Note this is a BETA version and will have issues.
About
WMLongLife is an automatic 2G/3G band-switching solution. It will keep your device in 2G when you do not need to use 3G, and will switch to 3G automatically when you do need it. For most users, having your device in 2G uses much less battery, and thus your phone lasts longer on a single charge. 2G also usually generates less radiation than 3G, so it will likely be better for your gonads (if you have them) as well (see this thread for a discussion about that) - think of your hypothetical future children!
Main features
2G/3G (auto)/3G (only) automatic band switching based on:
- Running programs and their needs
- Availability of Wi-Fi
- Availability of USB
- Roaming [note: most roaming options have been removed, use the RoamFreely (marketplace) tool instead]
Idle data connections disconnect based on running programs (note that unlike the registry tweak this does not break simultaneous voice/data)
Manual band switching
Automatically disable data when roaming (including AGPS)
Pauses applications while switching bands (so you don't get networking errors)
Several predefined applications supported
Support for HTC/MSM72xx GSM devices (GSM/EDGE vs UMTS/HSDPA)
Support for HTC/MSM75xx CDMA devices (1xRTT vs EV-DO)
Support for various Samsung GSM devices (GSM/EDGE vs UMTS/HSDPA)
How to use
The manual is in the post below this one. Give it a quick skim!
License?
You can use this yourself on your own devices, if-and-only-if you download it from this post. You are not allowed to (re)distribute this app, not to your brother, not to your friends, not to anyone. Cooking it into your ROM and then distributing that is obviously also not allowed.
I reserve the right to turn this into something commercial if I want. I'm not planning it, but lets just cut the crap and say it may eventually happen (avoid BS like the last time). Should that happen, as last time, people who helped out will get taken care of.
Is this guaranteed to save battery?
No, it is not. If it will or will not save battery is dependent on your configuration of WMLongLife, your 'average' network conditions, your radio, and usage. The default WMLongLife configuration will give you (also depending on those other factors) a nice average between least and maximum savings while trying to be not too annoying. Radio firmware is very tricky, and results vary all across the board. It is likely there is a radio thread for your specific device, if you are comfortable with flashing devices, flashing a different radio may give you better (or worse) connectivity and battery life. How your usage effects all this should be obvious: if all you do with your phone is watch YouTube until the battery goes flat, WMLongLife will not help you [at all]. If you pretty much use at as a phone with additional email and some browsing / Google Maps here and there, you may definitely see benefits. It all depends.
Now let's get to the most interesting part: network conditions. 3G [at least in theory] uses less battery than 2G under ideal conditions. However, these ideal conditions are hardly ever reached. A lot of battery is spent finding a decent/better 3G signal to use instead of 2G - and I mean a lot. If 3G is few-bars or just an unreliable signal in your area, your device will not just use a lot, it will use massive amounts of battery trying to get a [better] 3G signal. Aside from that, if the conditions are less than ideal, 2G may use less power than 3G. As an example, I am personally in an area with excellent 3G coverage (5 out of 5 bars of HSDPA) and my device still lasts nearly twice as long on a single charge with WMLongLife running. Your mileage may vary, of course. While it is completely possible that it may not make a relevant difference in your case, I would say there will be many people who this does make a difference for. This is also the reason you will see many people advising in "battery saving" threads to disable 3G and attesting to how much battery it saves for them, and others will always respond that it doesn't make a difference [for them].
Having an idle(!) data connection should theoretically not make a difference with power usage, you have the connection anyway, it's just a question about whether you have an IP or not. However, some background applications (inside services mostly) will initiate data transfers if (and only if) a data connection is already up. So if you have an idle data connection, these applications would start using data, while if you did not have a data connection (connected), they would not.
Supported devices
This is a list of device it should work on, most of them have not been reported to work since 0.2, though.
