Keeping my Galaxy S5 at top performance

I haven't had any issues with my Galaxy S5 until the latest update. I REALLY wish I could go back to KitKat 4.4.2, where I never experienced any problems and never had to do anything special to keep using my phone as I pleased. I've always had auto-sync turned on, location turned on, and never had any problems before. I never knew about apps running "secretly" in the background. Ever since the Lollipop update, I have experienced battery drainage issues, and I've been throwing myself into learning all about the inner workings of the phone. It's frustrating because everyone has different advice. I've tried using the Battery Doctor app, but it didn't seem to do much. A friend told me about the Advanced Task Killer, but any time I kill the background tasks, they just come right back. I've learned about wiping the cache partition and doing that. I've also been visiting the Google Play store and updating apps constantly. I'm hoping that someone will be able to educate me on this issue.

How can I EFFECTIVELY prevent and/or stop apps from "secretly" running in the background? Is there some kind of action I should be taking throughout the day to maintain my phone performance? On that note, are there any particular 3rd party apps that people have found to be huge battery drains?

Is there an experienced, knowledgeable Galaxy S5 user out there who can tell me how they maintain their phone? What task-killing apps do you use, if any? What kinds of things do you do throughout the day to prevent your battery from draining and keep your phone running smoothly?GalaxyClassVerizon Wireless Customer Support

Accepted answers

Verizon_Support

iradog85,

Software updates are meant to improve your phone, not cause you headaches. So I definitely understand your frustration.

There are several things that may impact battery life, specifically after an operating system upgrade or software update. After an SU or OS upgrade, certain parts of the memory system may be altered/optimized/cleared depending on the specific update. The application memory areas may have to be optimized. This can take time and cause the device to temporarily use more battery while the optimization is in progress. It can take time for the new software to optimize its performance and for the devices battery life to normalize.

The device will take time to normalize, generally 2-3 days. Additionally, beyond that time period there may be situations where downloaded application developers do not immediately update their applications to support new versions of the OS. Have you already perform a hard reset since the update?

JohnB_VZW
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All comments

B33

Well one thing you can do is tap the button to see what Apps are running at the time or ones that you have opened use your one Home Button to see what apps show up usually stacked on top of another from there swipe right or left and that should stop them.. this is what I do..

I also run an App Called System Panel it lets you know what going on with your phone kind of Like Task Manager that resides in Windows on our Computers.. With system you can see whats running what is Idle how warm the phone is and the Battery Life this App is Free but for $2.99 you can get the Ad Free Version and a Few more features added in..

System Panel is in the Google Play Store..

iradog85

I already know how to close out apps that I've opened myself. I'm talking about all the little processes going on in the background that you have to close from the Settings menu. They start by themselves, I have not opened them. I don't understand what's going on with my phone and it's frustrating to be having so much trouble with a device that used to run just fine.

caecilia97

Task killer apps are the worst! They are pretty indiscriminate in terns of what they turn off, and since Google added application management, it's generally not keeping apps open that's the issue with battery drain, it's poor development from third party application developers. I noticed a lot of drain on my S5 after the update until I stopped checking facebook with the app and started using the internet. There's something about the way that the facebook apps work that was eating my battery and my data. And I've heard I'm not the only one.

B33

System is not like the Task Killers of way back I have been using this App since 2010 with 0 issues! it can be use to stop apps but it's major function is keeping taps on the CPU's net use Memory and SD internal storage memory and it can also tell how much battery is Left and it keeps tabs on Temps..

As for App you can Disable some of them Look in your Apps Settings and the apps that are in the Downloaded section if a phone updates to a new OS it good thing to make sure all your apps are up to Date and are running with the New OS and for some it may take more than one update till they straighten themselves out its happen before on older OS you just have to bare with it and hope it get updated.. and gets fixed..

iradog85

I went ahead and deleted the FB app and I'm just using the mobile web site, but it still isn't helping. No matter what app I'm using, even if it's just simple text messaging, my phone battery drains like crazy. It's just so frustrating. I have tried all these different things, including disabling apps I don't use, constantly updating the ones that are on my phone, I've tried running the phone in Safe Mode but that doesn't seem to help. It's not 3rd party apps that are draining my battery, it's the OS itself. It seems like there is nothing I can do, and I'm just stuck with a phone that has terrible battery life, when before this update I LOVED my phone, used it all day long, and the battery lasted the whole day. This is a terrible situation.

Verizon_Support

buzzeswoman2008

is there a website you can go to and see when the new ios updates come out for the galaxy s5?

iradog85

I had given it a whole week after the update to "normalize" but I never saw an improvement in battery drain. I have been to the Verizon store multiple times, I have done a hard reset, wiped the cache partition, removed 3rd party apps, anything you might recommend I have already tried.

Here is the latest. I figured out a way to downgrade my firmware back to KitKat 4.4.4 but I have seen no improvement in battery life. I thought since the update was the cause of the battery problem, going back to the old software would fix it, but I haven't had success. I am just so frustrated. I use my phone for 3 or 4 minutes and lose 1% of my battery, whereas before it would take 20 to 30 minutes to use up 1% of my battery. What is typical battery drainage for a Galaxy S5?

I was on the phone for 16 minutes and it drained 2% of my battery. That doesn't seem normal!

Verizon_Support

We appreciate all you have done thus far, iradog85. Just want to confirm, through the last factory reset and cache partition wipe, did you run the phone as stock after the reset was complete? Was there any difference with the battery life with no additional apps running or FB etc?

NicandroN_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!!

caecilia97

How long have you had the phone for? Somewhere between 10 and 14 months, depending on usage and number of charge/discharge cycles, a lithium ion battery will stop holding a charge. It isn't a slow decline, either. It's more like someone just took your battery life and flushed it down the toilet.

Have you tried a new (not refurbished or used) battery? Sorry if you've already done this, just trying to help understand if nothing is syncing contact information and there are no third party apps on the device, how your battery is draining so fast. Is your device brightness set to auto? Having it jacked all the way up will impact your battery life negatively, as will using the vibrate motor in your device for alerts.