Google Play Services appears to be causing battery drain issues for some Android users. If this is happening to you, we'll show you some possible solutions until Google releases a new update.
Google Play services and battery problems on Android
If with the latest updates to your Android terminal you have verified that the battery consumption is higher than usual, the problem may come from Google Play Services. Some users, but not all, have been able to verify that the consumption they are making has increased. If you want to know if it also happens to you or not, this is the first thing you should do.
Update Google Play Services
Open system settings and go to the Battery section. Once there, tap the Total battery usage icon . Depending on your Android skin, there might be some slight differences, but it will be basically the same for all. When the data appears, you can check the battery usage of each app. If Google Play Services is higher than usual, that's the culprit.
How to fix the battery drain issue with Google Play Services? Let's take a look. According to some users, version 18.3.82 is causing the increased battery drain. There are several options to stop the drain.
The first option is to wait for Google's own update . To verify that you are indeed using the latest version, you can do the following:
- Ir a Applications and notifications.
- Then, click See all apps.
- Search Google Play services.
- When you give it you will be able to know what is the current version you have installed.
To find out if there is an update available, click on Application detail and then on Update or Install. If by any chance this doesn't work, then let's move on to the second possible solution.
Clear data and cache of Google Play Services and Play Store
If the above doesn't work, or if you want to ensure your energy consumption returns to normal, here are two more steps you can take. The first is to clear the data and cache of Google Play Services . To do this, follow these steps:
- Open Settings and go to Apps and notifications.
- Hit All Apps and then Google Play Services.
- There, click on the Storage option.
- Then clear cache.
- Then, also click on Clear storage.
The second step is to do the same with the Play Store . That is, within the same Apps & notifications -> See all apps -> Google Play Store option, tap on Storage and clear both the cache and data.
Updating to the Beta version of Play Store Services or going back to a previous version
If the above doesn't work for you there are two more options you can try, although the implications with both are different.
The first step is to become a Beta Tester for Google Play Services . To do this, simply visit the following webpage and click the "Become a tester" button . Once activated, you will receive a notification on your phone to update to the latest versions that are currently being tested.
This option, when using beta versions, can cause you to experience some type of unexpected closure. The positive part is that, if that does not happen, you would always be ahead of the rest of the users in terms of improvements. But what has been said, better final and stable versions of any app or system.
The second and more effective solution would be to revert to a previous version of Google Play Services where the battery issues weren't present. To do this, you would need to download the APK of Google Play Services prior to version 18.3.82 and install it. This isn't complicated, but it does require that you have enabled permission to install apps from unknown sources.
Our recommendation is to try clearing the data and cache first. If that doesn't work, try using the beta version. If that doesn't work either, then be patient until the next update. This way you avoid potentially damaging your Android device, which, if you're not very experienced, could make it harder to fix later.