HTC Touch Cruise
HTC TyTN II
HTC Touch Diamond GSM + CDMA
HTC Touch Pro GSM + CDMA
HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch Diamond II GSM + CDMA
HTC Touch Pro II GSM + CDMA
HTC HD2
Samsung i780
Samsung Omnia GSM
Samsung Omnia II GSM
Samsung Giorgio Armani II
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
Palm Treo Pro
Suspected to work on (never been tested, not even on 0.2):
HTC Titan/Mogul
HTC Vogue
HTC Touch 3G
HTC Touch Cruise II
HTC MAX 4G
Samsung Epix
Toshiba TG-01 ??
Important release notes
Currently known issues and problems and the changelogs are listed in the 4th post of this thread.
Donate
DONATE ! - Come on, almost 30 000 users and no more than a handful of donations ?
Download
downloads before 0.66: 26977
The Manual (0.5 and newer) - READ IT!
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The Manual
NOTICE: The manual is written for version 0.5 and newer!
Usage notes
I have done my best to let WMLongLife be as least annoying as possible. The idea is (with the default settings) that a band-switch should occur only once in a phone 'session'. Where by a session I mean a screen-on / use device / screen-off cycle. This also means WMLongLife may not switch back to 2G when you expect it to - WMLongLife tries to be smart about things to reduce the number of band-switches but still keep a fairly optimal 2G/power use. Please keep in mind this is a beta release.
Things you should know
WMLongLife generally does not kick-in until you have both entered your PIN (if applicable) at boot, and the screen has been off for about half a minute. There are exceptions to this rule - if you override the current band selected by using the Band Switcher app, WMLongLife will start operating from then on.
When band-switching, the icon in the top bar may stay on 2G (G, E, 1X, etc) for a while before it switches to a 3G icon. This does not mean you are not already using 3G, there is a delay in this display.
Issues
Known issues are listed in the post below this one.
Installation
Installation is easy:
Copy the WMLongLife.cab file to your device and open it to install it.
Go into WMLongLife configuration and make sure to check/configure the following options:
- Radio / Radio chip model (and GSM band for Samsung radios)
- Radio / Restart push mail after band switch
- Roaming - All options
These are likely to be detected and set correctly, however I advise you check them anyways. Details about these options can be found in the configuration section below.
Optional: Go to Start -> Settings -> Personal -> Buttons, and assign a button to the Band Switcher application
Soft-reset
The configuration options in WMLongLife are supposed to have "sane defaults", the setup which I expect will work best for most users.
Please note some beta testers have reported they need to soft-reset twice after installation/upgrade before WMLongLife works
Upgrading
If you are using version 0.2 or older, please remove it manually. All newer versions should be a simple case of copying the new CAB file to your device and opening it to install it without the need to uninstall the old version first. A soft-reset is necessary.
Please note some beta testers have reported they need to soft-reset twice after installation/upgrade before WMLongLife works
Uninstallation
Before uninstallation, there are two things you should do:
1) Open the Band Switcher application, and switch to "3G (auto)" mode
2) If you have roaming options enabled, make sure you are NOT roaming when uninstalling
After these two points, simply uninstall WMLongLife using Windows Mobile's Remove Programs function.
Popup when an unknown application tries to connect to the internet
Please see the application-specific configuration section below - it uses the same screen.
Band Switcher application
Currently this application is not skinned / nice-looking because it still contains some debug functionality.
This application can be used to manually instruct WMLongLife to switch to 2G, 3G (auto) and 3G (only) bands. While WMLongLife should do all this for you at the right time, there will be times when you want to override. It also offers the feature to disconnect cellular data connections, and jump to the configuration application.
There is also a "WMLongLife controlled" button. This will return band-switching control to WMLongLife if you have previously selected a band manually. If the Screen / Return control to WMLongLife when the screen turns off option is enabled, this will also automatically happen when the screen goes off - and stays off for a while.
Configuration
The configuration application offers access to the myriad of features that are present in WMLongLife. It is divided into three main screens: home (about), settings, and application-specific settings.
Configuration - Settings
Radio / Radio chip model
Select the radio model you are using here. This should be auto-detected on first installation. If this option is not set correctly, WMLongLife will not switch bands.
Radio / 3G mode
By default when WMLongLife switches to 3G, it uses the 3G (auto) mode. This lets your radio decide whether to use 2G or 3G, based on signal. The other mode is 3G (only). This mode will force the radio to use only 3G, and you will have no signal if only 2G is available.
