I have found a work around for the battery drain issues after the 2.3.6 update to my GS2. I consider this to be a work-around, because an actual fix would involve someone at Google or Samsung actually correcting the buggy code. I am dividing this up into several sections that describe the work around and the rationale behind it. I'll start with the fix and save the details for later. ************ The Problem After the 2.3.6 update I noticed a sharp decrease in battery life. I went from being at more than 70% battery at the end of the day at work to being at 50% or less. I tend to keep WiFi on all the time because I connect to the network at my house, the AT&T store that is next to the place where I stop for a bagel in the morning, and at the office. I noticed that instead of "Display" being the biggest battery hog (as I was used to), it was now "Android OS". I was quite concerned because I was about to go on a business trip, and would need my phone for checking email, returning phone calls, etc. While on the trip I kept WiFi off, and I noticed a significant improvement in battery life, even though I was checking email regularly via the 4G connection. That was the first piece of evidence that the root cause f the problem was related to WiFi. ************ The Work Around The following worked for me, and I think will work for others. 1. Go to Settings -> Wireless and Network -> Wi-Fi Settings. Tap the menu key and then Advanced -> Wi-Fi Sleep Policy. Select Never. (This is counter intuitive, but I will explain the reason for this below.) 2. Download a 3rd party battery manager that can control WiFi. I am using Battery Defender, which is free. Juice Defender Plus and Ultimate should also work. (I don't think that the free version of Juice Defender controls WiFi.) If the market tells you that Juice Defender is not compatible with your device, I think it is because AT&T doesn't want you to use it. You can probably side load it, or pop out your SIM card and download it over a WiFi connection. 3. Set up the battery manager of your choice to control your WiFi connection by turning it off when the screen is off. Battery Defender is a bit of a blunt instrument in the sense that when your screen is off, WiFi is off. Juice Defender is a little more sophisticated because it turns WiFi on periodically (every 15 minutes) and allows background applications to connect briefly. If you rely on push e-mail and/or social network updates, you will probably prefer Juice Defender. 4. Enjoy improved battery life where your Display now is the biggest consumer of power. ************* Why This Works Based on reading a number of posts in this forum and others, there is good evidence that there is a bug in the operating system's Suspend process. Normally you would let the operating system manage the WiFi connection, and it can be set up to turn the WiFi off when the screen is off (that is one of the options in the WiFi Sleep policy settings). What appears to be happening is that the Suspend process has a bug and when it shuts off the WiFi radio it goes into an infinite loop of some sort that burns processor cycles and uses a lot of power. This shows up on the battery usage screen as "Android OS". By telling the operating system to never put the WiFi to sleep, the buggy Suspend process never runs. By itself, this would involve a trade-off between the power consumed by the WiFi radio and the buggy suspend (I actually think that leaving WiFi on all the time would use less power). By installing the 3rd party battery manager you are having another program sneak in and turn the WiFi off at the hardware level. The operating system is not involved, and the Suspend process does not start. ************** I hope this help those of you who are having problems. Al
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Al, there is another similar workaround. ATT has placed an app in the Android Market called AT&T Smart Wi-Fi which connects the Wi-Fi only when near previously accepted connections. I believe it checks when screen is on and sleeps the Wi-Fi otherwise.
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This could be why I haven't had battery issues after upgrading to 2.3.6. I've been running Juice Defender since day two. It's really helped with my battery life.
edit: sorry that was a little snarky. It says that the wifi sleep gets caught in an infinite loop that drains battery power and shows up as android os. The way to get around it is to use a third party wifi manager, such as juice defender to get around the problem. Hope that helps!
Last edited by wolfyboy359; January 16th, 2012 at 02:24 PM.
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edit: sorry that was a little snarky. It says that the wifi sleep gets caught in an infinite loop that drains battery power and shows up as android os. The way to get around it is to use a third party wifi manager, such as juice defender to get around the problem. Hope that helps!
