Sudden terrible battery

slave

Well-known member
Jul 23, 2010
716
27
28
Visit site
The first two weeks were great, the last 4 days, he battery is abysmal.

Is there an app to check for apps draining the battery?

I have google fit, fitbit, Lose It, and Polar Beat installed on my phone. Only Google Fit and Fitbit on the watch. No other apps installed.

Anyone?
 

fuzzylumpkin

Well-known member
Dec 7, 2012
5,555
2,565
113
Visit site
Can you not check the battery in the wearr app on your phone? that's where it is with a Galaxy watch. I assume you've powered it off and on?

Aldso what's good and what's abysmal? Haven't used a pixel watch, but I wouldn't expect it to last a full day.
 

Jeremy8000

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2012
2,567
159
63
Visit site
The first two weeks were great, the last 4 days, he battery is abysmal.

Is there an app to check for apps draining the battery?

I have google fit, fitbit, Lose It, and Polar Beat installed on my phone. Only Google Fit and Fitbit on the watch. No other apps installed.

Anyone?

I'm assuming you haven't drastically changed your usage profile over the last few days... Issue is very unlikely to be with the Fitbit app since probably every PW owner is using that and yours is the first I've heard of a sudden-onset issue like that. Can't speak to Fit (curious - what are the benefits of running it alongside Fitbit?) or Polar Beat.

Barring a faulty software update to one of the apps - either on the watch or a counterpart app on the phone - no real idea. Fuzzylumpkin's suggestion of rebooting the watch is definitely one to try, as that could resolve a random issue that started it.

I've had mine (LTE model) for 3 weeks and it can consistently make it through 24 hours (though I picked up a second charge cable for a quick boost at work to generally avoid risking it dropping below 20% by end-of-day, with the accelerated degradation that would otherwise entail).

One other thought - if you have the LTE model, that might be contributing to the issue if your watch is connecting to a different tower than normal (more distant requiring more power to connect) - something a reboot might again help.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,285
4,400
113
Visit site
Are you using a stock watchface or a 3rd party one? Do you have Tilt-to-Wake turned on? On mine, I found that a 3rd party watchface (that wasn't optimized for Wear OS 3.0) with Always On Display and Tilt-to-Wake turned on tended to kill the battery. If I use a stock watchface, keep Always On Display turned on, but Tilt-to-Wake off, battery life is quite good.
 

slave

Well-known member
Jul 23, 2010
716
27
28
Visit site
I am using a stock face, no apps installed. I have battery saver on. When it is off, it goes from bad battery life to terrible. Like, less than 8 hours on my wrist bad.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,285
4,400
113
Visit site
Are you using the ECG tile? If so, try removing that. I was talking to another user recently who determined that was causing a lot of battery drain.
 

FF22

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2012
1,539
1,001
113
Visit site
Are you using the ECG tile? If so, try removing that. I was talking to another user recently who determined that was causing a lot of battery drain.

The TILE or just having the app installed? Is ECG doing something even when not directly running? Background processing?
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,285
4,400
113
Visit site
The TILE or just having the app installed? Is ECG doing something even when not directly running? Background processing?

I have Fitbit ECG installed on my watch, and I haven't experienced terrible battery drain -- but that said, I also have never opened the app, so maybe it never initialized. It may be that setting the ECG tile automatically activates the app to do what it does?
 

FF22

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2012
1,539
1,001
113
Visit site
I am not happy with battery life. I do have a number of apps installed. But I don't know which ones might be sucking life. I will start experimenting. I don't get 24 hours and probably substantially less. I am definitively not as active as I've been so I don't think activities are draining it. Last evening it was down to 7 percent by about 8pm. I threw it on the charger so I could sleep with it. It was 94%. When I put it back on. This morning it was 54%. I must be running in my sleep! Put it on while showering. 100% now. Will again track it.

I'm not sure if there's a way to CLOSE apps like you can on the phone (swiping up).
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,285
4,400
113
Visit site
I mentioned above that Tilt-to-Wake substantially contributed to battery drain, in conjunction with a 3rd party watchface. You have Tilt-to-Wake turned off, right?

On a regular work day for me (which includes a ton of walking around), my battery gets down to about 40-50% by the time I'm ready to go to sleep.
 

Jeremy8000

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2012
2,567
159
63
Visit site
I threw it on the charger so I could sleep with it. It was 94%. When I put it back on. This morning it was 54%. I must be running in my sleep! Put it on while showering. 100% now. Will again track it..

That's a very conspicuous overnight drain. Are you putting it into "bedtime mode" when you go to bed, to avoid any inadvertent screen awakenings? Should cut down drain a little, though even tossing and turning all night to where it was effectively always-on would seem unlikely to cause that much usage... Only other thing I can think of that would potentially and legitimately lead to that much of a drain is if it started processing a lot of update downloads/installs while you were asleep.
 

FF22

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2012
1,539
1,001
113
Visit site
That's a very conspicuous overnight drain. Are you putting it into "bedtime mode" when you go to bed, to avoid any inadvertent screen awakenings? Should cut down drain a little, though even tossing and turning all night to where it was effectively always-on would seem unlikely to cause that much usage... Only other thing I can think of that would potentially and legitimately lead to that much of a drain is if it started processing a lot of update downloads/installs while you were asleep.

