Fix OnePlus 3 Battery Drain Problem

OnePlus 3 users have been reporting about the phone’s battery draining quickly. It looks like there is a widespread issue going on with this device. Most of the users started facing the battery drain problem right after updating their phone to the Android Oreo firmware. It’s been quite a while since the phone was updated to Android Oreo. Even after a number of bug fixing updates, the phone still drains the battery. OnePlus 3 owners now have to fix the battery drain problem on their own.

Since there is a similar issue that the OnePlus 3T users are facing, that too after the Android Oreo update, the solution for both the devices will remain the same as well. Luckily, I do have the OnePlus 3T and I have witnessed this issue as well. After applying a number of fixes, I was able to improve the battery life of the OnePlus 3T. All you have to do is to follow the solutions given in this guide to fix OnePlus 3 battery drain problem. Before we fix the OnePlus 3 that’s quickly draining the battery, let’s take a look at the recap of this phone.

OnePlus 3 Flashback

OnePlus 3 was the successor to the OnePlus 2. With the OnePlus 3, the company continued its journey of making high-end smartphones in a friendly budget. The OnePlus 3 boasts off a 5.5-inches Optic AMOLED display having a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. It has 401 PPI. The OnePlus 3 runs on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. The phone was upgraded to Android Nougat, it is skipping Android Oreo and will get updated to Android Pie now. OnePlus powered this phone up by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU accompanied by Adreno 530 GPU. This phone has 64GB internal storage and a RAM of 6GB. At the back, it has a 16MP camera and an 8 MP camera on the front. The OnePlus 3 has a 3,000 mAh battery under the hood. The phone also supports DASH charge which is OnePlus’s own fast charging technology.

OnePlus 3 Battery Drain Problem – Solutions

Without any further ado, let’s jump up to the battery drainage solutions. Try the following methods on your OnePlus 3 one by one. Check the battery performance of your phone after each method to find out what method fixes your phone.

Clear the cache of your phone

1. On your OnePlus 3, go to Settings > About phone > Build number > tap the build number for 7 times to enable Developer Options.
2. Now go to Settings > Developer options > Advanced reboot > Click on the radio button to enable.
3. Long press the Power button of your phone now and click on Reboot > Recovery.
4. In the Recovery, click on Wipe data and cache > wipe cache > yes.
5. Reboot the phone

Check the battery performance of the phone now.

Check for latest software update

A new software update always fixes previous bugs, improves the performance and battery life of your phone. If you haven’t updated your phone in a while, there is a potential possibility that the battery is not performing well because of the old software. Check your phone for the latest software update. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings > System Updates > Check for Updates.
2. If there is an update available, install it quickly and clear the cache of your phone.

Check the battery performance after performing the update.

Optimize the applications for better battery life

1. Open Settings.
2. In Settings > Battery >  Battery optimization.
3. Now check if the applications are optimized or not. If there is an application that is not optimized, you can optimize it now.
4. Optimizing the applications will restrict their activity in the background resulting in more battery juice.

Use low brightness on the phone or use Auto-brightness

Always try to use low brightness on your phone. If you don’t want to manually switch between low and high brightness, you can use the Auto-brightness or Adaptive brightness. The Auto-brightness button appears next to the brightness bar in the notifications area. It is highly recommended to not to use your phone’s brightness at its full.

Check your phone in Safe Mode if an application is consuming all the battery

1. Turn off your OnePlus 3.
2. Now turn on the phone by pressing the power button.
3. As soon as the phone vibrates or shows the OnePlus logo on the screen, press the Volume Down button.
4. Keep the Volume Down button pressed unless the phone shows you the home-screen.
5. As the phone boots up completely, you will find the Safe Mode watermark on the lower left corner. This means the Safe Mode is enabled.
6. Now you will find that all applications have disappeared from the phone. The widgets are also disabled.
7. Check the battery life of your phone now. If the battery performs extra-ordinarily now, it would mean that there is an application consuming the entire battery.
8. Reboot your phone to bring back all the applications.
9. Go through your recent installations one by one and delete the applications that you think are the culprits.

Calibrate the Battery

1. Charge your OnePlus 3 to 80%.
2. Let the phone discharge to 40%.
3. Charge it back to 80%.
4. Let it discharge to 40% once again.
5. Repeat this for about 4 times.
6. The phone’s battery will calibrate itself. You can continue to charge it normally afterward.
7. Check the battery performance now.

Calibrate the Battery – Root Users

If you have a rooted OnePlus 3, you may consider calibrating the battery using this guide. The method given in the linked guide deletes the Battery Stats file of the phone. Deleting the battery stats gives the battery a fresh start. It records all the stats from scratch adjusting the battery life of your phone.