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Alright, I really need some help from the big boys here.
I have had my N1 since release. I have T-Mobile and no data plan. Everything I do is over wifi.
On Friday, I saw the 3g icon on my phone for the first time. It appeared out of nowhere and just flips between 3G and E since T-Mobile just blocks data for non-plan users. This was killing the battery life of the phone.
I called Google and they ran me through *#*#4636#*#* to disable the data connection. This fixed the problem for a while; However after a while the phone will give a message that there is no service provider and will reconnect to T-Mobile (it has never done this before outside of phone boots). When it is back up the 3G/E cycling starts again. Even worse the data connection still lists as disabled and will not re-enable. I have to pop the battery out while it is running to get back in to disable it.
Google thinks its an app but I have removed everything but Touchdown and K9 which I don't think are the problem. I have used Android OS Monitor and I do see connections to 64.15.75.218 and 209.44.107.13 which are hot beds for malware and when I uninstall any app these connections vanish temporarily. But they come back after a few hours.
Anyone seen this before or know a way to track IP connections to a particular app?
I have no solution for tracing 'malicious' software but it is possible to just disable all mobile data usage.
Settings/Wireless and network settings/ Mobile networks > "Data enabled"
If you unselect this there should be no more data transfer while on the mobile network.
I do not have that option. Google Rep said it was only in froyo.
Problem is I did the same thing for 2.1 but it keeps coming back on. Even with wifi the phone connects to these ips so who knows what it is doing.
3G isn't used only for data, you can do voice on 3G.
Could be T-Mobile expanding 3g into your are where you didn't have coverage before.
Call T-Mobile and make sure you're not actually using data.
As for tracking applications, you can use System Panel Pro of the market to monitor how much data applications are using.
I know I am not using data. The T-Mobile account page is pretty detailed and I am unable to do anything online when wifi is off. 3G has also been available for a while here as I know others that use it.
I will check out system panel.
Thanks.
UmbraeSoulsbane said:
I do not have that option. Google Rep said it was only in froyo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is indeed only on Froyo, however, Froyo is out now, so install it and you'll instantly benefit.
A few more things:
Were you receiving or sending MMS (picture/video messages) when the 3G icon popped up? This is normal and doesn't usually come out of your data balance.
If you'd like to be triple-sure you're not using data, go into the APN settings. Edit the APN name - e.g. change tmobile.com to nomobile.com. Now it *really* shouldn't be able to access data.
Smarphones would be well to do to have a Zonealarm/little snitch type app for this purpose.
Id imagine ad based apps wouldnt be too happy about it. At the least an app that reports IPs times , and IN/OUT info.
I never use SMS or mms and have not gotten any during this time.
My concern is not related to getting charges but with unwanted use of my phone or data. When the data connection auto enables it will go through my battery in a matter or hours and who knows what the phone may be doing.
I know I can turn this off and make sure data is not used - in fact I have already done this. However when smoke enters room you don't just put a towel under the door and forget about it. I want to find the source of this and stop it because the behavior is not normal.
I agree something like zone alarm would be good. You should be able prevent or track an app activities for situations like this. If I knew what was connecting to these IPs and enabling the data connection I could stop it and report the app or submit a bug request. Right now I am just all alone.
I did try system panel which seems like a nice app but it does not give me good information on network usage by app. OSMonitor is better at connection monitoring but doesn't list by app. Why has no one thought to monitor network threads by app?
Try alogcat maybe? Any time you notice the icon suddenly appearing, save a copy of the logcat and comb through it.
alogcat may work. Figured out OSMonitor had something similar and filtered by app.
Now I just gotta wait I guess. Still not enough info to relate to IP though.
You should know that the data connection setting isn't an enforcement for the entire phone. It only acts as a notice to applications on whether or not to use data in the background.
Developers are supposed to respect those settings, but they are not enforced.
There is a free program called Network Statistics which is no longer in the market. I will backup the apk for you and upload it so you can use it. It shows the amount of data used by each app.
I too had a data hungry app issue and this helped me solve it immediately.
