Is 5G draining your phone battery?
Written by
Alicia Hempsted
Reviewed by
Kara Gammell
5 min read
Updated: 20 Jun 2025
Have you noticed your new phone running out of battery faster than your old one? Are you stuck with your phone permanently tethered to an electrical socket? Maybe it's more common than you think.
Research from web testing and network diagnostics company Ookla found using their Speedtest intelligence that accessing 5G networks on a smartphone drains battery by 6-11% more than when connection to 3G-LTE networks.
Samsung even made mention of this in the FAQs on their website. Their explanation is that Samsung phones that are connected to a 5G network will connect to 5G and LTE (4G) networks simultaneously to provide services more quickly and cost effectively. This high level of processing can put a strain on your phone battery, making it drain faster.
Other ways 5G can drain your battery faster are by switching between 5G and LTE frequently and by working harder to maintain a connection in areas with weak signal.
Many of the new smartphones will prioritise a 5G connection over others, meaning that even if LTE signal is stronger it will still try to connect to 5G whenever it’s available.
This can not only put strain on your battery but also result in worse performance.
Kara Gammell
Personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket
Personal finance expert at MoneySuperMarket
It's not just you struggling with your 5G connection
A number of unresolved issues mean that 5G isn’t performing as well as it could in the UK. Outdated telecom infrastructure and a massive increase in mobile phone owners across the country mean that networks are struggling to deal with the sheer volume of users, and the removal of 3G and Huawei is just adding to the congestion. So, you’re not alone if you feel as though you’re not getting the power you were expecting from 5G.
What to do about it
There are a couple of ways you can reduce the strain on your battery caused by a 5G connection, either by limiting your device's 5G connection or by adjusting a few settings to reduce your battery usage:
If you live in an area with poor 5G connection, the best solution may be to switch to 4G and turn off 5G altogether. Here is our guide to do it.
By turning on 'power saving' or 'battery saver mode' your phone won't connect to 5G networks. This setting also shuts down some backdown processes that might be draining your battery, including automatic updates. However, be aware that with this turned on some of your settings may be limited, including your screen brightness.
With so many people in the UK getting mobile phone plans with unlimited data, there isn’t much motivation to switch to Wi-Fi when the opportunity presents itself. It can feel like an extra step.
So, consider setting up your phone to auto-connect to trusted Wi-Fi networks, like your home or your work Wi-Fi. Connecting to a reliable Wi-Fi will give you a stronger connection and will put less strain on your battery. However, be careful not to connect to public Wi-Fis or any networks that might expose you to security threats.
Keeping your devices up to date ensures you have all the latest fixes to software issues, that your security is the best it can be, and updates can even optimise your phone’s performance.
If connectivity issues have been preventing your phone from receiving the necessary updates, make sure you are connected to Wi-Fi, go to your settings app, and check for software updates you might have missed.
Having apps and features like Bluetooth and connection services running continually in the background of your phone can put a lot of strain on your battery. Make a point to disable them if you don’t need them and close any apps that you might have open.
In your app settings you can adjust how and when your apps receive updates. To prevent your phone from using a 5G connection to carry out large downloads, you can adjust the settings so they will only update automatically if you are connected to wi-fi. You can also turn off auto-updates entirely, however this may affect the performance of your apps.
