Horrendous battery life

[angelwithacrossbow]

So after perusing the forums for a bit, I've discovered that my brand new Samsung Galaxy S4 (I just got this phone yesterday) is saying that it only has 12m 47s on battery which I find ridiculous and confusing considering that I've turned off many of my features. I also have the Mophie case which I've had to use quite a bit since my phone drained from 85% to 41% in the 3 and a half hours I was at work (therefore, it wasn't being used). Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing this? I bought this phone because of the good battery life (my iPhone had the worst battery life known to man) but it seems like I'm having some issues with this guy. I do have the power saver options on as well as auto brightness.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! There are so many factors that can affect battery life. Start by perusing these tips:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...how-tos/298919-guide-battery-saving-tips.html

 

[STSVA]

Click on "battery" in your settings (gear icon) and see what's using power, then adjust things as needed.

 

[Murph5150]

You can download "Battery Guru" off of the market. It has helped me get a full day with moderate to heavy usage.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[STSVA]

The JuiceDefender app is also often recommended to help control battery drain.

 

[fatboy97]

If you use any of these Battery apps you should always read the description and read the reviews very carefully... some times they do strange things like turn on your wifi when you are not aware or want it to happen because IT thinks you need it to save your battery... just an FYI.

 

[Bizzle69]

I'd stay away from Juice Defender, app is placebo. Use Battery Guru or GSam Battery Monitor to see what is causing your drain. I'm willing to bet your google services is hogging the battery -- if that is the case, go to application manager in settings, select google services and clear the cache. Then reset the phone.

 

[dsignori]

I wouldn't do any of the above just yet. This doesn't seem right for normal use. You shouldn't have to resort to battery saving apps with the GS4 in normal use. Especially if not in use for 3+ hours as yo stated. You might want to double check what apps are updating (syncing) how often, along with a few other basics. But if you can't see anything glaring that might cause this, you may want to do a factory reset first, before worrying further.

What firmware level are you on? MDK or ME7 ? I'm on ME7 and my battery life is good ...

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

Welcome to Android Central! There are so many factors that can affect battery life. Start by perusing these tips:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/am...how-tos/298919-guide-battery-saving-tips.html

Click on "battery" in your settings (gear icon) and see what's using power, then adjust things as needed.

You can download "Battery Guru" off of the market. It has helped me get a full day with moderate to heavy usage.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using AC Forums mobile app

The JuiceDefender app is also often recommended to help control battery drain.

While these are decent suggestions for improving battery life in general, the OP obviously has a much more serious issue at hand! This would be like if someone told you that their car engine blew up on freeway and then suggesting that they try using a higher grade gasoline to improve gas mileage. Whether or not the advice is sound is irrelevant to it's ability to fix the actual problem.

Sorry...end of rant.

I wouldn't do any of the above just yet. This doesn't seem right for normal use. You shouldn't have to resort to battery saving apps with the GS4 in normal use. Especially if not in use for 3+ hours as yo stated. You might want to double check what apps are updating (syncing) how often, along with a few other basics. But if you can't see anything glaring that might cause this, you may want to do a factory reset first, before worrying further.

What firmware level are you on? MDK or ME7 ? I'm on ME7 and my battery life is good ...

I tend to agree with this. There are 2 probable explanations for the behavior the OP is seeing:

1. The battery is bad. If possible, you may want to try swapping the battery for a different one to rule this out

2. Some app on your phone has gone haywire and consuming a lot more resources than it should. You can try to see if you can nail down which app(s) specifically are causing the abnormal battery drain, but honestly the factory reset may not be a bad idea ( <-- this is what I would do). Just make sure to backup anything you may need first.

 

[B. Diddy]

While these are decent suggestions for improving battery life in general, the OP obviously has a much more serious issue at hand! This would be like if someone told you that their car engine blew up on freeway and then suggesting that they try using a higher grade gasoline to improve gas mileage. Whether or not the advice is sound is irrelevant to it's ability to fix the actual problem.

