tracing down battery woes in Android on my nexus 6

[Anthony Srdar]

I have no idea. It's certainly an issue. Are you able to swap it out for a different phone?

I don't think it's an issue with the phone, it seems to rock with background data turned off. I got about 48~ hours of standby + 3-4 of SOT and had about 30% left on the battery still.

My issue is determine what software is actually using up the battery, and it seems to be android OS (with background data turned off) and google services.

 

[NickA]

I ended up forcing 3g, and turning off Google Now. I have 20% more battery when I plug in at night than I did before. I never use Google Now anyway, it's useless for me.

I still sync accounts as normal, location is on, Wi-Fi on.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Anthony Srdar]

I ended up forcing 3g, and turning off Google Now. I have 20% more battery when I plug in at night than I did before. I never use Google Now anyway, it's useless for me.

I still sync accounts as normal, location is on, Wi-Fi on.

Posted via the Android Central App

I am going to try this again. I too never really used google now, and found it saved a bit of battery. But even with everything set to normal, google services and android OS use the most battery. Even if I throw down 3-4 hours of screen time...bothers me. I would hope it would be more efficient then that.

 

[1901Madison]

Why dont you try using an app like Tasker to control the background sync. I use it on a Turbo and get 40+ hours out of a battery. I set it up to shut background data down when my screen times out and reconnect when my screen wakes up. I use Gsam battery monitor to see which apps are running in the background. It has a screen in the program called app sucker that tells me which apps have used the battery and the percentage of such. Yes you may have to disable some apps to get stellar battery life.

Wouldn't this type of thing hurt battery life? Every time you turn your screen on, your device would have to work harder to sync up everything it wasn't syncing while it was off. Or do I have this wrong? Just thought I read it somewhere.

 

[Anthony Srdar]

Wouldn't this type of thing hurt battery life? Every time you turn your screen on, your device would have to work harder to sync up everything it wasn't syncing while it was off. Or do I have this wrong? Just thought I read it somewhere.

It's possible, but I am not on my phone that often. It just bothers me how much the phone stays awake and how inefficient android os, and google's services eat battery up.

I also noticed greenify isn't doing anything in Android 5 when it comes to auto hibernate.

 

[mobrules]

Wouldn't this type of thing hurt battery life? Every time you turn your screen on, your device would have to work harder to sync up everything it wasn't syncing while it was off. Or do I have this wrong? Just thought I read it somewhere.

Speaking only from expirence here. Its actually quite the opposite. I have noticed I can go 48+ hrs with the turbo. There are many factors that go into that but in my opinion apps running in the background eats the battery life and im not even using the phone. I just shut it down with the trigger of the screen timing out. Shuts down app sync and the 4g signal. Did the same thing for over 2 years with a Razr Maxx HD and never had a problem. Im not saying my settings are for everyone. I only offer it as a solution to apps running in the background and mystery battery drain. I would imagine the same can be done with the 6. I have both, Tasker and Gsam, running on a nexus 7 and 10 and both have 5.0 Lollipop. I really like Tasker because you can set it up to do almost anything. Heres a screen shot of my typical battery life.

 

[Anthony Srdar]

can you explain your settings, what you're doing/losing by doing that mobrules?

 

[cozzy123]

It could be a bug with lollipop. It takes awhile for battery life to settle down when a new nexus get released. Apps have to be upgraded and google needs to patch the OS. Also make sure you reboot your device at least once a week. Tends to clear up buggy behaviors like random battery drains.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[mobrules]

can you explain your settings, what you're doing/losing by doing that mobrules?

Sure. I set up Tasker with a trigger of screen status. When it times out the actions are, disable background sync, shut off 4g, bluetooth off, and wifi off. The next trigger is the screen waking up. The actions are to re-enable background sync, and connect 4g signal.

I truely cant think of anything that I am losing by doing this. My opinion is this. It does not have a removable battery therefore there are only a certain number of charging cycles. I feel the need to maximize those cycles. It still allows calls and texts to come through. I usually check my phone every 15-20 minutes so if there's an email, facebook or twitter notification I grab it then. I don't like apps running in the background. Its my phone and I should have a say as to what happens in the background. Some might say they shouldn't have to do this and its too extreme. I think over time we expect more and more from these devices. Bigger, brighter screens are a big battery killer. Alot of people complain about battery life and I only offer these setting as a possible solution. Your mileage may vary!

 

[BlueGoldAce]

So you would loose messages from hangouts, facebook, etc since they use data, correct?

Otherwise...looks like a great idea. Might have to try it out, if I could get around the lose of instant messages.

 

[Anthony Srdar]

Sure. I set up Tasker with a trigger of screen status. When it times out the actions are, disable background sync, shut off 4g, bluetooth off, and wifi off. The next trigger is the screen waking up. The actions are to re-enable background sync, and connect 4g signal.

I truely cant think of anything that I am losing by doing this. My opinion is this. It does not have a removable battery therefore there are only a certain number of charging cycles. I feel the need to maximize those cycles. It still allows calls and texts to come through. I usually check my phone every 15-20 minutes so if there's an email, facebook or twitter notification I grab it then. I don't like apps running in the background. Its my phone and I should have a say as to what happens in the background. Some might say they shouldn't have to do this and its too extreme. I think over time we expect more and more from these devices. Bigger, brighter screens are a big battery killer. Alot of people complain about battery life and I only offer these setting as a possible solution. Your mileage may vary!

That's not a bad idea, but I think greenify is doing a pretty good job so far. I do always keep BT on because I have my car, watch, and other stuff I BT throughout the day.

It could be a bug with lollipop. It takes awhile for battery life to settle down when a new nexus get released. Apps have to be upgraded and google needs to patch the OS. Also make sure you reboot your device at least once a week. Tends to clear up buggy behaviors like random battery drains.

Posted via Android Central App

I have noticed this too. After some heavy usage, I put hte phone to sleep and notice it's awake the entire time it's in standy. So I reboot, and no longer awake in standby.

I am OK with 3-4 hours SOT when I can get 2~ days of standby out of it too. It's pretty nice watching netflix on this lil beast!