One UI 6.1 Battery Drain Fix: 5 Settings to Change Immediately on S23 and S24

Facing battery drain after One UI 6.1 on Galaxy S23 or S24? Fix it fast with 5 settings tweaks.

 

Galaxy S23 & S24 • One UI 6.1

Samsung’s One UI 6.1 update introduces Galaxy AI features and performance improvements, but many Galaxy S23 and S24 users have reported battery drain after upgrading. If your phone’s endurance has dipped, these five quick changes can restore battery life without sacrificing essential features.

1. Disable Always-On Display (AOD)

• Path: Settings > Lock Screen > Always On Display
• Action: Turn it off or set to “Tap to show.”
• Why: AOD keeps pixels lit even when idle, adding constant drain.

2. Turn off background app refresh for non-essential apps

• Path: Settings > Battery and Device Care > Battery > Background Usage Limits
• Action: Restrict apps that don’t need continuous syncing (social, shopping, etc.).
• Why: Background refresh is a major contributor to One UI 6.1 battery drain.

3. Manage location services

• Path: Settings > Location > App Permissions
• Action: Allow location only for apps that truly need it (Maps, ride-hailing).
• Why: Continuous GPS access can spike drain, especially post-update.

4. Optimize Adaptive Battery and Performance mode

• Path: Settings > Battery > More Battery Settings
• Action: Enable Adaptive Battery and set Performance mode to “Optimized.”
• Why: Adaptive Battery learns usage patterns and limits power-hungry apps.

5. Reduce motion effects and animations

• Path: Settings > Advanced Features > Reduce Animations
• Action: Toggle on to minimize transitions and visual effects.
• Why: Animations consume GPU cycles, translating into extra battery usage.

Bonus tip: Update all apps

• Path: Galaxy Store and Google Play Store
• Action: Update all apps to ensure One UI 6.1 compatibility.
• Why: Outdated apps may not be optimized for the new firmware and can cause excessive drain.

These changes typically resolve One UI 6.1 battery drain without resorting to factory resets. If issues persist, run Device Care > Diagnostics to identify rogue apps or wait for Samsung’s next patch update.