Oh, I didn't take it snarky. I wasn't trying to be an ass myself. A) I'm dyslexic and B) I'm an old 40-something fart. Trying to read that, would lead to a migraine the size of texas.
you're welcome. I just don't know if juice defender is the one to use. Since it is beta only, I am reluctant to use it. Any other ideas for a good manager? and will they conflict with att wifi manager which I just installed for some reason?
you're welcome. I just don't know if juice defender is the one to use. Since it is beta only, I am reluctant to use it. Any other ideas for a good manager? and will they conflict with att wifi manager which I just installed for some reason?
Don't take my word for it, because I honestly haven't investigated either app. However, I installed the AT&T app also and my perception, is that it should basically take care of the issue. Juice Defender seems like overkill to me, for this particular problem.
Though, again... I don't know enough about Juice Defender. I always thought its basically a task manager and Android does not need task managers.
Al, there is another similar workaround. ATT has placed an app in the Android Market called AT&T Smart Wi-Fi which connects the Wi-Fi only when near previously accepted connections. I believe it checks when screen is on and sleeps the Wi-Fi otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wolfyboy359
it says use juice defender.
edit: sorry that was a little snarky. It says that the wifi sleep gets caught in an infinite loop that drains battery power and shows up as android os. The way to get around it is to use a third party wifi manager, such as juice defender to get around the problem. Hope that helps!
Thank you both for this information, will try it out and see what the happs is. I too barely skimmed through that stuff at the top heh - your posts helped explain it more succinctly. (Sorry OP )
Al, there is another similar workaround. ATT has placed an app in the Android Market called AT&T Smart Wi-Fi which connects the Wi-Fi only when near previously accepted connections. I believe it checks when screen is on and sleeps the Wi-Fi otherwise.
Ok, so do I just download the app and it does what it's supposed to do on its own? or do I need to set it up or something?
I downloaded, but I'm just not sure how to use it.
OK so even with the ATT wifi app and juicedefender installed, I only got 14hrs out of my battery and it wasn't used for web surfing at all.
This seems like some sort of memory/cpu leak because even though juicedefender is shutting down the wireless, but enabling it every half hour to update apps, it isn't lowering the OS. My OS was still running at over 90%.
I'm doing a test today. I disabled syncing to gmail, uninstalled juicedefender and att wifi app, turned off wifi, and then power cycled my phone. Will see how long it lasts.
Tiger, I just installed the AT&T app and let it do its thing (no setup). Just run it when you reboot or start the phone to make sure it is running.
G, I think your suggestion would still let the WiFi run (scan) if you're not in one of your previously accepted WiFi access points / routers / places. If I understand the AT&T app, - screen on check - not a favorite WiFi location, then sleep WiFi - Favorite: -> wake up WiFi & connect.
ok I wouldn't recommend smart wifi as a solution to this problem on it's own. I tested it out last night and my battery didn't last. All this app seems to do is reconnect to my wifi at home when I disconnect it. Keeping it on.
edit: I am trying Battery Defender (no affiliation) to see what that does.
Last edited by wolfyboy359; January 17th, 2012 at 03:51 PM.
you're welcome. I just don't know if juice defender is the one to use. Since it is beta only, I am reluctant to use it. Any other ideas for a good manager? and will they conflict with att wifi manager which I just installed for some reason?
Not sure where you got Juice Defender is beta only. I'm running version 3.9.4. I downloaded it from the market in Nov. and just kept updating as they came available. I'm running the free version not the plus version.
Not sure where you got Juice Defender is beta only. I'm running version 3.9.4. I downloaded it from the market in Nov. and just kept updating as they came available. I'm running the free version not the plus version.
If you check the market on your phone and try to upgrade to the pro version, it says its not available for our phones, which is horse crap, because all it does, is unlock the features.
I tried the advanced settings for wifi and put it on sleep when display is not on. This actually did help. I left wifi on and the phone on overnight for 9hrs and the battery only drained 10%.
