no means a professional.
I talk about my experiences doing all three of these operations here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72235621&postcount=49
Only additional note I have is, that the Amazon seller I bought my battery from is now out of stock. A friend of mine who just bought a M9 is ordering a new battery for his, so I can update you with that experience soon. As some people seem to be getting old batteries or batteries that aren't holding a charge even from the vendor I bought mine from. I almost wonder if some scumbags are returning batteries to Amazon saying they didn't use them, but are actually sending back their old batteries!
I did notice while looking for new battery replacements on Amazon the other night, that there does appear to be generic non-OEM replacement options on the market now, where I did not find those at the time I did my replacement. My friend is getting his battery off ebay from a Hong Kong seller, so it will likely be a few weeks before we have it in hand.
I also used this video on youtube as reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYm-2dUW03M I stopped and did the USB board replacement before most of the steps (that is actually quite easy to do by itself). You can watch it to get a REALLY good idea of what you'll have to deal with. I had the Verizon version of the M9 to deal with, so I only had one antenna wire instead of two (most be a different antenna in the VZW version of the phone), and getting the CNC connections back together was harder then ANY of the ribbon cables shown. I had to remove my contact lenses and look at the motherboard really close to see it clearly.
@TheXev Thanks for all of the info. I heard that conducting the battery swap was notoriously tricky. I ended up just buying a m9 for cheap and porting everything over to it... when this battery inevitable dies in 6 months I may give the self-replacement a go (or move on to a Pixel or something).
Exokan said:
@TheXev Thanks for all of the info. I heard that conducting the battery swap was notoriously tricky. I ended up just buying a m9 for cheap and porting everything over to it... when this battery inevitable dies in 6 months I may give the self-replacement a go (or move on to a Pixel or something).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just finished replacing my battery this morning. Took me about 45 minutes. I followed this video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDvBvrWN73s&t=180s .... I just hope this will delay me buying a pixel. Expensive!
Bought this one here. I doubt it is OEM but we will see how battery life last on this. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-OE...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
Thanks @TheXev
Aganar said:
My brother​ had a similar issue with his M8. Sprint refused to acknowledge any kind of hardware issue and insisted that he must have too many apps running, even after a factory reset. He eventually switched to an HTC 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flyhalf205 said:
Just finished replacing my battery this morning. Took me about 45 minutes. I followed this video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDvBvrWN73s&t=180s .... I just hope this will delay me buying a pixel. Expensive!
Bought this one here. I doubt it is OEM but we will see how battery life last on this. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-OE...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
Thanks @TheXev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad it worked out for ya.. but on a stranger note... WTF IS UP WITH THAT VIDEO!? lol its EXACTLY the same as mine, only with a different logo, the font was changed from blue to red.... and the music is different but it is otherwise EXACTLY THE SAME. lol
I'm switching tabs between these videos at different parts, and its just changing colors... I think your video is from the original author, I'm going to let him know about this other channel ripping off their work.
My phone has same battery behavior.
Anyone in Los Angeles area want to swap out my battery for me???
Any reputable phone service places anyone can recommend?
I really don't think I should try to do this myself.

Loss of digitizer responce

I'm not sure where to post this but here we go.
I've been replacing phone batteries for a while now, more of a side project for extra income. I also do board level repairs thought 90% of that is computer related.
So the oddity I have stumbled upon is that after replacing the battery on a HTC One M8, of which I have done quite a few of, the digitizer became unresponsive.
First thought was of course that the ribbon cable wasn't seated properly however it was. In fact everything checked out fine.
I removed the new battery and re-installed the original one and the digitizer returned to normal.
I repeated this three additional times, twice with two older batteries left over from previous jobs plus the phones original battery and the new battery. Each time the digitizer would become unresponsive with the new battery installed and then return to normal when the older batteries where installed.
The battery is the last one of my "New" stock that I purchased just a couple of months ago and none of them have given me any trouble.
This is the first time I have encountered any sort of trouble with a simple battery replacement.
How could a battery be the rout of the problem?
I have placed an order for a new stock of M8 batteries, though I expect the number of replacements to drop significantly, from the same supplier and will be returning this one. They are OEM and as I stated this is the first one that has any sort of problem.
Any idea's? I won't be sending the new one back for a couple of weeks so I have it at my disposal to test. My next step is to try it out on my own phone as it has been close to two years since I replaced it's battery.
Just to add on to the mystery, I installed the new battery into my own phone last night, same thing happened. I left the battery in place and plugged in my old one without any change, digitizer was still not responsive.
I re-installed my old battery and it functioned fine and then connected the new battery while the old one was still installed and the phone functioned fine.
So something is missing with the new battery that is causing the problem. I also noted last night the the physical size of the new battery is slightly smaller.
In any case the company is sending a replacement and it is the only one out of the 12 that I had purchased that has given me any trouble.
Now I really want to know what else is tucked in with the battery that could cause this.
The battery may not be giving enough voltage to power the device hence the problem arises. It's an obviously defective battery. Get it replaced
tashrif said:
The battery may not be giving enough voltage to power the device hence the problem arises. It's an obviously defective battery. Get it replaced
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would concur with that if it wasn't for the fact that if I leave the original battery in place and connect the new one to the motherboard the phone operates properly.
I'm 100% sure it is the fault of the new battery, just wondering why it would cause the problem when it is physically installed.
The other point is if anyone else comes across this problem I'm just making them aware that it is something to look at instead of thinking it is the connection or damaged digitizer.

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