The latest version of Google Play Services has some anomalies that affect the battery life: here's how to solve
In the last days have you noticed an excessive battery consumption by your Android smartphone? You're not the only one, it's a general problem reported by thousands of users worldwide. It's not your device that's to blame, but the latest update of Google Play Services, one of the many Google apps on your Android smartphone that manages services related to Big G's online store.
The bug in Google Play Services version 18.3.82 was discovered by the US portal Android Hacks, after receiving many reports from users about abnormal smartphone battery consumption. It took just a few minutes to find the culprit: analyzing the statistics offered by Android on battery consumption, Google Play Services was in first position. The Mountain View company hasn't released any official statement, nor has it released a new version of the app that fixes the bug.
While waiting for Google to fix the problem, users have found two alternative solutions: downgrade the app, or install the beta version of Google Play Services. Here's how to do it.
Android, how to solve the problem of abnormal battery consumption
The bloggers at Android Hacks have found a temporary solution to avoid the battery drain of the Android smartphone. The easiest way is to downgrade Google Play Services and install the previous version of the app. To do that you need to download the APK file from a reliable site and manually install the app.
The second solution is a bit more complicated: install the beta version of Google Play Services. To do this you need to sign up for the beta program and download the app. In this case we'll solve the problem of excessive battery consumption, but we may experience other kinds of inefficiencies. In fact, being an "experimental" version it's normal that there are some bugs in the new features.
How to check which version of Google Play Services is present on your smartphone
To understand if the problem of battery consumption depends on Google Play Services, you need to check the version of the app installed on your smartphone. Doing so is very simple: you need to go inside the device's settings, press on "Apps" and then on "Show all apps". Scroll down the list of installed apps and select "Google Play Services". In the "App details" box you will find the version number of Google Play Services. The process may vary depending on your Android smartphone model.