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How to Fix Bad Galaxy S10 Battery Life

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If you’re experiencing Galaxy S10 battery drain or your phone isn’t lasting as long as expected here are several tips to fix bad Galaxy S10 battery life. In just a few minutes you can change some settings or use these tricks to improve the battery of your S10, S10+ and the Galaxy S10e.

Thanks to a bigger battery than previous phones Samsung claims users can expect “all-day battery” life. On our own device, it typically lasts all day but now that the phone is nearly a year old battery life is starting to suffer.

The latest Galaxy Android 10 update should improve battery usage, but we can help you make it even better. So, here are some options and tips to make your Galaxy S10 last as long as possible.

How to Fix Bad Galaxy S10 Battery Life

  • Check for Apps Using Too Much Battery
  • Reboot Your Galaxy S10 To Improve Battery Life
  • Disable the Always-On Display (or lift to wake)
  • Use a Black Wallpaper
  • Turn Off Features You Don’t Need/Use
  • Tweak WiFi, GPS & Bluetooth Settings
  • Watch Your Screen Brightness & Sleep Timer
  • Use Battery Saver or Power Saving Mode
  • And More

Before we begin it’s important to remember that when it’s new your S10 battery life will improve over time, especially as it gets updated. Samsung’s software will learn from your usage habits and “optimize battery life based on usage”. Then, this guide will help you improve things further and prevent problems. Plus, the August and September Galaxy S10 updates had battery enhancements, and we’re seeing even more improvements in the Galaxy Android 10 release which is now readily available in the US and around the globe.

Before we begin, make sure you’re on the latest software by going to Settings > About Phone > Software Update> Check for updates. Then, follow these tips.

Check for Apps Using Too Much Battery

The first thing you’ll want to do is check for apps that are using too much battery or misbehaving. This can be a software incompatibility, a glitch, or a random occurrence, and it can happen often. If you have Galaxy S10 battery drain issues keep an eye on running apps in settings. Look for that little orange circle on the settings button, which will signal that something’s wrong.

If you use an app a lot, it’s going to drain your battery. Or, a widget that’s constantly checking the weather will use a lot too. That said, some situations occur where an app uses too much, and that’s a problem. These can be Samsung’s apps or one you download from the Play Store. We see this often with Facebook, Snapchat, or the pre-installed Oculus VR app.

In our screenshot above you’ll see just how great the Galaxy S10 or S10+ battery life is. Honestly, I’ve never had a phone get 8 hours of “screen on time” from regular use off and on throughout the day. If you’re not averaging at least 5-6 hours of “screen-on time” something isn’t right. Go to Settings > Device Maintenance > Battery > Battery Usage to see what’s going on.

You should see the screen or display at the top, like our image to the left, along with the Android OS or Android System. If something else is at the top, that’s bad. Uninstall the app, reboot your phone, or check the app to see what’s going on. After the Galaxy S10 Android 10 release, you may need to update your apps on Google Play and the Galaxy app store to ensure compatibility and the best battery life.

Reboot Your Galaxy S10 To Improve Battery Life

This next tip or suggest might sound obvious, but you’d be amazed by how often a simple reboot fixes any and all problems or improves battery life. Plus, most people don’t think to reboot the phone if the battery is draining too quickly, but you should.

Plus, Samsung has a setting that will automatically reboot your phone once a week, at night. Go to Settings > Device Care > Tap the 3-dot at the top > and select Auto restart. You can choose the day of the week, the time (like at 3:00 AM) and other things.

Doing this will optimize performance by restarting the device weekly and giving it a fresh start. Don’t go weeks or months between reboots. Press and hold the power button and tap restart. It’s the easiest way to improve performance and battery life.

Disable the Always-On Display

As you saw above and as expected, that big 6.1 or 6.4-inch screen is the #1 battery drain for the Galaxy S10. And while most people love the Always-On display feature, turning it off may improve battery life. The small clock, date, notifications and battery level on the screen at all times, even when the screen is off, is the AOD feature.

Samsung claims the always-on display uses only 5% battery during an entire 8-hour workday. So while it’s a small difference, if you’re looking for every advantage possible turn it off. Head to Settings > Lock screen > and disable the Always-On display.

