• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Do I have a battery or phone problem?

J

jeffrj4au

Member
I purchased my samsung galaxy S3 just 12 days ago. I had the white phone at first and after having it for 4 days, I decided to trade it for the blue. The white phone absolutely had no battery issue, but this blue phone has been a different story. This past weekend the battery drained from 100% to 63% overnight while the phone was asleep. I did a factory restore and that seem to make the battery better, but still not as good as should be. Since then, I've recharged the phone to 100% before I go to bed and the past two mornings, the battery has drained 13% and 15% while asleep. Also, on those nights, I removed all running apps, turned off wifi and turned off the GPS, so I've done everything I know to do.

I think I have an issue, but what do some of you think?
 
Absolutely you have an issue.

Can you take a screenshot of the power graph found in your settings screen?
 
Rxpert83 said:
Absolutely you have an issue.

Can you take a screenshot of the power graph found in your settings screen?
Click to expand...


I'm at work and they block you from going to websites that host pics. I can give you the details on the graph.

The top of the graph says 2h 10m 57s battery.
Screen 56% (I've turned the brightness down a lot)
Cell Standby 19%
Android OS 7%
Android System 6%
Media Server 4%
Maps 4%
Device Idle 2%
Picsart 2%
Gallery 2%

It's went from 100% about an hour ago to 86% with minimal usage.
 
If you tap on the graph it'll make it bigger and give a few more details. Does your awake bar at the bottom match the screen on bar or is awake a solid line?
 
First off, the color of a device has zero effect on battery consumption or even the with the operation of the device for that matter. It seems that it might be a problem with a rogue or incompatible installed app. Sometimes even after a reset, we reinstall the application that would cause problems like this.

Try this: Perform another 'reset' on the device - this time only reinstall the preinstalled applications (the ones that came pre-installed). Do not mess with any of the factory settings (what most users don't understand is that these settings was preset for a reason - so just leave as is).

Note: Even though we might not be using the device - it still uses battery power over a period of time. It's normal to see a drop of battery percent even though the device isn't being used. However, seeing a huge amount of battery consumption (something that just doesn't seem normal) being used might be a hint that something is draining the battery way more than normal.

If the problem seems to be getting worse -- take the device into your nearest repair center for a diagnostic test. Chances are you just might have a defective phone.

Best of luck.
 
jeffrj4au said:
I'm at work and they block you from going to websites that host pics. I can give you the details on the graph.

The top of the graph says 2h 10m 57s battery.
Screen 56% (I've turned the brightness down a lot)
Cell Standby 19%
Android OS 7%
Android System 6%
Media Server 4%
Maps 4%
Device Idle 2%
Picsart 2%
Gallery 2%

It's went from 100% about an hour ago to 86% with minimal usage.
Click to expand...

That looks pretty normal. The screen SHOULD be your biggest battery hog. With my GS3, I get about 3.5 hours of active screen time on a good day. Generally, it's 1% of battery life for every 2 minutes of screen use.
 
Rush Lindsay said:
First off, the color of a device has zero effect on battery consumption or even the with the operation of the device for that matter. It seems that it might be a problem with a rogue or incompatible installed app. Sometimes even after a reset, we reinstall the application that would cause problems like this.

Try this: Perform another 'reset' on the device - this time only reinstall the preinstalled applications (the ones that came pre-installed). Do not mess with any of the factory settings (what most users don't understand is that these settings was preset for a reason - so just leave as is).

Note: Even though we might not be using the device - it still uses battery power over a period of time. It's normal to see a drop of battery percent even though the device isn't being used. However, seeing a huge amount of battery consumption (something that just doesn't seem normal) being used might be a hint that something is draining the battery way more than normal.

If the problem seems to be getting worse -- take the device into your nearest repair center for a diagnostic test. Chances are you just might have a defective phone.

Best of luck.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I chuckled when you made the comment about the color, I probably should have made myself more clearer. I realize the color has no effect on the battery. I was just letting you know that I had another phone and that battery seemed fine, while this one seems to have issues.
 
Rush Lindsay said:
First off, the color of a device has zero effect on battery consumption or even the with the operation of the device for that matter. It seems that it might be a problem with a rogue or incompatible installed app. Sometimes even after a reset, we reinstall the application that would cause problems like this.

Try this: Perform another 'reset' on the device - this time only reinstall the preinstalled applications (the ones that came pre-installed). Do not mess with any of the factory settings (what most users don't understand is that these settings was preset for a reason - so just leave as is).

Note: Even though we might not be using the device - it still uses battery power over a period of time. It's normal to see a drop of battery percent even though the device isn't being used. However, seeing a huge amount of battery consumption (something that just doesn't seem normal) being used might be a hint that something is draining the battery way more than normal.

If the problem seems to be getting worse -- take the device into your nearest repair center for a diagnostic test. Chances are you just might have a defective phone.

Best of luck.
Click to expand...

I know how to reset my phone to factory settings, but how I do I do a reset you're talking about.
 
After a factory reset I always do a battery calibration. You charge to full then reset battery stats and then use as usual but make sure you fully drain the battery. Then do a full charge without interruption.

But as Rush said.. If the reset or my suggestion doesn't work then you should go and have it looked at.
 
doing a battery 'calibration' is bad for Lithium Ion batteries and draining one fully is bad for their lifespan. Li-Ion batteries are not designed to drop below 25% charge on a regular basis, at all. a battery calibration has been obsolete since cells stopped using Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries.

Factory reset:

Settings-->Privacy-->Factory Data Reset
 
nickdalzell said:
doing a battery 'calibration' is bad for Lithium Ion batteries and draining one fully is bad for their lifespan. Li-Ion batteries are not designed to drop below 25% charge on a regular basis, at all. a battery calibration has been obsolete since cells stopped using Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries.
Click to expand...

Its not calibrating the battery. Its to get the phone to recognize the battery's life span and charge limit. The amount allowed is use.

Unless I am wrong and I am willing to admit that if someone can show me but this has worked on 6 phones I have personally done it on without destroying the battery.
 
i know that doing that to any Li-Ion will significantly reduce their useful life. you won't notice it right away but a couple of years later you will. had that happen to an iPhone and a laptop both using Li-Ions. i have not yet seen any Android with the problem of innaccurate battery meters; last phone with the need to calibrate was a Nokia 5190i, which i used until the battery refused to stay on the phone (lol) and i knew the battery meter was off when it went from 75% to dead instantly. but it used a NiMH battery too.
 
nickdalzell said:
i know that doing that to any Li-Ion will significantly reduce their useful life. you won't notice it right away but a couple of years later you will. had that happen to an iPhone and a laptop both using Li-Ions. i have not yet seen any Android with the problem of innaccurate battery meters; last phone with the need to calibrate was a Nokia 5190i, which i used until the battery refused to stay on the phone (lol) and i knew the battery meter was off when it went from 75% to dead instantly. but it used a NiMH battery too.
Click to expand...

How many people keep their phone for many years..?

I understand your point though and I'm not discredititng you in the least and I hope you don't take it that way at all. I just feel right now that would be the best option aside from turning the phone back in to replace it.
 
i was very happy with the Nokia 5100-series. durable, easy to find parts for, and good at making/receiving calls and always got a strong signal. at the time i was not into browsing the web or apps on phones. i was a bit of a late adopter, probably a good thing (although i started with Android with the horrid Eclair). but i digress, suffice it to say that unlike iDevices, most if not all Android phones (not so much tablets though) seem to have replaceable batteries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom