Samsung Galaxy S3 Mega Battery Drain(please read)

[Gerrin Dav]

Ok before you tell me to switch carriers or get a new phone please note that I am not an adult and my parents basically control my plan.

After the Android JellyBean update back in 2012, my battery has been draining excessively. My friends experience the same issue with Sprint I took the phone to the sprint store like a month ago, and they totally disregarded my statement and said that my battery is damaged. They ordered me a brand new battery, and as soon as i put the battery in and fully charged it, the same thing happens; my battery drains at a rate of 2% every 5 minutes. So everywhere I go I have to carry a charger because my phone can't even go through a school day without being in my pocket for like 7 hours.


I am not a heavy user. I may play temple run every now and the but other than that I just use instagram or text and listen to music. My screen brightness is at its lowest. My wallpaper background is dark, and i basically followed all the battery saving tips and even turn off my mobile data when i'm home because we have Wifi, but no change.

My battery literally went from 12% to 7% in the 4 minutes its taking me to type this on my phone.


Another thing is that my phone would randomly heat up (excuse me now its 6%) when its just sitting in my pocket. I just don't understand..the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be at the top of its prime, but whats the point of having an exclusive smartphone when you cant even enjoy it.

PS my phone was at 12% when i started making this thread now it is at 3% and i started making thia at 3:20 p.m. and its now 3:28

 

[Greg C]

http://gs3.wonderhowto.com/how-to/r...xy-s3-by-fixing-android-system-usage-0142361/

Ok before you tell me to switch carriers or get a new phone please note that I am not an adult and my parents basically control my plan.

After the Android JellyBean update back in 2012, my battery has been draining excessively. My friends experience the same issue with Sprint I took the phone to the sprint store like a month ago, and they totally disregarded my statement and said that my battery is damaged. They ordered me a brand new battery, and as soon as i put the battery in and fully charged it, the same thing happens; my battery drains at a rate of 2% every 5 minutes. So everywhere I go I have to carry a charger because my phone can't even go through a school day without being in my pocket for like 7 hours.


I am not a heavy user. I may play temple run every now and the but other than that I just use instagram or text and listen to music. My screen brightness is at its lowest. My wallpaper background is dark, and i basically followed all the battery saving tips and even turn off my mobile data when i'm home because we have Wifi, but no change.

My battery literally went from 12% to 7% in the 4 minutes its taking me to type this on my phone.


Another thing is that my phone would randomly heat up (excuse me now its 6%) when its just sitting in my pocket. I just don't understand..the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be at the top of its prime, but whats the point of having an exclusive smartphone when you cant even enjoy it.

PS my phone was at 12% when i started making this thread now it is at 3% and i started making thia at 3:20 p.m. and its now 3:28

 

[Greg C]

Sprint Community: Battery Drain issues galaxy s3? sprint blaming tower signal for issue

Ok before you tell me to switch carriers or get a new phone please note that I am not an adult and my parents basically control my plan.

After the Android JellyBean update back in 2012, my battery has been draining excessively. My friends experience the same issue with Sprint I took the phone to the sprint store like a month ago, and they totally disregarded my statement and said that my battery is damaged. They ordered me a brand new battery, and as soon as i put the battery in and fully charged it, the same thing happens; my battery drains at a rate of 2% every 5 minutes. So everywhere I go I have to carry a charger because my phone can't even go through a school day without being in my pocket for like 7 hours.


I am not a heavy user. I may play temple run every now and the but other than that I just use instagram or text and listen to music. My screen brightness is at its lowest. My wallpaper background is dark, and i basically followed all the battery saving tips and even turn off my mobile data when i'm home because we have Wifi, but no change.

My battery literally went from 12% to 7% in the 4 minutes its taking me to type this on my phone.


Another thing is that my phone would randomly heat up (excuse me now its 6%) when its just sitting in my pocket. I just don't understand..the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be at the top of its prime, but whats the point of having an exclusive smartphone when you cant even enjoy it.

PS my phone was at 12% when i started making this thread now it is at 3% and i started making thia at 3:20 p.m. and its now 3:28

 

[Greg C]

Galaxy S3 Battery Drain Problem - xda-developers

There are a couple of ideas in this link that might help you find the problem. I hope I was able to help you out in some way.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

If this started after the JB update, the simple answer is probably a factory reset. These big OTA updates don't always go so well. But if that doesn't fix it, or you want to try other things first, the links above may help, as may the one below:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...android-system-eating-your-battery-check.html

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Ok before you tell me to switch carriers or get a new phone please note that I am not an adult and my parents basically control my plan.

After the Android JellyBean update back in 2012, my battery has been draining excessively. My friends experience the same issue with Sprint I took the phone to the sprint store like a month ago, and they totally disregarded my statement and said that my battery is damaged. They ordered me a brand new battery, and as soon as i put the battery in and fully charged it, the same thing happens; my battery drains at a rate of 2% every 5 minutes. So everywhere I go I have to carry a charger because my phone can't even go through a school day without being in my pocket for like 7 hours.


