JuiceDefender
JuiceDefender saves battery power (lots of it!) by controlling the device data connection and/or WiFi.
You can schedule regular APN/WiFi activation to let background data sync occur and have APN/WiFi enabled while the screen is on. It also helps in minimizing distractions ;)
The Easy Mode is a no-fuss one-click way to let your battery last longer - much longer. Just enable JuiceDefender by clicking on the big button and you're ready to go!
If you want more fine-grained control, try Advanced Mode, where you can configure all JuiceDefender features to your liking.
There are 5 triggers for the enable/disable behaviour:
Battery - when battery level gets low (less than 15%), disable APN/WiFi, and re-enable them when battery level is restored. APN/WiFi will also be enabled while the device is being recharged.
Schedule - regularly enable APN/WiFi for a short period of time, to let background data sync occur (email, Twitter, Facebook, stock quotes...). If Quick is disabled APN/WiFi stays enabled for a longer period, useful if your data connection is very slow or you need to sync lots of data.
Night schedule (requires UltimateJuice) - disable APN/WiFi during night time; you can also optionally put the phone in Silent Mode.
Screen - enable APN/WiFi while the screen is on to allow browsing, tweeting, procrastination and general internet-powered enjoyment, regardless of scheduled events and battery level.
Location (requires UltimateJuice) - this trigger controlled by the 'AutoWiFi' button. It disables WiFi when the device is not in range of any known WiFi network. The location is determined via the cellular network, so it's usually quite coarse. It's a fully automatic set-it-and-forget-it WiFi manager!
The priority order of the triggers is 1) location (WiFi only), 2) screen, 3) battery, 4) night schedule, 5) schedule - this means, for example, that when the screen is on APN/WiFi will be enabled even when the battery is low, or that the regular schedule won't occur during the night period.
Note that triggers will only enable WiFi if you have explicitly turned it on - if you turn it off manually, your decision will be remembered and no trigger will turn it on again (until you re-enable it).
Having data enabled 2 minutes every 15 minutes is sufficient in most situations. A longer schedule interval is useful to minimize distractions when you need to get something done ;)
There's a Home screen widget that shows how much battery life was improved by JuiceDefender over the last 48 hours - what's the best multiplier you can get?
It also lets you enable/disable JuiceDefender super-quickly (just tap on the glass of juice in the bottom left).
Please note that not all features are enabled in the free JuiceDefender. The free version on the Market can control only the data APN, and the available triggers are screen, battery and schedule with frequencies of 15 and 30 minutes.
To get complete control over your device juice consumption please consider buying UltimateJuice from the Android Market or AndAppStore - it will enable WiFi and MMS control, the location and night schedule triggers and schedule intervals of 5 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours. You can make your battery last forever! (ok, that's an hyperbole.)
If you want to check how much your battery life is improved by JuiceDefender, get JuicePlotter now - the best looking and most informative battery graph out there! Free on the Android Market!
If you want to know more, please read the Known issues / FAQs and the changelog!
Posts
53 comments:
Thanks for the app! It seems like a great idea ... will see how it performs in the wild.
Would be really cool and helpfull, would love to use it, as it's what i'm looking for, however, it does not run on the HTC-Hero (andr 1.5)
@Rinke: unfortunately, some of the internals require Donut, so it's only available for Android 1.6+. On the bright side, pretty much every device will be getting at least 1.6 (most 2.x) quite soon, according to carriers and manufacturers.
Hi lowne,
Thanks for your reply, will keep my eye on the new version!
/rinke
Great idea, but forces closes on droid every time. Any ideas why?
Uhm, I'm aware of 3 Droids around the world that run JD just fine... Must be something specific to your case. But I won't let ANY problem go unfixed - can you mail me with some details?
hi,
sounds like a great app, unfortunately i can only activate apn,
when i want to set up wifi the button just flashed yellow but doesn't turn green!?
do i need root?
Hi,
no, you only need UltimateJuice - sorry, it wasn't clear in the post; it's now edited to state that more clearly.
Hello,
seems a great app. but activates the vibration mode (and turns off the ringer) on my Tattoo everytime I esc the application (using home or back button) when it's enabled. Is it a know issue? I have UltimateJuice and JuicePlotter also installed.
This one deserves a ZOMG! It's (almost) the most stupid bug ever - already fixed, will push an update asap.
I confirm, fixed! Now it's a 5 stars app :)
"schedule - regularly enable APN/WiFi for a short period of time, to let background data sync occur (email, Twitter, Facebook, stock quotes...)."
Hi Lowne,
does it mean that normally background data sync occurs only when APN/WiFi is enabled and the services that use backgronund data will wait until there's an APN/WiFi connection and sync immediately? RSS feed readers and non-Google email accounts do the same?
Thanks :)
Yes, those are the guidelines and that's how applications *should* work - well-written ones do.
Inevitably, there will be some 'lazy' apps out there that will just try to do background update at fixed intervals - say, every hour (it's usually user-configurable) - and if they don't find connectivity, just retry the next time (after an hour). If you use such an app (you can tell by finding out that it doesn't update as often as it should when using JD) by all means ask the developer to publish an update that Does The Right Thing.
Great new widget, good job!
I wrote to FeedR's developer asking for a "JuiceDefender-compatible" version. Next will be WorldTour's developer... ;)
I use UltimateJuice on my Milestone. Runs great. Just one Question: I set the Schedule for APN and WiFi to 30 Minutes and the awake periode to Quick (3 Minutes).
Are these 3 minutes usually sufficient to get the device all online activities done ? When does it make sense to rise this time to 8m ?
Hi Lowne!
As already stated on facebook: Great app! It was the very first one I bought for my milestone and I would do so anytime again! About that homescreen widget: Say, how accurate is that? It tells me I have ~2x the lifetime, whereas my real lifetime increased to about 1.5x (measured with "Battery left" app). And how is that factor calculated?
BR Peter!
@everybody: thanks! I'm glad you like JD!
@Heimi: I'd say that 3 every 30 minutes are sufficient in practically all cases - unless you're subscribed to several hundreds of feeds that a feedreader needs to sync. The one situation where it might not be enough is when syncing (large-ish) podcasts. Anyway you should do it only when your phone is charging (massive downloads are notorious battery murderers) - and if you enable the 'battery' trigger (and you should), JD won't disable connectivity while the phone is recharging.
@Peter: it's not accurate :) It's based on utterly unscientific and approximate observations I made back when I started developing JD - using JuicePlotter (that I developed specifically for that). I've long since wanted to make more serious tests - but I can't bring myself to disable JD for any extensive periods of time; going back to "always-bring-a-charger-or-else hell" is really hard now.
I guess that using 'battery life left' apps is a good way to get better numbers - so I encourage you to do extensive testing (over a period of several days) and share your findings! Be aware that:
a) AFAIK usually those apps take a looong time to 'register' - and probably if you change your battery usage patterns (i.e. by installing and using JD) it will take an even longer time for them to realign fully
b) (also answering your question) the widget only measures how much battery JD itself saved and this depends on how you use the phone; e.g. if you spend a lot of time (say on sundays) using the phone (thus having APN/WiFi enabled a lot) you'll see the multiplier going down; same if you keep it plugged.
Currently the theoretical maximum multiplier is x4.00 if JD managed to keep APN *and* WiFi disabled all the time (again, this implies that you would've manually enabled WiFi beforehand - when it's manually disabled it doesn't count as a 'saving'). The closest you can get to this is by having a 2 hours schedule, a 12 hours long night schedule and never turning the screen on or recharging. After 48 hours this would probably yield around x3.80.
Under this perspective the multiplier seems really conservative, as with JD now I get through the night with 1/3% battery loss (and never bother to put the phone on AC) while it was some 25/40% before.
As a matter of fact, since I have JD I just don't use the AC charger anymore: the occasional USB-hooking due to app debugging or tethering on-the-go is sufficient. My battery has been going up and down between 30 and 70% for days now - I don't even bother to ever recharge it fully anymore!
Hi, I'm looking for some "mathematician" to help me solve this problem:
some of my applications (FeedR, WorldTour and the default "non-Gmail" email manager of my HTC Tattoo) have auto-update features that don't work as expected for JuiceDefender: those are "lazy apps", like described by Lowne, that do background updates at fixed intervals. The only way to have their widgets "up to date" is fixing them a short update interval. Sooner or later their update schedule will match with the "2 min every 15" or... of JuiceDefender. But, that's the problem: wich is the best interval, without battery and data waste, if I will have those applications be able to update at least 1 time every 1 hour: every 10 minutes the application and 2 minutes every 10 JuiceDefender? Every 15' and 3' every 30'? Which is the "ideal" setting pattern?
