Early S6 users, how's your battery life?

Jdroids

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I've only had the device since yesterday so there is no way I can give an accurate representation of battery life since I'm on it pretty constantly and I've been doing lots of downloads and app installs and playing with features, etc. I will say that looking at my battery stats, I'm getting the cell standby eating up a large percentage of my battery usage. This happened with my Nexus 5 when it moved to Lollipop and I believe that it could still be an issue. I just posted that in another topic as well. If you search for cell standby and battery drain, you will find a number of Nexus 5 and Nexus 6 owners discussing this same issue

I think Lollipop has been very buggy, especially when it comes to battery life and I think a Lollipop bug could be to blame again.

That's exactly what I'm suspecting too because this seems so wide spread with Lollipop. S5 users are having similar issue with 5.0 and it can't be old battery thing as it's less than year for most of them and I never had battery eroding noticeably within 2 years. Google and manufacturers really need to push out 5.1 or later version sooner than later.
 

STEVESKI07

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If Lollipop is to blame then why isn't it affecting all the of 2014 phones not as efficient as this one? I think there is more to it than that.

I agree. I'm still thinking (hoping) that whatever the new OTA update they put out on T Mobile the other day caused some issue. 90% of reviewers seem to be have reported better battery life than people seem to be reporting here.
 

drone3

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I think Samsung took the Apple approach here. My experience with iPhone was the battery life isn't amazing, but the phone charges fast. I could put my iPhone 5s on the charger with less than 10% for about an hour and I'd be back up to over 50 by the time I left the house. That strategy has worked for Apple and I think that's what Samsung is hoping to accomplish here.

With Quick charge you will get a full charge in just over an hour.

Posted via Android Central App
 

vegasdroid

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Also, in some cases with battery issues, an update can help with the issue and your battery life will be much better after the update.

Sent from my DROID MAXX!!!!
 

Jdroids

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Just browsed T-mobile forum on S6 to see how wide spread this is. Seems like most early buyers posting there think battery is at least average or slightly above average.

There are some one star posts. but that's mostly trolling haters on lack of micro sd, removable battery or looking like iPhone, etc.
 

flamingoezz

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I wouldn't say nobody would care if they made it a mm thicker. there are a lot of flagships within android fighting for market share. I think trying to pull people from the apple market is the right move. the s6 is already 1-2mm thicker than iphone..while it sounds minimal, maybe they found when you start tacking on more than that, it becomes noticeable or less impressive. there are plenty of androids with 3000maH batteries...your fam will probaby enjoy them.

I think they had a goal on phone size and the battery size was the hit it took. Samsung thought they HAD to make it thinner than the iPhone and that means a smaller battery than any modern Android device has. No matter the efficiency of the hardware, it's starting to look like shaving off that extra 1mm, which nobody would ever care about, is taking a toll on the device.

I planned on getting this device for me and 5 of my family members. I was going to preorder all of theirs tomorrow. I'm not going to do that now. I still plan on preordering one for myself, but I may end up cancelling it. I'm not going to force my family into having a device that can't stay charged. They care much less about the cool technology than I do.

Hopefully this is a firmware thing....but I'm not so sure.
 

clevin

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I wouldn't say nobody would care if they made it a mm thicker. there are a lot of flagships within android fighting for market share. I think trying to pull people from the apple market is the right move. the s6 is already 1-2mm thicker than iphone..while it sounds minimal, maybe they found when you start tacking on more than that, it becomes noticeable or less impressive. there are plenty of androids with 3000maH batteries...your fam will probaby enjoy them.

?? as it stands, s6 is thinner than both IP6 and IP6+.
 

STEVESKI07

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?? as it stands, s6 is thinner than both IP6 and IP6+.

Exactly. No doubt in my mind that this was the exact reason why they went with such a small battery size. Samsung did a lot of right with the s6. I don't even care much about the "premium materials" either. Just the hardware is spectacular. I like replaceable batteries, but I'd be fine with a nonreplaceable one if the battery was good. Unfortunately I'm not sure anymore. The general public isn't going to go online and compare the depth numbers between the iPhone and the S6. They could have put out a thicker version of the S6 edge and made that the only version. It would still feel thinner than the iPhone due to the thinner bezel.
 

Bpschoon81

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I'm waiting for the AT&T reviews to come in. My experience with TMob has always been with worse battery simply because their signal doesn't penetrate structures as well (in general). My iPhone 6 literally gained a few hours of use (not SOT) when I went from Tmobile to AT&T because it wasn't working as hard for a signal indoors. And if you live in a largely masonry structure forget about it on Tmobile.
 

unashamedgeek

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If Lollipop is to blame then why isn't it affecting all the of 2014 phones not as efficient as this one? I think there is more to it than that.

