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Nexus 5 & Galaxy Note 3 Android 4.4 Battery Bug Fixed by Skype

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An annoying Android 4.4 bug causing bad battery life on the Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 3 should be fixed thanks to a new version of Skype out on the Google Play Store today.

Users should update Skype on Google Play immediately and read on for an important change in group chat notifications, and how this update changes the settings.

According to the announcement, Skype 4.7 for Android fixes the Android battery life problem, fixes audio and video on tablets without Bluetooth and shows Windows Live Messenger contacts in the Skype view by default.

A Skype 4.7 for Android update fixes a KitKat Battery bug on the Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 3, until Google can deliver an Android 4.4.3 update.

A Skype 4.7 for Android update fixes a KitKat Battery bug on the Nexus 5 and Galaxy Note 3, until Google can deliver an Android 4.4.3 update.

The way Skype and some other apps access the camera on the Nexus 5, Galaxy Note 3 and other Android devices on Android 4.4.2 caused the camera process to run wild in the background. For many users this bug dramatically impacted battery life, causing some devices to drain the battery in a few hours.

Google identified a problem in early March, and is planning to fix the mm-qcamera-daemon issue in an Android update for the Nexus 5, but suggested users contact other manufacturers to report problems on the Galaxy Note 3 or other affected devices. The Google Team member shared, “These may be related to a recent update to Skype, which seems to access the camera regularly from its background service in some way that triggers this bug (note, we don’t currently believe there’s a bug in Skype itself).”

For users that enabled auto app updates the Skype Android update may already be installed, but it is a good idea to verify that the new update is installed. It would also not hurt to restart the phone to make sure any out of control camera processes are stopped and the phone has a fresh slate after installing the update.

To fix this Android 4.4 KitKat bug on the Nexus 5 and other devices Skype turned off instant notification of messages for group chats. This is a temporary fix, but one many Skype users will likely be able to live with. Users that need this functionality can turn instant notifications back on. Skype directs users to, “Go to Settings > Notifications > check the “Sync group messages in the background” box.”

It is good to see Skype working to offer a workaround for this problem, but it is not a full solution for users that may see the problem from other apps. For a complete fix users will likely need to wait for a Nexus 5 Android 4.4.3 update to arrive, and other users will need to wait for updates to trickle out to non-Nexus devices.

 

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Shea Cardinalli

    03/18/2014 at 6:44 pm

    I have my doubts about this and here’s why. I bought my Nexus 5 last week and I had already been reading about the battery Daemon possibly be related to Skype.

    Skype is an app that I sometimes use so normally I would have installed this with my other bass apps. This time however, I avoided it as a control to see if the mailer daemon would show up. It did anyways which leads me to believe this is an android problem not Skype.

  2. Archibald

    03/19/2014 at 12:59 am

    This mom is blessed! I just want to add her story. She has been unεmployεd for months, but now receiving monεy in her spare time on lαptop. She basically makεs $15000 – $20000 a month onlinε here… https://fave.co/1kgr4o5

  3. xpersuasianx

    03/19/2014 at 7:34 am

    I have had my Nexus 5 since February 14th and I have not experienced this issue. I do not use Skype nor is the app installed on my Nexus 5, so I would not say that it is just an android issue since I have not experienced it on my Nexus 5. The article also states that the bug was fixed with an update from Skype, so I would say that it is a Skype issue instead.

  4. Jer

    03/20/2014 at 8:01 am

    It says right in the article that it is a core issue that can be triggered by Skype or by other applications that poll the camera daemon. It’s not a Skype problem, although the Skype update solved its triggering of the issue; other apps still have the potential to trigger this core issue.

  5. Jeffery

    03/21/2014 at 11:20 am

    My Nexus 5 is feeling much better as I am pretty sure about that. Earlier, whenever I use Skype I have to keep my Smartphone on wireless charger in order to complete the conversation but now after updating I feel some difference. Hope android will also soon upgrade 4.4.3 in order to eliminate this problem completely.

  6. vikas mishra

    03/29/2014 at 11:46 am

    Note 3 have a 5.7 inch Super AMOLED capacitive touch screen while Nexus 5 comes with a 4.95 inch True HD IPS+ capacitive touch screen,If you see the battery life of both the phone then you will find that note 3 is better. Even note 3 have multi window and air drop mode that comes in note 3 only. I go with note 3 in both nexus 5 vs note 3.

  7. Leon Zumbahlen

    04/01/2014 at 4:12 am

    I wonder if Yahoo Messenger is also related to this. I don’t and never have used Skype and was receiving voice and video errors on my Note 3 when using Yahoo Messenger. In fact when I tried to open the Skype app it said it would not run on my phone and gave me a continue button, which took me back to my apps menu, no update option. I have uninstalled Skype for Android on Verizon it was a July 2011 version and then powered off and on the phone. The camera deamon seems to have stopped but not until I powered off the phone.

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