Bad Battery drain

[Ryhol88]

I've had my S3 since December, and haven't had problems until now.

I fully charge it overnight every night, and every other day or so when I pull it off the charger, it'll go straight down to 10-50% (it depends, its always different)
So that makes me think that its the battery, and that I need a new battery and/or charger.
But then I'll go look at the batter stats and theres always something higher than screen, like before, its always different it seems
Usually its Media, but at the moment right now its VpnDialogs at 29.93% and com.sec.android.providers.downloads at 17.83%

So I'm not sure if its a corrupt file, if I have malicious software (i've done a virus scan, nothing) or if its the battery...
Can anyone help?

Oh yeah, I already read that taking the SDCard out would fix, I currently don't even have one in

 

[Golfdriver97]

I've had my S3 since December, and haven't had problems until now.

I fully charge it overnight every night, and every other day or so when I pull it off the charger, it'll go straight down to 10-50% (it depends, its always different)
So that makes me think that its the battery, and that I need a new battery and/or charger.
But then I'll go look at the batter stats and theres always something higher than screen, like before, its always different it seems
Usually its Media, but at the moment right now its VpnDialogs at 29.93% and com.sec.android.providers.downloads at 17.83%

So I'm not sure if its a corrupt file, if I have malicious software (i've done a virus scan, nothing) or if its the battery...
Can anyone help?

Oh yeah, I already read that taking the SDCard out would fix, I currently don't even have one in

Have you had any updates?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

 

[Ryhol88]

Have you had any updates?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

yes, the most recent update I did was to Android 4.1.2

 

[Golfdriver97]

yes, the most recent update I did was to Android 4.1.2

Have you cleared cache in recovery?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central!

If the battery is dropping quickly, then the battery stats might not be as helpful, since you won't have used the screen that much anyway, and so it will clearly be lower in the percentage use.

Wiping the system cache partition is worth a try, to clear out any old temporary system data (no important personal data will be lost). Follow this handy guide written by the dude above me, Golfdriver97: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ing-into-recovery-mode-galaxy-s2-s3-tab2.html

Otherwise, I'd try a different battery.

 

[Ryhol88]

Have you cleared cache in recovery?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

I just did this, went back to battery stats, still saying Android System is taking up 29.97%, with Downloads (Media?) taking up 17.6%
These numbers just don't seem normal, but then again I don't know much about this stuff.

 

[B. Diddy]

The important thing is what the battery life is, so let it run normally for a bit and see how the rate of drain is. It's normal for Android System to take up a decent percentage. And when you restart the phone, one of the things that runs at first is the Media Scanner (which I think is sometimes grouped together with Downloads), which scans all storage areas for existing and new media files. Sometimes, if there's a corrupt media file, the Media Scanner can work overtime and lead to battery drain. Do you have a lot of music, photo, and/or video files stored in Internal Storage?

 

[Ryhol88]

The important thing is what the battery life is, so let it run normally for a bit and see how the rate of drain is. It's normal for Android System to take up a decent percentage. And when you restart the phone, one of the things that runs at first is the Media Scanner (which I think is sometimes grouped together with Downloads), which scans all storage areas for existing and new media files. Sometimes, if there's a corrupt media file, the Media Scanner can work overtime and lead to battery drain. Do you have a lot of music, photo, and/or video files stored in Internal Storage?

No, all of my music/videos/etc. were on the SD card which I removed. After this, it's starting to sound more like a bad battery. I think I'll see if that works, if not, maybe a full restore wouldn't be a bad idea

I also use my phone a lot while charging, not sure if that could have anything to do with it

 

[Golfdriver97]

No, all of my music/videos/etc. were on the SD card which I removed. After this, it's starting to sound more like a bad battery. I think I'll see if that works, if not, maybe a full restore wouldn't be a bad idea

I also use my phone a lot while charging, not sure if that could have anything to do with it

Is the device idle a lot?

From a Sprint Moto X using AC forums app

 

[disneymagik]

Hi!
I'm by no means a smartphone expert but I'm trying to soak up whatever knowledge I can, esp from here, but, unfortunately this is something I've had experience with. I've had my GS3 since last August & got it right before we went on vacation. It worked great for the first 2-3 weeks. But as soon as we hit the road for WDW with the kiddos, it started exactly what you're describing.
When we got there, I charged it to 100% overnight & we take the boat to the Magic Kingdom from our Wilderness Cabin right next door which was a great photo op, and when I took out my phone, my battery had already lost of over 25% & was only off the charger for MAYBE 20-25 minutes if that. Up til then it was in my wristlet & the screen off. That was our first day.
After that I was lucky to get a few pics & make/take a call or 2 before it died completely around lunchtime at 11:00am! I thought I'd have to bring my charger with wherever I went or find the nearest Walmart & get a GoPhone so we could separate & have a way to contact each other.
I was really upset so I called the store back home (NOT 611 or the 800#!) & talked to the CSR who helped me & has helped me before. He said he was almost positive it was a battery issue so he took my info and FedEx overnighted another one to me at our resort and it's been working great ever since!
If you got it at an AT&T store, I'd stop in and ask them to send you a new battery since it's still in warranty. Not sure about places like Best Buy, but I'd think they'd be able to do the same. I go there with questions all the time & they are always pleasant and very knowledgeable.
My apologies for getting carried away with details!


~*?*~Heidi~*? *~



Sent from my AT&T Exclusive *RED* Samsung Galaxy SIII using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Karen00]

I have the same problem, been using S3 for over a year and it was fine, updated Android 4.1.2 last nite.
noticed the battery drain super fast and my old email kept on coming come back.
Some site that I watch video on are no longer running the video.

Such P.I.T.A to have to figure out how to work around it.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! After a major system update, it's always a good idea to clear the system cache partition as mentioned above: http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ing-into-recovery-mode-galaxy-s2-s3-tab2.html