I am not a heavy user. I may play temple run every now and the but other than that I just use instagram or text and listen to music. My screen brightness is at its lowest. My wallpaper background is dark, and i basically followed all the battery saving tips and even turn off my mobile data when i'm home because we have Wifi, but no change.

My battery literally went from 12% to 7% in the 4 minutes its taking me to type this on my phone.


Another thing is that my phone would randomly heat up (excuse me now its 6%) when its just sitting in my pocket. I just don't understand..the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be at the top of its prime, but whats the point of having an exclusive smartphone when you cant even enjoy it.

PS my phone was at 12% when i started making this thread now it is at 3% and i started making thia at 3:20 p.m. and its now 3:28

If this started after the JB update, the simple answer is probably a factory reset. These big OTA updates don't always go so well. But if that doesn't fix it, or you want to try other things first, the links above may help, as may the one below:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...android-system-eating-your-battery-check.html

BINGO. The first thing I'd do a factory reset. Yup, this can be a real PITA, but honestly, it fixes most issues that arise after an OTA update. I could go on about awful the OTA process is for updating phones, but I won't get into that here....if you haven't already done so, I would suggest a reset.

How to Reduce Battery Drain on Your Samsung Galaxy S3 by Fixing Android System Usage ? Samsung GS3 SoftModder

This suggestion may actually help, but I'm pretty sure you have to be rooted to do it, and the OP didn't mention that he was. Given the VERY rapid battery drain the OP describes, I also doubt that this fix alone would help all that much.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Ok before you tell me to switch carriers or get a new phone please note that I am not an adult and my parents basically control my plan.

After the Android JellyBean update back in 2012, my battery has been draining excessively. My friends experience the same issue with Sprint I took the phone to the sprint store like a month ago, and they totally disregarded my statement and said that my battery is damaged. They ordered me a brand new battery, and as soon as i put the battery in and fully charged it, the same thing happens; my battery drains at a rate of 2% every 5 minutes. So everywhere I go I have to carry a charger because my phone can't even go through a school day without being in my pocket for like 7 hours.


I am not a heavy user. I may play temple run every now and the but other than that I just use instagram or text and listen to music. My screen brightness is at its lowest. My wallpaper background is dark, and i basically followed all the battery saving tips and even turn off my mobile data when i'm home because we have Wifi, but no change.

My battery literally went from 12% to 7% in the 4 minutes its taking me to type this on my phone.


Another thing is that my phone would randomly heat up (excuse me now its 6%) when its just sitting in my pocket. I just don't understand..the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be at the top of its prime, but whats the point of having an exclusive smartphone when you cant even enjoy it.

PS my phone was at 12% when i started making this thread now it is at 3% and i started making thia at 3:20 p.m. and its now 3:28

Before you do a factory reset, fully charge the phone, turn it off, and boot into recovery (press volume up, home and power) use the volume buttons to navigate and wipe cache and Dalvik, then reboot and do a factory reset.

 

[Gekko]

i suffer no hardships doing this -

Battery Tips for Android

1. Toggle off LTE, WIFI, GPS, BT, NFC, Hotspot. Toggle on as needed.
2. Display Brightness - Turn off Auto Brightness and Reduce Setting Bar to Minimum.
3. Sign out of Google Latitude, GTalk, G+, Google Now, and Messenger. Disable Location Reporting/History.
4. Beware of constantly syncing Apps and Bloatware like Facebook, Twitter, News, Non-Push Email, etc. Set Sync interval for every 1 hour or more.
5. Turn off keyboard haptic feedback.
6. Don't use Live Wallpaper. Use dark wallpaper if possible.
7. Set Display Sleep Setting to 2 Minutes or Less.
8. Set WIFI to Always stay on during Sleep if you regularly use WIFI.
9. Turn off vibrate for Emails.
10. Be careful of using too many live widgets.
11. Sync Exchange Emails 30 Days or less.
12. Do NOT use a Task Killer App.

 

[thiggfx]

Had the same problem..then I figured out Google now is a battery HOG! Turn this off it wants to use you GPS to locate you. Do this and yoir battery will laat much, much longer.

Troy

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

i suffer no hardships doing this -

Battery Tips for Android

1. Toggle off LTE, WIFI, GPS, BT, NFC, Hotspot. Toggle on as needed.
2. Display Brightness - Turn off Auto Brightness and Reduce Setting Bar to Minimum.
3. Sign out of Google Latitude, GTalk, G+, Google Now, and Messenger. Disable Location Reporting/History.
4. Beware of constantly syncing Apps and Bloatware like Facebook, Twitter, News, Non-Push Email, etc. Set Sync interval for every 1 hour or more.
5. Turn off keyboard haptic feedback.
6. Don't use Live Wallpaper. Use dark wallpaper if possible.
7. Set Display Sleep Setting to 2 Minutes or Less.
8. Set WIFI to Always stay on during Sleep if you regularly use WIFI.
9. Turn off vibrate for Emails.
10. Be careful of using too many live widgets.
11. Sync Exchange Emails 30 Days or less.
12. Do NOT use a Task Killer App.

