Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Galaxy S6

Ok, so I bought the S6 on Friday, but I am pretty concerned about the battery after a few days of use. Today is the first day I really took it out for daily type use... and so far I am worried.

I left the house almost 5 hours ago, and so far have dowloaded 1 regular app (OneBusAway), sent a few texts (like 8), read 2 short news articles and a few emails. No video streaming, no music streaming, etc... and my battery currently sits at 37%. This is with power saving mode on for the last couple of hours. The phone was also quite warm at one point when I took it out of my pocket.

Any suggestions on whether this is the norm, or a problem with this particular unit? It is my first smartphone, and I was anticipating better battery life :-(
 
RynotheDyno said:
Ok, so I bought the S6 on Friday, but I am pretty concerned about the battery after a few days of use. Today is the first day I really took it out for daily type use... and so far I am worried.

I left the house almost 5 hours ago, and so far have dowloaded 1 regular app (OneBusAway), sent a few texts (like 8), read 2 short news articles and a few emails. No video streaming, no music streaming, etc... and my battery currently sits at 37%. This is with power saving mode on for the last couple of hours. The phone was also quite warm at one point when I took it out of my pocket.

Any suggestions on whether this is the norm, or a problem with this particular unit? It is my first smartphone, and I was anticipating better battery life :-(
Click to expand...

If your S6 is getting uncomfortably warm without you even using the phone, it sounds like an app is keeping your CPU on. What is the biggest battery drainer according to the Battery section in the settings?
Your battery life should definitely be WAY better than that!
 
Mxbzz said:
If your S6 is getting uncomfortably warm without you even using the phone, it sounds like an app is keeping your CPU on. What is the biggest battery drainer according to the Battery section in the settings?
Your battery life should definitely be WAY better than that!
Click to expand...

It is now at 32%...

When I pull up battery info under settings:

Android System: 21%
Cell Standby: 13%
Screen: 4%
Google Services: 4%
... and some other stuff that is all a small percentage... but this doesn't add up to the amount of battery that has been used

EDIT: It also cooled off after a bit, so I'm not sure what the deal was. But the battery is still draining fast.
 
Last edited:
RynotheDyno said:
It is now at 32%...

When I pull up v

Android System: 21%
Cell Standby: 13%
Screen: 4%
Google Services: 4%
... and some other stuff that is all a small percentage... but this doesn't add up to the amount of battery that has been used
Click to expand...
Just as I suspected-- something is keeping your phone awake at the expense of your battery life.

First thing I'd try is to reboot the phone and see if your phone cools down shortly after.
 
RynotheDyno said:
It is now at 32%...

When I pull up v

Android System: 21%
Cell Standby: 13%
Screen: 4%
Google Services: 4%
... and some other stuff that is all a small percentage... but this doesn't add up to the amount of battery that has been used

EDIT: It also cooled off after a bit, so I'm not sure what the deal was. But the battery is still draining fast.
Click to expand...

Try clearing out your cache. Go to storage, then select cache.
 
maka344 said:
I'm a long standing iPhone user with a 6 Plus and my Galaxy arrives tomorrow. I'm expecting a lot and still wondering if I'm making the right decision moving from my iPhone to the S6...

Can the S6 be remotely locked and not re-activated without a password like the iPhone and iCloud activation lock?
Click to expand...

Yes
 
maka344 said:
I'm a long standing iPhone user with a 6 Plus and my Galaxy arrives tomorrow. I'm expecting a lot and still wondering if I'm making the right decision moving from my iPhone to the S6...

Can the S6 be remotely locked and not re-activated without a password like the iPhone and iCloud activation lock?
Click to expand...

of course and then some. check out this video of a very old program i use called cerberus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akTtEjnFVTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unt8Fbx79_Y
 
maka344 said:
Thanks. It's also the above threads that bother me too with apps not closing and killing the battery life. Imagine. This happens during the day then you have no phone due to a rouge app... The iPhone automatically manages these issues.
Click to expand...

Iphone doesn't manage these issues. If someone has app background refresh enabled or cellular data enabled for apps then the battery will drain and most people would never know. The most common one I have across is someone telling me they just completely stopped getting notifications and they're missing calls. I already know do not disturb is enabled.

