Here’s the crux of the article in video form

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on December 27, 2022) follows:

Google Pixel devices are undoubtedly the company’s premium line of Android-based smartphones.

The phones’ superior cameras, regular and ongoing support for updates, and a host of other features set the Pixel devices apart from the competition.

However, like any other smartphone, Pixel phones also suffer from occasional bugs and issues. For instance, Pixel 7 users faced overheating issues a little while ago.

Pixel 7 & Pixel 6 ‘excessive standby or idle battery drain’ issue

And now, some Google Pixel 6 and 7 owners (1,2,3,4) have been experiencing issues related to excessive battery drain even when the devices are not in use.

Google-Pixel-6-and-7-excessive-standby-or-idle-battery-drain
Source

Google Pixel 6a (got 2 phones, same problem) Massive battery drain in standyby mode with Android 13. wifi, mobile off. just GSM active. Standby consumes 30% battery over night.
Source

battery saver is enabled. No recent apps. Smooth scrolling off. Dark theme on.I haven’t used the phone for the last 9 hours, but battery level dropped from 88% to 63%. Is this normal?
Source

It seems that the issue has escalated ever since the December 2022 security update. Sometimes there is also a considerable drop in the battery level overnight when the phone is absolutely idle.

Do note that a similar issue popped up last year with some Pixel 6 devices too. And now, some people with the Pixel 6a, Pixel 4 XL and other models are also facing battery drain issues.

Possible explanation

According to one user, ‘ImsService’ frequently consuming location data could be the root cause of the high battery depletion after December update.

Pixel-6-and-7-excessive-standby-or-idle-battery-drain
Source (Click/tap to view)

So, this appears to be a potential problem or simply poor usage of the ‘ImsService’ framework by service providers, especially with the Pixel 7 devices.

Issue under investigation

Fortunately, the battery drain issue in various Pixel 7 devices has been escalated to the development team.

The company has also assigned the problems with Google Pixel 6 and 6a devices to the product and engineering teams for further evaluation.

Affected users can also try the troubleshooting steps listed on Google support to help fix battery drain problems on their Pixel phone.

Steps-to-fix-battery-drain-issue-on-a-Pixel-phone
(Click/tap to view)

We haven’t come across a viable workaround that can help fix the idle battery drain issue with Pixel 7 and 6 devices completely or at least temporarily.

We’ll keep tabs on the latest developments and update this article as and when something noteworthy comes up.

Click/tap to view older updates

Update 1 (January 11, 2023)

11:14 am (IST): It seems that the idle battery drain has apparently gotten worse since the January update for Pixel 6 devices.

Update 2 (January 16, 2023)

11:14 am (IST): A user suggested that turning off 5G connectivity helps fix the battery issue, especially if you live in an area with poor 5G coverage.

A Google Product Expert also suggested that the issues stemming from poor 5G coverage could also cause background apps to constantly try to connect to the internet, failing and retrying, consuming more battery.

Update 3 (January 17, 2023)

02:35 pm (IST): While some Pixel 7 owners reported that the battery drain has improved after January update, others noted that it got even worse.

Update 4 (January 18, 2023)

01:08 pm (IST): For some users, there is a ‘Media Server’ system service of unknown origin that is consuming a lot of battery life in the background (1, 2, 3).

Meanwhile, cases continue to arise where battery draining is caused by connectivity problems, being represented in the OS battery stats as ‘Mobile Network’.

01:20 pm (IST): We previously highlighted how keeping 5G on in areas with poor coverage may lead to battery drain.

However, one of our YouTube viewers confirmed that the issue persists even in areas with good 5G coverage.

I’ve left 5G off on my 6 and 7 Pro almost from the start even though I am in a good 5G location, it’s apparent that even at idle 5G drain is more than 4G LTE only.

Thanks for the tip: Arthur Zakaryan!

Update 5 (January 20, 2023)

05:35 pm (IST): For users (1,2) that are still facing the poor battery life issue, here’s a potential workaround that involves flashing custom ROM using ADB:

Just flash the rom through adb again.
Source

Update 6 (February 21, 2023)

04:41 pm (IST): According to a recent report, the Google Pixel 7 series supports an older 5G standard (3GPP Release 15 from 2018) instead of the more modern ones (3GPP Release 17 or Release 16).

