I believe I solved the 8.1 battery issue. Please read.

[AgentWhiteBread]

With airplane mode on and battery saver on, my phone died in less than 5 hours.

With 4g on, wi-fi on, GPS on, and battery saver off, my battery lasted 52 hours.

There is a bug with battery saver and I think it's why peoples phones are dying so quickly.

Edit: I noticed a lot of people were having battery life issues with 8.1 developer preview so I decided to follow everyone's advice on how to get the most battery life from the phone. Disable applications running in the background/airplane mode/battery saver/etc and my phone died very rapidly.

I turned everything on and the phone lasted over 2 days.

That's the short and dirty of it.

 

[Davestrada]

Really?

 

[Chris Sandiford]

There is a bug with battery saver and I think it's why peoples phones are dying so quickly.

Blimey, that was a lot easier to read.

 

[realwarder]

For goodness sake just install the update. It appears (on my phone) to get rid of that long outstanding bug which burns the way through your battery. Everything else is just generally use.

Many have 'guessed' at fixing battery issues. The latest update may finally do it!

 

[shielah]

For goodness sake just install the update. It appears (on my phone) to get rid of that long outstanding bug which burns the way through your battery. Everything else is just generally use.

Many have 'guessed' at fixing battery issues. The latest update may finally do it!

The last update made my worse on my 920... Unless I don't use my phone.. No use of just talk gives me 10 hrs, let me text and do face book a few minutes, play a round of words with friends, read WP and I'm down to 4 hrs battery life nothing running... Update did nothing but make it worse for me

 

[Peter McNeill1]

Whatever's being claimed, this is no "solve", just hack workarounds until MS actually solve the problems. If you have to jump through all the hoops being proposed and disable stuff, it's no solve by a long shot. Still if it helps someone it's all good, least I'm not having all these issues so I can grin and bear it. ;p

 

[Paul Verizzo]

You didn't read anything at all, did you? With Wi-fi on, my battery lasts longer than with wi-fi off. What I've fixed, is that when battery saver was on and airplane mode was on, my phone lasted less than 5 hours. With battery saver off and airplane mode off, my phone has lasted over 32 hours with 40% battery life left. It's long winded because I did a lot of studying over about three days so far and these are my findings. Other people have managed to replicate my results so it's not just an issue with my phone. Turning battery saver on seems to be draining the battery faster.

Of course I read everything. Methinks it is you that has some kind of reading comprehension disability. I never refuted anything about getter more battery life with wifi on, or battery saver off. I don't believe you, these observations of yours defies physics, but I didn't refute you.

For the rest of us, wifi, 4G v. 2G, GPS, and bluetooth all use additional current. Battery Saver shouldn't, but I honestly haven't done an on/off comparison. I leave it off. I have no reason to get a crippled device because I know through the day what my battery status is.

The bottom line of what I'm saying here is that this has all been hashed out ad nauseum with little or no consistent observations and tests. Read the "Sudden battery consumption?" thread.

 

[WPcrazyaddict]

I have a Nokia Lumia 620, same problem, I'll try your steps and then I'll let you guys know what happened.

 

[hairychad]

Hi there - I've joined this party late and intrigued at this thread as I've tried every other option available... mostly soft resets, drains, more soft resets... unpin Cortana.. blocking apps... etc...
Looking forward to the results from this although I'm on holiday this weekend so I'm hoping I won't have to rely on a portable charger for the 15 hour charge I've been getting...

Nobody on here has mentioned Facebook or Whatsapp or indeed Facebook Messenger, which seem to cause quite a lot of drain, but uninstalling them could cut me off from some of my family...
Do you have any suggestions?

One side note... When I tried turning off Cortana this morning as one forum suggested it rebooted the phone and the battery dropped from 100% to 38%... A soft reset got it back to 100%... I've seen this a couple of times and I was in a rush this morning so I suspect I should have charged from 38% and maybe it would have fixed my battery (REGRETS!!!)... is this something I can force somehow? is it a known issue? I've been searching and can't find anything similar.

Cheers and thanks for this thread.
I'll certainly start turning off bluetooth and wifi like the olden days if it's proven to help, even if it does seem a little backwards :wink:

 

[AgentWhiteBread]

I'm not sure which phone you have, but if it's the 1520, I have good news! I was able to get 50 hours of battery life with wifi and GPS on. Didn't try Bluetooth but it probably can't be that bad.

