If you’ve recently updated your Verizon Galaxy S3 to the leaked Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, or are using a custom Jelly Bean ROM based on that build, chances are that you’ve been noticing that the battery drain on your device is higher than usual. While turning off data service, and adjusting brightness of the display works to some extent, it may still  not be enough to squeeze a whole day out of your Galaxy  S3.

After a bit of tinkering around with system apps, XDA member galchristian seems to have found a solution to fix this battery drain issue. Just to be sure, that the problem apps were indeed identified correctly, he tried the method out on two different JB ROMs twice, and the method gave positive results on each of those occasions.

It looks like there are  two system apps in the JB build, namely Media Storage and Downloads 4.1.1, which were the culprits behind the battery drain, and deleting them right after you flash the ROM and then restoring them through a dirty flash (Flashing a ROM on top of an existing ROM without wiping data) does the trick. So if you’re experiencing the same issue, this could be your ticket to get a full day of juice from your Galaxy S3.  The trick does involve removing a couple of system apps, and then restoring them through flashing the ROM again via CWM recovery, and hence requires adequate knowledge of flashing ROMs and how to use the Clockworkmod Recovery or TWRP. Not for the faint-hearted, definitely.

Of course, if you mess up somewhere and end up with a bricked device, you can always refer to our handy guide on How to unbrick the Verizon Galaxy S3.

Assuming you already have the Jelly Bean ROM installed on your device, here are the steps to fix your battery drain, quoted from galchristian’s thread:

  1. I used TitaniumBackup and removed “Media Storage” and I also removed “Downloads 4.1.1”
  2. ReBoot into Recovery & wipe cache and dalvik cache
  3. Dirty-Flash your ROM of choice which you chose @ Step.5 and chose the same features if possible.
  4. Install your prefered Kernel optional (I personally chose Ktoosez 3.0.49 just because it gave me good battery life)
  5. Wipe cache and dalvik the last time and also fix permissions.
  6. Reboot and enjoy much improved battery life on your Verizon Galaxy S3 with Jelly Bean
Go ahead and try it out. It sure seems to work for quite a few people out there, and any tips to extend battery life of our beloved devices are always welcome, no? If you want to drop a line of thanks to galchristian, just click the Via link below to visit his XDA thread.