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How to Fix Bad LG G4 Battery Life

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The LG G4 smartphone has a large 5.5-inch Quad-HD display and a powerful processor inside that will drain the removable 3,000 mAh battery rather quick. Even though LG offered a free battery for many early buyers, users will still want to read on and learn a few tips to help get better LG G4 battery life.

Recently the LG G4 was updated to Google’s latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow software release, which should improve battery life across the board. Google made a lot of battery-saving adjustments, including a new “Doze” mode that puts apps to sleep. However, we still have other tips you’ll want to try.

Read: 30 LG G4 Tips & Tricks

The removable 3,000 mAh battery inside the LG G4 is bigger than most flagships, like the Galaxy S6, and has more than enough to get most users through an entire day. However, users are always looking to get more from their phone, and there are even some LG G4 battery cases worth considering.

LG G4 Back Camera

If you’d like to get better battery life from the LG G4 and don’t want to be pulling off your back and swapping the battery, or buying a bulky case with a built-in additional battery, changing a few things and keeping an eye on certain apps will help things in the long run.

Android 5.1 Lollipop ran pretty good, but those who’ve received Android 6.0 are experiencing even better battery life. That said, some users are experiencing problems, or having odd battery drain. As a result, check out these tips.

Read: LG G4 Android 6.0 Update Problems & Fixes

Below are a few steps and simple tweaks that all LG G4 owners can do in a matter of minutes that could be just what you need to get a few more hours each day from the smartphone. Enough to make it through a night out with friends, or finish a long weekend at work. The G4 supports quick charge, and the charger in the box will charge it up to 60% faster than old traditional chargers. So always use the wall adapter that came in the box. With that said, lets get started.

Screen Brightness and Sleep Time

Having that big 5.5-inch Quad-HD screen playing video, displaying Facebook messages, tweets, or while browsing the web will be the biggest drain on the battery. Screen on time under the battery stats page in settings is important, as the display will usually be at the top of the list. As a result you’ll want to head into Settings > Display > Brightness and choose something that works for you. Auto isn’t ideal for conserving battery, and I use somewhere around 30-40% brightness. Setting it to auto means it changes on the fly, but the constant up and downs will slowly make battery life worse throughout the day.

G4-brightness

At the same time, you’ll also want to set the display sleep time. This sets how long the display will stay on after you stop using the smartphone. Many users just drop a phone on any table after use, and if this is set to two or five minutes, your screen stays on for 2-5 minutes draining battery for no reason. I use 30 seconds personally, and always manually sleep my display after use, instead of just setting the device down. Meaning tap the power button on back to turn it off whenever you’re done using it. When you do this 100 times in any given day, that’s 100 times the screen will be on for 30 seconds (or longer) than it doesn’t need to be. You can also try the tip below to make your phone faster and get better battery life at the same time.

Read: How to Speed up the LG G4 or Galaxy S6 in Seconds

WiFi, 4G LTE & Bluetooth

If you aren’t using WiFi or Bluetooth, you might as well turn them off. Even though they’re minimal when it comes to battery drain this is one more quick and easy step. If you’re in a WiFi location (coffee shop) yet not using WiFi, certainly turn it off as the device will continuously search for a network. Bluetooth being enabled isn’t much of an issue, but while we’re here, disable it if you haven’t a need for it. Head into Settings and just slide both WiFi and Bluetooth to the off position. It’s the first two options.

Screen Shot 2015-06-12 at 12.25.27 PM

Your best route is to head into settings > general > smart settings. Tweak these so WiFi is on when you’re home, and off when you leave. Bluetooth is on while driving to connect to hands-free stereos, but off when it isn’t needed. This all happens automatically,  which is why these are called “smart settings”.

G4-smartsettings

Then of course, using things like Tethering will drain your battery, so use this only when necessary. Anything using 4G LTE and data often will drain the battery. Use WiFi as often as you can, but turn it off when not in use.

Control Location Services and GPS

When your device uses GPS for Google Maps and Navigation, or Facebook wants your location to share with the world, GPS will need to power on and will use a lot of battery. In Android 4.4 KitKat Google finally changed this system, and gave users more control over how all aspects of location services uses GPS, and thus, the battery. Settings > General > Location > Mode and select Battery Saving. This options is also available on Android 5.1 and Android 6.0 as well.

With Marshmallow “Doze” works on its own, which puts apps into a deep sleep when the device hasn’t been used for a certain amount of time. No settings or changes are needed for Doze to work, as it does everything automatically and can increase battery by 15-20%.  Even more on tablets.

