When connected to Wifi....

[hfwplaya08]

Will 3g automatically disable/stop, because I want to save battery? Or do I have to manually turn it off each time. thanks!

 

[laredo7mm]

Will 3g automatically disable/stop, because I want to save battery? Or do I have to manually turn it off each time. thanks!

It will auto stop

 

[ekang]

You have to manually turn off 3g while you're connected to WiFi to save battery. I laid out all my power toggle widgets for things like WiFi, 3g, 4g, and gps net to each other on one of my home screens for easy and quick access to them. Hope that helps

While the 3g will stop, it will still eat up a little more battery having the both on...I think

 

[laredo7mm]

...While the 3g will stop, it will still eat up a little more battery having the both on...I think

I think you think wrong...

 

[DroidGnome]

Isn't the 3G radio the SAME radio device as your voice signal, as in it's the same physical chip???

From what I understood, the 3G didn't 'stop' so much as it simply doesn't transmit any data (which is what sucks up battery life sending and receiving signals, and mostly SEARCHING for a signal).

I know when it's flashed, it's the same radio file, wi-max is a separate device, thought the 3G was the same as the voice radio myself...

 

[marctronixx]

regardless, wifi has priority over 3G. 3G will remain active but dormant. it still talks to the tower because if you leave out of WIFI area the handset ASSUMES you stil want data connectivity hence why it still tells the sprint cell network where you are. only turning the 3G radio off (via toggle, etc) will prevent it from using up any battery.

mind you, when the handset is just "broadcasting" that its alive and where it is (just like what devices connected to your home network do...) the battery power is minimal.

 

[novox77]

regardless, wifi has priority over 3G. 3G will remain active but dormant. it still talks to the tower because if you leave out of WIFI area the handset ASSUMES you stil want data connectivity hence why it still tells the sprint cell network where you are. only turning the 3G radio off (via toggle, etc) will prevent it from using up any battery.

mind you, when the handset is just "broadcasting" that its alive and where it is (just like what devices connected to your home network do...) the battery power is minimal.

Here's what I think exists for sense radio toggles:
4G toggle = WiMax
Mobile toggle = 1xEVDO (3G)
1xRTT (2G) doesn't have a dedicated Sense toggle but can be turned off via the Airplane toggle

There's only 1 situation where turning off 3G would save you a significant amount of battery life:

you are in an area where you barely get the EVDO (3G) signal, but you have strong 1xRTT (2G) signal. I'm in this position at home. I actually have little to no 2G or 3G signal, so I use an Airave to get me strong 2G. If I leave 3G on, the phone will find just enough signal for it NOT to default to the stronger but slower 2G signal. So the phone boosts the radio output in attempt to maintain the 3G connection. Battery go byebye fast.

My solution is to either turn off 3G or turn on wifi. Wifi is the obvious choice for me because nothing beats the Fios pipe, not even 4G. Phone will default to wifi before 3G or 2G, so I'm all set. At this point, toggling 3G on or off makes NO noticeable difference in battery life.