17 Effective Tips to Fix and Improve Battery Drain on Pixel 6

Phones with bigger displays and advanced features are prone to battery drain issues, and Google Pixel 6 series users are not exempt from this problem. If you're one of them and find that your battery is draining quickly due to “Mobile network standby” or other apps, don't worry – we've got you covered. In this article, we'll discuss various tips to help you fix the battery drain issue and improve battery life on your Google Pixel 6 series phones.

Try Pixel’s Self-Help Portal

Google offers a web portal specifically designed to address battery or performance issues on Pixel phones. You can access the portal here and follow the on-screen instructions to troubleshoot and fix the issue.

Restart Your Phone

Similar to troubleshooting other devices or apps, the first step is to restart your Google Pixel 6 phone. Press and hold the Power button until you see the menu. If tapping the Power button doesn't work, press the Power and Volume up buttons together. Then, tap on Restart from the Power menu.

Check What's Taking Battery

Often, a third-party app or a malfunctioning app is the culprit behind extreme battery drain on Pixel phones. To identify such apps, follow these steps:

1. Go to Settings and navigate to Battery. If an app is consuming a significant amount of background battery, your Pixel phone will suggest restricting the app. Tap on the card and press the Restrict button.
2. If you don't see any card, tap on Battery Usage. Then, tap on the arrows next to App usage and System usage to view the percentage of battery used by each app. The apps at the top are the main offenders.
3. To fix the app, update it, clear its cache, or uninstall it. If it's a system app, try disabling the specific setting causing the issue.

Update Apps

Regularly updating apps on your Pixel 6, or any other Android phone, is crucial. Developers frequently release updates to fix bugs and improve performance, including battery drain issues. Make sure you install these updates on your phone. For instance, a recent bug in the Google Messages app drained the battery on Pixel phones, but it was fixed through an update.

To update apps on your Pixel 6, follow these steps:

1. Open the Google Play Store on your phone.
2. Tap on the profile picture icon at the top-right corner and select Manage apps & devices.
3. Tap on Update available to view pending updates. Hit the Update all button to update all apps.

Update the Phone's Software

Sometimes, a monthly security update can cause battery drain problems on Pixel phones. Make sure to check if a software update is available for your phone and install it.

Go to Settings → System → System update. Tap on Check for update.

Turn off 5G

Disabling 5G and switching to an LTE network can significantly improve the battery life of your Pixel 6. Follow these steps to turn off 5G:

1. Go to Settings > Network & internet.
2. Tap on SIMs, followed by Preferred network type.
3. Choose LTE from the list.

Tip: Learn how to turn off mobile data and Wi-Fi on Pixel 6 here.

Check Adaptive Connectivity

Google Pixel 6 phones offer a feature called Adaptive connectivity, which automatically manages network connections to extend battery life. If the feature is already enabled, try turning it off to see if it improves your phone's battery performance.

Go to Settings > Network & internet > Adaptive connectivity. Toggle Adaptive connectivity on or off.

Reduce Screen Brightness

Keeping your Pixel 6's screen brightness at maximum affects battery life. To conserve battery, reduce the screen brightness when indoors. Swipe down with two fingers from the top of your screen to open the Quick settings panel, then move the brightness slider to the left.

Check Adaptive Brightness

If you prefer not to manually adjust the brightness, you can use the Adaptive brightness feature on your Pixel phone. This feature automatically adjusts the screen's brightness based on your environment. However, if it's already enabled and causing battery drain, try turning it off. Go to Settings > Display > Adaptive brightness and toggle it on or off.

Turn off Smooth Display

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones support high refresh rates (90Hz and 120Hz, respectively), which can impact battery life. Fortunately, Google Pixel phones allow you to switch to a 60Hz refresh rate.

To do so, go to Settings > Display and toggle off Smooth Display.

Use Regular Wallpaper

To improve battery life on your Pixel 6, consider turning off live wallpapers and using a static picture instead. Go to Settings > Wallpaper & style, tap on Change wallpaper, and choose a static image.

Pro Tip: Using a solid black wallpaper can further improve your phone's battery life. You can find it in the Solid colors folder under Change wallpaper.

Change Screen Timeout Time

If your screen stays on for too long after no activity, it can drain your battery. To preserve battery life, set your Pixel's screen timeout to a shorter duration.

Go to Settings > Display > Screen Timeout and choose 15 or 30 seconds.

Pro Tip: Turn off Screen attention to conserve battery.

Use Dark Mode

Enabling dark mode on your phone is known to improve battery life. If you're comfortable using your Pixel 6 in dark mode, give it a try.

Go to Settings > Display and enable the toggle for Dark theme.

Turn off Always-on Display

The Always-on display feature, if enabled, can also affect your Pixel 6's battery life. Consider turning it off or customizing the lock screen to optimize battery usage.

Go to Settings > Display > Lock screen and toggle off Always show time and info. Similarly, turn off Lift to check phone and Wake screen for notifications.

Turn off Now Playing

Pixel phones come with a Now Playing feature that identifies songs playing near your phone and displays the song and artist name on the lock screen. While this feature is useful, it can contribute to battery drain. If you're concerned about battery life, turn off Now Playing.

Open Settings > Sound & vibration > Now playing and toggle off Identify songs playing nearby.

Tip: Learn how to put Google Pixel phones on silent here.

Turn off Battery Share

The Pixel 6 series phones support wireless battery sharing. While this feature typically turns off automatically when not in use, it's a good practice to manually check and turn it off when you're not sharing battery power.

Go to Settings > Battery > Battery share and toggle off Allow battery share.

Reset Network Settings

If a network setting like mobile data, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth is causing excessive battery drain on your Pixel phone, resetting network settings can often resolve the issue. Keep in mind that resetting network settings will revert all network settings to their default values, so you'll need to set them up again.

Go to Settings > System > Reset > Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth.

The Best of Pixel

We hope these solutions help improve the battery life of your Pixel 6 phones. For more tips to maximize low battery power on Pixel phones, check out Google's suggestions here. Additionally, explore the best apps for Pixel phones here.

Remember, implementing these tips and making adjustments to your phone's settings can significantly improve battery life on your Google Pixel 6 series phones. Enjoy longer-lasting battery power and uninterrupted usage!