Android users are eagerly waiting for Google to push out the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop, but the excitement of its release may be dampened by news that a battery-draining bug could cause a delay in the rollout.
Earlier in October, Google revealed that the Android 5.0 Lollipop mobile operating system would make its way to Nexus 5 and other devices "in the coming weeks," but with three weeks already lapsed, users are growing restless.
Both Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 users, who were expecting the OTA release for Android 5.0 Lollipop to arrive on Nov. 4, were disenchanted as the impending update never arrived.
Now, according to reports, the delay in Android 5.0 Lollipop's push is likely due to a bug that drains the battery of the devices. Apparently, a Wi-Fi bug exists in the final build of the latest mobile OS, and it is impacting the battery life.
The bug was found in the Android L Developer Preview and details were posted on Google's bug tracker page. Several users reported that the Nexus 5 was affected by the battery-draining bug. However, the Android team was clueless as to what was causing the issue.
Trevor Johns, Google's Android senior developer, acknowledged the issue on the Android Developer Forum thread.
"Android Engineering is aware of an issue affecting Nexus 5 users running Android 5.0, which causes significant 'Miscellaneous' battery usage while Wi-Fi is enabled. This appears to be caused by an abnormally high number of IRQ wakeup events. We are continuing to investigate this issue," said Johns.
A screenshot posted by a Nexus 5 tester on the forum reveals that the full battery does not last more than four hours. Some testers say that disabling the Wi-Fi option solves the battery drainage issue.
"I was able to eliminate the drain by turning off the 'Scanning always available' setting that's in the Wi-Fi screen's Advanced menu (for me, turning off Location Services had no effect)," noted a tester.
Other users have found similar remedies to the issue.
"Turning off NFC, LTE, and finally Location Services removes this rogue battery drain from my Nexus 5. If I turn Location Services back on, the 'Miscellaneous' drain reappears," revealed another tester.
However, these are not feasible long-term solutions, especially with the public rollout on the cards.
On Thursday, Johns posted an update about bug issue.
"This issue has been fixed in the latest builds, and this issue is now considered resolved. Thanks everyone," he wrote.
Google has not divulged whether the bug also affects other Nexus devices apart from the Nexus 5. However, the Nexus 6 and Nexus 9 seem to be unaffected by the bug.
