I am sometimes in areas where there is no cell phone service. During the weeks to months that i am in these areas, i have pretty constant WiFi access. I would like to be able to disable my cellular radio and have WiFi take the place of it, allowing my Tilt to receive push email and instant messages and skype phone calls like it does when it is connected to the cellular network.
Unfortunately, it seems that wifi is turned off when the device sleeps. How can i avoid this? The only thing i've thought of is to stop the device from sleeping automaticly, and just have the screen turn off and the device lock. The problem with this is that i have to be careful to never hit the power button.
Are there any other things i should know in order to get wifi to replace cellular (with the exception of cellular voice and SMS obviously)?
If you have skype connected at all times, then the "prevent device standby mode when online" will help. Its the 4th option under Menu -> Settings. This is enabled by default.
This topic has been discussed many times.
There is an option available in 'Kaiser Tweaks' to keep WiFi enabled but will drastically reduce your battery life if not on power/charge !
Farsquidge,
I'm embarrassed. I did a search, but obviously not a good enough one. Thanks so much. I did not have the newest Kaiser Tweak update.
I'll disable the cell radio when out of range, how much more juice does the wifi radio use?
while(!(linux)){wm} said:
Farsquidge,
I'm embarrassed. I did a search, but obviously not a good enough one. Thanks so much. I did not have the newest Kaiser Tweak update.
I'll disable the cell radio when out of range, how much more juice does the wifi radio use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have any exact figures for that as I have never used the option but if you disable the phone then it may not be so bad. See what you get out of it yourself and post back here for others.
Related
I was away for a week and upon returning my Tilt is exhibiting some strange behavior that's different from before.
Basically, data connections never drop. So once the first ActiveSync, use of Pocket IE, etc, occurs, the connection stays on forever. For example I just checked my phone and the connection has been active for over 16 hours (the phone sat hibernated for most of that time).
I could have sworn that previously, the connection would drop after some period of inactivity. The little H with the signal strength on the title bar would change back to the triangle antenna. But no more. I tried with HSDPA off too and saw the same problem (except I got a little 3G instead of a little H above the signal bars).
I even hard-reset my Tilt and this did not fix it.
What can explain why my data connections used to drop on their own before but suddenly stopped doing so? Basically, my phone used to behave as if the "disconnect after" KaiserTweak was enabled (even though I never enabled it) but it's now behaving as if "always on" is enabled (even though it is not enabled).
So you know about Kaiser Tweak - have you loaded Kaiser Tweak and set the setting? and it still behaves this way?
I cannot explain it - but if Kaiser Tweak fixes it do you still need an explanation?
Bill
whk said:
So you know about Kaiser Tweak - have you loaded Kaiser Tweak and set the setting? and it still behaves this way?
I cannot explain it - but if Kaiser Tweak fixes it do you still need an explanation?
Bill
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with Bill... If You have a solution that will work even though you haven't had to use it before, why not fix the problem a new way instead of Dwelling on the problem.
Maybe Check this. In Phone Goto Menu -> Data Tab. Check your Check Box on Disable data connections when device enters Sleep Mode. Soft Reset and see if that will fix it for you.
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I didn't want to fix this with the KaiserTweak because it comes with a disclaimer that (a) it might not work with all programs and (b) is might prevent simultaneous voice and data calls. The latter seems more problematic; maybe this is not an issue with 3G/HDSPA (and only with the older data technologies)?
I can't find a data tab anywhere. I have a Tilt with stock ROMs... is the menu and data tab available somewhere? I'd like to try that suggestion.
tai4de2 said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I didn't want to fix this with the KaiserTweak because it comes with a disclaimer that (a) it might not work with all programs and (b) is might prevent simultaneous voice and data calls. The latter seems more problematic; maybe this is not an issue with 3G/HDSPA (and only with the older data technologies)?
I can't find a data tab anywhere. I have a Tilt with stock ROMs... is the menu and data tab available somewhere? I'd like to try that suggestion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't have that tab the option has been "hidden" by the ROM Makers. So Though there is a way to get to it, It is One I don't know.