Additionally, we’re seeing dozens of reports on the Samsung forum, Reddit, and elsewhere that the Galaxy S10 battery keeps dying because the screen wakes up in a users pocket. This is a small problem they can and will fix with software updates. For now, here are THREE settings you can change to prevent your Galaxy S10 from waking up in your pocket.

First, go to Settings > Display > and scroll down and flip the accidental touches switch to on. Then, go to Settings > Advanced Features > Motions & gestures > and disable Lift to Wake along with turning off the Double tap to Wake feature. Obviously, disabling neat and useful features isn’t ideal, but it’s only temporary until Samsung fixes this issue.

Use a Black Wallpaper (and Night Mode)

Samsung’s One UI running on Android 9 Pie introduced a powerful new Dark Mode that works throughout the entire software experience. For a solid 1-2 hour battery life increase on your Galaxy S10, enable Night mode. Go to Settings > Display > and the 4th option is Night mode. Give it a try.

While we’re on the topic of the display, did you know using a dark or black wallpaper makes a huge difference? Remember, every little bit helps. Samsung’s AMOLED screen technology is different from a typical LCD display. It’s easier and more efficient to display black, instead of color and the pixels don’t need to turn on individually — or as high — to display a black image. And when the screen is the biggest battery drain, a change like this makes a big impact on Galaxy S10 battery life. You’re welcome.

Turn Off Features You Don’t Need/Use

Like we said earlier, Samsung phones have a ton of software features. Some of them are extremely helpful, but most of them waste battery for no reason, and you’ll never use them. We’re talking about the Edge Panel, Edge Lighting, or all those gestures and palm swipe control “features”.

Head to Settings > Advanced Features > and start turning things off. We recommend disabling Smart Capture, Palm Swipe Capture, Direct Call, Easy Mute, Smart Stay, and others. These all need power and sensors inside the phone for things we rarely use.

You can swipe your hand over the screen to take a screenshot. Or, Smart Stay will keep the screen on as long as you’re looking at it, and dim when you look away. Use these if you want, otherwise turn them off.

Tweak WiFi, GPS, Carrier & Bluetooth Settings

Most savvy users know that WiFi will help your phone last longer, but a lot of people don’t know this quick tip. When you’re at home, always be connected to your home WiFi instead of Verizon or T-Mobile 4G LTE. This makes a significant difference in how long your phone lasts, especially at night.

That said, if you aren’t using WiFi or Bluetooth at all, turn them off. While WiFi generally improves battery life, if you’re not using it but it’s constantly trying to find and connect to a network, you’ll get bad Galaxy S10+ battery drain. The same goes for Bluetooth and GPS.

Whether that’s Google Maps or Facebook Messenger trying to find your location, GPS is a huge battery drain. Some apps and games don’t work without GPS, and Maps aren’t as accurate, but it can substantially improve battery life if you turn GPS off. Head to Settings > Privacy & safety > Location > and select Location Method, then choose “Battery Saver” or the middle WiFi and Mobile networks option.

Furthermore, turn off any and all network or carrier enhancement or diagnostic tools. The June update for the AT&T Galaxy S10 and S10 Plus added something called “AT&T mobile network diagnostics” to the mobile networks settings menu, and is ON by default. Turn this off, and look for something similar from Verizon or T-Mobile.

This collects network info automatically and SENDS it to AT&T, which drains your battery. So much, in fact, that we noticed a substantial drop in battery life after the June update. Head to Settings > Connections > Mobile Networks > and flip the switch off at the bottom of the page as we’ve shown above. You’re welcome.

Watch Your Screen Brightness & Sleep Timer

Studies suggest the average user turns on his/her phone on over 140+ times a day. Usually just to check the time, date, or a notification. And while the always-on display will cut down on that, you’re still waking up the screen a lot each day. Then, once you’re done checking that notification you probably just set the phone down, and the screen stays on for 1, 2, or even 5 minutes until it shuts off. This is known as the Sleep Timer and changing it to 30 seconds can save you a TON of battery.

Samsung calls this the “screen timeout” which is how long the phone stays on after each use before the screen dims and turns off by itself. We recommend 30 seconds or 1-minute at the most.

Then, head to Settings > Display > Brightness and lower the brightness to something around 35% or so. Leaving the S10 on auto-brightness doesn’t do you any battery life favors. The screen is plenty bright already, so turn it down unless you are outdoors instead of letting the software change it all day long.