The OP could be suffering from the same issues and isn't aware of it. Photos may be backing up, apps updating, an app may be searching for location data continuously because he may have granted it access on initial setup, etc.

The problem with issues is that the solutions aren't always so obvious to most. A sense of familiarity with an OS goes a long way to understand root cause. What I prefer about Android is that I have found that troubleshooting one is much easier due to the sheer amount information the device can give you to isolate the issue.

----------
machtv said:
of course and then some. check out this video of a very old program i use called cerberus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akTtEjnFVTg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unt8Fbx79_Y
Click to expand...

Ceberus takes things to the next level but requires subscription service and root for full functionality and isn't necessary for most, IMO.

To the OP, the kill switch in the Samsung is prompted on initial setup of the phone. It is very simple and you can use your Google account to setup your Samsung account.
 
So my understanding is it u root the s6 then there's no goin back cuz Knox is tripped. Also Samsung pay won't work either?
 
Android Easter Egg

Anyone try this on their new S6?

Settings>About>Tap android version 3 times very fast, you will see lollipop, keep pressing it for 5-6 times and then long press it.

I got a very high score of 3!
 
Not sure about upgrades, but new enrollments [ & possibly add a line .. ] can get the S6 [ including TMobile now and EIP ! ] from Costco.

I think they're offering a $25 Costco GC, and some free accessories.

Also, the return policy for mobile devices is 90 days iirc [ plz confirm if you can ]

The best part is, if you have a deposit when opening an account, buying from Costco does not require such a deposit! [source: Slick Deals forums]
 
Target and Walmart have most everything but electronics returnable for 90 days so I doubt Costco would be different.
 
I came a few moments from my local best buy, they are not selling this phone yet but test models are already available for general public.

Well i could see a vertical scratch on the home button (same vertical size), i tried a little of saliva...just in case, it was useless. Apparently Samsung copied even the scratches from the iphone 6...lame.
 
smorrissey said:
I came a few moments from my local best buy, they are not selling this phone yet but test models are already available for general public.

Well i could see a vertical scratch on the home button (same vertical size), i tried a little of saliva...just in case, it was useless. Apparently Samsung copied even the scratches from the iphone 6...lame.
Click to expand...


The iPhone home button is covered in sapphire. What's the s6 home button covered in?
 
[/COLOR]

Ceberus takes things to the next level but requires subscription service and root for full functionality and isn't necessary for most, IMO.

To the OP, the kill switch in the Samsung is prompted on initial setup of the phone. It is very simple and you can use your Google account to setup your Samsung account.[/QUOTE]

not sure if they now require a subscription or not. i purchased cerberus about 4 years ago. for a 1 time price of 1.99 and i can add up to 4 devices. that's a very small price to pay for an app the crushes all other security apps. even without root. JMO:)
 
I'm at 8% battery remaining with 4hrs and 15min actual screen time. That's not bad by any means.

In fact, given the high ppi QHD display and powerful cpu/gpu, that's pretty impressive given how small the battery is.
 
No complaints here. I'm getting about an hour less than I did when I had the Note 4, which would consistently get me 6-7 hours (and that was the less thirsty Snap 805 version). 5 hours given the battery size and spec is welcome and more than I expected.

Same usage pattern: mix of wifi and 4G, BT always on with Vivosmart, gmail/fenix/OneDrive background syncing, doing emails, a few calls, WhatsApp, tapatalk, web, YouTube 1080 + some local video. No powersaving or anything like that.

08f689a2ec906dd7702ccb9296415f88.jpg

dcbef71239c607d2d28813991d72eaa3.jpg
 
Last edited:
I wonder how much battery will consume: 2 phone calls and 1 hour internet. No bluetooth but 4g always enabled.
 
Complete battery burn down was 5hrs and 1min screen time.

This was normal use. Little of everything including some video and lots of Google Play Music.

I would say that refutes all of the jabber about poor battery life. I'm not seeing it thus far.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_2015-04-13-22-57-34.png
    Screenshot_2015-04-13-22-57-34.png
    174.3 KB · Views: 88
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back