Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
SmrtPheUsr
Enthusiast - Level 1

Since upgrading to Lollipop on my Note 3, I've had battery drain issues. I've done a factory reset, turned off applications that I don't use and still have the same issue. Before the update, I could go all day and still have 75-80% of the battery left. Now I'm luck to make it 2-3 hours before hitting 75%.

Noticed that WiFi keeps dropping and reconnecting at random times. We have three different WiFI SSIDs at home and I've seen my phone connect to one, then sometime later drop and connect to one of the other SSIDs. Didn't have this issue with KitKat.

I did call Verizon over the weekend about the battery issue. I was just told that its a new OS and battery usage most likely changed. I'm not buying it.

Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep
Let;s get your phone working normally, SmrtPheUsr. If you go to Settings>Battery, does anything stand out as far as usage? Do you experience connectivity issues on WiFi while in Safe Mode? http://vz.to/1d0SZSq

AndreaS_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!!
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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
SmrtPheUsr
Enthusiast - Level 1

Nothing stands out as being a battery issue. I noticed that WiFi keeps scanning every 5-10 seconds, and there isn't a way to change the intervals. Doesn't explain why WiFi connects, drops, then connects to a different SSID.

I haven't tried putting the phone in Safe Mode yet. This morning I left the house at 6:45AM with my battery status showing 98%. Its now 11:34, and the battery status is at 60%. I haven't touched the phone within the last 3 hours.

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep
Thank you for taking the time to follow up. I appreciate you providing these details. May I ask if auto switch is currently on Settings > Wi-Fi > Menu > Advanced .

When you have an opportunity, I do suggest testing the phone in Safe Mode. It would be beneficial to complete this over several hours to review battery usage.

YosefT_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

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!!
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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
themzlab
Newbie

this is about what I experienced with the update to the new Android.  Verizon attempting to dismiss the issue with excuses does not help people.  Verizon, i don't want to debug your software.  May I suggest:

submit instructions to all of us how to switch back to the previous Android. That would be helpful.  Next time, I will not allow a supposed upgrade.

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
WTTTT
Enthusiast - Level 2

Yes.  What a pain.  Every day when I turn on the phone, I delay the update to 3 am the next day.  Then make sure every night to turn off the phone to avoid the update installing.  To have to do this every day for weeks or months to avoid the risk of installing an update like this one that is causing so many problems for so many people is frustrating.  But I am just not willing to take the chance on the update when my phone is working perfectly right now.

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
mag90nyc
Newbie

I have had the same issues with excessive and rapid battery drain. I haven't noticed Wi-Fi connectivity issues.

About the only feature that seems improved IMHO in Lollipop is the Battery diagnostic. Settings > General > Battery now brings up a battery life chart that shows how quickly it is draining. If I could upload a screenshot here, I would. Android OS was at 27%, Android System was at 11%, Google Play was at 8%, and Task Manager at 4%, with a few apps running below that.

I am an airline crewmember and spend 7 or 8 hours in airplane mode. My phone was charged to 100% at 3pm, placed into airplane mode at 4:30. By 7pm was down to 52%, by 10:40 down to 19%. I used the task manager manually close all apps. Wi-fi was off but Bluetooth was on. I took the phone out of airplane mode at 11:20 at 14% and within 6 minutes it was down to 6% running a single app (MTA bus times which refreshes a map view of bus locations each 20 seconds).

If you have to carry an external battery to use the phone more than 4 hours, the phone has become obsolete. I also tried to avoid and delay the upgrade to Lollipop after seeing the issues and no real operating benefits. I called tech support to disable the update but was told the update was mandatory to remain a Verizon customer.

I agree - do not impose a major system update on customers before major issues are resolved. Even though a carrier can't be expected to support multiple former OSes, drop support of Jellybean when Lollipop comes out and don't mandate going off of Kit Kat until Marzipan comes out. Capisce? So instead, I'm switching to T-Mobile when my plan is up in 2 months. T-Mobile may require a mandatory update to Lollipop but at least they have free intl data and in-flight wi-fi plans (for texting).

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
themzlab
Newbie

as a test/workaround have you tried turning off GPS?  I had immediate and horrible battery drain problems after the OS change and turned off GPS for around 1 month until I figured out the problem.   I have the s-view flip cover (the one with the half-sized plastic window that opens like a book).  There is an option to display weather (really just the temperature) in that little window.  That piece of software was hitting the GPS every few seconds. I turned off the option to show weather in that little window and had an immediate and giant improvement.

I suspect battery life is not what it was but with the big delay in figuring out the problem it was harder to remember back to what the battery life had been.  Generally, when I first got the device battery was really impressive.  Now, not so much but it is OK.

of course every system is different.  I think the software should stick to the same version during the life of the plan.  I would say nothing is better with the new OS and if I could click something and go back I would...Verizon please take note.

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
mag90nyc
Newbie

I tried turning off location if that's what you mean, but can't tell if there is much improvement yet since I'm now on home Wifi. Perhaps switching from Wifi to 4G Automatically is the problem. Just can't believe we're left to try to sort this out on our own as users when the battery drain issues were widely reported months prior to the rollout.

The only thing I ever use Bluetooth for is connecting to the Samsung Gear, but that was a Waterloo device (losing battle) since there are all of about 10 apps for the device and iWatch has 800 or more (?) the day it launched. I figured it was going to be another Newton but took a chance anyway since wearable tech was so hot.

I would go to a Verizon store to see if they could troubleshoot the battery issues but based on prior experience I can't imagine they would be able to do more than pretend to be very interested and end up having no clue. At least they usually work hard and are polite in the stores even if woefully inadequate to fix technical problems. Then again I haven't called tech support yet to see what they can identify. Just have little faith that if they could have fixed the issues and sent a patch, they would have.

Either way, disabling functionality from the phone should NEVER be your first go-to. Leave me on KitKat if that's the case. The Calendar app is worse, Messaging a bigger pain, and I also can't get the touch just right to hold the home button to access the task manager/app switcher. Going back a screen also seems to take 5-7 seconds, especially in Messenger. It almost makes me.miss iOS. Almost.

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Re: Note 3 update to Lollipop. Battery and WiFi issues.
mag90nyc
Newbie

But Location and GPS are two of the most important functions for me, so constantly enabling and disabling location is not a solution.

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