Help Cell Standby Battery Drain

[mpals]

I have searched the interwebz and found a lot of threads discussing problems similar to mine but none of them are having the same problem. Just wanted to get that out of the way so you do not think I have not already tried solving my problem.

My S3 have after a little more than one year of use now started draining battery at perhaps 10% units an hour even when it should be in idle. I downloaded better battery stats and found out that it never enters deep sleep. It stays awake the whole time.
According to BBS this is because of cell standby which keeps it in partial wakelock. This is weird since I have my phone in flight mode all the time and it should not be looking for networks at all.
This started happening 2 weeks ago 3 days after I had been at the beach. When I noticed the problem I thought maybe that salt or sand had damaged the SIM card. So I tested my SIM card and found that my phone can not find it anymore. Unfortunately I am in japan at the moment and they all have nano SIMs on their phones for some reason so I have been unable to test if it's the SIM card that is broken or the phone.
So my theory right now is that the SIM card is damaged and that somehow is making the phone freak out and burn battery looking for something that isn't there.

TL;DR Cell Standby Burns battery according to better battery stats even though flight mode is enabled. Phone can't find sim card either.

Has anyone had a similar problem or know what might cause it? As it is I can't even use the alarm on my phone since it dies within like 6-7 hours so I am always late for work

 

[nickdalzell]

Mine was doing that after a firmware update from Verizon, and i was dead by the time i'd leave work. 10-15% drain per hour. top of the list was Cell Standby. i flashed a custom ROM and that has fixed it. i now leave work with over 75% battery after a 9 hour period, even if i use Play Music or read a few Emails and check Facebook.

 

[funkylogik]

Try a few hours discharging with the phone in "safe mode" (turn off, turn on and keep tapping menu button until it boots".
All your downloaded apps will be disabled so if the battery drain stops, its one of your apps causing it. If not, its a system app or the firmware/rom thats at fault :thumbup:

 

[funkylogik]

Ps, bit off topic sorry but what does TL;DR mean peeps? Ive seen it a few times in posts.
Thanx :beer:

 

[mpals]

I am sorry I forgot to say that I have already performed a factory reset of my phone so I have no external apps except better battery stats installed on it.

So right now it should be back to where I started 1 year ago when there was no battery drain right? Or are firmware updates not cleared when you perform factory reset?

TL;DR means "Too long, didn't read"

 

[funkylogik]

D'oopsVV

 

[funkylogik]

Ah right man. And THANKS lol it all makes sense now :beer:
Nah factory reset doesnt roll back the firmware man, thats in the /system part of the phone with the system apps/bloatware and doesnt get touched by a reset :thumbup:
Doesnt BBS tell u what processes Cell Standby is using?

 

[mpals]

Awww thank you so much! I will definitely try a firmware upgrade! Thank you all for your replies. If I flashing it doesnt work I will try to install a custom rom.
Btw, what do you think about the phone not being able to find the sim card? Could that be a firmware problem or just corrosion of the connectors or simcard?

 

[funkylogik]

Could be either man tbh. Unless u can try another sim, try reflashing the phone. Good luck :beer:

 

[RayMabry]

I have searched the interwebz and found a lot of threads discussing problems similar to mine but none of them are having the same problem. Just wanted to get that out of the way so you do not think I have not already tried solving my problem.

My S3 have after a little more than one year of use now started draining battery at perhaps 10% units an hour even when it should be in idle. I downloaded better battery stats and found out that it never enters deep sleep. It stays awake the whole time.
According to BBS this is because of cell standby which keeps it in partial wakelock. This is weird since I have my phone in flight mode all the time and it should not be looking for networks at all.
This started happening 2 weeks ago 3 days after I had been at the beach. When I noticed the problem I thought maybe that salt or sand had damaged the SIM card. So I tested my SIM card and found that my phone can not find it anymore. Unfortunately I am in japan at the moment and they all have nano SIMs on their phones for some reason so I have been unable to test if it's the SIM card that is broken or the phone.
So my theory right now is that the SIM card is damaged and that somehow is making the phone freak out and burn battery looking for something that isn't there.

TL;DR Cell Standby Burns battery according to better battery stats even though flight mode is enabled. Phone can't find sim card either.

Has anyone had a similar problem or know what might cause it? As it is I can't even use the alarm on my phone since it dies within like 6-7 hours so I am always late for work

Before you factory reset try turning off the functions in Google Maps/Google Now that allow them to track your location all the time and then reboot the phone.

 

[nickdalzell]

Google Now/GPS has never done anything to my battery life personally. i often keep WiFi on, data on, cell on, GPS and BlueTooth and have two paired devices and ten apps minimized. i normally leave work (9-10 hours) with over 50-60%. since Verizon pushed the VBMF1 Firmware update my phone was always hot and the battery died after FOUR hours. i then rooted, flashed a ROM (but left my settings and number of apps the same) and it is back to leaving work with 50-60%. i could get a day and 10 minutes standby so far.