I do put it into "bedtime mode" so that I don't get blinded by the screen or buzzed by an incoming email or text. It was not as bad last night. I will try following up.
 

Jeremy8000

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2012
2,567
159
63
Visit site
I do put it into "bedtime mode" so that I don't get blinded by the screen or buzzed by an incoming email or text. It was not as bad last night. I will try following up.

As the saying goes, 'misery loves company,' so... hi there.

I noticed Monday evening my battery was a bit lower by end of day than it had been typically. Tuesday I was about 30% lower by early evening and in desperate need to recharge.

I took it off the charger at 11PM last night and woke up to a dead battery at 7AM. From 100% to 0% in something under 8 hours.....

My usage is extremely routine, as are my locations traveled and networks to which I am connected. None of my settings are changed, tilt-to-wake is off, and I engage bedtime mode. Literally the only thing I have done differently is that on Sunday I tried out the Cardiogram app one time (no tile, though), which did require accepting a permission.

I'm recharging now, and have uninstalled the Cardiogram app to see if that was in fact the culprit.
 

Jeremy8000

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2012
2,567
159
63
Visit site
Cardiogram, I banish thee! So after having uninstalled it from the watch and taking it off of the charger at 11am, it's now been 10 hours and with nominal daytime usage (using it to read all notifications & some emails, a few google assistant queries) I'm only down from 100% to 75%. Looks like that was definitely the culprit for me.
 

B. Diddy

Senior Ambassador
Moderator
Mar 9, 2012
165,285
4,400
113
Visit site
Cardiogram, I banish thee! So after having uninstalled it from the watch and taking it off of the charger at 11am, it's now been 10 hours and with nominal daytime usage (using it to read all notifications & some emails, a few google assistant queries) I'm only down from 100% to 75%. Looks like that was definitely the culprit for me.

Not surprising. I think Cardiogram came preinstalled on my Fossil Gen 6, and I always uninstall it.
 

Jeremy8000

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2012
2,567
159
63
Visit site
In a strange turn of events, having started its first couple of weeks with serviceably-good-but-not-great battery life that would make it through a full day with just recharging during my morning routine, to the disastrous Cardiogram incident, battery life has been taking a northwards turn to a point where it hasn't been anywhere near 'low' when I would normally put it on its charger the past week. Having noticed that over a couple of days, I took my watch off the charger at 12am Tuesday morning. It's now nearly Noon on Wednesday - about 36 hours later - and I'm still sitting at 24% (and will be throwing it on the charger shortly).

My settings that I would anticipate to have some impact:

WiFi, BT, and LTE all enabled, ring/notificaton volume set to lowest audible level, haptics fully enabled, screen brightness set to 1 of 3, adaptive brightness on, sunlight boost off, screen timeout 15 seconds, always-on display off, tilt-to-wake off, touch-to-wake on.

I didn't place/receive any calls on the watch during that period, nor log any workouts/use any gps navigation, but did regularly check notifications/SMS, and used assistant several times.

The battery is the only aspect of this watch that had me concerned, and I'm feeling quite comfortable now that that anxiety can, at least for me, be fully set to rest.
 

FF22

Well-known member
Nov 12, 2012
1,539
1,001
113
Visit site
I have had better battery life since I turned off "tilt to wake" which I guess would be expected. I might tweak some other settings after reviewing your post.
 

kbboykin

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2011
715
96
28
Visit site
That is quite strange. I have the LTE model and it does better than my GW5 Pro LTE in terms of drainage. I have the ECG tile, have set LTE to auto, don't have AOD, but I consistently get > 24 hrs, mostly close to 36 hrs -consistently. Hope I didn't just jinx myself. I am using it on a Galaxy S22 5G.
 

micber67

New member
Aug 25, 2014
1
0
1
Visit site
New to this thread and want to share about my experience and what I plan to do. I have had the galaxy 4 classic over a year (bye warranty) and while in warranty I had this issue this April. The repair center said this:

Original Problem:
SOFTWARE UPDATE - MOBILE OS UPDATES - INCOMPLETE SOFTWARE UPDATE

Problem found:
WON'T DOWNLOAD SW/PRL

Solution:
S/W UPDATED - PASSED ALL FUNCTIONAL TESTING

So basically they reset the watch. I know that doesn't work since I have done that multiple times before I sent it in and it didnt fix it. Basically they flashed new firmware. Now my watch is doing it again. They want 80$ to repair. I want the firmware and have talked with many at Samsung. They won't give it out. You can get firmware for their phones but not watches it seems. I have found a link to some (not from Samsung) and will be flashing it soon when I have time (in a week) then I will report back. I could brick the watch doing so and if that happens I will buy a ticwatch 5 pro. This is my third Samsung watch and have had issues with each one.

Update:
I have fixed my sudden draining issue through flashing the watch's firmware and after 48 hours of the watch figuring out my usage patterns it now is at 94% when I woke this morning. I charged fully before I went to bed. Before it was showing 50% in the morning with the same routine. I will post a video to YouTube of how I did the change. I also allowed the watch to fully update after the flash. My channel is YouTube.com/@nrdtech. It will be my first video of many more