If your phone is NOT the 1520, then sadly, 15 hours is pretty average for a smartphone and the most you can realistically expect from it is around 30 hours, but that's without facebook.

WhatsApp, that's a wifi messenger right? I'm sure that's fine, probably not a big battery suck.

My girlfriend has a Samsung galaxy S4 and with facebook, her phone was getting about 6-7 hours of charge while she was at work. That's right, draining 12% per hour while idling.

My mom's iPhone drains at roughly 20-25% per hour, she's chained to her charger and she has the 5s.

Myself? I ditched facebook on my phone and i have an Asus T100 that is my "facebook machine". It's a dedicated facebook and Netflix device. But it also has a HUGE battery. And as an added plus? People try to play videos and get "This is not available on mobile" so I pull out my tablet and everyone's like, "what?! How come YOU can play mobile videos!" (because it's not a mobile OS)

You can play ALL YouTube videos, ANY flash videos or games, watch Hulu without a hulu plus account, costs half as much as an ipad (with a crappier screen of course) etc. Etc. Etc.

If you need something smaller than 10", an iPad mini with retina display is about the size of a 1520 but has an absolutely massive battery as well. I'm just not a fan of iOS.

Sorry if I couldn't help more, facebook is a battery hog.

Good luck on your journeys!

 

[Geddeeee]

Only mobile phone users obsess about battery life. That's the problem.

A few tips:

1 - If you use your phone at all, it will use battery
2 - If you use FB, Whatsapp, FB Messenger or any of the other 'power hungry' or badly written apps, it will use battery
3 - Wi-Fi uses less battery than mobile data as it does not have to 'scan' for a signal
4 - Battery Saver only comes into play when battery is low (below 20%)
5 - Having loads of apps running 'in the background' will use battery
6 - HAving the screen on at all, uses battery
7- Apps sometimes get stuck and drain battery. Phone gets hot. E-mail syncs are a particular problem (G-Mail, ahem!!) Solution, restart the phone.
8 - Constantly obsessing about battery drain or running battery monitoring apps, will drain your battery
9 - Using your phone to make phone calls WILL drain battery
10 - Never using your phone, or having your phone turned on ONLY when you need to use it, saves battery. I can get a week of battery using this method!!!

The point is, there is no 'cure all' for any battery drain. WP needs a week or so of use and charge and drain, using the phone normally, for the battery meter to give any sort of 'useable' reading.
The battery saver gives an 'estimated' charge of how long your battery MAY last.

Just use the phone and charge it when it needs to be charged. It's that simple. No other battery based device has as much obsession as a mobile phone. Electric shaver users don't test their battery to see if they can get longer life. They charge it when it needs charging...

I can get a week of use on my 920 by having it turned off completely and only turning it on 3 times a week for a few minutes or so...

If you have a mobile phone battery charge addiction, seek medical advice...... This obsession is just madness!!!

 

[AgentWhiteBread]

^^^

So much this. After the two weeks of battery testing, my conclusion was f*** it I'm gonna do what I want.

 

[hairychad]

I'm on a 1020.
It's my second as I got one on day one and it was giving me 10 hours battery and that was when 8.0 didn't have battery issues.. Nokia conceded and swapped and I got a good couple of days after the replacement.

On 8.1 I did get a good day and a half when I accidentally turned my phone back into UK mode and lost Cortana so it seems like she's the culprit but I just love the car text reading and quiet mode too much to lose her...

FYI I've not been obsessing just to measure, I've just been trying to get to the end of the day

Whatsapp is mostly just to send picture messages for free, but unfortunately now that i'm on it I'm stuck for family pictures.. Once you uninstall it you still show as online!!!

I've blocked Facebook background now and my battery is at 58% from 80% at 10am... I think that's an improvement.... Not massive but we'll see... It may be a false reading just because i've not been touching the phone

What about the recommendations of blocking Battery Saver from within Battery Saver?
Is that False?

(FYI - Insider Pro is running for me)

 

[AgentWhiteBread]

As of recently, if you have battery saver set to only turn on while the battery is low, you're fine. I haven't noticed any horrendous battery drain unless I'm playing a graphics intense game.

