Here’s the scenario: you’ve just bought a brand new Galaxy S20 FE phone (perhaps you did one better and even got the S21 FE instead) but something’s off.
You now need to know how to fix the Galaxy S20 FE/ S21 FE battery draining issue because the phone wouldn’t hold its charge long enough. It’s just that you’ve started noticing that your Galaxy phone holds its charge shorter and shorter as the days pass.
Even if you charged it fully and left it idle throughout the night, a massive chunk of your phone’s battery capacity is gone when you wake up.
Choosing an FE or “Fan Edition” model for the features most requested by Samsung fans and that juicy 4500mAh battery is a great move, but with the battery issue, you might have regrets about doing so.
The thing is, you’re not alone in experiencing a rapidly-draining Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE. A battery draining so quickly is a common issue for this model and all phones in general. So, don’t fret; the Galaxy S20 FE and S21 FE phones are still great choices and are bang for the buck.
Here are several ways to fix the Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery draining issue:
- Restrict apps with high battery usage
- Put unused apps to sleep
- Uninstall unused apps
- Turn off Always On Display (AOD)
- Lower your phone’s refresh rate
- Turn on power saving mode
- Turn on Adaptive Battery
- Turn off extra features
- Use a lower screen brightness level
- Turn on Adaptive Brightness
- Use Dark mode
- Shorten screen timeout
- Turn off connectivity features
- Update your phone’s software
- Do a factory reset
- Replace your faulty battery
Like always, we’ll take you through the easiest to the most complex instructions on how to fix your phone’s problem with battery drain. Let’s go!
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Fixes | 16 |
| Duration | 5-10 seconds (average) |
| Things You Need | Samsung Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE |
Why is my Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery draining so fast?
Given the S20 FE and S21 FE’s jam-packed specs, we’d understand if you have all sorts of automatic features set up for the most efficient of uses. However, running your phone on “high” is terrible news for the battery.
Your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery might be draining so quickly because it has apps running in the background and consuming more battery. Many of its nifty screen-related or connectivity features could also be running constantly.
Below are some things you can do to improve your Galaxy phone’s battery life. Hopefully, these will mitigate the rapid battery drain.
How to Fix the Galaxy S20 FE and S21 FE’s Draining Battery
Fixing the Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE’s rapidly draining battery problem is very doable, even for beginners. We’ll cut to the chase and explain each procedure you can do to save your beloved phone.
1. Restrict apps with high battery usage.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 5 |
| Duration | 5 seconds – a few minutes |
The most common cause of battery drainage issues for the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE is having apps with high background battery usage.
All apps can have background processes. These include your email app constantly checking for new mail or your weather app updating to the latest weather forecast.
Add up each app process to another, and they’ll consume a sizable amount of your phone’s battery daily.
Good thing there’s an option in your Samsung phone’s settings to restrict specific apps’ background use of the battery and other phone resources.
Here’s how to restrict apps with high battery usage:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll up and tap Battery and device care.
- Tap Battery. Doing so will direct you to the battery usage graph.
- Tap the graph to see the apps that consume the most of your phone’s battery.
- Tap any app to toggle to allow or disallow background activity.
When done correctly, your selected apps won’t run in the background and consume battery anymore when you’ve already closed them.
2. Put unused apps to sleep.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
Another option available to you is putting the apps you don’t frequently use (but still need to the point that uninstalling them is out of the picture) to sleep.
A “sleeping” app will not have any background or foreground processes until you open it again.
Here’s how to make those unused apps sleep:
Step 1: Open the Settings app from your home screen or the quick access panel. |
Step 2: Scroll up and tap Battery and device care.  |
Step 3: Tap Battery below the smiling face. |
Step 4: Tap on the battery usage graph to see the Background usage limits page and activate Put unused apps to sleep.  |
After some time, you can check which apps the phone has put to sleep by revisiting your phone’s Background usage limits. Tap on Sleeping apps to see the complete list.
There’s also an option to set apps into a deep sleep, meaning they will NEVER run in the background once you exit them. Just tap on Deep sleeping apps and add the apps you want to sleep deeply.
3. Uninstall unused apps.
In our opinion, uninstalling apps is a foolproof way to mitigate battery draining issues. What else will drain the battery so badly if there aren’t enough apps in your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE, right?
Galaxy users, including those of the S20 FE and S21 FE models, can easily uninstall any third-party app via the home screen or app drawer. However, some system apps or even “bloatware” that came in pre-installed on the phone can only be disabled.
