Google Play Services - Battery Saving Lie?

[Mikey47]

So, they said Google Play Services was going to save battery... Then how come Google Services is now the top battery consumer on my G2 when it used to almost non-existent?

Any one else with Google Play Services 4.1 seeing it at the top of their battery usage?

Sent from my LG-LS980 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[SpookDroid]

Have you noticed any changes in ACTUAL battery lasting time? The thing is with the update they did change a bunch of stuff, but also screwed up (sorry, the official version is 'bundled up') some other things and now, when the battery report is handled, instead of breaking those operations up into a lot, it's all grouped together under a single "Play Services" process. But the real indicator on whether this update did improve battery usage is, of course, total battery time.

PS: For some, it may help reduce the incidence by going into App Manager, "All" Tab, finding Play Services, and uninstall updates (yeah, uninstall updates). Reboot and the service should force itself to update eventually (or you can force it by going into Play Store or any of the Play services). This did it for me a couple of updates ago.

 

[OhAlfie]

It's 39% of my battery usage as of right now. The "Stop" button is grayed out. No idea how to make it stop.

 

[Ivel11]

This was really driving me nuts too. I played with some settings and found that when I turn off Location Reporting and Location History in Google Maps, the Google Play Services drops considerably on battery usage.

 

[SpookDroid]

It's 39% of my battery usage as of right now. The "Stop" button is grayed out. No idea how to make it stop.

You can't stop Play Services (and you wouldn't want to, either) as it's a part of the OS. A few things you could try is checking the Location Settings; sometimes, after an update, these turn back on (if you had them off) and that would deplete your battery. Google Now's the main culprit if it's set to report location constantly.

Also, try uninstalling updates to Google Play Services, rebooting, and letting it re-update itself. That helps most of the time.

 

[OhAlfie]

I've been getting great battery life for the most part (stays at 100% most of the morning) but now and then, that Google crap sneaks in and hogs the battery. I was using Google Now for a while, but today turned it off since it's useless overall. I think my TrustGo anti-vrus app wants location access on so it can find my phone though.

 

[donm527#IM]

I now find Google Play Services always at the top of my Battery use details at usually 65%+ where android system or screen use to be on top all the time. whether that is good depends on if battery life has improved maybe its managing more while the others show less usage. in the last week i've been using it i can at least say it hasnt made my battery worse and feels like it's actually improved battery... i've gone a couple of days where with light usage my battery only drained 25% in 24 hours. today i used it quite a bit during the work day with texts, emails, pics, apps and 9.5 hours later and at 71% right now (about 2 hours screen time)... i feel before would have been 61%? been the best battery i've come across on a phone.

 

[shawnvb]

My battery life is similar to that of my old iPhone 4.... pretty disappointed because everything I read before said it has a good battery. Plus, it charges incredibly slowly with the charger that came with the phone.

 

[RobotHeaven]

My battery life is similar to that of my old iPhone 4.... pretty disappointed because everything I read before said it has a good battery. Plus, it charges incredibly slowly with the charger that came with the phone.

That's the opposite experience to that of 99.999% of the G2 owning population. Maybe you could return it

 

[shawnvb]

I should have mentioned that I don't have great service throughout the day, but I still feel like it should be better than it is. Once it is the weekend I will see how it's doing since I won't be at school (got it last weekend).