S20 FE Battery

[Michael Goulding]

This phone is such a disappointment. Having come from S6, S8, S9+ and recently S10, I was expecting the S20 to just be an evolution.

I've set it up similar to my previous phone to buy despite having a MUCH bigger battery that my old S10, I often don't get through a single day.

<3h screen time is common, up to 4 if I'm lucky.

Listening to audio through my buds live (downloaded, not se streaming, with phone off and in the pocket) drains the battery just as fast as be watching video.

Have turned off 120hz screen, adaptive brightness and anything else that's a known battery hog. I want my S10 back! (with it's 35% smaller battery that lasted just fine!)

 

[bkdodger2]

I'm sorry to see you having issues.. how long have you been using it... in my short period of time the phone performed excellent.. something sounds off to see such battery drain...I would not want to turn off stuff that makes the phone... did you do a clean install

 

[KPMcClave]

This phone is such a disappointment. Having come from S6, S8, S9+ and recently S10, I was expecting the S20 to just be an evolution.

I've set it up similar to my previous phone to buy despite having a MUCH bigger battery that my old S10, I often don't get through a single day.

<3h screen time is common, up to 4 if I'm lucky.

Listening to audio through my buds live (downloaded, not se streaming, with phone off and in the pocket) drains the battery just as fast as be watching video.

Have turned off 120hz screen, adaptive brightness and anything else that's a known battery hog. I want my S10 back! (with it's 35% smaller battery that lasted just fine!)

That has not been my experience in the first 3 weeks:



Hey, I'm just one guy, but I haven't seen reports of a trend of bad battery life with the FE.

It sounds like you may have a rogue app. I'd go looking for specific apps using more juice than is normal. Uninstall and reinstall them and see if that takes care of your issue.

 

[THEPRFCT10]

That has not been my experience in the first 3 weeks:

View attachment 328166

Hey, I'm just one guy, but I haven't seen reports of a trend of bad battery life with the FE.

It sounds like you may have a rogue app. I'd go looking for specific apps using more juice than is normal. Uninstall and reinstall them and see if that takes care of your issue.

Where'd you get that info to show? Is it an app? Or somewhere in the settings?

 

[THEPRFCT10]

Also are you guys of the side that does the 30-80% or do you charge to 100%? A Samsung rep told me to charge to 100 is better than frequent charging cycles to 80%. Not sure what to believe.

 

[KPMcClave]

Where'd you get that info to show? Is it an app? Or somewhere in the settings?

Gsam Battery Monitor Pro.

 

[THEPRFCT10]

Gsam Battery Monitor Pro.

This may sound like a funny question but do battery monitoring apps such as that drain the battery? I hope it doesn't sound as stupid as I think it may but I'm curious.

 

[KPMcClave]

Also are you guys of the side that does the 30-80% or do you charge to 100%? A Samsung rep told me to charge to 100 is battery than frequency cycles to 80%. Not sure what to believe.

I charge to 100% and recharge as needed. Usually that means putting it on the wireless charger overnight.

I'm not sure I've ever kept a phone for a full 2 years. I've not had a phone that has suffered any sort of alarming battery life loss over the time I've had it. When it has lost battery life, it seems to coincide more with Android updates than anything else.

My experience is that if there's benefit to the micro-management of the battery, it isn't a big enough one that I care, given my usage. My Pixel 3 XL was still over 90% capacity after 18 months as I recall.

 

[BotanicalStig]

In regards to battery, I'm seeing approximately 4-5 hrs SOT. That said, this includes 6-8 hours of music playback (screen OFF) . Usually to a Bluetooth Speaker, but also similar results to wired headphones.

Gsam tells me something ridiculous like 11 hours max but that calculator doesn't work. I have a widget that accurately displays SOT VS time off charger.

My s8+ wasn't much worse--and it was over 3.5 years old. I think it is fine - but not revolutionary. Battery size is out of necessity. Not obscene longevity.

 

[KPMcClave]

Gsam tells me something ridiculous like 11 hours max but that calculator doesn't work. I have a widget that accurately displays SOT VS time off charger.

My SoT max in Gsam is accurate. That's just a single data point, so I know that for sure.

 

[KPMcClave]

This may sound like a funny question but do battery monitoring apps such as that drain the battery? I hope it doesn't sound as stupid as I think it may but I'm curious.

Nah, it's a perfectly legit question. Of course, any app is going to use some battery, but Gsam is never anywhere near the top of the list in my usage.

