Battery life of Nexus 7 when "off" is really annoying

[Tom]

I know its probably Jelly Bean but its really annoying.

I can mess around with my 2013 Nexus 7 and my Nook HD+, then close the covers and put them away with about 50% battery.

A couple of days later the Nexus 7 is dead as a doornail.

3 WEEKS later the Nook HD+ basically still has the same battery life as when i put it away.

Is there ANY way to set up the Nexus 7 to actually suspend and stop wasting battery life ? Short of shutting it off ?

 

[Graze]

No its not "probably Jelly Bean"!

It depends on the hardware, services and apps running on it.

With that said the Nexus 7 needs be charged every 3 to 4 days. I don't know about the Nook.

 

[ponyo]

You can put it in Airplane mode and that will give you month(s) standby.

 

[Tom]

You can put it in Airplane mode and that will give you month(s) standby.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[corkyg]

You can put it in Airplane mode and that will give you month(s) standby.

I echo this! Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi, and that is a huge power hog. I keep all my devices on AirMode unless I need to connect.

 

[Tom]

No its not "probably Jelly Bean"!

It depends on the hardware, services and apps running on it.

With that said the Nexus 7 needs be charged every 3 to 4 days. I don't know about the Nook.

I didn't mean JB because of the OS but because of the included apps and the way they work.

I don't see how that they can be configured to work when I want them to and only went I want them to.

 

[Tom]

I echo this! Airplane Mode turns off Wi-Fi, and that is a huge power hog. I keep all my devices on AirMode unless I need to connect.

I don't think its wifi, I think its apps doing things because wifi is on.

The reason I say this is I have a Touch Pro 2 that used to be on Sprint. When the cell radio was active the battery would last 1 to 3 days depending on the strength of the cell signal and if it was roaming sometimes.

But when I left Sprint and the cell radio no longer was using the battery, the TP2 battery lasts for weeks on end with wifi on the whole time.

And like I said, the Nook HD+ lasts for several weeks with wifi on the whole time. I assume its because the apps aren't constantly "Syncing" while its sleeping.

I'd like to know if its possible to configure the latest versions of Android to perform that way, not syncing until I open the cover and use it. Or being able to choose which apps, like weather, sync when sleeping, and others, wait until I need them.

Is this kind of customization possible ?

 

[openwheel]

I lost 2% last night and wifi was on.

 

[JoeMcJoe]

Go into wifi settings, advanced, select to keep wifi off when in sleep mode.

 

[xSauronx]

Is this kind of customization possible ?

some devices have a widget of power buttons that you can quickly get to to turn off wifi, gps, bluetooth, auto brightness, all syncing, and airplane mode. if your device doesnt have these stock you might be able to find apps that will give you the short cuts.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Check to see if you have any rogue apps running in the background. My nexus 7 loses about 3-6% battery life per full day (24 hour period). It lasts weeks!

 

[lopri]

It's very difficult to determine which app is going rogue. And I don't think Google is innocent, either.

 

[gorcorps]

I didn't mean JB because of the OS but because of the included apps and the way they work.

I don't see how that they can be configured to work when I want them to and only went I want them to.

There's an app called greenify that lets you block apps from doing anything unless they're running in the foreground. I think you need to be rooted to use it

 

[VirtualLarry]

I lost 2% last night and wifi was on.

My Exhibit 4G loses 25-40% battery overnight, without wifi being enabled.

That's with the phone on, screen off.

 

[Tom]

Go into wifi settings, advanced, select to keep wifi off when in sleep mode.

Thanks, I'll give that a try too. I turned off letting Google apps do something about location even when wifi is off too.

 

[Apex]

My Exhibit 4G loses 25-40% battery overnight, without wifi being enabled.

That's with the phone on, screen off.

Might be the cell portion sucking down the battery.

When I stopped using my old HTC One V as a cellphone (just kept it as a backup gaming toy for the kids), battery life seemed great. When it goes into sleep, the battery lasted a long long time, even though it has a tiny battery and was known for pretty mediocre standby/usage life.

The Nexus 7 shouldn't have that problem, since it's not connecting to the cell towers.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

You can put it in Airplane mode and that will give you month(s) standby.

Seems like that's the only way. If I turn off wifi on my Nexus 10 it still tries to sync and also uses GPS still.

 

[Silenus]

Thanks, I'll give that a try too. I turned off letting Google apps do something about location even when wifi is off too.

Tom be aware that there is a known bug with some 2013 Nexus 7 owners where the tablet will NEVER enter deep sleep (at all), which causes FAR faster battery drain than it should. It is not app or Wifi related. I am one of those affected by this bug. My Nexus will lose 20-40% charge overnight, and will spend 0% of that time in deep sleep. One of the battery stats apps will be able to confirm if you have this particular issue or not.

I haven't seen this issue get any press yet, but there are some long (and growing) posts on the official Nexus forums where many others are reporting the same issue. No one seems to know exactly what is causing it or even whether it's a software or hardware problem. Some have reported the problem persists even on full wipe, bone-stock setups. There is process called "pil-gss" that seems to cause permanent wakelock. Some think it's related to the GPS module, but again...there is no firm answer yet on the cause, or a fix.

This is just a heads up for you (and any else). I am waiting for more information about it myself. Here is the main thread:
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/nexus/AiQIc2DX5SI

 

[openwheel]

it seems that every android device on XDA has a thread like that though....

Too many variables to count in a situation where devide does not go into deep sleep.

 

[corkyg]

I don't think its wifi, I think its apps doing things because wifi is on.

That would be quibbling. It definitely is Wi-Fi. Yes, apps try - but Wi-Fi always tries to maintain the link. That uses power. In Airplane mode it is OFF and can't do that, and apps are then muted and irrelevant. You will get many more hours of battery life.

 

[Tom]

That would be quibbling. It definitely is Wi-Fi. Yes, apps try - but Wi-Fi always tries to maintain the link. That uses power. In Airplane mode it is OFF and can't do that, and apps are then muted and irrelevant. You will get many more hours of battery life.

I'll give it a try. It feels wrong though because I'm not on an airplane.

 

[Shackanaw]

I'd like to know if its possible to configure the latest versions of Android to perform that way, not syncing until I open the cover and use it.

Settings -> Wi-Fi -> three dots in the top right -> Advanced -> "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep"

Change that to "Only when plugged in" or "Never."

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

That would be quibbling. It definitely is Wi-Fi. Yes, apps try - but Wi-Fi always tries to maintain the link. That uses power. In Airplane mode it is OFF and can't do that, and apps are then muted and irrelevant. You will get many more hours of battery life.

Apps still wake up and try to connect. That's the biggest issue here. Hell my GPS wakes up for some odd reason on my Nexus 10 at least a few minutes each day.