Tab S 8.4 LTE battery drains extremely fast and erratically

[CaptainCrapnuts]

I read about the amazing battery life of this thing, however I am not able to hit 2 hours off a full charge, with power saving mode on, wifi and location settings off, screen on basic color scheme at 20%, background processes off. I'm using mobile Internet for browsing the Web (no videos) and chatting via viber/Facebook messenger. What's weirder is I often get large skips in battery drainage, as much as 20 percent, like from 61 to 40 is common, then in the 41-43 range down to 22, usually in the same spots. And it sometimes does the same thing when charging, I'll turn the screen on to check progress, and it'll say 83 percent, then just instantly jump to full. If I turn the device off and on, it turns back on with varying percentages, by as much as 40 percent, but within 10 minutes will rapidly dwindle itself back down to the previously lowest percentage. I've tried this over and over while charging to get it to take as much juice as possible and get it to use as much as possible while it's on but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I've tried factory restores and battery doctor and recalibration apps, this thing is like 2 weeks old. What gives? I've included a couple screen shots for the results of a 14h+ charge. Thanks in advance for everyone's help

 

[VidJunky]

Two things; One are you using a quick charger? Two have you tried bump charging?

I've personally experienced the down side to the quick charger, as well as read about its effect on other devices. Over time, and sometimes not even a long period of time, batteries charged quickly begin to drain quickly. After stopping my usage of the quick charger I found my battery life level out, however I don't feel I ever gained back that which I had lost.

Bump charging is simple and it gives you the fullest charge. On some devices the difference is night and day. To bump charge, charge the device until it reaches 100%, unplug it for 1 to 5 minutes, and then plug it back in until it reaches 100%. You can do all of this with the device powered on, however the results are even more improved if the second part is done while the device is off. I've begun doing this and seen an improvement, however I still don't think I've gained everything I've lost.

One additional thing is don't play with the device much or at all while charging. As you use power and attempt to charge the battery gets short cycled and over time this can degrade the battery resulting in quick discharging. Looking at your usage level it seems to be discharging gradually without many spikes or dips, it's just doing this over a short period of time.

 

[CaptainCrapnuts]

No, I've only been using the stock Samsung charger it came with, and when I said I was trying to give it as much juice as possible, apparently bump charging was what I was doing, when I did that, I had fully charged the device with it off, and bump charged it while off also, for about 4 hours of bump charging until it would stay at 100 percent for at least a few minutes after unplugging, and also sitting at 99 percent and charging for 20 or 30 minutes. Alas, no changes. And again, I doubt battery degradation is the issue, it's <3 weeks old. Thank you though

 

[CaptainCrapnuts]

There was one dip I from 30 to 20 if you look, it does it less often (at least not the larger increments) on power save, but the big 10-20 percent sudden drops are there, I had screens hot but lost them in my last factory restore. But trust me, they still happen. Also, on a similar note, it's not charging extremely fast also, as if the battery is worn out, it still takes 4 to 5 hours, sometimes more to get to 100 percent. So I don't think I'm getting partial charges.

 

[Yk Chin]

Regret to hear about your predicament mate. 4-5 hours is awful long charging time & your battery level drop certainly doesn't seem normal. Since it's still under warranty, try to get a replacement & see how the new unit goes. The current one could be a lemon unit.

Posted via Tab S 8.4

 

[clevin]

Don't bump charge li-ion battery, it's not good for battery health.

I would suggest a battery calibration, but, did you charge it to 100 and then use it to less than 10% recently? If you did, then a calibration would not be necessary.

If battery was calibrated and problem persists, definitely ask for a replacement. Sudden drop of battery levels, IF occurs at the same/similar spot for same/similar amount, i.e., always at 60%, always drop 20%, is indication of damaged battery cells.

@T-Mobile GN3

 

[WickedSharkz]

Don't bump charge li-ion battery, it's not good for battery health.

I would suggest a battery calibration, but, did you charge it to 100 and then use it to less than 10% recently? If you did, then a calibration would not be necessary.