Radio / GSM band for Samsung radio
If you are using the Samsung radio option, you will need to configure your GSM band here. Unfortunately there is currently no way to detect this.
Radio / After switching to 3G, connect to
This option allows you to set a connection to automatically connect to after WMLongLife has switched the device to 3G.
Radio / Restart push mail after band switch
Enable this option if you are using Microsoft push mail (Exchange Sync). It should be auto-detected, but this detection is not always perfect. If you are not using Microsoft push mail, I strongly advise you to turn this option off!
Screen / Switch to 3G when the screen turns on
Enabling this option will switch to 3G every time your screen turns on.
Screen / Switch to 2G when the screen turns off
Enabling this option will switch to 2G every time your screen turns off.
Screen / Screen off 2G switch delay
This configures how long to wait after the screen has turned off before switching to 2G. WMLongLife does not switch immediately after the screen goes off, as often you will turn on your screen again - if for example you were doing something but the screen went off automatically.
Screen / Return control to WMLongLife when the screen turns off
This option is relevant to the Band Switcher application. If you manually select a band to switch to in Band Switcher, WMLongLife will temporarily not switch bands itself. In Band Switcher there is also a button to return band-switching control to WMLongLife. If this option is enabled, band-switching control will be returned to WMLongLife automatically after the screen turns off (the Screen off 2G switch delay is also taken into account here).
Screen / Show band switch notification
This option configures whether or not you will see an On-Screen Display when WMLongLife switches bands.
Screen / Vibrate notifications
Very handy for debugging! When this option is enabled, WMLongLife will vibrate when loaded, when ready, and when switching. It may take WMLongLife over a minute to be actually loaded after the device is booted. When it is, it will vibrate very shortly three times (it may feel like a single long vibration). When WMLongLife is ready to allow automatic switching, it will vibrate shortly twice. When WMLongLife actually switches bands, it will vibrate once.
Applications / Switch to 3G on whitelisted application launch
This option configures whether or not to switch to 3G when you launch an application you have configured to use 3G. This is the heart of WMLongLife, disabling this option would usually not make any sense.
Applications / Switch to 2G on whitelisted application close
This option configures whether or not to switch to 2G when you close an application you have configured to use 3G. This option is disabled by default, and WMLongLife will switch back to 2G when the screen goes off instead. Enabling this option would make for a lot of band-switching to occur, while disabling this option ensures a band-switch should only occur once per 'phone-usage-session'.
Applications / Internal cache timeout
WMLongLife maintains an internal cache of all application windows. Because of technical reasons, the cache of these windows needs to be purged every once in a while. I recommend (for now) to keep this option set to 30 seconds.
Wi-Fi / Switch to 2G when Wi-Fi is connected
Enabling this option (default) will make WMLongLife switch to 2G when you connect to a Wi-Fi network.
USB / Switch to 2G when USB is connected
Enabling this option will make WMLongLife switch to 2G when you connect your phone to your computer using USB. This option is disabled by default, as it may cause excessive bandswitching if you are one of those people who cradle / uncradle their device often. USB also usually means charging, so the extra power needed for 3G is usually not an issue in this case.
Data / Disconnect idle connections
Enabling this option will disconnect idle data connections. If you have push mail enabled (and this is detected correctly) this option is turned off by default, else it should be turned on.
Data / Idle connection timeout
This option configures how long a data connection needs to be idle before WMLongLife disconnects it.
Data / Disconnect idle connections when the screen is on
If this option is not enabled, WMLongLife will only disconnect data connections when the screen is off.
Data / Disconnect idle connections when the applications are running
If this option is not enabled, WMLongLife will not disconnect data connections when a whitelisted application is running.
