Must have deals! Today: Galaxy S23 Ultra and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro!

SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.

Walking around with your Galaxy S21 Ultra in your pocket may be draining its battery

Phone
By 

Last updated: June 15th, 2021 at 12:05 UTC+02:00

The Galaxy S21 Ultra seems to be suffering from a rather strange bug that has frustrated owners over the last few months. According to numerous reports from Galaxy S21 Ultra owners, the camera app is causing an abnormal amount of battery usage when the phone is idle. Strangely, this happens mostly when they're walking around with the phone in their pocket, apparently because the camera app is waking up the device when motion is detected.

The battery drain can be mild to quite severe depending on the device, with at least one user reporting a drain of 21% over the course of seven hours and just 15 minutes of screen on time. Worse yet, the only way to find out that there's something fishy going on is by using advanced battery monitoring apps (such as this one). Android's regular battery stats monitor doesn't show anything amiss.

In fact, that might be the reason why Samsung has brushed this off as a non-issue to those who got in touch with the company through its support channels and through the Samsung Members app. But the issue seems serious enough going by the number of complaints that have piled up on various websites over the last couple of months, despite Samsung's official stance.

It's also worth mentioning that the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only device affected. Galaxy Note 20 Ultra owners have noticed the camera waking up the phone in a similar manner but have not seen it affecting battery life. Unfortunately, there's no fix for Galaxy S21 Ultra owners at the moment despite all the software updates Samsung has released for the S21 series since February.

We've reached out to Samsung for a comment and will update this article once we hear back. In the meantime, let us know if you've noticed higher battery drain on your Galaxy S21 Ultra (or any other Galaxy phone) when you're out and about compared to when the phone isn't moving around.

Phone Galaxy S21Galaxy S21 Ultra

You might also like

[List] All the Galaxy devices getting One UI 6 (Android 14) beta

[List] All the Galaxy devices getting One UI 6 (Android 14) beta

In a few months, Samsung will be releasing the Android 14 and One UI 6.0 update worldwide for a number of eligible Galaxy smartphones and tablets. But like it has done for previous big Android and One UI updates, Samsung is letting customers in some markets to beta test Android 14 and One UI 6.0. […]

  • By Abhijeet Mishra
  • 2 days ago
BREAKING: Galaxy S21 gets One UI 6.0 beta update!

BREAKING: Galaxy S21 gets One UI 6.0 beta update!

Samsung has finally released the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 beta update to the Galaxy S21 series. The update is currently available in South Korea. Users who wish to beta-test One UI 6.0 on their Galaxy S21 devices need to register their devices using the Samsung Members app after logging in using their Samsung account. […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 4 days ago
Android 14 One UI 6.0 update tracker for Samsung Galaxy phones

Android 14 One UI 6.0 update tracker for Samsung Galaxy phones

Every year, Google releases a major Android OS upgrade. Samsung does the same and uses Google's new OS version as a platform for a fresh One UI update. And like clockwork, for the second half of 2023, we expect a handful of Galaxy phones to get Android 14 and One UI 6.0. If you want […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 6 days ago
Galaxy S21 finally gets ultrawide and zoom camera support in Snapchat

Galaxy S21 finally gets ultrawide and zoom camera support in Snapchat

During the launch of the Galaxy S22, Samsung revealed how it worked with social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to improve camera quality in those apps. Improved images and videos were enabled through native support for Night Mode and the ability to use telephoto and ultrawide cameras inside Snapchat. Those features were also announced […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 2 months ago
Galaxy S21 users in the US can now install July 2023 security update

Galaxy S21 users in the US can now install July 2023 security update

Samsung released the July 2023 security update to several phones, including the Galaxy S21 series. However, the update was initially limited to Galaxy S21 units in European and Latin American countries. Now, the update has started rolling out to the Galaxy S21 lineup in the US, starting with the carrier-locked models. The latest software update […]

  • By Asif Iqbal Shaik
  • 2 months ago
Samsung Galaxy S21 series Android 14 One UI 6.0 update tracker (S21 FE included)

Samsung Galaxy S21 series Android 14 One UI 6.0 update tracker (S21 FE included)

The Galaxy S21 series is among the numerous Samsung smartphone lineups expected to receive the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update. The Galaxy S21 trio of flagships hit the market in January 2021, and they're eligible for four major OS upgrades thanks to Samsung's updated firmware policy. When will the Galaxy S21 series receive One […]

  • By Mihai Matei
  • 2 months ago