Here’s the usual way to uninstall apps:
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 5 seconds |
The standard way of app uninstallation is also the quickest one, which is why we highly recommend doing this (instead of going through the Settings app).
| Step 1: Note which app you want to uninstall and locate it in the home screen or app drawer. In this example, we’re using YouTube Music. |
Step 2: Press your chosen app’s icon long enough until a small submenu pops up on top of the icon. Press longer, and the phone will think you’re trying to send the app to the home screen instead.  |
Step 3: Tap Uninstall and confirm your action by tapping OK. The phone will have a small toast notification at the bottom of the screen.   |
Once you’ve uninstalled the apps you don’t really need, we also suggest that you schedule a consistent “purging” of future unused apps. You can have it every week or even once a month.
Here’s how to disable system apps:
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 2 |
| Duration | 5 seconds |
If the battery-hogging app is a system one, or one of those that came pre-installed when you first got the phone, then your only choice would be disabling these type of apps.
A complete uninstall can only happen through rooting (but we don’t suggest doing so because there is a high risk of breaking your phone).
Step 1: From the home screen or app drawer, press long enough on the app icon until a popup appears. Here, we’ll use Samsung’s Game Launcher as an example. |
Step 2: Tap Disable and confirm your action by tapping Disable again on the next prompt. The disabled app’s icon will disappear.  |
With a lesser number of apps that could run in the background and hog your battery without your knowledge, we hope that the draining problem of your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE will now be solved.
4. Turn off Always On Display (AOD).
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 10 – 30 seconds |
Samsung rolled out the Always On Display feature in 2016, starting with the Galaxy S7. Since then, it’s been a beloved feature of mid-range and flagship Samsung phones with AMOLED screens.
Although AOD is very useful in updating users on the time and notifications, it’s one feature that could be the culprit for your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE’s low battery life.
Here’s how to disable AOD:
Step 1: Open Settings and proceed to Display. |
Step 2: Scroll to the end of the Display menu to find other related settings. Always On Display is one of them—tap to go to its settings.  |
Step 3: Once in the AOD settings, toggle Always On Display to OFF. |
You’ll be left with a blank screen when your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE is locked, but we think it’s just a small price to pay for a battery that isn’t draining fast.
5. Lower your phone’s refresh rate.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
Most phones today can have refresh rates as high as 120 Hz (users can typically choose between 60, 90, and 120 Hz). A higher refresh rate means that the phone’s screen updates the images it shows faster, leading to a smoother visual experience.
Unfortunately, refresh rates higher than 60 Hz consume more battery. So we highly suggest lowering your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE’s refresh rate to the standard one, especially if you’re just a casual user who doesn’t use your phone for gaming.
Here’s how to lower your Galaxy phone’s refresh rate:
Step 1: Tap Settings, then select Display to open its corresponding menu. |
Step 2: Tap Motion smoothness. |
Step 3: Choose the lower refresh rate between the available selection. 60 Hz is standard, while 120 Hz is the higher one with smoother animation. |
Step 4: Tap Apply to finalise your choice. |
The change in image quality from 120 Hz to 60 Hz could be initially jarring to the eyes. However, its help in ensuring that your battery doesn’t drain quickly is huge.
6. Turn on power saving mode.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10-30 seconds |
Samsung phones have different power modes that users can toggle between through the quick access panel. You can choose between simple optimisation, medium power saving, and maximum power saving modes.
Here’s how to turn on power saving mode in the Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE:
Step 1: Swipe down from the top edge of your screen to open the quick access panel.  |
Step 2: Look for the Power mode shortcut. If it isn’t there, you can check and reorder the panel buttons by tapping on the kebab menu (︙) at the upper right corner of the screen. |
Step 3: Tap the “Power mode” text to open its settings. Don’t tap the icon itself; doing so will immediately activate the last selected setting (which could not be your preferred one, to begin with). |
Step 4: Select your desired power mode and confirm your selection by tapping Apply. We love Medium power saving mode because it’s the sweet spot for us—it turns off AOD and lowers CPU speed to 70%.  |
With the Galaxy phones’ different power-saving modes, your battery’s charge can last for way longer.
7. Turn on Adaptive Battery.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10-30 seconds |
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE/S21 FE gradually adjusts its battery consumption based on your device usage within a week or so after first use. Moreover, it can be set to have an Adaptive Battery.
Here’s how to enable Samsung’s Adaptive Battery feature:
| Step 1: Open the Settings app and select Battery and device care .  |
Step 2: Tap Battery to enter the battery settings. |
Step 3: On the page with the battery usage graph, scroll to the bottom and tap on More battery settings.  |
Step 4: Toggle Adaptive battery to the ON position. |
Now, the phone will optimise battery usage based on your phone usage. It will stop the battery usage of your least-used apps once you exit them.
8. Turn off extra features.
Your Galaxy S20 FE/S21 FE has some features that would quickly go unnoticed by the casual user. These include edge lighting and panels as well as gesture-related actions.
