Re: KitKat update killing battery
joelukes
Enthusiast - Level 2

My wife and I are having similar issues.  No issues at all before the KitKat upgrade but nothing but accelerated battery drain since!

Previously I would leave my phone unplugged overnight and only lose 2-3% battery.  However, since the new software update I am losing over 30% of battery overnight.  That is completely unacceptable.

I went through all of my settings and they are all similar to how they were before the update.  There is absolutely no reason for the battery life to be this much worse other than buggy software.  I wish Verizon would give us the ability to roll back the update so I could actually get through a day of work without my phone (which is less than 8 months old) running out of battery

Re: KitKat update killing battery
petersot
Enthusiast - Level 2

Hi Joe,

I think the issue is that my phone took over two days to sync 20+GB of data with Verizon Cloud. I hadn't turned this on, but found it turned on after installing Kitkat. Once I was able to get through that, I did a 2x FDR and did not turn on Google+ or VZ Cloud to 'restore' photos and videos. I have been able to get through the last 3hrs, playing some graphics intensive games, and doing config stuff and I'm only down 10%. I think I may be back to normal.

Unfortunately, I was still seeing problems early this morning before my 2nd FDR and VZW is sending me a replacement phone. Not sure if I will need it, but they are overnighting it to me, so I will have it by tomorrow. I'll see which one I like better and return the other. I'm letting this one just sit here for the next 3-5 hours and it shouldn't go down more than 1-2%/hr. Previously, it was going down 20-30% / hr while not on a charger and 5-10% / hr on a charger....ugh.

Fingers crossed its fixed!

0 Likes
Re: KitKat update killing battery
Snn5
Legend

FDR did not fix issue.  I got a replacement today.  Immediately FDR upon powering on 3 times.  Charged to 100% and left plugged into AC outlet while downloading update and installing update.  Then FDR 3 more times.  Everything is working so far.  SMS sends and receives timely, tapping shade/pull-down bar turns off/on screen without going to date window, power button no longer ends call, BT works, battery is just as good as JB.  I'm sure something will pop up, but so far, none of the usual gripes.  You cant FDR a bad install.

0 Likes
Re: KitKat update killing battery
vzw_customer_support
Customer Service Rep

Petersot,

Sounds like a great plan and we'll definitely keep them crossed until we hear back from you. Let us know what happens and if there's anything further we can assist you with.

SarahO_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

0 Likes
Re: KitKat update killing battery
dianesef
Enthusiast - Level 2

The factory reset is NOT solving the problem on my phone - still no battery life now (used to get the better part of 2 DAYS out of it) and the PC now does not recognize my phone

Re: KitKat update killing battery
dianesef
Enthusiast - Level 2

EXACTLY the same thing happening.  They sent me a new phone.  It was fine - then Kit Kat started upgrading on that one and voila - SAME problems - new phone.....

Re: KitKat update killing battery
Snn5
Legend

You're going to have to let the battery information reset.  New or used, a phone once updated must be reset and even after that a few cycles of battery 0% charging to 100% with phone off must be done.  This resets the battery statistics.  FDR immediately afterward an update or right after getting a replacement and before installing apops and syncing is the best bet.

In my case, I had a bad install.  There's no fixing that on the lay-level.  Once I got my replacement I performed the steps in my previous post.  I am now getting 12 hours at 80% and 60 hours on one charge.  Realistically I'll wind up with 40 with how I use mine.

Re: KitKat update killing battery
Beem3r814
Newbie

Also sometimes a simple soft reset can fix this. It fixed my issue for my G2 once updating to Kitkat. Hold down your power button until it resets. It'll display a countdown timer until it resets.

0 Likes
Re: KitKat update killing battery
petersot
Enthusiast - Level 2

Ok, so I called VZW on Friday AM to get my phone replaced, they said it was going to be overnighted to me and should get it by Saturday AM. I still have not received the replacement. The issue I was having with the battery life went away after about 3-4x running the battery down to 0%. I don't think that the VZ Cloud backup did anything other than burn the battery down faster as WiFi was constantly on for several days in a row. My battery life is back to normal, if not better now and I am happy with the phone that I have and do not require a replacement ATT.

Looks like there could be some (better?) proactive messaging from VZW on this issue and help customers set and manage their expectations when doing such a massive overhaul of their phone.

I hope everyone has a bit of patience, even though it can be very discouraging and confusing.

Re: KitKat update killing battery
zippyadoda
Enthusiast - Level 1

My phones battery life is average and even normal but the bugs that are in here are ....her.  Droid ultra ....

0 Likes