Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Messages and the Camera app may be staying open long after use.
- The bug can result in excess heat and battery drain.
- The issue may be triggered just by opening Messages.
A bug in Google Messages may be causing issues by keeping the Messages and Camera apps running in the background.
First noticed by 9to5Google, a thread on Reddit details an issue in which Messages and the Camera app are staying open for hours, long after being used. This causes the phone to heat up and the battery to quickly drain.
The issue appears to be the communication bridge between Messages and the Camera app. Messages lets users tap the Camera icon to quickly take a photo and text it to someone. The bug in question appears to keep this bridge from closing, resulting in one or both apps remaining open for long periods of time.
See also: Is your messaging app not working?
Some users reported the issue happening every time they opened Messages, even if they didn’t use the Camera functionality or send a text. Some users had to manually close the Messages app to stop the behavior.
The short-term solution is to manually close Messages after every use. A more permanent solution — at least until an official fix — is to go into the Messages app permission settings and remove its permission to access the Camera app.
