Prepare battery drain Google Play Services is, to some extent, a misnomer, as it's often caused by third-party apps and functions that use features like location, metrics, Wi-Fi, and so on, which are handled by the services. The use of these features is reflected in the services' battery usage. We've compiled a set of solutions that should help you fix battery drain and get Play Services back up and running.
How to Detect Google Play Services Battery Drain on Android
You don't need to install another app to find out if Google Play Services is draining your Android device's battery.
- Go to Settings and click Apps and notifications.
- tap on “View all xx apps” , and scroll down to Google Play Services Then click on that.
- tap on "advanced" Then take a look to see what's included. "Battery".
What percentage of your battery has been used since the last full charge? If it's using more than a few percent of your battery (for example, if it's running at double digits), that's too high, and you need to take action to address the issue.
Find the real source of battery drain.
But there's a bit more to it than meets the eye, as Google Play Services itself doesn't drain your battery. As we discussed earlier, it's other apps that communicate with Google Play Services—accessing location, Wi-Fi, data, and running in the background—that cause the drain.
So once you see that Google Play Services is draining your battery, your first port of call should be to find out which apps are actually causing the battery drain.
There were quite a few apps for this purpose, but some have fallen by the wayside. BetterBatteryStats was once one of the best, but it's no longer available on the Play Store, while Greenify, which was popular, hasn't been updated for two years.
This allows for AccuBattery Get all the glory. You need to let it run for a few weeks to properly collect data. Once you do, it displays your battery usage in a clear way, allowing you to find the real culprit of your battery drain using graphs, organized lists, and detailed metrics of your phone's battery.
Clear cache and data for Google Play Services
The first simple thing to try is to clear the Google Play Services cache, which may be bloated with excess unnecessary information that is causing it stress.
To do this, go to “Settings -> Apps & notifications -> See all xx apps -> Google Play Services -> Storage & cache -> Clear cache.”
If you're still experiencing battery drain, the more drastic step is to clear your Google Play Services storage, which will require you to sign back into your Google account afterward.
To do this, go to Settings -> Apps & notifications -> See all xx apps -> Google Play Services -> Storage & cache -> Clear storage.
Fix Google Play Services battery drain by turning off auto-sync
If you have more than one account connected to Google Play Services, this could explain your battery drain issue. Because Google Play Services needs to check your location for new events in your area, emails, notifications, and more, it's constantly running in the background. This means it uses more memory.
You can fix this by turning off automatic syncing for various accounts, such as your email, calendar, and Drive, as well as third-party apps like WhatsApp. Your Google account, in particular, manages syncing for many apps.
To do this, go to Settings -> Accounts Then tap each account to see if sync is on or off. When you tap Google Account -> Account SyncMany apps may sync automatically. Consider whether you need all of this syncing!
If the phrase appears “Sync is on” , click on Account sync To access this app and control its various sync options, obviously, if automatic syncing is very important to you for a particular app, leave it turned on and try turning off automatic sync for less important apps first.
Sync errors can drain your battery.
When Google Play Services tries to sync data but can't, you're likely experiencing sync errors. These errors could be the reason your phone is charging more than before. Take a look at your contacts, calendar, and Gmail account and see if you spot any errors. Try removing any emojis you may have on any contacts, as Google doesn't like that.
You can also try removing and re-adding accounts to try to fix these sync errors. Turning off mobile data in your device's settings for a little over a minute can also help, but remember to turn it back on.
The app requests your location.
There are a lot of apps that request your location. The problem is that when they do, they request it through Google Play Services, which then uses GPS to get that information.
- Open Applications which requests your location and turn off location permission by going to “Settings -> Apps & notifications -> [App name] -> Permissions.”
2. Click on the slider "Location" To turn off location sync, which can reduce battery usage. PlayServices.
Uninstall Google Play Services updates
This may seem a bit strange, but sometimes updates can cause an error. Therefore, if you're experiencing battery drain due to Google Play Services, you can try uninstalling updates for this service.
- Go to Settings -> Apps & notifications.
- Locate Google Play Services From the applications list.
- Click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
- Locate "Uninstall updates".
5. Restart your phone and see if that makes a difference.
Install an older version of Google Play Services
Sometimes, the latest version of Google Play Services may not work as it should. If you've been experiencing increased battery drain since updating Google Play Services, you may need to roll back to a previous version of Google Play Services (at least until the latest version works properly).
- To roll back to a version of Google Play Services of your choice, follow the tip above. To uninstall updates For services, then go to Department Google Play Services in APK Mirror.
2. Scroll down and click on a version of the services, one or two versions before the latest version (ignore beta versions).
3. You'll see that there are dozens of variants here. To download the correct variant, you need to know three things:
- Your phone's SoC architecture
- DPI of your phone screen
- Your Android version
4. You can find out your Android version by going to Settings -> About phone. You can find out other things on a site like: GSMArena.
With that in mind, download the correct APK file for your phone, give your browser permission to download it if you have to, and then install it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How do I update Google Play Services?
answer. Check for updates to Google Play Services by going to Settings -> Apps & notifications -> See all xx apps -> Google Play Services.
If an update is available for Play Services, you'll see it on this screen.
Q2. Can I get the beta version of Google Play Services?
answer. Yes. If you want to play around with the latest Play Services features and be at the forefront of what the app has to offer, you can become an app tester by Register on this page.
Q3. Is Google Play Services spying on me?
answer. Sort of, yes, though how serious you consider it really depends on how you feel about Google’s data collection, which is a big part of its MO. Tons of apps—from Maps to WhatsApp and even your phone app—“phone home” to Play Services to let it know what you’re up to. To avoid that, you really need to “remove Google” from your phone, which isn’t something that can be covered here in this space.
Q4. Can I delete Google Play Services?
answer. You can use a rooted phone, but at that point you'll lose access to those Google perks, like the Play Store, Google Maps, and all Google apps, as well as many third-party apps. Essentially, it's a big commitment—even a lifestyle choice—and not something to be taken lightly.
