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Help Android OS being top battery eater

icedtea

Android Enthusiast
Jul 20, 2011
304
11
Ok, I know the "screen" thing is usual. . no issues.

Noticed that the Android OS/kernel is being the top notch source for eating my battery. left it at 80% upon sleeping.. phone locked. upon waking up its now 63%!!!

4.3 update was completed months back.. and i am not sure if this is the culprit..
using GSAM battery monitor.. and yes, it shows that Android OS being the top consumer. . .

using Battery doctor.. not sure if this really helps.. any similar experiences??

btw, I am just after SMS for the entire day.. a bit of facebook for 10 minutes at night..
 
If the phone is doing nothing, the OS is going to be using most of the battery. That doesn't mean that the OS is using a lot of battery, it just means that most of what IS being used is being used by the OS. Even a phone that would last 2 weeks would show that most of the battery use is the OS if the phone isn't doing anything else.

17% after 8 hours (that's how long you slept?) means more than 40 hours of standby. That sounds as if you have a weak signal and wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/some other things enabled. Phones are like cars - you get the rated mileage going downhill with a tail wind.
 
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If the phone is doing nothing, the OS is going to be using most of the battery. That doesn't mean that the OS is using a lot of battery, it just means that most of what IS being used is being used by the OS. Even a phone that would last 2 weeks would show that most of the battery use is the OS if the phone isn't doing anything else.

17% after 8 hours (that's how long you slept?) means more than 40 hours of standby. That sounds as if you have a weak signal and wifi/GPS/Bluetooth/some other things enabled. Phones are like cars - you get the rated mileage going downhill with a tail wind.

in short.. are you saying that this is normal??
 
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And that is a problem because.....?

because I cannot receive any SMS or calls. . .


Alternatively, leave it on charge while you sleep. No worries about the battery. You can always replace it, unlike an iPhone, Nexus, or HTC One.

not all can just buy a battery replacement.. as an owner i need to be practical as well . .. :)
 
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Why do people not like leaving their phones on charge over night? I've been doing that for years and never had a single issue.

what's the benefit of charging it over night?

is your battery life prolonged?

I believe once the battery is at 100%, even if you leave it plugged in.. it will not charge anymore.. -----> I MAYBE WRONG HERE.. but I read some write ups on this thing. . .
 
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what's the benefit of charging it over night?

is your battery life prolonged?

I believe once the battery is at 100%, even if you leave it plugged in.. it will not charge anymore.. -----> I MAYBE WRONG HERE.. but I read some write ups on this thing. . .

The main benefit is convenience as you dont have to worry about taking it off charge when charging is complete. Also,you'll have a full battery to start the day. Can't say I've noticed any negatives to leaving any of my phones or devices on charge overnight
 
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I've always kept all my phones on a charger all night, every night, both smart phone and otherwise. I like knowing I will have a full charge out the door every day. I've never seen any degradation of battery capacity or life in many years. I use my S4 as my bedside clock and alarm every night with https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gadgetjuice.dockclock
 
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not all can just buy a battery replacement.. as an owner i need to be practical as well . .. :)

Well, at Amazon, you can get a replacement Anker GS4 battery for under $20 shipped... for two of them...should you ever need to do so. I would hope that as a top-tier smart phone owner that expense would not put you in dire financial straits. ;)

Amazon.com: Anker
 
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Why do people not like leaving their phones on charge over night? I've been doing that for years and never had a single issue.

what's the benefit of charging it over night?

is your battery life prolonged?

I believe once the battery is at 100%, even if you leave it plugged in.. it will not charge anymore.. -----> I MAYBE WRONG HERE.. but I read some write ups on this thing. . .

It's just that it's convenient. You start off the day with a full charge, and I don't believe there's any adverse impact on the battery.

You have to charge the phone at some point in the day. Why not do it when you're sleeping--a time that doesn't impact your use of the phone at all.
 
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the tools/apps that are unnecessary are TURNED OFF. . .

the only thing active is my SMS app that i have been using for years since my s2. . . and now it's 79% without even doing a single SMS or browsing :(
I didn't ask what apps were running, I only asked if you were connecting via Wifi or 3G/4G. If you're capable of receiving/sending SMS, you must be connected. If you're on WiFi and the signal is good all night, you shouldn't be seeing these kinds of power loss.
 
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I didn't ask what apps were running, I only asked if you were connecting via Wifi or 3G/4G. If you're capable of receiving/sending SMS, you must be connected. If you're on WiFi and the signal is good all night, you shouldn't be seeing these kinds of power loss.

my WIFI is OFF.. but I use it every night just to check facebook.. and i turn if off before sleeping. . .
 
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Since last 3-4 days i'm also facing battery drain. I did not install any new app as well. Also i put my phone on charge overnight. but after few hours it goes down to 80% without any usage. Few days back around same time it used to be at 90-92 %. I don't know what went wrong. Last thing I want to do is factory reset. I'm on 4.3. Something is wrong but i'm unable to trace it till now.
BTW i always charge my phones and other devices over night and faced no battery issues since last almost 7-8 years.
 
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