Nexus 5 battery life

[clevin]

change of SMS apps from Textra to Hangouts and leaving hotword detection on (i.e. Ok Google).

there you have it.

 

[p3ntyne]

While the battery life isn't impressive, stock I was able to squeeze my whole 17 hour day in with 20-30 percent left over. Running ART and Franco's kernel with a -75mV undervolt. I now can get through the day with anything from 30-55% left in the tank. Days I don't use it as much I have seen 70% when I plug it in for the night.

What does it mean to have a -75mV undervolt? I am also on ART with Franco Kernel and I can't find that setting (I do have the full version.)

Thanks in advance.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

there you have it.

Yeah? Why would the stock texting app be worse for battery life than a third party one? Why should OK Google be affecting anything when the screen is off and the phone isn't being used? Honest questions. Seems pretty faulty to me if the problem lies with one (or both) of the things I mentioned.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

What does it mean to have a -75mV undervolt? I am also on ART with Franco Kernel and I can't find that setting (I do have the full version.)

Thanks in advance.

Posted via Android Central App

It's in his app. Think I costs 5$. It means that I am giving the CPU less power. Too much undervolting can make things unstable though and each chip is different in how it can handle different voltages. So you play around with it and see how low things can go.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[yfan]

I was pretty satisfied with my battery life up until a few days ago. Now the damn thing keeps getting brutalized by Android OS every time I go to sleep for the night. Used to only lose about 5% battery over 8+ hours of sleep. Now My battery is dropping a good 40% over the same amount of time (with Android OS doing the majority of the damage). Absolutely unacceptable and I really have no clue what could have caused the change. Only two usage differences I can pinpoint over this period of time are my change of SMS apps from Textra to Hangouts and leaving hotword detection on (i.e. Ok Google).

Are you sure you didn't install another app? This happened to me when I installed Snapdragon Battery Guru (yes I know, the irony). When it was in learning mode, it kept the OS usage high. I restarted the phone. It didn't work. I uninstalled app and restarted again. No more battery drain.

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Seems to be turning off the "OK Google" function again did the trick. Pretty ******* lame that something like that absolutely rapes the battery when the damn phone isn't even being used. I thought it was only supposed to be listening when you're on one of your home screens (not when the phone is turned off and the user is dead asleep).

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Seems to be turning off the "OK Google" function again did the trick. Pretty ******* lame that something like that absolutely rapes the battery when the damn phone isn't even being used. I thought it was only supposed to be listening when you're on one of your home screens (not when the phone is turned off and the user is dead asleep).

Sounds like a bug. My bet would be some app conflicting with Google Now, keeping the CPU revved up.


Sent from my iPad in a blue box

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Any evidence of this happening elsewhere because of an app conflict? I have a very basic set of apps and don't see how this would be the case if it's only listening when you're on the home screen. Chrome, Facebook, Words With Friends, and Hangouts are generally the only apps I leave running in the background.

Looks like I'll only be turning that function on during long road trips from here on out though. Lame.

 

[gidgiddonihah]

Any evidence of this happening elsewhere because of an app conflict? I have a very basic set of apps and don't see how this would be the case if it's only listening when you're on the home screen. Chrome, Facebook, Words With Friends, and Hangouts are generally the only apps I leave running in the background.

Looks like I'll only be turning that function on during long road trips from here on out though. Lame.

Could be as simple as a bad install of an app. Trust me, all sorts of weird stuff can happen when an app updates or installs incorrectly. Doesn't even have to be running. It can also take days or even weeks to begin to manifest in a way you the user can tell. The fact there aren't a lot of cases of this actually may point to it being a conflict somewhere. I hate to sound like first level support but if you really want the "Okay Google" feature to work I would begin uninstalling apps one by one. If that doesn't work a factory reset could fix it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[onthecouchagain]

Some days the battery life is superb, and others, it's dreadful -- in both instances, doing mostly the same daily routine. I'm not sure what's the cause of this inconsistency. When I check the battery settings, there are no indication of any rogue apps opened. It's just the "Android OS" at the top.

