What is Device Health Services?

What is Device Health Services?

Device Health Services is a Google app that works out how long your battery will last based on how you actually use the phone, which is where the "until about 9:45 PM" style estimate in battery settings comes from. It began as the battery app on Pixel and Nexus phones, and in October 2017 Google started updating it through the Play Store under the name Device Health Services, as 9to5Google reported at the time.

It has no icon and no screen of its own. It shows up in Settings > Apps when system apps are shown, under the package name com.google.android.apps.turbo, and system app databases record it on a large number of devices, Pixels first among them.

It also holds the data behind Adaptive Brightness, the setting that learns how bright you like the screen. In early 2019 Google added a way to reset that learning from the app's storage screen, so you can retrain auto-brightness without wiping the battery statistics as well.

Can I disable it?

You can with ADB, but it is an advanced change: the battery time-left estimate depends on it, and community reports say battery settings can break without it. Settings often offers no Disable button for it. The command is:

adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.google.android.apps.turbo

What to expect: the battery screen loses its time-left estimate or shows a generic one, the Adaptive Brightness reset option goes away, and community debloat lists warn that some battery settings screens stop working properly. We have not found Google documentation listing every feature that depends on it, which is why this page rates it as advanced on community evidence rather than as a firm keep.

There is little to gain from disabling it. It is small, it does not show ads or notifications, and its battery use is low. If you want to reduce what it learns, clearing its storage resets its history without switching it off.

Does it drain battery or data?

No, its own battery use is small: it reads the phone's battery and usage statistics and turns them into an estimate, which takes little work. It appears in battery lists because it runs regularly in the background to keep that estimate current.

If it shows a large share, the cause is usually a temporary rebuild of its model after an update, a factory reset or restoring a backup. Google's help for Adaptive Battery notes that battery optimization takes a few weeks to settle after setup or a reset, and estimates follow the same pattern.

Data use is limited to its own updates through the Play Store.

Why did it just update?

It updated because Google ships Device Health Services through the Google Play Store, separately from system updates, which is the change 9to5Google reported in 2017. Updates refine the battery estimates, add support for new devices and fix bugs; past versions also added the Adaptive Brightness reset.

Because it is a system app, Settings may offer "Uninstall updates" to return to the factory version.

Which packages are behind it?

One package:

• com.google.android.apps.turbo is Device Health Services.

Some Pixels also carry a small related package, com.google.android.turboadapter, which shares its internal name. Adaptive Battery and Adaptive Charging themselves are Android and Pixel settings found under Settings > Battery, not separate apps you can find in this list.

If something goes wrong

If the battery time-left estimate is missing or clearly wrong, restart the phone and give it a few days of normal use; estimates are built from your recent patterns and take time to settle after a reset, a major update or a change in how you use the phone.

If the estimate stays wrong, clear its data: Settings > Apps > Device Health Services > Storage > Clear storage. On Pixels that button opens a choice between two options. "Reset adaptive brightness" retrains auto-brightness only, which is the fix when it keeps choosing levels you dislike. "Clear all data" also wipes the battery statistics the estimate is built on, so expect a few days of rough estimates afterwards.

If an update caused the problem, use Uninstall updates from its App info menu, restart, and let the Play Store reinstall the current version later.

If you disabled it with ADB and the battery settings now misbehave, turn it back on and restart:

adb shell pm enable com.google.android.apps.turbo
adb shell cmd package install-existing com.google.android.apps.turbo
adb reboot