How to fix Galaxy S6 edge battery drain issue, overheating issue, won’t connect to PC

Welcome to our latest #GalaxyS6 post for the day! We cover 2 important issues that a lot of S6 users encounter: battery drain and overheating. We hope that the solutions we provide for you will be of help.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:

Problem 1: Galaxy S6 overheating issue, won’t connect, PC won’t detect it

Long story short, my S6 over heated while at the beach at PCB. After finally having it being able to charge couple days later through a wireless charger, I got the phone to turn back on. My issue now is that the phone won’t connect to anything. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Screen Mirror, and NFC have all failed to turn-on/work. Tried to connect it to my computer to get all my pictures and videos transferred but computer doesn’t recognize the device and phone doesn’t recognize that it’s connected to a computer. I’ve already tried Recovery Mode/ Wipe Cache and also did safe mode. Problem is still the same and want to get my pictures and videos before making the decision to Master Reset the phone (which I don’t think will help either). please help. Thanks. — Lui Cambio

Solution: Hi Lui. We don’t know the full history and the true state of the hardware of the device so we really can’t say for sure what might be causing the problem. However, if you are positive that the connectivity issue coincidentally started after that overheating incident, you can safely assume that bad hardware is to blame. Like water damage, any electronic device’s hardware can fail permanently if they are exposed beyond their expected heat levels. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of components in your phone’s motherboard and any one of them can stop working due to too much heat. In some cases, even a minor component can eventually lead to a major failure because a failing component tends to affect the complex chain of processes. For example, a malfunctioning resistor may result to other components failing because the entire circuit may no longer be receiving the exact amount of current or voltage that it needs. Most electronic components are sensitive to even the slightest current or voltage changes so the entire system system may eventually fail if the main problem is not addressed right away.

For your specific issue, the problem can be anything at this point and there’s no way we can isolate it to, say, a bad antenna or charging port only. The main reason may be more complicated that any of them so you need to let Samsung or a good independent technician check the hardware for you. We don’t think there’s anything more that you can do at this point other than to try to install the latest app and Android updates (some updates may fix connectivity issues, especially if it involves the modem) and a factory reset. If these two steps won’t help at all, consider replacing the entire motherboard.

Problem 2: Galaxy S6 keeps searching for service, failed message when sending SMS

I currently have Straight Talk as my carrier. I recently switched from a Galaxy S4 mini to a Galaxy S6 and I’ve seen problems ever since. Whenever my phone powered off, when I power it back on, a searching for service is in the upper left corner of my screen.

Also when I send a text message I get a retry message failed message. But the person is clearly getting the message I send because they respond.

I’ve talked 2 numerous people at Straight Talk & they can’t seem 2 resolve the problem. I’m not very tech savvy but can follow directions. So, if you can speak in lay man’s terms we should be able 2 get through this. Can u help me? — Q

Solution: Hi Q. First of all, if the phone you’re using right now is originally NOT from Straight Talk, that is, it doesn’t run Straight Talk’s software, you may expect problems with it. Not every Galaxy S6 is compatible with all carriers and each differences in their hardware and software design can have significant impact when used outside their home network. For example, if you are using a Verizon phone in Straight Talk’s network, some functions and features in the phone may not work properly or at all. In most cases, the network function of the phone may also suffer and can show the behavior exhibited by your S6 right now. And this, actually, is just one scenario where problems can originate. There are other factors that can lead to the problems you’re experiencing including issues from Straight Talk’s side, account issues, device software issues, app issues, etc.

Since we don’t have the full history of your device, we suggest that you wipe it clean with factory reset first so you can establish a benchmark. Once you’ve restored all your phone’s software settings to defaults, you can then try to see what happens. For instance, if the phone, after a factory reset and without any third party apps installed, continues to show the searching for service icon or display the failed message when sending SMS, the most probable cause is coding-related. This means that either the operating system you’ve installed lately is buggy, or that your phone’s software version is having trouble working with Straight Talk’s system. Either of this case are beyond your ability to fix so all you can do is hope that an update will be released soon to address them.

