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Question

Has anyone ever had an failing phone run new batteries down?

Jun 18, 2018 1:28PM PDT

My mother recently gave my GF her old Samsung Galaxy S5. Her main complaint was that the old battery was running down very rapidly and she was ready for a new phone so upgraded.

I replaced the battery with a new aftermarket unit from Amazon with the "Amazon's Choice" badge on the product page and battery life is still quite poor. It is lasting maybe 8 hours before needing a charge with only intermittent use. It will be dead in the morning and turned off if you don't leave it on the charger overnight. This is an improvement over the 2 or so hours my mom was getting out of it but still not great.

I factory reset the phone and it is running Android 6.0.1, the latest official ROM. I have looked through the apps and tracked their percent battery use. There are no rogue apps from what I can tell and the base Android system is the biggest power user. All apps are kept up to date but nothing changes with each update.

I have seen older computer processors fail in a way that they begin pulling a lot more power and generating lots of heat, sometimes overheating and shutting down.

Or, did I get a dud replacement batter?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
I've seen battery life fall short
Jun 18, 2018 1:39PM PDT

Just by turning on GPS and Bluetooth. I can't guess if you tried it without these on.

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Answer
Check the motherboard
Jun 19, 2018 11:12AM PDT

I also suffered from the same matter on my Samsung Galaxy S5. The battery drains before 6 to 7 hours even I do not use the mobile. Then I send my mobile to a professional to repair this matter. He asked me that the motherboard has damaged slightly with a loose connection of the charging port and it shorts every time. That is why he repaired the charging port and then the problem was resolved. Have you tried this step?

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Answer
Batteries are always a lottery
Jun 26, 2018 4:36AM PDT

From my experience, batteries are always a lottery, because most of them are made in China and they all seem to say 'original, authentic' bla bla. I picked up a battery for my old LG G3 a few years ago and it lasted as long as my old one. It could be time for a new battery or a new phone. I hate this consumerism, but it seems that most products are made to last until the warranty runs out.