You're correct that there seems to be an unusual problem occurring. But my guide that I linked to also includes some troubleshooting/diagnostic tips as well, like installing a wakelock detecting app to see if an app is inappropriately keeping the phone awake, or checking if cell reception is very poor.

Thanks for chiming in with your suggestions!

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

You're correct that there seems to be an unusual problem occurring. But my guide that I linked to also includes some troubleshooting/diagnostic tips as well, like installing a wakelock detecting app to see if an app is inappropriately keeping the phone awake, or checking if cell reception is very poor.

Thanks for chiming in with your suggestions!

My apologies, I should have probably checked out your link before including your comment there. Those are good suggestions as well.

 

[jclake]

It doesn't hurt to start by shutting off your phone and pulling the battery for 30 seconds. This would clear any items that didn't shut down correctly. This probably won't solve your problem but it only takes a few minutes to try this approach.

Do you have an app that is updating frequently. I had Cardio Trainer on my phone and I had it set to record my GPS position once per minute while I walked. Worked like a charm. Then one day I took a walk in an area with poor cell reception and drained half my battery during a one hour walk.

One way to problem solve your issue is remove apps one at a time in the reverse order you installed them. When the problem goes away you have found the cause. Or you could remove all the apps you added to the phone and then add them one by one (one per day).

I am getting better battery life on my S4 than I received on my RAZR MAXX.

 

[Bizzle69]

GSam Battery monitor is NOT an app to "boost" your battery, it is what is in it's title -- a MONITOR, to let you know what specifically is draining your battery.

 

[o4liberty]

Battery life on a smart phone especially an Android device all depends on the device and how you use it. There are so many factors that can drain your battery to me it's worth buying a spare battery so I can use my device how I want. I don't want to keep shutting things off or dimming my screen to save battery life. This is the main reason I purchased a device with a removable battery. During hurricane Sandy my spare battery came in very handy when our power was out for a few days.

 

[johnriii]

sorry to hear about your below average battery life. I've had my S4 for five weeks, and my battery life has been well above average. I can easily get 16 hours with moderate to heavy use (I youtube and netflix a lot) before I get under 20%, and when the phone is idle, it drops about 1-3% per hour. I have the phone in power saver mode, and that doesn't seem to effect the responsiveness or the speed of the phone. My only scare was when I turned on Google now. with that turned on, my battery was draining about 15% per hour, in idle. I quickly decided I didn't need google now, and turned it off. hopefully your issue can be fixed easily, without turning off a bunch of features. I have bluetooth, GPS, and smart stay turned off. everything else is on. good luck to you.

 

[blue lion]

I had this same problem and determined that the Inrix traffic app was what my issue was. I uninstalled it and have been fine since. Find out what app is using the battery and you will be fine.

 

[mannyvigi1985]

Has anyone tried this new battery (Slim Extended Gold Series Lithium Polymer Battery for Samsung Galaxy S4, 3030 mAh)

Links is below
Slim Extended Gold Series Lithium Polymer Battery for Samsung Galaxy S4, 3030 mAh

 

[AndroidJay]

I had this same problem and determined that the Inrix traffic app was what my issue was. I uninstalled it and have been fine since. Find out what app is using the battery and you will be fine.

I know the feeling. I installed a different app and then my battery went down to only a few hours. I uninstalled it and my battery life went back to 8 hours plus.

 

[Ken7]

So what battery life are people typically getting with the S4. I understand everyone's usage is different, but I'm curious to get some idea.

 

[Deron Baker]

I am getting better battery life on my S4 than I received on my RAZR MAXX.

Really? How long could you go on your Droid Razr MAXX with a full charge (on average)? And how far on your S4? Just curious because I have owned the first two MAXX phones, my GF currently has the MAXX HD (unhapppy with it), and am considering buying the S4 for her birthday to replace her MAXX HD.

Personally, I have had excellent battery life with the Razr MAXX and Razr MAXX HD and would not even consider a non-MAXX phone for myself. I might be picking up the new MAXX later in the year, but my GF gets first priority.