If battery was calibrated and problem persists, definitely ask for a replacement. Sudden drop of battery levels, IF occurs at the same/similar spot for same/similar amount, i.e., always at 60%, always drop 20%, is indication of damaged battery cells.

@T-Mobile GN3

What's bump charge?

 

[CaptainCrapnuts]

Yeah, I've calibrated when full, calibrated when empty, every charge is a full cycle charge, 100 to <10 (it takes 1h 30m) so naturally. I think I'm giving up on something I have done or can do to fix it, it's gotta be a bad unit. Unfortunately I'm US military and stationed in Italy, and my tab s is one I got while training in Lithuania, in which I will not return. My only mailing address is located in Italy, but because it is us military it's a us address and is only accessible by USPS, I thing Samsung uses fedex or DHL, so it becomes quite the headache to get warranty service figured out, usually places won't even do it for me because of my address, and of they do, it takes months. But I'm not seeing I have a choice.

 

[clevin]

Yeah, I've calibrated when full, calibrated when empty, every charge is a full cycle charge, 100 to <10 (it takes 1h 30m) so naturally. I think I'm giving up on something I have done or can do to fix it, it's gotta be a bad unit. Unfortunately I'm US military and stationed in Italy, and my tab s is one I got while training in Lithuania, in which I will not return. My only mailing address is located in Italy, but because it is us military it's a us address and is only accessible by USPS, I thing Samsung uses fedex or DHL, so it becomes quite the headache to get warranty service figured out, usually places won't even do it for me because of my address, and of they do, it takes months. But I'm not seeing I have a choice.

doesn't samsung have service centers in Italy, trying calling them? You may also contact samsung directly.

Both DHL and FeDex can hand over items to USPS, i imagine it just takes more time since this hand-over may have to be in US (not sure).

 

[GalaxyOnyxWitch]

I know there is a setting that prevents continuous wifi scanning while the device is in sleep mode. When I engaged this it is working like a charm. I did have one time, before selecting this feature that the device got quite warm and drained from 100 to 20 in like 2 hours or so. Freaked me out. After I restarted the device and disabled the wifi scan feature and selected only while in the charger my standby time is pretty damn good.

 

[slackliner]

I'm getting the same thing. Samsung Tab S 8.4 battery draining too fast. Not even a week old. Took it home, charged it - seemed to be great in Airplane mode with WiFi on (cellular/LTE radio turned off). All charged and set to watch a Netflix vid on the bus commute to work - turned on LTE radio and the battery was dead by the time I got to work. Could barely watch a full movie - so I'd say less than 2 hours while using cellular data radio.
The next time I set out into the cellular world, I had used the tablet in my home (again in Airplane mode w/WiFi on only) and it lasted all day, only going down to 50%. I went out to get gas and opened up a mobile GPS app, and it went from 50% to 4% in less than 20 minutes.
I was thinking I got a lemon too, but when in WiFi mode, it works fine - battery drain is reasonable/tolerable. It's just that when using it with Cellular data radio - the thing drains way, way too fast. I wonder how Samsung would respond to this... the reviews about awesome battery life are obviously not testing performance with cellular data. I'm an unsatisfied customer/consumer. Love the tablet - but can't depend on it. Only way to use it is to change my usage habits. My tablet's predecessor, the Samsung Note 3, has awesome battery life with both WiFi and Cellular voice/data radios on all the time. And it has a slightly smaller battery, so.... wondering what gives with the Samsung Tab S 8.4 using cellular data radio?

 

[jayjay234]

Send it to Samsung for warranty repair. I had the same problem (i have wifi only version). I sent it for repair and they put a new battery in and it works fine now.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[CaptainCrapnuts]

So I took it for warranty repair, they replaced the battery and recalibrate it, and it works fine now, lasts longer than iPad 3 even when I have mobile data and wifi on. So it was a defective battery, if you guys are having similar issues I suggest you do the same. I took it into a warranty repair shop and it was fixed in less than 2 days

 

[spock123]

Tablet S 8.4 wifi here.. same problem, had the tablet 4 months and now the battery lasts 2 hours max... so so bad..

