The Pixel 5 has so many bugs and issues that it feels like Google is punishing customers for buying its new phone. It runs an energy-efficient mid-range Snapdragon 765G processor and packs a large 4,080mAh battery. So you would expect a good battery life. But a lot of Google Pixel 5 owners have complained about a battery drain issue. Apparently, the battery runs out pretty fast even when the device is lying idle at night.
Customers frustrated with the Google Pixel 5 battery drain issue
Following the Android 11 rollout, almost all the Pixel handsets have run into battery-related issues. But Pixel 5 users are the worst affected. Users have taken to the Pixel help forum to complain about the issue. A Pixel 5 owner said that his phone’s battery dropped almost 50% overnight even when the screen was off and no apps were running in the background.
Many other Pixel 5 customers chimed in the same thread, complaining about a similar experience. A user named Sam Borro said he charged his phone up to 100% before going to bed. When he woke up 8 hours later, the battery was down to 67%. The screen was off and the phone was idle all night. No apps running in the background. Even full factory reset didn’t resolve the issue.
It’s weird for the Google Pixel 5 to suffer a 40-50% battery drain overnight while lying idle.
How to fix it?
Fortunately, some Pixel 5 owners have found more than one workaround to resolve the issue. According to a user named Victor Te, 5G appears to be causing the problem. Even when the device is connected to a WiFi network, the 5G drains battery like crazy.
Switching from 5G to 4G worked for Victor. Head over to Settings > Network and Internet > Mobile network and change the ‘Preferred network type’ from 5G to 4G.
If you want to keep using 5G connectivity, you should consider disabling ‘Mobile data always active.’ Turning it off will save some battery life if you use mobile data as well as your WiFi. Head over to the ‘Developer options’ in Settings to disable it.
