Note drains faster on wifi when not roaming - Galaxy Note GT-N7000 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi, when I'm abroad using wifi (so no cellular data), my battery lasts longer compared to being at home, also on Wifi. how can this be possible? shouldnt cellular data be deactivated as soon as i activate wifi?
thanks in advance
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Depends on what Wi-Fi network you're connecting to. In theory - 5Ghz network takes more battery than 2.4Ghz or a/b/g network. Also, signal strength also plays it's role - constant low signal forces the antenna to work harder - and at home you always get good signal.
Who knows, maybe that's the reason.

Maybe when you are home the data connection stays in the background waiting for you to drop off wifi network and therefore eats up the battery
but when you are on roaming the data connection is turned off completely to save on data bill
this is just an assumption...
what I usually do is when am at home or work, I turn off data and turn on wifi manually instead of letting the phone choose for me. I've found that this helps in conserving battery

No, thats not how it works.. Your cellular data connection is active, just unused.
k1ckdapro said:
Hi, when I'm abroad using wifi (so no cellular data), my battery lasts longer compared to being at home, also on Wifi. how can this be possible? shouldnt cellular data be deactivated as soon as i activate wifi?
thanks in advance
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium
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itsrijo said:
what I usually do is when am at home or work, I turn off data and turn on wifi manually instead of letting the phone choose for me. I've found that this helps in conserving battery
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I do this too, in fact I use Llama to do it for me. It saves a lot of battery.

Thanks, that's what I thought. But why can't android simply deactivate data when connected. I don't get why there is no such option.
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Related

Why the 3g/4g radio still on when I connected to wifi

Hi I have had several smartphones and I've had all the 4g Verizon phone and when I connect ti wifi automatically mobile data turn off or at least icon disappear from status bar but with the revolution and with this bionic that's no happen somebody can tell me why thanks
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Do you get the color change as described in this thread? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1261253
Mine does this
My bionic also stays connected to the mobile network when wifi is on and sometimes it will pull from the network instead of switching to wifi. the radio is all messed up on my bionic.
Well is not a mess I mean when I am connected to wifi my phone use wifi internet instead the mobile data but I guess with wifi n mobile data use more battery I guess I don't know the revolution is like bionic the same happens
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I see this on mine as well. I know some people have indicated that it is not really connected to 3G, here is what I'm seeing:
When Wifi is turned on, the 3G (or 4G if lte is enabeld) sometimes stays on. Sometimes it changes to white (indicating that it may still be connected, but not syncing to google through that connection), sometimes it stays blue, and once in while it actually goes away, but not often.
Some other threads seem to indicate that this is just a display bug. However, if I analyze my battery stats, I think the connection is actually staying on. Here is what happens:
* With just a plain 3g/4G connection and no wi-fi, if I look at the battery stats for Cell Standby, the "time on" increases as expected. If there was a period when the cell signal was dropped, I will also see the percentage ot time without a signal.
* When I turn on Wifi and the 3G icon stays on, if I look at the battery stats, the Cell Standby's time on continues to increase, but not the "percentage of time without a signal" also increases. This seems to indicate that the cell signal is staying on, but it knows it is not connected and is searching for a signal. I'm not sure if this is actually eating up more battery like when you really don't have a signal and it is searching, but it is being reporting that way at least.
* If I install a widget to disable 3G/4G while on wifi, the icons go away, but I still see the same thing happening in the battery stats. This could indicate that it is still connected, or it could invalidate what I'm seeing altogether, not sure.
In any event, I'm not sure what the real story is here, I never had the icons stay on with previous devices (Droid X and X2), so I never investigated the battery stats. However, I see alot of people talking about their Cell Standby taking up a lot of battery, I wonder if this plays in to it.
-Chris
yeah I don't think it's really on either. I verify this by using speed test. I know my speed at home and lte is faster. lol
When I use juice defender I disable mobile data when connected to a wifi SI icon disappear this happen with the revolution and bionic I don't see on tbolt nor charge
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My 4g icon stays on while connected to wifi and stays blue. But according to speedtest the speeds reflect connection to wifi.
kookahdoo said:
My 4g icon stays on while connected to wifi and stays blue. But according to speedtest the speeds reflect connection to wifi.
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Mine is doing the same, but its still draining the battery like CRAZY when browsing on supposed wifi... Definitely a bug.
Mine is the same way but I can't use anything on my network like google tv remote or printershare it says it can't see anything on the network. Tried other phones and they work
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It should prefer wifi over 3G/4G. I keep this page bookmarked on my Droid that shows IP and ISP name to test it.
http://www.dslreports.com/mspeed?whoami=1&w=
I have been on wifi all night. 3g lights on. However, my data useage for the month have not changed. I am confident that 3g is not being called upon
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Dbeayon said:
I have been on wifi all night. 3g lights on. However, my data useage for the month have not changed. I am confident that 3g is not being called upon
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My experience is similar.

What is using more battery - 3G or Wi-Fi?