The Manual #2 (0.5 and newer) - READ IT! + Some screenshots from 0.55 (resized)
Data / Disallow background connections
When this option is enabled, WMLongLife will deny access to applications creating so called "background" connections, and only allow "interactive" connections. When an application connects to the internet, it tells Connection Manager some specifics. Only interactive applications like browsers / YouTube / etc should create "interactive" connections, while other application that need something from the internet but which you did not manually initiate should create "background" connections. Obviously this setting only has an effect on applications that set this information correctly. If you have connection notifications turned on, "interactive" connections are the ones that pop-up a "Connecting to ..." bubble - "background" connections do not do this.
Roaming / Disable cellular data connections when roaming [no longer available in 0.65, use RoamFreely instead]
This option allows you to configure which data connections you want to disable when you are roaming.
Roaming / Switch to 2G when roaming
When this option is enabled, WMLongLife will switch to 2G when you are roaming.
Roaming / Treat 2G as roaming [no longer available in 0.65, use RoamFreely instead]
When this option is enabled, WMLongLife will treat a 2G signal as if you are roaming. Obviously, when using this option, you should disable all other options that may make the device switch to 2G - if you don't, this will result in WMLongLife always thinking you are roaming.
Roaming / Turn off AGPS when roaming [no longer available in 0.65, use RoamFreely instead]
This option should only be enabled if you actually use AGPS. This should be auto detected upon first installation, however this detection does not always work correctly. If you do not use AGPS, make sure this option is turned off. If you do not use AGPS but this option is enabled, WMLongLife will also enable AGPS when you are not roaming. If your AGPS is not properly configured, this may slow down normal GPS operation.
Configuration - Application specific
WMLongLife comes preconfigured with optimal settings for various common applications. However, should you use an application that is not listed here, WMLongLife will automatically pop-up a configuration box when that application tries to use the internet. It is not possible to manually add or remove applications from the application list - and this is completely unnecessary!
The application specific configuration screen shows the list of configured applications, and icons to show their currently configured options. When you click an application in the list, the application configuration screen will popup.
There are five options in this popup: 3G, Screen/Off, Wi-Fi and USB.
3G
This option decides whether or not WMLongLife should give 3G to this application. If the 3G option is not enabled, all the other options are not relevant.
Screen/Off
This option decides whether or not WMLongLife should give 3G to this application, even if the screen is turned off. Most applications do not need this - pretty much the only exceptions are tethering applications.
Wi-Fi
This option lets WMLongLife know if this application can use Wi-Fi instead of 3G for its internet connection. Most applications can, however obvious exceptions are (again) tethering applications.
USB
This option lets WMLongLife know if this application can use USB instead of 3G for its internet connection. Most applications can, however obvious exceptions are (again) tethering applications.
Background time-out
This option configures how long WMLongLife will treat an application as "running" if it has not been actually visible on your screen. This only applies to applications that do not actually close when you press the "X" button. If an application is truly closed, WMLongLife will immediately treat it as "not running". However, applications like for example the Opera browser will always remain running in the background, whether you are using them or not, these will be treated as "not running" when they have not been "seen" for the length of time the background time-out is configured.
Most applications should be fine with a setting of 5 minutes or less. Applications that continue to use the data connection (like tethering applications) should have the time-out disabled.
----
To-do & Issues & Changelogs
To-do & Issues
[bug] Sometimes WMLL will not switch when device is booted in 2G *not reproducable so far*
[bug] Allow ConnMgr connections not directed at cellular networks while switching
[bug] Some device/rom combo's drain battery with WMLL... unattended mode issue? *not reproducable so far*
[improvement] Rethink "screen on --> 3G" strategies to be less annoying... perhaps detect user opening the dialer?
[improvement] Improve switching on Samsung devices and auto mode 2g/3g priority
[feature] Auto switch to 3G (auto) if no signal can be found in 2G or 3G (only) modes
[feature/maybe] Make smaller 'switching bands' notification
[feature/maybe] Add option to let the user select band on specific application launch (maybe also Wi-Fi ?)
[feature/maybe] Add option to let the user deny internet access completely to specific applications
[skin] Finish/update missing gfx target: 0.70
[skin] Skin BandSwitcher app target: 0.70
Changelog - 0.66.302 (PUBLIC)
[feature/maybe] Add option to allow background connections only on 3G etc [fixed bug, added option] PLEASE RECONFIGURE THE "DISALLOW BACKGROUND CONNECTIONS" OPTION !
