Galaxy S4

[parapup]

So my question is - now that I've got this Wakelock Detector installed and running, what's the next step?

Run the Wakelock Detector App - it will show you a list of apps that have held wake locks and the duration for which they were held. Post the screenshot here or you can look at the top offenders and disable / remove them. It might be Google Now / Maps - in that case try disabling it in the settings and see if that improves things.

 

[Chodite]

so was your battery life better or worse after installing Wakelock?
something is not right....My S4 last about 16 hours of normal use (for me anyway) and still has 30% charge left at the end of the day.
You might try a full factory reset and start from scratch....if that does not work return it for another.

Run the Wakelock Detector App - it will show you a list of apps that have held wake locks and the duration for which they were held. Post the screenshot here or you can look at the top offenders and disable / remove them. It might be Google Now / Maps - in that case try disabling it in the settings and see if that improves things.

I just found this page:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-free-google-services-that-cost-you-battery-life-privacy-android/

and have just about disabled everything listed. Charging the S4 now and I'll see how much of a difference it makes.

Not sure I want to do a factory reset or exchange it for a THIRD S4. I've got the customization just where I like it and would have to give that up. Or is there a way, like with an iPhone, to back up and do a full restore?

 

[jamezr]

I just found this page:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-free-google-services-that-cost-you-battery-life-privacy-android/

and have just about disabled everything listed. Charging the S4 now and I'll see how much of a difference it makes.

Not sure I want to do a factory reset or exchange it for a THIRD S4. I've got the customization just where I like it and would have to give that up. Or is there a way, like with an iPhone, to back up and do a full restore?

There are ways to do a full back up but not without root access. TitaniumBack will do the job as well as Rom Manager but both need root to work correctly. man feel so bad for you and the phone issues you are having!

 

[durant35]

Just got my S4 today and when I factor in everything like size, weight, build, features, display...its already my favorite phone I have owned. I have had everything from the iPhone 4s and 5 to the HTC Evo, Droid Razr Maxx, GalaxyS2 and 3, Note 2 and many more in between. I dont think there is a single thing I would change on it on the hardware or software side. First time I can say that about any phone. Love it.

 

[The Game 161]

What's wake lock?

 

[daveathall]

What's wake lock?

There ya go.

http://manojprasaddevelopers.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/what-is-wakelock.html

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uzumapps.wakelockdetector&hl=en

 

[Dr McKay]

Just got my S4 today and when I factor in everything like size, weight, build, features, display...its already my favorite phone I have owned. I have had everything from the iPhone 4s and 5 to the HTC Evo, Droid Razr Maxx, GalaxyS2 and 3, Note 2 and many more in between. I dont think there is a single thing I would change on it on the hardware or software side. First time I can say that about any phone. Love it.

Really? Nothing? Sorry that sounds like marketing. You wouldn't change how the S4 rests directly on the camera lens when you set it down? You wouldn't change how Samsung bloat leaves you with only 9GB free out of 16GB? You wouldn't change how the S4 lags and stutters with the air gestures etc turned on? You wouldn't change how Touchwiz looks like it was designed by 15 different designers, all kept separate from each other? You wouldn't change how badly the camera performs in low light? You wouldn't change the fact that the display is pentile and I can still make out the pixel arrangement? You wouldn't change how difficult it is to see the screen in daylight.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Really? Nothing? Sorry that sounds like marketing. You wouldn't change how the S4 rests directly on the camera lens when you set it down? You wouldn't change how Samsung bloat leaves you with only 9GB free out of 16GB? You wouldn't change how the S4 lags and stutters with the air gestures etc turned on? You wouldn't change how Touchwiz looks like it was designed by 15 different designers, all kept separate from each other? You wouldn't change how badly the camera performs in low light? You wouldn't change the fact that the display is pentile and I can still make out the pixel arrangement? You wouldn't change how difficult it is to see the screen in daylight.

If that sounds like marketing, then what do you sound like?

You don't even know if he's got the 16gb or 32gb. Many of us like Touchwiz. The screen is on par with the iPhone 5 and HTC One with only the slightest margin for better or worst. Your just trolling when it comes to the screen. S4 might not take the best low light pics, but it still takes decent low light pics. Just cause another phone might be better at this, doesn't make the S4 bad at it.

