Moto Z Force Droid extreme battery drain since Oreo update

[Looneyman]

Recently, my Moto Z Force Droid finally received the long promised 8.0 Oreo update. And, like many, many others, Oreo has rendered my Z Force phone basiclly useless due to a ridiculously fast battery drain, even when the phone is sitting idle with the screen off. Just a week or so ago, before the trainwreck that is Android 8, the battery would last in standby mode for days, and would easily last an entire day of my "normal" amount of use. Now, when idle with the screen off the battery drains from 100% to 0 in less than seven hours, and if I actually try to use the phone the battery life drops to under two hours. This is unacceptable.  Personally, I think it's time for Lenovo and Verizon to step up and admit they totally messed things  up with this update, and either release a downgrade back to Android 7, or, if the rumors are true that the Oreo update did in fact damage these phones, replace all affected Moto Z Force Droids free of charge.

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[orjhawk]

Add me to the list of extremely frustrated Z-Force users whose phone was a very good device with no problems UNTIL the unwanted, un-requested, and frequently denied Oreo update was forced onto the phone and ruined it.

I repeat...this update was not wanted nor requested.  It is unconscionable that Verizon and/or Motorola FORCES these unwanted updates onto our phones in the name of improvements.  Security updates I get.  But I have had several phones that were working perfectly well RUINED by updates that were forced onto the phone, even after repeated DENIALS by the user.  I know we are forced to "agree" to these updates when we enter into the contract, but these should be deemed illegal in a class action suit.  Over the years and through several phones rendered useless by these updates, I have complained to Verizon.  Their answer is always "it's not our fault, blame the manufacturer", or "buy a new phone" or an endless run around of factory restores that eat up time and don't fix the issue anyway.  Enough is enough.

This time, like others, my Droid Z-Force started popping up the update screen popped up incessantly for a long period.  I consistently selected "later" or dismissed the annoying pop-up.  Finally, (as has happened with other phones and other updates), the update was initiated automatically.  I did not want the update, I did not request the update, and I did not need the update.  My phone was working fine.  It WAS one of the better phones I have owned.  And I DO OWN this phone.  Not Verizon, not Motorola.

Now, my phone is a crappy phone.  The battery life is sub-par.  It is not as bad as some others have reported, but bad enough that I now have to leave the house with my charger.  During calls, the "mute" function comes on repeatedly without me touching it.  Can  you hear that, Verizon???  My Blutooth ear-piece, which was connecting/working fine before the update, now frequently can't pair. My phone constantly complains it can't pair with other remembered Blutooth devices that aren't even nearby.  In general, my phone is slower to respond.

I do not want to spend time and effort doing data backups and factory restores.  Why should I need to do this, when this was forced on me and my phone was working great before the Oreo update?

I don't want to hear any suggestions that something else may be causing all of these new issues.  I haven't loaded new apps.  I don't want to hear any "battery saving tips and tricks".  All of these issues started IMMEDIATELY after the Oreo update.

I long for the day that someone will start and win a class action suit, thereby forcing carriers and manufacturers from engaging in this practice of "forced obsolescence" on their customers.

When will Verizon and Motorola admit that they made the decision to force this update on us, and that THEIR decision screwed up perfectly good (and expensive) phones that we have paid for and own?  And when will they fix it and make us whole?

[orjhawk]

I forgot to mention that my phone has plenty of storage available, and I always use the original charger.

[vzw_customer_support]

Software updates are meant to enhance your device, not cause you headaches, orjhawk. We want to make sure your phone is running smoothly.

You mentioned that all these issues started after the software update. Many times the device functions you've described can be a result of some of the 3rd party applications you use not being updated to work properly with the new software, causing the phone to work twice as hard to run them (even in the background when you're not using them) causing the battery to drain quicker.  

Have you checked to see if there are any updates pending for the apps on the phone? In some cases, a factory reset http://spr.ly/6580D7THC is needed after a major software update, especially if you continue to experience these issues. I understand it can be inconvenient to have to reset the phone, but it may be necessary. 

John_VZW
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[orjhawk]

Verizon Wireless Customer "Support",

Yes apps are updated.

No app is indicating it is using excess battery. If an app was to blame, wouldn't it show as the culprit in the battery usage view? 

