How to fix OnePlus 5 battery life problems

The OnePlus 5 has above-average battery life thanks to its lean software, efficient processor, and 3300mAh battery. But not everyone uses their phone the same way or has the same demands from the limited power supply — some of us need more longevity than others. This difference in configuration means that some may have a combination of factors leading to lower battery life than expected.

If you're in need of longer battery life from your OnePlus 5, we have a handful of great tips to help you out. Read on.

Look for unnecessarily power-hungry apps

Misbehaving apps are one of the most common causes of bad battery life, and they can often be the easiest ones to diagnose as well. Head into your Settings and then Battery to see your usage over the last charge cycle — it's best to do this near the end of the day to get the most complete picture of things.

Apps should be conscious of your battery life, too.

You'll see many typical battery drainers here like Wi-Fi, cell standby, Android System, and the screen, but if you see an individual app cracking the top few places in usage there's a good chance it's doing something it isn't supposed to. Now if you just spent the last 3 hours streaming Google Play Music, it's understandable that it used a lot of battery, but if you haven't opened Facebook all day and it took up 8% of your battery, it's worth investigating.

The best thing you can do is reboot your phone or at least force close the app in question, followed by clearing its data to start over from scratch. If it continues to drain your battery, consider uninstalling it altogether.

Turn off Google Play auto updates

Google Play has this pesky habit of automatically updating apps, and sometimes with app updates actually changing its settings back to auto-update apps. You can understand why, because most people don't want to think about app updates, but then again most we want to control just what happens on our phones too.

To save battery life, you can turn off automatic updating of apps through Google Play. Go into Google Play, open the sidebar menu and tap Settings then tap Auto-update apps to adjust the setting. Most people will be okay with letting app updates happen on Wi-Fi, but if you want to keep your battery life in check you should turn it off entirely.

Just remember to check periodically for updates or at least turn on notifications for pending updates so you don't forget.

Turn off radios you're not using

This is something simple you can to to save battery life, though the amount saved isn't necessarily going to be substantial. If you're not going to be using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for a long period of time, it's worth simply turning them off.

If you're extra worried about battery life and want the full effect, you should also turn off the feature that lets the phone scan for Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices to improve location services. You can find the setting in Settings, Location and Scanning under the menu button. You can turn off one or both as you see fit — just remember that this may negatively impact an app's ability to accurately locate your device in the world.

Tweak your display settings

Smartphone screens are more efficient than ever, and the OnePlus 5's 1080p panel really doesn't use much juice, but there is still a direct correlation between screen brightness and battery usage. To save battery, consider dropping the screen brightness using the slider in the notification shade quick settings.

Extra battery life is great, but so is being able to see your screen.

Unless you can remember to constantly be on top of adjusting your brightness, the best balance of usability and battery will be simply using the "Adaptive brightness" setting. When you're outside or in a bright room it'll crank up so your view isn't impacted, but when it's darker it will save battery (and your eyes) by lowering it. Extra battery life is great, but so is being able to see your screen in every situation!

While you're in the display settings of your phone, consider turning down the "Sleep" time. This is the interval at which your screen will dim and turn off when it hasn't been touched. Simply moving from 1 or 2 minutes down to 30 seconds will have a positive influence on your battery life over the course of the day.

Use Battery saver mode

The built-in "Battery saver" mode does exactly what it says: saves you battery. It does so by reducing your brightness, throttling back performance, cutting back vibration, limiting location services and cuts way back on apps accessing data in the background. Adding it all up, it can seriously improve longevity without dramatically impacting your experience.

Battery saver walks a nice line of improving battery life while keeping your phone usable.

You can turn on Battery saver manually from the notification shade quick settings, or you can also set it to come on automatically — most people will choose the latter. In Settings, Battery and Battery saver you can choose when it comes on. Simply choose between 15% and 5% battery to have it trigger; if it is on, it'll turn off automatically when you plug your phone in.

You won't want to use your phone in Battery saver mode all of the time, but if you're in a situation where you know your battery is draining quickly and you can't afford to have it die on you before the end of the day it's worth being proactive and tossing on Battery saver early.

Take advantage of Dash Charge

Yes, we know, this doesn't exactly make your battery itself last longer — but it does help your phone get through the heavier-than-usual days you sometimes encounter. If you get to the point where your battery is draining faster than expected, and you have a long day ahead of you, the best thing you can do is toss it on a proper Dash Charge charger for a little bit.

Because of the way Dash Charge works, you can get an incredible amount of charge back in just 15 or 30 minutes — probably enough to comfortably make it through the rest of you hectic day. There's a Dash Charge charger in the box with the OnePlus 5, and you can also get a compatible car charger (opens in new tab) from OnePlus.