 

[skratch77]

What is it with the 16gb that bothers people?first no hd or flash memory gives its full capacity as you lose about a gb or two when formating it and a mb has 1024 kb not 1000 and the whole size rating thing is based of gigabits not bytes.

big freaking deal the gs4 has 9gb free after all is said and done compared to the htc one with 10.5 gb free space.

the gs4 also has a bunch of features that will work with no net connections like its translator that takes up a good chunk of space.

But who cares when you can install a 30 dollar 64gb sdcard and have plenty of space for all your downloads.

the first time I used the gs4 camera app it had a pop up and asked do I want to save to sd card and I said yes.now all videos and pictures are saved to sd automatically.

Went into the browsers setting and set downloads to sd also so its not a big deal like some people love pointing out all the time

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

What is it with the 16gb that bothers people?first no hd or flash memory gives its full capacity as you lose about a gb or two when formating it and a mb has 1024 kb not 1000 and the whole size rating thing is based of gigabits not bytes.

big freaking deal the gs4 has 9gb free after all is said and done compared to the htc one with 10.5 gb free space.

the gs4 also has a bunch of features that will work with no net connections like its translator that takes up a good chunk of space.

But who cares when you can install a 30 dollar 64gb sdcard and have plenty of space for all your downloads.

the first time I used the gs4 camera app it had a pop up and asked do I want to save to sd card and I said yes.now all videos and pictures are saved to sd automatically.

Went into the browsers setting and set downloads to sd also so its not a big deal like some people love pointing out all the time

It's a big deal to those who need to have a decent amount of huge games installed. With NFS Most Wanted and Real Racing 3 installed, that's already 3.12gb of internal space taken.

I swapped my 16gb for 32gb. 9gb available was never a deal breaker for me though as I don't game much. I swapped cause I could and to be on the safer side.

 

[durant35]

Really? Nothing? Sorry that sounds like marketing. You wouldn't change how the S4 rests directly on the camera lens when you set it down? You wouldn't change how Samsung bloat leaves you with only 9GB free out of 16GB? You wouldn't change how the S4 lags and stutters with the air gestures etc turned on? You wouldn't change how Touchwiz looks like it was designed by 15 different designers, all kept separate from each other? You wouldn't change how badly the camera performs in low light? You wouldn't change the fact that the display is pentile and I can still make out the pixel arrangement? You wouldn't change how difficult it is to see the screen in daylight.

Sorry, your post sounds like troll baiting to me but I'll play along.

My case protects the lens while its laying down, couldnt care less
I have all my music, movies and media on my iPod Touch, couldnt care less about only 9GB
I am not using air gestures, couldnt care less about how it performs
I love TouchWiz
Havent tested the camera in low light, but being a professional photographer, I would never use it in auto mode as most people would. I have control over my ISO, white balance and metering mode. I will take a better shot with it in low light then you could in the day time
I cant make out any pixels, couldnt care less
I can see the screen just fine today outside

 

[skratch77]

It's a big deal to those who need to have a decent amount of huge games installed. With NFS Most Wanted and Real Racing 3 installed, that's already 3.12gb of internal space taken.

I swapped my 16gb for 32gb. 9gb available was never a deal breaker for me though as I don't game much. I swapped cause I could and to be on the safer side.

Not really as the nexus is only 16gb and has no sd card and people are not complaining about space.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Not really as the nexus is only 16gb and has no sd card and people are not complaining about space.

I'm pretty sure the Nexus doesn't only leave 9gb useable.

 

[Dr McKay]

If that sounds like marketing, then what do you sound like?

You don't even know if he's got the 16gb or 32gb. Many of us like Touchwiz. The screen is on par with the iPhone 5 and HTC One with only the slightest margin for better or worst. Your just trolling when it comes to the screen. S4 might not take the best low light pics, but it still takes decent low light pics. Just cause another phone might be better at this, doesn't make the S4 bad at it.

I'm just trolling when it comes to the screen? I guess I'm just trolling when I have to use it on 100% and still struggle to see the screen in the car on a sunny day, or how on text and other curved lines I can tell they aren't crisp and appear slightly fuzzy to me. Low light photos are simply terrible, my Nexus 4 took better ones, it barely captures any light, if you use night mode it introduces so much noise. And yes phones don't have all of the 16GB available, but they've always had around 14.5GB free, only 9GB is obscene.

Sorry, your post sounds like troll baiting to me but I'll play along.

