Nexus 5 battery drains fast

[Advait]

Hi All, I have Nexus 5 Marshmallow w latest updates. A few months ago the battery started to drain fast. I checked which apps may be using a lot of battery but it seems that no app was causing a problem. I replaced the battery with an LG OEM battery and the new battery is now also draining fast. I always keep the wifi and bluetooth turned off when they're not needed. And I have no data plan on the phone; only voice and text messages. Also I keep the screen brightness turned down.

Any ideas on how to diagnose and/or fix fast battery drain on fully up to date Nexus 5? Thanks,

 

[exninja]

You can download an app like gsam battery monitor and try it. What does your battery usage details look like?

 

[Paddy Landau]

I recently discovered that Facebook drains the battery. It doesn't show under the battery statistics because it comes under one of the Android services.

This affects all phones including iOS (Google "Facebook battery drain").

I uninstalled Facebook and Messenger (I use Chrome instead now). Not only is Facebook faster — although obviously you don't get notifications — but also I've gone from paranoid charging several times a day to charging only once a day.

Try it. Let us know if it works.

 

[9h0s7]

I recently discovered that Facebook drains the battery. It doesn't show under the battery statistics because it comes under one of the Android services.

This affects all phones including iOS (Google "Facebook battery drain").

I uninstalled Facebook and Messenger (I use Chrome instead now). Not only is Facebook faster — although obviously you don't get notifications — but also I've gone from paranoid charging several times a day to charging only once a day.

Try it. Let us know if it works.

that seems unscrupulous

 

[Paddy Landau]

that seems unscrupulous

Um, what seems unscrupulous? If you mean the Facebook app's behaviour, Facebook is aware of the problem and is trying to fix it (or so it claims — it's been months already).

 

[JBentleyR]

I recently discovered that Facebook drains the battery. It doesn't show under the battery statistics because it comes under one of the Android services.

This affects all phones including iOS (Google "Facebook battery drain").

I uninstalled Facebook and Messenger (I use Chrome instead now). Not only is Facebook faster — although obviously you don't get notifications — but also I've gone from paranoid charging several times a day to charging only once a day.

Try it. Let us know if it works.

I'd like to try this but, before I uninstall Facebook, would I have to log in and enter my password every time I wish to use Facebook? I'm sure I'd get fed up with having to do this every time.

 

[Paddy Landau]

would I have to log in and enter my password every time I wish to use Facebook?

It works exactly as it does on a desktop. When you sign into Facebook, check the box that asks if you wish to stay signed in. That's the last time you'll need to sign in.

 

[JBentleyR]

Thanks. I'll try it.

 

[JBentleyR]

Well I tried it, but I seem to have lost all my 'friends'!
So I re-installed the app and everything is back to normal.

I take the point about battery discharging, though. I try to remember to 'force stop' the app after using it.

Now I'll have to figure out how to stop all those notifications that keep clogging up the top of my screen! I don't need them: if I want to know who's been posting, I just open up Facebook.

 

[Paddy Landau]

Well I tried it, but I seem to have lost all my 'friends'!

That cannot be the fault of not having the app on your phone. Facebook holds your "friends" on its own servers, not on your phone.

You can try again, bearing in mind that the mobile version of the Facebook page is somewhat different from the desktop version. To find your friends in the mobile version, press the menu button (the three lines at the top right of the page) > tap your own name > scroll down a little > tap "Friends".

 

[JBentleyR]

Yes, I have found this.
I did once try to use Facebook on my computer, whereas I have always used in successfully on my phone.
The 'version' on my computer never worked properly, so I gave up on that.

I did try to find my friends using the menu button, as you described, but apparently there weren't any!

No, I'll just go back to using the app, but must remember to 'force stop'.

Does anyone know how to disable notifications?

 

[Paddy Landau]

To disable notifications, depending on which version of Android you have, go to Settings > Apps > find the Facebook app > disable notifications. Or you may be able to go to Settings > Sound & notification > App notifications > find the Facebook app > disable notifications.

If you can't find your friends on the website page, you're selecting the wrong buttons, because they are there (they're stored on Facebook's server, not on your phone). Obviously, I can't see what you're doing, but good luck anyway.

 

[JBentleyR]

Thank you, Paddy.

No 'disable notifications', but I did uncheck 'show notifications'. No 'sound & notification' either.

However, in Facebook/settings/app settings/notifications I found several slider switches for various different notifications which were still on (despite unchecking 'show notifications'). All turned off now, though, so I'll see how things go.

I don't know about my not finding friends on the web page. I suspect I may somehow have two accounts under the same name, although I'd have thought that would be impossible!

Anyway, thanks again for your help.

 

[Paddy Landau]

Facebook's notifications are separate from Android's notification permissions, which is why the one doesn't change the other. Facebook's notification settings tell Facebook which ones you want to see; whereas Android's permissions prevent Facebook from showing notifications even if it tries to.

I suspect I may somehow have two accounts under the same name, although I'd have thought that would be impossible!

No, it's possible. Facebook wants you to use your real name, and it is common for many people to have the same name. But would you have used the same password and email address for both accounts?

Try to find out if you do indeed have two accounts. If so, perhaps there is a way to merge them? Alternatively, permanently delete the old account.

 

[JBentleyR]

Thanks again for your help.

The actions I took regarding notifications seem to have done the trick, so no more problems there.

I have two e-mail addresses, so it is possible that I may have used both at some time. I think that one of my Facebook accounts may be from some time ago, and that it was forgotten about when I opened the new account. I'll look into the possibility of merging the two accounts or deleting one of them.