So i was finally forced to installed 2.3.6 last night after postponing it for a few days.
Of course now my battery is HORRIBLE! I have it charging right now and I'm listening to Pandora. The phone is draining battery at like 2-3% per 10 minutes while I'm listening to music even with it charging!
I'm going to download Battery Defender and see what's up, but it won't work if I'm listening to music on wifi. So I guess i'll have to shut down wifi too.
Can't believe I'm losing battery while it is charging.
This fix worked for me. Since I had unlimited data I had just turned off wifi...but now this let's me use it without the horribel drain. Lasy night only lost 3% battery in 7 hours with wifi activated. ALSO: juice defender ultimate is now available to AT&T customers...it was not before.
Sounds like being a Newbie, I should just wait for my new phone to arrive and leave it at 2.3.4 version of gingerbread, and load the new ATT defender ultimate app from the get go.
I've been running JuiceDefender for over six months and it didn't help with the Wifi bug after I allowed the 2.3.6 update. What I've noticed is that sometimes the battery drains quickly and other times it doesn't and enabling the wifi activates the drain. Something is getting activated and it does have something to do with Wifi but, I've always let JD disable wifi and it doesn't always prevent expedited drain. I've experimented with every setting native to the phone and JD and haven't been able to isolate the leak. When looking at the battery meter its obvious when the drain process is running but disabling wifi doesn't stop it. Only a reboot and leaving wifi off stops it.
That said, I've left wifi off until a fix gets released. Due to this fact I got a nice little letter from ATT in my inbox a few days ago:
Dear Mr XXXXXXXXXX,
Like other wireless companies, AT&T is taking steps to manage exploding demand for mobile data. We're responding on many levels, including investing billions in our wireless network this year and working to acquire more network capacity.
As mentioned on a previous bill, we're also taking additional, more immediate steps to help address network congestion and improve reliability. One of these steps involves a change for some customers who use extraordinarily large amounts of data in a single billing period - about 12 times more data than the average smartphone user.
For the current billing cycle, your data usage indicates you could be affected by this change. Here's how it works:
Smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.
We're writing because you are in the top 5 percent of heaviest data users for this billing cycle. Because we recognize that data usage can change from month to month, you will not see reduced speeds this billing cycle.
Beginning with your next billing cycle, we'll send you a text message if you are approaching the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. We'll also send you a second text message if you cross into the top 5 percent of heaviest users, at which point you may see reduced speeds for the rest of the month.
Customers have several ways to manage extremely high data usage.
Wi-Fi offers great speeds and doesn't add to your wireless data usage. Consider using Wi-Fi when possible for applications that use the highest amounts of data, such as streaming video apps, remote web camera apps, large data-file transfers (like video) and some online gaming.
You may also consider switching to a tiered data plan if speed is more important to you than having an unlimited data plan. Customers on tiered plans can pay for more data if they need it, and will not see reduced speeds.
So, I'm left with two options: 1) enable wifi and carry around multiple batteries or 2) Disable wife, use HSPA+ and risk getting throttled or switched to a tiered plan.
i received a battery update notice about two weeks ago but i wasn't sure if it was a virus or something. since the notification my battery life a has dramatically decreased.
about two weeks ago a battery update thing came up on my phone but i wasn't sure if it was a virus or something. since that my battery life has dramatically decreased, can anyone please help?
about two weeks ago a battery update thing came up on my phone but i wasn't sure if it was a virus or something. since that my battery life has dramatically decreased, can anyone please help?
This exactly happened to me. I believe this spam now appears in the night and within few hours the battery is fully discharged. I emailed this to Google.
I've just started having similar problems with the battery when I'm using mobile hotspot. I was on for 3-4 hours yesterday, and the battery was continuously discharging, even though I was plugged in. When the battery got below 30%, it would not charge from an outlet, had to flip over to charge from USB to my laptop. My husband the engineer couldn't believe it was possible until I proved it. Just leaving it plugged in with hotspot activated was causing it to lose power even tho it said it was charging..any more advice anyone can offer is appreciated, thanks.
