Hi all,
I am very happy with running /e/ for the last few months on my (granted older, but trusted) Leeco LeMax2 (LEX 829), presently Android10.
But have been struggling with a battery drain issue:
GSamBatteryMonitor continuously ranks a process by the name of “RCSPhone” as the top “App Sucker”, even ahead of - understandbly - power intensive apps such as DuckDuckGo, Brave Browser etc.
I have frozen “RCS Service”, not needing any of the new and improved elements of messenger apps coming with RCS.
I have restricted a number of apps for background use.
Nothing has changed the “top rank” of RCSPhone’s power consumption.
What indeed is “RCSPhone”?
Has anybody discovered a way to make the process stop or at least drain the battery less?
Coming back to report:
In the absence of replies from other /e/ users re my query, here is what may be a solution to the problem of RCSPhone and Battery Drain:
About a week ago, I decided to freeze the process “Messaging Service” (com.android.mms.service) with the help of the app SD Maid (freezing can also be done with TitaniumBU) and have to date observed that RCSPhone has vanished from the list of AppSuckers in GSamBatteryMonitor. No negative effects whatsoever. (Reminder: I do not need the supposed advantages of RCS and, insofar as I understand that new protocol, see no disadvantages with MMS)
That said, I still have no idea what RCSPhone per se is or does or contributes…but would certainly appreciate learning more about that.
Hopefully, other users who find themselves wrestling with the same or a similar problem of RCS+battery drain will also find that the solution which has so far worked well for me will also work on their phones.
