Massive battery drain, even when charging, only in Mexico

[dcdtrax]

Somebody please help me with my battery drain problem!

I have an AT&T Galaxy Note i717 and when I travel, I bring 4 spare batteries to help avoid getting stuck with no juice. A full charge at home (California) usually lasts most of the day, and charging the phone (via AC outlet) takes a couple of hours at most. When I travel (Mexico, Canada, Thailand), I experience the same battery drain/charge rate. Except in Mexico. Battery drain is much faster in Mexico (Mexico City and Monterrey), to the point that even AC charging results in battery drain (albeit at a slower rate). I can easily go through three or four batteries per day. I even put my phone in airplane mode, charged it overnight, and ended up with less battery charge in the morning. Another weird thing to note is that during this most recent trip to Mexico, the first couple of days the drain/charge rate was normal. Then by the third day it went into the usual super-drain rate I normally experience in Mexico. I don't know what changed.

My phone is rooted and has the following configuration:

• Android version: 4.1.2 (stock)
• Build number: JZ054K.I717UCMD3

Services while in Mexico:

• 120 MB Data Global Add-On
• AT&T Canada & Mexico Travel Minutes 80
• AT&T World Connect?

Thanks in advance!

Example battery history graph:



App usage:



Media details:



Example of phone charging overnight:

 

[UJ95x]

Somebody please help me with my battery drain problem!

I have an AT&T Galaxy Note i717 and when I travel, I bring 4 spare batteries to help avoid getting stuck with no juice. A full charge at home (California) usually lasts most of the day, and charging the phone (via AC outlet) takes a couple of hours at most. When I travel (Mexico, Canada, Thailand), I experience the same battery drain/charge rate. Except in Mexico. Battery drain is much faster in Mexico (Mexico City and Monterrey), to the point that even AC charging results in battery drain (albeit at a slower rate). I can easily go through three or four batteries per day. I even put my phone in airplane mode, charged it overnight, and ended up with less battery charge in the morning. Another weird thing to note is that during this most recent trip to Mexico, the first couple of days the drain/charge rate was normal. Then by the third day it went into the usual super-drain rate I normally experience in Mexico. I don't know what changed.

My phone is rooted and has the following configuration:

• Android version: 4.1.2 (stock)
• Build number: JZ054K.I717UCMD3

Services while in Mexico:

• 120 MB Data Global Add-On
• AT&T Canada & Mexico Travel Minutes 80
• AT&T World Connect?

Thanks in advance!

Example battery history graph:

View attachment 96448

App usage:

View attachment 96449

Media details:

View attachment 96450

Example of phone charging overnight:

View attachment 96451

What is the media that's showing up in your battery stats? Download an app called WakeLock detector. Your phone appears to be awake for extended periods of time which is what is causing the unusually faster battery drain. That app should tell you what's causing it to stay awake
Also, I think some of it can be blamed on the poor signal. Haven't been to Mexico recently but I'd imagine the service isn't on par with what you get here

Posted via Android Central App

 

[dcdtrax]

What is the media that's showing up in your battery stats? Download an app called WakeLock detector. Your phone appears to be awake for extended periods of time which is what is causing the unusually faster battery drain. That app should tell you what's causing it to stay awake
Also, I think some of it can be blamed on the poor signal. Haven't been to Mexico recently but I'd imagine the service isn't on par with what you get here

Posted via Android Central App

If you look at my screenshots, you'll see details for "media". It appears to be a group of internal Android processes -- beyond that I don't have any more information.

As with being awake, that is a normal amount of awakedness for me. Also, you'll see that despite being frequently awake, the phone is charging and usually the recharging power far outweighs the battery drain from normal use. Furthermore, it wouldn't explain the overnight scenario where my phone is almost never awake.

And concerning the signal strength, the tremendous battery drain occurs even in airplane mode so the signal strength can't be a major contributor to the problem.

 

[UJ95x]

If you look at my screenshots, you'll see details for "media". It appears to be a group of internal Android processes -- beyond that I don't have any more information.

As with being awake, that is a normal amount of awakedness for me. Also, you'll see that despite being frequently awake, the phone is charging and usually the recharging power far outweighs the battery drain from normal use. Furthermore, it wouldn't explain the overnight scenario where my phone is almost never awake.

And concerning the signal strength, the tremendous battery drain occurs even in airplane mode so the signal strength can't be a major contributor to the problem.

By awake I do not mean in use. Notice under the "screen on" bar in the stats there is one for "awake." That bar shouldn't be anywhere near that full, let me post a picture of mine and you'll see that even when the phone is in use, the awake line isn't nearly as full


Posted via Android Central App

 

[UJ95x]

Notice that I only have a few "blips" in the line for the phone being awake, despite having used the screen for almost 6 hours that day.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[dcdtrax]

Notice that I only have a few "blips" in the line for the phone being awake, despite having used the screen for almost 6 hours that day.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using AC Forums mobile app

I'm back in Cali now so I can't test what is keeping my phone awake in Mexico. However, I get a similar Awake pattern here as well and no severe battery drain so there must be more to it than simply being awake.



I downloaded Wakelock Detector and it gave me the following status for the same time period:



As you can see, News & Weather is by far the greatest contributor to my phone being Awake, and I uninstalled this app for my Mexico trip so it couldn't have been a factor there.

Also, none of this addresses the issue of overnight battery drain while charging since my phone was almost never Awake throughout the night.

 

[UJ95x]

I'm back in Cali now so I can't test what is keeping my phone awake in Mexico. However, I get a similar Awake pattern here as well and no severe battery drain so there must be more to it than simply being awake.

View attachment 97124

I downloaded Wakelock Detector and it gave me the following status for the same time period:

View attachment 97118

As you can see, News & Weather is by far the greatest contributor to my phone being Awake, and I uninstalled this app for my Mexico trip so it couldn't have been a factor there.

Also, none of this addresses the issue of overnight battery drain while charging since my phone was almost never Awake throughout the night.

I'd try uninstalling a few of those to see if it stops. Then re-install, that way you could see which one is causing the drain. A lot of these seem to be keeping the phone awake

Posted via Android Central App

 

[dcdtrax]

Unfortunately I can't test this right now as I'm not in Mexico. However, once again this won't address the overnight scenario where the phone is almost never awake. To me this is the most important scenario since if I could get a full charge at the beginning of the day I'd be much better off.

Since this isn't a problem right now as I'm not in Mexico and I can't investigate any solutions, I'm going to let this problem be for now. Next time I have this issue, I'll revisit your suggestions. Thanks for all the help though, much appreciated!

 

[UJ95x]

Unfortunately I can't test this right now as I'm not in Mexico. However, once again this won't address the overnight scenario where the phone is almost never awake. To me this is the most important scenario since if I could get a full charge at the beginning of the day I'd be much better off.

Since this isn't a problem right now as I'm not in Mexico and I can't investigate any solutions, I'm going to let this problem be for now. Next time I have this issue, I'll revisit your suggestions. Thanks for all the help though, much appreciated!

Alright, sorry I couldn't figure it out.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[eve6er69]

If there are a lot of towers in Mexico the constant changing could decrease your battery life significantly. When I go into a city my battery life drops like crazy. I've done some research and found this to be the reason.

As far as the charging thing. The charging source whether it's the plug or the outlet may not have sufficient amperage and the process of the phone are requiring more than the charging capabilities in your area. Just for giggles if your up for it. Grab a external battery charger like an anker one that I have and try using it next time in Mexico. That will determine if it is the phone or the charging source. Also it's a good excuse to buy an awesome portable beast of a battery. Lol

Sent from my gameboy color

 

[dcdtrax]

I have no idea if there are a lot of cell towers in Mexico. However, I'd be surprised if there were a lot of cell towers and having a lot of towers drains cell phone batteries. This would seem expensive and counterproductive. I'd find it hard to believe if everyone in Mexico (or at least the parts I visited) with a similar smartphone as mine experiences the same massive battery drain.

The charging issue explanation sounds plausible at first. I have an external charger and when I used it to charge my spare batteries in Mexico, it took a long time. However, it seems unreasonable that a phone in airplane mode, charged overnight, would still lose battery charge.

And just to remind everyone, during my last trip to Mexico, I didn't experience the massive battery drain for the first two days there. So it's almost certainly something wrong with my phone.

 

[eve6er69]

Well you asked and I gave my opinion. Other than that I'd have your phone looked at.

Sent from my gameboy color

 

[dcdtrax]

And I do appreciate your input -- thanks.

I think it's time for me to get a new phone.