Fix battery drain problems on a Pixel phone

When your phone's battery life seems poor or short, a downloaded app could be using too much battery. You can also choose settings to help your battery last. To troubleshoot battery drain, use the steps below.

Note: Some of these steps work only on Android 8.1 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.

Change settings

If your phone's battery life is too short, try these tips for longer battery life. You can also learn which activities use the most battery.

Check apps

If your battery is dying faster than in the past, see whether apps are using too much battery. If you get a notification that an app is using battery, that app is using battery while you're not actively using the app. You can force stop or uninstall problem apps.

Tip: You can’t force stop or uninstall Google Play services. Google Play services gives you access to Google services. It’s integrated with Android.

Step 1: See which apps use the most battery
  1. Open your device's Settings app Settings app.
  2. Tap Battery.
  3. Under "App usage since full charge," see a list of apps and services with the percentage of your battery used since your last full charge.
  4. To get details and change options that could save battery, tap an app or service in the list.
    Tip: For some apps, you can turn off Background activity. If you don't see "Background activity," the app automatically limits its battery use while you're not actively using the app.
Step 2: Force problem apps to stop

You don't need to close apps unless something goes wrong. Swiping apps closed doesn’t save battery.

But to completely turn off an app, including background services that could be using battery, you can force stop the app. To force stop and restart is like a "hard reboot" for an app.

Important: If you force stop some essential apps or services, your device won't work correctly. Force stop isn’t available for all apps.

  • To force stop an app:
    1. Open your device's Settings app Settings app.
    2. Tap Apps & notifications.
    3. Pick the app from the list.
      • To see more apps, tap See all apps.
      • If you don't see the list, tap App info.
    4. Tap Force stop and then OK.
  • To start a stopped app, open it as usual.
  • If the issue comes back after you start a stopped app, you can uninstall it.
Step 3: Uninstall problem apps

If an app still uses too much battery after you’ve force stopped and restarted it, you can uninstall it.

  1. Touch and hold the app that you want to uninstall.
  2. To see your options, start dragging the app.
  3. Drag the app to Uninstall at the top of the screen. If you don't see "Uninstall," you can't uninstall the app.
  4. Lift your finger.

Tip: You can see Uninstall, Remove, or both. "Uninstall" removes the app from your device. "Remove" removes it from your Home screen only.

Troubleshoot background drain

If no app is draining the battery, try these steps. They can fix issues that could drain battery in the background.

Restart your phone ("reboot")

To restart your phone, press and hold the power button for a few seconds. Then, on your screen, tap Restart Restart.

If you don't see "Restart," press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds, until your phone restarts.

Check for Android updates

System updates can bring improvements that could fix your issue.

To check for and install system updates:

  1. Open your device's Settings app Settings app.
  2. Near the bottom, tap System and then System updates. If needed, first tap About phone or About tablet.
  3. You'll see your update status. Follow any on-screen steps.
Check for app updates

App updates can bring improvements that could fix your issue.

To see and get updates for your apps:

  1. Open your device's Play Store app Google Play.
  2. Tap Menu Menu and then My apps & games.
  3. Apps with available updates are labeled "Update."
    • If an update is available, tap Update.
    • If more updates are available, tap Update all.

Troubleshoot with advanced steps

Reset to factory settings

To remove any processes on your device that could be causing the issue, you can reset your device to factory settings.

IMPORTANT: A factory data reset will remove all data from your device. While any data stored in your Google Account will be restored, all apps and their associated data will be uninstalled. Before you perform a factory data reset, we recommend backing up your device.

If an app that you downloaded caused the issue and you reinstall that app, the problem could come back.

Post your question to a Google forum

If you're still having issues with your phone, you can post your questions to the Pixel community on our forums for other possible solutions.

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