Does keeping 4G on consume battery life?

stri8ed · January 21st, 2012, 10:48 AM

I just bough a Sprint galaxy s2, loving it so far. I noticed at the top of the notifications panel it has a button to turn on/off 4G. My question is, does this save significant power and should I be keeping it off when 4G is not needed?

Also, any thoughts/suggestions on optimizing my battery life?

Thanks

ladyc0524 · January 21st, 2012, 10:58 AM

I usually keep it off, since the only place I get a 4G signal is downtown where I work..

darrylsb · January 21st, 2012, 11:07 AM

Yes
The phone searches for a 4G tower whenever 4G is turned on. If it can't find one it is constantly searching.

fofjjsr · January 22nd, 2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stri8ed

I just bough a Sprint galaxy s2, loving it so far. I noticed at the top of the notifications panel it has a button to turn on/off 4G. My question is, does this save significant power and should I be keeping it off when 4G is not needed?

Also, any thoughts/suggestions on optimizing my battery life?

Thanks

Yes it most definitely uses battery if you constantly have 4G on. Even if you are no in a coverage area it still remains constantly searching. Don't take my word for this but I think the constant searching for 4G is a decent battery drain. Could someone confirm/deny that for me?

Bigfamei · January 31st, 2012, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fofjjsr

Yes it most definitely uses battery if you constantly have 4G on. Even if you are no in a coverage area it still remains constantly searching. Don't take my word for this but I think the constant searching for 4G is a decent battery drain. Could someone confirm/deny that for me?

I live in a 4g area. And at least since i put on caulkins rom. I can get more then 24 hours on 4g. And thats with 2-4 hours streaming radio. I know i could get about 30 out of it before I needs charging. Since what i do is light. But I love this phone. Especially after adding on caulkins rom. If anyone saw last weeks episode of big bang theory. I feel the same way Raj does about his Iphone. I even named her Iria......

davis.rob · January 31st, 2012, 11:22 AM

I don't have much personal data on 4G battery usage, but by all accounts I've read 4G is very hard on the battery. I usually leave mine off unless I'm going to be relatively stationary and doing some significant web browsing (or other internet activity) for a period of time. Then I'll flip it on and see if I can find a 4G signal.

When it works it's great. But for quick internet access while you're on the go, I think you're better off with 3G at the moment.

AndroidSPCS · February 1st, 2012, 07:49 PM

Turn any unneeded features off when not using them, like Bluetooth, wifi, GPS etc. Otherwise it will add to battery drain.

acadialover · February 2nd, 2012, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stri8ed

I just bough a Sprint galaxy s2, loving it so far. I noticed at the top of the notifications panel it has a button to turn on/off 4G. My question is, does this save significant power and should I be keeping it off when 4G is not needed?

Also, any thoughts/suggestions on optimizing my battery life?

Thanks

Yes it does use more battery.
Make suer all your applications are not running in the background. use power saving mode, darker wallpaper... more I can't remember right now

JackG058 · February 3rd, 2012, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndroidSPCS

Turn any unneeded features off when not using them, like Bluetooth, wifi, GPS etc. Otherwise it will add to battery drain.

I've actually forgotten to turn off WiFi when leaving the house and had it running all day at work, on numerous occasions. I didn't notice any difference in battery drain as a result. I've read that Android is pretty good about managing the WiFi radio. GPS and Bluetooth I can't really attest too, as I use them far less than WiFi. I also turn 4G on only when I'm actually going to use it.