Motorola V551 / V330 / V547 / V555 / V557

Mar 26, 2005, 10:36 PM

I just purchaced this phone about a week ago..after having three nokias, i must say that i'm rather displeased with the battery life on this motorola. first of all, i hate the whole "three bars" for the battery icon. That tells me almost nothing. And going to phone status and checking the battery meter is just as helpful since my battery seems to go in groups of 2/6. Anybody with the same problem?
Also, im kind of..worried about the life of the battery. My old nokia had a Li-Ion battery and it lasted weeks without charging. for this phone it seems i have to charge it every night, even with just a 20 minute call and sending/receiving no more than 5 text messages. this might be a stupid question, but is the battery just learning its limits? ...
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Mar 26, 2005, 11:45 PM

Check if you have the AA version of the phone. If so, you need a firmware upgrade through Motorola. You check that with the top sticker behind the battery. There should be a series of numbers and then either a "BA" or "AA."

Also, make sure the screen doesn't stay on when you close it. The screen may also stay on when you miss a call and get a voicemail and don't open your phone.

Avoid hitting the side buttons. That lights up the external screen. Make sure bluetooth is off. Set the screen light to turn off after 20 seconds of no use.

For the first few times don't recharge your battery until you get the "low battery" warning.

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Mar 27, 2005, 12:37 AM

I have the BA version..the screen has a timeout of 20 seconds..no voicemails so far, screen shuts off when the phone is closed, side button pressing is limited..recharge after "low battery" done 3 times.

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Mar 27, 2005, 1:30 AM

Did you buy this phone from a cingular reseller or company store? Is it the original Motorola battery?

I get about 3 days. I use bluetooth here and there for probably 1-2 hours out of that time frame. I will make another hour of calls and text message a few times.

Otherwise, I have no recommendation for you other than to return the phone. You have 30 days to do that.

I know the following things KILL the battery:

Games
Bluetooth
Main Screen Light
Speakerphone

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Mar 27, 2005, 1:34 AM

Oh, and make sure you have this software:

R47_G_08.17.0FR_01

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Mar 28, 2005, 2:48 AM

Got it.

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Mar 28, 2005, 2:54 AM

i bought it from a cingular wireless store in the mall..not like a kiosk or anything it's an actual store. it's the original motorola battery..it says 780 on the battery..i think that mAH or something and that could have something to do with why its dying because i believe this phone is supposed to come with 820 mAH battery. i am definately not getting an hour of calls PLUS bluetooth PLUS texting. i'll give you a for example..last night i put it on the charger, it was fully charged this morning..i sent and received about 10 messages, received 3 calls that totaled no more than 8 minutes..and right now the phone is at 1 bar. maybe im paranoid, but id like to think that i was promised a better battery life than the one im getting. any further a...
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Mar 28, 2005, 2:55 AM

let me rephrase that: I sent/received no more than 8 minutes in calls all day.

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Mar 28, 2005, 1:38 PM

Go to the Cingular store and return it. I was told, on the motomodders forum so I have no way to verify the claims without calling Cingular myself, that this is a common problem with v551s. Upwards of 3 out of 10 have this problem. This was discussed to great length at HowardForums. Also, whenever having a problem, you should list your:

Software version:
Flex:
Hardware version:
CRSD Date:
Batch:

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