[feature] Timebomb removed
Changelog - 0.65.287 (PUBLIC)
[bug] Find/fix unattended mode sometimes not working [fixed ?]
[bug] Something is broken with the idle data disconnect [fixed ?]
[improvement] Minor algorithm changes
[improvement] Minor settings handling changes
[improvement] Made vibrations a bit longer, as on some devices they were not noticable
[improvement] Improve push mail restart (now sometimes pops up ActiveSync) [implemented]
[removal] Most roaming functions have moved to my RoamFreely app. Details about how and why can be found in the 0.65 release notes
[addition] A simple API has been added
Changelog - 0.62.211 (PUBLIC)
Experimental HD2 changes
Changelog - 0.60.200 (PUBLIC)
[feature] Added option to immediately start an internet connection after switching to 3G
[feature] Added vibrating notifications
[feature] Added option to disallow "background connections"
Changelog - 0.60.191
Config and AppConfig now much faster (usable now )
Added several preconfigured applications, including some who are not configurable through the Config app to prevent issues
Improved IPC
Added friendly descriptions for the preconfigured apps
Modified loading pattern
Fixed screen-on/3g-switch/call-drop issue
Improved skin compression (+- 50%)
[bug] After user band override, treat as screen has been off (no more waiting)
[bug] Find/fix issue with sometimes not loading
[bug] Improve connected-to-network detection
[bug] Find/fix configuration lost issue (hopefully)
[bug] Wi-Fi on -> Opera (stays in 2G) -> close Opera -> Wi-Fi off -> 3G - should stay in 2G (hopefully)
[feature] Implement Omnia II compatibility
[feature] Add option to not show OSD notifications
[feature] Implement roaming options
[feature] Added support for disabling AGPS while roaming
[feature] Added support for Samsung's "uber-fast" band switching (can still be improved)
[feature] Add current status to config app
[skin] Select-popup-box skinned
[skin] Program-state-icons skinned
[skin] Added (temporary) program icons
[skin] Implement (W)QVGA skin
Changelog - 0.50 (beta - private)
Added support for Samsung Omnia
Addes support for MSM75xx (HTC CDMA) devices
Added several preconfigured applications
Turned WMLongLife into a service
Created separate configuration app
Created separate application-specific configuration app
Application-specific configuration app pops up on new unknown connection
Applications are now 'paused' when the band switch is made
Added various configuration options
Added BandSwitcher application
Added code to cope with Wi-Fi and USB connections
Many adjustments to application detection and handling
Usable full-time
(0.5 = changes since 0.2, written after the fact, is not complete)
WMLongLife API (new in 0.65)
I added a really small and simple API as it has been requested by several people.
The DLL file is WMLongLifeAPI.dll and is installed in your \Windows. Use LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress to get at the functions.
Here are the function definitions:
Code:
DWORD WMLL_APIVersion();
BOOL WMLL_IsRunning();
#define BAND_SWITCH_WMLL 0
#define BAND_SWITCH_2G 1
#define BAND_SWITCH_3G_AUTO 2
#define BAND_SWITCH_3G_FORCE 3
VOID WMLL_BandSwitch(DWORD band);
VOID WMLL_DataDisconnect();
VOID WMLL_ReloadSettings();
DWORD WMLL_APIVersion();
Returns the current API version. WMLongLife 0.65 returns 0x100 - or API version 1.00.
BOOL WMLL_IsRunning();
Returns whether or not WMLongLife is loaded and running. Note that WMLongLife can take up to a minute (sometimes longer) to activate itself.
VOID WMLL_BandSwitch(DWORD band);
Instructs WMLongLife to switch bands.
As band parameter use one of the BAND_SWITCH_* values listed above. BAND_SWITCH_WMLL returns control of band switching back to WMLongLife. Note that this may happen automatically when the screen goes off, this depends on WMLongLife configuration options.
VOID WMLL_DataDisconnect();
Instructs WMLongLife to disconnect all cellular data connections.