Use Battery Saver or Power Saving Mode

Samsung has a powerful new battery optimization system on the Galaxy S10 and its One UI software experience. Furthermore, Google added a lot of tweaks in Android 9 Pie. Combine those two and that’s why the Galaxy S10 has pretty great battery life. However, if you’re experiencing problems or want it to be even better, use the battery saver mode, power-saving mode, or download a few apps to fine-tune your usage.

Under Settings > Device Care > Battery you’ll find a few Power modes. These will change the screen brightness and resolution or even slow down the processor to extend battery life throughout the day. Click here for more information.

At the bottom is the new Adaptive power saving which will automatically adjust things like battery and performance based on your usage patterns. It’s actually pretty useful, and that’s on top of Samsung’s own optimizations. Try them both if you’re dealing with problems.

Other Battery Tips & Tricks

At the end of the day, not everyone uses their phone the same so results, mileage, and battery life will differ for everyone. Our tips will simply help you fix problems or extend battery life. Additionally, we recommend users try the app BetteryBatteryStats as it can help even further. This app shows you what apps use what, highlights problems, and will give you more insight into your usage habits.

Another thing to consider is Bixby, Samsung’s virtual assistant. Don’t use the always-listening wake commands, it keeps parts of the phone awake 24/7. In fact, we recommend you completely disable Bixby.

Last but not least is Airplane mode. When you don’t need your phone for calls, texts or internet turn on Airplane mode. This setting turns off all data, radios or services, and most phones can last 4-5 days with it enabled. Turn on airplane mode while you recharge your phone to top it off even faster.

What’s Next for the Galaxy S10?

In closing, we want to talk about what’s coming next and what owners can expect. The Galaxy S10 is nearing its first birthday, and that means you can expect updates and changes to further improve things in the near future. We saw four updates between March and June which improved the fingerprint scanner, camera, and battery life, and the September 2019 update was pretty big too.

In October, the S10 got a bunch of Galaxy Note 10 camera features, then in December the big Android 10 release with Samsung’s One UI 2.0 arrived. No one expected it this early, but it’s great to finally see fast updates. And while Samsung had a long beta testing period and 8 public beta releases, we could still see a problem or two emerge. So, get Android 10, reboot your phone, and hopefully all is well. If not, leave us a comment below if you’re dealing with any issues.

Either way, as more people buy Samsung’s latest Galaxy the company will find issues, fix them, and rapidly deploy software updates. Then, you can start looking ahead to the quick bug-fixing updates in January and February now that Android 10 is here. Basically, at this point, the phone is pretty stable but you can still expect a few changes in the near future.

If you’re still experiencing problems, give this helpful guide a try.

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. vikram

    03/14/2019 at 6:32 am

    why buy a top of the line smartphone if I have to switch off everything. What a complete waste of time and rubbish this post is

    • Cory Gunther

      06/06/2019 at 10:34 am

      While I mostly agree, I bet you don’t use half of those features. So you might as well turn them off.

  2. Mark Taylor

    03/31/2019 at 6:23 am

    I bought this phone to replace an old S7. It has worse battery life and drops calls. My gf said the mic quality is worse. With the S7 I could put it on my lap and the mic would work. S10 doesn’t. Battery lasts less than a phone that is 3 years old and has had 100s of recharges and degredation. New phone retails for 1350 but can’t even match my old one for basic function. Plan to return mine and not sure where to go from here. Just won’t be an s10.

    • Andrew

      04/05/2019 at 2:19 am

      same here. Had a s7 edge that was superior in many ways. Start to regret the switch.

  3. Matt

    07/18/2019 at 5:22 pm

    I say the same I have s7 edge dual sim that I use,because not to iPhones,all it’s a trick iPhones never come with rapid charger , no Jack 3.5 to audio out ,and s7 edge with only one cam it’s better that iPhone with two and of course, better than S10 Its ruin phone and plenty of garbage,so 9 pie drain to much power than 8 Oreo, of the s7 edge , the change was only for more room 128 GB vs 32 of s7 edge
    And at last s7 edge have hifi voice in 3G with arm wide band vocoder no one have except iPhones..

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