Help wi-fi vs. mobile

[gocardinals]

Newbie here. I'm a little confused. Is it better to use wi-fi when available. I'm sure it's faster, but does it save on the battery? Do you still get e-mail and sms when on wi-fi? What's the simplest way to go back and forth?
Thanks!

 

[xkingofgodzx]

Yes you still get notifications when using your wifi. It doesn't save battery, it helps add to the draining of it like anything else would. The best way to go back and forth is using the toggle switches. You can add them like any other widget. Long press screen or click the plus, then go to widgets. you can use either power control wich is a stock android widget, or you can go to settings and add a toggle switch for each thing(mobile data, wifi, airplane mode, brightness, etc.) I personnaly prefer the toggles, they look a little cooler to me.

 

[gocardinals]

Yes you still get notifications when using your wifi. It doesn't save battery, it helps add to the draining of it like anything else would. The best way to go back and forth is using the toggle switches. You can add them like any other widget. Long press screen or click the plus, then go to widgets. you can use either power control wich is a stock android widget, or you can go to settings and add a toggle switch for each thing(mobile data, wifi, airplane mode, brightness, etc.) I personnaly prefer the toggles, they look a little cooler to me.

Thank you! So to clarify, if I turn Wi-fi on, does it turn the mobile network off, or do I have to do that manually?

 

[lexluthor]

This has been discussed a few times recently.

http://androidforums.com/support-tr...e/101576-silly-wifi-question-please-help.html

 

[gocardinals]

This has been discussed a few times recently.

http://androidforums.com/support-tr...e/101576-silly-wifi-question-please-help.html

Thanks. I just read the silly thread, and left even more confused. Bottom line, there is wi-fi and mobile network. When should they be on and off?

 

[Bing]

Thanks. I just read the silly thread, and left even more confused. Bottom line, there is wi-fi and mobile network. When should they be on and off?

There's two facets to the "mobile network": your calls/texts and your 3G data. The ONLY way to turn off the calls/texts is by going into Airplane mode (which shuts down ALL wireless signals). If your WiFi is on and you are connected to a WiFi hotspot, your 3G connection will rest automatically. WiFi connections are faster and use less of your battery than 3G, so your phone knows to use those for data when able.

Hopefully that answers your question.

 

[lexluthor]

IMHO, Wifi should be on whenever you have a hotspot available and you can still leave on Mobile Network while connected to wifi without any battery impact.

If you want to disable mobile network when you aren't near a wifi hotspot and just want to save battery (at the cost of the effort it takes to toggle mobile network and the loss of the internet while it's off), that's your call.

Also, in the wifi advanced settings, make sure you set it to "never sleep" or it'll automatically turn off if you aren't using the phone and mobile network will pick back up.

 

[gocardinals]

Thanks very much guys. I really appreciate it. One last question ... do I need to shut off wi-fi when I leave home?

 

[lexluthor]

Thanks very much guys. I really appreciate it. One last question ... do I need to shut off wi-fi when I leave home?

Debatable. It'll disconnect obviously and 3G will connect, but I'm not sure how much battery it's using to try to still look for a wifi signal.

This app will do it for you though.
Y5 - Battery Saver - Android app on AppBrain

 

[gocardinals]

Debatable. It'll disconnect obviously and 3G will connect, but I'm not sure how much battery it's using to try to still look for a wifi signal.

This app will do it for you though.
Y5 - Battery Saver - Android app on AppBrain

Thanks! do you use it?
You guys are very helpful. I appreciate it!

 

[pcayabyab]

So, in short, wifi is better for the battery in comparison to 3G when there is wifi available? And when there is no wifi present, turn of wifi so that it doesn't keep trying to look for a signal? Right?

 

[lexluthor]

pcayabyab,

Yes, and that Y5 program can help turn wifi on/off automatically. It doesn't work 100% of the time for me, but it's very good.

Also, if you are going to do this, you need to set wifi to never sleep in advanced wireless settings (hit menu button after you go into wifi settings screen and change wifi sleep policy to never)