Galaxy S6 edge battery

[kyleresq]

So I had the phone off Wi-Fi all day today. It's 3:30, and at 41% which is almost exactly the same as yesterday. Even though cell standby was taking up the bulk of my usage yesterday (and it doesn't appear today because the Wi-Fi is off) it seems to add up to the same exact battery life. As a result, I would only have battery available until about 9 PM when I take it off the charger at 8 AM. I guess 11 hours isn't awful, but I would certainly need a midday charge to get through a reasonable-length day.

 

[STEVESKI07]

So I had the phone off Wi-Fi all day today. It's 3:30, and at 41% which is almost exactly the same as yesterday. Even though cell standby was taking up the bulk of my usage yesterday (and it doesn't appear today because the Wi-Fi is off) it seems to add up to the same exact battery life. As a result, I would only have battery available until about 9 PM when I take it off the charger at 8 AM. I guess 11 hours isn't awful, but I would certainly need a midday charge to get through a reasonable-length day.

So you're saying you used the phone exactly the same amount as yesterday? If not, then % battery used and time don't mean anything. You seem to be insinuating that now that your cell standby issue isn't draining the battery, another thing has popped up and is starting to drain battery now? Unlikely.

Post some screen shots and tell us some more information about how you used your phone and people can try to tell you if it looks normal. Your earlier screenshot with 34% standby didn't look normal.

 

[kyleresq]

I'm saying I had very similar usage yesterday and today. I was in the office most of the day so I got a couple of WhatsApp messages, I made one or two 2-minute phone calls, and I checked Twitter. I'm just saying that generally speaking, the turning off of the Wi-Fi did not make any major difference in my battery life as I walked in the door from work.

 

[kyleresq]

Here is today's screenshot.

 

[STEVESKI07]

Here is today's screenshot.

What is your screen on time? Your battery usage numbers look normal.

 

[kyleresq]

LOL, this is what I am saying. I don't see anything abnormal that is drainng the battery. So it seems like a reasonable conclusion is that average use on S6 edge is going to net you about 12 hours. For those of us that go to work at 7 or 8, we'll be out of juice by evening. The good news is that the rapid charge works awesome and I'll just start charging each night when I get home.

 

[kyleresq]

Screen on time is 2 hours 52 minutes.

What is your screen on time? Your battery usage numbers look normal.

 

[STEVESKI07]

Screen on time is 2 hours 52 minutes.

So 3 hours of screen on time and you're at 35% battery and you aren't happy about that? That's about 4.5 hours of usage on a full battery. That is normal battery life. What phone are you coming from where you consider this bad?

 

[kyleresq]

This is a brand-new phone with no track record. People are asking in this forum exactly how long the battery is lasting. Yesterday there was a lot of chatter about a certain cell phone standby issue causing drainage. I tested my phone on both days with Wi-Fi on and off and came to the conclusion that my phone is operating normally with no unusual drainage. I thought that was a point of information sharing forum.

My husband has an HTC and can get to 10-11 pm with similar usage. I used to be able to get to bedtime on my S3. I have had every Galaxy phone since the S3,and I am really providing a comparison between the devices. I understand that the battery is smaller than the S5, and I understand that this is why Samsung gave the phone rapid charge capability. I stated several posts ago that this phone is more than suitable for my needs and I'll just have to be in the habit to charge after work.

 

[STEVESKI07]

This is a brand-new phone with no track record. People are asking in this forum exactly how long the battery is lasting. Yesterday there was a lot of chatter about a certain cell phone standby issue causing drainage. I tested my phone on both days with Wi-Fi on and off and came to the conclusion that my phone is operating normally with no unusual drainage. I thought that was a point of information sharing forum.

My husband has an HTC and can get to 10-11 pm with similar usage. I used to be able to get to bedtime on my S3. I have had every Galaxy phone since the S3,and I am really providing a comparison between the devices. I understand that the battery is smaller than the S5, and I understand that this is why Samsung gave the phone rapid charge capability. I stated several posts ago that this phone is more than suitable for my needs and I'll just have to be in the habit to charge after work.