I'm just at work ATM, so I'll do it this evening. (Almost midday now here in Australia )
Cheers,
Ross
@JCopernicus
I am aware of this which is why I want to track this problem down.
@Ross
That sounds great. I appreciate the help. Not sure if tracking data usage is enough since I don't think the app is sending a lot of data. But I am willing to try anything.
I should be getting froyo soon so maybe that will help as well.
This is what I do when I want to ensure I don't use Data. Go I. To wireless connections. Mobile Networks, and then access points. Create a new one. I usually call it No Data. The for the apn, I just make something dumb, like no.data.com, and then save. After I'll select that as my apn.
The issue is not about the use of the data connection. I have done this and can guarantee the phone cannot use any cell data network. The problem is an app is trying to use it anyway even when it is disabled. Even if you ignore that as a concerning activity the constant 3G searching reduces the battery life to a mere hours.
I appreciate the help, but my issue is not with how to disable the data connection. Its about identifying malware on my device, and tracking an app calls to a specific IP.
Again,k 3g doesn't mean data. 3g is also used for voice.
If you only want to use "2g" switch your phone over to gsm only through 4636 or through the menu where it says "use 2g only".
You will never see the 3g icon again.
If you wan't to be 100% sure no app is calling an IP, then do a factory reset. Install apps one by one, monitor them through the various options given in this thread already.
You will not be able to prevent an application from "calling home" unless you modify the app itself. Apps use the data connection provided to them by the OS however they see fit.
Every app you install has a permissions prompt that will tell you it want's internet access.
JCopernicus said:
Again,k 3g doesn't mean data. 3g is also used for voice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Android "3G", "H", "E" or "G" icon denotes data. It may also appear temporarily when making the connection necessary to transmit MMS. It does not appear when the phone is using voice over 3G without a data connection.
Actually, this may be a T-Mobile issue - they just enabled the ability to do "pay as you go" data on ALL plans without a data plan, so they may be the ones turning on the ability to do data. You'd still need to authorize it in your browser, and I think it costs about $1/1MB so it is totally not worth it.
May be worth looking into because it wouldn't surprise me if their new "service" is screwing things up.
I am aware of 3G voice but the 3G status icon is related to data flow. I have had the phone since launch and posted this because this behavior is not normal. Even Google was perplexed by what it is doing. And as I said it is not constrained by the 4636 settings.
And I disagree that an app can use the network connection as they see fit. Rights are given to perform its intended purpose; anything else is malicious.
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.
which is more private, use wireless networks or gps satellites? also considering battery life. im the type that thinks if they want to find me via my wireless device, they can do so without either of these options enabled on my device.
a few poorly developed apps require gps, for some reason, to view places that are around me instead of using 3g...
What do you mean private?
About battery life, GPS does drain your battery more, so use it only when you need to navigate or find places around you.
andythegreenguy said:
What do you mean private?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The more pertinent questions are...What have you done, and who is the "they" that might find you?
I do think most cell phones can be traced to a physical location by nearby towers anytime a call is placed or received (Bourne Identity style, cuz all movies are totally real), regardless of whether or not you have those location options checked on the phone. But you will need to have at least GPS or wireless networks location enabled if you are searching for things near you on like Maps or Footprints.
Or if you're worried about location information being stored in your phone, I think you could delete cache/data from Maps, Footprints, Places, etc. on a regular basis and that would keep the history from showing up, right?
chromiumleaf said:
The more pertinent questions are...What have you done, and who is the "they" that might find you?
I do think most cell phones can be traced to a physical location by nearby towers anytime a call is placed or received (Bourne Identity style, cuz all movies are totally real), regardless of whether or not you have those location options checked on the phone. But you will need to have at least GPS or wireless networks location enabled if you are searching for things near you on like Maps or Footprints.
Or if you're worried about location information being stored in your phone, I think you could delete cache/data from Maps, Footprints, Places, etc. on a regular basis and that would keep the history from showing up, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like that response.