I would suggest then getting Schaps Advanced Config, Is what I use to put my Data Connections to off after three minutes. I haven't had any problems with simultaneous lovin' with Voice and Data.
Well I turned on the KaiserTweak for this and it works. Maybe I had it enabled before and didn't realize.
One thing I notice is that I always get the "connecting to" balloon pop-up when a connection is being established, even if I tell it to hide. So there's one annoyance, but it's better than having my battery drain down due to the constant connection.
Interestingly this never drop behavior coincided with the switch-over from the behavior of the 3G icon that goes to H only when a connection is established, to always showing the H icon. Could these 2 behaviors be connected somehow, and due to a change on AT&T's side?
You can turn off the notification by going to settings -> sounds and notifications -> notifications tab ->event = connection established, uncheck "display message on screen".
I was just experimenting and I found that enabling the "disconnect after" KaiserTweak prevents simultaneous voice and data. If a voice call is going, I cannot establish a data connection and if a call comes in the data connection drops. If the KaiserTweak setting is not enabled, I can get simultaneous voice and data.
My phone always shows the H icon.
It seems I have to choose between the stock setting of "connection never drops, and drains battery" and the KaiserTweak setting of "can't get simultaneous voice and data connections". Ouch!
Does BandSwitch use a different way to handle forcing the disconnections, or is going to boil down to the same registry setting that KaiserTweak uses for this?
Hi - ive tried looking through the threads but cant find anything, so apologies if im repeating something all ready asked..
Ive been noticing on recent phone bills that im getting charged for gprs calls that i definatly havnt been making but my phone company insists that i have. After further investigating, ive seen that if im using wifi, and the phone turns to standby, when it switches back on gprs has been activated and is running underneath wifi.. and this is where (i think) my call charges have been coming from...( i hope that makes sense!)
Is this a common problem with the stellar/kaiser/tilt or just a problem with this individual unit - also, if it is a common problem is there anyway in which i can stop it happening?
I can understand where it is coming from.
When you go into standby (ie turn off the screen), the phone turns WiFi off to save battery. This makes sense, but imho WM is still too stupid to understand the concept of money. Result is that when it tries to continue doing whatever it was doing it will open a new connection and it's first choice is the GPRS/HSDPA connection.
As far as I am aware, the options to stop this from happening again are....
1) Stop WiFi from turning itself off when the phone goes into standby. I'd do this using KaiserTweak - the Option is under "Data -> Wifi standby mode"
2) Disable the GPRS connections so it can't connect. One way is to remove the password so it asks before it connects. There's also a tool on here somewhere that allows you to quickly enable and disable connections. Here looked promising, posts a link to modaco
Hope that helps.
I often find when I'm stopped at traffic lights and stuff my phone tings... and its trying to connect me to some random wi-fi network! It also does the same at work and its increadibly annoying... especially when you're slyly texting in the toilet!!
How can I turn this off?
if you disable it when you dont use wifi
you will also save a lot of batt
Rudegar said:
if you disable it when you dont use wifi
you will also save a lot of batt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather not have to turn the wi-fi off to be honest. I'd rather have a way of stopping it from constantly searching for a network.
That's just daft, takes 2 secs to turn wi-fi off and back on and that would solve your problem. And like the person above it would save your battery - which we all need on the diamond!!
There is an app out there even called wi-fi on/off, that you add to your favourite programs, and makes it EVEN quicker to turn your wi-fi on and off.
I can imagine any other solution to this made up problem would be entirely longer than just switching your wi-fi off.
Just go to Wi-Fi Settings; then go to Menu/Advanced->Turn On available network notifications and uncheck it; i think it will still search for wireless networks, but won't notify you (so battery usage doesn't decrease).
Hope this helps.
Deceneu said:
Just go to Wi-Fi Settings; then go to Menu/Advanced->Turn On available network notifications and uncheck it; i think it will still search for wireless networks, but won't notify you (so battery usage doesn't decrease).
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks... thats exactly what I was looking for.
