Help Galaxy S2: "Android OS" battery usage 85%

[AmitX123]

I noticed this problem since last two days. My battery drains in 12 hrs

The "Android OS" is taking up 85 % of my battery.

See screenshots

I installed some apps but removed them. I also had "power saving mode" on.

Could it be some app or leftovers from an old app that I removed?

How do I get to the bottom of this? Can I find out what process is causing this "Android OS" to drain battery

 

[loony]

1) read more through the forums. so many threads covering the same issue with different help and solutions.
2) to define if its a rogue app or hardware, go to a samsung center and get the techie to test the voltage. wont take long and should be free.
3)still not happy?, take it back to place of purchase and tell em to jam this one and get another one by throwing a tantrum and creating a scene.

 

[AmitX123]

Ok what I did was disable wifi when not on and unchecked "use wifi network" for location.

Battery use by "Android OS" has gone down considerably. It could be that wifi software has a bug.

 

[ironass]

Don't panic!

Lets put this in perspective.

I think we can all agree that Android OS needs to be running 100% of the time, 24/7, to make the phone work.

Therefore, if nothing else whatsoever was running on the phone, the Android OS figure would be 100% as it would be the only thing consuming battery.

However, as other processes are run and consume battery, in tandem with the Android OS, they too will be consuming a percentage and the Android OS percentage in relation to total battery consumption would decrease from 100% (since, contrary to popular belief, you cannot have more than 100% of anything).

So, the more things that are running and sharing battery power, the smaller your Android OS percentage will be.

You may notice that in the mornings, when the phone has been quiet all night (unless you schedule backups with Titanium, etc.) the Android OS will be showing that it consumed a large percentage chunk.

However, as the day goes on and texts are sent, calls received and made, GPS/Maps used, web browsing, screen on, display, etc. the percentage of Android OS for battery use will decrease in relation to overall battery usage.

Looking at your screenshots AmitX123 I can see that in the period shown... about 2 days... you hardly used your phone at all.

You charged it 8 times.

You were connected to WiFi for about 95% of the time (indicating that you did not move away from your WiFi source and that your phone signal as a consequence was rock solid and steady... so, no searching for WiFi and phone signal much in that period). This is where your battery drain comes in because although your phone was only Awake about 20% of the time, your WiFi was on 95% of the time... thus draining your battery. I would suggest changing your WiFi sleep policy in Advanced settings.

Your phone was Awake for only about 20% of the time.

Your screen was on for about the same amount.

You probably made one, maybe two, short calls in that period.

So, the only thing running all the time would have to be the Android OS and this is reflected in the 85% usage.

This does not mean that you have a problem with Android OS, apart from WiFi. It simply means that you did very little with your phone and so the lions share of battery consumption would obviously be Android OS.

If you don't believe me... try charging your phone to 100%... make a note of the Android OS usage and then browse the web for 15 min's whilst playing music in the background and check your location on Google Maps and then see what percentage your Android OS shows.

I hope this helps.

 

[fontburn]

I had branded new S2 fomr Orange UK and out of the box it used 95% Android OS. Everything was turned off. I sent it back and got a replacement - Everything the same brand new boxed, same firmware and such like and no massive drain by Android OS.
My faulty phone would last 6 hours on stanby with all off. Replacement last over1.5 days of decent use with Wifi, 4 hours Auto sync for all apps if not manual/daily and 3G on.
Only issue now is the WIFI sharing which is a pain, but I hardly restart my phone now anyway.

 

[taxi/man/derry]

I have just bought the s11 as well, and the battery life is crap,you can fiddle about with it till the cows come home, but at the end of the day the battery life is crap.

ps.
I will keep the phone i like it, but you need to be carrying a second battery.

 

[ironass]

I have just bought the s11 as well, and the battery life is crap,you can fiddle about with it till the cows come home, but at the end of the day the battery life is crap.

ps.
I will keep the phone i like it, but you need to be carrying a second battery.

You may find this article helpful whilst waiting for your cows to come home:-

Battery issue (AndroidOS "bug") - workaround (3% loss over 9 hours!!!) - final update - xda-developers

 

[j3ff3]

I have just bought the s11 as well, and the battery life is crap,you can fiddle about with it till the cows come home, but at the end of the day the battery life is crap.

ps.
I will keep the phone i like it, but you need to be carrying a second battery.

then you've got a faulty one. mine lasts at least 24 hours, and i watch an hour or so of streaming video over it most nights.

 

[luke318is]

What app tells you the battery usage like that?

 

[ironass]

What app tells you the battery usage like that?

If you are on 2.3... Settings > About phone > Battery usage > tap the light grey panel at top of screen.

Another useful tool is Android System Info, free from the Market.

Hope this helps.

 

[taxi/man/derry]

You may find this article helpful whilst waiting for your cows to come home:-

Battery issue (AndroidOS "bug") - workaround (3% loss over 9 hours!!!) - final update - xda-developers

You cannot defend the undifendable.LOL.
Compared to others androids and iPhones the battery is still crap and i have tried them.

 

[biffsmash]

Compared to all android devices eh?? Well then you obviously haven't used a HTC Desire, because the entire world will tell you the battery life on that phone is absolutly dire.

My GS2 gets easily 24-36 hours battery when used properly, the Desire when used purely as a phone got me through the day IF I was lucky. I have used most roms on the Desire and it's still 50% worse than the SGS2 for battery.

