Wifi vs 3g battery life. Wow!

lightsout · Feb 21, 2012

Never really use wifi outside my house. Yesterday I was on the phone at home quite a bit through out the day, posting on tapatalk. At the end of the night I was surprised to see 50% batter still.

Today I was using the phone just as much but at work. 4G was off and I work in an area where the signal is hit and miss. By noon I was already in the low 40's. Just plugged in it, battery was at 29%.

Not complaining or anything like that. I was just surprised to see such a huge difference. I think the in and out signal at work isn't helping but still.

jroc · Feb 21, 2012

WiFi....all things being equal is normally the best to use to save battery. It's been that way since I can remember for any android phone...probably any smartphone.

Sandroidfan · Feb 21, 2012

From my observation, WiFi is about 3~4 times more efficient on battery than 4G. On 3G, it's about twice better than 4G unless it's in very poor signal area.

lightsout · Feb 21, 2012

I didn't realize it was so much better.

Tim K · Feb 21, 2012

Its WAY better. That's why all the threads about battery life say to use Wifi as much as humanly possible. 3G is also significantly better than 4G as you also noted.

lightsout · Feb 21, 2012

I work outdoors so wifi is not an option at work. I think the constant searching for a signal is whats really hurting me. Wish there was something I could do about that.

hurricane630 · Feb 21, 2012

lightsout said:
I work outdoors so wifi is not an option at work. I think the constant searching for a signal is whats really hurting me. Wish there was something I could do about that.

You could root and use a rom that has the toggle option to turn data off(keeps your connection on) or use JD and you can do it that way(I think)

trophynuts · Feb 22, 2012

he doesn't have to root to do that.

crankerchick · Feb 22, 2012

If your signal is really bad at work and you aren't using your phone anyway, just toggle data off. It makes the difference of my phone being at 30% and 80% after an 8 hour day at work where my 3G signal drifts between -100 and -120 dBm and rarely even sees 4G.

You can also get an app like Juice Defender that will turn your data off when you aren't using the phone, and connect it back when you do something like turn the screen on. It can also be configured to turn data on at a specified interval so that your accounts can still sync.

Sandroidfan · Feb 22, 2012

lightsout said:
I work outdoors so wifi is not an option at work. I think the constant searching for a signal is whats really hurting me. Wish there was something I could do about that.

Did you switch data network to 3G/CDMA mode outdoor at work instead of leaving it on LTE/CDMA mode? Looks like you will be on 3G signal either way, but forced 3G mode is way more efficient on battery.

RutgerB · Jun 14, 2012

According to wikipedia typical power usage for wifi would be 32mw and typical power usage for 3G would be 500mw.
That would make wifi about 15x more efficient.

Ofcourse there are many more variables like howmuch processing power is required to handle the connection and the distance between you and the accesspoint. But considering wifi is faster and needs less transfer time to finish sending data and considering the above I reckon you should leave wifi on to increase your battery life.

akidd1216 · Jun 14, 2012

WiFi - pushing signal about 30 feet or so.
3g/4g - pushing signal a couple miles.

This is why.

Demache · Jun 15, 2012

akidd1216 said:
WiFi - pushing signal about 30 feet or so.
3g/4g - pushing signal a couple miles.

This is why.

In the case of the car dealership I work at, its a few hundred feet. So in that case, I have outstanding signal. If I don't use my phone at all in a 9 hour day, I can easily make it to 80% by the end of the day, even on 4G.

Wifi vs 3g battery life. Wow!

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