Android: Drains Battery When App Not in Use

[Cdog02mustgt]

I am noticing that even when I have Pandora stopped and cleared (not used) it is still running and using up battery. Only way to fix it is to apply a force stop to it. Anyway to get this to stop?

mod edit: changed title for clarity

[AdamPandora]

@eboucher Nice to see you around the Community. 👋🏽

Let's run through some additional troubleshooting steps to see if we can resolve this.

From your Android Settings, please try clearing the Pandora app data using the following steps (not to worry, we'll keep track of your profile and collection for you):*

1. Open your device Settings
2. Tap Apps
3. Scroll down to find Pandora
4. Select Storage
5. On the storage details page tap Clear Data.

Keep in mind that the steps for each Android device is slightly different. If you have a Pixel, you can find helpful steps here.

Please note that you will be asked to log into your account after completing these steps.

Let me know how it goes.

[Fredp]

Same problem. I opened pandora to check something, didn't play any music. Pandora consumed 11.9% battery From 1.5 hours cpu usage, way more than apps I actually spent some time using. 

 

 

[AdamPandora]

@Fredp I recommend running through our suggested troubleshooting steps as they may help resolve this issue: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

If you continue to run into trouble with this, I'd like to report your feedback to our engineering team. Can you send over a bit more info about your device?

• Model:
• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Build number (Settings > About Phone):
• Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version:
  • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.
  • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information?

Let me know what you can find out.

[Fredp]

• Galaxy S10e,
• AT&T,
• Android ver 10,
• Build QP1A.190711.020.G970USQS4ETJ1,
• Security Patch Level: 1 Oct 2020
• Pandora ver 2009.2

The excessive background battery use by Pandora when i haven't been listening to music has happened on both wifi and data.

I don't see any other patterns except that if i open Pandora that it will contribute to significant battery waste after i stop the music playing.  Pandora has run my battery flat before.  I listened to some music while driving then i stopped the music and did my activity starting with approx 70% battery (a hike, no music, took some pictures and was not using GPS track recording) and during the activity my phone shut off.  When i got back to the car and was able to charge it then power on, Pandora was at the top of the list for battery consumption.

The only way i have found to stop this behavior is to remember to force stop Pandora after i'm done listening to music.

I don't have any problems with Pandora when i'm using it.

Just to be clear about those screen shots above....

I had launched Pandora and only checked some info on a band & didn't play any music.  I used Pandora for at most a minute. Then later noticed my battery had gotten unusually low.  Checked battery info using GSAM and saw the usage attributed to Pandora which is crazy, especially considering i had actually used Instagram, Chrome, Twitter and YouTube much more than i had Pandora.

mod edit: format

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Fredp. 👋

Thank you so much for providing all of these details. We have an internal ticket open with our Android engineers so that they can investigate this issue. In the meantime, I've reported your feedback / experience along with those screenshots over to them.

We appreciate your patience while they work on this! 🎧

[Jdub1]

😊

[Drdee]

I am having the same problem how do we fix it

[AdamPandora]

@Drdee I recommend running through our suggested troubleshooting steps to see if they resolve this: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

If you continue to experience issues, can you send over a bit more info about your device?

• Model:
• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Build number (Settings > About Phone):
• Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version:
  • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.
  • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information?

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[eric38schwartz]

Hello there, 

My name is Eric. I am an advanced Android user with a Google Pixel 5 on Android 11. I've owned Android smartphones ever since Android first came out. I have recently noticed that if I leave Pandora music "Paused" in my background that the background activity usage/Google Play Services battery usage skyrockets which winds up severely draining my battery. What I am forced to do now, is after each music session, I go into the Pandora app settings, and "Force Close" the app from running in the background, and wipe Pandora out of RAM. Android is easily the most multi-tasking capable mobile OS ever, and I shouldn't have to "Force Close" Pandora after each and every "listening session" in order to get good battery. Are there any suggestions you can provide me with? Any help is appreciated, thank you very much! 

