Leave wifi off if I have unlimited data?

dm88 · Mar 11, 2012

Doing a speed test on this phone, I found the speeds faster with the 4G than with the wifi in my house. Am I better off just leaving the wifi off all the time since I have unlimited data? Won't that save the battery a bit? Are there any other advantages to leaving the wifi on?

chris4x4 · Mar 11, 2012

I leave my WiFi off all the time. It might use a little more battery on 4g.

ZeroOne · Mar 11, 2012

Wifi uses less battery power then 3g/4g does.

dahacker · Mar 11, 2012

dm88 said:
Doing a speed test on this phone, I found the speeds faster with the 4G than with the wifi in my house. Am I better off just leaving the wifi off all the time since I have unlimited data? Won't that save the battery a bit? Are there any other advantages to leaving the wifi on?

Upgrade your home wifi unless your home wired internet is the root cause.

dm88 · Mar 11, 2012

Ok, guess I'll leave it on then! Thanks.

emburybrett · Mar 11, 2012

i dont have an unlimited data plan anymore with verizon but never used wifi on this phone.

Even when i was with att i didnt use wifi with my unlimited plan...

daltekkie · Mar 14, 2012

dahacker said:
Upgrade your home wifi unless your home wired internet is the root cause.

I second that. It could very well be the home network.

Some advice I'd like to share though. Check your wireless router configuration and see if you're secured using WEP or WPA. Before spending money on a new router, try changing to WPA. It helped for me. But if you see no difference after switching to WPA, then it's probably time to consider looking for a new router. I mean, routers aren't all that expensive, but if you're tight with your money then it's worth giving it a try. Nothing to lose right?

Oh, I'd like to add, some of the settings in Smart Actions require Wifi. Just another reason to use wifi in addition to the 4G, as opposed to 4G alone.

Drekkyk · Mar 14, 2012

Well, I wouldn't upgrade your wifi until you know its the weak link. 4G on Verizon gets on average downloads of 12Mbps. You need to ensure your rated cable or DSL speed is faster before you upgrade your wifi.

Also remember wifi scales its speed with signal quality so relocating your wireless router or switching to a channel with less interference could yeild better results as well.

dm88 · Mar 15, 2012

Good points, I totally didn't even think of that. I get about 25 Mbps from my computer with a wired connection. I did a speed test with the phone right next to the router and was getting speeds very close to that. Down the other end of the house I get about 10. It seems to average around 12-15 with the 4G. So I suppose I could upgrade the router but those speeds seem plenty fast for me. For some reason I was thinking that the WI FI used more battery but since it doesn't, I will just leave it alone. I was more concerned with that than the speeds since they are all fast. I did notice some smart actions required it on anyways. By the way it is using WPA.

Drekkyk · Mar 15, 2012

If its distance you will have to be picky on the wireless router you upgrade to since the different form factors and antenna can make a difference. Since you had good speed right next to your router I think leaving well enough alone is a good choice. Need better speed? Switch 4g on. Just surfing and want to conserve power? Leave it on wifi.

Good luck.

dahacker · Mar 17, 2012

dm88 said:
Good points, I totally didn't even think of that. I get about 25 Mbps from my computer with a wired connection. I did a speed test with the phone right next to the router and was getting speeds very close to that. Down the other end of the house I get about 10. It seems to average around 12-15 with the 4G. So I suppose I could upgrade the router but those speeds seem plenty fast for me. For some reason I was thinking that the WI FI used more battery but since it doesn't, I will just leave it alone. I was more concerned with that than the speeds since they are all fast. I did notice some smart actions required it on anyways. By the way it is using WPA.

At 10 Mbps at the most distant point for WiFi, I would just leave it alone.

Leave wifi off if I have unlimited data?

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