Fix: Xiaomi Mi5 battery drainage

Xiaomi is standing firmly with other renowned manufacturers and reassuring us that you can get a flagship-like device for the modest price. Their handsets are as reliable as one would ask for while being quite affordable.

One of the models that established Xiaomi as a contender in the tough smartphone race is the Mi5. Even though the Chinese giant introduced its successor, the Mi6, the Mi5 is still a valid choice if you want a premium specs device for a small price.

However, even though the Xiaomi Mi5 is a good phone, you may encounter some problems from time to time. And sudden battery drains can be quite problematic to deal with. So, today we compiled a list of workarounds you should take into consideration. The ones that should help you retain your battery life and vastly improve your overall experience.

Disable background apps

First of all, you’ll need to take care of the background apps that are draining a lot of battery on the daily basis. You can identify the larger consumers and disable them from running in the background. That can be done under Settings > Additional settings > Battery. Once you’ve found out about exact culprits for battery leaks, follow these instructions to disable them from running in the background:

Navigate to Apps.
Open the main consumers and set the restrictions on for them.

Wait for a couple of hours and look for battery improvements.

Although this will render some services unusable, like push mail or IM messaging, so make sure to exclude apps you frequently use in the background.

Prevent Wi-Fi from always scanning

Another feature that makes a great impact on battery drainage is Wi-Fi Always scanning. When enabled, this feature always scans for available Wi-Fi networks in your surroundings. This may be of use, but it can also substantially affect battery life. For that purpose, we advise you to disable it and move on trough the list:

Tap and hold Wi-Fi icon under Notification pane.
Open Advanced Settings.
Turn off Wi-Fi Optimization and Scanning always available options.

Turn off Sync

The second feature that is worth checking out is Auto-sync. When it’s enabled, multiple apps will use the connection to download/upload data in the background and that will most of the time lead to battery drains. So, make sure to disable it.

Open Settings.
Open Storage.

Tap Data & sync.
Disable Sync.

You can enable sync once per day, but the permanent activity will, as we said, cause a battery leak.

Disable Performance mode

Performance mode will give a higher priority to performance instead of balanced use. That can lead to battery overconsumption which is the matter we are trying to prevent. So, make sure to disable it and that should, at least marginally, improve the battery life.

Tap Settings.
Open Battery & Performance.

Tap Power settings.
Change to Balanced mode.

Switch GPS to Device only

One feature that affects the battery consumption heavily is Location mode. With some options enabled the phone will automatically perform a location scanning by using the Bluetooth to connect to other devices. A lot of users had much better battery performance when these features were disabled or rather switched to Device only. Follow these instructions to edit Location settings.

Tap Settings.
Open Additional settings.
Tap Privacy.

Tap Location.
Under Location, change to Device only.

This procedure should reduce battery leaks considerably.

Wipe cache partition

While the factory reset can be quite a trouble since all of your data is cleared, that’s not the case for the wipe of the cache partition. Basically, with this recovery procedure, you’ll only clear all of the temporary files, and presumably, fix a large variety of bugs or issues. Including the unusual battery leaks.

Follow the instructions below to clear the temporary files from cache partition:

Power off your device.

Hold Power button + Volume Up key until the Recovery screen appears.
Press Volume Up to navigate trough the language menu and select the preferred language with Power button.
In the same manner, select Wipe and reset.

Choose Wipe cache data.
After the procedure finishes, restart your device.

However, if the problem is still there and your battery on-screen time is gradually declining, make sure to check more steps.

Restore the factory settings

If you’ve done all of the previous steps but the battery durability is still subpar, you’ll probably want to perform a factory reset. First of all, make sure to backup your data before moving on with the following steps:

Power off your handset.
Press the Power button + Volume Up key until you see the Mi logo.

Use the Volume Up key to highlight the preferred language and press Power button to confirm the selection.
Choose Wipe & Reset.
Select Wipe all data.

Confirm selection with Power button.
When it’s done, reboot the device.

That should restore your factory settings and, hopefully, increase battery on-screen time.

Recalibrate the battery

It may sound silly, but what if your battery is in perfect condition but the readings are plain wrong? You can always replace the battery but we advise you to try the recalibration procedure first in order to get the proper readings. Prepare yourself for the lengthy procedure and follow the instructions closely:

Discharge your phone fully until the phone turns off.
Turn it on again and wait until it turns off..

Plug your phone into a wall socket, without turning it on, charge it until the on-screen indicator says ”100 percent”.
Unplug your device.
Turn your device on. If the battery percentage is not at the 100%, plug the charger again until the UI shows that the battery is 100% full.

Unplug your phone and restart it. If the battery is still not at 100%, plug in the charger and charge it until the battery is 100% full.
Repeat this cycle until it says 100 percent.
Now, discharge your battery until the phone turns off by itself.

Fully charge the battery one more time. Don’t turn on the device or disrupt charging.

It’s not advised to repeat this procedure too often. However, after you perform it, the readings should be spot on.

Switch ROM

A lot of more experienced Xiaomi users suggested a ROM switch. Most of the issues with the battery are mainly connected to a Global ROM, so you can obtain Chinese ROM or older version of the Global ROM release. You can find those here with the flashing guide. Make sure to handle this with care and stick to the explanation.

That should wrap up this article. If you have any additional suggestions or questions regarding the workarounds we presented, feel free to tell us in the comments section.