Android: Drains Battery When App is in Use

[goatgoatgoat]

Something is wrong. I can't recall exactly when Pandora started abusing my battery but it will drain around 15% in about 30 mins. This is with screen off, phone on a counter or somewhere else while I work with Pandora playing music. Pandora 100% is the culprit of this battery drain, I can listen to a podcast on youtube or spotify and my phone will last all day. I have tried clearing cache, deleting data, reinstalling the app, nothing works. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've tried other music streaming services solely because of this battery issue but they just don't help me discover new music quite like Pandora does

Edit: This is on a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra SM-N986U, Android 13 (N986USQU4HWD1) / One UI 5.1

Moderator Edit: Edited title for clarity

[AdamPandora]

@goatgoatgoat I moved your post over to this existing thread: Android: Drains Battery When App Not in Use

Can you please do me a favor and send me a screenshot of your battery usage showing what percentage is being used up by Pandora?

(Please note you won't be able to attach images via email - you will need to open this Community link in a web browser in order to provide attachments)

Thanks for working with me on this!

[goatgoatgoat]

Thanks for the reply Adam. My issue isn't actually when Pandora isn't in use, but happens when it is streaming music. I can close the app and the battery drains as you'd expect from an idling device, but when Pandora is open and playing music the battery tanks at a rate I've never seen from any app- it drains even faster than it would if I were watching HD videos on youtube. I will post screenshots of this usage here soon

Something is wrong. I can't recall exactly when Pandora started abusing my battery but it will drain around 15% in about 30 mins WHILE USING THE APP. Not after the app is closed. It isn't starting itself up or misbehaving in any other way. The battery just tanks while the app is actively playing music. This is with screen off, phone on a counter or somewhere else while I work with Pandora playing music. Pandora 100% is the culprit of this battery drain, I can listen to a podcast on youtube or spotify and my phone will last all day. I have tried clearing cache, deleting data, reinstalling the app, nothing works. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've tried other music streaming services solely because of this battery issue but they just don't help me discover new music quite like Pandora does

This is on a Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra SM-N986U, Android 13 (N986USQU4HWD1) / One UI 5.1

Again, I am getting excessive battery drain WHILE USING THE APP.

You can see in the screenshots where the chart drops off is where pandora is active.

Moderator Edit: Merged posts

[AdamPandora]

@goatgoatgoat Thanks for following up.

I've enabled a trace on your account to help us better understand what's happening.

For this trace to be useful, we'll need you to run through our troubleshooting steps once more: Troubleshooting for Android Devices

Please make sure to run through all of the troubleshooting steps listed on that page, and if this continues to be an issue, please reply back to this thread and let us know.

Thanks again for all the help with this! 

[goatgoatgoat]

I have completed the troubleshooting and will use the app normally tomorrow throughout the day. I'll let you know if the issue persists, although I suspect it will as I have done the troubleshooting steps before a few updates ago

[bpfuchs]

Pandora will not stop streaming in the background using up all of my data and draining the battery battery. They have known about this problem for some time and have not fixed it. The only way to stop it is to delete the app. I have given up and will cancel my subscription.

[AdamPandora]

@bpfuchs Can you please confirm if music is actually playing on your device, where sound is coming out of the speakers on your Android phone? 

Or is the issue that the player notification randomly shows on your device, however music isn't actually coming out of your speakers?

If that is the case, we do have a separate thread where users have reported the same experience here: Android: Pandora player notification appears when app is closed

Can you please also send me a screenshot of what you're seeing?

(Please note you won't be able to attach images via email - you will need to open this Community link in a web browser in order to provide attachments)

Thanks for working with me on this.

[Msprout73]

I have the same issue on my Samsung Galaxy S23 ultra. I'm currently using my phone to listen to music. In 30 minutes my phone went from 78% to 66%. I've sent emails to try to fix the issue but never received a response. I'm about to cancel my subscription and try out Spotify.

It also will continue to kill my battery once I'm done using the app. I have to force stop the app to get it to stop draining my battery.

mod edit: merged comments

[Msprout73]

It also will continue to kill my battery once I'm done using the app. I have to force stop the app to get it to stop draining my battery.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi, @Msprout73. 👋

Thanks for reporting your experience. I'd like to pass this along to our engineering team on your behalf. Could you provide a few additional details about your device?

• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version (go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number):
• Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Your help with this is greatly appreciated. Thanks again! 🎧

[Krazy]

Pandora is hanging up on mine. When it does this I have to close it out. Also, when not in use, it's running in the background and nuking my battery fast. When the screen off and pandora not playing at all, it makes the phone get really hot. Went from 93% battery to 20% in less than 30 minutes of just sitting there. The battery drain started with the last update and the having to turn it off to reset pandora started with the update before the last update.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey there, @Krazy. 👋

Thanks so much for reporting your experience with the battery. I'd like to report your issue - can you send over a few more details about your device?

• Model:
• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version (o to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number):
• Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?
• Screenshot: If you're able to capture a screenshot of your battery usage showing what percentage is being used up by Pandora, I can also share this with our engineering team on your behalf.

If you're using a Pixel, you may find this Android article to be helpful: Fix battery drain problems on a Pixel phone

Let me know, and thanks for your help with this. 🎧

---

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[N2remedies]

I have had the same problem on my Samsung s23 Ultra for about 1 month now. I hope Pandora can get this fixed soon.

[AlyssaPandora]

Thanks for reporting this information, @N2remedies.

My recommendation would be to clear the app data to see if that helps: Android Troubleshooting

In the meantime, I've passed along your feedback to our tech team on your behalf. 🎧

[bward56]

Does the same for me. It runs all night when I'm sleeping. Uses all kinds of data. Did they ever help you? I don't like Spotify.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey there, @bward56. 👋

Thanks for reporting your experience.

Did you get a chance to run through the troubleshooting steps? If not, I would recommend starting here to see if this helps: Android Troubleshooting

Could you provide a few additional details about your device?

• Carrier:
• Android version (Settings > About Phone):
• Pandora version (go to Profile, then select Settings. Scroll to the bottom of the screen for the version number):
• Are you connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data when this is happening?

Let me know. 🎧

[Msprout73]

I finally got an email today about the trouble ticket I put in. I've been going in and disabling the app whenever I'm not using it.

My carrier is AT&T, One UI version 6.1, Pandora Version 2405.2 I mainly use AT&T's network but turn on WIFi when I get home. I have tried doing the trouble shooting with no avail.

I still have to disable the app when I am done using it or it will kill my battery. It also uses a lot of my battery life when using the app. I used to be able to listen to the app during my work day. Now I can only use it for an hour or two before I need to find a charger for my phone. It runs in the background constantly.

mod edit: merged comments

[bward56]

I forget to do that. 

Mine too. Spotify doesn't do that, but I don't like Spotify.

mod edit: merged comments

[bward56]

Mine too. Spotify doesn't do that, but I don't like Spotify.

[AlyssaPandora]

Thank you for providing those details, @Msprout73 @bward56.

I have shared your reports and feedback with our tech team on your behalf. 🎧

[N2remedies]

Thank you.