I've had my cell phone for a long time, it's a smartphone but I don't use it for anything but calls and a camera 99% of the time. I would get 5-6+ days of charge when I don't use it much at all and I had checked this at the beginning of the year. Then a couple weeks ago I noticed that the phone would drop from full charge to nothing in 6-12 hours, I could almost watch the battery level drop, especially if using the camera for pictures (10 mins of view time would drop charge by 10-15% which is absurd). I thought the battery had finally gotten to the point of degradation and had to be replaced.

I've always charged it with a standard USB port on my computer (well it's a fast port ~2.1-2.5A), if that makes a difference.

Well today I looked at my phone and it had 4 days 19 hours from last time it was 100% charged and it is at 44%, and it hasn't been used during that time. So it seems that it isn't the battery dying that is the issue.

I've checked to make sure there are no programs running (very minimal), no network connection, etc. If the battery is lasting this long but at other times it is dying in front of my eyes, I'm wondering what else could cause this. I haven't noticed any heat being generated, which it does when I'm talking on it for long times or even using the screen for extended periods (gets slightly warm, but mildly when talking - could be contact with face.?)

Is there anyway to test the cell phone? I have a battery capacity tester on the way for another project so I can test the battery. Does this sound more like a hardware problem or something worse like spyware on the phone?

 

Hi,

Those batts have significant capacity so if you dont feel any heat then the battery must be at fault.
The easiest way to find out is buy another battery and try that.
What make/model is it?

 

+1 for bad battery. 5-6 years of service is good. The phone was obsolete after 2... Says the guy using a Galaxy S5...

Which reminds me, I need to install a replacement battery.