FIXED: Google Play Services Battery Drain on Android

Google Play Services is vital to the operations of Google apps and services on Android devices. It keeps applications updated, provides location services, fosters the synchronization of data to Google, and generally enhances app performances.

Despite the multi-faceted responsibilities of Google Play Services, it doesn’t drain your device’s battery faster than usual. However, there are several factors that could trigger the service to consume excessive battery. In this article, we highlight major causes of the Google Play Services battery drain issue and their respective solutions.

Quick Tip: To check Google Play Services battery usage in Android, go to Settings, select Battery, tap the menu icon in the top-right corner, select Battery usage, and locate Google Play services in the “Battery Usage Since Full Charge” section.

Force-Update Google Play Services

All Android devices automatically update Google Play services as soon as there’s a new version available in the Play Store. If your device fails to update Google Play services in the background, some Google apps and services may cease to work correctly. That could also trigger Google Play services to consume more battery power than usual.

Luckily, you can always manually update Google Play services on your Android device.

1. Open the Settings app, type play services in the search bar, and select Google Play services in the results.

2. Expand the Advanced section, scroll to the “Store” section, and select App details.

3. Tap Update or Install. If you don’t find either of these buttons on the page, that means you have the latest version of Google Play services installed on your device.

Clear Google Play Services Cache and Data

Google Play Services, like every other Android app, harbor temporary files (also called Cached Data) on your smartphone to bolster performance. Sadly, these files could also result in performance issues, excess storage usage, memory problems, and more.

Deleting temporary cache data is one easy way to fix the Google Play services battery drain issue.

1. Open the Settings app, type play services in the search bar, and select Google Play services in the results.

2. Select Storage & cache.
3. Tap the Clear Storage.

4. If you notice that the Google Play services battery drain issue persists after a couple of hours, return to the “App info” page and tap Clear Storage to delete the app’s data.

5. Tap Clear All Data and select OK on the confirmation prompt to proceed.

Clear Google Play Store’s Cache and Data

Deleting the cache and storage data of the Play Store can fix problems with Google Play services.

1. Launch the Settings app, type play store in the search bar, and select Google Play Store.

2. Select Storage & cache and tap Clear Cache to delete Play Store’s temporary files.

3. Afterward, tap Clear Storage and select OK on the confirmation prompt.

Reset Google Play Services

This entails uninstalling all Google Play Services updates from your device and resetting the system service to factory default.

1. Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info (or See All Apps) > Google Play services.
2. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner, select Uninstall updates, and select OK on the confirmation.

3. Open the Google Play Store and your device should automatically install the latest version of Google Play services.

Review Your Device’s Synchronization Settings

Google Play Services is also responsible for synchronizing personal and app data to your Google account. Google Play services will drain your battery fast if you have multiple accounts syncing lots of data simultaneously. Or, if your device is experiencing synchronization failures. Google Play services will keep retrying the synchronization, thereby draining your device’s battery.

Check your device’s settings and disable automatic synchronization for unneeded accounts and data.

1. Go to Settings > Accounts and select the account or app whose configuration settings you want to modify.

2. Select Account sync.

3. Turn off synchronization for items you don’t want in your Google account.

4. Afterward, tap the menu icon in the top-right corner, and select Sync now to manually re-attempt failed synchronization.

While you’re at it, make sure your device has an active internet connection. Plug your device into a power source and use a Wi-Fi connection over cellular data.

Review Your Device’s Location Permissions

Google Play services is a major provider of location services in Android. The more apps with access to your device’s location, the harder Google Play services work, thereby resulting in increased battery consumption. Go through your device’s location permission settings and disable location permissions for unused or unnecessary apps.

1. Go to Settings, select Privacy, and select Permission manager.

2. Select Location.

We recommend disabling “All Time” location access for all apps. Configure applications to access your device’s location only when in use. Better yet, disable location access if unneeded—real-time access to your location will take a toll on your battery.

3. Select an app in the “Allowed All The Time” section and set the location access to Allow only while using the app.

4. To revoke an app’s location permission, select the app in the “Allowed All the Time” section or “Allowed Only While In Use” and select Deny. Tap Deny Anyway to proceed.

Peruse apps in the “Allowed All the Time” and “Allowed Only While In Use” sections and revoke location access for any odd app, or apps that can function correctly without location access.

Note that disabling location access may render some apps and system features unavailable. For instance, location-based reminders may not work if you disable real-time location permission for your To-do or Reminder app.

So, carefully audit your device’s location permission and disable real-time or “in-usage” access for non-crucial apps, or apps that can function correctly without location access.

Reboot Your Device

Sometimes, restarting your Android smartphone or tablet will fix issues causing Google Play services and other system apps to malfunction.

Press and hold your device’s power button and select Restart in the power menu.

Use your device for some minutes or hours and check your device’s battery usage. If Google Play Services still tops the battery usage chart, update your device’s operating system.

Update or Downgrade Your Device

System-level bugs in outdated or new Android versions could affect the performance of Google apps and services. Update your device’s operating system if you haven’t installed any major update or security patch in a long time.

Go to Settings > System > Advanced > System update and install any new or pending updates on the page.

Conversely, if you noticed the Google Play services battery drain after installing a system update, downgrade your device to an older, bug-free Android version.

Google Play Store Battery Drain Fixed

If the Google Play services battery drain issue continues, or your phone shuts down even if the battery indicator says you still have plenty of juice left, consider recalibrating your device’s battery. Activating the Android Battery Saver (Settings > Battery > Battery Saver > Turn On Now) is another worthy troubleshooting step to try.

That’ll help conserve your device’s battery by reducing the background activities of certain apps and services.

If nothing changes, contact Google Play Support, your device manufacturer, or schedule an appointment at the nearest repair center to have your device examined for software and hardware-related irregularities.