Teacher
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13 Messages
Galaxy S6 Battery Life Reduced by Over 50% Since 5.1.1 Update
Greetings!
I installed the 5.1.1 update on my Galaxy S6 shortly after it became available. I immediately noticed a significant decrease in the battery life, but wanted to quantify it before posting. After a week of use, I can report that I have experienced at least a 50% reduction in the battery life since the update. Prior to the update I could work all day and still have approximately 60% battery life remaining at the end of the day- approximately 16 hours later. I now often need to connect my phone to the charger in the evening.
Below is the process I have followed to date:
1. Prior to installing the update I performed a factory reset on the phone. I then installed the update on the "clean" device.
2. Following the installation I performed another factory reset prior to setting up the phone.
3. I then installed exactly the same apps and configured the phone exactly as it had been previously. I did this manually, not using any backup / restore operation.
Following various posts, I have also done the following:
1. Performed yet another factory reset and reinstalled apps / reconfigured the device manually.
2. Wiped the cache partition from the Recovery Console.
3. Disabled the Enhanced 4G LTE services.
4. Performed the battery calibration process.
I am using the device in exactly the same manner as I was prior to the update: syncing three email accounts, less than 25 texts per day, and a few short telephone calls. As others have reported, the top three culprits consuming the battery are Cell Standby, Android System, and Screen with Cell Standby consuming twice as much as Android System and over four times as much as Screen.
I am at a loss for a solution- any hints would be appreciated. This dramatic reduction in battery life has made the phone significantly less useful than it was prior to the update.
Thanks very much!
BigJamoke
Tutor
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6 Messages
8 years ago
@GLIMMERMAN76
Top 5...
If the device is turned on and I want to use it as a cellular device (it's intended purpose for which I have paid $800 one time and a steep monthly fee), I have no control over the top 4.
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GLIMMERMAN76
ACE - Expert
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23.6K Messages
8 years ago
@BigJamoke
in your case have you cleared your caches? or factory reset? Android os should never be at the top of the list.
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BigJamoke
Tutor
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6 Messages
8 years ago
I have cleared the caches. I've always done that every few weeks.
I have not yet done a factory reset. To do so, I have to be on WiFi, near a charger and have at least an hour to reinstall apps.
And of course, a good mindset to not get too ticked off about having to go through the process because AT&T/Samsung/Google code writers don't know what they're doing and push an update out, months after everybody else, but somehow still not ready.
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Kenw99
Teacher
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13 Messages
8 years ago
Just FYI- Android OS is also at the top of my list, followed by Screen and Android System- although Android OS is more than double Screen.
Please note that this is with data disabled for testing purposes.
I am well aware that AT&T does not respond in the forums- I also have a repair case open with AT&T awating a response as well. In addition, I have posted to the Samsung forum- as have many others- primarily AT&T users.
This is not a sample issue- something happened to at least some of these devices with the 5.1.1 update.
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GLIMMERMAN76
ACE - Expert
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23.6K Messages
8 years ago
Android os looks to have replaced cell standby which to me is stupid but ok..... My phone has went thru 49% of its battery but it did that before because of the structure im in at work.
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Kenw99
Teacher
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13 Messages
8 years ago
Okay- so today I have operated my S6 with data disabled entirely and it is performing exactly as it did prior to the 5.1.1 update. It has been off the charger for about 6.5 hours and is still at 80% battery.
This leads to the question whether the device is prioritizing WiFi properly for data. I have a very strong WiFi link both at home and at work, but a relatively weak cell signal in both locations. I will run it for another day with the data off, and then try again with the data on and see what happens.
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GLIMMERMAN76
ACE - Expert
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23.6K Messages
8 years ago
I am at 49% with 7:49 on the phone. Both wifi and cell data are on. But wifi in my office stinks to LOL.
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Kenw99
Teacher
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13 Messages
8 years ago
Just a final quick update:
With no apparent resolution available for the battery issue with my Galaxy S6, I have reverted to using my Galaxy S5. The difference is huge- the Galaxy S5 runs all day from 6:15 am to 10:00 pm and routinely has between 40% and 50% battery remaining. This is exactly how the S6 behaved prior to the 5.1.1 update, further supporting my theory that something happened with the 5.1.1 update.
The S6 is now neatly tucked away awaitng the release of either a patch for the issue or Android Marshmallow.
I remain extremely frustrated- I didn't purchase the S6 to have it sit on a shelf but the 5.1.1 update has rendered it unusable in my circumstances.
Thank you to all for your comments and suggestions- I will update the post if / when I have additional information.
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GLIMMERMAN76
ACE - Expert
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23.6K Messages
8 years ago
Sad to have to do that but I do understand. I couldnt use an S5 it was the worst phone I ever had. Good news is samsung says they are working hard on 6.0 so time will tell.
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Kenw99
Teacher
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13 Messages
8 years ago
I installed Marshmallow on my son's Nexus 5 about ten days ago and he loves it! It is quick and clean and the battery life has been increased as well.
I have read that Samsung is determined not to be last in line with the Marshmallow update, but there is still the AT&T piece.
Keeping my fingers crossed!!
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