The battery shipped with the Sony Xperia Z3 smartphone is powerful and comes with comparatively large capacity battery. However, some owners have complained of battery life problems and rapid battery drain.
Follow the steps given below to resolve the issue:
- Battery life is comparatively lower than normal in the initial few days after purchase due to increased activity by the user such as getting used to the different features of the phone, installation of apps, and installation of updates, etc.
- Restart the smartphone. It will clear the cache and kill all the applications that are working continuously in the background and thus draining the battery. Make it a habit to restart the phone at least once a week so as to preserve and extend the life of the battery.
- Go to Settings – > About Phone – > Software Updates – > tap on System Updates. If you see any new update, then download and install it. Also, make sure that the apps on the phone are completely updated to their current versions.
- Periodically check for updates for the OS as well as the apps. Download and install all updates whenever they are available in future. This will help prevent unnecessary battery drain.
- Another method to prolong battery life is to disable certain phone features when not in current use. Features like GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and vibrations, etc., should be turned off when not need. The screen uses the maximum amount of battery power. You may lower the brightness levels as well as turn off the ‘auto-brightness’ option so as to save battery charge. Even mobile data can be turned off by users, especially those who do not require constant net connectivity.
- The Z3 comes with a battery saving feature known as stamina mode. You may turn it on by going to Settings – > tap on Power management – > enable Stamina mode. When the battery power reduces significantly, then this feature kicks in and disables varied phone features like 3G connectivity, screen brightness, screen timeout, background sync, and Wi-Fi,, etc. thereby prolonging battery life.
- The camera app captures and shows vivid colors that are in constant motion. This can eat up the battery charge. Hence, do not use the camera app for prolonged periods or frequently.
- Phones are designed to keep searching for better signals. Such activity can consume battery power. Battery drain is especially evident in areas with poor network as the phone will keep searching for better signal, endlessly and extensively. Users may avoid going to areas with poor cell signal to prevent battery drain, or place the Z3 in airplane mode when visiting such areas.
- Certain apps and games tend to drain the battery a lot more than other apps. To check the battery usage of all apps, features, etc. on the device, users may go to Settings – > Battery. This screen provides detailed data on the battery usage pattern of each item in the Z3. You may make use of this information to according change the phone use behavior and alter the app settings. For example, disable notifications, app sync/refresh, etc. for unimportant apps.
- Users can also download an app from Google Play Store that helps identify excessive battery use by certain apps and later modifies the app settings to prevent battery drain.
- Ensure that all necessary steps are taken to maintain the battery and prolong its life. For example, use only the original charger and cable that are sent in the box along with the phone to charge the battery. Using a third-party charger may cause battery drain, or damage the battery, or even damage the phone. Avoid excessive exposure of the battery or the phone to very high temperatures.
- If battery drain and battery life issues persist, then it may be caused due to abnormal behavior of certain corrupt app or apps. Users may run the Z3 in safe mode to verify if buggy apps are causing the battery problems. Safe mode prevents or disables third-party apps. Check the battery life for about 30 minutes or more in safe mode. If battery problems do not occur in safe mode, then conflicting apps are the cause and users need to delete each app one by one to find the culprit app/apps.
- To boot into safe mode,
- Press and hold the power button till a menu with options like ‘airplane mode,’ ‘power off,’ and ‘take screenshot,’ appears on screen.
- Tap and hold the ‘power off’ option till a pop-up with ‘reboot to safe mode’ option appears on screen. Tap on ok.
- The phone will reboot into safe mode. Safe mode can be recognized by the words ‘safe mode’ which appears on lower left hand corner of the display.
- If you find the above process to be tedious and time consuming, then factory reset the device to delete all apps. A reset however also deletes all data from the phone. Hence, back it up. To perform a factory reset,
- Go to Settings – > Backup and Reset – > Factory data reset – > tap on the option ‘reset phone’ – > enter any password or pin if needed – > tap on the option ‘erase everything.’
- The Xperia Z3 will reboot after the reset process is complete. Now, selectively reinstall the apps to verify if and which app/apps were causing the battery life problems.
- If battery problems persist, then contact Sony support or visit a Z3 service center for further help, including phone or battery repair or replacement.
