HTC ThunderBolt Battery News: Disable HTC ThunderBolt 4G? Buy Bigger Battery? & More

You will love all the speed of the 4G LTE on the HTC ThunderBolt from Verizon, but you'll see some serious battery drain.

Reviewers of the HTC ThunderBolt suggested buying a higher capacity battery.  Now some bloggers say to forgo the fast data speeds, and set the fastest data-up/down Android phone to 3G-only from a secret, hidden menu.  HTC ThunderBolt forum members report battery life to be from three to five hours.  Be careful before you do anything, and check to make sure that it does not void your warranty.

Some HTC ThundeBolt users have disabled 4G from a secret menu.

The data-access menu can be acessed form the HTC ThunderBolt's phone dialer.  Type in "##4636##"
and you'll be taken to a hidden test menu.  Tap "Phone Information,"
scroll down to "Set preferred network type," and then select
"CDMA auto (PRL)."

WARNING! Don't select "EvDO only" mode, which will disable standard phone calls.

There is also an Android app that shuts off 4G Phone Info (by SC@Taiwan) in the Android Market.  If you change the settings, you have to reboot the phone.

There is also a more efficient way to charge your battery used successfully for the HTC EVO 4G by calibrating the battery:

• Turn HTC ThunderBolt ON, charge it for 8 hours (or until LED turns green).
• Unplug
  and turn it OFF, plug it back in and charge for 1 hour (or until LED
  turns green),
  
•  Unplug and turn it ON, wait 2 minutes, turn it OFF,
  plug it back in, and charge for 1 hour (or until LED turns green),
  
• Unplug it, turn it ON, and use normally.

We
think that getting a second high-capacity battery to swap-out is the easiest
option.

HTC Forum members have used two batteries sold by Amazon - the HTC 2x1500mAh battery with a wall travel dock USB charger for $34.99 and the Seido Innocell 1600mAh battery for $44.99.  The batteries are 100mAh and 200mAh more than the original 1400mAh battery, which probably won't add much more time.

WARNING! We checked with Verizon spokesman Ken Muche, who suggested you only use a battery provided or approved by Verizon.

"We suggest you only use Verizon-approved accessories for the best experience.  Verizon accessories are tailored for devices engineered for our network," said Muche who also added, "We suggest that our wireless customers have an extra battery on hand, just in case and for emergencies."

Verizon Wireless
sells two extra batteries for the HTC Thunderbolt - a 1400mAh original battery for $39.99 and a 2750 extended battery for $49.99, which is bigger and requires a bigger cover that is included.

One of our most popular tips and tricks articles
is "Top Ten Best Ways to Save Android an' Droid Battery Life."  The first step is to add the power control widget and then shut down the functions you don't use or don't want activated.  In general, smartphones take up a lot of power continually
checking for updates.  Please let us know if you have found a better battery solution.

• HTC ThunderBolt Wins 3 E-Tech Award.
• HTC ThunderBolt (Verizon) Review.
• Read HTC ThunderBolt tips for the full breadth of social media capabilities.