 

[Jon_Doh]

Tablet S 8.4 wifi here.. same problem, had the tablet 4 months and now the battery lasts 2 hours max... so so bad..

I think it's more of a Kit Kat issue than anything to do with Samsung hardware. I have a Nexus 7 and it had the same problem as described in this thread. But after the Lollipop update all is well. When I first got it, it ran Jelly Bean and had great battery life. After Kit Kat battery life went to crap. Turning off syncing and complete factory reset didn't help. But Lollipop did. I'm convinced Kit Kat is the villain here not just because of my experience but because you read similar experiences in other forums regardless of the device after upgrading to Kit Kat.

 

[Ramel Shafik]

dude..i did it one month ago..replaced new battery (under warranty)..yesterday it happen again..before battery draining fast because of COC now it happen when i open my ig and facebook....need to sent back to samsung the 2nd time....Zzzzzz

 

[Rouge Hawkins]

I read about the amazing battery life of this thing, however I am not able to hit 2 hours off a full charge, with power saving mode on, wifi and location settings off, screen on basic color scheme at 20%, background processes off. I'm using mobile Internet for browsing the Web (no videos) and chatting via viber/Facebook messenger. What's weirder is I often get large skips in battery drainage, as much as 20 percent, like from 61 to 40 is common, then in the 41-43 range down to 22, usually in the same spots. And it sometimes does the same thing when charging, I'll turn the screen on to check progress, and it'll say 83 percent, then just instantly jump to full. If I turn the device off and on, it turns back on with varying percentages, by as much as 40 percent, but within 10 minutes will rapidly dwindle itself back down to the previously lowest percentage. I've tried this over and over while charging to get it to take as much juice as possible and get it to use as much as possible while it's on but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I've tried factory restores and battery doctor and recalibration apps, this thing is like 2 weeks old. What gives? I've included a couple screen shots for the results of a 14h+ charge. Thanks in advance for everyone's help

I had the same issue on my brand new Galaxy Tab S LTE version with Exynos chip. I was like WTF on the battery because the moment i disconnect it from the charger it would soon drop to about 85% in 5 minutes. Then the dropping continuous in huge leaps like from 70% down to 30% while i'm just browsing the web. Then when it came down to 5% it would turn off. The moment i plug in the charger while the device is off the battery level would start at 40%. It was erratic for 2 weeks. Good news is i was able to resolve this without doing factory resets.

What i did was the moment the battery came down to like 5% i completely turn off the tab and turn it on , the tab reported a higher battery level like 45% then i continued using and until it drops again to a lower level like 3%. I power cycled the tab again and it reported battery level at around 24%. I used it again until battery level went to 3% and rebooted it, then it reported 12%.. used it again until the device really wont boot anymore. Then i used a slow charger. I used the 1A usb charger from my other phone (while off) and waited until 100% full. Then things became normal.. it reports battery level fine after. I also installed Clean Master and disabled some background apps and Samsung bloatware that i really dont use. Everything is ok now and im happy with my Tab S 8.4... hope this helps for those who got their device over the holidays. I resumed using the 2.1A default charger and issue doesnt seem to repeat anymore.

 

[Gerard71]

Brilliant, many thanks! Discharge + slow charge cured my Galaxy Tab 4 10.1.

 

[XTinaMicheLe]

Brilliant, many thanks! Discharge + slow charge cured my Galaxy Tab 4 10.1.

What exactly is a "slow charge" I have the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 and the battery dies extremely fast. I literally just experienced a jump from 34% to 15% within 10 min then 15% to it shutting down on me within a minute!!!!

 

[Mark Danner1]

I too have a galaxy tab s and the battery has been all over the place. tried numerous fixes but I finally found one that seems to work! It's an app called advanced battery calibrator. Just download and follow the instructions. This worked for me so far going on about a week. Hope this helps people.