Treo 680 Battery Drain Patch Released

What kind of company releases a "camera update" to solve a BATTERY DRAIN problem???

Obviously, addressing the battery "issue" directly with an update with an appropriate name would help more users get the proper fix.. maybe Palm and its engineers are too much in denial to accept their camera mistake affected battery life.

Palm is guilty of serious miscommunication.

Thanks for the info Andrew. Adios Treo..lol...wow..if your understand the actual PURPOSE behind the update. The camera's software does not shut down properly, therefore it continues to drain battery power. READ before you make statements.

I suspect there are other processes that are drawing battery power as well (BT for example) that will get patches.

Also, the link to Palm's battery optimization tips above no longer works.

quote from Adios Palm "What kind of company releases a "camera update" to solve a BATTERY DRAIN problem??? "

A Company that understands that they have a camera problem and wants to FIX IT!...

what a fool!

Happy Treo 680 User

Here's a link to a general description of ways to improve battery life:

http://kb.palmone.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=PalmSupportKB,ts=Palm_External2001,Case=obj(42764)

The right link is this one:

[Edited: Thanks Alex - I have fixed the link now. Cheers, A.]

Beware of the symbols in this one. You may need to copy&paste to your Address bar...

I just got a new 680, and like it except for 3 different problems. The batter life, which I don't think is related to the camera, because I go days without using the camera. Second, when I answer the phone with the green button, it's a crap shoot whether or not it will answer, and if it does, the same goes for being able to talk to anyone. People ask me, "what happened, I heard the click when you answered, but no one was there". Also, I used the calculator the other day and over a period of time, I had to reset once, and the other times I had to write down the total, because I had to use the "clear" button. Other than that, it's great. The only reason I switched from the 650 was because it locked up on me regularly, at least twice a week, if not more often.

THE CRADLE !!! as already pointed out in Fred's link, or also this link:
http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=48,E=0000000000498751621,K=5613,Sxi=6,useTemplate=Case.tem,CASE=42891

I had real battery improvements after doing the calibration process, but also after that I did not charge through the cradle anymore; and what do I know, my 650 cradle is incompatible!!!

The palm support in EU gave me real professional support (this for adios; if he ever turns back for reading); high level of communication, understanding, carying and taking things serious are a few words describing these people. I work in international purchasing and can really say "they are professional people"...and remember this, they are people, not just palm!

Anyway of knowing whether other cradles,such as Seidio which are OK with the 650, are or are not compatible with the 680?

At least Andrew had the good sense to call this bug fix "Treo 680 Battery Drain Patch".

Too bad Palm doesn't have enough common sense to help users find the solution they need.

First, they call it a camera patch, which does nothing to help anyone looking for a BATTERY solution.

Second, notice there is NO mention of this patch on the Palm homepage. Shame, shame on Palm.

Third, what kind of company delivers such inferior engineering in the first place, let alone fail to properly test the product for quality before releasing it?

I bet no one here was looking on the Palm site for a "Treo 680 Camera Patch" to fix the BATTERY problem. Except maybe some of you psychic geniuses who alway make excuses for Palm shortcomings.

I cannot seem to get to the camera patch download. Can someone help me out?

I installed the patch yesterday and have noticed a tremendous improvement in battery life. Normally at this time I'd be around 55%-60% but I'm currently at 84%! After completing all the tweaks I could find I didnt think the battery was that much of an issue. It was nowhere near great, but it didn't bother me all that much. Now its closer to what I would have initially expected from the device.

i cant believe they release a battery(camera) patch when i theres so many problems with the 700p. when will they release a patch for those 700p issues??

I downloaded the patch right after it was made available. I have to say, it WORKS! I messed around with internet, with camera, using bluetooth, anything to drain the battery. I am still, 24 hours later, around 75% on my battery.

I wish that Palm had come clean early on about the problem. I realize the solution took time, but acknowledging the problem at the beginning is the proper course.

Does Palm even test their own products? Anyone who has used a Treo 680 for simply casual (read: non-business) use would be disappointed in the pathetic battery life. I've gone back to my BlackBerry 8700c, which lasts for days and days with constant checking of my email and phone calls to clients. Granted it doesn't have a camera or touchscreen. But it's incredibly stable and reliable and power friendly -- attributes any smartphone user can appreciate.

