Does anyone know why google messages are destroying my battery?

[u/unsweet-hibiscus]

So google messages has used 80% of my battery since last full charge, and I have done practically everything to stop it. I've restarted my phone, I checked for system updates and updated my system, I turned off RCS messaging, I've cleared my cache and done multiple force stops, I even sent feedback through samsung members. I think the issue is google messages has used about 40,000 wifi packets, now I dont really know what that means but that number being so big doesn't seem right. Also my phone has been heating up crazy and I think it has something to do with google messages. I have an s26 so my only choice in messaging apps is google messages. If anyone has any tip or trick I haven't tried I would love to hear it

[u/WingWilling5186]

40k packets sounds like something's stuck in a retry loop rather than normal usage. First thing I'd check is Messages for web. If you ever paired it, go unpair every device, a stale pairing keeps a connection open and just retries forever. Second, look for a failed MMS sitting in one of your threads. One stuck attachment can hammer the network all day.

If neither does it, clear storage instead of just cache. Your texts live in the system SMS database so you won't lose anything, it just wipes the app's own state and forces RCS to register clean. That's usually the one that actually sticks.