To factory reset your S6, kindly do the following steps:

1. Create a backup of your important files such as photos, videos, contacts etc. You can use Smart Switch for this task.
2. Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up, Home and Power keys together.
4. When the device powers on and displays ‘Power on logo’, release all keys and the Android icon will appear on the screen.
5. Wait until the Android Recovery Screen appears after about 30 seconds.
6. Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option, ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
7. Press the Vol Down button again until the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted and then press the Power key to select it.
8. After the reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key to restart the phone.

Problem 3: How to fix Galaxy S6 edge battery drain issue

Hi Droid Guy. I have a problem with my S6 edge. About 5 mounth ago I changed the battery since the lifetime was seriously decreased after just half a year of usage. Now i experience similar problems. Within just a week it went from normal battery time to draining the battery within 8 hours of inactivity or about 30min of moderate use. I also noticed recently that it gets quite warm from time to time. The battery indicator in “Device Maintenance” does not show anything. I would be grateful for your advice. — Simon Schütte

Solution: Hi Simon. Knowing the real reason why your phone loses battery power abnormally fast can be a tedious process so we can’t guarantee that we may be of help. An important thing to consider though is to see if the issue occurred after doing something different. For example, if you think that battery drain issue happens after you’ve installed an app, uninstalling it may help. Only you knows the complete history of your device so the responsibility of identifying possible causes falls on your shoulders.

Check for battery draining apps

If you did not do anything different at all before noticing the problem, the next best thing to do is to check if there’s a particular app or service that consumes a lot of power. Usually, the apps that should be on top of the list should be system-related ones like screen or Android. If you see that an app you’re not familiar with consumes battery bandwidth more than usual, you should either uninstall it or disable it. To check battery usage, follow these steps:

1. From a Home screen, navigate: Apps > Settings > Battery.
2. Review the Battery history graph. The Battery percentage graph displays the estimated remaining battery life.
3. Tap the Battery Usage button.
4. From the Past and Predicted Usage section, review the graph. This shows you how much battery has been used and shows predictions of battery life based on that usage.
5. Review the Recent battery Usage section. Percentages tells you how each app listed is affecting your battery life.

Your list of apps eating power bandwidth is unique to your device so it’s up to you to decide whether you need to uninstall an app or not. Keep in mind that some apps are designed to work in the background and may be high in the list. A good example for this type of apps is social networking apps. Social networking apps regularly contacts their remote servers to get content updates. Make sure to set their sync option under their settings menu to manual or similar to prevent them from updating automatically.

In our years of troubleshooting battery drain issue, the most common reason is poor app management. As a user, it’s your job to ensure that you only install good working apps. If you tend to install apps impulsively, now is the time to change. The more apps you install, the higher the chance of bugs developing and causing problems. Said situation also can also lead fast battery drain issue because the operating system has to perform more complicated computing. More resources are needed to ready up your device as well as to do things. In other words, the more things you add up, the heavier the load for the system becomes. When it comes to number of apps, it’s best to be frugal. Uninstall the ones you don’t need and leave only the ones you can’t live your digital life without. Throw away games unless it’ll upend your life when you don’t have them.

The best way to know if the number of apps you have is the main factor is by doing a factory reset and observing the phone without any third party apps. If you can’t live without your work email, try to install an email app only after a factory reset and see how long a regular charge last.

Bad hardware | bad battery

Remember, any phone issue can also be caused by hardware malfunction. A lithium-based battery like the one in your phone needs care. Assuming you’re using an original Samsung replacement battery now, there’s a chance that it may have gone bad after only a few months of usage. We can’t discuss the number of reasons why a battery can go bad in this post but we suggest that you do some research to know them. If your phone continues to lose battery power fast even after a factory reset, it’s very likely that the cause is hardware in nature. Consider having the battery replaced to fix the issue.

Battery calibration

Sometimes, battery drain issue does not necessarily indicate a problem and a simple recalibration can help. To see if that’s the case, consider doing a recalibration. Here’s how:

1. Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
2. Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
3. When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
4. When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Volume Up key.
   Using the Volume Down key, highlight the option ‘wipe cache partition’ and press the Power key to select it.
5. When the wiping of the cache partition is finished, highlight Reboot system now and hit the power key.

---