I would say the SGS 2 is the best android phone i've used for battery, and that includes only two phones, Xperia X10i and HTC Desire, this one is better than both.

I recently had 38% battery left after 2 hours 45 screen on time and 1 day 3 hours before I decided to stick it back in the charger, so I would say thats pretty damn good.

 

[Slug]

You cannot defend the undifendable

You didn't read the thread that ironass helpfully linked to, did you? If you had, you would have seen that nobody is defending anything but rather attempting to find ways of mitigating the adnormal drain caused by the Android OS usage bug.

 

[dearsina]

You may find this article helpful whilst waiting for your cows to come home:-

Battery issue (AndroidOS "bug") - workaround (3% loss over 9 hours!!!) - final update - xda-developers

I've been fiddling with the battery settings, disabled widgets, wiped the phone, bought several popular battery saving apps and tried every trick in the book, my experience has been that the number one drain on my phone (and i'm talking a change from ~2mA to ~200mA) is auto sync.

Coming from the BB world, it's frustrating to have to choose between having a decent battery life, or receiving emails in a timely manner.

 

[trick202]

You cannot defend the undifendable.LOL.
Compared to others androids and iPhones the battery is still crap and i have tried them.

I have the iPhone4 as well as the Galaxy S2.

You have a faulty handset or you need to pay your settings some attention. It's no good digging your heels in an sulking. Swap the handset, or research the (common) issue.

 

[bhautikjoshi]

I have being having battery issue with my one week old Galaxy S2, it's on Gingerbread 2.3.3 version and lasts roughly 4-5 hours with the kind of usage i used to have on my Nokia N8 previously (includes some gaming, casual browsing via wi-fi or 3G, downloading stuff sometimes through market, watching YouTube videos etc)

here's a snapshot of my battery usage, i have drained my battery once entirely and recharged it while phone was in switched off state, going on to second recharge post completely drained battery with Advanced Task Killer and Juice Defender installed and working hoping to see some improvement in battery life, Should i take then phone to service center for inspection or wait for Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 release.

Facing phone warming issue near camera like some other reviews i have read, while gaming or using GPS etc checked battery temperature which hover around 31 deg c - 36 deg c.

 

[ironass]

Actually, nothing to do with your posting about the battery bhautikjoshi...
but I couldn't help but notice that you've posted a fuzzy photograph of your screen.

I don't know if you know that you can take screenshots with the Galaxy SII.

Press and hold the Home key and the Power key at the same time... hold for about 2 seconds and then release the Power key just before the Home key and you will have taken a screenshot which will appear in your Gallery.

Hope this helps.

 

[ironass]

You cannot defend the undifendable.LOL.
Compared to others androids and iPhones the battery is still crap and i have tried them.

One does one's best to help!

If it's any consolation the battery life is much better in firmware version 2.3.4 that I am running.

So you can either wait and look forward to an update in the future, depending on your location and carrier, to 2.3.4 or "root" your handset now and install 2.3.4.

I'm using a stock version from here until CyanogenMod 7 appears:-

Galaxy S II 2.3.4 Gingerbread update leaks, you can try it now - GSMArena.com news

Hope this helps.

 

[bhautikjoshi]

thanks for your suggestion ironass the screenshot i have posted is from another Samsung Wave handset, not from the S2

 

[Randy]

*

 

[ironass]

thanks for your suggestion ironass the screenshot i have posted is from another Samsung Wave handset, not from the S2

Now I am really confused...

Why are you posting a photo of a Samsung Wave on the Galaxy thread...
I'm missing something aren't I?

 

[desaputra]

My experience... 2 major things that eat your battery life.. Wireless On and auto sync, switch off wireless everytime after using it and switch off auto sync give me more than double battery life.

 

[loony]

LOL ironass, hes used the wave phone to take a photo of his sg2.

joshi* that usage screenshot is what mine looks like really, display using most power, its when your OS is chewing the juice something is going on.
for a start, get rid of Advanced Task Killer and Juice Defender, they would chew more juice than what they claim to do.....secondly, if there is a samsung center near you, just take it in and get them to test it. i had same issue and they confirmed it was a dud battery sucking a higher than normal voltage, still waiting for it though so cant tell you yet of the difference.

the temp is normal, getting hot under load is not uncommon, its bad when its getting hot when NOT under load or so hot you cant touch it. mine go REALLY hot after about 1/2 hr on plants n zombies, but i could still hold it.(p.s. the CPU is near the camera, hence that warm spot)
1 days use to me is a stock SG2, hell i only get about 10-15 hrs out of my dud battery with everything off and doing bugger all.
lastly, ive turned my network to GSM only, stop it from searching and changing in auto mode, i reckon it helps life too.

 

[ironass]

LOL ironass, hes used the wave phone to take a photo of his sg2.

Thanks for that explanation loony. Don't know why on earth that didn't occur to me in the first place...
(takes two lightly boiled aspirin and and goes for a lie down )

thanks for your suggestion ironass the screenshot i have posted is from another Samsung Wave handset, not from the S2

If you use my instructions bhautikjoshi, you don't need another phone to take a photo of your Samsung Galaxy SII screen. It already has a built-in screenshot feature that takes an image of it's own screen. This makes it easier to do and a lot more legible.

Hope this helps.

 

[kld]

Hi all,
My battery lasts only for around 15hrs! mostly used up by 'display' I'm talking 70% here! the device is relatively new, bought only a few days ago. This is with WiFi used 30~40% of the time SG2 was on, email synch every 15min. GPS off, 3G network