It gets stranger. On the "bad" days, if I notice the battery is misbehaving, if I do a reboot, it'll then be fine for the rest of the day. The graph will literally level out. Today happens to be one of those off days. Check the picture. You can see where I rebooted, and you can already begin to see the graph leveling out. Bare in mind, no conditions have changed (not a better signal, or anything).



Some might point out that I have bad reception, but I get bad reception in my office all the time, so that doesn't explain the "good" days when the battery is superb. The steep graph prior to the reboot tells me something is draining it. Yet, here's what's available in the list:



Again, you might point to a few things as the culprit, but this is how I use my phone on a daily basis -- it's almost the same exact routine. It doesn't explain how the battery lasts very well on the "good" days. On those days, there is no steep decline in the chart.

It's puzzling.

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Could be as simple as a bad install of an app. Trust me, all sorts of weird stuff can happen when an app updates or installs incorrectly. Doesn't even have to be running. It can also take days or even weeks to begin to manifest in a way you the user can tell. The fact there aren't a lot of cases of this actually may point to it being a conflict somewhere. I hate to sound like first level support but if you really want the "Okay Google" feature to work I would begin uninstalling apps one by one. If that doesn't work a factory reset could fix it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I appreciate your attempt at helping but that sounds like a lot of BS to do. Mainly because I'm only really seeing this happen....while I'm sleeping. So I'd basically be testing one app at a time every night to maybe find a solution. And I assume a factory reset would force me to re-setup the entire look and feel of my phone from scratch? Not too thrilled about that prospect either. OK Google is a pretty big feature to be this finicky. It's not like I'm some advanced user or rooted or anything either. Be nice to just have the phone work properly without having to troubleshoot like a mofo.

 

[anon(8256055)]

I appreciate your attempt at helping but that sounds like a lot of BS to do. Mainly because I'm only really seeing this happen....while I'm sleeping. So I'd basically be testing one app at a time every night to maybe find a solution. And I assume a factory reset would force me to re-setup the entire look and feel of my phone from scratch? Not too thrilled about that prospect either. OK Google is a pretty big feature to be this finicky. It's not like I'm some advanced user or rooted or anything either. Be nice to just have the phone work properly without having to troubleshoot like a mofo.

Since everyone is not having the same problems, I'm leaning towards it being app related. I've read in previous posts that Facebook is an app which can cause battery drain. Just a thought. I realize, however, that this is a critical app for many people.

I'm not posting this to rub it in, just as an example to judge from. I have Google Now active, and at present my phone has 75 percent battery remaining after 9.5 hours of operation, with 2 hours of screen usage. This is fairly typical operation for my phone.

 

[yfan]

I appreciate your attempt at helping but that sounds like a lot of BS to do. Mainly because I'm only really seeing this happen....while I'm sleeping. So I'd basically be testing one app at a time every night to maybe find a solution. And I assume a factory reset would force me to re-setup the entire look and feel of my phone from scratch? Not too thrilled about that prospect either. OK Google is a pretty big feature to be this finicky. It's not like I'm some advanced user or rooted or anything either. Be nice to just have the phone work properly without having to troubleshoot like a mofo.

Quite frankly, if you aren't willing to try at least a factory reset, you aren't willing to even figure out what is causing the problem - even something as basic as hardware/software issue. We can't help you blindly - we are not in possession of your device. It's pretty standard procedure that if nothing else works, a factory reset is in order - which could tell us if the problem is with your phone itself or your particular setup. If it's the latter, we could go about finding out what in your setup is causing it. But if you want the community to help, you have to try.

 

[B. Diddy]

I appreciate your attempt at helping but that sounds like a lot of BS to do. Mainly because I'm only really seeing this happen....while I'm sleeping. So I'd basically be testing one app at a time every night to maybe find a solution. And I assume a factory reset would force me to re-setup the entire look and feel of my phone from scratch? Not too thrilled about that prospect either. OK Google is a pretty big feature to be this finicky. It's not like I'm some advanced user or rooted or anything either. Be nice to just have the phone work properly without having to troubleshoot like a mofo.