You did not address the primary issue:  these updates are forced on us despite rejecting them.  Other than security updates (which are understood), why do you force these updates on us when we don't want them, don't need them, and do not request them?  In fact, many of us do NOT want them because we have had so many experiences just like this one whereby such updates render good, working, expensive, phones that WE OWN useless.  This seems to happen about every 2 years.  You and/or the manufacturers are ruining devices that we purchased.  Even Microsoft doesn't do this. This is shameful and should be illegal.   We, your customers, have NO say in what you do to OUR devices. Please explain how you feel this is a fair and reasonable practice.

[womanofgod]

My husband & I are so over this issue. He has been without a proper working phone since the last upgrade (months ago now) due to the draining battery. He called Verizon only to be told to contact Motorola. He contacted Motorola only to be told to take the same steps everybody else has been told to do. He's done that twice now. No help. We are still paying Verizon on the stupid, may as well be trash, phone and suffering for it. Having been Verizon customers for many, many years now, you think they would step up to the plate and fix this for the thousands of customers who are having to deal with this issue on a daily basis now. We cannot afford yet another phone to make payments on and, frankly, if this isn't resolved ASAP, I see a class action lawsuit in the near future. This is ridiculous and we're over it!

[rlhollo]

This is insane.  My Moto Z2 Force would last two days between charges.  Now I cannot even make a call without it beginning to shut down.  I have no idea what to do.  I cannot work and it is greatly impacting me.  The phone is only a year old.  Definitely never a Motorola again which is sad because that is the only manufacture I have used since 1999. 

[vzw_customer_support]

Having a reliable device is a must, Rlhollo. We want to learn more in order to help find a lasting resolution. When did this issue begin or when did you first notice? How long is your device currently lasting off of a full charge? Can you explain further about the issue when making a call? Looking forward to hearing back.

Chris_VZW
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If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

[rlhollo]

The issue began after my last update.  I thought it was just the system pulling extra while it was working to update everything.  It has only gotten worse.  I believe around 6-8 weeks ago.  On Friday I had a 100% charge when I left for work at 7AM and never used my phone.  When I went to lunch at 11:45 I noticed I had a text.  I opened the text and the phone immediately turned off.  When I tried to turn it back on it showed 0% and would not come back on.  I now have a battery mod and just bought an extra quick charged to take with me to try and get to lunch and charge it again.

The issue with calls, apps or anything the phone seems to be randomly shutting off.  I believe it has to be the battery.  It does not seem to ever act up as long as I keep it on the charger.  It is only when it is running off the battery that it seems to be having issues.

Since it seems to have started with the last update I am hoping the next update for the system will fix it.  I have contacted Motorola as well for assistance.  This is my primary phone for home and work.

[MSBNEB]

Same problem here - both my husband and I have Moto Z Force phones and are having battery drain problems since Oreo. Mine is much worse because I use my phone much more than he does. I can't use my phone for more than an hour, if it hits anything less than 50% it shuts down. This is CRAZY. And nothing on this 24 page(!) thread that indicates anyone has gotten any real help. We're starting to look at AT&T...

[Chandler44]

Exactly the same thing happened to me , Verizon wont help out or even admit,their is a problem. Basically you are messed over ( I was as well) , just look for LG , Samsung, or apple to do some kind of buyout deal to "upgrade". Never going to buy motorola ever again. messed everyone up along with Verizon for selling a terrible product.

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[vzw_customer_support]

Chandler44,

As a fellow consumer I understand the importance of making sure the mobile devices we purchase nowadays are of a useful value. I am concerned to learn that you needed help with your mobile device and were not able to get the help you needed with us. I would like an opportunity to turn your experience around. Are you still using the Motorola Z Force? When did your specific battery issues begin?

Gina_VZW
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[vzw_customer_support]

We truly value you as part of the Verizon family and would never want to see you go, MSBNEB. It's important to us that you have a good working phone at all times. Let's take a closer look into your device concerns. Has there been any damage to the phone? When did the battery drain start? When was the update completed?

Danielle_VZW
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[MSBNEB]

Danielle_VZW, like everyone on the 25 pages of this thread, my problems started after the update to Oreo and have just been getting worse since. As I said, we have two of Moto Z Force phones and both of them are seeing much faster battery drain since Oreo. Neither one has had any damage - they are both safely in Otterboxes. I don't recall exactly when the upgrade to Oreo completed. I'm a much heavier user of my phone and am seeing many more problems more frequently. The other day, the battery usage details showed that I had 87% battery left and it estimated that would give me 38 minutes!! I'm also having the problem where my phone will show something like 47% battery, I'll start to respond to text or email or open facebook or something and then it will briefly flash & tell me it's shutting down because I have 0% battery. It is hard to believe after 25 pages on this thread that nobody seems to want to acknowledge that there is an overall problem and that nobody has a solution. "Has there been any damage to the phone" has been asked of everyone and as far as I've seen everyone has said no. Do you have some information that we don't that indicates this problem is caused by damage to the phone(s)? I have had quite a few Motorola phones and the thing I have loved about them is I feel like they are little tanks - very tough phones and until this one, quite reliable.