It's only having battery saver on 24/7 that caused problems but it has been a while since I've tested it and honestly it scared me so much I'd rather not test it again.

 

[Geddeeee]

�� ^^^

So much this. After the two weeks of battery testing, my conclusion was f*** it I'm gonna do what I want.

He gets it!!!! LOL..

It's so easy to get 'locked in' to worrying about the battery. Any real battery draining apps become obvious very quickly, and they should be used sparingly. Blaming the OS for these apps' shortcomings is counterproductive IMHO.

Use and enjoy your phone and charge it when it needs charging.
iOS users can barely get half a day of normal use from their phones. They accept this and usually have their charger with them. You can tell an iOS user as they always have their phone plugged in on charge!!! You never hear them moaning or worrying about it. they use the device 'as is', and just get on with enjoying their mobile 'computer'.

WP users need to get off the battery monitoring kick and get on and use the thing. It's rewarding in the long run....

 

[Geddeeee]

I'm on a 1020.
It's my second as I got one on day one and it was giving me 10 hours battery and that was when 8.0 didn't have battery issues.. Nokia conceded and swapped and I got a good couple of days after the replacement.

On 8.1 I did get a good day and a half when I accidentally turned my phone back into UK mode and lost Cortana so it seems like she's the culprit but I just love the car text reading and quiet mode too much to lose her...

FYI I've not been obsessing just to measure, I've just been trying to get to the end of the day

Whatsapp is mostly just to send picture messages for free, but unfortunately now that i'm on it I'm stuck for family pictures.. Once you uninstall it you still show as online!!!

I've blocked Facebook background now and my battery is at 58% from 80% at 10am... I think that's an improvement.... Not massive but we'll see... It may be a false reading just because i've not been touching the phone

What about the recommendations of blocking Battery Saver from within Battery Saver?
Is that False?

(FYI - Insider Pro is running for me)

Insider is probably the best of the battery apps.
I would not block Battery Saver from running in the background as this is the program that monitors other background apps. Turn it off by all means if you think it helps, but don't block it. Others may advise otherwise, but I think they are wrong!!!
YMMV....

 

[chezm]

^^^ no idea what you're talking about because I was getting almost 2 days on my previous iPhone 5S...if I was aggressive it was 24 hrs. My wife's iPhone 5 was worse but not a half day...and my buddy gets over a day on his 4S.

I do agree its not worth investing so much pain trying to fix battery life, much like you stated I just enjoy the phone and charge when needed. The first thing any WP user should do is delete it or remove any battery monitoring app, best thing i ever did.

 

[how1ard]

"I believe I solved the 8.1 battery issue."Please read."
The sheer level of stupidity/naivety/ignorance/arrogance to title a post like this boggles the mind. Have you tested a load of different devices? No. Have you managed to fix your device? Yes. Then good for you, seriously I'm pleased for you. To think that it will work on anyone else's given the myriad of combinations of apps, carriers, settings, makes etc is simply ludicrous.
Every now and then someone posts with this title and they all have one thing in common. They haven't found a fix for anyone but themselves.
Like an ***** I always click on the link. Never again. Never.

 

[Geddeeee]

^^^ no idea what you're talking about because I was getting almost 2 days on my previous iPhone 5S...if I was aggressive it was 24 hrs. My wife's iPhone 5 was worse but not a half day...and my buddy gets over a day on his 4S.

I do agree its not worth investing so much pain trying to fix battery life, much like you stated I just enjoy the phone and charge when needed. The first thing any WP user should do is delete it or remove any battery monitoring app, best thing i ever did.

The iPhone example was just to make a point; namely just to enjoy the phone and stop worrying about whether your battery is draining. Which it seems you are. I agree about battery monitoring apps. More often than not, they are one of the culprits...

 

[AgentWhiteBread]

You are 100% correct, if you have different apps, you will get different results. Heck, if your start screen looks different you can get different results.

Anyways, this is all moot because they've updated the OS like 3 times since this post and I haven't had any battery issues since.

I made this post when 8.1 DP first came out and .80% of the posts on reddit were "my battery life sucks. Windows phone sucks."