Esper Agent app showing high battery usage: GPS polling and screen-on time diagnosis

Android

If your Esper-managed devices are experiencing higher-than-expected battery drain, this article helps you diagnose and resolve the issue. The most common causes are outdated Esper Agent software and high-frequency GPS location polling.

Before you begin

Battery drain on fully managed devices is often attributed to the Esper Agent app by Android itself—this is normal behavior on Device Owner devices and does not indicate a problem with Esper. However, if your devices are running down significantly faster than expected (for example, dropping from 1.5–2 days of runtime to under one day), follow these steps to resolve it.

Step 1: Check your Esper Agent version

1. In the Esper Console, navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Device Info
2. Note the Esper Agent version displayed
3. If this version is outdated, proceed to Step 2 to update it

Step 2: Update the Esper Agent

1. In the Esper Console, navigate to Devices & Groups → [your group] → Apps (or open the Apps tab for an individual device)
2. Locate the Esper Agent application
3. If a newer version is available, select it and apply the update to your device or device group
4. Wait for the update to complete on all affected devices

Step 3: Monitor battery usage after the update

1. After updating the Esper Agent, monitor battery consumption for at least one full operational day or during a representative usage period
2. Check Android Settings on your devices to confirm that battery runtime returns to your expected baseline (typically 1.5–2 days per charge)
3. Verify that the Esper Agent app no longer appears as a dominant consumer in Android battery statistics

Step 4: Review location settings (if battery drain persists)

If battery drain continues after updating the Esper Agent, the issue may be related to high-frequency GPS location polling. Check whether your device group requires GPS location services:

1. In the Esper Console, navigate to Devices & Groups → [your group] → Blueprint
2. Review the Blueprint settings to confirm whether high-accuracy location polling is necessary for your use case
3. If location services are not required, consider disabling or reducing location polling in your Blueprint configuration
4. Reapply the updated Blueprint to your device group
5. Monitor battery performance again for a full operational day

Step 5: Collect diagnostic data (if the issue persists)

If battery drain continues after both the Esper Agent update and reviewing location settings, collect bug reports for analysis:

1. In the Esper Console, navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Actions → Bug Report
2. Alternatively, pull a bug report via ADB:

   adb bugreport bugreport_<device_alias>_<date>.zip

3. Collect bug reports from at least 2–3 affected devices immediately after the battery drain issue reproduces
4. Note the date, time, and device names, then contact Esper Support with the bug reports attached

Additional diagnostic steps

• Review telemetry data: In the Esper Console, navigate to Devices & Groups → [Device Name] → Telemetry to view battery discharge rate curves. This can help you identify patterns and correlate battery drain with specific times of day or device activities.
• Check location request frequency: In the bug report, examine the LocationManager entries to confirm whether high-accuracy GPS polling has decreased after your updates.
• Monitor screen-on time: Extended screen-on time can also contribute to battery drain. Verify that your devices are not staying powered on longer than expected.

Still need help?

If battery drain persists after following these steps, contact Esper Support with your bug reports and telemetry data. Include the Esper Agent version, affected device models, and the date/time when the issue began.