[CINWIL73]

Danielle_VZW - How are you going to post to someone else comment, about the same issue i am having,- you asked me a question about my phone 6 hours ago, and you still have not responded.

[vzw_customer_support]

CINWIL73, thank you for following up and providing additional information. I recognize how challenging it can be if your battery is not performing the same as it had been in the past. Help is here. Besides the Oreo update, have you made any other recent changes to your phone? Please complete a device health check on your phone and share the battery results: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-206364/ Looking forward to hearing back.

Lorenzo_VZW
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[Chandler44]

Verizon solution to this issue is contaxt us on Facebook or twitter lololololol . great customer service Verizon nice try. If you have the droid z force, droid anything you are out of luck. Verizon got over on everyone by shuffling, garbage product they dont want to be reaponsible for. Thanks for nothing verizon

[CINWIL73]

I did as you asked, and only mark i had on was the screen "timeout"  however i have my setting on the lowest option which is 30 seconds.  And NO no updates on my phone besides the Oreo update, I have rebooted and set every thing back up at factory settings two time in one month.  The phone is just shutting off - powers all the way off- and it will say it has 54 % battery life yet - AND for that matter, you cant even get the phone to turn back on, until you put it back on the charger.  Sooooooo Soooooooo

frustrating , cause you can not take the phone anywhere with you. I sure hope i do NOT have a emergency cause you would not even be able to use the phone to call 911 -- And i have family depending on me !!!! 

[vzw_customer_support]

MSBNEB, 

We understand how important it is to have a phone that lasts for you. We have reached out to the Manufacturer and have not been able to link this issue to the Software update directly. They are determining this type of issue as hardware related. Do you happen to have the My Verizon Application on this device? If so I would like to have you complete a Device Health Check, please follow these steps to do so : 

1. Open My App

2. Tap Menu, Devices

3. Tap Manage choose your device

4. From the Manage Tab Tap Device Health Check.

Do you have your phone backed up? Before we can look into replacement devices, we will need to factory reset the device.  

Jenelle_VZW
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If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

[MSBNEB]

Jenelle_VZW - is there anything in particular you are looking for in device health? I have run it several times and nothing pops up red, but there are a couple ! warnings.  Battery because I have location services on (but usually in battery saver mode since I started having this problem) and because it says I have an extended screen timeout (but I always hit the button to turn the screen off when I'm done with my phone). Performance gives me ! because wi-fi calling is off. And storage because I only have about 3G free.

Is there anyone in support who is running with one of these phones and trying to recreate this problem? After seeing the large number of people reporting it in this thread and in many others, it seems like it would be pretty easy for one of you to hit it too - especially if you were moderate to heavy everyday users. Then you all could be doing all the health checks, factory resets, etc to find a solution.

It seems hard to believe that all of us suddenly hit a hardware problem at exactly the same time (including two of the same phones in my house) unless there is some defective piece of hardware OR something in the Oreo update caused the hardware issue.

[vzw_customer_support]

MSBNEB, thank you for those great details. With this information, there is nothing that appears unusual or in a critical state. As such, what we would like to do is have you complete the software repair assistant. Simply follow the steps at http://spr.ly/6580E6xee. Once completed, please let us know if you see any improvement.

  Loren_VZW
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If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

[MSBNEB]

Loren_VZW I did the software repair (saving my data) and it was as bad, if not worse than before. So then I decided to try the battery recalibration that I've seen here and on other threads and that did not help either. To give you an idea of what I'm seeing my battery usage details currently show that I'm at 82% battery - and that I was at full charge 10 minutes ago ! with 43 minutes of battery life left! It's totally nuts... Also, while the system repair was going on, a screen of info appeared on my phone and one of the things it said was battery ok in green text.

As a side note, your sign in process has got to be one of the most annoying I've ever encountered! If I'm signed in to my account, that's not good enough to post here, I have to sign in again. And then I have to go thru at least three screens to sign in and at least half the time it has to text me a code and "register" my laptop, which btw, I've logged in from tons of times in the past! I'm all for security, but even my bank doesn't make me jump through that many hoops over and over and over again...