The problems with the Tunein radio app

[RADIO TRUTH]

This applies to anyone who uses the Tunein radio app. This applies to all smart phones whether they are Iphones, any Droid phones or any of the newer Windows phones. The Tunein radio app gives you the choice of thousands of radio stations around the U. S. and the world. This would be fine if the app didn't drain your cell phone battery. There is no app that will drain your battery faster than the Tunein radio app. It doesn't even matter if you're not using it, it still drains your cell phone battery. If you uninstall the Tunein radio app, your battery will still drain because the app makes changes to the operating system in your smart phone. If you search out this topic on Google, you will see a great number of people who are having significant battery problems with all different types of smart phones with the Tunein radio app. If your battery is draining quickly, here's how to fix the problem. Hit the icon in settings to reset your smart phone to the original factory specs when your smart phone was new. You will have to reenter all of your addresses and phone numbers on some smart phones. You will also have to reinstall all the other apps that you had before you reset the phone to factory specs. If you have the Tunein radio app and your battery life stinks, you now know why and how to fix it.

 

[ansky212]

I use Tune In for Blackberry and never had this problem.

 

[BruceS8852]

I enjoy the Tunein radio app very much. I think the drain in cell phone batteries is caused by the GPS. There is some battery drainage when I listen to any radio app, but not when it is not in use.

Bruce

 

[FightingIrish]

Any kind of streaming app will kill your battery, whether it be TuneIn, IHeart, Pandora, etc. Pulling in data signals requires a lot of power. Simple as that.

Resetting the phone would work. And you can back up your Android apps and settings with Titanium Backup. Also uninstall apps you don't need or use anymore. I rooted my Android and installed a custom ROM that is very good for battery life, even when streaming. Also, turn off GPS when not in use.

 

[MoldaMania182]

First off this topic is really not for the NY board but, ok.

Second, there's an old IT adage that says '99% of all computer problems exist between the chair and the keyboard'; the same is true here as smartphone's two biggest players Apple and Android are really stripped down ARM based Unix and Linux Operating Systems at heart.

The post by 'Radio Truth' reads more like a propaganda piece to scare people from other radio mediums than information best served publicly. The truth is TuneIn is an extremely popular mobile application that holds a 4.6 out of 5 star rating on the Google Play Store with thousands of reviews.  Everyone's experience will differ but I did want to point out some very false claims he made.

  It doesn't even matter if you're not using it, it still drains your cell phone battery. 

If this turns out to be the case, you have not properly exited the app and it's running in the background as all platforms support multitasking.

If you uninstall the Tunein radio app, your battery will still drain because the app makes changes to the operating system in your smart phone. 

This is a flat out lie. First if you uninstall an app, it's gone, period. Second no standard app installed from iTunes or the Play Store can make operating system changes to your device on its own. Doing so requires administrative or in the Linux world root /superuser access to do so. Even if you managed to have a 'rooted' or customized device (and went out of your way to do this), you are still prompted to grant permission to the system app before anything can happen. Further, TuneIn's app privileges have NO such elevated permission requests so the entire premise is moot. 

If you search out this topic on Google, you will see a great number of people who are having significant battery problems with all different types of smart phones with the Tunein radio app.  If your battery is draining quickly, here's how to fix the problem.  Hit the icon in settings to reset your smart phone to the original factory specs when your smart phone was new.  You will have to reenter all of your addresses and phone numbers on some smart phones.  You will also have to reinstall all the other apps that you had before you reset the phone to factory specs. 

You can Google search for anything you want to, and there's plenty of misinformation to be found. As I previously pointed out, since the app cannot make changes to your operating system, factory resetting is futile and a poor waste of your time. If this turned out to be your personal case, you likely had some other issue with your device that you have mis-labeled the blame for.

As FightingIrish correctly pointed out, maintaining an active cellular connection will drain your battery faster than in Standby, and that applies to all apps, particularly streaming. I typically find a loss of ~7%/hr for radio streaming apps with the screen off, but individual phones will vary. Best advice is to use Wifi where you can as that has less draw than 3/4G, and make sure you properly quit the app when you're done listening. If you're on Android, download GSam Battery (free). It provides advanced battery monitoring with times and percentages so you can keep track of what's really active on your device. Good luck.

 

[KeithE4]

This applies to anyone who uses the Tunein radio app. This applies to all smart phones whether they are Iphones, any Droid phones or any of the newer Windows phones. The Tunein radio app gives you the choice of thousands of radio stations around the U. S. and the world. This would be fine if the app didn't drain your cell phone battery. There is no app that will drain your battery faster than the Tunein radio app. It doesn't even matter if you're not using it, it still drains your cell phone battery. If you uninstall the Tunein radio app, your battery will still drain because the app makes changes to the operating system in your smart phone. If you search out this topic on Google, you will see a great number of people who are having significant battery problems with all different types of smart phones with the Tunein radio app. If your battery is draining quickly, here's how to fix the problem. Hit the icon in settings to reset your smart phone to the original factory specs when your smart phone was new. You will have to reenter all of your addresses and phone numbers on some smart phones. You will also have to reinstall all the other apps that you had before you reset the phone to factory specs. If you have the Tunein radio app and your battery life stinks, you now know why and how to fix it.

