OH phone, oh phone, art thou forsaking me?
November 14, 2022 11:07 AM

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S10. It's just over 3 years old. Most days, battery charge has decreased from 100% to about 65% over the course of a day. But recently, it has started going down faster and bit erratically. It's 2pm as I write and the phone is down to 59%.

Twice it has gone all the way to zero before I noticed.

One possibility is that some app is working in the background. I've had this trouble with Google Maps when I don't actively stop it. I've tried to find a place where I can see what apps are running and how much resource they are using, without success. Instructions on the web say go to some option in settings, but I don't have that option.

Another possibility is battery failure. I don't have any experience with that.

So, MeFi friends, what think you? Can you help me investigate what apps are running? Have you experience with bad batteries, and if so, what were the symptoms?
posted by SemiSalt to Technology (3 answers total)
A phone battery will generally start to fail after about 3 years, so I think the time has come either to upgrade your phone (if you can get a good deal from your carrier) or get the battery replaced.
posted by essexjan at 11:29 AM on November 14, 2022


Yes, it sounds like the battery is failing. If you are handy you can take it apart and replace it on your own (check out some YT tutorials to see if you are up for it) or a repair shop can do it for you. Looks like you can get a new battery and toolkit on Amazon for under $20.

The next thing that will probably fail is the charging port. That has to be soldered back onto the motherboard, and not many shops do that work. So, something to think about if you're contemplating a replacement.

If you do want to replace, I've had excellent luck on backmarket.com for refurbished phones. I just got an S20 there last year for $450 in like-new condition.
posted by ananci at 12:32 PM on November 14, 2022


In Settings, click on Battery, then scroll down - you should see app (battery) usage, ranked from highest to lowest.
posted by TimHare at 1:39 PM on November 14, 2022


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