Battery life atrocious after update

[MrTofu]

So my battery life has been horrible after the amber update. The battery will drain completely is less than 5 hours at times just sitting there. If I pick it up to use it, it may die even quicker. I have tried 2 hard resets, draining the battery a few times (not hard to do since it already drains itself already), a battery swap with my wife, turning off data and all background activity, etc. I don't know what else to do. Any ideas or thoughts?

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Is glance turned on?
Also, see if you can flash the Amber update onto your phone.

 

[MrTofu]

The new features are turned off. What is the advantage of flashing the software?

 

[WanderingTraveler]

You might be able to get rid of the problems by flashing (the correct ROM, of course.)

 

[Guzzler3]

I had GREAT battery usage, until the other night. I had a full charge, and left the phone on the coffee table over night, it drained itself completely by morning. I have the graph to prove it.



I'm playing around to see what it could be. I wish there was a task manager to see what's going on. If I can't figure it out, I'll re-flash with the Nokia Software Updater for Retail with the ROM that is offered.

 

[Kalkkis]

Same problem here, 3 nights with Amber and 3 times with a dead battery in the morning... not very nice. I flashed with NSU (official version of Amber) and I'm using Glance + double tap to wake.

 

[MrTofu]

So how do I flash the software onto my phone? I read that a lot of people do it and found a few articles on it but I still don't get it...

 

[Soyeb Mullick]

lumia 920 is having lcd, which drains the battery like hell with the glance is turned on. double tap to wake is the main reason of draining the battery for both the 920 and 820. i updated my lumia 820 last night. till now no complaints with the glance screen on and double tap to wake in off condition.

 

[Kalkkis]

Does double tap to wake really consume that much battery? I have the glance screen set on glance so it isn't on at night.

 

[Guzzler3]

So how do I flash the software onto my phone? I read that a lot of people do it and found a few articles on it but I still don't get it...

I take it that you got the update via OTA. If you did, take the phone to T-Mobile or a Microsoft store and seek help. You already have the "official" firmware/amber update. Some of us (myself included) bypassed the OTA and updated early, which puts us at a disadvantage for official support. But you are perfect to complain to the proper support channels.

 

[MrTofu]

Yeah OTA is how the goods were delivered. Actually, I did a 3rd hard reset last night. Things seem to be holding steady for a moment. Will keep an eye on it. Thanks for the help!

 

[Guzzler3]

I have a suspicion that it isn't the GDR2/Amber update that is causing the battery drain. It maybe an app I installed after. When I first updated the phone, battery life was better. I'm slowly working it out by trial and error.

 

[MrTofu]

Haha, I'm doing the same. I actually think its not gdr2 but amber. After my 3rd hard reset, I intentionally held off on downloading the system updates (amber) from Nokia. My phone was performing like it used to. So I decided to download amber and the same behavior returned; battery drain, super hot phone. Even had issues with wireless charging as the light on the charger would rapidly blink, indicating trouble recharging. I did my 4th reset this morning and am just considering not installing amber since I don't really use any of the new features. Any thoughts?

 

[gaknigge]

Mr.Tofu I would appreciate an update on holding off on Amber. It would be great if that solved my problem. I have done two hard resets already but battery life is atrocious since the updates. How do you hold off on Amber exactly? Is it that you say no when asked if you want to automatically download system updates?
Thanks for your post and troubleshooting. Gary

 

[MrTofu]

@gaknigge. Yeah, I believe holding off on downloading sys updates is the way to hold off amber. Well after resetting again because of said behavior returning, I have reset a 4th time and have not yet downloaded amber and same darn thing. Bad battery life and overheating. Called tmo tech support. Basically they were ready to send out a replacement but found out I have a cracked screen which voids the warranty. Maybe u can get a replacement? My wife's 810 is running great. This suuuucks.

 

[Guzzler3]

WaaaAAAA???!!!????!!!?!?!?!?!?

You have a dropped, damaged phone and have battery issues and you suspected it was a firmware update? I'm sorry, but physical damage is what would be FIRST on my list of probable cause.

Oh, and if your battery is getting hot.
STOP USING THE PHONE, NOW!!!
Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Lithium Ion batteries are little explosive devices if damaged, or are charged or discharged outside their designed parameters.

I use Lithium Ion batteries for R/C planes and I have personally seen one of my batteries go 'Boom' and destroy one of my planes. They have been known to burn down houses, fields, blow up aircraft, burn people, etc., if not taken care of properly. It's amazing how much oomph these little batteries have.

Personally, if I feel my phone getting warmer that it gets from using my Qi charging, I shut down the phone and remove my battery and let things cool down to room temperature before starting over an try to find out what's causing it to get warm.

Seriously, when in doubt, power off, remove battery (if possible), and let things cool down. If things get really hot, take the device OUTSIDE immediately and place on a large non-flammable surface (ideally, put it on your driveway, parking lot, sidewalk, away from anything else) and wait.

 

[MrTofu]

Well I suspect its the firmware bc I dropped it back in January. It wasn't a big drop, maybe like 2 feet but hit it just right that caused the crack in the screen. It has been functioning perfectly up until the os update. That causes me to believe it was the update.

 

[vikrant6]

Actually my battery performance has increased significantly after GDR2/Amber Update and I'm quite happy. I am using glance screen and double tap to wake up too. Read about similar observations in the other threads. I'm using Lumia 820 BTW.

 

[gaknigge]

Backup your data and do a hard reset of the phone. When asked by setup if you want recommended settings, choose custom instead. Untick the option that would download system updates automatically. This will prevent the amber, or Nokia, part of the update from happening. Now you just get the GDR2 updates.

This has kept my phone cool and my battery drain gone so far for me. If this holds, then I am guessing it is some part of the nokia add-on to GDR2 that is to blame. I will run the phone like this for a few days at least and if stable will add some key nokia updates that I really use - like Here Drive.

If you also have this problem please post your phone model as that may help diagnose the problem for Nokia and others.

 

[Moises Corilloclla]

My battery life has been crazy after the update. So, I followed an advice on another thread: I drained the battery completely and started recharging from there. That was like two days ago. Now battery is going fine so far, with usual 14 hours span usage and fully recharging to 100% (previously it only charged to 50% tops only).