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Concurrent with the big Froyo for Droid update, Facebook launched a much-appreciated update to their mobile app that refined the interface and brought even more features that keep you in the app rather than push you out to Facebook’s mobile site. And concurrent with both those launches have come some complaints that battery life has diminished. Most Droid users who have experienced the lesser battery life chalked it up to the Android 2.2 update, but it turns out the new Facebook app uses a “partial wake lock” keeping your phone active even when it appears to be in sleep mode.
For now the only way to avoid Facebook chugging along and consuming battery power behind your darkened and inactive screen is to sign out and close down the application. Hopefully the issue may be addressed in a future update. There may be more to the battery drain than just Facebook. For those running Android 2.2 it may be a combination of the two, even. For those that have one or either of the updates, how has your battery been holding up?
[Update]: Facebook has since updated their application in the Android market that should hopefully address this disastrous flaw. Go ahead and download it now if you haven’t already.
[via Droid-Life]
Downgraded to original facebook app. Baterry life improved sugnificantly! Moto Droid
Haha sorry about the mis spelling… you guys know what I meant
Yeah, I updated to 2.2 and my battery is being sucked dry. I hope they fix this facebook problem soon.
Must be a Droid bug only. No issues on my incredible…
it kills my battery on my nexus one running cm 6.0. Noticed that my phone is always running… Never standby mode.
I lost 20% over an hour with the phone siting idle
I’m on 2.1 with a moto milestone and I definately have the issue.
you can check how much of your wake time facebook is using by opening your dialler and dialing *#*#4636#*#*
choose battery history > then partial wake usage – since last unplugged.
I had bad battery problems once I updated to 2.2 on my Droid. I did a factory reset from the settings, which kept 2.2. After that the battery is back to normal even with 2.2 and new facebook app.
Or just install the “Spare Parts” app found on the market… makes it real easy to pull up partial wake usage :)
Working fine for me, running cm6 nightly builds on nexus one. I average about 1.8% battery drain per hour while idle.
not a difference on my battery
droid incredible
no battery drain noticed on my droid Incredible 2.1, but the friends button is a force close every time
I checked using the method aw123 suggested & facebook is not using the most amount of battery.
I hadn’t even noticed a difference in battery life, if i’m honest.
I noticed a big drain on my EVO after installing it. How do I downgrade to the previous version?
I’ve been playing around with it all day on my N1 running stock 2.2. No issues of any kind. Battery life is unchanged.
Upgraded to Froyo and got the new Facebook update. My battery died before the end of the work day with minimal use. That’s never happened before.
Ouch.
So this is why my phone battery died quickly yesterday. I was wondering which application is the battery hog.
T-Mobile Nexus One user and I’ve noticed it draining my battery as well. Not as bad as some but I def noticed my battery was a lot lower mid day than it normally is.
disconnect the notifications and battery should work just fine.
Anyway you get notifications via email
HTC GSM Hero on 2.1. Battery life about the same, as far as I can see. But for the short period that I was using the widget when I first got the update, I think the widget did sap battery.
Big drain on my Desire I noticed with FB and 2.2. Shall kill the FB app and see how we go today.
Nexus one, stock Android 2.2, battery life lower after FB update.
They updated the app to fix the battery drain!
Noticed major battery death, we’ll see how that new update they released goes.
I actually prefer the old interface. How are people getting the old version?
They just posted an update to the app that supposedly fixes the bug that is causing the battery drain.
Can anyone confirm they have fixed the Battery Drain issue?
Okay, downloaded and installed the new version. Seems okay. Battery isn’t draining abnormally fast, so seems okay so far.
I thought it was the flash content, phone gets very hot now more the before…do u guys think it could be a combo?
Got an update at about midnight. Didn’t see any differences in it. Bug fixes?
I took Facebook off my phone (Vibrant 2.1) to compare, and my battery life almost doubled. I dont miss it a bit. I just use the feed interface on the phone….
That’s why you get TasKiller. Right?
I can confirm that if you turn off notifications in the Facebook apps’ settings menu, the issue is fixed. Samsung Captivate.
I haven’t even got it yet… :( has anyone on three UK HTC hero got it?
had the same thing on my galaxy i5700 which has an amazing battery life…….until i updated facebook
My battery life on the galaxy s taken a hit since installing the app
Installed new FB. Ran it. Checked usage now with *#*#4636#*#* Showed nothing and seems normal battery life. Nexus One Froyo 2.2
Illumination – I was wondering why my bettery on my Tattoo suddenly took a turn for the worse this week – anyone know how to get back to previous version?
yeah how to get back to previous version anyone? my desire is losing battery life like never before…
shout at [email protected] if you know how i can install the older version
simpley navigate to the market and under your downloads hit the facebook app. you will see uninstall updates( if it’s bundled with your phone). If not uninstall completely and continue to report this to the developer for a fix. I did read it has been updated so check your app updates first if you actually like this app :/
Downloaded the 2.2 (froyo) update for Evo and battery life significantly worse than on 2.1. not sure if its facebook as i always sign out. The froyo update definitely not worth it if it kills my battery like this. It was fully charged when i went to bed with phone on sleep mode. I woke up 8 hours later to find only 55% battery life remaining.
this update didnt fix the friends button force close issue. I didnt have any battery issues on my incredible, but i still cant use the friends button.
the error is “com.facebook.katana”
It most definitely is the Facebook update. I’m on an Eris running CELB 2.8 and the Facebook app now locks the phone awake and drains my battery like crazy. Nice looking update, but I’ll be downgrading when I find the original apk.
it sucks because half the time it opens the facebook touch site, and half the full version of the website, and not the mobile version.
when selecting notifications that is
Ok, are we sure it is the facebook application and not Froyo? I installed the new update for FB and my battery life still sucks. I talked on the phone for 15 minutes and sent 10 text messages and my battery is down to 60%. Also, since I upgraded, everytime I kill my apps there are at least 13 running, even after I kill them and then re-kill them. What gives???
Well, that fix worked well! I got 6 hours of life from my UK Milestone today, that’s after installing the “fix”. I still run (and am likely to be for some time) 2.1, so it’s unlikely to be FroYo. However I hope they get it fixed soon!
I did not install the update to FB and My Evo battery is still going fast with Froyo. Grumble.
Its a weird problem. i’ve used 2.1 eclair about 56 hours. but now using froyo and lasts about 8 hours. This must be a bad joke or something. Is there any way to downgrade eclair? i dont care 720P video or fancy and faster gui. i need battery life at last 24 hours!
Definately the FB update, not froyo. uninstalled FB update and now have longer battery life
I downloaded Facebook for android. And its fucking terrible. My fone is slower and battery dies fast. How do I get back my original Facebook app. I like it wayyyyyy more
yes I fixed it. Fone is back to normal again. NEVER install Facebook for android. Keep original app fer sure
I updated my HTC Evo to 2.2 whenever it was that I was alerted about an update. I also updated the Facebook app. I didn’t like the FB app (I personally didn’t like the photos at the bottom along with a few other things) so I went back to the previous version. With that said, and using my phone the same as I usually do, I can say with confidence that the battery drain is due to the updated OS. I was charging my phone once a day. Now, twice, with an average of 6 hours of use until it is requesting a charge.
Yeah, Sprint and HTC really f’d this one up. My battery life went from 12-18 hours per charge to less than 4. It’s really, really retarded and annoying. I hate Android now and will never buy another Android phone. Not being able to REALLY kill running applications is unbelievable.