As long as your phone is on they pretty much know where you are
Case in point.... I live in chicago, use the phone before I start a trip. 8 hours later I'm in nebraska you call me and I answer one the 1st ring. How does the system know where I'm at
Does "use wireless networks" have much of an impact on battery life? There are some programs like HTC clock widget with weather that seems to require it on. When turning on "use wireless networks" there's a message saying "Collection will occur even when no applications are running", what exactly does this mean? I'm mainly concerned about idle battery life.
shilent said:
Does "use wireless networks" have much of an impact on battery life? There are some programs like HTC clock widget with weather that seems to require it on. When turning on "use wireless networks" there's a message saying "Collection will occur even when no applications are running", what exactly does this mean? I'm mainly concerned about idle battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life really won't improve all that much if it's off, and if it's off you'll lose a ton of features, like the market and such.
theimpaler747 said:
Battery life really won't improve all that much if it's off, and if it's off you'll lose a ton of features, like the market and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldn't need to have 'Use Wireless Networks' checked to use Market. I know I don't and it works fine..
stayclean said:
You shouldn't need to have 'Use Wireless Networks' checked to use Market. I know I don't and it works fine..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'm thinking of that old "backgroud data" feature in sense roms
theimpaler747 said:
Maybe I'm thinking of that old "backgroud data" feature in sense roms
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Background Data needs to be on to access the Market regardless of being on 2.2, 2.1, and below. Use Wireless Networks just finds your location based on IP address over wifi, doesn't use quite as much battery as GPS, but not super accurate either.
stayclean said:
Background Data needs to be on to access the Market regardless of being on 2.2, 2.1, and below. Use Wireless Networks just finds your location based on IP address over wifi, doesn't use quite as much battery as GPS, but not super accurate either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I was thinking of, my bad
Sent from my hero running froyo... take that Sprint!
I don't suppose anyone knows of an app that can automatically turn on tethering when specified wifi access points are not available?
Like many others I dont want a data plan on my xoom so I tether using my phone when I am not near an access point. I get damned good battery life on my nexus one, but I still don't want to leave tethering on all the time. I would be nice if I could have it automatically turn on tethering when my known wifi APs are not available.
You could probably use Tasker to do this - You'd have to configure it yourself, but it would work.
padanfain said:
I don't suppose anyone knows of an app that can automatically turn on tethering when specified wifi access points are not available?
Like many others I dont want a data plan on my xoom so I tether using my phone when I am not near an access point. I get damned good battery life on my nexus one, but I still don't want to leave tethering on all the time. I would be nice if I could have it automatically turn on tethering when my known wifi APs are not available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't know of an automated way but Hotspot Toggle in the market is a good widget you can place on your home screen. One touch on and off.
I was thinking that I could combine your answers to get a solution, but hotspot doesn't show up as an app in tasker.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Without rooting your phone and having an app require root, you won't find this capability. In one of the recent major android builds google removed the ability for applications to turn on and off wifi automatically.
Hey,
My battery life is really bad when i'm using Hspda (even when doing nothing, no fb sync in the background, just email (i'm on CM9 nightly, default kernel and JPG modem btw)), right now i only enable HSDPA when i need it, but i want to use whatsapp, so i need to have regular checks for messages. I'm looking for a power management app which can do this:
-enable data every 20 minutes
-only enable Edge every 20 minutes when my screen is off
i think this will result in a reasonable battery life. I've tried some power managers, but none of them allowed me to implement this schedule. Can someone advise me an app? Or a better solution for my battery problem.
i've ordered a polarcell 1800mah btw
Did you try a different modem ?
dal mio SGS con XDA
Juice defender, paid version, takes a while to get familiar, but well worth it, get paid version, massive amount off settings, or stick with basic presets
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
i've installed JPG modem. i did not notice any difference with the default jvu modem. any modem suggestions?
I'll try juicedefender tomorrow! thanks!
I use JVT ... try to turn off autosync band switch manually to 2G network... did you take a look at battery stats and CPU use?
dal mio SGS con XDA
speedfreak007 said:
i've installed JPG modem. i did not notice any difference with the default jvu modem. any modem suggestions?