Andrew Martonik

Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.

21 Comments
  • What is up with the OP5!!! The 3T was nothing short of spectacular, with almost no complaint to be had. And universally praised. The 5 can't seem to avoid criticism and glitches. Could the fact that they copied the iPhone so shamelessly have been the catalyst for all of the adversity this phone has recieved? I definitely know that's a part of it for many Android Central readers.
  • It's the same article they put out for every flagship, literally just change the names, that's it. Must be a slow day on the linux exchange.
  • Oh I know. I'm just saying in general. This phone has been getting beaten up since the day it was introduced. Everything from the iPhone clone design to the camera. Personally I think it wasn't a good idea for them to go as far as they did copying the iPhone. It gotten a lot criticism in the Tech Community and that's what started it all But since I'm a OnePlus fan and a 3T user its definitely disappointing to see people hate the way they have on here when this phone and its predecessor are packing the type of specs and firmware they are. IMO the only thing there is to hate on with the 5 is the iPhone design. All of the other bittching is just idiotic
  • Oh dude same here. I've got a 3T and the thing is a beast, especially with the 2.2/2.6 overclock and I still get at least 8 hours sot. But as for the design, I think they could have stayed a bit more with the 3T design. If they moved the camera morw toward the middle, even if it wasn't centered. The whole iphone clone thing is just too much. But the thing is it's also a clone of the Oppo so it was probably cheap to just take the sister company's design and boost the specs, even with the cameras being identical. On the software side, they've got it spot on. No extra gimmicks like the big flagships and the speed and stability is one of the best. I personally don't need any extra out of their software. It's perfect as is and whatever upgrades they do will only improve it. The amount of criticism on the 5 is unneeded. They overhyped some of it too much, especially the cameras. That deserves some criticism. The whole 911 thing, turns out, is actually an aosp problem and not device specific. Other than that the phone is a beast. No need to upgrade though, the 3T is a monster considering it has last years specs. I'll be waiting out til at least the 6.
  • I couldn't agree more with everything you said. And also yeah there's no need to upgrade for 3T owners. IMO the only understandable reason would be if someone is wanting to try the new camera. Otherwise the 3T is at least a 2 year keeper
  • Exactly why I upgraded from the 1+3T to the 1+5. I love the new camera.
  • Nice try there stud......it's a phone issue.
  • Uhm yeah no, it's been reported on other phones well before this and is widely known. Your beloved s7 has the issue too, I have one of them as well. Stay informed hotshot, it'll help to keep your brain from hurting when you're thinking to hard. Actually no it probably won't.
  • I have had no problems, battery life rocks! I've loaded it with all the same configuration as my 6p, no comparison between the two phones and the Nexus was no slouch.
  • "Turn everything off and charge your phone". Duh.
  • Wtf? I don't understand this article at all... My phone has been off the charger for 24 hrs... Still has 26% left in the tank, on used 5 hrs of screen on time so far, along with 58min of calls... I have nothing disabled, running stock...
  • I dropped out of the battery watching game, I just charge everywhere I go! I have a charger at home, at the office, in the laptop bag, AND at the shore house! I also have a portable external battery I can use to charge devices.
  • They put out this article for every flagship, it's the same exact thing, they just copy and paste and change the names of the phones. Come on android central, give me a break.
  • jayzer01 - yep, pretty much a default article for every phone. Some of the info is good for noobs, who may have just gotten the phone and are looking around. T think AC could avoid the critical posts by changing the title to "How to get the best battery life out of your (insert phone name)". It would serve the same purpose, and does not sound critical of whatever phone they mention.
  • Totally agree with your article name version 👍 Unless it's like my S7 and no matter what you do you get **** battery life/sot.
  • What battery problems? Is this another click bait?
  • Sad...they had a "hit" on their hands with the OnePlus 3T, but BLEW IT with the 5.
    If you want a phone that has good battery life, get one with a BIGGER BATTERY.
    Oh, but it might not be "stylish". I have one that was "top" of the line in 2016,
    4,000 mAH battery, good benchmarks, not one battery saving thing done, and it
    lasts 2-3 days EASY, with moderate/heavy use.
  • You need to gain a bit more knowledge about the subject matter kiddo
  • Nice article you got here. you can save your battery consumption on your smartphone devices with tips at  this informative website http://wp.me/p8RKpW-8b.
  • That's weird. My apps only auto update on WiFi and while charging. I wonder why the OP5 doesn't have that option.
  • Don't buy the phone... problem solved!!!