S21 battery

[Hassanu]

I have been using S21 for about 2 weeks now. Here are my observations:

• The battery drains really fast even when I take a couple of quick photos.
• I have turned off Auto Sync and been using dark mode since the second day, still getting terrible battery.
• I haven't even tested or downloaded any big game still my battery drains like crazy.

Is anyone else facing the same?

[imranYaqoob]

how it can be possible? kher you may check ✔ online status of phone 📱 interactive..

[Hassanu]

i know this is what is worrying me. it's a brand new cell with this sort of issues. really disappointed

[shezkhan123]

Battery life is going to massively differ between people due to what apps are being used - something as simple as browsing the internet can hit the battery more than video consumption, and any kind of gaming will kill the battery even quicker. Comparing battery life, including SoT (Screen on Time) between two people doesn't work unless you're both doing the exact same things with the exact same settings for the exact same amount of time. So, if you see others with much better/worse SoT, it doesn't mean you have a golden/lemon device - it's more likely that you just use your device differently.

In general, most people are more than happy with the S21/+/Ultra's battery performance (me included!), with the average being from 5 hours to 7 hours SoT. If this post doesn't help improve your battery that feels substandard, contact Samsung. Truly bad batteries are rare but they do happen.

This post is here to hopefully help level the playing field by giving a detailed list of what can be changed to improve battery life. Disabling everything to improve battery takes the fun away from having such a powerful device - striking a good middle ground between better battery and great features is what I always personally aim towards. If there's something I often use that could be disabled to increase SoT/standby, I'll leave it enabled. If there's something that I rarely use that could be disabled to increase it, I'd prefer to disable it.

The options you choose to disable (and enable) below should allow you to enjoy your device as much as possible as well as for as long as possible.

Software Updates

Keeping up-to-date is always a good idea for features, security fixes and bug fixes, and if you're having battery problems, it could be because you're on an older firmware.

Non-Ultra devices using the Exynos chipset have already had multiple updates released during February 2021 that widely fix different battery issues. People were suffering with 2 to 3 hours SoT before the updates, having since jumped all the way to 6 hours in most cases. If you aren't using the Exynos variant or are using an Ultra, keeping up to date can still fix multiple issues that can cause battery problems.

Built-In Adaptive Battery Usage

If you've only had your phone for a few days (or less) and are unhappy with the battery, wait a few days! Adaptive Usage within Android 11 can do wonders for average SoT. This does not help everyone, but in most cases it will increase SoT by ~1+ hour.

Settings to Help Battery Life

All of these settings can be found in the Settings app (from app draw or from notifications panel). Disabling these settings helps battery life unless stated otherwise.

Connections > Wi-Fi > 3 Dots (Upper Right) > Advanced

Switch to mobile data - very small battery saver - Your device periodically checks if Wi-Fi can be found, and if it can't, mobile data is turned on. With this disabled, mobile data will need to be manually turned on when your Wi-Fi slows/drops.Detect suspicious networks - very small battery saver - Checks newly joined networks for suspicious activity. If you often join different hotspots, leave this setting on. If you only join trusted networks, disable it.Wi-Fi power saving mode - (Enable) - potentially large battery saver - Looks for patterns in Wi-Fi usage to learn when it's best to turn on Wi-Fi power saving. I'd suggest trying this yourself and seeing if it affects your everday usage (as it can in some cases).

Connections > Bluetooth

Bluetooth - medium battery saver - Bluetooth can use a large amount of energy, especially when it's constantly syncing to devices like watches, earphones and speakers that trade large amounts of data. Disable this if you don't use Bluetooth devices, and if you do (I do, too), it isn't a large enough battery sink to worry about.

[Hassanu]

thank you for the detailed posts. i have followed what you mentioned and will monitor my cell for a week or so. if the problem persists I'll get it checked.

[shezkhan123]

Connections > NFC and Contactless Payments

NFC - very small battery saver - This will check for NFC/contactless payment points whenever the screen is on. Leaving this turned off, and simply turning it on when needed is simple and can save a tiny amount of energy.

