Why is my new Samsung Galaxy s5 draining my battery so fast?

[annah0418]

I have a brand new galaxy s5 that only has about 6 hours of battery life. I have tried swapping the battery AND swapping the entire phone and battery. Same result. Last night I charged it to 100% at 9pm and it completely died overnight without me touching it. I have tried factory reset and I only downloaded 3 apps this time. Please help!!

 

[dnangel_95]

I have tried swapping the battery AND swapping the entire phone and battery. Same result.

Just to be clear.. Does that mean you already returned it to where you bought it and had it replaced? That's really odd. Are you 100% certain that your unit and your battery are genuine? I know I sound ridiculous but I just wanted to ask. And welcome to the forums!

 

[annah0418]

Thank you for responding!
Yes I am certain. I returned it to US Cellular store and they gave me another brand new phone right out of the Samsung box. They took a look at my settings and apps and couldn't see a problem so they agreed to swap it despite that they said they had never seen a bad phone from the manufacturer.

 

[dnangel_95]

Oh okay, thanks for clarifying.
How about your wifi and mobile data, did you leave them turned on? Leaving either of those open will definitely drain the battery fast. So imagine if you have both turned on.

 

[annah0418]

My wifi is off because I temporarily don't have wifi to connect to right now. Mobile data is on.

 

[dnangel_95]

That's probably what's draining your battery. Turn it off when you're not using it. Try that again overnight first then let us know

 

[jonheld]

FWIW, I have had my Verizon S5 for a couple of months now, and I find the battery life to be outstanding. WiFi and mobile data are always on as is Bluetooth. With moderate usage I get way more than a full day. Assuming I remove the charger at 6am or so, by 11pm I have at least 50% battery left. The screen is set to auto brightness and I very rarely close apps.
Even in locations where there is spotty service, like on a weekend camping trip, I can leave it unplugged all night and still have plenty of battery in the morning.
Coming from my very old GNex, this thing is simply awesome.
I have read many threads about poor battery life and my experience has been the exact opposite. My daughter has the same phone and her battery life is tremendous as well.

 

[annah0418]

I have always left my mobile data on as well. I have had all the Galaxys and I am doing everything the same and have not had this problem on any of the others. I just turned in my S4 and it had 4 times the battery life which I know shouldn't be the case.

 

[annah0418]

I did however just read an article on incompatible SD cards. I took the SD card out of the phone and so far it has depleted 1% in 30 minutes which is a major improvement. I don't really understand how that was the problem but my fingers are crossed!!

 

[jonheld]

I remember reading something about that as well, but I don't recall if there was a "compatibility list". I have a 64GB Sandisk class 10 stick in mine since it was new and I have had zero issues with anything on this device other than bloatware from Samsung and Verizon.