VOID WMLL_ReloadSettings();
Instructs WMLongLife to reload all settings from registry.
You are a genius and you are super witty to boot! Thanks, I will report bugs if I find any!
This is brilliant.. if only I had a MSM device..
i780 is also on the to-do list.. I just happen to have one lying here next to me
Sounds like something these MSM based 3G smartphones need (especially those for CDMA networks). I'll definitely test it and give you my feed back.
Soul_Est said:
Sounds like something these MSM based 3G smartphones need (especially those for CDMA networks). I'll definitely test it and give you my feed back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well as stated everywhere, this is only for GSM... there's no CDMA equivalent. (perhaps one day?)
What a great idea for a program, like seriously this is great stuff .
You don't have to convince me......
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=472727&highlight=worth+it%3F
Was waiting for something like this.......2 thumbs up!!
One app I thought of immediately that I feel needs 3g is youtube. I sometimes use Pandora, but I realize I am one of the few. Other than that, it sound like a superslick idea, and I will test and report bugs/updates on how it works for me.
Well crap... I'm on CDMA. Now my nuts are toast and my children will turn out looking like (the artist formerly known as) Prince.
Thanks for nothing Chainfire!
Look, you might've taken my guide a little too seriously. My intention was to differentiate between 2G and 3G as everything (almost) in life is relative.
if you had a 3G device running full time in your front pocket for 2 days, nothing will happen.
My point is, that the longer you radiate straight to your balls.. or any other organ, the chances to be harmed by it increases. now that's a FACT - radiation isn't healthy. so yeah, chernobyl was somewhat different considering the thousands of terawatts radiated... but that doesn't mean other stuff can't harm us. so let's just minimize the probability of us being able to grant life only to green children in the future, even if it's a 1% chance - why not make it 0.5?
I suggest EVERYONE uses Chainfire's app.. and.. if in the future, you need to buy it.. give in the 20/25$... it's worth it.
Chainfire, i suggest you consider other implementations as well.
our phones invest more energy in retaining a signal when the signal is low, which makes your phone radiate a lot more.
Maybe finding a way to disable this (if at all possible) will be good for us. of course, if someone needs a signal he can enable this option again...
Hehe! I know you shouldn't expect 3G to be really dangerous to your balls, and I primarily made the thing to save power. You may notice the first post is not entirely serious in nature But as said, less is always better.
Still though, having a source of heat close to the gonads has been proven to be bad for the swimmers (same reason why you should never put a laptop on your actual lap), but that is a different story which should be told a different time.
I'm always open to suggestions, though
I actually wasn't refering to you in the "taking it too seriously" matter but ok
nir36 said:
Chainfire, i suggest you consider other implementations as well.
our phones invest more energy in retaining a signal when the signal is low, which makes your phone radiate a lot more.
Maybe finding a way to disable this (if at all possible) will be good for us. of course, if someone needs a signal he can enable this option again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i completely agree with this, while where you are going with this right now is absolutely great(dont get me wrong) this issue stated above at least i know for me has been a big issue. My phone will usually last 1 day EASY, but sometimes ill look down and it will be like 50% less than what i thought it would be. & i look and it has really low signal & is constantly connection/disconnection going form 2g-3g....
Just a thought i dont even no what you could do about this just wanted to state my opinion . Awesome work.
this sounds like it would be really interesting project i would love to see it working on other 3g phones (blackjack ii) i don't currently have one but given that i run beejive or implus all the time when my phone is on along with seven on three accounts and push email a lot of that stuff can be done on 2g rather then 3g and save data and power
Good news everyone, I also figured out how to do 2G<->3G on Omnia! Going to test if that works on the i780 as well.
Hi all
Not a power user's dilemma I'm afraid but I hope someone can help me out...
What's bugging me is that my wife's LG-P500 incurs a small charge every day because, despite all the settings telling me it should NOT connect to the internet via the mobile network at any time, it somehow still connects - even when wifi is available like at home.
This wouldn't be a big deal normally but because she's on a pre-pay txt only plan her credit gets used up quickly.
