Battery discharging fast during video call with Signal messenger

Help Fairphone 2
1

Hi !

I would like to know if it’s normal that my battery is discharging fast during the video calls with Signal messenger ? Even plug with the charger, the battery is discharging during the video calls. I haven’t try with another app so I don’t know if it’s normal, if it’s the Signal app or if it’s my battery that is the problem. My battery seems no to discharging faster except for that use.

Someone has an idea ? Thanks for your help !

2

Charging might actually stop when the device and/or the battery itself are heating up too much. This might happen during a video call which is probably one of the most demanding tasks for a smartphone (high load on the chip + lots of data transfer for the wi-fi components). If the device/battery heaten up to a certain level, charging will be stopped as a security measure to protect the hardware.

I haven’t got much experience with video calls through the phone (I always use a computer for that), but you might want to try if setting a lower resolution (video) makes any difference.

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Thanks for your reply ! Yes I prefer the computer too but many people don’t besides we only have actually a single computer for the whole family, so it’s hard to find a schedule where it’s free at the right time ! :slight_smile:
I had already thought for a low resolution but I didn’t find on Signal.

Thanks again for your reply !

4

Two rather vague thoughts:

  • It’s unlikely, but maybe if you open the camera app, switch to the selfie camera and change the resolution settings there – perhaps Signal will just take over these? (I tend to think it’s unlikely, but it’s worth a try)
  • Not ideal either, but if you can keep the battery stable inside the core module, you might want to take the back cover off during a video call. Heat might dissipate a bit better this way. I know it’s a hassle to make sure the battery stays in position, but it might reduce the heat a tad bit.
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Thanks for your advises ! I will try ! Thanks so much for helping me !

6

As partly guessed by @urs_lesse, charging always stops when the camera is in use (at least on the FP2), independently from the heat. You can check this by starting the camera app while charging (LED switches off), then quitting it (LED switches back on), you can repeat this as many times as you want, you should always get the same behaviour.

My personal guess: camera demands too much energy for the phone to charge at the same time, which would probably be bad for the battery.

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Can’t confirm this for a FP2 with /e/OS when using OperCamera.

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What are the specs of your charger?
I must say I only tested on 5V-1A chargers.

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5V, 2,1A.
I’ve also tried with an 5V, 1A charger and with FPOS A9, but still can’t reproduce it.

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