Each new 5G standard releases include improvements focused on network stability and performance, as well as optimizations in energy consumption.

google-pixel-7-lemon-featured-1

For instance, with respect to energy efficiency, 3GPP Release 16 includes the following:

‘A new wakeup signal (WUS) can let the device know if a transmission is pending or allowing it to stay in low-power mode, skipping the next low-power DRX (discontinuous reception) monitoring period…

…Others include optimized low-power settings, overhead reduction, and more efficient power control mechanisms.’

That said, it seems that the Android 14 update will bring support to 3GPP Release 16 for the Google Pixel 7 series. So, this could help mitigate or fix power consumption issues related to the mobile network.

Update 7 (February 23, 2023)

01:15 pm (IST): According to a couple of Pixel users (1,2), the excessive battery drain on their device was caused by the Instagram app constantly running or consuming data in the background.

Uninstalling it or restricting background data usage helped resolve the problem.

Update 8 (March 14, 2023)

05:05 pm (IST): Google has recently released a software update for March 2023 and it also includes general enhancements to battery performance, battery use, or charging.

So, those affected can try updating their Pixel devices to see if it fixes the ‘excessive standby or idle battery drain’ issue.

Update 9 (March 20, 2023)

12:15 pm (IST): According to fresh reports, the battery draining issue on Pixel 7 persists even after the latest March update.

One of those affected suggested that fully turning off adaptive connectivity feature might help fix the battery drain problem to an extent. Here’s how you can do it.

adaptive-connectivity-turn-off
(Source)

Update 10 (March 22, 2023)

06:40 pm (IST): Some users allege (1,2) that in addition to excessive battery drain at idle, the mobile devices get overheated which can negatively affect the battery life.

Update 11 (March 23, 2023)

05:18 pm (IST): According to a redditor, Android 13 QPR3 Beta 1 offers better battery life compared to the latest stable update. So, it is possible that future stable updates will improve this.

Update 12 (March 24, 2023)

05:14 pm (IST): A user contacted Google support about the Battery Drain issue and they denied or are unaware of it. Instead, they want the user to send their phone for a warranty repair.

Additionally, they asked user to run a battery test and send them the results.

Update 13 (March 27, 2023)

06:48 pm (IST): According to reports, it looks like the ‘Battery Saver’ mode has been enhanced after the March 2023 update for Pixel devices.

Earlier, users had been alleging that they face battery drain issue with the mode on, but now they claim it to be far more effective.

Update 14 (March 28, 2023)

05:40 pm (IST): According to some users, the battery drain during idle usage can reach 30%, and the ‘Mobile Network’ feature can consume up to 45% of the battery.

Affected users are outraged and are calling for a fix.

Update 15 (March 31, 2023)

06:50 pm (IST): According to a report, some users claim to be facing battery drain issues even after disabling all types of connectivity.

Also, it is suggested that UK users uninstall the NatWest bank app because it appears to be consuming battery at a very fast rate.

Update 16 (April 13, 2023)

12:10 pm (IST): According to a recent post on Google IssueTracker, it appears that the issue is hardware related and cannot be fixed by any software update.

Update 17 (June 27, 2023)

06:13 pm (IST): It appears that the battery drain issue isn’t resolved with June 2023 update as some users are still reporting it. More on that here.

Update 18 (July 6, 2023)

02:01 pm (IST): The problem has been resolved in the latest July 2023 update for Google Pixels.

Update 19 (July 10, 2023)

09:52 am (IST): Some fresh reports suggest that the battery drain issue on Pixel devices persists even after July 2023 update.

Update 20 (July 11, 2023)

04:37 pm (IST): It appears that Google Play is to be blamed for the excessive battery drain problem. One of the affected users obtained these statistics using a Battery Monitor App.

It seems the issue is caused by google play service. Here are data collected using GSAM BATTERY MONITOR APP
Source

Update 21 (July 12, 2023)

05:32 pm (IST): A user downgraded their Google Pixel to the April update and claimed that the battery is ‘excellent’.

So, those who are willing to do it (and know how) can give it a try as a potential workaround.

Update 22 (July 13, 2023)

06:32 pm (IST): According to a user, the battery performance has shown improvement following a recent update of Carrier Services via the Play Store.

Update: My phone doesn’t seem to be getting hot anymore. My battery life might not be as bad as it was, but I’ve turned a few other things off so I’m not sure if it’s just those being the reason. The drain is still much more than it should be. An update in the play store for the Carrier Services app seems it could have made the slight improvement I’ve noticed.
Source

Update 23 (July 14, 2023)

05:12 pm (IST): If you’re looking for a potential fix, consider reaching out to the Network provider and asking them to activate the ‘IMS Service,’ as suggested by a Product Expert.

as I wrote in the other thread, this is a provisioning issue. Contact your network provider and ask them to enable the “IMS Service”.