My HTC Wildfire uses NO mobile connection at all when I have wifi available. Any ideas why this should be happening with our LG-P500?
Great forums by the way and I'm slightly embarrassed to be raising this probably noob topic here but I can't find an answer anywhere else...
Thanks in advance!
I haven't seen that problem on my P500, with the void echo ROM (the stock firmware didn't stay on the phone long enough for me to try that).
The option to disable it is in:
Settings -> Wireless and network settings -> Mobile networks -> Data enabled (should be unchecked)
Or in the drop-down menu of the notification bar.
I'm not sure about the stock ROM, but on void, an additional icon appears on the notification bar whenever the mobile network is active.
You could also try disabling the option:
Settings -> Accounts & sync settings -> Background data (should be unchecked)
Thanks. I already did all the obvious stuff you mention, having seen it work fine on my Wildfire... Any other ideas out there?
Might this be related to Location Services using Cell tower information ?
Could try turning that off anyway.
If you don't want to use the mobile network for internet access, than go to Settings > Wireless & network settings > Mobile networks > Uncheck Data enabled .
If the network allows you, you can also select Network mode > GSM only, this will also save you some battery. For example, I only use wifi to connect to Internet on my phone, and I also checked the option "Use only 2G networks" (also saves battery), I'm connecting to my operator only for phone calls
What is your Wi-Fi sleep policy settings? Try setting it to Never.
When the phone goes into sleep mode, wifi is turned off to save on battery. May be that's the reason mobile network is getting connected in sleep mode. If u enable wifi policy to never sleep that will drain the battery. You can disable the mobile network from th3 notification bar that should help.
Many thanks for the help guys!
Wifi sleep: good idea, I'll look at that!
Location services: good idea, I'll look at that!
Data enabled: unchecked already.
The problem still strikes me as odd because although I have ALL the same apps (and quite a few more...), I don't have this problem with my little HTC Wildfire...
Update: the only way I could find to resove the issue was to invent and use a nonsense APN...
Wifi sleep was already ticked as "never" by the way.
Thanks again everyone who gave advice.
Yeah, I've also had reason to use an APN named "fake" with a proxy named 'fake", although i use "Z" now to save typing, LOL.
This is one of many things i would do when changing SIMs. I have had one SIM and phone that always set a new APN and this ended up costing me a few bucks in data fees before I re-changed the APN info.
I would also disable the data services, make sure WiFi was on (to provide priority data access) AND enable airplane mode.
Anyway, your experience has inspired me to check more deeply about my data usage. I don't like the idea of my phone doing data without my knowledge while it's in standy.
I prefer to manually choose which connection I would like to use, so if I'm using my data plan such as when I'm out, I go to notification and enable data. I only get 200mb a month so its easier for me than to always keep networks on even when I'm not using them. It also saves on the battery as well.
EDIT: you can check your data usage using 3g watchdog app, find it in android market
It easy to solve. Just install APNdroid
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.google.code.apndroid
It also has a widget. Works very well.
Hi,
Is there an app, script or something (which MUST be lightweight for RAM and battery) that would turn off background data when wifi is off?
Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk
If you enabled background data at any point, you would know that 3G and 2G networks are only used when wifi is not connected. By turning it off when wifi is off would effectively make your data connection and plan redudant.
Disabling background data while is not on WiFi
Actualy, this is not a bad and dum question, these days, that many people have limited data, I really don't want my apps and other stuff on the background access the interent and I prefer these to get done on wifi, specialy market which I really don't want it to access the internet and check for updates while I'm driving, I would like this to get done when I'm on wifi, I noticed that my phone used 10 MB / day even if I don't use it myself.
please let me know if such a app exist
You can use DroidWall to get an exhaustive control over apps. Really easy to use, and you can decide app by app if they can get internet acces on 3g, wifi, 3g and wifi or not at all.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode.droidwall.free
SORRY IGNORE ABOVE!! That is not what you're asking for. But you can use CPU tuner for that https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.amana.android.cputuner&hl=en
Go to wireless
Then scroll down and last one choose
Then untick the one wich is ticked
Sent from my GT-S5830 using xda premium
I've tried each of these suggested options, but none of these have I found satisfactory.
The problem is that one wants to be able to retrieve and send MMS messages, without other data being exchanged (at least in my contract in Sweden, MMS messages are included in the contract, and is not counted as regular data. I'm guessing your contract is under the same premises...). So that rules out the option os switching off the 3G network.
Next, the problem with DroidWall in this situation, is that there is a 0.4kb data leak through the firewall every time the Wi-Fi successfully connects to a wireless network. Don't ask me how or why (I used two or three different apps to ensure that this was the case). Even if this data amount was fairly small, I wasn't satisfied, since I pay a correlating fee for every byte sent or recieved by my phone, and I wanted all other data stopped.
The solution I finally came to was simpler than I imagined. I altered the API (or APN) settings in the "mobile networks" menu found in the network settings in the device menu. I simply accessed the settings for my account and changed API-type (APN-type), so that it only said "MMS" (erase "default" and "supl"). The only flaw with this option is that one has to fill out "default" in this Space again if one actually desires to use 3G data for some reason. Anyway, this has worked solidly for me for a couple of months (no data leaks).
Hope this helps you!
Sincerely, yitzhaq
On Comm Manager I find that if I have my carrier's GPRS settings installed then the data connection will turn itself on whenever some program or other sneakily phones home. The only resolution I can find is the 'wrecking bar solution' of removing the GPRS connection altogether from the connection options.
Unfortunately that means using GPRS, when I occasionally need it, is a very cumbersome process of having to install and then remove the settings each time.
I tried the 'Manila Dial-up enable/disabler' mentioned in another thread, but I find that this, rather than correcting the problem, just duplicates the 'wrecking bar solution' in that with it activated I can't turn GPRS Data on at all. If I deactivate dialup disabler, then as you might expect Data turns on unprompted at the next phone-home incident. Surprisingly though, and rather uselessly, when I reactivate the dialup disabler it doesn't turn Data off! So although well-intentioned this is a rather broken solution. It doesn't achieve the requirement, which is:
Data switch on: GPRS activated.
Data switch off: GPRS deactivated.
I say to myself, SUUURELY there has to be a better answer to this? The situation is a bit like going back to the 90's with analog modems dialling unprompted and racking-up a huge bill. Seems OS programmers never learn from previous design blunders.
Have a look for what doing it, check gps software for updating satellite options, check weather app & such like.
I find GPRS on WM6.5 perfect because can easily find and stop things automatically connecting to data with bit of a hunt & also use likes of dialup enabler disabler or GB-Soft Tweak to auto disconnect connections after short a time as 1 second of zero data.
I have mine setup with GPRS always enabled but not connected, I have no rouge app sneaking a connection but even if did it would auto disconnect meaning minimal data usage charge, also this way I can simply manually check a mail plus have my mail on a schedule & the data usage is absolute minimal thus so is the battery drain due to GPRS data use.
Not so easy on Android or iOS as have to turn data off or it milks your connection constantly.
Do some research & feel free ask more questions as this should be easily sorted .
Also perhaps take a look at the modaco nodata app
http://www.1800pocketpc.com/modaco-nodata-turn-mobile-internet-hspda-gprs-3g-edge-off/
Yet another option is Advanced Config, this has options turn data off & also set time out for auto disconnect ... menu > more settings > connections .
More options are:
Go to: Start -> Settings -> Connections -> Advanced -> Select Networks
then create a new connection without any Modem settings. And select that connection as your default Data connection.
Registry control
In the registry you’ve got the following key:
HKLM\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\{7C4B7A38-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA}\Connections
There are all your data connections.
Go inside every data connection and you’ll find a key “Enabled”.
This key has a value 0×1 (1) or 0×0 (0) - 1 means it the selected GPRS setting option & enabled, setting to 0 will disable this GPRS setting.
You could use mortscipt to make a custom toggle for your specific data connection. we can help here in this thread or go to the mortscript thread for help completing a custom data toggle script application.
CABs all added below as a lot of the WM5 to 6.5 stuff is leading to dead links .