I knew I'd seen it somewhere, but couldn't find it again.
I use Wi-Fi for about 80% ofmy day - so I don't ever turn it off. Its just when I'm out, or in the car etc it seems to pick up stray networks!
Deceneu said:
Just go to Wi-Fi Settings; then go to Menu/Advanced->Turn On available network notifications and uncheck it; i think it will still search for wireless networks, but won't notify you (so battery usage doesn't decrease).
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only problem is - every time you reset the device it resets to search again
Hi. I've bought my first Android device, a HTC G1 Dream. I've gained root access, installed the last Cyanogen release (with Android 1.6), RA-1.2.3.
What I've noticed is a strange behavior, quite different from the one I had with my BlackBerry Bold.
When I'm home I enable wifi, to save some datas from my (limited) contract. It works and I've set not to disable wifi when in standby. It works. But as soon as I go out (and the wifi coverage finishes), it doesn't re-enable UMTS data until I awake it from the standby manually.
It's quite annoying...is there a way to change this kind of behavior?
Thank you very much!
Is it still connected to EDGE or GPRS? If this is the case it is a PowerSaving feature, if it's totally lost connection with the net then you have a problem I guess...
sturmeh said:
Is it still connected to EDGE or GPRS? If this is the case it is a PowerSaving feature, if it's totally lost connection with the net then you have a problem I guess...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I connect via Wifi, it disconnects from edge, gprs or umts. And doesn't reconnect when the wifi coverage ends (unless I "re-awake" the phone,pushing the menu button)
from what i read your saying thats while its sleeping its not connecting to your data services when your leaving wifi coverage, so my question is: do you not see the data icon when you wake up the phone but after waking it it comes on or are u assuming that its not on?
stefan.buddle said:
from what i read your saying thats while its sleeping its not connecting to your data services when your leaving wifi coverage, so my question is: do you not see the data icon when you wake up the phone but after waking it it comes on or are u assuming that its not on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I cannot see the icon as soon as I wake up it. Then, in some seconds, it reconnects. More, I can see it's not just a "icon" issue because my K9-mail stops collecting my mailboxes when that situation happen.
Goal: Automatically switch to Use only 2G networks without opening Mobile Networks Settings dialog and checking the box manually
I know that this is not possible on stock, but is there any way to accomplish this for root users or with any of the mentioned apps or otherwise:
I do not want to disable APN, and I've already used APNdroid to much dismay. There is a bug for Nexus One users when restoring APN settings that leaves mobile data disabled.
I've used the apps mentioned in the thread title to automate my phones settings (ringer volume, GPS on/off, bluetooth on when phone ringing, data syncing, etc.), and now I simply want to disable 3G radio connection whenever certain conditions are met and have my network type as "GSM only"
I've searched through different forums here and sorted through a litany of Google search results, so please no lmgtfy because "2G only" returns no results in this section and no relevant results elsewhere; "2g only auto" nothing; "2g only automatic" nothing, but you can flame if you post a solution
fourinthoughts said:
...I simply want to disable 3G radio connection and have my network type as "GSM only" whenever I'm connected to WiFi, and I want to automate this so that I don't forget to do it manually at night when I'm not using my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind me asking - what is the reason for it? When you switch WiFi on, the data is turned off anyway. So why?
Jack_R1 said:
If you don't mind me asking - what is the reason for it? When you switch WiFi on, the data is turned off anyway. So why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, when your device is connected to WiFi the GPRS service for data is disabled. However, the 3G band radio in your phone is still being used which consumes more power than the global GSM band radio that is used when connected to the EDGE network type. This is always true whether you are connected to WiFi or not. (correct me if I'm wrong)
Regardless, the answer to this would help a lot of android users. This is not specifically tailored for me, because the entire OP relates to battery performance which should be an important issue for all Nexus One users. If this task could be automated it would dramatically improve battery performance during off-peak use (nighttime, work, meetings, etc.) by improving execution and eliminating forgetfulness. Automating this adds to the user experience and would just make your phone that much more enjoyable, period.