It's no wonder Palm's stock has been on the decline for years. The company's a mess.

I think there needs to be some focus on Cradles re battery life. Can anyone tell us if there is some incompatibility with the Seidio Cradles and the Treo 680?

The reason why it is called the camera issue is that once you use the camera, even once, it never shuts down, constantly drawing power and slowing down your device. This update has made my battery life great! (for such a small battery) I can get away with three days of only partial charges before I need to do a full recharge. I used to have to do a full charge every day.

Okay, I gotta put my two cents in as well. Michael #15, I only us my Treo for casual use, and I am not disappointed at all with the battery life. I bought mine unlocked a month ago I guess, and it is able to go for 2 days between charges. Not spectacular, but not disappointing in my eyes, because for me, the features far outweigh my having to charge it every other night. Anyway I have to say this battery patch is awesome. I had a full charge yesterday morning at 9 am, made a couple short calls, checked my voicemail to retrieve two messages, and played games for about 10 minutes. Today I made one short call, and then listened to my music with the speaker on high while I ran on the treadmill for 32 minutes. I am happy to report that at 3:00 pm my battery life is currently at 68% - woohoo!
I love my Treo without a doubt. I will buy the bigger battery eventually, but as a first time Treo user I am happy to say that I would not turn in my wonderful phone for anything.
And Andrew, I love all of the usefull info you have here and do enjoy reading the posts from everyone. Keep it up!!

I'm also happy to report that the patch and the the battery reset works perfectly. So now, It the battery drops 1% per hour with the phone radio on. So if it's simply on standby, I get about say 90 hours - that's 4 days with phone radio on all day and night. Amazing.

I'm a happy camer now :)

I installed the new patch and I must say that it also impressed me!
After 10 hours of usage, with radio on and mild PDA usage (calendar, contacts, video), I'm still at 84%
Quite good.
I'm VERY happy with my Copper Treo 680 (Pity that, as rumors say, it won't be available anymore)

Hello

Actually, this is the link I was trying to post earlier. It gives general information about Palm devices, but seems to go into more detail.

http://kb.palm.com/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,kb=PalmSupportKB,CASE=obj(30425),ts=Palm_External2001#smartphone

In my opinion Palm support has gotten progressively worse in the last 2 years.

This is a perfect example. Seriously calling this a camera patch. So if my car's left turn signal, may cause the gas tank to explode, I would be told this is turn signal issue? You got to list what the end users will most likely observe (or want to correct). At the very least call it Battery Drain/Leak Camera Patch. Most people are not going to bother patching the camera expecting it will fix a battery problem.

In my above example of the car, someone tells me I have a turn signal recall on my card I may not rush to the dealership too fast (or at all unless I notice a problem with it). Someone tells me of an exploding gas tank recall, I will get it towed in first thing and will following it another car from a safe distance...

Starting to look at the Nokia E62, looks like a winner. Combined with the Nokia Softwares (Intellisync Server, and Blackberry Connect). They are looking strong.

Oh and thank god for sites like these, where you can actually find the solution to these problems.

Why is it that when I google "Treo 680 battery life", out of the first 10 pages the only PALM site talks about the battery life being the comparable to the 650 (my 650 runs nearly 10 days on low usage and 6 on heavy use.

My 680 does not yet run more that 4 days (unless I take the SIM card out).

Thank you to all the helpful contributors on this site, PALM hardware should send you all a check, or at least consult your sites once in a while to update their support DB...

One slight hickup to this "camera patch", plug your headphones into the 680 for the listening pleasure of Ptunes and the ability to utilize the phone for calling purposes disapears unless you use the stock headphones.

"One slight hickup to this "camera patch", plug your headphones into the 680 for the listening pleasure of Ptunes and the ability to utilize the phone for calling purposes disapears unless you use the stock headphones."

I think I have experienced the same exact problem, except for me I can no longer communicate during a call, just listen to the caller via the earbud.

anyone else with this problem? I hate to RMA my unit if I can just reflash it.