If you're not prepared to do a factory data reset first, then consider wiping the system cache partition. Sometimes this can help, if there's some piece of bad data stuck in the system cache. You won't lose any personal data or settings. Be aware that the cache wipe on the Nexus 5 seems to take somewhat longer than my other devices--I had to wait about 20-30 seconds, whereas my other devices usually take <10 seconds. Follow these instructions for Wipe Cache Partition:

Reset: Google Nexus 5 | T-Mobile Support

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Since everyone is not having the same problems, I'm leaning towards it being app related. I've read in previous posts that Facebook is an app which can cause battery drain. Just a thought. I realize, however, that this is a critical app for many people.

I'm not posting this to rub it in, just as an example to judge from. I have Google Now active, and at present my phone has 75 percent battery remaining after 9.5 hours of operation, with 2 hours of screen usage. This is fairly typical operation for my phone.

Facebook shows very minimal wear to my battery according to what it says in the settings app of my phone. Pretty sure it is not part of the problem here.

....and 75% battery remaining with 2 hours of screen usage?!?! You're trying to tell me it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for you to get 8 hours of screen usage from a full battery? I keep my brightness way low, don't really play games or use the GPS, and I still barely am able to get 5 hours of screen on time. I'd be thrilled with that kind of battery life from a high powered smartphone.

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

Quite frankly, if you aren't willing to try at least a factory reset, you aren't willing to even figure out what is causing the problem - even something as basic as hardware/software issue. We can't help you blindly - we are not in possession of your device. It's pretty standard procedure that if nothing else works, a factory reset is in order - which could tell us if the problem is with your phone itself or your particular setup. If it's the latter, we could go about finding out what in your setup is causing it. But if you want the community to help, you have to try.

Obviously I am willing to figure out what is causing the problem. Definitely not visiting this site purely out of some sort of brainless amusement; I'm here to learn more about a new phone with an operating system that I am very unfamiliar with. I have never had to factory reset any of the smartphones that I have owned over the last 5 years, so that option sounded a little extreme to me.

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

If you're not prepared to do a factory data reset first, then consider wiping the system cache partition. Sometimes this can help, if there's some piece of bad data stuck in the system cache. You won't lose any personal data or settings. Be aware that the cache wipe on the Nexus 5 seems to take somewhat longer than my other devices--I had to wait about 20-30 seconds, whereas my other devices usually take <10 seconds. Follow these instructions for Wipe Cache Partition:

Reset: Google Nexus 5 | T-Mobile Support

Gonna try this wipe cache partition deal, turn OK Google back on, and see how my battery has fared come tomorrow morning.

 

[anon(8256055)]

Gonna try this wipe cache partition deal, turn OK Google back on, and see how my battery has fared come tomorrow morning.

Keep us up-to-date!

You mentioned earlier that I could typically get 8 hours of screen time, but I don't because I recharge at 20-25%. Going back and reviewing what I was experiencing that day for battery life, I mis-spoke. It was actually a better than average day up to that point. There was more remaining battery life than normal, so there must have been lower CPU intensive operations.

On average, my battery lasts about as long as I do each day, about 18 hours with 20-25% life remaining. Works out about right since we both need recharging at the same time.

 

[clevin]

is hard-reset too late?

....and 75% battery remaining with 2 hours of screen usage?!?! You're trying to tell me it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for you to get 8 hours of screen usage from a full battery? I keep my brightness way low, don't really play games or use the GPS, and I still barely am able to get 5 hours of screen on time. I'd be thrilled with that kind of battery life from a high powered smartphone.

I'd say your 5 hr is pretty commonly reported. 8 hrs.... rare to say the least, if at all possible, on stock rom.

 

[JohnnyBroccoli]

So I did the wipe cache partition....it took wwaayy longer than the 20-30 seconds I was told it would take. Thought it was hanging up but held off on force rebooting (luckily), and about 10-15 minutes later it finished. For those that try this in the future: let it finish or you will encounter problems.

Went to sleep with about 99% battery and woke up 8+ hours later with about 85% battery left. Quite a bit worse than when I have OK Google off but not as bad as it was the last time I tried this. Used the phone for web searches for a little less than an hour and then checked the battery section of the settings app. Stupid-*** ******* Android OS still eating more of my battery than anything else (29%, CPU total: 23m 27s, Keep awake: 1h 45m 5s), with the screen clocking in at 17% (Time on: 56m 33s).