I'm simply amazed that I can't find a resolution to accomplishing this.
fourinthoughts said:
Yes, when your device is connected to WiFi the GPRS service for data is disabled. However, the 3G band radio in your phone is still being used which consumes more power than the global GSM band radio that is used when connected to the EDGE network type. This is always true whether you are connected to WiFi or not. (correct me if I'm wrong)
Regardless, the answer to this would help a lot of android users. This is not specifically tailored for me, because the entire OP relates to battery performance which should be an important issue for all Nexus One users. If this task could be automated it would dramatically improve battery performance during off-peak use (nighttime, work, meetings, etc.) by improving execution and eliminating forgetfulness. Automating this adds to the user experience and would just make your phone that much more enjoyable, period.
I'm simply amazed that I can't find a resolution to accomplishing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cellular standby / talk time power doesn't vary much between GSM and UMTS, the difference is less than ~20% in both modes in case of Nexus, judging by official specs. I'll check your assumption that UMTS connectivity isn't dropped to GSM when WiFi connects (most probably correct), but the power gain isn't significant in places that have proper UMTS connectivity (which is not the case for the whole world, I know).
The easiest way I can think of would be to use SwitchPro widget, for example (or any other free widget that has the same functionality), and instead of pressing only "WiFi On" button, press 2 buttons - "WiFi On" and "2G/3G connection" (the same as pressing the "Use 2G networks only" checkbox).
I would suppose that such a plug-in or setting might be available for Locale/Profiles/etc.
2 things that I've found:
1) The connection indeed stays UMTS.
2) Android system prevents the programs from toggling 2G/3G mode, it's only allowed manually. The widgets I've seen only take you to the correct Settings submenu, but you have to click the checkbox yourself.
Thank you Jack_R1,
I appreciate the replies and the confirmation. That is the conlussion that I have been stuck with for a while. I had assumed that there may be a way to control this with superuser permissions.
I guess I'm going to have to dust off my Java, contact some app developers, and start exploring how to come up with a solution myself.
I apreciate your feedback.
You're welcome.
I suppose that this thread might be useful:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=736095
What you're looking for might also be one of the lower level system functions, requiring system permissions, not only root.
Might be worth contacting Cyanogen's team or Enomther, to make an option for it on ROM level and incorporate in the next AOSP-based ROMs.
Jack_R1 said:
You're welcome.
I suppose that this thread might be useful:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=736095
What you're looking for might also be one of the lower level system functions, requiring system permissions, not only root.
Might be worth contacting Cyanogen's team or Enomther, to make an option for it on ROM level and incorporate in the next AOSP-based ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again. That post helped. The settings are not accessible in the current framework. When I get enough time this week I think I can start on getting this fixed for root users. I will take your advice and will contact some of the masters here who would know the libraries well.
in addition, one scenario could be:
At home, I do have pretty poor 3G connection with my service provider, so I would like to switch when I am near my WiFi to 2G mode
PseudoReal said:
in addition, one scenario could be:
At home, I do have pretty poor 3G connection with my service provider, so I would like to switch when I am near my WiFi to 2G mode
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ditto for me.
Surprised that it is so difficult to toggle 2g/3g with tasker...
dew.man said:
ditto for me.
Surprised that it is so difficult to toggle 2g/3g with tasker...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And ditto again.
I have the same desire as the op. It must be possible to do since one can easily toggle 2G/3G from the power control widget in cm6. Maybe if there was an intent that was published tasker should be able to launch an app with that intent to accomplish this.
on a recent trip overseas, I was presented with a very weird situation. I bought a local sim and got a 3g data plan which was 3gb of 3g data and 200mb of 2g data (dont ask i have no idea why they are different). When I plugged it in i could do 3g data no problem but if 3g was turned on i could not make or receive calls. so like the op I wanted an automated way of switching between 2g only and 3g
I was able to do it on my nexus one and tasker with
Toggle 2G/3G
hope this helps you
-208
^ +1 best toggle I've seen and used.
Search for Toggle 2G in the main android forum.