Help WiFi vs. 3G???

[4ajd4]

Love my new Incredible. (I hope to make all of my ATT/iPhone friends jealous with a comparable phone (maybe even better) with definitely better service --- I can hear my calls!)

I upgraded from an LG Dare, so one thing I'm trying to figure out is the difference btwn using WiFi vs 3G access. Am I correct that you always use 3G for making calls, but can use either WiFi or 3G for apps and surfing. I'm assuming leaving WiFi on uses battery, but when I have WiFi access does it drain the battery less than 3G. Also, does the phone decide when to use one vs the other or do I decide if WiFi is available to me???

 

[rgr555]

3g uses more battery

 

[kyler13]

First off, calls are made on 1xRTT. 3G is data only. From what I can tell, if you have a wifi connection established, it disables 3G until you drop your wifi connection.

 

[thecrock0984]

Are there any differences? Is one better than the other?? With WiFi on I cant access yahoo mail. With 3G I can. They seem to run the same speed. So any difference?

 

[nstallion]

Wifi is connecting to your wireless network, 3G is using your phone's data connection. The performance difference is going to be unique to how good your wireless network is vs how good your 3G connection is.

 

[thecrock0984]

Thanks. I dont live out in the middle of no where, Im in a 3G area I believe. So I think Im good with 3G.

What is everyone using, WiFi or 3G????

 

[crashdogy]

At home I only use Wi-Fi much faster then 3G

 

[Deleted User]

I use wifi when available and shut off 3G, to cut down on data, it's faster, and I believe it saves battery. As for the Yahoo issue, I'm interested also... although I am contemplating switching to gmail.

 

[windycity]

^Agreed. I'll add that there could be times you pick 3G over WiFi. Any time you have to use an unsecured WiFi hotspot (coffee shop, restaurant, airport etc), unless you're going to connect to VPN, 3G is a secure connection. (unsecured) WiFi is not. I would also postulate that using the WiFi takes less battery power than 3G.

 

[Jakaro]

With Wi-Fi at a local bar and grill, i tested 2.17 mb download .73 mb upload, on 3g 1.15mb down and .84 upload

 

[atnbirdie]

With Wi-Fi at a local bar and grill, i tested 2.17 mb download .73 mb upload, on 3g 1.15mb down and .84 upload

I have my phone set to WiFi on as I have secured networks at home and at work where I spend most of time. Also, from my readings, WiFi takes less power than 3G access. So my phone automatically switches 3G off and goes to Wifi when it detects one of my "remembered" networks. I have it set not to notify me of available networks as I think that might take more power and it is bothersome to me to have notices popping up as I pass detectable networks.

I find WiFi down/upload rate increases to be on the order of 4-5x as fast. At work I have just a bar or two, whereas at home I have all signal bars and still see the large difference in data flow rates with WiFi much faster than 3G.

 

[Dream]

I may be the odd one here, but I notice better battery life when I have my Wi-Fi turned off. WF is definetly faster, but I get better battery life with just 3G.

 

[jamor]

You'll get better battery life with Wifi than 3g. Even with a few hours of use, go to your battery usage and you will see that it is under 10% always.

 

[deanq4]

I used speed test for wifi vs 3g and found for me it was about twice as fast for wi-fi. i shut off 3g at home and then turn it on when I leave. (saves battery too, or seems too)

 

[brianweb]

I have wifi at home and prefer to use that for speed, otherwise I do not have any other wifi hotspots set-up to connect to. Therefore I was considering using Locale which will automatically turn off wi-fi when I leave the house. So here is my question:

Which will be best for battery?

1) Leave wifi on - Will the phone though constantly be looking for a wifi signal, draining the battery?

2) Use Locale to turn off wifi when not at home - Will locale kill the battery constantly using GPS to see where it is?

3) Remember to turn off wifi when I leave the house - eh, not really a solution in my mind.

I am of the mindset that I do not want to have to turn off GPS, 3g, wifi, live wallpaper and all my tasks to get more battery life. To me that defeats the purpose of having this phone. I also do not want people to think I am another guy complaining about battery life. I just want to be able to take it off the charger at 6am and have it last until midnight. Right now I feel I have settled into moderate "normal" use and find my battery indicator going orange around 6pm. So I am just looking to see how I can tweak just the right things to squeeze a couple more hours out.

Thanks,

Brian

 

[jamor]

I have wifi at home and prefer to use that for speed, otherwise I do not have any other wifi hotspots set-up to connect to. Therefore I was considering using Locale which will automatically turn off wi-fi when I leave the house. So here is my question:

Which will be best for battery?

3) Remember to turn off wifi when I leave the house - eh, not really a solution in my mind.

