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ZDNET's key takeaways
There are many possible causes of your phone's battery degradation.
Identifying the reasons for deteriorating battery life can be challenging
Sometimes the culprit is malware: How to identify and remove it.
Lately, is your smartphone consuming more power more quickly, and your battery life deteriorating? Could malware be responsible? OK, let's take a deep breath. Before we walk you through the steps to investigate and fix a malware problem on your phone, let's look at some other possible culprits behind your power issue.
Batteries age, get damaged, and become less efficient as we repeatedly charge and drain them. At first glance, high power consumption and a steep drop in the number of hours a full charge lasts might raise the alarm that something is on your smartphone that shouldn't be there. Mobile malware is designed to stay hidden, which means your phone battery could be dying as malicious software quietly drains your power without any signs, notifications, or other strange behavior.
Also: This silent Android feature scans your photos for 'sensitive content' - how to uninstall it
However, there are many other reasons why your device is not operating as it should: lithium-ion batteries die, need to be replaced, and won't last forever. There are also plenty of other environmental factors, app changes, and settings to consider before you decide to purchase a new battery or switch to a different smartphone altogether.
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