Maybe something Tasker could do but I don't use Tasker so I wouldn't know. There is an option in the advanced WiFi settings to disable WiFi when the phone is asleep but that's not really what you're looking for.

 

Ummm... put the radio bar widget on your screen and use that?

I don't know why people install battery using apps to attempt to get better battery life. Sounds counter productive, especially coming from a user that gets exceptional battery life without installing these tools.

 

Try Woofi. When you're near a network, connect to it, then in Woofi, set your location and give it a name (i.e. home, work, etc.). Then, when you're near your saved locations, Woofi automatically turns your wifi on and connects to the wifi at that location. When you leave, it disconnects and turns wifi off. The paid version allows you to add as many locations as you want.

 

thanks dawnierae, I'll look into that app as well.

 

So Woofi uses GPS to tell that you're near a saved location?

 

I personally use Setting Profiles by Probeez. It does much more than just enable WiFi or not based on what WiFi networks are available.

Basically it lets you create all sorts of profiles based on all sorts of criteria. For example:

When I am physically at work, during a work day, and during work hours (all three criteria met), then my phone turns on WiFi, and it sets my ringtone and notification volume to a level that will not bug coworkers (I can't stand other coworkers who don't turn their ringer volume down).

When I am at home: then my WiFi turns on, my ringer and notification volume change to a louder level.

When I am at home and it is during the hours I am asleep, my ringer volume gets slightly quieter, but my notification volume is set to silent (no emails, messages, and the like to constantly disturb my sleep).

That is just a small taste of the power of this app. It makes your smartphone a truly smart phone.

The different ways it can check your location to determine what profiles to activate are: 1. What WiFi networks are in range. 2. Which cell phone towers are in range. 3. Your GPS location. I use the first two, for obvious battery reasons.

I've tried other similar programs like Tasker and Locale. But I always come back to Setting Profiles. It's cheaper (3.99 I believe) and much more comprehensive and simpler to use. It is always the first app I install on any android phone I get. And they recently updated it for ICS, and it works great.

 

Wouldn't the Wifi always have to be on for that, through? Seems to be counterproductive to what the OP is asking for, since they want to turn Wifi off when they aren't near a network they can connect to.

Tasker can enable/disable based on GPS, too, but any app that does that is going to use a lot of battery, Tasker even warns you about it.

 

How about using llama? It uses cell towers for location vs gps.

 

I would hope not. That would be akin to driving 50 miles out of your way to save $0.02 / gallon of gas. Benefits totally outweighed by the price. GPS uses WAY more battery than Wifi.

 

Thanks for this, I just downloaded it and it's amazing. It basically automates everything, and only uses cell tower data

 

I think Llama fits the bill. I use Tasker for this because Tasker can do more things than Llama.

So I set up Tasker to only turn on Wi-Fi when I'm near certain cell towers, and once Wi-Fi is on, it then can tell when I'm home vs. just near a cell tower. So OP, if you go with Tasker, let me know and I'll post the profiles which you can then import.

 

I used "Wifi toggle" in the past and loved it. but it doesn't seem to work in ICS. Maybe he will update soon. This app used a different technique to turn your wifi on and off. it used time settings. You could choose different times to check for wifi. I would use 15 minutes. So every 15 minutes it would check to see if there was a wifi connection to connect to. Only checked for a few seconds. never drained my battery. so 15 minutes after walking into my house or work i would be connected to the wifi. and the same when i left those places, it would be off in 15 minutes.

 

I use the app 'Y5'... Seems to be exactly what you are looking for:
https://market.android.com/details?id=pl.polidea.y5&hl=en

The description:
Light and fast app which turns Wifi off when no known network is around and turns it on in locations where you were already connected before.
The app remembers the locations automatically. All you have to do is to turn the Wifi radio on at each new Wifi spot.

 

My default profile has WiFi disabled. So I only have it turn on WiFi when I am at work or home, and I use the WiFi network name in range or cell phone towers to have it determine my location. Cell tower location doesn't drain your battery like GPS, since your phone is already looking at available towers all the time anyway.

 

this is Juice Defender? I have the free version and i was seriously contemplating on paying for the upgrade. What version are you Running Pro or Ultimate? I know pro is on sale till new yrs for .99c

but your talking about Juice Defender right??

 

Try WiFi Auto On. It's pretty darn consistent on my incredible. The Verizon app sucks.

 

Get Y5 Battery Saver app. Does what Woofi does, but for free.

I've been using it, and it's great.

 

When you're at a location with a network you want to automatically be connected to when in range, open Woofi, and select "locations". Then select "pick location on map". Then hit the menu button on the map screen and select "+Add my location". Give the location a name, and that's it.