Only a small percentage of the 2014 phones have been updated to Lollipop and when you look at Nexus devices, it is pretty wide spread. The battery life of my Nexus 5 got noticeably worse under Lollipop and there are many examples of other users moving to Lollipop and having issues.

Note that this is version 5.0.1 and 5.1 is already out and even that version has issues.
 

clevin

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Only a small percentage of the 2014 phones have been updated to Lollipop and when you look at Nexus devices, it is pretty wide spread. The battery life of my Nexus 5 got noticeably worse under Lollipop and there are many examples of other users moving to Lollipop and having issues.

Note that this is version 5.0.1 and 5.1 is already out and even that version has issues.

I saw mixed results from Lollipop update on Nexus, S5, Note 3, Note 4, M8, e.g., http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-5/461186-nexus-5-lollipop-impressions.html

I think there are many people updated the OS w/o either a cache wipe nor a hardreset, both of which are practically required now.
 

unashamedgeek

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I saw mixed results from Lollipop update on Nexus, S5, Note 3, Note 4, M8, e.g., http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-5/461186-nexus-5-lollipop-impressions.html

I think there are many people updated the OS w/o either a cache wipe nor a hardreset, both of which are practically required now.

I performed all those steps as did others in the Nexus forums without luck. I'm sure some saw help so the majority of users aren't even on these forums, but I feel I've seen enough people complain and worked with enough people to say that those steps definitely didn't resolve it for any of us. I have actually yet to see anyone see a major improvement after performing those steps in this instance. Typically, people will give that advice; however, I never saw that advice coming in large numbers from people needing to do it.

Others said they were happy with battery life so maybe it comes down to a combination of bugs in Lollipop, apps installed, and usage. However, I still think Lollipop has a large portion of the blame. It is the first Android update I've regretted and found to be a step backwards.
 

eve6er69

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I'm also a little surprised at the battery life. This reminds me of my experience with the iPhone 5s in that is was pretty quick to charge, but depleted pretty fast for me. My M8 with heavy use usually got me through my 8 to 4 work day. And by heavy use I mean lots of Facebook, texting, YouTube, and Google Music on LTE. I can't see my S6 doing the same without having to charge it at some point.

This is still day 1 for me though so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Wait.... Facebook, YouTube and Google music at work? How do I get that job?
 

eve6er69

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Back to the original postings. I don't think I've read 1 good thing about good battery life and lollipop in the same sentence since it dropped.
 

Gray Area

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Well I'm not to worried, I expect 4hrs onscreen time with any current phone and I'm ok with it for now. As a power user, I'm already pretty savvy with my battery, power saving techniques ( black wallpaper, using the mobile web for shopping sites and social media vs the apps which constantly pinging your battery randomly, turning off unnecessary syncing items, etc.. )

I have a very good 2.0 amp 10000 milliamp hour battery bank that I carry with me, I have ordered two Wireless chargers, I have a 2.0 amp car charger and multiple wire chargers if need be.

Posted via the Android Central App on my Galaxy S5
 

erasat

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People, again, it will be of a great help for you and the whole community if you post the battery stats and/or install Gsam Battery Monitor app so we can see the details about the battery usage, wake locks, and other apps.
 

erasat

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People, what some of you are describing about Android System draining battery, is related to a couple of things that were also an issue to some of the S5, Location Services and Wifi Settings and is advance options are a couple of them.

Please, try what I suggested in my thread about the tips and tricks for te Galaxy S5 that I posted the link here and in the edge forum. Turn off location reporting, check and then of the unneeded wifi settings that is always checking for the best signal between cell and wifi, remove unneeded bloat and I'm almost sure if so help all of you a lot with the battery drain.

I'd love to do this things myself and do the tests but I won't have my s6 edge until the 10th.
 

ron561

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People, again, it will be of a great help for you and the whole community if you post the battery stats and/or install Gsam Battery Monitor app so we can see the details about the battery usage, wake locks, and other apps.

I stated in my OP that I didn't know how to attach a screenshot using the mobile website so i just provided some basic stats. can try to do this tomorrow from a desktop.


Wait.... Facebook, YouTube and Google music at work? How do I get that job?

My job is pretty slow most days so I have a lot of time to sit and play with my phone lol.
 

jcp007

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More inclined to think that it is a TMO signal/network issue. It stands to reason that battery drain is going to be greater if the device has to search really hard for the signal from a tower. It could be that Lollipop may be part of it as well. AT&T has much better coverage.
 

Almeuit

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For T-Mobile I say there is a cell standby bug. Otherwise .. when in other areas I am good... In weak (even w/ wifi calling) it seems to drain more than it should.
 

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