It's been 5 hours and 45 minutes since I took my phone off the charger. Battery is at 78% overall. Apps have used 67.8% of that 22% overall drain and Gsam is listed at 0.0% (it has usage stats though, so I assume it's used less than 0.05% so it doesn't register at one decimal place).

Since I was relying on Gsam itself for the above info, I checked the system battery info and it appears Gsam uses about 0.2% of my battery per day.

 

[BotanicalStig]

My SoT max in Gsam is accurate. That's just a single data point, so I know that for sure.

How could you possibly get over 9hrs SOT? Did you open a black image in full screen and leave it on all day? Are you using AOD clock? Maybe Gsam counts that? I have never found that counter to be accurate in my own use. It seems now to be showing 4.5 hours max- a couple days ago shown over 11. I've also seen it show 13+ max. I don't think it understands when I charge my phone during the day.

I have two of these phones and neither can make it to 5hrs without needing a charge. We have checked for phantom drain and our apps all seem normal. I'm not saying it's bad... But it isn't possible to get 9+ hrs. It just isn't

 

[KPMcClave]

How could you possibly get over 9hrs SOT? Did you open a black image in full screen and leave it on all day? Are you using AOD clock? Maybe Gsam counts that? I have never found that counter to be accurate in my own use. It seems now to be showing 4.5 hours max- a couple days ago shown over 11. I've also seen it show 13+ max. I don't think it understands when I charge my phone during the day.

I have two of these phones and neither can make it to 5hrs without needing a charge. We have checked for phantom drain and our apps all seem normal. I'm not saying it's bad... But it isn't possible to get 9+ hrs. It just isn't

Well, I don't know what to tell you, but it is.

It sounds like maybe you have a setting in Gsam set differently than I do. I set the readings for per full charge.

Looking at the system battery info for comparison, I've been well over 7 hours of SoT 5 of the past 6 days. Once over 8 and over 10 2 days ago. Lowest was 5 hours and 52 minutes. I don't use AOD. Mostly on WiFi. Dark theme all the time (black in fact with Samsung). Disable unused apps, etc.

 

[Morty2264]

Also are you guys of the side that does the 30-80% or do you charge to 100%? A Samsung rep told me to charge to 100 is better than frequent charging cycles to 80%. Not sure what to believe.

You will get a lot of conflicting reports about when to charge. It's a very difficult and almost controversial topic to meander. I recommend to do what you can as far as taking care of your battery. Try not to let it get too low; charge when needed; and try not to stress about it!

 

[KPMcClave]

You will get a lot of conflicting reports about when to charge. It's a very difficult and almost controversial topic to meander. I recommend to do what you can as far as taking care of your battery. Try not to let it get too low; charge when needed; and try not to stress about it!

I suppose that's in part because people don't update their knowledge on the issue. In the past I know I'd seen plenty of people still suggesting things that were no longer true.

 

[Morty2264]

I suppose that's in part because people don't update their knowledge on the issue. In the past I know I'd seen plenty of people still suggesting things that were no longer true.

Yup! It's also hard to stay on top of all of the current information about batteries, charging, and the like. I just do what I can and try not to sweat over it too much!

 

[KPMcClave]

Yup! It's also hard to stay on top of all of the current information about batteries, charging, and the like. I just do what I can and try not to sweat over it too much!

If battery degradation had ever been a significant issue for me, I'd be more apt to pay attention to the very latest science and specualtion, but I just want to live my life.

 

[mustang7757]

Yup! It's also hard to stay on top of all of the current information about batteries, charging, and the like. I just do what I can and try not to sweat over it too much!

If battery degradation had ever been a significant issue for me, I'd be more apt to pay attention to the very latest science and specualtion, but I just want to live my life.

Agree !

 

[Morty2264]

If battery degradation had ever been a significant issue for me, I'd be more apt to pay attention to the very latest science and specualtion, but I just want to live my life.

You are right! "Just charge it and go" is a good motto, isn't it?

 

[ZvjerOPC]

I think I can confidently say S20 FE's battery life is excellent.

Coming from Huawei Mate 20 Pro, my new Galaxy S20 FE (Exynos) is pure garbage in terms of battery life.
I've tried to go through the day in both 60Hz and in 120Hz modes, but in every case, my battery dies in the evening after work with about 4.5 hours of SoT. Maybe I can get it to 5 hours by draining the last few % but I try not to go below 10% in fear of murdering the battery.