If someone who's good with mathematics could find the solution, I think he would help other people using JuiceDefender too.
Thanks and sorry for my bad english :)
Hi,
so I just found JuicePlotter and JuiceDefender today and now i am considering to get UltimateJuice too since both apps are great.
But a) i cant find UltimateJuice in the Market; b) the link on your blog (http://www.latedroid.com/2010/02/ultimatejuice.html) points to a non-existing page; so i cant get and/or buy it.
I guess the fact that i cant find it in the market is because i got a HTC Tattoo.
Well, anyway thanks for creating such good apps.
@Luciano: I'm planning about submitting a patch for the 'lazy-to-proper' conversion of one popular open-source app - then write a post about the procedure; if it's feasible (and I find the time) it might be helpful to fellow developers.
I concur that the situation as it is now is far from perfect.
@Steffen: glad you like the apps! Thanks for pointing out the bad link.
Where are you located? Can you see other paid apps? AFAIK UltimateJuice should be visible to QVGA devices too...
Hi Lowne, thanks :)
@Steffen: did you find UJ on the Market? I own a HTC Tattoo, so I don't think that's the problem...
Hey, just a few questions thatmight sound stupid, but, juice defender log me off gchat or messenger programs? Seeing that it disables apn? Additionally, I'm guessing jd doesnot affect text messaging? Thanks for sticking up with my noobness
Just started using this app today. the widget says 1X battery life. does the app need to read the device activity for a while before it can make an accurate reading? or am i getting no bennefit from the app?
@lowne/luciano
Still can't find it in the market; and I'm located in Germany.
I can download most paid apps without problems though.
@Jeffrey: both your assumptions are correct :)
When/if you need to be immediately reachable on Google Talk, you should disable JD. The Android Gtalk client also seems to have its own 'try to reconnect' behaviour - it does happen sometimes (probably after the night schedule) that it will require explicit intervention to log back in.
@Tom: yes, the widget starts at 1x and takes some time to 'register' - it analyses the savings over the last 48 hours.
@Steffen: that's really weird - and so are many things about the Android Market; I've given up trying to understand how it actually works... I certainly didn't exclude UJ from publication in Germany.
At any rate (for anybody else interested, too): UltimateJuice is now also available at andappstore:
http://andappstore.com/AndroidApplications/apps/UltimateJuice
How will this affect my Exchange e-mail, which is set to push from the server? Thanks.
A couple of questions:
- If 3G is unavailable is the time still sufficient to handle updating things.
- Is there a possibility of more fine-grained control down the road?
Example:
-- Schedule the APN/MMS
-- Wireless only when screen is on
-- Disable JD when charging
Basically, the ability to change each control for each trigger would make this even better (IMHO).
@lowne, I would second Roberts question, though i'm more concerned about the "sync" overall.
I'm assuming Sync on android isn't a "lazy" app and will wait for the next data connection to sync data. Is that correct?
Does the APN functionality work with the Motorola Droid? I ask becacuse other products similar to this (APNdroid) did not disable 3G or data connections properly.
From the APNdroid FAQ:
Unfortunately current version of APNdroid does not support CDMA phones like (Motorolla Droid
The Android Market won't let me use either of my credit cards to buy UltimateJuice, which I really want as it will do something I've been looking for for a long time (in the screenshot above: "Disable WiFi when far from known networks"). Any idea why this might be? I'm in the U.S.
I just tried to download on Sprint Hero and was unable to pull any thing up using both QR Code and searching for "juice" or "defender."
Was wondering if this app can be used to toggle 3G off when in a poor reception area. Both my home and work get little to no 3G. I use wifi exclusively at home and rarely use the phone for internet at work. I'd like to be able to shut 3G off so it doesn't kill the battery searching for a signal. Others have suggested airplane mode but I still need to be able to recieve calls so this doesn't work. I have no problem purchasing UltimateJuice if this can be done....
Catchin' up! (picture the beloved Android running in his clumsy metallic way - ah, that's the logo! Nomen omen...)
@Robert: I don't use/have it so I don't know; but I'm sure somebody else can shed some light! (@Somebody else: share your findings!)
