[Q] Wi-Fi or 3G? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I read someplace recently that using Wi-Fi for internet browsing on a cell phone consumes less battery than using 3G. I've been told previously that Wi-Fi, while being a faster connection, also uses more battery. So which is true?

budgreen24 said:
I read someplace recently that using Wi-Fi for internet browsing on a cell phone consumes less battery than using 3G. I've been told previously that Wi-Fi, while being a faster connection, also uses more battery. So which is true?
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I've noticed when I use wifi I have longer battery life then when I have 3g on
Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

3G consumes a hell lot more power than wifi. My n7.2 has wifi running all the day, and the battery lasts for 1.5 days. My ol' HTC Desire couldn't last 2 hours under 3G.

Wi-Fi uses much less power than 3G. I keep it on 24/7 and there isn't much difference in battery consumption compared to Wi-Fi turned OFF.

Related

Wifi vs 3g

I have a question to everyone. I understand wifi drains less battery than 3g. But what if you are not surfing the web? Which would drain less battery while using the phone but not surfing the web?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Depending on what you're doing...
If you have a strong 3G signal, that's probably your best bet.
If you leave wifi on, it will continually search for available networks, which drains battery. However, if you're somewhere with little or no cell reception, the phone uses more power to search for a cell network.
If you're not actually using any online service, airplane mode is unquestionably best.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Get the smoda widget.
One button, one click. And ur data is off.
Helps w battery. I font know how much. But I ALWAYS download that widget first when I restore my phone
my second widget is from droidmania. Get the wifi one
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
At home I have weak 3g signal. Overnight, 8 hrs, WIFI conected to home network uses about 6-7% while weak 3g about 40%.
I leave Wifi, 3g, GPS, and bluetooth on all day and use my phone a lot and my battery lasts a whole day. We shouldn't have to **** around with enabling settings anytime we want to use the damn thing. If however you are running low on juice, then at that time you should start turning things off, and lower the screen brightness. Note: the auto brightness setting uses more juice than manual settings.

Battery life?

Why is it that when I'm on wifi, my battery last longer vs while I'm on 3G?
Sent from my HTC Aria using XDA Premium App
Wifi uses less power, it's a different frequency, as you're much closer to the wifi device than you would be the 3G cell mast.
plus, 3G need to find signal, when you in a place where 3G signal is weak, it will drain more battery
Use it when you need it...
After serval Test while I was in school and at home I found out:
Edge with Datasync on is the worst! Battery drains in 4 to 5h
Hspda/Hsupa with a good connection is way better. Batterylife 7h
If you just turn if off it saves a lot of energy! Up to 36h
So what I am doing now: I turn the Mobile Network off when I see that little E in the top right corner because the connection is so slow anyway..
Specs of my Phone:
HTC Desire HD with RCMix3D KINGDOM v1.1
1370mAh Battery
For actual data transfer, it depends on how often and how much is being sent.
3G transfers faster, so if you're just going after 1 thing, it can be less draining than 2G, assuming full signal strength on both, because it's in use for less time.
Yes radio and signal strength affect the battery. Some radios work better than others in certain areas thus giving a better signal. If you are right next to a tower your phone will last a while. The phone always tries to get a better signal thus causing drainage.
Thanks dudes, good info
Sent from my HTC Aria using XDA Premium App

[Q] Does Data drain battery faster ?

Does data connexion drain battery faster ? ( not on 3g, I mean only on 2g because i disable 3g, here in belgium there is only 2g+ so 3g is useless .. )
Thanks !
up No one know ?
Well.. Yes, of course it does.. You may want turn it off when you're not using data.
Yes it does. A constant 2G connection drains much more battery in standby than when it is off. You'll find your battery lasting longer with data turned off. WiFi uses far less power than mobile data.
Sent from my Desire HD using xda premium
According to what I've experienced with both my android phone (a SE Xperia X10) and my former maemo phone (Nokia N900) the power consumption while surfing the web on 3G is at least 3 times bigger than the consumption while in a wifi LAN.
I cannot say anything about 2G, because H3G in Italy has no 2G.

