Unknown WhatsApp bug drains the battery of your smartphone

Some of the WhatsApp users complain online that the app has been using abnormally much power for days. The battery life of their smartphones is therefore much shorter. It is unclear what is causing the problem and when WhatsApp thinks it has a solution.

The first complaints date from November 8, as can be deduced from messages on Twitter, Reddit and the Play Store. The bug plays on smartphones from various brands, including OnePlus, Samsung, Xiaomi and Google. Affected users have, for example, a Galaxy S9, Galaxy S10e or OnePlus 6 and 6T. These devices run on Android 9.0 (Pie) or Android 10.

Screenshots of the battery statistics show that WhatsApp drains the battery, especially in the background. Normally an app in the background consumes hardly any power when you don’t use it. With the WhatsApp app, something has gone wrong there for a week.

It is striking that some iPhone users also have such battery problems. The well-known Twitter account @WABetaInfo reported on November 8 that WhatsApp uses an unusually large amount of power in the background on its iPhone. Dozens of iPhone owners have acknowledged this in recent days. The bug affects at least the iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max and older iPhone 7 Plus.

It is not often that a bug affects both Android smartphones and iPhones. That the cause of the bug is still unknown after almost a week is also special. There is also no comprehensive solution. Android users with battery problems mention various measures that would solve the problem, but they do not work for all users.

If you want to take action, it is advisable to first make a WhatsApp backup. Then you can, for example, remove the app and reinstall it. Updating WhatsApp to version 2.19.325 via the Play Store can also fix the bug.

PhoneArena writes that several users are satisfied after removing WhatsApp and installing a slightly older version. You can download that version, 2.19.291, as an apk file. Are you not familiar with that? Then first read our guide to safely and correctly install apk files.

For iPhone users, there seems to be no method to reduce the abnormal power consumption of WhatsApp. The developer is undoubtedly working on a solution for Android and iOS users, but it is not yet known when an update will appear.