I think you are just using your phone more and that's why it feels like it's draining faster. There's no way the battery life is worse than the S3, which I'm using now. That's why I asked you your screen on time because it gives you an idea of how many hours you were actually using the phone. Your husband may be making it to 10 or 11 at night but maybe he was only using his phone for 2 hours. The phone should only drain at most 1% per hour in standby. An hour of constant usage could use up to 20% of battery. That's why you can't just compare times that phones make it to without checking their actual usage during that time. Not arguing with you, just trying to explain in more detail why the battery may not be as good as you expected when comparing to your older phone. If your husbands phone seems to be lasting linger than yours, check his screen on time and compare that way.

 

[kyleresq]

Is four hours of on-screen time really the standard? If that's the case then yes, I have completely unrealistic expectations. But I'll admit to having read multiple reviews of this device prior to purchasing it. Although in all honesty, the phone could have one hour of up time and I would probably still keep it because it's gorgeous. But take a look at the article below where The Verge states that the phone operated for nine hours on a Web loop, which I would guess keeps the screen up:

Samsung Galaxy S6 review | The Verge

And this site that references multiple hours of video:

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge battery endurance revealed in tests

If that's the case, is in my four then below average or am I misreading the reviews?

 

[Rydsmith]

Is four hours of on-screen time really the standard? If that's the case then yes, I have completely unrealistic expectations. But I'll admit to having read multiple reviews of this device prior to purchasing it. Although in all honesty, the phone could have one hour of up time and I would probably still keep it because it's gorgeous. But take a look at the article below where The Verge states that the phone operated for nine hours on a Web loop, which I would guess keeps the screen up:

Samsung Galaxy S6 review | The Verge

And this site that references multiple hours of video:

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge battery endurance revealed in tests

If that's the case, is in my four then below average or am I misreading the reviews?

Yes, in fact for some 3 hours is more than sufficient.

Phonearena got a good 8 hours of use out of theirs with the looping video test before it died which is just amazing in my book. But the "on screen time" is kind of misleading because of the activity that it involves as well. If I'm playing Dragon Quest 8 for 4 hours, I would be very impressed as that is quite a demanding game, especially on a QuadHD display.

 

[STEVESKI07]

Is four hours of on-screen time really the standard? If that's the case then yes, I have completely unrealistic expectations. But I'll admit to having read multiple reviews of this device prior to purchasing it. Although in all honesty, the phone could have one hour of up time and I would probably still keep it because it's gorgeous. But take a look at the article below where The Verge states that the phone operated for nine hours on a Web loop, which I would guess keeps the screen up:

Samsung Galaxy S6 review | The Verge

And this site that references multiple hours of video:

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge battery endurance revealed in tests

If that's the case, is in my four then below average or am I misreading the reviews?

Those numbers that review sites post are isolated tests. There is no standby, push services, gps, and all the other little things you use during the day. They are just running that test and if you turned off everything on your device and ran the test, then yes you'd get the same. They are the only real way of comparing devices against each other. They are useful for comparison purposes, but not really that useful for measuring real life usage. Here is one site that I really like and trust that does thorough battery tests: Battery life tests - GSMArena.com

Again, don't take the number you see as a number that should correlate directly to your own usage. There are many things that come into play when affecting battery life that those tests can't predict, such as your type of usage, cell signal, etc. Where those review sites and ratings are beneficial are when comparing each other against other phones.

I personally think under 4 hours screen on time is bad and would be bad enough for me to return the phone. Most phones that people are using now probably get under 4, but for a brand new flagship, it would be unacceptable to me. Over 5 would be great battery life and there aren't too many phones out there now that can last that long. I do think the S6 with some optimization and possibly some updates will be able to hover close to the 5 hour mark though. Your stats reflect that, being around 4.5 hours. The fact that you're not making it to the end of the day is because of how much you are using it. It's probably because it's still new and your playing around with it. If you used it an hour less, your battery would have been 20% higher when you took that screenshot and you probably would have been happy with your battery life.

