Improve Battery Life While Using Google Maps

[Richie1990]

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a Nexus 5X as part of the Project Fi sign-up promotion, and I am loving it! Such a breath of fresh air, compared to the iPhone I used to have. I do have one issue, however. Yesterday, I went on a four hour drive which required me to use Google Maps. In addition to Google Maps, I was also streaming previously downloaded podcasts to my car speakers via the Podcast Addict app. The phone was plugged in to my car USB port for the entire drive, and was "charging slowly." Despite the fact that the phone was plugged in, my battery still went down. Granted, it didn't go down as dramatically as it would have if it were not plugged in. It probably went down an even 20% over the course of four hours of non-stop use. I have two questions. The first question is, is it bad for the battery to use it this way? To have it "charging" and yet still draining? My second question is, do any of you have any tips for improving this to the point where it evens out? I have a 10 hour drive coming up next month, during which I had hoped to use the phone. I'm worried that it might not last the whole drive, or cut it close.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LeoRex]

GPS combined with a real time mapping app uses a lot of power... it has to do a ton of calculations... So draining while plugged into car charger (which doesn't charge at full power unless it's USB-C), you could see a drain.

If you get a USB-C charging plug, out USB-C power pack, that should solve the problem.

 

[anon(9875141)]

I usually turn the screen off between directions if there's more than a mile or two until the next one (you may already be doing this). If you're on the interstate and your exit isn't for another fifty miles, there's no point in having your screen on. Just pay attention to your mileage. The navigation will keep running while the screen is off. Hell, I wish it was a feature/option to automatically turn the screen on and off between directions.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Jims S5]

Good point.

 

[neu smurph]

You can run maps in the background (with screen off) and still get voice directions (I think this is a setting in maps IIRC).
Downloading maps sections before travelling will help as a chunk of the battery drain is heavy use of mobile data.

 

[ca_steve]

If you want to keep the screen continually on and not drain the phone's battery while navigating, you need to get a compatible USB C charger for the car. Screen time plus navigation is a huge battery drain.

 

[Richie1990]

I usually turn the screen off between directions if there's more than a mile or two until the next one (you may already be doing this). If you're on the interstate and your exit isn't for another fifty miles, there's no point in having your screen on. Just pay attention to your mileage. The navigation will keep running while the screen is off. Hell, I wish it was a feature/option to automatically turn the screen on and off between directions.

Posted via the Android Central App

I can't believe I didn't think of this! Fantastic idea!

 

[Richie1990]

You can run maps in the background (with screen off) and still get voice directions (I think this is a setting in maps IIRC).
Downloading maps sections before travelling will help as a chunk of the battery drain is heavy use of mobile data.

How do you pre-download these from Google Maps?

 

[Rocketsaucev2]

How do you pre-download these from Google Maps?

Slide out the hamburger menu in maps and hit offline areas. It default suggests your home area but you can hit the plus on the bottom to roll around to anywhere

 

[mogelijk]

Also, you can pinch and zoom the window when setting up offline areas. It seems as if Google has been expanding the size of the offline area you can save, so I'm not sure of the current limits -- but it does seem that I can get Maps to download almost all of the Houston Metro as a single offline area, where previously I could only get a quarter or even less.

 

[Jims S5]

Does it show your location when traveling?

 

[Still Mostly Harmless]

Just dim the screen. I usually dim mine to about 1/4 of the brightness, plenty easy to read and the battery should level off or charge up.