S3 Battery Drain Problem. What do I do?

[Ben Hovinga]

I just got this phone for cheap off kijiji so I am not surprised there is something wrong with it. But this is kinda a big issue to me. I charge the phone all night and have 100% when I unplug it. about 20-30 min after its unplugged the phone is at 50% and then stays there, It will then go down at a normal pace then drop off to nothing and stay there for about an hour.

Is this a problem with the phone? Do I need to get some update or hack to fix this? OR is it the battery and I need a new one?

What I have done so far is factory reset using the settings menu and also the recovery mode when turning on the phone.

Its not any apps or heavy use that is the cause. I have not "extra" apps installed other than facebook and im not even using it. I am not a heavy phone user and the WiFi and Bluetooth is off. Also Power Save mode is on.

I took some screen caps of the battery history screen so you can see what I mean.




Thanks guys and gals in advance for the responses.

 

[funkylogik]

A long shot but charge it to full, get the Battery Calibration app. Theres a few so choose the one that doesnt need root.
Can u show a screenshot of "about device" incase its a fake?
Does it have the correct amount of available memory in "storage" (about 11gb for the 16gb version i think)

Unbranded Official TW s3.Paisley,Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

 

[Ben Hovinga]

I am waiting for the Calibration app to finish. Here is the screen cap of the about device and also a screen cap of the storage
View attachment 47129
View attachment 47130

 

[Ben Hovinga]

So I tried the calibration tool and it did not work. Here is an updated screenshot of the battery.

Until I get this fixed I am forced to put the SIM back in my old phone.

Any other ideas?

 

[OWybPPgO]

Install this app: https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...om.bartat.android.elixir&hl=en&token=Jmi6mMsa
While you're experiencing the heavy drain, go to "running" and then right arrow through the screens until you get to "top". What is your overall CPU usage (in the grey bar) and is there something on the top consuming a lot?

(you can also get CPU usage from settings - developer options and turn on "show CPU usage", but it's much harder to read than in Elixir 2)

 

[Ben Hovinga]

No, its not showing any abnormal usage. The CPU never went over 10% and it averaged about 3%. I don't think that it is any app or CPU issue here. I think that the phone battery profile might need an update.
View attachment 47641
As you can see from the attachment that around 50% is when it spikes. 100% to 50% discharging and 50% to 100% charging. You can also see that it hangs on a very long time around 5-10% before actually being dead.

I did find this method to fix the problem but that would involve rooting the phone and I have no idea how. Samsung Galaxy S3 Releases With Battery Issues: How To Fix The Drain Problems And Find Out If Your Device Is Affected

 

[Ben Hovinga]

So apparently my last post did not get posted. attempt number 2
View attachment 47658
No, there is no unusual cpu usage. Stays around 3% and never gone over 10% But this latest screen shot of a full cycle shows something interesting. Around 40% is when it spikes. From 100% to 40% discharging and from 45% to 100% charging. You can also see that it hangs around 1-5% for a long time before it actually dies. I can still use it during that time but things like the camera don't work because the OS wants to use less power at this low of a battery.

I think that there might be some sort of profile updated needed for the battery because the phone is reading it wrong. At least that is my hope, I don't want to get a new battery just to have the same problem.

 

[gilbequick]

Have you tried a new battery?

 

[Ben Hovinga]

Have you tried a new battery?

I don't want to get a new battery just to have the same problem.

I also don't have any friends that have an S3 to borrow a battery.

 

[gilbequick]

So what you're saying is that you very well could have a bad battery which you may be able to fix the problem instantly, but instead you'd rather go on for an indefinite amount of time with poor battery life looking for a solution to a problem which may not exist. Makes sense to me.

It may not be the battery, I don't know. But it seems like you've gone through the general steps to attempt to find out what it is. At the very worst, you'd have a spare battery, which everyone wishes they would have had at some time.

If you really want to wait it out, delete one of your apps one day at a time. See when the issue clears up. If the issue clears up.

 

[Ben Hovinga]

...delete one of your apps one day at a time. See when the issue clears up. If the issue clears up.

I don't see this working. If I have already Factory Reset the phone there are no other apps installed except the apps that come on the phone and you can't delete them.

I did get a new battery. But I still have the same problem. The battery overview looks exactly like my previous attachment (View attachment 47658) so I will not bother with a new screenshot.

So just so we are not kicking a dead dog here and for anyone just jumping into this thread.
- Apps are not the problem
- Battery is not the problem
- Settings like WiFi, Bluetooth, LTE are not the problem.

 

[gilbequick]

It's possible that maybe you've discovered the reason that the seller sold the phone for cheap...
It may be a hardware issue, not a software issue.

 

[Marlon Engledoe]

Reload the firmware via samsung kies, I had a battery drain problem, now its working perfectly.

 

[Marlon Engledoe]

I had a drain problem, caused ota update to 4.1.2. Reload the firmware via samsung kies, that sovled my battery drain problem.