Samsung Galaxy S4 EXCESSIVE Battery Drain

[Anonymous]

Hi. I have recently updated one of my Samsung Galaxy S4 handsets to 4.4.2.

Since the update battery drain has been excessive. In an "unused" state it will lose 12% between midnight and 7 am compared to my Note 3 that uses just 1%.

I hear it is becoming a common thread across forums, any ideas folks please?

[Anonymous]

Hi @Toby and thanks for your post.

The problem with the S4 is becoming a big one across the country with many users reporting a problem with battery drain since the 4.4.2 update.

Following advice from @MI5 I have changed Facebook from hourly refresh to never. Later on I will adjust the Google Ad Services item as per @viridis and see tonight what difference those make overnight tonight (best to do overnight test as the screen isn't being used so get a better result).

Early indications are that Android Services are using about 20% of battery when screen isn't being used and about 14% when it is. But that was before FB settings were adjusted.

[Anonymous]

Hello everyone. Ok here is the latest. ...

Following a suggestion from @MI5 to set Facebook refresh to never this was done.

Following a suggestion from @viridis I also turned off Google Ad Services.

Checked battery usage overnight and 13% used (an worsening result of 3% from last test). Disappointing.

I was also recommended to try out an app called Clean Master. This removed almost 1gb of unnecessary files. I then took the app off again.

One thing I did notice is that the notification icon was flashing all night which is not unusual given the amount of yahoo mail received.

So with a worsening position the next option is to try turning the handset to Airplane Mode overnight to see what that does.

Check back for future updates. .....

[viridis]

Have you installed carat?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.cs.amplab.carat.android&hl=en_GB&referrer...
It's specifically designed to seek out battery hogs. Give it a try.

[viridis]

Do you use yahoo mail app or through email?
Yahoo should only check for mail at an interval set by you, if it's constantly checking, the phone won't deep sleep.

[Anonymous]

Hi @viridis

Have checked the app (as that is how it is accessed) and there doesn't appear to be an option to adjust frequency of refresh

[viridis]

Disable yahoo mail app (but don't clear data or cache to avoid having to sync and login again) just over night and see if you get better results.

[viridis]

If you want more control over refresh rate, use the built in email app for yahoo or ymail. I used the dedicated app for a while but ended up hating it.

[Anonymous]

I use yahoo mail on my iPhone 5s and is set to push all new mail from my server to my phone.

I see no significant battery drain at all.

I see a hard reset looming @Anonymous

[Toby]

Hey Piper,

How are you getting on with this?

[Anonymous]

I've had a few issues since updating to 4.4.2 the most annoying being the PIN lockscreen only sometimes coming on resulting in me having to give up and use a third party one instead and massive battery drain by Android System.

I tried two factory resets installed the PC version of Wakelock Deterctor (more info and downloads from http://uzumapps.com/?cat=2 and  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2179651) to try and track down what was causing it to no avail other than it appearing to be radio related. In the end I have settled for the following approach which at least gives me reasonable battery longevity throough the day with a number of compromises.

I already had Bluetooth, Wifi, GPS off when not using them and  OK Google hotword plus all the samsung gimic features diabled.

I own the AutomateIt app (similar to Tasker) so I setup rules to do the following:

1. Turn off data when the screen is off

2. Turn data back on every 15 minutes when the screen is off so that i can get whatsapp FB etc. notifications

3. Turn off data every 16 minutes when the screen is off so that it only active for 1 minute

4. Disable rules 2 & 3 when the screen is on

5. Enable rules 2 & 3 when the screen is off

6. Turn off data when wifi is connected

7. Turn on data when wifi is disconnected

This gives me significantly better battery life but it means I can miss IM type messages by up to 15 minutes and when having convesations if there are long paues and the screen goes off past the delay I setup for the rules to kick in I wont see the reply until either 15 minutes elapses or I turn the screen back on resulting in lots of flicking the screen on to see if they have finished typing yet or setting a long timeout when in conversation.

If all else fails you can give the above a try and see how you go but its far from an ideal solution and YMMV.