When browsing these forums, you're bound to run across that thread where a frustrated user is yelling, "I hate my S3 the battery sucks!". It can't be avoided; there is always one similar on the first page of the forum.
You can't help but get sucked in, either because you feel sorry for the poster and want to help, or you're simply curious as to what it could be now. There are always some offering help (sometimes useful; most times not), some sharing that their battery is "just fine" while not offering anything useful, and some just making some statement to the effect that the original poster is an idiot... You know. You've read that thread. You may have even started that thread
. Unfortunately, much of what you read in that thread is misinformation, so, before the next person starts yet another thread on that matter, I'd like to offer some truths about your S3 and its battery.
1. You have a bleeding edge, full featured 2012 Smartphone, with a huge, beautiful screen. It's gonna suck juice. 3G/4G/LTE data running in the background is the other killer of your battery life. Those 2 are the worst offenders, but that's what owning a smartphone is all about. It isn't all bad however, if you're not playing games or posting to Facebook 24/7, it really should last you the day without having to recharge, provided you go through and make sure you apps are set up properly.
2.
Will turning off Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth significantly improve my battery life? No. In fact, it may shorten it. When your W-Fi is connected, the 3G/4G/LTE radio is basically in "sleep" mode. It's on, but it doesn't actually use any resources unless called up to do so. Since your S3 is getting it's data from Wi-Fi (which uses
significantly less power than your cell radio), the only time your cell radio will use power is if it receives an SMS or other carrier related data that puts it to use.
Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth when they are turned on by themselves don