Google says they’re looking into Pixel 2 / 2 XL battery drain bug, here’s a possible quick fix
Remember last week when we told you guys about a strange battery draining bug affecting the Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL after a recent software update? Well, it seems to have finally caught he attention of Google.
For those catching up, a few weeks ago some users began reporting severe battery drain after installing the February security patch. For some (myself included), the problems began earlier than that, with my Pixel 2 XL suffering from abnormal battery drain after first updating to Android 8.1 back in December. Performing factory resets didn’t do anything to help, something I typically recommend after applying a major software update.
A Pixel User Community Manager inside Google’s support forum recently began reaching out to those affected by saying, “We want to look into this issue and I’m going to reach out privately for bug reports.” Unfortunately, that means an actual bug fix likely wont be pushed out right away since they’re still investigating.
While you could twiddle your thumbs in the meantime, some users on XDA claim to have found a fix. For some folks, the issue could have something to do with Call Log Backup/Restore draining the battery. There seems to be an easy fix (for those who see this appearing in their battery stats). Here’s how:
- Open Settings app
- Tap on Users & accounts
- Tap on your Google account
- Tap on Account sync
- Turn OFF sync for Contacts
- Go back to the main Settings screen
- Tap on Apps & notifications
- Tap on See all _ apps
- Tap the menu button (3 dots)
- Select Show system
- Scroll down and select Call Log Backup/Restore
- Tap Storage
- Tap CLEAR DATA
- Press the back button twice
- Scroll down and select Contacts
- Tap Storage
- Tap CLEAR DATA
- Now go back and re-enable Contacts sync (see steps 1-5)
Again, it’s not clear this will work for everyone. I’ve also seen people report success by simply clearing the cache in the Google Play Store and Google Play Services apps, but neither solution has worked for me. Maybe you’ll have better luck.