Connections > Mobile Networks > Network Mode

5G - large battery saver - 5G is power-hungry. Not only does it drain more power on its own, it also cannot carry calls/texts, so you'll also be connected to LTE/3G/2G too; therefore, by default, you'll be set to autoconnect to 5G/LTE/3G/2G. If you do not have 5G in your area, or just don't use 5G, set your network mode to LTE/3G/2G if possible (not all networks currently allow this!).

Connections > More Connection Settings

Nearby device scanning - medium battery saver - This will automatically turn on Bluetooth (even if disabled) and Wi-Fi to connect to devices like smart TVs, watches, and earphones/headphones with a popup for easy setup. As this is always scanning for devices it can be a decent battery drainer in some cases. Turning off means needing to turn Bluetooth on manually when using connectable devices.Printing - very small battery saver - Allows quick connection to printers. If you hardly ever print anything via your phone, disable this.

[shezkhan123]

Notifications > Advanced Settings > Wireless Emergency Alerts

Wireless emergency alerts - imperceptible battery saver - These are sent out about severe weather warnings and amber alerts, as well as also being used to send location information to emergency services. This is an important service that should be left on if supported in your area. If it isn't used in your country, or your country uses SMS instead, you can disable this feature for an imperceptible battery save.

Display > Dark Mode

Dark mode - (Enable) - large battery saver - Dark mode changes all Android menus and supporting apps to a dark version - meaning mostly white backgrounds change to black/grey backgrounds. OLED screens turn off pixels completely when black - meaning little to no power draw from these pixels - whereas pixels showing white is a large battery draw over the same period of time.

Additionally: Most browsers support a dark mode independently of OS settings and therefore need changing in their respective settings to be turned on/off. Browser dark modes can save massive amounts of battery at the cost of making most webpages look... strange.

Display > Brightness and Adaptive Brightness

Brightness and adaptive brightness - (Enable) - medium to large battery saver - Brightness can play a big part in draining battery, and adaptive brightness aims to lower the screen brightness based on the light that can be detected in the room. If you can get along with this feature it's a fantastic way to save a decent bit of battery. If, like myself, you can't get along with it, changing the brightness yourself throughout the day can still help with saving some battery.

Display > Motion Smoothness and Eye Comfort Shield

Motion smoothness - large battery saver - The entire S21 line supports 120Hz displays which can be a large battery drainer. Although it's adaptive (meaning it can change based on what is needed - from 120Hz all the way down to 10Hz), it still drains more power than in standard mode (60Hz). I spoke earlier about striking a good balance between battery and features - and in my opinion, 120Hz is well worth the extra battery usage.Eye comfort shield - (Enable) - small battery saver - Eye Comfort Shield isn't for everyone as it both limits blue light and uses warmer colours. Setting this can make things look yellow-tinted, but can help with eye fatigue, sleep, and most importantly for this list, battery life.

[shezkhan123]

Display > Screen Resolution

Screen resolution - large battery saver - Screen resolution can be one of the larger battery drains, but again falls into wanting balance of features and battery life. WQHD+ on the Ultra takes up a decent bit more battery than FHD+ when playing games, as does FHD+ over HD+ on all models. As with 120Hz, I think the higher resolution is well worth the extra battery usage.

Display > Screen Timeout

Screen timeout - medium battery saver - Simply choose a screen timeout option so your battery isn't being wasted when your phone isn't being used. I tend to stick with 30s, but set yours to best suit your usage.

Wallpaper and Themes

Wallpaper and themes - small battery saver - Although it won't look as nice, a non-live and darker wallpaper and theme will save battery.

Lock Screen

Always on display - small battery saver - AOD means that whenever the phone is on, and face-up, the screen will show the time as well as your recent notifications. If you're looking for the lowest possible screen-off battery usage, disabling AOD can lower battery usage by 0.25 to 0.50% an hour.

