How can I fix a random battery drain on S5 with 5.0.?

[jgusa]

New to Android - random battery drain on S5 with 5.0

After years with iPhones and Windows Phones, I finally jumped to Android....and to be honest I'm extremely frustrated so far.

I picked up a new Galaxy S5 preloaded with 5.0. I probably sound like just about everyone else with an S5/5.0 but my battery life has been terrible. My biggest frustration is how inconsistent it is. My biggest gripe with WP was the random battery drain issues, which is exactly what I've been seeing with my S5 so far.

Today has been the worst by far. Between the time I unplugged my phone and got to work (an hour of no use) I already drained 10% of the battery. The phone was warm to the touch, and for some reason it was not locked (a swipe opened up the phone, even though I have a PIN number set). I restarted the phone and the battery drain seemed ok with normal use for the next hour or so. I left my phone for a meeting with about 80% battery, and came back to 65%. Again the phone was warm and unlocked even though I hadn't touched it in an hour or so.

I have a screenshot of the battery drain (looks like I can't upload it here yet). Biggest culprits are "Android System" at 6% and "screen" 4%. The rest of the list doesn't come even close to adding up to the 35% of the battery drain.

I've turned off as many of the notifications as I can (that I can find) and have my email only syncing every hour. Anything else I should look at? Since I'm new to Android it seems like I've had trouble figuring out how to manage a lot of the notifications and sync settings. Would replacing the stock launcher with the Nova Launcher possibly help?

 

[systemofadown1]

Re: New to Android - random battery drain on S5 with 5.0

it could be an app running away in the background - you could try running your phone in safe mode for a while and see if the battery dies fast.
I'd also recommend you do a cache clear in recovery.

Power down your phone, now press & hold the power button, volume up & the home button until your phone boots into Recovery. Now use the volume rocker to select Wipe Cache. Hit the power button to make it happen - give it a sec to clear the cache. Now use the volume rocker to select Reboot System - hit the power button & run you phone for a bit. See if this helps*

 

[jgusa]

Re: New to Android - random battery drain on S5 with 5.0

I'll give that a shot. It drained 25% in about an hour and a half while I was at the gym this afternoon as well. I've uploaded the most recent screenshot. I don't really know how to read these, but each time I have a huge power drain is shows the phone as "awake" the whole time. I also notice I don't get text messages during that time as well.

 

[systemofadown1]

Re: New to Android - random battery drain on S5 with 5.0

Definitely try the cache clear & observe the phones battery over the next couple days. If there is no improvement then its an app going nuts in the background which you should easily be able to narrow down in safe mode or at the Very worst you may have to perform a factory data reset. I'm guessing the cache clear should help you immensely
Are you with Verizon??

 

[jgusa]

Re: New to Android - random battery drain on S5 with 5.0

Clearing the cache seemed to help. With normal use (and being unplugged overnight after charging) I still had over 30% left when my day ended. I'll keep my eye on it the next few days.