After more than six months of waiting, at the end of June, Verizon Motorola DROID Turbo finally received the highly anticipated Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update. It had been rumored for months, was delayed several times, and was finally released on 1 July. However, the update brought with it a few issues, primarily battery life issues.
Android 5.1 Lollipop, the successor to Android 4.4 KitKat, was released in November of last year, just a few weeks after Verizon released the DROID Turbo. Android 5.0 Lollipop, including Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
So far the Verizon DROID Turbo Android 5.1.1 Lollipop update has been running extremely smoothly for the vast majority of its owners. However, as you can see from the link above, the update brought with it issues or issues faced by multiple users and here we want to deal with one of the major issues, battery life. Read on for a few details and some potential fixes.
When the Moto DROID Turbo Android Lollipop update arrived, it brought a whole new experience to the powerful smartphone. Android 5.1 Lollipop completely changes the whole look and feel of the device, with Google’s material design interface, lock screen and notification bar changed, tons of animations and effects added, not to mention new features and much more.
The link above compares stock Android 4.4 KitKat to Android 5.0, which is very similar to the current software on DROID Turbo. There is so much new and so much to see. However, there were a few issues that were not listed in the large feature and improvement changelog.
We hear complaints about a few different things, but the biggest is undoubtedly battery life. The DROID Turbo packs a massive 3,900mAh battery that Verizon promises will provide 48 hours of battery life. Users complain that it no longer takes two days, and in fact, some claim that they cannot moderately use an entire day. Meaning Android 5.1 drains battery significantly faster. There are a few things we can do to fix this problem, so let’s get started.
DROID Turbo Lollipop Battery Life Fixes
A lot of things come into play when it comes to understanding why battery life suffers. A few quick ideas are to disable Verizon-installed apps or bloatware. Uninstall apps you don’t use very often or look under the battery setting and see which apps are using the most battery life. Try a few of the steps above, but make sure to also clear the device cache after the Lollipop update, which we’ll explain how to do below.
Another great setting is a WiFi setting where DROID Turbo constantly scans for a WiFi network and notifies you when it’s available. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi then hit the three dots or settings button and tap Advanced and turn off Wi-Fi scanning.
Another big drain from the actual screen is location data and GPS. These chips inside the phone may be constantly talking to Facebook, Google Maps or Navigation and other 3rd party apps causing a huge drop in battery life. With Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, Google changed that and it’s even better on Android 4.4 and Android 5.0 Lollipop. The screenshots below are from Android 4.4, but since DROID Turbo is on Lollipop it should now be in the same place.
Go to Settings > Location > and set the mode to . This uses WiFi and mobile networks to determine your phone’s location instead of the greedy GPS chips inside your device. The navigation may not be that accurate, but it still works fine and seems to take me places with battery saver mode enabled. To get the best results for navigation, you need to go back to high accuracy.
The last thing we want to do, but probably the best bet for a better experience, is to factory data reset and wipe all user data. However, before you try it, clearing the cache usually clears some fragmented update files and junk files and improves performance and battery life. well Here’s how to clear your cache On DROID Turbo after updating to Android 5.1 Lollipop.
This will clear your cache and all temporary files from app installations, software updates, and more. We clean everything to ensure better performance and battery life.
If all of the above steps don’t improve battery life, a last resort but probably best way is to factory data rest. I do this after every update to start with a fresh clean slate but it will delete all user data, apps, files, pictures, downloads and information. Essentially making the device as it came out of the box or the factory.
If current issues or battery life are still enough to warrant such a drastic move, this is a last resort.
To factory reset DROID Turbo, go to Settings > Backup & Reset > Factory Data Reset > and tap Reset Phone. This will completely wipe everything, reboot and start fresh. Users can then use the new Android 5.0 Lollipop restore function to download all previously used apps. The new Tap & Go restore works great if you have another device to restore or hit the drop down option and select your DROID Turbo and restore all apps from your Google sync account.
Turbo Charge Slows Down After Lollipop
We’re also hearing several reports of slower charging after the update we’re investigating. DROID Turbo has a feature called turbo charging or Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 that allows it to charge faster than most devices. It’s something we’ve seen from recent Samsung, LG, and other devices. However, users claim that Turbo Charge does not charge that fast after Android 5.1.
There is currently no workaround for this and we’ve contacted Verizon and Motorola for additional details and will give you feedback when we learn more. Experiencing slower charging speeds since updating to Android 5.1 Lollipop? Clearing the cache or doing a factory data reset can also fix this so try these steps if charging is indeed an issue.
battery saver
The DROID Turbo update to the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop introduces a highly useful and customizable new battery saver mode, and it’s something Turbo owners can do to conserve battery life when they really need it. This shuts down non-essential apps and services when your battery reaches a certain point in order to save as much as possible from important things like calls and texts.
Battery Saver mode can be turned on by going to Settings > Battery and turning the battery saver mode option. W-Fi, Bluetooth, and data for web browsing, Facebook, volume controls, screen brightness, and more will be reduced or turned off. This turns the phone into a regular (not smart) phone, but the remaining 20% can take hours in an emergency.
Follow all the steps above and if battery life issues persist, we may see an update from Verizon and Motorola to fix the problem. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for information and report back if an update comes out.
