How to fix Galaxy S9 battery problem: shuts down randomly when battery is at 30%

Here’s another example of a battery issue on a Galaxy S9 (#GalaxyS9). The problem is basically about an S9 that restarts on its own once its battery level is at 30%. If you have a similar experience on your own S9, be sure to follow our solutions below.

Problem: How to fix Galaxy S9 battery problem: shuts down randomly when battery is at 30%

I have had the phone for a couple months and I realized once the phone gets to about 30%, it just drains instantly and dies all the way. Like no warning, nothing it just dies, and when I go to charge it at 30%, the battery continues to drain while it is charging and the phone will not start charging until it dies. Have you encountered something like this before, if so please help!! I paid so much for this phone and no warranty!

Solution: The symptoms you mention are usually consistent when a battery is defective, or it needs recalibration. To troubleshoot this issue, follow our suggestions below.

Force reboot. Sometimes, this simple procedure can fix bugs that developed after the system has run for a long time. By manually forcing your Note8 to reboot, you’re basically simulating a battery pull, which, in older mobiles with removable battery packs, was an effective way to refresh the system. If you haven’t tried this one yet, here are the steps that you can do:

1. Press and hold the Power + Volume Down buttons for approximately 10 seconds or until the device power cycles. Allow several seconds for the Maintenance Boot Mode screen to appear.
2. From the Maintenance Boot Mode screen, select Normal Boot. You can use the volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the lower left button (below the volume buttons) to select. Wait for up to 90 seconds for the reset to complete.

Recalibrate OS and battery. Android may sometimes lose track of correct battery power levels. This can happen if your phone has been running for a sometime already. While that’s not a big issue for most devices, some few may show power or charging problems from time to time. Assuming you take care of your S9 and only install apps from reputable sources, this problem will most likely go away after recalibrating the operating system and battery. Here’s how to do that:

1. Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
2. Charge the phone until it reaches 100%. Be sure to use original charging equipment for your device and let it charge up completely. Do not unplug your device for at least two more hours and also don’t use it while charging.
3. After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
4. Restart the device.
5. Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
6. Repeat steps 1-5.

Observe in safe mode. One of the causes that we should look into is the possibility that a bad third party app may be causing the battery to malfunction. What you need to do is to let your phone run on safe mode for a few days to notice if there’s any difference.

To boot your device to safe mode:

1. Turn the device off.
2. Press and hold the Power key past the model name screen.
3. When “SAMSUNG” appears on the screen, release the Power key.
4. Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
5. Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
6. Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
7. Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
8. Observe the phone while it’s on safe mode for at least 48 hours.

If the battery appears to work properly on safe mode but not on normal mode, that means a third party app is causing it. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

1. Boot to safe mode.
2. Check for the problem.
3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
5. If your S9is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4.

Reset app preferences. Resetting app preferences is oftentimes overlooked in many Android troubleshooting articles but when it comes to an issue like yours, it might help a lot. It’s possible that one or some of your default apps may not be set correctly, causing this glitch to occur. Because there’s no way to know if this guess is true, what you need to do is to simply ensure that all default apps are turned on. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap Apps.
3. Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
4. Select Reset app preferences.
5. Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

Reset all settings. This troubleshooting step works similarly to factory reset but without actually deleting your downloaded apps and personal data. This is often effective in fixing problems due to outdated app configuration or setup.

1. From the Home screen, swipe up on an empty spot to open the Apps tray.
2. Tap General Management > Reset settings.
3. Tap Reset settings.
4. If you have set up a PIN, enter it.
5. Tap Reset settings. Once complete a confirmation window will appear.

Update Android and app. Updates, be they for the OS or apps, is generally a good thing. They not only bring new changes but also fixes known or reported bugs. Be sure to update your S9 regularly to minimize bugs from developing.

Factory reset. The most that you can do when it comes to device troubleshooting in this case is factory reset. By doing so, you are returning all app and software settings to their defaults. You are also deleting potential apps that may be causing the problem. To factory reset your S9:

1. Create a backup of your data.
2. Turn off the device.
3. Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
4. When the green Android logo displays, release all keys (‘Installing system update’ will show for about 30 – 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
5. Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
6. Press Power button to select.
7. Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
8. Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
9. When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
10. Press the Power key to restart the device.

Get Samsung support. Should nothing improve after doing all the suggested troubleshooting steps above, you can assume there’s a deeper cause why your device’s power management is erratic. It can be due to a bad battery or other components. In this case, you want to let Samsung know of the problem so they can either repair or replace the phone. Be sure to give them tips on how to replicate the issue on their end. If they won’t encounter any problem during the initial checks, they may return your phone without fixing it. Give as much details as possible to the attending technician so they can get a picture of what’s going on.

 

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