<![CDATA[Observations on battery life - please share your experiences]]>I've replicated what follows from the Telegram Supergroup, as that's no place to collect observations from people using a variety of phones. Hopefully some patterns will emerge that inspire improvements.

I have a Nexus5 and, since 16.04, regularly get over 24hrs from the battery. OTOH I have noticed that there are (still) issues:

  1. Sometimes it gets to a state that "eats" battery very quickly when not in use. Shutting down (which, in this state often need two tries before the screen goes fully black) and rebooting seems to fix this.

  2. Closing Telegram manually when not in use (and not relying on the "lifecycle" suspend) reduces battery usage noticeably.

I don't think I should have to use the tweak tool to add the battery % to the indicators and monitor it, but I cope. I've not yet had headspace for any serious digging into what's going on.

In any case, battery drains too quickly when in use. Luckily my usage isn't heavy.

Edit: A bit more on my usage pattern:

WiFi and Bluetooth are off when not being used. And overnight is in "flight mode".

WiFi is invariably for "hotspot" and the phone doesn't last the half-full "working day" I need. So it is plugged into power. (OK, as I'll have a laptop battery for that.)

Bluetooth also increases drain, but not enough to worry me for the typical podcast-length use I make of it during a day.

Edit 2: Having a few more details I've reported issue 1.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/topic/2021/observations-on-battery-life-please-share-your-experiencesRSS for NodeWed, 17 Jun 2026 09:50:27 GMTWed, 21 Nov 2018 12:25:48 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 28 Feb 2026 16:32:04 GMT]]>Just wanted to share that I had some battery issues (draining too fast, often draining the entire battery within 1 day) with a OnePlus Nord N10 5g. The phone I purchased was an old refurbished one and I'm not sure if the battery was refreshed or if it was the original battery.

Nonetheless, my battery issues have seemed to resolved and thought I'd share. It may help others or not. So, take it or leave it.

By default, the screen brightness was quite high (to the far right on the slider) and I can't recall if "Adjust automatically" was enabled or not. I manually selected the screen brightness to the lowest level I could tolerate without feeling like I couldn't see the screen. Surprisingly for me, I can move the slider almost all the way to the left. I also unchecked the "Adjust automatically". So, now the screen brightness is using the minimal battery. (I believe this was the biggest gain for me).

Furthermore, I am fairly conscious to disable WiFi unless I am actively using it for internet access.

That is all I did and now the battery lasts a couple days without charging (vs completely drain in 1 day) and does not drain much at all.

One last thing I am mindful of is to only use the charging cable that came with the device. I think the fast chargers that are more modern may easily cycle/overcharge older batteries and reduce the battery's long term life. With all batteries, there is a limited number of charging cycles and you'll notice that each 100% full charge may not last as long as when it was brand new. Overcharging (while at 100%) and/or letting the battery drain completely to 0% may reduce the life of the battery a bit. So, being mindful to unplug when at 100% and to start charging before it gets too low may help in maximizing its life.

Hope this helps.

Good luck maximizing your device's battery life!

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/93655https://forums.ubports.com/post/93655Sat, 28 Feb 2026 16:32:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:59:59 GMT]]>@poVoq said in Observations on battery life - please share your experiences:

Well, given that there is still some battery charging stuff running, even when the main OS is turned off, maybe there is an firmware issue of some sort? Could anyone else with a Nexus5 try and see what happens with a turned off device?

Small update on this: it appears my Nexus5 isn't powering down the wifi chip on shut-down. So if I make sure there is no connection before shutting it down the battery doesn't drain nearly as fast when turned off. Is this something that might be a specific UT issue?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/38624https://forums.ubports.com/post/38624Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:59:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sun, 01 Mar 2020 22:14:26 GMT]]>as far is I can tell,
when turning off my Nexus5, it is off and does not drain battery
(never turned it off longer than 1 day, power percentage display was same as before turning off ).

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29341https://forums.ubports.com/post/29341Sun, 01 Mar 2020 22:14:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 29 Feb 2020 12:08:12 GMT]]>@poVoq Never happen during the last years on my N5. I had somtimes the situation that the phone was black - but not off. If u press off-buttom for more than 5 seconds.

I never had a phone which needs a remarkable amount of energy while beeing off. This problem I only know from a Sony Vaio - never had on any other device.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29281https://forums.ubports.com/post/29281Sat, 29 Feb 2020 12:08:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 29 Feb 2020 11:25:26 GMT]]>Well, given that there is still some battery charging stuff running, even when the main OS is turned off, maybe there is an firmware issue of some sort? Could anyone else with a Nexus5 try and see what happens with a turned off device?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29279https://forums.ubports.com/post/29279Sat, 29 Feb 2020 11:25:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 29 Feb 2020 07:41:04 GMT]]>@poVoq said in Observations on battery life - please share your experiences:

when turned off

Strange - but if the phone is off the system is not working. Hardware.

