Why is Cell standby one of the top things using up my battery?

[AC Question]

Why is Cell standby one of the top things using up my battery.

I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S5 with Verizon Wireless and I noticed that in my battery stats Cell Standby is always one of the top things using my battery or is the top thing using my battery. Is there any way to fix this?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Why is Cell standby one of the top things using up my battery.

Welcome to Android Central! If you're not using the phone much, Cell Standby may end up being the top battery user, but that doesn't necessarily mean much, because it's all relative. If you actually used the phone in a moderate way, then the relative battery usage by Cell Standby would fall.

But Cell Standby can in fact be a source of abnormal battery drain if your signal is weak, because the phone has to use extra energy to boost the signal. How is your signal? Go to Settings>Battery​, and tap on the battery graph. If you see lots of red in the Cell Signal bar, then your signal is often weak.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Why is Cell standby one of the top things using up my battery.

Even yellow and brown are weak, just not as weak as red. You should choose a carrier that gives you solid green in all the places you normally go - that's the first thing to do when you get cellphone service. (People who choose the carrier by price or by which phones they have are doing themselves a disservice.)

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Why is Cell standby one of the top things using up my battery.

Wait, there's a brown? Dangit, that graph always plays hell with my color-blindness.