@Brian: I'd say yes in most circumstances. You will find out quite easily after some use if that's not the case (e.g. some mail always getting synced when you turn the screen on); if so, disable 'Quick'.
Your idea is interesting. One of the next big things will be a big "customize everything" update with a completely new UI - but it's will take a while...
@Dana: correct, good ol' Sync works wonderfully with JuiceDefender
@Jeff: yes, it works on Droids AFAIK (unless all Droid users have joined a secret society whose aim is to deceive me; but I summon the mystical powers of Occam's razor!)
@TimK, @Nathan: That's it. My official PR line is now "The Android Market sucks! (but at least it's not a censoring dictatorship)". If you're so inclined, you can purchase via AndAppStore :/
@Chris: not sure if there's a feature request hidden in the subtext (location-based 3G switch), but it's an interesting one - don't know yet if it's feasible. At any rate I guess you can switch 3G off anyway.
Cant find it in the Android Market, or by using search...Im in the UK, is this USA only?
Can you switch 3G off?? Didn't think you could... Droid btw..
@Lowne: I bought it from AndAppStore, so I'm good now. Annoying behavior from the Market, but what can you do, I guess. Is there a place to report the problem to Google? I tried to find something and didn't see anything.
Hello... So far is "seems" like a great app.. well, minus the fact I can no longer access the internet now. I have a Nexus One, I downloaded the free version of JuiceDefender, Enabled it and let it do it's thing starting last night.
Now this morning, while at work, I keep my Nexus One on the Desktop Dock. Which, by your FAQ and comments above, would make me think I should now be able to access the internet with no issues. But I can't seem to access Pandora Radio OR any other website known to man (or alien).
Any ideas on how I can get my lovely internet back. I've already tried disabling JD just to get my internet turned back on, based on the comments above, but still no luck.
@Kiz: again, Google swears it's published all over the world and on Mars too - but that doesn't seem the case. It's really random - consider getting it from AndAppStore (links in the post)
@Chris: uh, actually I'm not sure about CDMA - I hear it's almost as weird as imperial units; I don't know :/ But I'm sure somebody here does!
@TimK: it seems there's no official way to report problems. The next best thing would be joining the many complains in google groups/google help threads - not really helpful, though :(
@N/A: (nice name!) if you're not using WiFi, try rebooting after having disabled JD - if you manage to get your conenction back, open JD, tap 'Help' and then 'Send log', I'll be glad to try and figure out what happened!
On my Nexus One today, I'm having difficulty getting an Internet connection when I wake up the phone (i.e., turn the screen on). My EDGE connection (no T-Mobile 3G where I live) doesn't become active even if I wait for a couple of minutes.
Might this have something to do with the error "ERROR: No APN MMS found!" that I see in the log in JuiceDefender? Although, I am seeing the problem with no EDGE connection right now with my screen on, and I'm not seeing that error in the log in connection with the most recent wakeup event.
Also, I wanted to mention that I admire your feedback and willingness to listen to and help users.
Thanks,
Tim
Can't find in market on HTC eris
First of all, kudos for such a great premise and second, reading through these posts, you have to be one of the most responsive and helpful dev's I've ever come across! I honestly don't know that I have seen any improvement on my G1, but I decided to buy Ultimate anyway because of all of the positive comments I have seen everywhere and see what happens (first app I have ever purchased for any smart phone in 10 years BTW).
My questions is, are there other apps that might interfere with UltimateJuice? I have a myriad of other control apps and I wonder if things like toggle switches, profile settings and antivirus will affect the performance? Are there things I should uninstall to get the best performance from my first paid app? Also, the widget doesn't appear to work. It does nothing when I click on it.
Thanks, JS
Cool app!
But I see one problem: I am e.g. in Market and choose to download and install app XY. This takes a couple of minutes. Therefore I put my Android on the desk and do something else. After the screen blanks, JuiceDefender cuts the 3G connection Market is using (I guess!).
If that is true, then I propose a setting like "do not disable network while transferring data" and/or "disable network XX minutes after screen went black".
OOO, i second Franz' suggestion.
Hi,
thank you for this great app!
I too think that it would be nice if the data connection gets disabled only if no data transfer is ongoing. As your SeePU App is able to find log the network traffic it should be easy to also implement the following:
if screen blanks
test for ongoing network traffic for about 10 seconds
no traffic: turn off
traffic: wait
As it could take forever until no traffic is sent/received there should be an additional timer that cuts off the network after X minutes.
