2

My Google Pixel's battery has been draining rapidly the last few days. When I look at the battery usage chart, it shows almost-entirely red for "Mobile Network Signal".

That makes sense: scanning for mobile networks uses a lot of power.

When I open the lock screen, it says "No service". When I pull down the notification icon panel, it shows "No service".

If I open the About / Status / SIM Status page, it shows "Network: Unknown", "Signal Strength: 0", "Network Type: 4G", "Service Status: Out of Service".

Except I've got signal. I've received a couple of calls, I've got 4G connectivity, I can upload photos and check in on Facebook. The phone shows full (or almost full) signal in the status bar.

The only thing I can think of is that I'm roaming from the UK to Australia, and my network provider (or the local provider) has screwed something up. Hopefully it'll sort itself out when I return home.

The problem I have right now is that I'm going to be here for another week or so, and the battery life of my phone is hosed.

I've restarted the phone; I've turned on/off Aeroplane Mode; the phone's been turned off and left for a while. Nothing seems to help.

What else can I do?

(Google Pixel; Android 7.2.1)

1 Answer 1

0

Setting the "Preferred network type" (under Settings / Wireless & Networks / Mobile Networks) to "3G" (instead of "4G (recommended)") causes the phone to report a valid network connection and seems to solve the battery issue.

In Android 9, this setting is under Settings / Network & Internet / Mobile Network / Advanced.

Remember to change it back once you're home.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .