Battery drain on Android app 9.0.1


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3 minutes ago
I see I'm not the only one with this problem - the latest update seems to have caused the app to consume more battery than the screen, even with notifications and lock screen off! I've had no choice but to uninstall the app as killing it, clearing cache etc, none of the usual things fixes it.

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77 replies

HTC U11 suffering the same problems. 49% battery use for a day the app was never used. I have just removed and reinstalled. I'll post back in a day or two.
SonosOneSteve has given a work-a-round that works for him and maybe others, but it does not explain "What Changed" having adoptive storage did not change and the version 8.6 of the app was functioning perfectly with little or no battery drain when the app was not in use, with 9.0 and 9.1 we have a massive battery hit on battery drain when the app is not in use, so again SONOS WHAT CHANGED from 8.6 to 9.x
Update to my situation on HTC U11. I removed the app, restarted the phone and reinstalled. Seems to be behaving as of today but that's only 24 hours. Strange thing was I tried reinstalling before but without the restart, maybe something was held in memory.
That's usually what I think about that too....something gets held over in memory, until the memory is "flushed" by a full reboot. It's why I often recommend a hard power cycle. I know it doesn't hurt, and sometimes it might help. And the other issue is what if it's something left over from some other program, corrupting ostensibly addressable memory?

Glad it's working now for you, hope it continues.
I uninstalled it from my phone (Android 6.0.1, Sony ), left it a week or so until I really needed the app again, then reinstalled.

Worked fine for maybe a week or so, but now we are back to the app being the main battery use every day, even when I haven't actively used it all.

Previously I had the widget as well which I thought maybe wasn't helping but I had got rid of that as well.

I'm uninstalling, will have to get by using Alexa for basic functions and then tablet or PC if I want to browse...
Same problem here, Moto G5s running Android 7.1.1 and getting unacceptable battery drain. Have tried downgrading to 8.6, but then it seems it is not compatible with the Sonos speaker itself. Raised support ticket with Sonos who responded initially with "We have not received any reports of our current version causing unnecessary battery drain."!

Anyway, I have submitted diagnostic reports to Sonos and await a reply.
Another me too. MotoG5 unacceptable (30%) battery drain attributable to Sonos app whether used or not. Right pain, version 8.6 used successfully but had to upgrade recently to add new beam to network. Have had to unistall app version 9 after cos same battery drain. Installing 8.6 also a pain & having to disable auto app update annoying ong. This has been going on for ages Sonos, come on we need a fix!
Would be interested if you see a difference with the just released 9.2 version of the Sonos software.
Would be interested if you see a difference with the just released 9.2 version of the Sonos software.

Thanks - will give it a go!
I'm not promising anything, mind you. It wasn't called out as a fix in the release notes, but I am curious.
Great news, have installed 9.2 and will report back. Thanks
Not great news unless it fixes your issue. As I said, there was no indication in the release notes. But I'm not convinced that Sonos is 100% sure about what causes the issue, either, very few people seem to be reporting with diagnostics, and they may not be able to recreate it internally. It's why you'll see me so frequently suggest that people submit a diagnostic. I've worked with programmers for years, and am constantly confronted with the "I can't reproduce the issue, how do you expect me to fix it" line.
Ah I see. Not read chain properly rather reacting to email. Indeed initial signs not good. Installed 9.2 earlier today and now #2 battery consumer at 13.6%. When I get a chance will submit diagnostics (need to read how ref no can be linked to ticket/problem report). Be better when I fire up PC. No magic fix I think 😞
That's unfortunate, but thanks for thinking about submitting that diagnostic, I can only hope it helps Sonos get to the bottom of the issue. Just make sure to post the resulting number here, so that they know what they're looking for in the data.
Ticket raised Case #: 00313060 and Diagnostics # 2000093177. Hope additional info helps Sonos resolve soon.
Diag number 381054112

Version 9.2 Nothing changed. Sonos still is the #1 battery user. 60% or more.

Please fix this!
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Good to see Sonos confirming (again) in another current thread that they read all posts. Please Sonos could you go the next step and provide an update on this issue that has existed since July. Even an update that says "we do not intend to investigate this issue" would be better than the current black hole. If you need more diagnostics or further tickets raised then I (and I am sure others) would be prepared to provide.
Hi, just thought I should post back here that upgrading Moto G5 and G5S to Oreo 8.1 has finally fixed issue for me. Sonos never came back to me with any other solutions.
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I got the Moto G5 update to Android Oreo 8.1 recently and can report that batt drain on Sonos (latest version) is low (as it should be).
I'm not going to test Android Adoptive storage again though!
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It looks as though this might be solved for me.

Phone Moto G (3rd gen) Android 6.0.1

Another family member with an iphone was 'forced' to update and the whole system was updated to 9.2. This meant that my reinstalled 8.6 android and windows installations refused to work and had to be updated. Initially things looked OK and then I noticed that it was now possible to move the SONOS app to android adaptive storage so being short of space this i did - whata a mistake battery use went through the roof again. I uninstalled and reinstalled (did not power down phone) and interestingly the reinstallation went straight to the sd card and the same battery problem . I moved the app back to main storage and still had the problem. Unistalled and reinstalled the app again (powering down the phone in between) and this time it went to main storage. In the last 24 hours cpu usage has been low - not convinced it is as low as 8.6 but low enough that it does not seem to be causing a problem.

So rather like SonosOneSteve the SDcard seems to be part of the problem although I when i first upgraded to 9.0 everything was on main storage.
So for me (so far) it looks like whatever Sonos accidently broke in 9.0 they accidently fixed in 9.2 (and possibly 9.1)
Hope this help others.
I am having the exact same issue - Sonos apps uses all my battery life, even when I am not using the app and out of range of a speaker. I uninstalled the app and my batter issues were immediately fixed. Sonos needs to address this ASAP.
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It's really bad when you have this problem - I know I had it for ages last summer / autumn.
Make sure you don't use adaptive storage with the SD card. That was the problem for my MotoG5. It might not be the same problem for you though.
I now have a Google Pixel XL (no SD card slot), on Android 9. Not had any problems at all. Sonos is not on the battery radar.
It all seems a bit random as to what Phone and what Android OS with Sonos will cause the problem to show though. One thing for sure is it's Sonos 🙂
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I am with SonosOneSteve here, make sure the App is not using the SD card and are you on the latest version of the App. When you reinstall the app I would suggest power cycling the phone first. Android seems to keep some information about an app in memory when it is uninstalled. Interestingly I had the very same problem with the Amazon Alexa app and had to stop using it on my phone. I have no idea what the fix for that is but currently it is not an issue as my second echo dot has died - is it just my bad luck or are the 2nd edition versions of the dot a bit flakey?
Also seeing this on my s10+ and have finally deleted the app as been like it for weeks now. +10% at least a day and its not even been opened
I had to uninstall Sonos from my Android, because it drained thé batterie really fast. I already wanted to install a new battery, but without the Sonos app there's no more need for that.