[Galaxy Note 3 General] stanley08:
Firstly, I want to say that this thread is based on the Exynos Note 3, not because it will work only for that device, but because it is the device I own at the time of this OP. HOWEVER, I can assure you that the tips in the second part of this guide, tagged 'IMPORTANT TIPS', would go for just about ANY device running android as the effects are similar. Now... Read On! :D

Since the MJ7 update was released, some Note 3 users have been experiencing weird battery drain issues, the MK2 update was also released and it didn't seem to fix it either.

While some users say a factory reset did fix their battery drain issues, many still have it after doing the factory reset, Me being an example.

I think the main problem is that the phone doesn't go into deep sleep.

So, I took sometime to research a fix and couldn't find a really solid fix, so I decided to go for the Next Best Thing, tweaks/settings.

Tweaking the phone in such a way that you maximize your battery use is what I will write about in this thread.

After tweaking my phone, I was able to hit 9hrs 30mins screen time with a total time of just over 1 day (24hrs), WiFi on ALL through. Not much Voice call time however.

On Mobile data, the tweaks won't give you this much time but still expect about 5 to hrs screen time.

How did I achieve this? That's what I will share below. But before I do, I will like to say that I have the Exynos Note 3 and this might be somehow targetted to that device (mentioned this earlier). However, if you have a Snapdragon Note 3 or any other Android device for that matter, I'm sure one or two things from this post will be helpful to you.

I will also say that 'Root' is quite important for some of the tips. If you are not rooted, you can just apply the ones that don't need root.

And For Non-Root users, Freezing App in TB can also be done manually to some apps by going into Settings > General > Application manager > All. Then scroll to the app you want to disable say Maps which is a HUGE battery drainer as i will mention below, select it then click the button at the left top which says 'Disable', I think it says 'Turn Off' in KitKat.

1. Factory Reset: I think the first thing to do first is Factory reset your phone, just maybe! That might work for you. You can also skip this step as factory reset is alot of work and might not be worth the stress in the end. But, I think a fresh start is always good once in a while :) NOTE: Backup your Internal SD to your PC or another flash media device FIRST if you decide to factory reset!

THE MAIN PART

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2. Kernel: Download a good Custom Kernel that also has the 'ondemand' governor. For Exynos Users, I recommend goodHanrry-kernel v2.0A (Used in first test)

Get it from his thread here - http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2569056

NOTE that this is still a JellyBean 4.3 ONLY kernel till date

OR

halaszk-UNIVERSAL5420 v0.6A (used in Second Test)

Get it from his thread here - http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2590320

I recommend v0.6A for Jelly Bean and v0.14B for KitKat or the latest :) Test for urself

Snapdragon users should try the ones they have too.. I'm sure they have some good kernels,like Perseus kernel but again i have Exynos Note 3 :( so try it for yourself.

3. Kernel Governor: Download SetCPU (paid) from here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mhuang.overclocking

Go into SetCPU and change the Governor at the bottom left of the page there to 'on demand', then tick the 'set on boot' option in the middle so it will be applied after everyboot.

What the Governor 'ondemand' does is the CPU ramps up only when you actually need it. Hence the name :) Which also means that 'even if' you don't get good deep sleep, your CPU will stay at the lowest frequency, Saving you battery! :)

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IMPORTANT TIPS

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4. Greenify: EVERY rooted user must have Greenify! It's a fantastic app! It hibernates apps that you are not using so they never get to use your battery, yet the apps are available whenever you need them. No stress!

Download Greenify here - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.greenify (I bought the paid version as it has more fuctions)

For those who don't know greenify or how to use it, it's simple! Only Greenify those apps you don't rely on for Push Notifications.

For example, don't greenify apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber, Twitter, BBM if you expect to get notifications from them in the background.

Feel free to Greenify other apps like your games, adobe reader, dictionary, and the rest of them as you don't receive notifications from.

Starting from Greenify v2.0, even None Rooted users will be able to use Greenify :D Just without the option of Automatic hibernate, however.. It's still Great! :)

TIP: If you are a Non-Root Greenify user, I will highly recommend that you put the 'Hibernate Now' widget on ur homescreen so that you have one-touch hibernation. Just tap it before you lock ur screen or at anytime really. I'm a Rooted user and I made it a habit already! Tap then lock screen :)

Greenify is a FANTASTIC app!

5. Power Saving Mode: Use the Power Saving mode for as long as you can, I use Power Saving all the time. What this does is throttle ur CPU down to 1.4GHz (Exynos Note 3),

lower frequency naturally means more battery. The Note 3 is a pretty powerful device, so I even play games on Power Saving mode without issues. But if you feel you need that extra oomph!, then you can put it off before you play your games and turn back on later. For the more advanced users, you can make these more dynamic changes with apps like SetCPU or CPU Tuner.