G4-location

If you want to really kill everything, turning location services completely off will be a big saver when it comes to battery. Just don’t expect Google Now to be as useful, give you directions, or find nearby restaurants and businesses. Facebook and Messenger apps won’t share location, and Instagram or photo uploads won’t have any location data. In general leaving Location services enabled and on Battery Saving is ideal. As this uses mobile networks, towers, and WiFi access points to determine location, instead of the power hungry GPS chip inside your smartphone.

Data, Gmail, and Google Sync

Controlling what is automatically backed up, synced with Google, and otherwise transferring data is another thing to consider. You’ll want to keep most of Google’s sync settings enabled for Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, and other things, but if you don’t need Gmail syncing and checking for emails every minute, change it. Gmail can be set to check whenever you’d like. From push, to 30 minutes, to never. Settings > General > Accounts > Google > and selecting account will show the sync options.

Screenshot_2015-06-12-15-12-11

Having Google sync everything from Music, Chrome browsing history, and even saving app data and settings is nice, but also lowers battery. I’d keep this all enabled, or disable it but remind yourself to sync every now and again to keep everything up to date. Auto Backup of photos by DropBox, Google Drive, or Google Photos will also drain battery, so set them to be over WiFi only, or while charging. Most have that option.

Most of these backup and sync features are useful, but if you don’t use Google Photos, Google Play Music, Movies, and many other things in this area, disable them to save a little bit of battery wherever you can.

Install Battery Guru

The LG G4 and its software has plenty of battery saving features, but if you install the free SnapDragon Battery Guru software you’ll see better G4 battery life with changes you rarely notice.  This app learns usage habits and where you connect to WiFi and more to customize when settings turn on and off. Then does it automatically. Which results in nothing for you to do, but enjoy a longer lasting device.

This is an app that works on any Snapdragon powered device, and early tests show it works pretty good on the LG G4 and its 6-core processor. However, a lot of what this does is already handled by LG Smart Settings. See what works best, and only use one.

G4 Battery Saver

Another great option is using the built-in battery saver mode. This is a feature under Settings > General > Battery > Battery Saver. This feature is customizable and will let you set when your phone goes into this mode. I have it set at 15% for when it’s truly needed. It will turn down screen brightness, kill WiFi or data when not in use (so you may not get Facebook notifications, Twitter alerts, or Gmail notifications) and even turns off the notification LED from flashing and taking little bits of battery.

G4-batterysaver

Go in and set this up as you see fit. Once your phone gets to 20% (or whatever point you choose) battery saver mode will kick in and start sipping juice to get you through those last few hours of the day. It isn’t ideal, but will work great in case of emergencies.

Other Quick Tips

Everything we just explained are small but worthy tweaks that actually make a noticeable difference on battery life, but you can always get apps like BetteryBatteryStats to see what apps are draining the most battery. Then stop using them. Things like rogue apps you may want to uninstall, or simply battery hogs.

Read: 15 Best LG G4 Accessories

If you’re on a flight or taking the train with no service, enable airplane mode to save it for when you arrive. Airplane mode turns off all data, radios, services and more and most phones can last 4-5 days on airplane mode. Occasional device restarts can also help to flush out the system and memory, and give your device a clean slate for the day or work week. It’s also a good idea to do a factory data reset (which erases everything) after the Android 6.0 update, for the best experience possible. And that includes battery life.

These are just a few of many different options available to users without getting deeper into the Android OS. Anything from custom ROMs and kernels can also severely impact battery life for better, or for worse. Enjoy the quick list, and if all else fails buy an extra battery since the LG G4 lets you swap it out when needed, or get an external portable battery.

24 Comments

24 Comments

  1. Dan DiVirgilio

    06/15/2015 at 11:45 am

    Snapdragon Batteryguru is not compatible with the G4…well at least the Sprint LGLS991 anyway

  2. Ellen

    06/17/2015 at 10:50 pm

    I love your articles, but the “Smart Settings” has me baffled. This does not seem to exist on the Verizon version. I used the search function to look for it and still could not find it. Great idea, ‘tho.

    • Zack

      06/18/2015 at 9:01 am

      That is because Verizon removed it from the phone.

      • Andrea

        06/20/2015 at 5:28 am

        this also was driving me crazy. I kept looking for this smart setting. I even went back to Verizon store and had the guy look. why did Verizon take this feature off. kind of annoying. when I first got this phone it would go down like maybe 2% in the evening and now it went down like 30% any idea why what happened

    • Trent Larson

      11/07/2015 at 6:12 pm

      The Sprint and Verizon versions of the G4 are jacked up to say the least. The best way to use the G4 is with the unlocked UK version on ATT or T-mobile. You also get a pair of high end LG beats earphones which are my personal favorite now. No carrier bloat and the best build in FM tuner I’ve ever listened to. Verizon wants you to use data to listen to music so they ripped it out. To top it off you can buy these unlocked devices for 400 dollars on Amazon now. Just got mine. Brilliant device.

  3. saurabh

    07/23/2015 at 6:48 am

    HI folks i’be been a user of LG g4 , hav checked all the features like smart settings and battery saver , it works perfectly amazing , no issues as of now , initially battery had 50% charge in it , switched off and charged for 100% after that checked for software update no indication were asked to plug in charger (sic:- if battery is in 50% or low and a software update is initiated its mandatory to plug in charger) , apart from that used in wifi i get approx 18 t0 20 hrs of battery and on 4g mobile data i got complete 30 hrs plus 8 hrs on power saving mode on mobile data which is absolutely brilliant..

  4. Neil

    01/03/2016 at 5:12 am

    I cannot see how to change the settings so that Gmail will check for emails less frequently.

  5. Kathryndlentz

    02/15/2016 at 6:37 pm

    1=10 my buddy’s sister makes $89 /hour on the laptop . She has been unemployed for nine months but last month her payment was $13669 just working on the laptop for a few hours.
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    • Gordon Russell

      05/01/2017 at 3:11 pm

      SPAM ALERT!

  6. Elekes Lukacs

    02/28/2016 at 9:05 pm

    I just read this article and my battery used 5%. I don’t know what happened, before when my phone was at 100% in the evening, it used just 2-3 % through the night, last night it increased to 13%..

  7. Harry

    03/10/2016 at 8:21 am

    My battery on my G4 was GREAT until I did the Marshmallow update. Now the battery drains 1% every 2 minute of use and I have even seen the percentage go down while plugged in while in use… I have done all sorts of research and tried MANY suggestions to improve this, but it continues to be sub-par. I am dreading the day where I am away from my charger and I need the phone all day. It will not last. I am not satisfied at all with the T-Mobile LG G4.

    • Emily - Catherine Madia

      03/29/2016 at 6:55 am

      It’s not just t-mobile my sprint is doing the same thing.

  8. T

    03/11/2016 at 7:38 pm

    Yeah it doesn’t download for LG g4 on t-mobile either….

  9. Mohi4

    03/12/2016 at 11:33 am

    Turn off activity logs in about phone settings

  10. ARMANI

    03/15/2016 at 8:33 am

    my LG G4 draining battery too much fast 20% an hour i try every battery apps but its still draining

  11. txraiders

    04/02/2016 at 6:12 pm

    phone battery barely lasts a day now.. not even.. something in the last few weeks..

  12. Michelle

    04/04/2016 at 3:33 am

    I do all the steps listed in this article…but I had to on my Sprint Galaxy5 that I used to have… That phone I had to charge 2-3 times a day after only having it 3 months! Then I switched to AT&T and got the LG G4. GREAT phone GREAT carrier!
    I charge my phone between 24-30 hrs normally and I use my phone a lot a lot! These tips really work!

  13. Evan

    04/13/2016 at 12:05 am

    Lol g4 last a day? Mine dies in 6 hours or less from 100% carry my charger with me at all times. Some people say logd kills your battery but idk what that is. Do y’all have any clue ?

  14. Jakob

    06/20/2016 at 12:37 pm

    just a question if you use your phone at 100% battery while wifi is on and watching vids via youtube how much will the battery last ?

  15. loretta

    07/19/2016 at 10:15 pm

    went to verizon because battery wouldn’t hold charge. They said the batteries are no good and that they would completely quit. They also said they don’t carry batteries I would have to order one on line. So now I have to spend a lot of money on a phone that I can’t use . Now I have to spend more money and find a battery.

  16. Alex

    07/22/2016 at 5:53 am

    The LGG4 is a great phone with an immense amount of power battery life is pretty sweet but recently my LGG4 took all night to charge for some reason then just yesterday my phone wouldn’t charge while plugged in, there would be a clear indicator that it was charging but if I would check on it while it’s charging the percentage would still. Go down.. I tried installing a CPU cooler and a ram cooler(these apps just kill running apps in the back that shouldn’t really be on and are just wasting battery life as I’m typing my phone lost a percentage on its battery while charging.. This Extremely frustrating.

  17. MrT

    08/30/2016 at 8:32 pm

    Smart setting is useless since it need GPS permanently on. So you can have the wifi switched off according to your location but at the costs of having GPS on all the time.

  18. Nakata

    04/21/2017 at 10:21 am

    why is this article even specifically wrapped around the LG smartphone if all they recommend is generic power management adjustments? I find the article to be quite redundant.

  19. Unlockr

    09/06/2018 at 8:13 am

    The lg g4 battery is so expensive. When my phone broke I had to buy my lg g4 battery at https://shop.unlockr.ca/products/lg-g4-battery-original because they we’re so much cheaper and with excellent service.

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