I'll try juicedefender tomorrow! thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just use it on the advanced preset, it pings every 15 mins, you can train it to recognise your home wifi etc etc etc
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
In slim ICS u can set some settings at network and sync depending by screen state... you may try it....
dal mio SGS con XDA
tasker. Quite a steep learning curve but worth the effort.
on cm7-9 you can control whatever you want.
you can replicate everything that jd does and get even more control
google for tasker wiki for a few examples.
ok, i'll check tasker when i have the time (exams at the moment )
i've installed juice defender and played with the settings. The data connection will check enable every 15 minutes when my screen is off. But the data connection is permanently on when i'm using the phone. When i disable data with the toggles in the notification menu, the data is off when i'm using the phone, but won't enable every 15 minutes too.
i can't seem to find the following: enable data connection every 15 minutes regardless of the data toggle and the state of the phone AND i want to be able to use a toggle to enable data permanently when i want to surf the web for example. is this possible with juice defender? i can't find the right settings combination in order to achieve such behavior
thanks!
well, that's what I do to minimize battery drain, together with tasker.
a) mobile data. quite simple. I always keep mobile data on, 2g network only. This way I can always get real time notifications, emails, and so on. I use 3g only when I really need it. If you also have an aosp helper which allows network automation, you can condition 2g-3g depending on the app you are using. You don't need 3g for texting with whatsapp. 2g is more than enough.
b) gps. I keep always gps off, and use securesettings helper (free, but unfortunately it does not allow for 2g-3g switch, and you don't need it on cm7-9) along with tasker to enable it only with some apps. The rationale behind this is that some apps use gps for location purposes even if you do not want them to do, thus draining battery. So you force those apps to rely on wireless location only. This probably just a drop of juice, but it helps.
c) wifi. switch on/off depending on location with tasker.
d) sync. I always keep sync off, to get real time emails I do not use gmail app but use a gmail account on an exchange server instead. I use tasker to enable sync once in a while to get updates (contacts, calendar...).
e) night. I do not use airplane mode to save juice: I do not need real times or notifications, but I do want the phone to be on just in case some beautiful lady desperately needs to give me a call in the middle of the night. So I switch off mobile data and wifi, but I do not enable airplane mode. This is scheduled with tasker as well.
of course you can do much more, and create profiles that exactly match your needs.
that's it. This way I always have anything I need to be on when I really need it, I do not have to give up to get real time notifications or emails, and significantly increase battery life up to JD levels.
lcampori said:
well, that's what I do to minimize battery drain, together with tasker.
a) mobile data. quite simple. I always keep mobile data on, 2g network only. This way I can always get real time notifications, emails, and so on. I use 3g only when I really need it. If you also have an aosp helper which allows network automation, you can condition 2g-3g depending on the app you are using. You don't need 3g for texting with whatsapp. 2g is more than enough.
b) gps. I keep always gps off, and use securesettings helper (free, but unfortunately it does not allow for 2g-3g switch, and you don't need it on cm7-9) along with tasker to enable it only with some apps. The rationale behind this is that some apps use gps for location purposes even if you do not want them to do, thus draining battery. So you force those apps to rely on wireless location only. This probably just a drop of juice, but it helps.
c) wifi. switch on/off depending on location with tasker.
d) sync. I always keep sync off, to get real time emails I do not use gmail app but use a gmail account on an exchange server instead. I use tasker to enable sync once in a while to get updates (contacts, calendar...).
e) night. I do not use airplane mode to save juice: I do not need real times or notifications, but I do want the phone to be on just in case some beautiful lady desperately needs to give me a call in the middle of the night. So I switch off mobile data and wifi, but I do not enable airplane mode. This is scheduled with tasker as well.
of course you can do much more, and create profiles that exactly match your needs.
that's it. This way I always have anything I need to be on when I really need it, I do not have to give up to get real time notifications or emails, and significantly increase battery life up to JD levels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, if someone writes a simple program to do this with just one click, he can make millions i'll definitely try tasker
speedfreak007 said:
dude, if someone writes a simple program to do this with just one click, he can make millions i'll definitely try tasker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well tasker is designed exactly to do that (well, no clicks at all once you set it up) but with plenty degrees of freedom to let anyone configure as wished.
If you need hints and tips, feel free to pm me.