Update 24 (July 17, 2023)

05:12 pm (IST): One of those affected suggested that turning on developer mode and turning off ‘Mobile data always on’ option helped them improve their battery.

Update 25 (July 18, 2023)

05:42 pm (IST): According to a report, Google allegedly extended an offer to replace the phone of an affected user, potentially indicating a hardware-related issue as mentioned in Update 16.

Pixel battery drain
Source

Update 26 (July 19, 2023)

06:05 pm (IST): A Product Expert has advised all impacted users to submit relevant feedback to Google so that they can identify it as a widespread problem. You can do so by using this link.

If nothing works and a lot of users are facing this, it is important that as many users as possible send feedback.
Feedbacks are extremely important and are taken seriously.
Source

Update 27 (July 21, 2023)

04:06 pm (IST): Many users believe that the Exynos hardware used in the Tensor processors is the primary cause of the issue (1,2,3,4,5).

Some even claim that they refuse to purchase another Pixel smartphone until Google switches the manufacturer of the chips to TSMC (2025, according to leaks).

Update 28 (July 25, 2023)

05:29 pm (IST): The most recent update may have resulted in poor battery life for some users, while others feel that it has resulted in greater battery life and reduced heating on their smartphones (1,2,3).

Update 29 (July 26, 2023)

04:49 pm (IST): According to some users (1, 2), Pixel battery life has increased significantly after installing Android 14 beta. So those still affected can try installing the beta.

Update 30 (July 28, 2023)

06:08 pm (IST): According to the latest reports users are experiencing excessive battery drain due to the overheating issue.

Update 31 (July 31, 2023)

05:32 pm (IST): A Pixel 6a user’s test using the AccuBattery app revealed that following the July update, their phone never enters a “deep sleep” mode.

Update 32 (August 1, 2023)

03:33 pm (IST): Another user has reportedly confirmed that the battery life has significantly improved on their Pixel phone after Android 14 beta 4 update.

Update 33 (August 2, 2023)

12:00 pm (IST): The Android 14 beta 4 battery life was fairly decent, as previously reported by users. Sadly, it appears that the newest beta 4.1 messed it up, as battery life is now poor again (1,2,3,4).

Update 34 (August 3, 2023)

05:51 pm (IST): In a recent test conducted by another Google Pixel user, they examined wakelocks (via ADB) to determine if their phone entered deep sleep mode at any time.

Unfortunately, similar to the findings in Update 31, the results showed 0% time spent in deep sleep.

This indicates that the lack of deep sleep could be one of the primary reasons for the current battery drain issue experienced by Pixel phone users.

Update 35 (August 4, 2023)

06:50 pm (IST): Some users are blaming the issue on the possibly bad signal reception of the Exynos 5300 modem used in the Tensor chipsets.

And this is because Exynos hardware has been tainted in recent years with significant problems of low efficiency and excessive battery consumption.

Update 36 (August 28, 2023)

05:40 pm (IST): Fresh reports (1,2,3) suggest that some Pixel owners are fairly satisfied with the reduced battery consumption after installing the Android 14 Beta 5.2 update.

Update 37 (August 31, 2023)

05:20 pm (IST): In a few instances (1,2), the Google app uses excessive resources, which leads to the battery depletion.

Update 38 (September 1, 2023)

05:40 pm (IST): According to a report, some Pixel owners have once again started experiencing excessive battery drain after a recent update.

And this is undoubtedly quite frustrating for those who have already had their device replaced multiple times due to the problem.

Update 39 (October 3, 2023)

06:12 pm (IST): Recent reports (1,2,3) suggest that some people are experiencing excessive battery drain even after installing the September 2023 update.

Update 40 (October 16, 2023)

05:35 pm (IST): Fresh reports (1,2) suggest that the battery drain and overheating issues have been fixed with the Android 14 system update.

NOTE: You can also check the Google Pixel 7 series bugs/issues and updates tracker and Google Pixel 6 series bugs/issues and updates tracker for more information.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Riya Madaan
868 Posts

Weaving a little bit of life into the articles I write. No, not really! That's not really possible for a trash writer like me but I still try. Apart from it, I skate, meditate and medicate. Also keep myself away from troubles as I age.

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