Battery getting worse over time...

[Yguideslou]

Anybody else having a problem with the battery getting progressively worse over time?

When I first got my Fold the battery would say it lasts over 20 hours on a full charge.

When I first got it, I let it die completely, then charged it to full overnight.

But it's been progressively worse and worse over the ensuing weeks.

Today it says 12 hrs & change on a full charge, a day or two before it said 13 & change, few days before that, 14 & change, etc etc.

Every other phone/tablet I've ever had always got progressively BETTER, (to a point), over time as the battery "settled in."

I know the battery sucks... but I didn't think that it would keep getting worse and worse.

Thoughts? Is mine defective?

 

[bkdodger2]

No issues whatsoever with this phones battery here and it's better after it learns your usage patterns.. Maybe you have some app misbehaving?

 

[Adawg1203]

Agree no issues. What are you looking at that makes you believe your battery is getting g worse. Honestly, I don't look at any battery charts or history etc. I just charge and go.

What has your realtime 'usage' been telling you? Do you 'feel' that your battery is getting worse. Are you not getting through the day before it dies on you? To me if things seem normal by way of usage you are good. If the decline seems to be based on charts and numbers then I wouldn't worry about.

Charge, go and enjoy.

 

[Mooncatt]

It's possible you just got a defective battery. It happens, but this:

When I first got it, I let it die completely, then charged it to full overnight.

Didn't do you any favors. Li-ion batteries don't tolerate deep discharges well, and draining it until it shut off could have actually caused damage that results in lower battery life. Batteries come more or less broken in from the factory and there is no need to drop it that low.

 

[Yguideslou]

It's possible you just got a defective battery. It happens, but this:



Didn't do you any favors. Li-ion batteries don't tolerate deep discharges well, and draining it until it shut off could have actually caused damage that results in lower battery life. Batteries come more or less broken in from the factory and there is no need to drop it that low.

Really?

Everything I've ever read about battery health and longevity says to do this before initial charge, and every few months.

I've been doing it for years; S8+, S9+, Note 9+, and Note 10+, tablets too... never experienced anything like this.

I'm thinking it's defective... or, having learned my usage patterns, it's saying, "Dude, lighten up, you're killin' me," lol.

 

[Mooncatt]

Really?

Everything I've ever read about battery health and longevity says to do this before initial charge, and every few months.

That applied to older Ni-Cad battery tech, not Li-ion. This article is a good primer on the subject from the people that research and test all sorts of battery topics.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries


Long story short, the general rule of thumb for the best longevity is to keep it between 40-80%. Going a bit outside that range won't immediately cause things to go south, but staying further from it, and getting the battery toasty are going to impact the lifespan.

 

[Yguideslou]

That applied to older Ni-Cad battery tech, not Li-ion. This article is a good primer on the subject from the people that research and test all sorts of battery topics.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries


Long story short, the general rule of thumb for the best longevity is to keep it between 40-80%. Going a bit outside that range won't immediately cause things to go south, but staying further from it, and getting the battery toasty are going to impact the lifespan.

Thankie muchly.

 

[Yguideslou]

That applied to older Ni-Cad battery tech, not Li-ion. This article is a good primer on the subject from the people that research and test all sorts of battery topics.

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries


Long story short, the general rule of thumb for the best longevity is to keep it between 40-80%. Going a bit outside that range won't immediately cause things to go south, but staying further from it, and getting the battery toasty are going to impact the lifespan.

I'd read about that, and the setting that only let's it go to 85%, but display 100%, but wanted to see how the battery settles in first... then said to myself, "F that!! It can't get through a day at a real 100%, no way I'm only letting it charge to 85%"

I don't keep phones long enough to give a tinker's damn about the battery lasting several years though.

 

[Mooncatt]

I'd read about that, and the setting that only let's it go to 85%, but display 100%, but wanted to see how the battery settles in first... then said to myself, "F that!! It can't get through a day at a real 100%, no way I'm only letting it charge to 85%"

I don't keep phones long enough to give a tinker's damn about the battery lasting several years though.

To each their own. I have ready access to plug in at any time and I generally keep my phones for several years, so I pay more attention to battery care than most people here. Going to 100% and using it soon after unplugged won't hurt a ton, but I did kill a battery once after leaving it plugged in at all times (before I really dug into the research). The big thing is to not let it get under 25%, because that's when internal damage really kicks up.