battery life drain with 3G

hi.
A few days ago I applied for a data plan.
Until then I was always using 2G network. Now I am using the 3G network while surfig or using the mobile internet. When I finish using it, I use 2G only and disable data.
Since then, I feel my battery is draining almost twice as fast as it was before. I am using the phone and internet exactly as much as I was using before, the only difference is that now I am using the data plan instead of the (very weak) WiFi signal. In battery menu, it appears "cell standby" takes only 4% of the battery life, but the real difference in battery life is very noticeable.
What could cause the difference? And are there any ways to improve battery life with 3G? (Hellybean 15/11 with newest kernel 1.9.5).
Thanks.
*edit* I have also checked, that if I leave the phone on standby with screen off on the 3G network with data on (but no apps that use data), battery level is decreased by roughly 10% every hour. If I use chrome for an hour using 3G connection and screen on half brightness, that would be 35% of battery decrease in an hour.
romitkin said:
hi.
A few days ago I applied for a data plan.
Until then I was always using 2G network. Now I am using the 3G network while surfig or using the mobile internet. When I finish using it, I use 2G only and disable data.
Since then, I feel my battery is draining almost twice as fast as it was before. I am using the phone and internet exactly as much as I was using before, the only difference is that now I am using the data plan instead of the (very weak) WiFi signal. In battery menu, it appears "cell standby" takes only 4% of the battery life, but the real difference in battery life is very noticeable.
What could cause the difference? And are there any ways to improve battery life with 3G? (Hellybean 15/11 with newest kernel 1.9.5).
Thanks.
*edit* I have also checked, that if I leave the phone on standby with screen off on the 3G network with data on (but no apps that use data), battery level is decreased by roughly 10% every hour. If I use chrome for an hour using 3G connection and screen on half brightness, that would be 35% of battery decrease in an hour.
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Try a different ROM? I remember on Hellybean I had really bad battery life. It drained quite fast, especially on browser. BTW, when you got 3G, did you change ROMs or no? Could you also post a battery stats screenshot? Also, data uses much more battery than WiFi. The part where you said it decreases by 10%, that kind of irks me. I would try a different ROM, such as PA 360 which is really good for battery.

Mobile data biggest battery drainer!

So I've been enjoying my ultra for the last couple days. Battery seems great. But losing percentages of battery at standby caught my eye. My phone would die when I wouldn't even be using it. So yesterday I found the culprit. Mobile network on all the time kept draining it. I disabled it and enabled wifi at work and home and now the battery lasts for days. Just a quick tip.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
witeboy07 said:
So I've been enjoying my ultra for the last couple days. Battery seems great. But losing percentages of battery at standby caught my eye. My phone would die when I wouldn't even be using it. So yesterday I found the culprit. Mobile network on all the time kept draining it. I disabled it and enabled wifi at work and home and now the battery lasts for days. Just a quick tip.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
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In every phone that's the main reason for battery drain on standby.
You could set Stamina mode to disconnect some functions you don't use while the screen is off, and leave on just the one that are vital (for you).
Anyway, another reason could be the signal strength in your area: if it's not strong enough, the battery drains because your smartphone is constantly trying to get the best signal (between 2G, E, 3G, H and H+) for its connections, and that is VERY battery consuming.
fastest83 said:
In every phone that's the main reason for battery drain on standby.
You could set Stamina mode to disconnect some functions you don't use while the screen is off, and leave on just the one that are vital (for you).
Anyway, another reason could be the signal strength in your area: if it's not strong enough, the battery drains because your smartphone is constantly trying to get the best signal (between 2G, E, 3G, H and H+) for its connections, and that is VERY battery consuming.
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Yep, im just trying to put some info out there...Other than that, the battery lasts me a long time. I do have to disable mobile data even with wifi on or else it would still continue to drain it!
On which Firmware are you? .475? .510?
jacktherapper00 said:
On which Firmware are you? .475? .510?
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I havent received the update, im in .475
witeboy07 said:
Yep, im just trying to put some info out there...Other than that, the battery lasts me a long time. I do have to disable mobile data even with wifi on or else it would still continue to drain it!
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Seems impossible to me... On my S3 and on my wife's Z data won't even show up in the status bar when wifi is enabled...
And if you could install better battery stats, you could see that none of the app used mobile data...
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I'm pretty sure my phone is using it. If I disabled it and it improved my battery life. Then I think it was working pretty hard even on idle or even off.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
Where are you located? Big city? Small town? Do you have a strong signal all the time? It'll use way more battery if the signal is weak.
witeboy07 said:
I'm pretty sure my phone is using it. If I disabled it and it improved my battery life. Then I think it was working pretty hard even on idle or even off.
Sent from my C6802 using xda app-developers app
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I got it when I am home. Poor H+ signal and 3G signal, so it always switch between H+/3G/E and it result in bigger battery drain. I go in the center and keep mobile data open and no problem.
Sent from my C6802 using Tapatalk 4

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