What to do if Galaxy Note9 keeps losing battery power fast (battery drain issue)

A common question among many smartphone users is on how to lessen the impact of battery drain issue. In this troubleshooting guide, we show you how to deal with battery drain on the Galaxy Note9.

Problem: Galaxy Note9 losing battery power fast

I have warranty replace my phone already 4 times since getting my galaxy note 9. I seem to be losing 10 percent every hour or so and all im doing is looking at the Google app, texting and I stream iheart machine an hour a week. I thought the note 9 was supposed to be much better at battery drain. I don’t have and performance enhancing apps or anything like that… what am I doing wrong??? It is very unlikely that I would have the same issue with 6 phones since August.

Solution: Dealing with battery drain on any device is not straightforward. There is often no easy way to know what may be causing it. If you’re wondering what is wrong with your Note9 why it’s losing power fast, follow our suggestions below.

Check Battery Usage

Apps is a major reason for battery drain. The quantity and quality of apps do matter in making sure that your phone doesn’t lose juice day in and day out. To know if there’s a particular app or service that may be consuming a lot of energy all the time, you can use the built-in Battery Usage feature under Settings. Here’s how to check it:

Open Settings app.
Tap Device maintenance.
Tap Battery.
Tap BATTERY USAGE.
Check the list below to see percentage of power used by individual app or service. Expectedly, system-related items should be high on the list such as Screen, Android system, Device idle, cell standby, etc. If there’s a particular non-system related or third party app that consumes unusually high energy, that can be a red flag. From there, it’s up to you whether to delete it or change your usage habits to manage it.

Lower screen brightness

Screen is usually the top contributor to any smartphone battery drain issue. While your Galaxy Note9 is pretty when its screen is colorful and bright, it does come at a cost. The more colors and brightness are shown, the higher power the system needs. If you regularly let the screen burn bright throughout the day, don’t expect that the battery can last all day. Try to reduce screen brightness to the lowest comfortable level for you to lessen pressure on the battery.

Change app settings (ex disable sync or background data

Some apps requires more energy than others. Some of the most notorious apps that can drain your battery are social networking apps, or those that generally requires almost constant connection to remote servers to update their data. This includes Google apps like Maps or Google Earth. Facebook, Twitter and similar apps constantly connects to their servers to fetch new feed updates so even if you’re not using them actively, they still use up power. Make sure to put them to sleep if you’re not using them.

The easiest way to manage apps is by using the built-in tool under Device maintenance. Head over to Settings > Device maintenance and hit the Optimize or Fix Now button.

Lessen apps

The more apps you install, the higher the chance that one or some of them can cause problems. You also run the risk of depleting the battery faster, even if they’re on standby. The general rule is to limit the apps you install to minimum. This depends on your usage habit and lifestyle.

Clear cache partition

Making sure that the system cache is in top shape can help streamline the processes on your phone. Clear the cache partition from time to time or at least once every few months to force the phone to build new cache. Here’s how:

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 cache partition’.
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘yes’ is highlighted and press the Power button.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, “Reboot system now” is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

Restart device from time to time

Refreshing the system at least once every week is not only helpful in this case, but can also fix temporary bugs that can affect the system in some aspects. For troubleshooting purposes, you want to force restart your Note9. Here’s how:

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.
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.

Calibrate battery and OS

Sometimes, Android may lose track of the actual battery levels. To recalibrate the operating system so that it gets accurate battery level readings, do the following:

Drain the battery completely. This means using your device until it powers down by its own and the battery level reads 0%.
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.
After the elapsed time, unplug your device.
Restart the device.
Use your phone until it completely runs out of power again.
Repeat steps 1-5.

Uninstall apps

If your Note9 started losing battery fast after installing a particular app and it shows high up in the list under Battery Usage, it’s probably time to remove it from the system.

The same is true for any other app that may potentially drain the battery day in and day out. Keep in mind that not all apps are created equal. Some developers are more skillful than others and their products may be optimized better. Be sure to only install apps from reputable developers and to get rid of unnecessary ones. Remember, the less apps installed, the lesser the chance of having problems.

Factory reset

In this case, factory reset should only be tried if you think that the issue remains and none of the suggestions work. Make sure to create a backup before doing it.

To factory reset your Note9:

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.
Let the phone run for 24 hours without adding any apps.