Help HELP - Google Mpas 4.4 Using Insane Battery

[SeattleYanksFan]

So the past couple days my battery life has gotten incredibly worse. I've noticed all of a sudden, after I use Google Maps (and/or maybe Nav), in the Battery Use in settings, Google Maps is responsible for 65%+ battery drain even if I use it for 10 seconds. And it continues to go up and up until I shut down my phone. Force killing Maps with System Panel doesn't even seem to stop it.

Anyone have any idea what's going on? It's driving me nuts.

Thanks

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

Anyone have any idea about this? I uninstalled and reinstalled and still happening. It's driving me nuts.

 

[necosino]

I just installed a new ROM and have not updated maps, and haven't had any excessive battery use at all and I used maps for about 15 mins this morning.

 

[bjanow]

I just went on Maps and nothing untoward happened. But reboot the phone and make sure your uptime and awake time are not in sync. You'll be able to tell within about 5 or 6 minutes. Write down the times, i.e uptime 8 minutes, awake 50 seconds, then launch maps. Close it out and check your awake time and uptime again for a few cycles. If they start to ride together then there is a problem. If not, it's not Maps doing it.

The largest drain on battery (besides talking on the phone and who does that any longer?) is the phone not sleeping when the screen is off.

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

I think I've narrowed the issue down to when I use Navigation. Once I open Navigation and exit it, Maps seems to continue to rise in the battery use category. I just can't imagine it's another program draining the battery because until I open Nav, the battery life is perfectly normal. I also haven't installed any apps recently other than WidgetLocker, but I disabled WL and the issue still happened.

I did the awake time test this morning, and so far it looks normal even though Maps is at the top of Battery Use. That said, I am certain it has been causing my battery to die faster. I monitor my battery life pretty closely and since this issue has popped up, I've definitely seen the bars drop quicker.

I've seen a number of posts on this when I Googled it, but I've never seen any have a solution and was hoping someone here experienced this problem and figured out how to solve it. It only began happening since I updated to 4.4 (although others have reported the problem with versions pre-dating 4.4).

 

[sabrewings]

I have the issue where it 'says' it is using a lot, but my battery life is normal. I still believe it's a GUI glitch.

 

[bjanow]

....
I did the awake time test this morning, and so far it looks normal even though Maps is at the top of Battery Use. That said, I am certain it has been causing my battery to die faster. I monitor my battery life pretty closely and since this issue has popped up, I've definitely seen the bars drop quicker.
...

It just doesn't make sense, although I believe you. If the phone is asleep how can it drain the battery? I have the problem of some app keeping the phone awake a few times / week and a reboot is the only thing that clears it, but I can always tell when it happens due to the high awake time. Good luck.

 

[sabrewings]

It just doesn't make sense, although I believe you. If the phone is asleep how can it drain the battery?

This is what leaves me to believe it is just a GUI issue. Whenever I see that Google Maps has dominated my battery according to the usage screen, I don't notice any change in battery life (still make it all day). However the OS reports what is using the battery doesn't seem to recognize that Maps is closed.

 

[bjanow]

I really don't pay that much attention to battery usage whether or not it's with native or system panel, the whole thing baffles me. But I do pay attention to battery life left and find that awake time is huge. But isn't this more than just a GUI issue if battery life is dropping? I think there are some bugs around here. Not worth returning the phone for (Apple fan boys) but certainly worth fixing.

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

I really don't pay that much attention to battery usage whether or not it's with native or system panel, the whole thing baffles me. But I do pay attention to battery life left and find that awake time is huge. But isn't this more than just a GUI issue if battery life is dropping? I think there are some bugs around here. Not worth returning the phone for (Apple fan boys) but certainly worth fixing.

Maybe it is just in my head. I just remember going to bed with the phone still in the orange the other night and waking up to a dead phone for the first time since I've had it (over 3 months).

I also noticed a few days where I was in the green and then it was telling me I was at 14% before I knew it.

I used to get a minimum of 24 hours battery life and lately it's been closer to 16-18 hours. This could be a result of this bug or perhaps I'm just using the phone a lot more. I'll monitor it a little more closely.

 

[bjanow]

Watch the awake time. I can go all day if that bullshit doesn't trigger, and I don't know what does it. One day it shows uptime at 15 hours and awake time 2 hours which is perfect for my usage. Then all of a sudden I notice my battery has gone to shit and I take a look. It shows uptime at 15 hours and awake time at like 4 or 5 or 6 hours. I can kill everything under the sun but uptime and awake still parallel. I have to reboot and everything goes back to normal for another day or so.

 

[Liquoredolce]

Yes, maps is keeping the phone awake and killing the battery. There have been multiple threads on it, and mine today used 88% of my battery (maps).

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

Yes, maps is keeping the phone awake and killing the battery. There have been multiple threads on it, and mine today used 88% of my battery (maps).

Has there ever been a solution? Or has anyone complained to Google? This would appear to be a pretty big bug.

 

[bjanow]

And even if you kill it?

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

And even if you kill it?

That's the weird thing, System Panel shows it as inactive. I kill it anyway, but it has no effect.

 

[bjanow]

I'd like to try and reproduce that. What exactly do you do and how do you know it's killing the battery?

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

I'd like to try and reproduce that. What exactly do you do and how do you know it's killing the battery?

Now to be honest I don't know if it's killing my battery or just falsely reporting. I go back and forth on this.

As for how to try and reproduce:

Make sure you have Google Maps 4.4 (might happen with earlier versions, but started happening for me since 4.4 I think).

Open up Navigation, turn on GPS with Location ON, go back to Nav and put in a destination and hit Navigate. Let it find the directions and begin giving directions. Let it run long enough so it is at least 1% of Battery Use.

Exit Navigation and turn off GPS.

Check Battery Use every 5 or so minutes and see if it keeps increasing Maps percentage.

 

[bjanow]

Didn't happen on mine. No battery drain and Maps doesn't increase past the 3% from the start. Sorry. I have 4.4 as well.

 

[SeattleYanksFan]

Didn't happen on mine. No battery drain and Maps doesn't increase past the 3% from the start. Sorry. I have 4.4 as well.

Weird!

Thanks for checking. Do me a favor and check it again like an hour later; see if anything changes.

I'd really love to figure this one out, because I know it's going to irk me, even if it doesn't adversely affect battery life.

 

[bjanow]

Weird!

Thanks for checking. Do me a favor and check it again like an hour later; see if anything changes.

I'd really love to figure this one out, because I know it's going to irk me, even if it doesn't adversely affect battery life.

I checked it all evening and it didn't budge. I'll put in the stock (I was using the 1500 today) tomorrow morning and try it again. I usually swap them each day anyway because I externally charge the spare for the bump instead of turning off the phone for 1/2 hour. I'll report back by noon tomorrow.

 

[bjanow]

Same thing. Maps initially used 75% of my time but has since dropped off as the day wore on. No battery drain whatsoever.