Baloney. I've been using TuneIn ever since it became available. The battery drain on my cellphone is due to the display and the audio amp, plus the circuitry required to get the stream and the GPS. Any app that uses those sections of the hardware will cause the battery to drain. Try watching a video, either one saved on your phone or on YouTube, and see how long your battery lasts.

BTW, phone calls drain the battery, too. Smartphones use more juice than the old flip-phones because they do so much more. But that has nothing directly to do with the TuneIn app or any other app. Hardware drains batteries.

 

[moreno]

apple's radio apps are terrible too...i dont understand why it stops all the time. maybe i just need an iphone 5, not 4

 

[ty_kleinle]

I don't have this problem, my phone has an fm tuner built into it Live, local, no stream and it doesn't drain the battery. I once had my phone die on me, turned it back on to listen to the radio for 15 minutes before it shutoff again!

 

[nd2023]

I have an extended battery case on my iPhone, and I can listen to a 64k AAC+ stream on 3G for over 8 hours while browsing the Internet on my phone occasionally without it dying. I spent only $50 for my battery case.

Before the hurricane, I bought an external USB battery pack that claims it can recharge my iPhone 4 times. I can still use that now for a quick charge and I didn't charge it since the hurricane (I only used it to charge my phone once).

 

[Dick Skinner]

This applies to anyone who uses the Tunein radio app. This applies to all smart phones whether they are Iphones, any Droid phones or any of the newer Windows phones. The Tunein radio app gives you the choice of thousands of radio stations around the U. S. and the world. This would be fine if the app didn't drain your cell phone battery. There is no app that will drain your battery faster than the Tunein radio app. It doesn't even matter if you're not using it, it still drains your cell phone battery. If you uninstall the Tunein radio app, your battery will still drain because the app makes changes to the operating system in your smart phone. If you search out this topic on Google, you will see a great number of people who are having significant battery problems with all different types of smart phones with the Tunein radio app. If your battery is draining quickly, here's how to fix the problem. Hit the icon in settings to reset your smart phone to the original factory specs when your smart phone was new. You will have to reenter all of your addresses and phone numbers on some smart phones. You will also have to reinstall all the other apps that you had before you reset the phone to factory specs. If you have the Tunein radio app and your battery life stinks, you now know why and how to fix it.

Thanks for a ton of misinformation, radiofalse. What's your motive here anyway?

 

[erwin33]

@Radio Truth: I guess your battery is almost dead. I have TuneIn on my Samsung Galaxy S, after I buy this phone 2 years ago, I had no problems with it but at the moment I have the same issues with TuneIn as you. But a battery life is not endless, so I guess a new battery fix this issues for a while

 

[scanman1]

TuneIn app works great on my iPhone 4. I really don't see where it significantly drains my battery, either.

 

[hubcity]

Seems to me there's an FUD (fear/uncertainy/doubt)-spreading agenda behind Radio Truth's bleat. Any idea what that might be?

 

[radio10]

I'm glad you posted the alert about the Tunein app. I too have been experiencing premature battery drainage after downloading the Tunein app, and this is with a new Iphone 5. Even when not using the app, my battery life was reduced to 3 or 4 hours. Posting your alert saved me from the time consuming inconvenience of arguing with Apple that I had a defective battery. I deleted the app and reset my Iphone. I was hoping the Tunein app would be a one stop source to hear NY radio. Now I use the IPhone's Safari to find and hear NY stations.

 

[reelyreal]

I'll bet $10 bucks that all battery problems are related to allowing the app to use your location, or "location services." Location services uses massive resources in your device, and if several apps are using location services and are running in the background, there goes your battery. Never allow an app to use your location unless you're near a charger.

You can shut off location services for your entire phone in settings, or limit which apps can use your location (I limit it to maps.)

When not using location services, TuneIn has never used more battery than WunderRadio, iHeartRadio, RadioPup, Pandora, or the individual station apps I have.

 

[FightingIrish]

Like I said before, streaming apps use a lot of power when they're running. Period. Same with constant web surfing. That too will eat the battery. They all use data, and receiving data requires power. That said, there's probably not a lot of difference in battery consumption between all of the streaming apps (and I have used quite a few, such as TuneIn, Pandora, IHeart, 8Tracks, Radio.com, and others).

I always advise having a charger nearby when using it.

And for Android users, it could be a worn-out battery. Take it out of the phone (if it's removable) and spin it on a table. If it's kind of rounded, it's time to replace. I had this same issue, ordered a new battery from some outfit on Amazon for $5 and now my phone is holding very long cha