Android smartphone battery draining fast? This may have been why
A number of Android smartphone owners on Cell C and Vodacom recently complained that their batteries were draining faster than normal.
The issue seemed to be related to the location services of the smartphones in question, with a process called “GPSD” causing most of the drain on the battery.
One user who reported the problem said they were experiencing the fast battery drain even though all location services on their device were switched off.
We asked Cell C and Vodacom about the issue, and both networks confirmed there was a problem caused by a recent setting which was enabled on the networks.
“Cell C can confirm that a setting that was activated on a limited portion of our [radio access network] infrastructure on 17 October affected certain handsets (predominantly those running Android 4.4.2) to draw more power from the battery, resulting in a more rapid depletion of the battery life on these handsets,” a spokesperson for the network said.
Vodacom provided similar feedback, saying that the setting enabled new measurement and reporting features on the network.
Both Cell C and Vodacom said that the issue has been resolved.
“If any customers continue to experience this issue we encourage them to call the call centre on 082 111 or get hold of us on Twitter @Vodacom111,” Vodacom said.
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