How to fix Galaxy S9 poor battery performance after an update [troubleshooting guide]

System updates may sometimes introduce bugs like fast battery drain to many Android devices. In this troubleshooting episode, we answer a commonly experienced battery drain issue together with a few other related cases. We hope you’ll find this post helpful.

Problem #1: How to fix Galaxy S9 poor battery performance after an update

Hi. I had an update on Monday from Samsung. It’s a new device and the battery performance has been really good, never ran out during the day – I charge to 80% then let it drop to 40% and that was more or less all day. Now, the battery is running out in about 12 hours. I went to charge it last night and it stopped at 56% and has now run out. Incidentally, when I turn the phone on, there’s a message at the bottom of the screen ‘USB Connector attached’ which disappears after a few seconds. Not sure it it’s related, if it’s chucking power at the USB connector for some reason. I’ve cleared the cache and I’m now going to cycle the battery to see if that fixes it (it used to work on my s6 … let it go to 0% and turn off, then turn on again, let it go to 0% and turn off … repeat until it turns off as soon as it turns on. Then charge to 100%, turn off, charge up to 100% again until it’s 100% when I turn it on. That recalibrated the s6 battery. I’ll let you know if it works. Cheers.

Solution: Recalibration of the battery may work if Android has simply lost accurate track of battery levels. If it’s a totally different reason, it may not change anything at all.

Install app updates

Aside from battery recalibration, make sure that you also keep your apps up-to-date. Power-related bugs and battery drain issue are sometimes caused by incompatible app. Since there’s no way to way whether all of your apps are optimized to work with the current Android version on your phone, the most that you can do about it is to minimize the chance of bugs from developing by keeping apps updated. Here’s how to do that:

Open Play Store app.
Tap More settings at the upper left (three-line icon).
At the very top where you see the photo for the selected Google account, tap on the profile photo of the account you want to use.
Once you’ve selected the profile you want, select My apps & games and update your apps.

If you set Google Play Store app to automatically download and install app updates, then you don’t have to worry about doing this step.

We assume you only get apps from the Play Store but if you are more adventurous and get some from third party sources (outside the Play Store), it’s your responsibility to keep those updated. Contact their developers if you don’t know how to update those apps.

Check Battery Usage

Battery drain issue may be a product of one or more apps constantly running actively or in the background. To know what apps or Android service is consuming huge amount of battery power all the time, go under Settings and check Battery Usage. Here’s how to do that:

Open Settings app.
Tap Device maintenance.
Tap Battery.
Tap Battery usage.
Check the list of apps that shows constantly on top under Recent Battery Usage section.

If you can’t help but use the screen in high brightness level, Screen should be on top of the list. Android System is also expected to be on top 5 in this list. Use better judgement in managing your apps and Android services to minimize battery drain. Battery Usage is designed to give you an accurate breakdown of items that eat up battery in a certain time frame.

Reset All Settings

Some users were able to fix power problems in the past by simply resetting their device’s settings after an update. If you haven’t tried this before, here’s how it’s done:

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

Factory reset

Ultimately, you should try a factory reset on your phone if battery continues to perform poorly. Many Galaxy S8 users fixed the issue by doing this step. Google constantly strives to make Android as efficient as possible but sometimes, upgrades may change operating system configurations that cause the system to work poorly. By resetting your S8, you are effectively forcing the software to revert to its more efficient set up.

To factory reset your S8:

Create a backup of your data.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Bixby key, then press and hold the Power key.
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).
Press the Volume down key several times to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Problem #2: Galaxy S9 won’t charge or turn on

My problem is similar to the other issues posted here. All the solution I’ve found requires me to reboot the phone or turn it on while holding volume button and power button. Problem with this solution is I can’t charge it to even boot it up. No water or physical damage. Already tried to wipe the charging port clean. I also tried using a wireless charger with no luck. Before it completely died I did charge it thru laptop and wall port and it stayed the same or slowly still lost charge until it was at 0%. Please help me.

Solution: Have you tried using another known working S9 charging cable and adapter? If yes, then you can assume your s9 has a hardware malfunction. Among the common culprits for Samsung devices failing to charge or power back on includes one of the following:

broken charging port
damaged battery
fried Power Management IC
or unknown general motherboard failure

Make sure to let Samsung handle the repair for you. If possible, demand for a replacement unit instead of repair so you’ll not wait longer.

Problem #3: How to fix Galaxy S9 with a broken, discolored screen

My s9 lcd screen just got replaced and a week and a half later my phone powered off and turned on again but the screen looks yellow. but when i go past dark images the color looks spreaded out out of the place it should be and when i lower the brightness the whole screen turns dark yellow. i tried the to us burnin fixes and restarting none of it work and i tried applying pressure on screen but it didn’t affect the color. also none of the settings are changed to affect screen tone.

Solution: This is a clear hardware issue so the best resolution that you can do right now is to either return the phone to the shop or technician who replaced the screen, or let another professional repair it for you. We’re here to provide software solutions to Android issues. You won’t be able to obviously fix a bad screen with a software solution so try not to waste your time looking for one. You can’t fix a damaged screen by doing software tweaks.

Problem #4: Galaxy S9 keeps rebooting after updating Google Play Services

Hi. I tried to comment on an article you have about Samsung Galaxy S9 rebooting after firmware update. I was unable to leave a comment because apparently I am behind a proxy. I know what app/firmware has caused the issue, I just don’t know what to do to fix it. I have started using my sons old phone and was having problems using some apps. The phone currently has no carrier service, I use it for apps on wifi. I updated Google Play services because I could not update YouTube without updating it. As soon as I finally got Google Play Services updated the rebooting started. I tried removing updates from Google Play services but that cause even more problems, so I updated again. The phone is my sons, which I am temporarily using so a master reset is the last thing I want to do. Any ideas how to fix Google Place Services?? I just had it in safe mode and it still reboots.

Solution: Try deleting the cache and data of Google Play Services to see if that will work. Here’s how:

Open Settings app.
Tap Apps.
Tap on More settings at the upper right (three-dot icon).
Select Show system apps.
Find and tap your app.
Tap Storage.
Tap Clear Data button.
Restart your S9 and check for the problem.

If your phone continues to reboot after that, you have no other option but to factory reset it.