I am of the mindset that I do not want to have to turn off GPS, 3g, wifi, live wallpaper and all my tasks to get more battery life. To me that defeats the purpose of having this phone. I also do not want people to think I am another guy complaining about battery life. I just want to be able to take it off the charger at 6am and have it last until midnight. Right now I feel I have settled into moderate "normal" use and find my battery indicator going orange around 6pm. So I am just looking to see how I can tweak just the right things to squeeze a couple more hours out.

Thanks,

Brian

I realize some people don't want to make sacrifices and for the phone just to know what to do all the time, but you have to be willing to care for your phone as if it is a pet.

Tap '+', 'widget', 'settings', and then you can add airplane mode, bluetooth, geps, mobile network (3g), and wifi.

You can also add the power control widget that includes gps, brightness, and autosync.

Put all of these next to each other on one of your home pages. When you don't need to use your wifi, it will take 2 taps and 5 seconds to toggle any service you may or may not need.

It's really easy and once you get in the habit it's kind of fun because you realize you are saving battery life.

If you are in class or busy at work or somewhere you don't need to use your phone, toggle off 3g, wifi, or turn on airplane mode. It takes just a couple steps and a few seconds if you put it on say your home page or 1 screen to the right or left of the homepage.

If you are out with friends or at dinner or somewhere you have no need to update twitter and weather and face book, you can also just toggle off autosync which is on the power widget.

These toggle menus are very useful and will save you hours of battery life with little to no effort, a swype and a tap.

 

[Deleted User]

Agreed. ALWAYS leave bluetooth off if you are not going to be using it... that seems to drain the battery more than anything else... especially if you are not connected to anything. When home, I use the widgets to flip off 3G and turn on wifi. When leaving, I do the opposite. It is extremely fast. I am probably going to start deactivating GPS while at home, because I can not see any benefit for it if you are not on the move. Live wallpapers on my phone use about 3% of the battery, so those are not really an issue. on a 20 hour battery cycle that's about 1/2 hour, so make your own decisions there.

Really with smart phones you need a backup battery. The Seido 1750 should be arriving today, so I will have my stock battery as the backup. I can barely make it through an entire day with the stock now (without making sacrifices), so I rarely would need to use the backup.

 

[dibs ODDJOB]

LEAVING GPS ON DOES NOT USE BATTERY! IT IS ONLY RUNNING IF YOU ARE USING AN APP THAT IS USING IT AND YOU SEE THE LITTLE SATELLITE IN THE NOTIFICATION AREA!

Sorry for the shouting, I just get tired of repeating it.

 

[load97]

LEAVING GPS ON DOES NOT USE BATTERY! IT IS ONLY RUNNING IF YOU ARE USING AN APP THAT IS USING IT AND YOU SEE THE LITTLE SATELLITE IN THE NOTIFICATION AREA!

Sorry for the shouting, I just get tired of repeating it.

Hmm...When I have GPS on and I am not running it(or Apps), the icon to the right(circle with cross in it) shows that its sending or receiving something. When I turn the GPS off, the icon to the right quits doing it. Anyone have any ideas what that is doing? Haven't watched the battery meter and tested it yet, but i will eventually if no one knows.

 

[MisterMixelpix]

Install WiFi Scanner, put it on your homepage. When you open it and pick a network, it turns on WiFi. When you leave, exit out and and it turns off WiFi. Easy peasy.

 

[dcesq06]

I use JuiceDefender (JuiceDefender - battery saver - Android app on AppBrain) to manage on/off of networks, wi-fi, etc. It works well, I'm thinking of upgrading to the paid version - UltimateJuice (UltimateJuice - Android app on AppBrain).

 

[waynester]

Hmm...When I have GPS on and I am not running it(or Apps), the icon to the right(circle with cross in it) shows that its sending or receiving something. When I turn the GPS off, the icon to the right quits doing it. Anyone have any ideas what that is doing? Haven't watched the battery meter and tested it yet, but i will eventually if no one knows.

If your talking about the icon next to the 3G one , that is "location on" gps on, but not active.
When gps is active you should get a satellite dish with animated " green waves" issuing from it. That will appear next to it, open google maps to see example.
This is my understanding of it.

 

[Ric WRX]

I have Verizon MiFi at home and when it is on, the phone call are very clear.

 

[walechamp]

I would also recommend picking up the Seido 1750mA-h battery for any owner who is tired of doing a balancing act with phone features and battery life. A 30% extension should take the phone to the end of the day.

As stated above, wi-fi uses less power and offers much better speeds that 3g most of the time.

 

[Musky]

I have two "battery power widgets" on a page next to my home page, one is from HTC and I don't remember the maker of the other one, but neither tell me details of what is using battery power.

What are you guys using that tells you the percentage of battery power that a given app or service is using?

Nevermind, I found it in the phone settings, DUHHH LOL