However, these features might be active in the background without you knowing, just waiting for that random instance of you making the necessary interaction with your device. These running processes also contribute to battery drains.
Therefore, check if any extra features are active and turn them off to save more battery.
Look at how to turn off some of your Galaxy phone’s additional features below.
How to turn off edge features:
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
Edge features involve the use of the edges of your screen for notifications and app shortcuts.
| Step 1: Go to your Galaxy phone’s Settings and tap Display .  |
Step 2: Scroll a little bit and select Edge screen. |
Step 3: Turn off both Edge panels and Edge lighting. |
How to turn off motion/gesture-related actions:
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
On the other hand, motion or gesture-related actions use the proximity sensor in the background. Here, the sensor “waits” for any matching movement to happen to execute given actions.
Step 1: Go to Advanced features inside your Galaxy phone’s Settings app. |
Step 2: Select Motions and gestures. |
Step 3: Toggle the motions/gestures that you don’t need to OFF. |
We highly suggest you keep the active motion/gesture features as minimal as possible for the most battery savings.
9. Use a lower screen brightness level.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 5-10 seconds |
Your screen’s brightness also consumes battery power. The brighter it is, the more battery is depleted, thereby leading to faster power draining.
Here’s how to lower your Galaxy S20 FE/ S21 FE’s brightness:
Step 1: Swipe down from the upper edge of your screen to open the quick access panel. |
| Step 2: Swipe down again to expand the quick access panel and show the brightness slider .  |
Step 3: Slide left or right to set the brightness to your desired level. Sliding to the left will lower the screen’s brightness. |
You should keep your screen’s brightness lower to save the most battery. Your eyes will thank you, too, for less eye strain.
10. Turn off Adaptive Brightness.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 2 |
| Duration | 5-10 seconds |
Aside from setting the screen brightness manually, Samsung also made sure that users have the option to make their lives easier with the Adaptive brightness feature.
As its name suggests, if Adaptive brightness is activated, the Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE will automatically change its screen’s brightness depending on the amount of light that hits its ambient light sensor.
The sensor’s consistent tracking of ambient light levels contributes to battery drain, so we advise you to ensure that Adaptive brightness is off.
Here’s how to turn off Adaptive brightness:
Step 1: Open the Settings app and find Display. |
Step 2: Toggle Adaptive brightness to the OFF position. |
With this, adjusting the screen brightness becomes a fully manual setting.
11. Use Dark mode.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 2 |
| Duration | 2-5 seconds |
Dark mode is one of two user interface (UI) settings available for Samsung phones. The other one is Light mode.
Many users nowadays (including the TechJive team) prefer having their phones in Dark mode because it’s kinder to the eyes.
Another positive effect of Dark mode is that it helps in saving battery power. Since most Samsung phones like the Galaxy S20 FE and S21 FE use AMOLED screens, their black colour is “true black” and does not use any battery power to be generated.
Here’s how to turn on Dark mode in your phone:
Step 1: Open the quick access panel by swiping down from the top edge of your home screen. |
Step 2: Look for the Dark mode icon among the panel’s shortcuts and tap it. If the said icon isn’t present, you can add it using the kebab menu at the upper right corner of the panel.  |
Once you’ve done the above steps, your Galaxy phone will immediately change its UI to Dark mode. Just tap the same quick panel icon again to return to Light mode.
12. Shorten screen timeout.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
Screen timeout is the duration your phone waits before it turns off its screen or locks itself after being idle. It could be another reason why your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery has rapid draining issues.
An extended screen timeout is helpful if you have your phone in your hands frequently—it lessens the time you’ll have to unlock your device.
Unfortunately, this long duration is a battery hog and a security threat. Others can easily snoop between the beginning of the phone’s idleness until it locks itself.
You should set a lower screen timeout duration to help save battery and prevent other people from snooping on your device. Here’s how you can do it:
| Step 1: In Settings, go to Display .  |
Step 2: Scroll until you see Screen timeout. Tap it. |
Step 3: Set the timeout to the shortest duration acceptable to you. |
Now, with a shorter screen timeout, hopefully, your battery drains more slowly and is more secure.
13. Turn off connectivity features.
| Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10 seconds |
Phone connectivity features include Location, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Near Field Communication (NFC).
When activated, any phone constantly searches for devices to pair with—again using the battery in the background.
To save battery, we advise you to turn off the connectivity features you don’t frequently use on your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE.
Here’s how to turn off these connections:
Step 1: Open the quick access panel from your home screen by swiping down from the edge of the screen. You may need to swipe down again to expand the panel further and see all available icons and their names. |
Step 2: Tap the corresponding Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or NFC icons to toggle them on/off. |
There you have it. Just turn on the connectivity feature you need when you need it.