Location and Location > Improve Accuracy

Location - medium battery saver - Location itself doesn't drain too much battery when always on, but it can when multiple apps are using it to pinpoint your location. I personally keep this on but restrict most apps from location access to help with both privacy and battery usage.Improve Accuracy - medium battery saver - Here you can set Wi-Fi scanning and Bluetooth scanning, which are both different methods to improve location accuracy for things like maps, games and other location-dependant apps. With this disabled, you'll need to manually enable it whenever using the aforementioned app types.

Advanced Features

S Pen - small battery saver - When this is on, your device will always be waiting for an S Pen to be found, which can be a small battery drainer. If you don't use an S Pen, there is no reason for this setting to be enabled.

[shezkhan123]

Advanced Features > Motions and Gestures

Lift to wake - small battery saver - With this on you can lift your device to wake it. Battery usage increase is due to the device keeping sensors on looking for device movement.Double tap to turn on/off screen - small battery saver - This turns on/off your screen with a double tap. Double tap to turn on can cause larger battery usage as it can mean the digitizer needs to stay active for the double tap action.Keep device on while viewing - small battery saver - This feature uses the selfie camera to detect your face to determine if you're still using your device or not - and if not, it'll start the timeout feature. Using this feature likely uses more energy powering the camera than you will save from the display being off sooner. - /u/Deodex

Battery and Device Care > 3 Dots (Upper Right) > Automation

Auto optimise daily - (Enable) - medium battery saver - This will free up memory and also close background apps (if also enabled) if they haven't been in use recently. It can also be set up to run at a specific time (while asleep is best) every day.Auto restart at set times - (Enable) - medium battery saver - Similar to the above, except your phone will be rebooted while you sleep to fully clear memory and reload content from storage. This is fantastic for overall device health, and can be set up to automatically run from once a week to every day of the week.Adaptive power saving - (Enable) - huge battery saver - This is a feature that often gets confused with power saving mode - adaptive power saving is a feature that slowly learns how you use your phone (like Adaptive Usage) and turns on power saving mode when it thinks you don't need all your CPU speed or resolution at that time. It takes some time to learn your usage, but it can be one of the best ways to lower both your SoT battery usage as well as standby drain.

Battery and Device Care > Battery

Usage since last full charge - medium to large battery saver - In this section you can check how long your average full charge will last, usage of the last 7 days, as well as the apps that have used the most battery both active and in the background. This can be extremely helpful to find the apps that are taking up the majority of your battery, which can then be switched to a more power-efficient app or put in to deep sleep mode (covered below) to lower standby power drain.

Additionally: For instance, Chrome is very power-hungry even when it isn't your primary browser. Switching to a different browser like Samsung Internet Browser or Brave for example, then disabling Chrome completely can save a large amount of SoT and standby usage.

Power saving mode - (Enable) - huge battery saver - As mentioned above, this is the power saving mode that often gets confused with adaptive power saving. This will automatically be turned on and off when adaptive power saving finds it best, or this setting instead can be left on at all times if preferred.

Battery and Device Care > Battery > Background Usage Limits

Background usage limits - (Enable) - huge battery saver - A large battery drainer is from apps sitting in the background waiting to be used. This setting can be used to limit apps from using too much battery in the background. 'Sleeping apps' are currently sleeping apps that will run normally again once used; 'deep sleeping apps' won't ever run in the background and won't send notifications; and 'never sleeping apps' won't be put to sleep by the system so they'll always be available. Make sure to keep apps like shopping, chat, call/text and other apps that you'd like to continue receiving notifications for out of 'deep sleep', and put them into 'never sleeping' if you want them to run in the background at all times (unless closed).

[arbabazhar]

bro use it with auto sync on and don't turn off any main feature
first of all battery time gets better with future updates
and secondly one ui get optimised with time min. it can take 2-3 weeks to know and optimise ur Experience
so don't turn off anything
it becomes better with time