Galaxy S4 charging oddness?

Si_Crewe · 08-12-2014, 12:21

Missus was complaining that her GS4 battery wasn't lasting as long as it should.

She mentioned this first thing in the morning, a few days ago, and when I looked at the phone I realised the battery was only at 75% even though she'd just unplugged it from the charger.

Sooo...
After a couple of days paying attention it seems like what happened was that she was using the phone quite a bit last week, the battery was running low by the time she got home so she was plugging it in to charge up when she got home, it'd finish charging by about 10pm and then it'd just sit there all night not on charge and, as a result, the battery would be 20%-odd discharged by the following morning.

When I look at the Android "battery settings" page first thing in the morning it confirms that the phone has been on battery power for 10 hours and the graph shows the phone charging several hours ago and then gradually draining for about 10 hours.

Seems a bit bizarre that the phone is obviously completing a charging cycle and then disconnecting from the charger and not allowing further charging once the battery starts to drain again.

Obviously the "workaround" for this is simply to not put the phone on charge until bedtime so it can complete a full charge during the night but it seems a bit half-arsed that the phone isn't "topping up" the battery while it's on charge.

Anybody else got a GS4 that's doing this or have any suggestions for how it might be resolved properly?

*EDIT*

FWIW, the battery, itself, seems to be in fairly good condition and is still holding a good charge so I dont' think the problem is simply that the battery is on it's last legs.

StuBFrost · 08-12-2014, 13:09

There was an item on Watchdog a couple of weeks ago about some S4's having a fault on the unit to do with charging although the problem was overcharging and the battery bulging. May be worrth having it checked out in case it's the start of the issue.

benster · 09-12-2014, 11:36

Let the phone completely run out of power then charge it up fully and it should calibrate the battery, you should do it at least once a month, also download cm battery will tell you if any apps are draining your battery

alanwarwic · 09-12-2014, 12:09

Try a new battery.

You could even go with one of those extended capacity Anker ones that come with a new back cover.

08-12-2014, 12:21	#1
Si_Crewe Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dumfries Posts: 38,495	Galaxy S4 charging oddness? Missus was complaining that her GS4 battery wasn't lasting as long as it should. She mentioned this first thing in the morning, a few days ago, and when I looked at the phone I realised the battery was only at 75% even though she'd just unplugged it from the charger. Sooo... After a couple of days paying attention it seems like what happened was that she was using the phone quite a bit last week, the battery was running low by the time she got home so she was plugging it in to charge up when she got home, it'd finish charging by about 10pm and then it'd just sit there all night not on charge and, as a result, the battery would be 20%-odd discharged by the following morning. When I look at the Android "battery settings" page first thing in the morning it confirms that the phone has been on battery power for 10 hours and the graph shows the phone charging several hours ago and then gradually draining for about 10 hours. Seems a bit bizarre that the phone is obviously completing a charging cycle and then disconnecting from the charger and not allowing further charging once the battery starts to drain again. Obviously the "workaround" for this is simply to not put the phone on charge until bedtime so it can complete a full charge during the night but it seems a bit half-arsed that the phone isn't "topping up" the battery while it's on charge. Anybody else got a GS4 that's doing this or have any suggestions for how it might be resolved properly? EDIT FWIW, the battery, itself, seems to be in fairly good condition and is still holding a good charge so I dont' think the problem is simply that the battery is on it's last legs.

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08-12-2014, 13:09	#2
StuBFrost Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37	There was an item on Watchdog a couple of weeks ago about some S4's having a fault on the unit to do with charging although the problem was overcharging and the battery bulging. May be worrth having it checked out in case it's the start of the issue.

09-12-2014, 11:36	#3
benster Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Blackburn Posts: 396	Let the phone completely run out of power then charge it up fully and it should calibrate the battery, you should do it at least once a month, also download cm battery will tell you if any apps are draining your battery

09-12-2014, 12:09	#4
alanwarwic Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: the wild world web Posts: 28,132	Try a new battery. You could even go with one of those extended capacity Anker ones that come with a new back cover.

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Galaxy S4 charging oddness?