14. Update your device software.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 3 |
| Duration | 10 seconds – 30 minutes |
Reported issues and other bugs on Samsung devices usually get solved by the phone company itself using software updates. Thus, we highly suggest you keep your device always up-to-date.
If you’ve enabled automatic updates on your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE, you’ll be notified whenever a new update is available. If you haven’t, use the steps below to install software updates on your device:
| REMINDER: Your Android phone should have enough charge before updating to help prevent any issues. We highly suggest plugging it into a direct power source. |
- Scroll to the bottom of your Galaxy phone’s Settings until you see Software update.
- Ask your device to check for updates by tapping Download and install. The next page will tell you if your software is up to date; if it isn’t, your phone will download the most recent version (you can leave this running in the background).
- Once the update is downloaded, you’ll be asked if you wish to install it right away (Install now). If the timing isn’t right, you can schedule the installation for later.
15. Do a factory reset.
| Difficulty | Easy ●●○○○ |
| Number of Steps | 4 |
| Duration | 10-20 minutes |
A phone factory reset is one of the last possibilities for fixing your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery draining issue. As the name suggests, doing so will restore your device’s software to its factory settings.
| REMINDER: A factory reset will erase the entire data on your Galaxy phone. Have your data backed up before starting this procedure. |
Also, always do this process with a fully-charged battery. You could also have your phone plugged in the entire time.
Here’s how it should go:
Step 1: Open your Galaxy phone’s Settings and select General management.  |
Step 2: Tap Reset. The next page will show you the different types of reset you can do on your phone—select Factory data reset.  |
Step 3: Your phone will list what would happen to your data during the reset. Tap Reset to confirm the factory reset (you might also need to enter your phone’s passcode/pattern to proceed).  |
Step 4: Tap Delete all and wait for the phone to finish its internal reset process for a few minutes. |
This factory data reset could help your battery hold its charge longer because it could iron out any unknown software and setting issues that drain your phone’s battery.
If your battery is still discharging at an alarming rate, maybe the problem isn’t software-related but is of the battery itself already.
16. Replace your faulty battery.
| Difficulty | Moderate ●●●○○ |
| Number of Steps | varies |
| Duration | varies |
The battery is one of the most commonly serviced parts of a mobile phone, so it’s not unusual if you’ll be sending your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE to technicians for repair.
If your phone is still under warranty, you’re in luck since you can get the service for free. You can go to third-party repair shops for a fee if it isn’t.
If you’re a bit of a handyman, you can replace the faulty battery yourself.
Technician’s kits with the replacement battery and needed tools are available at general e-commerce sites. Specialty repair ones like the folks at iFixit even provide full manuals on servicing different Samsung phones.
Tips on How to Improve Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE Battery Life
The saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” also rings true when it comes to improving your Samsung Galaxy S20FE or S21 FE’s battery life.
Here are a few tips that could prove handy in the long run for your phone:
- Use your device in the right environment. Samsung says that the ideal operating conditions for its devices include temperatures of 0-35°C (32-95°F), so refrain from using your phone in extreme heat or cold.
- Optimise your device regularly. Use the phone optimization service built into your Galaxy device’s settings (Settings > Battery and device care > Optimize now); it’s there to help you maintain your device in tip-top shape.
- Avoid using your phone in areas with a weak network signal. Your mobile phone will consistently search for any network reception—this search also hogs the battery, so go on Airplane mode if you’re in an area with limited reception.
- Don’t overcharge your phone. Overcharging your phone makes its battery overheat, and overheating causes battery damage and an overall shorter lifespan.
Wrapping Up
Rapid battery draining is an issue that could make any user scratch their head. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t lose hope in solving this problem because you can try many ways.
We hope the numerous tips and tricks above will help you with your Galaxy S20 FE or S21 FE battery draining issue.
FAQs about Galaxy S20 FE and S21 FE Battery Problems
Why is my S21 FE battery draining so fast?
The most common reason for the fast draining of your S21 FE battery is apps running in the background. Another possibility is that you could simply have a faulty battery.
How do I stop my Samsung S20 FE battery from draining?
You can stop your Samsung S20 FE’s battery from draining too fast by closing all running apps, turning off extra features that use the phone sensors, and setting your screen’s performance to the minimum setting.
Does the Samsung S20 FE have battery issues?
The Samsung S20 FE has battery issues. Many users have reported experiencing rapid battery draining due to apps running in the background or phone features (like Bluetooth, AOD, or motion-triggered actions) hogging power.
How can I improve the battery life of the S21 FE?
You can improve the battery life of the Galaxy S21 FE by using it in the most optimal temperatures, ensuring it doesn’t overheat, killing background processes, using dark mode UI, and lowering screen brightness.
