Why is my Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast?

[AC Question]

Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Hi. I've had my S3 for around months and lately I have noticed a huge difference with the battery. It charges really quicky (from dead to 100% in less than two hours) and it drains really fast. It goes dead a couple of times throughout the day. For example, today I left my phone charging overnight, unplugged it at 9am, watched a downloaded programme for 20 mins on full brightness, went on the Internet for around 45 mins and sent two texts and left my phone. I looked at it a couple hours later and at around 1pm the battery was at 1%. I'm getting pretty sick of it.... a couple months ago, even when watching shows on my phone for around 2 hours on my daily commute, plus going on the Internet etc and listening to music, my phone could last for around 8 hours, maybe more.

I always have power saver enabled and the lowest screen brightness 80% of the time.

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Welcome to Android Central! Did you get the phone used? How new is the battery? It sounds like a failing battery, so I would try a new one.

 

[znh]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Welcome to Android Central! Did you get the phone used? How new is the battery? It sounds like a failing battery, so I would try a new one.

Thank you for replying and sorry for my late reply.

I got the phone brand new and I've had it for nearly two years. I've decided to get a replacement battery - would you recommend getting a Samsung battery or would any compatible battery be ok?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Samsung OEM battery is always the best bet, purchased from a reliable source. 3rd party batteries can always be a little suspect, but there are some well-known brands that are probably good bets, like Anker and Seidio.

 

[Rukbat]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

I agree that Anker is a good battery.

As far as why the original one went bad:

Draining a battery down to nearly zero constantly is death for the battery. (See Battery University - How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries You can do the math if you don't believe me, the second chart has the numbers you need.) Fully discharging th battery every day means about 730 cycles in 2 years, which is quite a bit longer than the battery should have lasted. Their numbers for 50% are very low with today's batteries. If you recharge around the 50% point most of the time, you should be looking for a more modern phone before the battery gives out. (My 2004 V551 OEM battery is still giving me almost new performance.)

 

[znh]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Samsung OEM battery is always the best bet, purchased from a reliable source. 3rd party batteries can always be a little suspect, but there are some well-known brands that are probably good bets, like Anker and Seidio.

I agree that Anker is a good battery.

Thank you - I think I am going to order an Anker 2200mAh Li-ion Battery. I am vary wary of some 'genuine' batteries which have very mixed reviews on amazon but the Anker seems ok.

As far as why the original one went bad:

Draining a battery down to nearly zero constantly is death for the battery. You can do the math if you don't believe me, the second chart has the numbers you need.) Fully discharging th battery every day means about 730 cycles in 2 years, which is quite a bit longer than the battery should have lasted. Their numbers for 50% are very low with today's batteries. If you recharge around the 50% point most of the time, you should be looking for a more modern phone before the battery gives out. (My 2004 V551 OEM battery is still giving me almost new performance.)

Thank you for the information. I'll need to read up on lithium batteries so I can look after my battery replacement and new phones in the future. Do you have any basic tips to follow - it would be amazing to get the longevity of your 2004 battery! Is it bad to leave the battery charging overnight?

When I first got my phone, I avoided draining my battery and I would charge it at around the 20% mark as often as possible. But, as the battery life got worse, my phone would often drain way below that before I had a chance to charge it. And now, it is just impossible to use it without it dying within an hour! This morning I was on the internet and my battery was at 80%. In less than 40 mins it went down to 10%. The screen also starts to flicker around the 10-20% mark...

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: Samsung Galaxy S3 charging and draining fast

Battery University has a lot of good info. Check out this section: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery University