Basic Notification Bar Signal Icon Question

[notsoslick09]

Hey everyone!

I'm new to android and wasn't able to find an answer to this question after a quick search, so I apologize if it's already been answered elsewhere!

I am currently running gingerbread and when I turn off wifi, bluetooth, the mobile network, gps, etc. under quick settings, I still sometimes see the signal bars moving up and down as though there is signal... other times it shows the x for no signal. Any ideas why this would be and if this is causing battery drain (which is a bit of an issue on my htc sensation).

Thanks so much!
C

 

[cds0699]

Thats the cellular signal for phone calls... mobile network is 3G data.

 

[lunatic59]

Welcome to Android Forums.

Let's get the easy ones out of the way first. Bluetooth will display no icon when off and the

symbol when on. Similarly GPS will display nothing when no enabled and the crosshairs when enabled. When they are off, they are fully off and have no effect on battery.

Wifi and 3G/4G (mobile network) are a little different. When you have both off, you may see no icon at all or the "x" if the phone is attempting to switch from 3g to Edge or just searching for a network. If you have a weak signal, you can also see the "x" since the phone signal and the data signals come from the same tower. Now, if Wifi is enabled, it will take preference over 3G and Edge, regardless of whether they are on or off. If you have Mobile data on and you turn off wifi, you may briefly see the "x" while it searches for a signal.

The bars represent the cellular signal from the tower for voice and messaging, not data (although it is a good indicator of the strength of the data signal as well) and can have full bars with data on or off.

The battery will drain fastest if the signals for these networks are marginal and the phone is always seeking a better connection. If the wifi keeps dropping off and coming back it will drain the battery very quickly. I usually keep wifi disabled unless i am going to use it and in the area of a strong signal, otherwise I'll just stick to 3G. I do keep bluetooth on all the time because i've noticed it hasn't effected my battery life that much, but you could turn that off as well, when not paired. The GPS antenna will drain power quickly too, if it's constantly seeking a signal, however, it is my understanding that unless an app is calling for GPS coordinates, even if the antenna is on, it doesn't receive.

You could always check in HTC Sensation - Android Forums for more battery saving tips.