 

[Yguideslou]

To each their own. I have ready access to plug in at any time and I generally keep my phones for several years, so I pay more attention to battery care than most people here. Going to 100% and using it soon after unplugged won't hurt a ton, but I did kill a battery once after leaving it plugged in at all times (before I really dug into the research). The big thing is to not let it get under 25%, because that's when internal damage really kicks up.

Sounds like a gas tank... don't let it fall below a quarter of a tank, lol.

I'll be sure to do that, thank you.

 

[tadpoles]

I don't keep my devices that long. Typically 5-10 months. I waste a lot of money like this so I would like to keep my phones at least a year. Keeping my phones in as close to new condition while I own them is of paramount importance to me and that means taking care of the battery. Yes, batteries can be replaced, with some money and time. ...but still. If all I have to do is typically keep the batteries in the 40-80% charge range I'll give that a go. If it doesn't matter how I treat my phone's batteries because I don't keep my phones for longer than 6-12 months then I'd like to see proof of that...but I don't think that proof exists, so I'll look after my phone's batteries.

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Mine sees me through the day where I'll have around 50% left but as we all know battery stats and screen on time is a subjective topic as we all set up our phones differently and use them differently.

I don't game on my phone and I work so my phone sees less usage through the day until I'm on my lunch break where I'll use Social Media and YouTube etc.

I make use of dark Mode and sleep and deepmsleeping apps settings.

To see if this is an app or theme etc put the phone into Safe Mode and then see what happens.
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...-galaxy-device-in-safe-mode%2F&token=xUVaVxCq

Sometimes clearing the phones system files cache can help too.
Clear your System File Cache vai the instructions in the Samsung Link. You may need to hook upto a computer or insert your headphones to get to the recovery menu. https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...lear-the-cache-on-my-device%2F&token=eG1IihU9

As for charging my phone I let it charge to 100% overnight with the phone turned Off as I don't need it powered up and I never let it discharge below 20% to 15%
If the phones got enough power left to take me through the next day as I do sometimes also have around 70% I prefer not to put it on charge.

I carry a powerbank just incase which I haven't had to use yet !

A Samsung Experience Store / Samsung Service Centre can take a look at your phone and apps such as phoneINFO and CPU-Z can help to show the health of your battery.

 

[mustang7757]

Getting almost 2 days with 3.5 SOT only charging up to 85%

 

[Yguideslou]

Getting almost 2 days with 3.5 SOT only charging up to 85%

View attachment 337602

Mine doesn't show screen on time, see attached.

I used to get values like that, now it's a bit over 12 hours.

I did the charge to 85% thing last night, I'd read that it's supposed to say 100%, but took it over the charger about 20 min ago, have only been reading the news and this site, no videos, I don't game, I use dark mode everything that I can, and I've got this:

 

[Yguideslou]

Ok, found screen on time... Derp...

I wiped the cache partition since my post above, maybe that will help.

Still... 52 min since charge, 35 min SOT, power went from 85% to 76%...

 

[mustang7757]

Ok, found screen on time... Derp...

I wiped the cache partition since my post above, maybe that will help.

Still... 52 min since charge, 35 min SOT, power went from 85% to 76%...

View attachment 337613

What carrier? Im on Tmobile

 

[Yguideslou]

AT&T.

First time in I don't know how long... 10'ish years maybe... that I haven't bought unlocked, and did so with this phone because of the incentives.

I have an app, (Alliance Shield), that allows me to disable all the bloatware.

 

[TMavC5]

AT&T.

First time in I don't know how long... 10'ish years maybe... that I haven't bought unlocked, and did so with this phone because of the incentives.

I have an app, (Alliance Shield), that allows me to disable all the bloatware.

I did exactly same way, been on AT&T for very very long time, and this is the first time I purchased unlocked phone. So far I am very happy with this purchased.

 

[mustang7757]

T-mobile for some reason i get the best battery life on my devices, I have Att on my Note20U and its not as good as with Tmobile sim

 

[Mooncatt]

Are you connected to anything like a smart watch? I just got a Garmin Vivoactive 4, and the app recommended turning on the power saving exclusion for it so it can stay updated with the watch. That tanked my battery life, even though the app wasn't anywhere near the top of the battery stats list (Android actually sucks when it comes to figuring out what is draining the battery, in my opinion). I removed the exclusion and battery life is back to normal, and the app still runs fine.

Even if you don't have something like that connected I would still double check that you don't inadvertently have something excluded that could be draining the battery.