When internet access (either idle or during active use) is necessary, what is the better option for battery life?
Does Wi-Fi drain more battery, is it the other way around or is it the same?
Best option for bettery life is to leave wifi on when your in wifi area
Sent from my GT-N7000
Moved To Q&A​
Please post questions in the Q&A section​
Wifi use less batt
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Wifi saves more battery than 3g.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA
yes I agree Wifi drains less battery than 3G if you have a good wifi connection, but not if your phone is scanning for new wifi connection when you travels.
To be clearer, wifi is the best option at home or hotel room compare to DATA transfer (3G).
Thanks, I always thought that 3G needs more battery juice. Every day you learn something new.
Damn me to i always taught 3g would use less. Thr note battery still needs to be inproved.
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But if you are at home , WIFI is on and the screen off - actually this happens the most time.
I marked the option in the advanced WIFI-settings that turns the WIFI off when the screen is off.
What happens then? Does it do all network stuff with the 3G connection or is there a WIFI-wakelock for apps like Whatsapp?
If it uses the 3G network would't it be better to change to 2G?
Iam not sure this helps something but iam acutally doing it like this. Always on 2G (because at home and at work i have WIFI) and only when i need 3G when iam not in a WIFI-Network range i switch to 3G.
Does someone know how Android works?
Wifi is always better than 3g
Saves battery
saves money
And in many cases faster speed than 3g
So I will go with wifi
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[Q] Slow to latch to wifi? Connect to 3g briefly before wifi.

I have a pretty stock HTC One, and I'm on a particularly sub par data plan, where each 'data session' is rounded up.
I have wifi both at home and at work, good wifi signal and am v close to router etc. I find that if I put the phone into standby and then use it again 5-10 minutes later, it is still connected to wifi, all good. If I leave it for 20-30 minutes, when I wake it, it latches onto the 3g network for a few seconds and then realises there is wifi and connects to that.
I have things like Google+, FB messenger and push mail which I presumed required a constant connection.
Any thoughts on why the wifi appears to be being turned off as it entertains deep sleep?
I can just switch data off when at home or work but I don't want to have to rely on that sort of thing, and the apps that do that for you based on GPS etc aren't that appealing either.
Look in adavanced settings under wifi. Should be able to set it to keep wifi on during sleep
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Thanks for the reply. Yup I have that set to always. Seems to happen both on my home and work wifi, despite great signal strength. Sometimes it seems it does happen even if the phone is unused for 5-10 minutes.
I assume this is actually pretty common and most if not all phones do this, you probably wouldn't notice unless you were tracking each connected data session.
I was thinking the phone must do something like, wake, spend x time looking for wifi while simultaneously connecting to 3g, then when wifi is found it is connected to and the 3g connection is dropped. I guess I'd be looking to delay/postpone that connecting to the 3g network for 5 seconds or so to give the wifi time to establish.
Probably nothing I can do really.
I haven't noticed any problem staying connecetd to wifi while sleeping and Ive looked at the notification bar many time before ever unlocking the phone, just to make sure wifi stayed connected as its suppose to and it does. Only see 3g when Ive set it keep wifi on during sleep to only when plugged in and I dont have it plugged in. I also have best wifi performance checked. Dont think that makes much difference though. Im also stock at the moment
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Toggle between WiFi and mobile data with tasker

Hello. Does anyone knows how to make a script for tasker which switch mobile data off if WiFi is connected and mobile data back on if there's no WiFi connection? For the last 3 or 4 hours I'm searching for this and can't find nothing.
Also, I want if there's no WiFi network, to switch WiFi off (so mobile data will be turned on).
I managed to do something, but it didn't worked. When I enabled the profiles with WiFi and mobile data both turned on, the mobile data turned off, then WiFi off, then mobile data on and so on, in a loop.
Wouldn't that be redundant? The os already does that.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the response. I know that if WiFi is connected, I'm using the internet from it, but mobile data is still active, right? Even if there's no traffic from mobile data, that's still on. Wouldn't that be a source of battery drain?
I set my data to turn off if my phone is connected for 5 minutes to a wifi. Important: set collision handling to 'abort existing task'.
Here you got pictures.
Edit:
if you are further interested in battery savings, you can read my thread "[BATTERY LIFE] How to get up to 7+h of screen-on-time"
This is absolutely redundant and unnecesary, when the phone connects to a wifi, it disables 3g/LTE data connection by itself. When you connect to a wifi you can see how the 3g/H/H+ icon above radio signal dissapears. The radio chip inside this phones can be used in Wifi mode or 3g/4g mode for data connection, but not both at a time. It is technically not possible.
Accidentally sent from my Xperia Z using Tapatalk
RoberM said:
This is absolutely redundant and unnecesary, when the phone connects to a wifi, it disables 3g/LTE data connection by itself. When you connect to a wifi you can see how the 3g/H/H+ icon above radio signal dissapears. The radio chip inside this phones can be used in Wifi mode or 3g/4g mode for data connection, but not both at a time. It is technically not possible.
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The moment you don't have wifi anylonger, the phone starts a fullburst search for wifi and 3G/4G networks (even if I don't want wifi/data at the moment). and this drains a hell of a lot of battery. then (if you go out e.g.) it finds a 3g/4g-connection which it tries to keep up (drains a lot battery) and in the same time searches for wifi-networks (also drains battery)... very inefficient use of battery
So I deactivate data after 5 mins automatically via tasker and turn it on manually when I need it (could also automate that, but I'm lazy). This way I circumvent all these battery drains
Additionally:
Under normal circumstances I'd also set wifi to "turn off if not connected" (in settings) and "optimize wifi for battery life", but I use a custom stock kernel that has issues with these settings so I need to leave wifi on all day
sea2605 said:
The moment you don't have wifi anylonger, the phone starts a fullburst search for wifi and 3G/4G networks (even if I don't want wifi/data at the moment). and this drains a hell of a lot of battery. then (if you go out e.g.) it finds a 3g/4g-connection which it tries to keep up (drains a lot battery) and in the same time searches for wifi-networks (also drains battery)... very inefficient use of battery
So I deactivate data after 5 mins automatically via tasker and turn it on manually when I need it (could also automate that, but I'm lazy). This way I circumvent all these battery drains
Additionally:
Under normal circumstances I'd also set wifi to "turn off if not connected" (in settings) and "optimize wifi for battery life", but I use a custom stock kernel that has issues with these settings so I need to leave wifi on all day
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Umm, ok... But this has nothing to do with what the OP asked, or what I said.
You may try e-robot from play store.
I have a command for that, after wifi disconnects, wait for 30 sec. If still wifi is not connected, automaticcaly disables wifi.
Same as for bluetooth. When i leave my phone in my desk and gone for a while, 60 sec later disable bt.
You can do what ever you want.
Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

