Samsung GS3 Battery Drain after 4.3 update

[misterjim]

PassionNP and Dewey, my apologies for not reading through all 13 pages of this discussion; I have waded through a lot of this stuff in the last day. Yes, I know that the Auto Network Switch "fix" doesn't really take care of the problem, although it helps. I just wanted to add one more voice.  I completely agree that this is unacceptable and that Samsung and/or Verizon needs to address it, especially since they have been aware of the problem for at least two months.

[Petespaw]

I signed the petitions mentioned in the last few posts, but went a step further and complained about Samsung and Verizon on the FCCs website.  I suggest everyone do the same.

[pyrocrig]

This may seem like a side discussion, but it gets to my point. So bear with me.

Does anyone else notice the "hard drive/processor noise" when you plug in headphones or into the car stereo? (I don't have bluetooth in my car... too old.) Anyway, usually it doesn't matter once the music starts, but it is audible in the gaps. However, I had my phone "off" (standby) last night at home and I could still hear the processor noise. Hmmm.... this made me wonder. "What the heck is it still doing?" Sure enough... lost 5%... just because it was in standby?!

So, I'm conducting an experiment. I have the "beefy" data plan, and have never come close to using all of it. So, for today, I'm going to charge up completely and then completely turn off my Wi-Fi. I'm wondering if there is some "baked in" bloatware or something that is constantly trying to find a Wi-Fi connection, even with a battery manager being extremely aggressive shutting everything down when in standby. Sounds like Verizon's way of reducing data used on their service - which in their defense - would make sense. Wi-Fi is faster and "free". But still... if this is the case, not cool. Find a way around the concept, or make it completely enable/disable-able. Has anyone done this yet?

I will let you know what I discover.

[pyrocrig]

Forgot to hit "add reply". Started my experiment at 11:20AM. It is now 2:30. I've lost 13% over the 3 hours with mild use, screen captures for my test, a quick solitare game, and 4 Google Hangout messages. VERY light. Hmmm... I thought I had something, but maybe not.

[bearone21]

mild use.....was phone was still checking for email, fb if you use it & any other social, mkt, weather sites?

[pyrocrig]

Email: yes. Text: yes. Calls: yes. FB: no. Weather: no. Closed down as much as I could, turned off weather "notifications", too.

It's 5:30 (my time) and my battery is at 80%. Hasn't been plugged in since 11:20 AM. I am planning to use it "normally" tonight, FB, texts, surf, music, tweet, and games WITHOUT WiFi and see happens. So far, personally, I am feeling like the WiFi on/off connect/disconnect may be draining.

Footnote: I used to use "AutomateIt" to connect/disconnect my WiFi whenever I plugged it in. I'm actually wondering if apps like, "automation", could be causing problems. Hmmm.

[vzw_customer_support]

pyrocrig, that's a great experiment! Have you downloaded 3rd party applications to your device? Some application software can affect the battery life on your device since apps will run in the background. We recommend that you uninstall any applications that you no longer want and then power your device off/on to soft reset. Additionally, you can also disable data in Settings when you're not using data features. Keep us posted.

LasinaH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[SC-Claim]

I've found that if I hold down the Home Button and then chose close all apps, the battery lasts OK if you don't use the phone.  But the minute you start using it, say to browse the internet, read email, text messages....the battery drain takes off like a race horse.

So it's my contention that blaming the battery drain on an app is not seeing the forest for the trees.  It's the 4.3 update....not apps that are draining the battery.

[Petespaw]

OK here's how to fix the battery drain issue.  Turn off your Wi-Fi.  don't use your home wifi or mobile hotspots.  I believe that since this fixes the battery drain (until Samsung sends out a fix to their upgrade) that Verizon should give everyone with a Samsung galaxy 3 UNLIMITED data time.  I've tested this all day and used my phone for 2 phone calls and it's still at 91 % with the wi-fi off.  I've written several complaints to the FCC telling them how this benefits Verizon at this point, because you need to by more G's of data and use the data you pay for instead of free wi-fi from hotspots.

I'm sure Verizon is well aware of how this needs to be fixed but they turn a blind eye because they can make money on the overage charges.

[vzw_customer_support]

SC-Claim, this is a great observation. Did you know that some application software can affect the performance of your device? Try uninstalling a few applications and power your device off/on to soft reset. Monitor your battery life and keep us posted.

LasinaH_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport