Mobile vs. WiFi

[Lacy]

Does anyone know which zaps battery power more? I never know whether to switch to WiFi when available or keep it on Mobile.

 

[Tarheel_Rambler]

Does anyone know which zaps battery power more? I never know whether to switch to WiFi when available or keep it on Mobile.

I don't see a lot of difference when you actually using them. But WiFi in "standby" uses more battery than cell standby.

If you look at usage under Settings/About Phone/Battery you can see what the biggest drain is.

Sent from my Eris using Tapatalk

 

[Lacy]

What's Tapatalk?

 

[ACD168]

I agree, If using the phone like internet or anything like that and in range of wi-fi I

would use that as it will save battery and is faster than 3G. but when not using the

phone for internet I would not keep wi-fi on. I keep 3G off as well all the time, only

turning it on to use the market or browser or to check the weather, and what a

difference it has done for me, I've gotten close to 3 days outta a charge.

 

[Tarheel_Rambler]

What's Tapatalk?

Tapatalk is an app from the Market to read and participate in Forums. It formats for your phone and is set up with "Favorite" forums for quicker access. It just makes reading and responding in forums from mobile a little easier.

 

[mdeblaz]

I say stick with the 3G Mobile even if near a Wifi connection... the battery difference isn't much (no one can really put a gauge on it)... PLUS, you're paying for 3G only for use on your phone... so why not use it?!

 

[cableguynoe]

PLUS, you're paying for 3G only for use on your phone... so why not use it?!

Because wifi is faster.

 

[alprazolam]

Because wifi is faster.

I agree, though I don't usually use wifi because I don't bother to toggle the buttons. I get much faster wifi results than 3G when using the speed tests, but the phone doesn't seem to do a whole lot with the extra speed. The phone doesn't seem to be fast enough to make a big difference for me.

 

[truelove79]

I agree, though I don't usually use wifi because I don't bother to toggle the buttons. I get much faster wifi results than 3G when using the speed tests, but the phone doesn't seem to do a whole lot with the extra speed. The phone doesn't seem to be fast enough to make a big difference for me.

It may not make a whole lot of difference when surfing the web (it does, but most won't notice), but try downloading a file or installing an app on 3G vs WiFi, it's a big difference.

I actually use timeriffic to turn off and on my wifi when i go to and from work, so I always have wifi on at home, and off at work (we don't have wifi at my work). I don't have to toggle it manually at all.

 

[DC-eris]

I tried looking for Settings/About Phone/Battery to see what the biggest drain is, but don't see where I can find that. If I go to Settings/About Phone, I don't have an option for Battery. I can go to About Phone/Status and see Battery Level and Battery Status but nothing that will show me what biggest drain is. Am I missing something?

 

[Praetorian]

I prefer using wifi at home but I always switch it off when I go to work as I notice my battery was draining like crazy when the wifi was searching. I had used timeriffic for awhile but i haven't reinstalled it since 2.1 and a hard reset. I may have to reinstall to make things easier.

 

[mdeblaz]

Because wifi is faster.

well obviously Wifi is faster... but if you're at home, you have your computer sitting close by to do most things. How often do you download apps or files on your phone?

 

[Eris1981]

I leave everything on all the time. I get a full day unless I use navigation.

Under 'battery' "maps" is using 85% of my battery lol.

 

[Houstatlanavegas]

I prefer using wifi at home but I always switch it off when I go to work as I notice my battery was draining like crazy when the wifi was searching. I had used timeriffic for awhile but i haven't reinstalled it since 2.1 and a hard reset. I may have to reinstall to make things easier.

what is timeriffic?
i would also use WIFI if it were everywhere but like most people been saying it usually drains my battery alot faster when i dont have access so most of the time i dont even bother... maybe i should though?

 

[cableguynoe]

well obviously Wifi is faster... but if you're at home, you have your computer sitting close by to do most things. How often do you download apps or files on your phone?

I am not positive but i feel, like many others here, that 3G drains more battery.
So when I'm home I turn off 3G and turn on wifi. So if i need to use my phone for whatever reason, I'm using it on wifi. Getting faster speeds and saving battery.

Leaving 3G on all the time is definately easier... if you dont have battery issues.
Personally, i couldn't get through the day if i didn't turn it off when not needed.

Edit: BTW, i keep the wifi and network widgets handy... so doing this is pretty easy to do

 

[Praetorian]

what is timeriffic?
i would also use WIFI if it were everywhere but like most people been saying it usually drains my battery alot faster when i dont have access so most of the time i dont even bother... maybe i should though?

You can do a search for timeriffic in the Market. It basically lets you schedule how you want your phone set. For example at 7am it automatically turns wifi off, ringer and notification volume down for work. Then at 4pm when I get home it turns wifi on and my volume back up. At night it turns my notification volume down to 0 so I don't get woken up by those pesky emails from work . As far as the wifi vs 3g its just a matter of preferrence. I like having my data going through my own network when I'm home so thats what I use. If its too much of a hasle then don't bother with it. How much 3g drains the battery is really based on how good of a reception you have. If your near a tower then the difference between the two will probably be minimal IMO.

 

[alprazolam]

You can do a search for timeriffic in the Market. It basically lets you schedule how you want your phone set. For example at 7am it automatically turns wifi off, ringer and notification volume down for work. Then at 4pm when I get home it turns wifi on and my volume back up. At night it turns my notification volume down to 0 so I don't get woken up by those pesky emails from work . As far as the wifi vs 3g its just a matter of preferrence. I like having my data going through my own network when I'm home so thats what I use. If its too much of a hasle then don't bother with it. How much 3g drains the battery is really based on how good of a reception you have. If your near a tower then the difference between the two will probably be minimal IMO.

Was wondering what Timeriffic was. I may try it, but the problem is that my times for getting home can be very unpredictable. It would be easy if I came home every day at 4PM.

I agree with you on the 3G vs Wifi issue. Proximity to the tower is the most likely determinant of your battery performance. Also, I imagine that when the wifi radio is searching for a signal that is not present, it probably drains the battery about the same as 3G searching for a signal or using a weak signal.

 

[Demache]

well obviously Wifi is faster... but if you're at home, you have your computer sitting close by to do most things. How often do you download apps or files on your phone?

Quite often actually. I prefer to download podcasts over wifi since they are almost 100 mb each. And then the phone can download them at half a megabyte per second. Also I don't get very good reception at my house since the nearest tower is about a mile away. Granted, when I'm out of my house, I rarely use WiFi though. Since I'm normally not making huge downloads.

 

[doogald]

It is my understanding that, all things being equal, WiFi networking uses less battery than 3G mobile networking.

 

[Demache]

It is my understanding that, all things being equal, WiFi networking uses less battery than 3G mobile networking.

In theory, it should. Wifi only uses a low power transmitter which is only a few mW (my router says its broadcasting at about 70 mW, so the phone is most likely a little lower than that), compared to the cellular one which is probably nearly a watt at full power.

However, Wifi is constantly on while your phone is connected to it (it only disables it when the phone is asleep). 3G is only running when its in use. So that could also affect usage.

 

[W4LLY]

wi-fi burns less battery than 3g. field tested, w4lly approved.