6. Screen/Brightness: As we all know, normally the screen consumes the most power so if you can manage ur screen properly, u can get some extra juice. My advice on brightness is set to 'Auto -5'. However it is fine to use any other Value from -5 to 5 as you like it. Then you can set to a timeout range of 30s. Try to avoid using live wallpapers as it uses the GPU for the animations also AMOLED screens save more battery when you use dark wallpapers. Do that if you love dark wallpapers :)

7. GPS/Maps: Now, GPS is like the Number One drainer of battery and many many people don't know this. Here is what you do, pull down your notification bar, long press GPS there then make sure everything under GPS is turned off always! Leave turned off unless you need to use GPS.

Maps is also another app that drains battery in the background, I don't use maps at all, so I keep it frozen all the time using Titanium Backup.

But if you use maps, my advice is that you open up TitaniumBackup, look for maps on the list of apps, long press it and then convert to User app. Now u can Greenify it and it will still be available whenever you need it. :)

8. Google Now / Google+: Google now does drain battery, if you don't use Google Now, turn it off. Go into Google now, enter settings and turn off. I keep my Google now frozen as I never use it anyways. If I ever need to, I will unfreeze it. :) If you successfully handle numbers 7 and 8, you will not have issues with Google Services drain anymore! Unless you go traveling alot :p

Google+ is one app that drains alot of battery, if you do not use it much or don't need it at all, my advice is that you handle it. Greenify it or better still, Get rid of it.

9. Sounds/Vibration: Maybe not really a big deal, but those keypad/touch sounds do drain battery. It's fine to leave them on if you like em, but if you can do without, then do! Especially Haptic Feedback! Settings > Device > Sound. You will get the option there to turn them off. Including keyboard sounds and vibration :)

10. De-bloat: Samsung always loads alot of bloatware on their phones, the more the bloat, the more the apps running in the backgroud, the more the RAM consumed and in turn, the more the battery used! If you can, go into Titanium Backup and freeze as many bloatware as you are familiar with, don't touch anything you don't know. Lol. I always debloat any ROM I flash, so i'm quite familiar with the process. Anyways, just a heads up! If you freeze 'Magazines' for some reason your Stock Email app will crash whenever you try to open a new email or clear emails from the notification bar. Gmail app will work good, i decided to mention as my main email address is Yahoomail. :)

11. Reception: Believe it or not, reception is VERY IMPORTANT when it comes to battery life saving. If you have good reception, then it's smooth sailing and good battery, but if your reception isn't good then your phone is always always trying to reconnect your apps and services to the internet, over and over and over again! Trust me, this can take a serious Toll on your battery. If you notice my screenshots below, I have near 'PERFECT' reception. Notice the green Network mobile signal area in Graph. No blemish! :)

Here is how: Well, since i'm always on WiFi (have a pocket router).. I never need the '3G/HSPA' reception, so I set my phone to GSM/2G Only (Settings > More Networks > Mobile Networks then change Network mode to GSM Only). I'm using Exynos Note 3, so I don't have LTE, but if you are Snapdragon user with LTE, You can set to either just 3G Only as that should still be more stable than 4G/LTE, you can still set as above too, afterall you won't be needing the LTE connection when on WiFi. :D

All I said right now about Reception was complicated yes?

This App makes it simple - http://xdaforums.com/nexus-4/themes-apps/app-intelli3g-2g-3g-4g-toggle-battery-t2580234

Haha! :D

Finally, I use Nova launcher now as I have frozen Touchwiz launcher. Nova launcher is fast, plus i LOVE me them Stock KitKat icons :D And I feel Touchwiz Launcher on MJ7 and MK2 does drain battery much.

(DO NOT FREEZE TOUCHWIZ LAUNCHER IF YOU DON'T HAVE A 3RD PARTY LAUNCHER INSTALLED! YOU WERE WARNED!) You will get Force Close unending

Having written all these, I know some of you will want to come on here and crucify me, because you disagree with one thing or another. But the thing is... I'm only trying to help, and this works for me! I only 'HOPE' it will help as many people as possible enjoy their phone even more :)

Here are screenshots of my Battery Stats, maybe they will convince you to try one or two things out :) You will notice that BBM still drains a chunk of my battery, but I can't do without BBM :p And Nova drains less than TW was.

CHEERS GUYS! :D

ScreenTime

Battery Use

Battery Graph

GSam Battery Pro

LATEST BATTERY TEST - 15TH JANUARY 2014 -

BATTERY USE

GRAPH

SCREEN

SUMMARY

APPS USAGE