Mobile Data Auto Off

Could not find an app where once Wifi is connected, Mobile Data is disable and enable when there is no Wifi connection.
Hope someone can help, thank you.
peanuts3 said:
Could not find an app where once Wifi is connected, Mobile Data is disable and enable when there is no Wifi connection.
Hope someone can help, thank you.
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when the wifi is connected mobile data automatically turns off you dont need a app :/
Thanks are you referring to the Auto Network Switch under the Wifi setting?
When I set to Yes it gave a warning that it may auto switch to Mobile Data.
Suspect that if Wifi is not strong but still connected, it may switch to Mobile Data to get better connection which I do not want.
Pakman123 said:
when the wifi is connected mobile data automatically turns off you dont need a app :/
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peanuts3 said:
Suspect that if Wifi is not strong but still connected, it may switch to Mobile Data to get better connection which I do not want.
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Click to collapse
I'm in the complete opposite camp, how I wish there's an option for the phone to automatically switch to mobile data when the wifi becomes practically unusable.
There's a wifi deadspot in my house where I often use the phone, and contrary to what you suspect, my observations indicate that as long as there's a wifi connection, no matter how weak the signal, the phone will try its best to send and receive packets over wifi.
I usually have to manually switch off wifi.
Thanks for your feedback.
I will monitor whether the outcome is similar like yours.
I will turn ON both the Mobile Data and Wifi and using the Wifi preference setting.
If it works as you have stated, I will be very happy.
My priority is saving the cost from Mobile Data which is expensive to me.
I would like to control all downloads/updates of apps through Wifi.
Will use Mobile Data only when Wifi is not available/connected.
mhaha said:
I'm in the complete opposite camp, how I wish there's an option for the phone to automatically switch to mobile data when the wifi becomes practically unusable.
There's a wifi deadspot in my house where I often use the phone, and contrary to what you suspect, my observations indicate that as long as there's a wifi connection, no matter how weak the signal, the phone will try its best to send and receive packets over wifi.
I usually have to manually switch off wifi.
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Click to collapse
There is an option in developer settings to keep mobile data active even when Wi-Fi is connected. That may help with your Wi-Fi dead zone.
I think this option works for one device only.
I would rather recommend deploying a repeater for the Wifi signal, which will serves all devices at the dead spot.
A simple repeater should cost about USD10/
carto-man said:
There is an option in developer settings to keep mobile data active even when Wi-Fi is connected. That may help with your Wi-Fi dead zone.
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Click to collapse
Thanks Pakman123 and mhaha, for sharing your experience.
So far testing as recommended works according to your views.
For mhaha, I believe a wifi signal repeater set up will resolve your concern.
peanuts3 said:
Thanks for your feedback.
I will monitor whether the outcome is similar like yours.
I will turn ON both the Mobile Data and Wifi and using the Wifi preference setting.
If it works as you have stated, I will be very happy.
My priority is saving the cost from Mobile Data which is expensive to me.
I would like to control all downloads/updates of apps through Wifi.
Will use Mobile Data only when Wifi is not available/connected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can look at which apps are thirsty data eaters in settings under mobile data usage. Then click on the hungry app, untick background data.
Turning off background data will keep the apps restricted to WiFi slurping.
Thanks for looking up.
Appreciate your good suggestion.
Didgesteve said:
You can look at which apps are thirsty data eaters in settings under mobile data usage. Then click on the hungry app, untick background data.
Turning off background data will keep the apps restricted to WiFi slurping.
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