Hello everyone, I need an advice right now. Following situation:
I have currently a Pixel 8 Pro with GrapheneOS. I upgraded from my old Pixel 6 and wanted to upgrade. While I really really like GrapheneOS and have no problems with that (I mean I had my Pixel 6 with it already and loved), I’m really not happy with the device itself. The main problem is battery life. I had at some level the feeling that my new Pixel 8 Pro had the same battery life than my 2 year old Pixel 6 which has now almost 400 charging cycles behind. FYI: I have around 4 - 4 1/2 display time and don’t use my device between 100-0%, I care about my battery and want the best out of it as long as possible. And all that thanks to Samsung terrible modem (and processor partly since the Tensor chips are slightly different Exynos chips basically) for cellular data which’s really an inefficient piece of trash. If I’m in my cellular network I could swear that I can see how I lose battery every few minutes. I’m really about to return the device and stand now at the big question:
What now?
I did already many things to reduce the battery drain as good as possible like limited active apps in the background, not using any real for me well known battery hogs like apps using WebSocket for notifications (cough Signal cough) by using UnifiedPush, not using stuff like social media apps and limiting really only if I need. But to be honest: I had this problems right at the beginning and didn’t really changed even after doing all of this steps.
So… any ideas regarding alternatives maybe / plans on what’s the next best option? I can live with not having the non plus ultra in terms of private phone systems. I mean there are ways to make other phones more private (even if it’s not the same as GraphenOS of course, too bad that no other phones are supported). I would stay with GrapheneOS of course but not with such a device…
Just to check, are you running the screen at 120hz and do you use it lot on 5G?
And just so you know, the Pixel 6 has a battery of 4614 mAh whereas the Pixel 8 Pro has a Li-Ion 5050 mAh. So the 8 Pro only has a 10% bigger battery but has a lot more powerful hardware (I’m assuming, I don’t really pay any attention to the Pixels hardware) than the 6.
yes the screen runs at 120hz - but it has LTPO display which scales the refresh rate down to 10hz if nothing is moving on the screen. I don’t use 5G, it’s deactivated in my settings. I use WiFi generally but I’m also out of the house most of the time so I use cellular data often.
This is an option in GrapheneOS and actually I think in any android device (not sure about that).
I keep my phone in airplane mode all the time with wifi on and I get mobile reception only when I get at points that my phone recognizes the wifi spot.
The battery on those Pixels are somewhat a lottery. If you are unsatisfied maybe you can talk with Google and see if they can help.
I have Wi-Fi Calling activated since I started using this device. So it doesn’t really change anything. Heck, even with Wi-Fi only the battery life is just ‘meh’ at best.
I looked on reviews if they tell a different story and… no. The amount I saw so far also said that the battery life of the device is really the weak part of this device (on top of that the fingerprint sensor is also not great like it was on the Pixel 6 - optical fingerprint sensors are way less reliable compared to their ultra sonic counterparts). Someone said that they got with this battery-manager option and stock Android slightly better results over time but this is also just a luck-based game at the end.
I didn’t got my phone from Google itself. And I’m sure they won’t/can’t because it’s not their problem if I use my device “wrong”. I believe it’s a general issue which can’t be fixed with a replacement. And I’m unsure if the seller from which I got it will replace it since this is definitely not a warranty issue.
As for the fingerprint reader, have you enabled Increase touch sensitivity in the Display settings (if you’re using a screen protector)? Personally I have not had any issues with the reader since Google implemented that fix, either with the 6 or 8.
This option is activated in my settings. I mean it works technically but there are regular moments where you want to unlock and it’s not capable to unlock it. Not because I placed my completely incorrect, but just because I misplaced my finger a tiny little bit - and I set it up in many different angle/positions so it works more reliable.
But ok, back to topic. I’m thinking currently about what’s the next best thing beside Pixel with GrapheneOS? I would like to hear some ideas and opinions regarding that (or someone can convince me for something else).
Maybe it’s not what you mean, but you just in case, do not add the same fingerprint more than once. Several fingerprint profiles of the same fingerprint will just make the reader confused and inaccurate.
As for alternatives, something you can run DivestOS on since that’s the next best thing privacy wise.
I know what you mean and I did it in the past (not again now) but on the 8 Pro I just moved my finger more randomly so I avoid the need of getting the exact same position again from the setup process.
Regarding DivestOS: Generally yes, but most of the supported devices don’t have support for verified boot. Yes, I’m not the person who could get in such a sticky situation where verified boot may be necessary directly but it leaves a unwell feeling that basically anyone (e.g. someone who could steal my phone out of nowhere) can do stuff with it to extract my infos and private data for example. Or maybe worse… And beside that the installation process has a higher risk (not ultra high but compared to GrapheneOS’ Webinstallter process) of ‘something could go wrong and brick your device’.
UPDATE: I returned my Pixel 8 Pro a few days ago and will stay with my old Pixel 6 for now. I’ll wait how Google’s next device performs in terms of battery. I just hope they avoid inefficient hardware (like the 5G modem which causes battery problems with the Pixel 8 models) next time…
Hi, I’m keeping my Pixel 6a until the Pixel 10 series comes out, which will use SoCs manufactured by TSMC and not Samsung’s garbage. I also hope that Pixel 10 series devices will replace Exynos modems with Snapdragon ones, which are a billion times better.
