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chromecast remote batteries draining 3% in 9 hours if left in overnight

GerardGS
Community Member

Hi Jennifer,

I followed your instructions on resetting the Chromecast. However leaving the batteries in the Chromecast remote overnight for 9 hours from 11pm to 8am drains the batteries about 3% - so they would clearly not last very long.

 

Taking the batteries out of the remote stops them draining so quickly. Over a week with 2 hours use a day they lose less than 1% (provided batteries taken out of remote when not in use for the other 22 hours of each day).  But that does not seem right. Is there something wrong with this particular remote, or this batch?  I have seen many other comments on the internet about rapid battery drainage with the Chromecast remote.

 

Gerard

13 REPLIES 13

GerardGS
Community Member

A problem related to the reinstallation of the chromecast as suggested by Jennifer V. I have a Sharp LC-49CFE5001K dumb TV. Reinstalled Chromecast remote on advice of Jennifer V at Chromecast, to remedy rapid battery drainage.  Netflix and  BBC iPlayer were easy to reinstall. But Freeview and All4 (to catch up on channel 4 shows) have disappeared.  

Battery drainage is still a major problem.

scunliffe
Community Member

I think there is some sort of inactive battery drain on this device (e.g. it is communicating with the chromecast even when the TV is not on or being used.)

I'd argue this is a huge design bug, as there should be no need for it to use any battery power unless explicitly reacting to user input on the remote.

 

I put fresh batteries in my remote a few months back... life got busy, and I have NOT USED the remote at all, yet today when turning it on, it told me I have very low battery level. I'm going to put in new batteries, but if this is any indication of how often they will need changing, this is sad scenario.

 

If this is a design flaw that can't be resolved (e.g. for some reason the remote does need regular communication with the chromecast/TV... then in the next version, be sure to design it with an internal battery that can be charged by "docking" the remote in a charger cradle.

GerardGS
Community Member

Yes, scunliffe,  I agree, this is a problem. Your solution could help - though the life of rechargeable batteries might be limited if they drain 3% per night and are constantly being recharged. Another important piece of design is to stop the batteries being drained when the remote is not being used. It would be good if Google could respond to this.

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there GerardGS,

I apologize for the late response, thank you for being patient! Just to double-check, when the remote is not in use, is there any LED light showing on the remote? This could point to maybe the Assistant button being stuck, so the battery would be draining. Make sure there isn't any dust or dirt under any of the buttons as well. Also, if the remote is very far from the Chromecast dongle, the weak connection could also drain the battery.


I look forward to your response, and if you have any other questions or concerns for me, please let me know!

Best regards,
Jeran
 

GerardGS
Community Member

Hi Jeran, thanks for your reply. No LED light showing. Buttons not stuck. No dust or dirt under the buttons – this problem has occurred since it came out of the box on day 1, and it is kept in a clean, dust and dirt-free place. Remote is about 6 feet from the dongle. Many other Chromecast users have raised a similar complaint, so it looks like a design or manufacturing problem. What is the solution? Best Gerard

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hiya GerardGS,

 

Hmm, that is no good. In that case, when you have the chance, would you be able to fill out this form? That way, Chromecast Support can reach you and help you out, as they would have more tools than we would on the forum.

 

Best regards,

Jeran

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there GerardGS,

 

Did you have a chance to fill out that form I provided? Or, did you have any other questions or concerns?

 

Best regards,

Jeran

GerardGS
Community Member

thanks for the reminder Jeran, have now filled out the form.

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hiya GerardGS,

 

No problem at all, thank you for filling that out! You should have a Chromecast Agent reach out to you via e-mail, so feel free to continue the conversation over there. Unless you had any further questions for us here on the forum, I'll go ahead and lock the thread in 24 hours.

 

Best regards,

Jeran

GerardGS
Community Member

Thanks Jeran, I wonder if you could leave the thread unlocked for a while in case i dont get a Chromecast Agent reaching out to me promptly?

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there GerardGS,

No problem at all! I'll leave the thread open for a while longer, then check back to make sure that you're taken care of.

Thank you,
Jeran

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey there GerardGS,

I'm just checking up on this thread, did you have any more questions or need any additional help? 

Thank you,
Jeran
 

Jeran
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey GerardGS,

Do you have any more questions that we can address? If not, I'll go ahead and lock up this thread in 24 hours.

Just checking up,
Jeran