Had the same problem..then I figured out Google now is a battery HOG! Turn this off it wants to use you GPS to locate you. Do this and yoir battery will laat much, much longer.

Troy

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

This is all true, and it's always good advice to turn off services you don't need, but none of these would come anywhere close to consuming the kind of battery drain the OP describes. I actually leave a lot of this stuff on because I use it (BT, GPS, Google Now, Google Talk, and Messenger are always on, just to name a few) and my battery life is actually pretty good.

That, and the fact that the OP noticed this just after doing an OTA update, still leads me to believe that a factory reset (full wipe) is necessary.

 

[Gekko]

This is all true, and it's always good advice to turn off services you don't need, but none of these would come anywhere close to consuming the kind of battery drain the OP describes. I actually leave a lot of this stuff on because I use it (BT, GPS, Google Now, Google Talk, and Messenger are always on, just to name a few) and my battery life is actually pretty good.

That, and the fact that the OP noticed this just after doing an OTA update, still leads me to believe that a factory reset (full wipe) is necessary.

the JB OTA update automatically turns on LTE by default whether or not you are in an LTE market or not. LTE kills the battery - especially if you are not in an LTE market. it's also possible that the OP turned on Google Now which in my experience really kills the battery as well.

 

[Tcbemis]

How do we turn off LTE? Is that along with the Sprint Optimizer?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

 

[tat21985]

How do we turn off LTE? Is that along with the Sprint Optimizer?

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Android Central Forums

You can go into Settings>More settings>Mobile Networks>Network Mode, and there you can switch from CDMA to LTE/CDMA, and the phone will automatically reboot if you switch network modes

 

[marie727]

The battery life is horrible. I had to buy an app juice defender ultimate. It has been managing that for me by turning things off.. its a pretty good app

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Android Central Forums

 

[meyerweb#CB]

That, and the fact that the OP noticed this just after doing an OTA update, still leads me to believe that a factory reset (full wipe) is necessary.

+1 If people would just learn to read the forums, they'd see that it's been posted at least a hundred times: if your battery life goes south after an OTA, or you have other signficant problems after and OTA, do a factory reset. This resolves post OTA problems almost all the time. Lousy battery life on JB is not normal, and you shouldn't have to take extraordinary measures to get decent battery life.

The battery life is horrible. I had to buy an app juice defender ultimate. It has been managing that for me by turning things off.. its a pretty good app

Again, this isn't normal. If you provide more information, we may be able to help.

 

[Gekko]

this might also be a good option -

Genuine Samsung Extended Battery Kit for Galaxy S3 - 3000mAh - Blue

 

[meyerweb#CB]

this might also be a good option -
Genuine Samsung Extended Battery Kit for Galaxy S3 - 3000mAh - Blue

If there's an underlying issue, that's really just a band-aid.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

+1 If people would just learn to read the forums, they'd see that it's been posted at least a hundred times: if your battery life goes south after an OTA, or you have other signficant problems after and OTA, do a factory reset. This resolves post OTA problems almost all the time. Lousy battery life on JB is not normal, and you shouldn't have to take extraordinary measures to get decent battery life.



Again, this isn't normal. If you provide more information, we may be able to help.

If there's an underlying issue, that's really just a band-aid.

It gets to the point where I just give up...

OP, if you're out there and still having issues, let us know so we can help.

Frankly, I'm of the mindset that apps like Juice Defender and task killers really do more harm than good. Obviously, it makes sense to disable apps and features you don't use, but you really should not have to cripple this device to get decent battery life out of it. If you're seeing massive drain, chances are something isn't right. Granted, I'm actually on Verizon (where disabling LTE isn't even an builtin option), but I can't image the devices are that different. I can literally turn on every option that all the battery optimization guides say to turn off, and still wouldn't get close to the battery drain the OP describes. Doing a factory reset *SUCKS*, I admit that, but I know for a fact it fixes a lot of issues that occur post-OTA update.

 

[bonanzabucks]

Same problem. I just did a factory reset and hopefully that solves the problem. I got the media server issue again and now, I couldn't even read files (as in photos) off my SD card. All these problems started after the JB update. This is the worst update for any phone I have ever had. I don't even know what good it did. Phone as working perfectly before.

 

[kvelez]

Install Wakelock Detector from the market and find out what is keeping it up. In mine it was media scanner being ket up by a corrupt mp3.