I would say: Never turn it off again 😉

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29266https://forums.ubports.com/post/29266Sat, 29 Feb 2020 07:41:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:07:08 GMT]]>Maybe a hardware issue, but my Nexus5 drains the battery in 1-2 days even when turned off.
While running, it seems to have more or less normal battery life.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29226https://forums.ubports.com/post/29226Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:07:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Thu, 27 Feb 2020 20:03:32 GMT]]>@Lakotaubp looking great thanks for the suggestion

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29199https://forums.ubports.com/post/29199Thu, 27 Feb 2020 20:03:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 19:04:48 GMT]]>@stan It should be. It will be the new stable. Then it all starts again

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29161https://forums.ubports.com/post/29161Wed, 26 Feb 2020 19:04:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:51:04 GMT]]>@Lakotaubp it looks like i'm going to do that because not sure why but it looks smoother and more responsive than stable

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29160https://forums.ubports.com/post/29160Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:51:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:29:55 GMT]]>@stan Or if you want a little excitement stay on RC for your weekly update.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29158https://forums.ubports.com/post/29158Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:29:55 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:23:52 GMT]]>@Lakotaubp thank you so much i'm installing the release channel version now . while we chat. when OTA 12 release i will switch back to stable

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29157https://forums.ubports.com/post/29157Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:23:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:22:12 GMT]]>@stan With the release of OTA-12. Which will be arriving shortly. Though for the time it takes to switch channels in System Settings I would give it a try now. You can easily swop back the same way

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29156https://forums.ubports.com/post/29156Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:22:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:08:21 GMT]]>@Mic_ may be i should switch to release channel instead of stable.
how long does it take for the stable to catch with the release channel.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29155https://forums.ubports.com/post/29155Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:08:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 12:45:03 GMT]]>Since I installed the actual Release-channel-update the battery management of the Nexus 5 improved a lot. The time where I do not have to charge the phone at least doubled - or even more.

This morning I had a bigger loss - maybe the problem is not totally solved - but now it is really better than good!

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29136https://forums.ubports.com/post/29136Wed, 26 Feb 2020 12:45:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:57:17 GMT]]>@stan I am afraid I don't now much about Nexus 5 batteries. Hopefully someone with more experience in the matter will drop by shortly

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29037https://forums.ubports.com/post/29037Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:57:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:49:33 GMT]]>@arubislander it's new original 😞
how can i restart the last full charge ?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29035https://forums.ubports.com/post/29035Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:49:33 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:44:21 GMT]]>@stan You say your battery is new? Is it an original or from a third party vendor? My guess is that there is something wrong with your battery, I am afraid.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29034https://forums.ubports.com/post/29034Mon, 24 Feb 2020 14:44:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Mon, 24 Feb 2020 09:31:21 GMT]]>can i get a help on nexus 5 my battery is still new buy it last around 22 hours with 2g only no data no wifi on stand by i think this very bad.
and when i open the battery settings i see my last full charge in is like 140 hours ago even though i just took it from the charger is this normal ?

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/29026https://forums.ubports.com/post/29026Mon, 24 Feb 2020 09:31:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 28 Dec 2019 00:09:23 GMT]]>Currently on stable.
Also run 2 days on dev branch.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/26626https://forums.ubports.com/post/26626Sat, 28 Dec 2019 00:09:23 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:42:58 GMT]]>@magdesign Are you on stable or devel?
I switched my daily drive from MX4 to Nexus 5 but so far it seems that I have a bit of battery drain and I'm not getting a good standby battery life unlike on MX4.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/26559https://forums.ubports.com/post/26559Thu, 26 Dec 2019 14:42:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Wed, 25 Dec 2019 13:20:15 GMT]]>Nexus 5

Battery life is nearly as good as I was running LineageOS.
I lasts for a day with UBports (2019-W42).

Happy with this.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/26496https://forums.ubports.com/post/26496Wed, 25 Dec 2019 13:20:15 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sun, 08 Sep 2019 09:02:35 GMT]]>I just bought a second and very old Nexus 5 and installed the same ut as on my first N5. I found out that the second N5 has less problems with accu drain than my first one. If I do this night test (see above) my first N5 (with the new battery) looses nearly the double compared to my second N5 with the very old battery.

So probably there are some accus for the N5 on the market which were confusing us a bit ?

So with this very old and original battery I am really very fine with the N5 !!

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/22613https://forums.ubports.com/post/22613Sun, 08 Sep 2019 09:02:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Observations on battery life - please share your experiences on Sat, 09 Mar 2019 07:40:50 GMT]]>@SirBilly Sorry to hear that. Hope you find a solution.

]]>https://forums.ubports.com/post/18170https://forums.ubports.com/post/18170Sat, 09 Mar 2019 07:40:50 GMT