Android phone advice sought.

[JeffH]

I have a phone problem. Goes into sleep mode and battery report shows capacity reducing at 0.83% per hour -120 hours/5 days estimated life from full charge. Exactly what should be expected.
However after some hours it suddenly switches to 0.7% per minute -enough to have a completely dead battery within an hour or two!

With the battery saver activated the battery draw reverts to correct sleep figure. If battery saver not activated the excessive consumption continues, at the same rate until the phone dies.
I calculate power consumption at the excessive rate as as 2.5 watts and would expect the phone to get warm -it is a small phone in a flip cover which should insulate it a little, but no noticeable warming to be felt.
No apps report any battery use in this scenario.

The phone is a ZTE Blade B1112. Operating system Android 6.0, security patch 5 october 2016.

This phone is only used when the internet dies (no home phone then), when we are away from home or playing music on a trip.
Then only used for calls and SMS -no internet and every possible app that is not absolutely needed is uninstalled or disabled (where possible).

It would appear a goblin has infested my phone and is eating up my battery energy.  :diablo:  Seriously though I have not been able to find anything running then that could be using the energy.

Any constructive suggestions?

[ausproofs]

Hey Jeff, Is it correct to assume this phone is older than 4 years (or close to it ).?
Normally a battery can do so many charge cycles before it goes to overdrive.
Other thing to look for is to see what apps are running when not in power saver mode.
If you are brave, back up the phone and do a factory reset and run for a period of time without putting any apps. See how you go..
Sorry a few comments and suggestions here. Not a direct answer to your issue.

[JeffH]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
No, phone is only six months old. Battery is good -I have tested it out of the phone.
I have done a factory reset already. Annoyingly that restored all the unwanted apps that I had eliminated so had to get rid of them again.
Basically I don't run apps anytime -only apps I have installed have been ones that promise to sort out such a problem, which they don't, so they were uninstalled as soon as I found them not to be the solution. One (Greenify) looked promising as it had a "hibernate" function that could be put on the screen. It did instantly put the phone into hibernation but, six hours later, battery was fully discharged -battery monitor showed the same thing happened.

I have now found that I can start Battery Saver manually, regardless of the state of charge, but that then means that an incoming call only gets a "not available" message and no notification on the phone -plus I can't make a call when it is active. Sort of defeats the purpose of a phone; to make and receive calls.

I am trying Flight Mode now to see what happens. At least that gives you a Missed call message when turned off.

I have checked quite a few Android forums but there seems to be two types;
•Those where responses are from people making wild guesses and others making irrelevant and/or derogatory comments
•Those where highly technical and detailed responses are made. If I could understand those responses I would probably know enough to have sorted out the problem all by myself.

More suggestions welcome.

[Mister T]

My guesses would be an issue with the battery or some background thing (like looking for an Internet connection) chewing up the battery.

My Android shows which apps are using the most power (I think) - under Settings -> Device Maintenance -> Battery. But Android isn't consistent.

[JeffH]

Problem is no apps show any battery usage when phone is "asleep". But there is something starts running in the background that is a power hog. Usage is many times more than any app would normally use.
Very frustrating. [As is all the pre-loaded crap which comes from google and/or the phone provider.]

[kchan1111]

There is no indication which app / processor was responsible for the battery drain?

This reminds me of that "Sudden Battery Drain Syndrome"

https://www.zdnet.com/article/android-phone-battery-suffering-heres-a-simple-fix/

[JeffH]

That describes the problem and blames Google Play Services which cannot be disabled on the phone.
But it also says "Google services aren't the only culprits; third-party apps can also get stuck and drain the battery."

Also says "Whatever the reason, when this happens it usually just hits a particular model of phone running a particular version of Android." Looks like I drew the short straw!

Battery use report from every app in the phone says no use of battery since last charge.
As that article says a reboot will restore normal battery use -that is what I have been doing. However you have to notice it is happening and reboot before battery gets to a critically low level otherwise Battery Saver so restricts operation that phone is virtually useless until some battery recharge.

Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

[kchan1111]

will disable Play store's auto update help?

[JeffH]

I think that would already be disabled. Play Store was one of the first apps I disabled.
When I have tried an app I download the APK file onto my PC and move it to the phone to install.

[kchan1111]

Is there anyway you can upgrade the Android OS?

I don't suppose ZTE will bother putting out an OS update for a 2016 model.

[JeffH]

Is there anyway you can upgrade the Android OS?

Only by rooting the phone I think and I am not keen on that idea.

Actually going back to a more basic version of Android -with less bells and whistles- would probably suit me fine.

[ausproofs]

If the phone is 6 months old, you should be able to make a warranty claim .. May be that's the quickest way to get a resolution ?

[JeffH]

No, superseded model, old stock, unlocked from an eBay seller. Chance of warranty negligible.
Mind you it did only cost me $35 in original packaging.

Running a fancy battery monitor now that gives good reports on apps' battery consumption and can shut them down if they misbehave.
Highest consuming app so far is the battery monitor. :shok:  Hope it doesn't commit Seppuku.

[ausproofs]

No, superseded model, old stock, unlocked from an eBay seller. Chance of warranty negligible.
Mind you it did only cost me $35 in original packaging.

Running a fancy battery monitor now that gives good reports on apps' battery consumption and can shut them down if they misbehave.
Highest consuming app so far is the battery monitor. :shok:  Hope it doesn't commit Seppuku.

 :taunt: that's funny.. see how you go.. may be battery sitting in there ideal may have something to do with that .. Phones are getting very cheap now .. I remember my first phone (in 1999) cost me an arm and a leg  :shock: .. mind you I was a teenage uni kid so $$$ did not come easy.

Good luck with it.. Keep us posted please ..

[JeffH]

Well I have given up on this phone and bought a new one -current model (released 2018) Vodafone running android 8.1, full warranty, unlocked for $74.

Tried everything and all the battery saver apps didn't help -in fact most don't even deliver what they promise. So I went for the big one; the inbuilt operating system bug report. It is very comprehensive -amazing what your phone records about activities. It clearly show the problem and records it.


But it fails to identify what it is.


At that point I charged the battery and turned the phone off to ponder what else I might try. A few hours later I turned it on -at least tried to; dead flat battery. when I gave it enough charge to turn on the battery screen showed same thing. Maybe my presumption that a previously unused battery is fine was wrong?
No, charged it, removed from phone and tested it over a few day and performing to specification.

That's when I gave up.

P.S. If anyone want a free smartphone just ask and it is your for the cost of postage.