My case protects the lens while its laying down, couldnt care less
I have all my music, movies and media on my iPod Touch, couldnt care less about only 9GB
I am not using air gestures, couldnt care less about how it performs
I love TouchWiz
Havent tested the camera in low light, but being a professional photographer, I would never use it in auto mode as most people would. I have control over my ISO, white balance and metering mode. I will take a better shot with it in low light then you could in the day time
I cant make out any pixels, couldnt care less
I can see the screen just fine today outside

I'm used to a sudden flurry of new accounts who appear on here, praise the S4 with a pasted message and then never post again. So when you said you wouldn't change a thing, and then post workarounds, wouldn't you prefer not to have to use a case?

 

[skratch77]

I'm pretty sure the Nexus doesn't only leave 9gb useable.

8gb model has 5. 6 free and 16 has 12.gb and the poster above me is wrong about phones having almost 15gb free he is just trolling the gs4 and is just wrong on all his posts about the phone.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I'm just trolling when it comes to the screen? I guess I'm just trolling when I have to use it on 100% and still struggle to see the screen in the car on a sunny day, or how on text and other curved lines I can tell they aren't crisp and appear slightly fuzzy to me. Low light photos are simply terrible, my Nexus 4 took better ones, it barely captures any light, if you use night mode it introduces so much noise. And yes phones don't have all of the 16GB available, but they've always had around 14.5GB free, only 9GB is obscene.

The S4's screen in the sun is basically just like any other screen, including the iP5, Nexus 4 and HTC One. Yes there is slight variations for better or worst, but put direct sunlight on damn near any phone and you'll have problems viewing it. I personally haven't experienced sun light hindering the S4 screen any more than other phone screens.

The S4 is not terrible in low light as you make it out to be. Yes, some phones are better in low light, that's just the way it is. I personally never been too concerned with taking pics in low lighting. The S4 takes better pics than the Nexus 4 in daylight, why aren't you concerned about that? Or are you just nitpicking?

 

[durant35]

I'm used to a sudden flurry of new accounts who appear on here, praise the S4 with a pasted message and then never post again. So when you said you wouldn't change a thing, and then post workarounds, wouldn't you prefer not to have to use a case?

Its cool. Prefer not to use a case? Nope. I put cases on every phone I buy. One drop at the wrong angle, even from a few feet and you can kiss your new phone goodbye if it isnt protected at all.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

8gb model has 5. 6 free and 16 has 12.gb and the poster above me is wrong about phones having almost 15gb free he is just trolling the gs4 and is just wrong on all his posts about the phone.

Well percentage wise, that's pretty normal. The S4 16gb takes up nearly half the space. The S3 16gb was left with 11-12gb. I'm really not complaining about it, but I can see how it leaves a sour taste for some users, especially when they have a storage card they can't use for apps.

I don't think anyone would would disagree that they should have started with 32gb minimum.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

I bought the Verizon S4 this morning. After spending all day with it, here are my thoughts.

I'll start off with what I like. It is the best feeling device I've ever held in my hand. It feels much nicer than my iPhone 5. Blacks are amazing. They're actually black, unlike previous AMOLED displays. The camera is great.

Now, the things I don't like.

The screen is not as good as an LCD. I'll even go as far as saying the Galaxy S4 has an ugly screen. Put it next to the HTC One or the iPhone 5 and there is no question that both are better than the S4. It is not even close.

Because it is PenTile, whites are still greenish, it isn't bright enough, and text is still fuzzy around the edges. Pictures and videos look great, but anything involving reading is not.

I still don't like TouchWiz. I have disabled all of the S crap and animations, and I downloaded Nova. There is still lag occasionally. The worst lag is in Maps. It will not pinch to zoom smoothly.

One thing for certain is I absolutely love Android. I like it better than iOS. I'm returning the S4 tomorrow and will wait for a new device with stock Android and an LCD.

 

[Dr McKay]

The S4's screen in the sun is basically just like any other screen, including the iP5, Nexus 4 and HTC One. Yes there is slight variations for better or worst, but put direct sunlight on damn near any phone and you'll have problems viewing it. I personally haven't experienced sun light hindering the S4 screen any more than other phone screens.

The S4 is not terrible in low light as you make it out to be. Yes, some phones are better in low light, that's just the way it is. I personally never been too concerned with taking pics in low lighting. The S4 takes better pics than the Nexus 4 in daylight, why aren't you concerned about that? Or are you just nitpicking?

I am nitpicking because it's "Anything I'd change". The S4 is my favorite Android handset so far.

 

[tjl3]

http://www.droid-life.com/2013/05/23/samsung-galaxy-s4-developer-edition-for-verizon-coming-soon/

phew, not a Google Edition S4, but pretty much the same thing. Unlocked bootloader is sure nice of them.

 

[Lindsford]

I haven't had a lot of screen time lately, just 1.5 hours since last charge, but standby is fine by me, over a day and still just over half left.

Image

What are your settings like, teach me.

 

[Dreamliner330]

I bought the Verizon S4 this morning. After spending all day with it, here are my thoughts.

I'll start off with what I like. It is the best feeling device I've ever held in my hand. It feels much nicer than my iPhone 5. Blacks are amazing. They're actually black, unlike previous AMOLED displays. The camera is great.

Now, the things I don't like.

The screen is not as good as an LCD. I'll even go as far as saying the Galaxy S4 has an ugly screen. Put it next to the HTC One or the iPhone 5 and there is no question that both are better than the S4. It is not even close.

Because it is PenTile, whites are still greenish, it isn't bright enough, and text is still fuzzy around the edges. Pictures and videos look great, but anything involving reading is not.

I still don't like TouchWiz. I have disabled all of the S crap and animations, and I downloaded Nova. There is still lag occasionally. The worst lag is in Maps. It will not pinch to zoom smoothly.

One thing for certain is I absolutely love Android. I like it better than iOS. I'm returning the S4 tomorrow and will wait for a new device with stock Android and an LCD.

I really feel the same as you. In fact I've had Android until about a month ago when I picked up a iPhone 5 (and jail broke it),

I've played with a few S4's now. My reaction has always been the same. "kill it with fire".

I have no idea what Samsung's malfunction is, they really don't know how to make quality hardware or software.

Samsung can, market extremely well.

If Samsung developed a product as good as what they advertise, it'd be awesome.

The HTC One is such a superior device on every level.

I'm sticking with the iPhone 5 over the summer and see what all gets released.

What are your settings like, teach me.

He doesn't use it. What's to know?

 

[daveathall]

What are your settings like, teach me.

I disabled the following apps.

Active apps manager
Alarm
Briefing
Bubbles
ChatON
ChocoEUKor
Clock Digital
Clock Digital
Com2uSPoker
CoolEUKor
DioDictService
DirectConnectManager
DirectShareManager
DroidSerifitalic
DropboxOOBE
Dual Clock Digital
Earth
eBay
Favourite Contacts
Group Play
HP Print services
Match3VS
Mobile Print
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS_Backend
O2 space
PageBuddyNotiSvc
Phase beam
Polaris Office viewer 5
RoseEUKor
SHealth
SMemo
S Note Provider
S Planner Widget
S Translator
S Voice
Samsung Books
Samsung Games
Samsung Learning
Samsung Print Service
Samsung Browser Bookmarks
Samsung Browser Tab Sync
Samsung Sans
SensorService
Facebook SNS
Story Album
Story Album Widget
Trip Advisor
Weather Widget
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo News

A lot of the above will be country specific bloatware and some of the services you may wish to use so would not disable them.

I found that Tapatalk was quite a heavy user of battery so after using it a while uninstalled it.

In "Screen" I have my screen on full brightness in the "Professional photo" mode - (Settings>My Device>Display>Screen Mode)

Screen Timeout 1 Minute
Daydream Off
Display Battery Percentage Ticked

LED Indicator - All ticked except Low Battery

Blocking Mode - Off
Power Saving - Off

Accessibility - Auto rotate screen - Off, Speak Passwords - Not ticked, Show shortcut - not ticked, Services- Non Installed, Negative Colours - Off

Motions and Gestures - All off except Motion

Smart screen - all Off except Smart stay

Air View - All On except Sound and haptic feedback


Settings> Accounts> Google

In the main G Mail Account I have everything ticked for sync except, sync google photos, Play Books, Play Movies, Google+, Picasa web albums, Sound search.

Maps & Latitude - nothing ticked
Location settings - On

I must admit that I am by no means an expert and my battery life seems to be more good luck than good management. I use Nova Prime and quite a lot of apps so still really enjoy this phone, the items I disable are specific to my use. I hope you can get your battery sorted and start enjoying this superb phone.

Hope this helps.

He doesn't use it. What's to know?

I did point out when I posted the screenshot that I had a day off so only used it for about an hour and a half, I don't profess to be a power user but can easily get 3 hours screen time and all day use from a full charge. I charge my battery overnight while I sleep and have never run out.

 

[adder7712]

Why would you disable Alarm?