Battery only charges to 50% and dies quickly

[billdz]

Hi,
My Google Nexus 4 stopped working and showed the Red Light of Death, but I was able to save it following advice on this forum. Now, however, it will still turn on, but it only charges to 50%, and once it's off the charger it goes dead after about 30 minutes of use, it will say "Powering off" even though the battery indicator shows 30% or more.

Any advice?

Thanks,
b

 

[B. Diddy]

My guess would be a failing battery. How long are you leaving it on the charger to see if it gets above 50%?

 

[billdz]

Thanks for the reply. Left it charging overnight. This time peaked at 75%, but still very short life. Also noticed big variations in percentage up and down while the phone was in the charger. For example, in seconds it went from 61 to 2 to 35 to 2 then back to 50.

The attached screenshots show the problem, does it tell us anything?. At 14:30, there was 75% and over a day of life remaining. By 14:57, still 72% but now just 15 minutes remaining. Voltage and temperature seem OK. What does this mean: "-0% in 27m, 134% used in last 27m"?

 

[B. Diddy]

Sorry, but I can't explain those readings. I would still suspect a failing battery, but of course I would understand how opening the phone up and replacing the battery might be a last resort.

 

[Djard]

The following steps worked for me, which I followed after my Galaxy S5 overheated, due to a large download in a warm room. Hopefully the steps will work for you.

1. Let the battery fully discharge.
2. Remove the battery from the device.
3. Leave the battery in your refrigerator overnight.
4. Reinstall the battery and recharge it, monitoring the tremperature. If the phone heats up, either some resource-hungry apps are running in the background and causing the overheating, telemetry is heavy (too many downloads from Google Play?), or the battery is damaged.

Good luck!