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Android 16's latest beta is forcing some users to charge their phones twice a day
Published onMarch 6, 2025
- The recent Android 16 beta 2.1 release appears to be causing problems.
- Users are reporting that they are experiencing major battery drain issues after installing the update.
- Some say that they are being forced to recharge twice in one day.
Google released Android 16 beta 2.1 back on February 27. As it’s not a major beta build, this update mostly just offers bug fixes. However, it seems the release also introduced a new bug that causes batteries to drain faster.
Multiple Android 16 beta testers have recently flocked to Reddit to report that they have been experiencing serious battery drain issues ever since installing beta 2.1. It looks like the issue is widespread across all eligible Pixel devices.
Some users claim that the problem is so bad that they have to charge their phones twice in a single day. Putting some perspective on how bad the bug really is, one user states:
To really drive this home. I’ve had about 1 hour and 32 minutes of total screen on time usage today. Unplugged around 9 am, and my current battery life is 63 percent. I hope they fix this soon. It’s to the point where I don’t even want to use my phone for any extended periods of time.
As with any beta, bugs come with the territory. The irony here is that accelerated power depletion is an issue that started with beta 2.0 and beta 2.1 was supposedly released to fix it. But in this case, it appears the fix somehow made the bug worse for some.
However, it seems some users are having the opposite experience. A handful of replies claim beta 2.1 has fixed the battery drain problem brought on by beta 2.0. One user even says that their battery is only at 57% even after logging in over five hours of screen on time (SOT).