This would be also good in the following case:
think of you are chatting via GTalk with someone. Now the screen blanks and you immediately lose internet access. This way you have to log in again after the screen goes on again. This chat experience is not very nice. So you either have to turn off JD at the moment or make your screen timeout quite long.
But if JD would shut down the connection after X minutes. You can chat without any issue and still get the maximum power saving (short screen timeout, JD enabled when chat ends).
@TimK: it seems to be the same issue as N/A - I updated the FAQ with a 'known issues' section, check it out for an explanation.
@Just: thanks! Apps that can potentially interfere with JuiceDefender are those that control the APN and WiFi - possibly, in your case, profile-like apps. How much battery saving you can get depends primarily on how much you actively use your phone; the more you use it, the less chances for JD to do its job.
@Franz, Dana, Bernard: not only I third Franz's suggestion - I'm really amused at how Bernard beat me in explaining in more detail how it could be done. You guys keep amazing me - I'm afraid in a short while I won't have to do the thinking anymore!
Anyway: I'm not sure the Gtalk thing would work - if I don't put some kind of traffic amount threshold, JD will never cut the APN, as there are many behind-the-scenes services almost constantly polling this or that; small amount of traffic, but traffic indeed, and probably Gtalk would get caught in the net.
At any rate I'll start coding and testing asap!
Oops, I meant "Bernhard", apologies :/
Hello again,
first, Bernard is just fine too. ;) Its just the non-german form of Bernhard.
Ok, I understand the problem with GTalk. So the quick and dirty solution would be to just set a timeout that turns of the connection after the screen blanks. Even a timeout of 5 minutes would still save lots of juice! And if someone is not responding for 5 minuts in GTalk that someone doesn't answer at all. ;)
I also have another idea to save juice:
Blank the screen earlier but without locking. The locking then is activated after the normal timeout. According to my statistics the display needs most of the juice. Therefore this option could help even more. What do you think about it?
Bernhard
@lowne: That issue seems to have resolved itself since I disabled Toggle Settings.
I'm having two problems with the Night mode, though:
- The app doesn't keep data connections turned off during the night.
- When I have it set to silence the phone during the night, it doesn't turn the ringer back on at the set time.
To solve the latter problem, I'm letting another app (Timeriffic) handle the silencing now -- NOT letting it handle data connections or anything else. That seems to be working OK so far. But having JuiceDefender/UltimateJuice not keep data turned off overnight means my battery drains during the night, which means I have to charge the damn thing in the morning after all...which is what I'm trying to avoid! :) Any ideas? Can I send you a log?
@TimK
the night mode works perfectly on my Nexus One. The data connection turns on if I switch the screen on - otherwise it is off. And the silence mode gets deactivated at the given time. And is makes no difference if the screen is on or off at that time.
@TimK: the night mode should work correctly in all cases - even if the service gets killed, the autorestart should soon enough disable the APN and the ringer again.
At any rate, of course you can send the log! Logs are practically what I'm eating these days! =:)
@Bernhard: you're hired! :) I second the screen timeout-lock suggestion, if it's doable (and it should be).
By the way there's already a 10-seconds timeout after screen off, I might make it configurable so everyone can adjust that based on the responsiveness of their Gtalk friends :)
@Lowne:
Cool, I always wanted to work in Italy. Especially Venice would be a nice place. ;)
I think there is still a lot of thinks you can do to save energy. So another round of thinking will surely give us more saved juice.
Do you think it is possible to switch off animations and such if the battery goes low? That could help too (but only a bit).
btw. your applications UltimateJuice and SeePU++ are the first and only applications I ever bought for my mobile.
Lowne: I am wondering whether letting Timeriffic handle the night silencing of the phone is a mistake. I'm going to turn those rules off, turn on the night silencing piece again in JuiceDefender, and see if it helps with both the silencing and the data cutoff at night. If I still have issues, I'll let you know and send a log.
I'll still be using Timeriffic for one thing: once a week for a couple of hours, I need to be in Airplane mode (and on vibrate). Since JuiceDefender won't handle this for me (I can only set one daily time period in JD, and it won't cut off the baseband for me), I have to do it in Timeriffic. I'll be interested to see whether JD tries to turn the data connection on during that time.... :)
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