I don't know what device your coming from, but I can almost guarantee that this phone gets better battery life than your old one even if it doesn't feel like it now. Once you settle back in to your normal schedule and aren't tinkering with the phone constantly, you will see.

 

[EMGSM]

Does anyone know if the OTA on TMO made things worse? I thought they were trying to get ahead of the game by putting out updates so quickly.

 

[Techno-guy]

I think you are just using your phone more and that's why it feels like it's draining faster. There's no way the battery life is worse than the S3, which I'm using now. That's why I asked you your screen on time because it gives you an idea of how many hours you were actually using the phone. Your husband may be making it to 10 or 11 at night but maybe he was only using his phone for 2 hours. The phone should only drain at most 1% per hour in standby. An hour of constant usage could use up to 20% of battery. That's why you can't just compare times that phones make it to without checking their actual usage during that time. Not arguing with you, just trying to explain in more detail why the battery may not be as good as you expected when comparing to your older phone. If your husbands phone seems to be lasting linger than yours, check his screen on time and compare that way.

Totally agree with you, 1% per hour should be a pretty standard discharge rate in Standby, especially on WiFi. But this is where my S6 falls far short...I'm burning roughly 5% per hour in standby and have been since I got the S6 a week ago Monday, even with a Factory Reset, turning off tons of useful services, turning off VoLTE, etc.

I'll go off charger at 6am and by noon with almost no screen time, I'm already down to 60-65% and if I actually use the phone for an hour or two in the morning, I can easily be in the 30-40% range by lunch.

There are no unusual Apps taking up the Standby battery life - it's always "Cell Standby" as the culprit. And, Cell Standby often ends the day well above 30% (and sometimes up to 40%) of the battery consumption. I've posted screenshots showing it.

Oh, and when I turn WiFi off, all of the Standby drain disappears and the phone is normal again with terrific battery life. This phone should easily give 4-5 hours SoT with 15+ hours of standby...it clearly has the capability. There's something up with the WiFi on the S6 and it's not effecting everyone but for sure an awful lot of people, especially if you go over to the XDA Developers Forum.

 

[Raptor007]

So the Wi-Fi issue is on all carriers and not a wifi calling issue. With Wi-Fi off we are ok, but once its on it drains the battery. Samsung better get that fixed asap.

 

[dpham00]

So the Wi-Fi issue is on all carriers and not a wifi calling issue. With Wi-Fi off we are ok, but once its on it drains the battery. Samsung better get that fixed asap.

That certainly sucks for those without unlimited data. Hopefully it is fixed soon.

 

[Stwutter]

As much as I agree with trying to find 'culprits' for the S6's seemingly poor battery, this is one of, if not THE most powerful mobile phone released. A massive PPI, HD screen, SD810 processor... and it's thin as f***, and with a smaller battery. No amount of economical processing will get a decent battery life. It looked as if OEM's were finally getting some handsets to get a decent battery life as they were improving it, but fast charging tech. has given Samsung (in this case) the excuse to almost not bother with the battery. All well and good if you can get to a charger or are happy to carry a power pack.

1-2mm thicker, still glass construction, and even get rid of the awful sticky-out lens, Samsung?

 

[STEVESKI07]

As much as I agree with trying to find 'culprits' for the S6's seemingly poor battery, this is one of, if not THE most powerful mobile phone released. A massive PPI, HD screen, SD810 processor... and it's thin as f***, and with a smaller battery. No amount of economical processing will get a decent battery life. It looked as if OEM's were finally getting some handsets to get a decent battery life as they were improving it, but fast charging tech. has given Samsung (in this case) the excuse to almost not bother with the battery. All well and good if you can get to a charger or are happy to carry a power pack.

1-2mm thicker, still glass construction, and even get rid of the awful sticky-out lens, Samsung?

Ok.

 

[Stwutter]

Ok.

Ta.