As of now, let me make sure I have allt he information from the first post to the latest one in terms of relevance:
-Juice Defender does not seem to fix this via the workaround (though someone stated that Plus or Ultimate Version can solve this).
-wolfyboy359 and TripleFall says they was trying Battery Defender (no update yet).
-ATT Wifi App is a no-go.
Has anyone tried Battery Defender with results yet?
Edit: Installed Battery defender, how do I go about setting it so that Wifi is off when screen is off? App description reads:"Automatically disable wifi and data connection after you turning off your screen(with 15~20s latency)" but I had the screen off for 60 seconds and wifi was still active (app was on of course).
Thoughts?
Edit 2: Last night I installed and activated Battery Defender. Here are the results as of a few minutes ago:
With this workaround, should Android OS still be using the batetry the most?
Last edited by gianmarco; May 7th, 2012 at 06:15 PM.
I recently got interested in this problem as two weeks ago my battery drain problems started and it would only last between 1-4 hours, and would take ages to recharge, and the phone was getting hot.
I went to the battery usage in settings and found that the OS was consuming around 70% of the battery. It was being drained rapidly even when in idle. The screen was also becoming hot at the top of the phone, an S2.
I downloaded betterbatterystats and found two processes being run pretty much constantly. They are svnet and svnet-dormancy. They are involved in the sending of data packets. I then checked my current data usage with my provider. This month it has gone from an average use of 40mb per month to 360mb and were only just over half the way through this month!!
So for me what is happening is that a process is constantly sending and receiving data packets. I wondered at first whether this was a faulty app so I bit the bullet and deleted all updates and downloaded applications. No joy. Still the same problem. I then thought maybe its a virus so I download a virus checker. Nothing. Still the same problem. Scratching my head now.
I then noticed the box in Settings/Accounts and Sync/Background data and unchecked this, problem solved. Battery back to normal, no heat problems, no recharging problems.
Whether this is a client or server fault I don't know. I have google/yahoo/facebook/exchange server account settings. I know of five people personally who have been affected by battery drain issues within the last month. I don't know why. Two have sent there phone back for repairs. Others are looking at exchanging their's for an iphone.
My temporary fix may not be the answer for everyone but it explains why the battery is draining so quick, why the phone is getting so hot, and why it takes so long to recharge.
On a side note, why is the android OS so user unfriendly to upgrade. You go to the settings/software update/check for updates (mine is android 2.3.3) and the phone says no update available, yet i know android 4.? something exists. Can someone point me in the direction of how you upgrade the OS. Thanks in advance.
Last edited by orbiton; May 21st, 2012 at 07:26 AM.
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I have been using Samsung GS2 for six months and recently been suffering from severe battery drain. I would get just 8-9 hours on a full charge with very light use.
Went through the Internet and searched forums and finally hit jackpot.
Here's wht I did:
1. Calibrated the battery. I let the battery drain completely and allowed the phone to automatically shut down. Then charged the battery from zero till 100 per cent.
I did it three times over a week.
The last time I did this, once my battery was 100 per cent, I removed the battery, waited for 5 minutes, reinserted it and switched on.
2. Turned location services off
Go to Settings, Location services:
Untick Google's location service
Untick GPS satellites
Untick Location and Google search
(Unless u r using Google Navigation a lot u dont need these)
Optional settings:
3. If u want to desperately save battery life...
Turn Auto Sync off:
Settings-Accounts and sync
Turn it off
4.Turn wi-fil off during sleep
Settings--wifi--Advanced (menu key) Keep wi-fi on during sleep ---Never
These steps hve worked for me, especially the first two, hope u guys will find them useful.
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Samsung Galaxy S2 Battery Drain Fix / Work-Around
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