[AdamPandora]

@eric38schwartz If you haven't already done so, I recommend running through our recommended troubleshooting steps: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

If you continue to experience issues with this, can you please send me a screenshot of your device settings showing you the amount of battery usage that is being taken up by Pandora?

Thanks for working with me on this. 🤝

[eric38schwartz]

@AdamPandora , I have tried to clear data of Pandora. For the past few times of listening to music on my phone, I have been "Force Closing" Pandora each and every time, just to make sure that I do not have to worry about high Google Play Services background battery drain. I will say that before I started to do the Force Closings on Pandora, whenever I would listen to music for any amount of time, my Pandora battery usage, and my Google Play Services battery usage in my battery usage breakdown was always the highest, and was always at the top. 

Thanks for helping me out so far. As you can tell, I LOVE troubleshooting, diagnosing, and getting to the root cause of an issue, especially when it concerns my battery life!

[AdamPandora]

Thanks for following up, @eric38schwartz.

I'd like to report your issue to our engineering team.

Can you please send me a screenshot of what you are seeing in your device settings when you mention Pandora is at the top of the list for battery usage?

Additionally, can you send over a bit more info about your device?

• Model:
• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Build number (Settings > About Phone):
• Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version:
  • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.
  • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Have you identified any other patterns or notable information?

Thanks again for working with me on this.

[eric38schwartz]

@AdamPandora Hey, so, I know it's a blurry screenshot, but here's the only screen shot from my phone of my recently older battery stats. I hope this helps you out a little bit. 

• Model: Google Pixel 5
• Carrier: Verizon Wireless
• Android version (Settings > About Phone): Android 11
• Build number (Settings > About Phone): RQ1D.210105.003
• Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone): January 5, 2021.
• Pandora version: 2012.1

I hope that helps you out a little bit, thanks very much! Unfortunately, I haven't noticed any other battery patters nor info regarding this battery drain. Like I said, whenever I listen to music, when I'm done listening to music, I just go into the app settings, and force close the app automatically. Blurry Screenshot of battery drainage.

[AlyssaPandora]

@eric38schwartz Thanks so much for providing those details. This is extremely helpful information. In the meantime, I've shared this with our engineering team so that they can investigate. 

We appreciate your patience during this process. 🎧

[eric38schwartz]

@AlyssaPandora Hey, thanks very much for the quick response. Hopefully your team will be able to figure out a solution sooner rather than later. Thanks again!

[df9192]

I have the same problem. Currently they have no solution for it. Waiting on an email from them with a solution. It doesn't matter if it is wifi or cell phone data, the results are the same. Still uses battery when not in use. 

mod edit: format

[AlyssaPandora]

Thanks for letting us know about your experience, @df9192.

It sounds like you've been in touch with our User Support team via email.

A specialist will help with reporting your device info to our engineering team. 🎧

[schzac]

I've noticed unusually high battery drain even when I'm not using the app and even after swiping the app from recent apps. What can I do?

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @schzac. 👋

Thanks so much for posting about this. I completely understand how frustrating this could be.

To keep the community space organized, I moved your post over to this existing thread: Pandora battery drain when not using

I can recommend running through these steps to see if it helps with the battery drainage here. Another option is to try force closing the app to see if this changes the drainage as well.

Force Closing the App:

• Navigate: Settings > Apps.
• Ensure All apps is selected (upper-left).
• If necessary, tap the Dropdown icon (upper-right) then select All apps. Locate then select the Pandora app.
• If system apps aren't visible, tap the Menu icon (upper-right) > Show system apps.
• Tap Force stop.
• To confirm, review the message then tap Force stop.

++

I'd still like to report this over to our engineering team. Can you send over a bit more info about your device?

• Model:
• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Build number (Settings > About Phone):
• Android Security Patch Level, if noted on your device (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version:
  • If you can open Pandora, go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number.
  • If you can't open Pandora: from Android Home screen > Android Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Find Pandora

Appreciate your help with this! 🎧

[tempeViking]

I noticed this problem today. I think it may be related to Android Auto. That was the last time I used Pandora. The app did not show up as an active task but was eating my battery alive. I don't think AA released the app when I exited the car.