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Google Maps - Battery Usage reported incorrectly

amlothi

amlothi

Android Expert
HI all,

I've seen several mentions on this in other threads, but no solution. I was hoping to start a thread specifically on this to see if anyone has figured this out.


The problem:

Google Maps shows up in the battery usage as close to 100%, even if only used briefly.

Background:

I have an HTC Desire running the stock ROM with HTC Sense, and version 2.2 (froyo). I recently upgraded from the version of Maps that came pre-installed on my device to 5.0. (I had skipped the other updates.)

I am not using Latitude. I verified it is not running and it is disabled.

What I have done:

I found that after a fresh reboot, if I do not open Maps it will not appear in the list of apps on the battery usage screen.

After opening Maps, and letting it load completely, I can refresh the battery usage screen and literally watch the percentage climb over a few seconds.

If I kill the application with a task killer, the percentage continues to increase on the battery usage screen.

After doing the above, I then plugged in my phone to charge and then uplugged in order to reset the battery usage screen.

Immediately after unplugging, Maps is showing up as 100% of my battery usage. (Nothing related to Maps appears to be running after I killed the task - as viewed using OSMonitor.)

As I continue to use the phone, other items (Android System, Phone Idle, etc) begin to appear and the Maps % used slowly decreases based on the percentages assigned to other apps. However, even after several hours (8+) and no use of maps again, the percentage stays incredibly high.

In the battery usage details for Maps, it shows 0s or 1s of the process actually using CPU.

I am not seeing any impact on battery life that is noticeable. This, combined with the fact that I can't find a process running in OSMonitor, tells me that it is an error in the reporting tool used to track battery usage.

So, is this a problem with the system or with the new version of Maps?


Does anyone else have information about this, or a possible fix?
 
I have the same issue with my incredible, but it is killing the battery. If I would uninstall the updates, I will stop. I'm hoping someone can answer this...
 
How do you know if it actually is using the battery? Mine does not appear to.

If it is, that must be another issue.
 
Yep, I'm having the exact same issue with my Vodafone 2.2 HTC Desire.

I 'fixed' it for a bit by uninstalling then reinstalling Maps 5.0, but now it's started again I'm just going to leave it. It doesn't affect my battery life so it doesn't really matter!
 
I think the reason it does it now is because of the offline cache feature the new version has. It's only supposed to cache while on Wifi unless the box is checked to cache over mobile networks too but I don't think it actually works like that. Now when I use maps I kill it after I'm finished so it doesn't kill my battery. I would uninstall the updates but I actually find the offline caching useful sometimes I just wish it would do it only on wifi like it's supposed to. This is just a theory btw.
 
Even killing it doesn't seem to stop it from showing up on the battery usage screen.

FWIW, I have the box checked to cache while on mobile data.
 
amlothi said:
Even killing it doesn't seem to stop it from showing up on the battery usage screen.

FWIW, I have the box checked to cache while on mobile data.
Click to expand...

Well having the box checked to cache while on mobile data is definitely going to murder your battery.
 
Maps isn't affecting my battery. I appreciate your help, but please read my first post. I think I stated pretty clearly that
I am not seeing any impact on battery life that is noticeable. This, combined with the fact that I can't find a process running in OSMonitor, tells me that it is an error in the reporting tool used to track battery usage.
Click to expand...

First, it isn't caching maps unless I am using the maps application itself. (Read my first post.)

Second, I have mobile data set to be on only when my screen is on (or, when the screen is off, it connects for 2 minutes every half hour to sync and that's it).

Also, I use 3G watchdog and I have not seen any unexpected data usage from Maps running in the background. I check my usage quite often.
 
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