Android 8.1 Poor Battery Life Issue - Resolved?

[SRFast]

Ever since I installed the 8.1 OTA beta, the battery life of my PH-1 has been very poor. I only averaged 14-16 hours on a full charge with the device sitting idle 95% of the time. Updating to the official 8.1 version did not improve the battery life. I performed several factory resets and even with NO third party apps installed, the battery life was poor. Even with the latest beta version of Google Play Services installed, the Phone Idle % was very high and it appeared there was a wakelock issue. I have opened several support tickets with Essential, but that went nowhere.

The situation has changed since this past Saturday. Since Saturday, I have been averaging 2-3 days of battery life based on the Battery info. The battery is no longer draining at a rate of 3-4%/hour. The battery life appears to have returned to 7.1 levels.

It was odd to me that the battery life increased so dramatically in one charge cycle. I did some research and discovered the Google Play Services version was 12.5.27. My Pixel XL is at version 12.5.21. I assumed they would be the same because both devices are enrolled in the beta program. I did some more research and it appears version 12.5.27 was released on Saturday, April 14th! I am hoping version 12.5.27 resolved the wakelock issue. If you are having battery life issues with your PH-1, try updating to 12.5.27.

 

[Randy Ohio]

I'm on Google Play Services Beta which just updated to 12.6.29.

 

[Rmr30]

I have exactly the same problem and. It's driving me crazy. I have the 12.5.29 version

 

[SRFast]

The current version of Google Play services beta is 12.6.65 updated on April 18, 2018. If you are not in the beta program, I recommend you enroll and update to 12.6.65. I would also recommend a factory reset and reinstall apps from scratch, not using any back up data/settings.

FYI...My phone experienced the crappy battery life situation this past weekend. I had installed only one app since my original post, the Pixel Launcher 3.0 and determined that was killing my battery. I reverted back to the stock Launcher3 and after one recharge cycle, the battery life is back to 2-2.5 days of light use. I have since uninstalled the launcher from my phone. I really like the PH-1 and overjoyed I was able to resolve the battery issue. Good luck.

 

[Roosterman]

Glad your problem is solved. Just checked my version is 12.6.29. I'm not experiencing any issues. I'm getting 2-3 days when not using much.

 

[SRFast]

The Google Play services beta versions appear to be a moving target. Earlier today it was 12.6.65 on the PH-1 and 12.5.29 on my Pixel XL. As I write this post, both devices are 12.5.29. Very strange, but as long as the battery issue is resolved, it doesn't matter.

 

[Rmr30]

Thanks for your help! Google play services was updated 3 day ago (25 April) should I uninstall/reinstall? (Sorry I get along really bad with technology)

 

[Golfdriver97]

Thanks for your help! Google play services was updated 3 day ago (25 April) should I uninstall/reinstall? (Sorry I get along really bad with technology)

Welcome to the forums. You shouldn't need to do that, unless you are still having issues. I would say try rebooting the phone first.

 

[Rmr30]

It's done and still have the problem!

 

[SactoKingsFan]

It's done and still have the problem!

Are you using beta?

 

[Rmr30]

I'm on Android 8.1.0 if that's what you are asking...

 

[SRFast]

I'm on Android 8.1.0 if that's what you are asking...

Are you enrolled in the Google Play services beta program?

 

[Rmr30]

I suppose, how can I know that if not? Now I'm on google play services 12.6.85. the battery drains less, but it's still not at the top as it was before