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3G on or off?

Quazar said:
Do you have 3G on or off? Also how does it affect battery life when off or on, if any?
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I always have it on, I get at least a full days usage (got up at 8am and took it off charge, it's over a quater full and its 10pm). I make a few phone calls, few texts and browse the net for an hour or so.
 
cool, I'm going to try a day with 3G on and see what effect it has on my battery. I'll post my results tomorrow.
 
In my area 2G is just as fast as 3G for web browsing and email. Updating rss feeds is also pretty quick. I download all my podcasts and google reader app in the morning over wi-fi so that I can just use 2G for the rest of the day.
 
Quazar said:
cool, I'm going to try a day with 3G on and see what effect it has on my battery. I'll post my results tomorrow.
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i flick 2 and fro. i cant use wifi at work but im on a pc so i just use that instead. i'll only put it on 3g when i know im going to be using my phone to look on internet on lunch for awhile or if im downloading some files from the net or larger apps from market.

I make a few calls but mainly use texts lots. switching from 2g and 3g and using locale to turn my wifi off when im at work gets me through to having to charge every other day ish.

last charged it on sunday evening took it off charge at around 23:00 sunday and im still over 3/4 full (23hours later). i wont need to charge the phone until tomorrow evening.
 
Mine is usually down to 40% when I come home from university, so I end up charging it back to 100% for the next day. Its reccomended to do partial charges than a full 0-100% charge. A 40-100% charge is said to be better for the long term life of the battery.

I don't like switching from 2G to 3G manually since it takes a while for 2G to be loaded so I'd prefer sticking to one.
 
i might leave it on 3g today and the rest of the week, see how quick it drains and how much data i use see if 3g watchdog logs more then normal.

i normally get the battery down to between 10 - 30 before i charge but i will start doing it from 40ish now.


ta for the info
 
I only turn on 3G when i need it. in the past when i had it on continuously i'd get less than 24hrs, on average 18 hours. without 3G on i get closer to 48 hrs, on occasion more. I travel for work and have noticed that when roaming, 48hrs plus easily acheivable.
This is natively on 3UK network.
I do find that when the battery symbol is yellow, i loose reception completely, then it's only minutes before the phone dies.
And i use wi-fi when possible (over 3G). I still carry the charger around with me though always.
 
You can download a widget that does it, something like 2g/3g widget. Also you could go to the mobile network settings and tick off "Use only 2g"

o7who, your method turns off the mobile data on and off rather than switching between 3g and 2g!
 
Okay. I installed it but twhen i click on it it sends me to my moblie network settings screen and I'm lost from there cause I don't see anywhere where I can change 3g to 2g......
 
I am in the same boat - no option for 2G/3G switch. Are you on a Hero? I am on the Eris so it may be because of the difference between phones
 
My recent test shows that if your phone is most of the time on standby (not too many calls), it is better to turn on 3G. But if you are talking a lot, it is less power consuming if you turn on 2G. You can see on HTC's specs that on standby, 3G uses less battery power.
 
SuperBaby said:
My recent test shows that if your phone is most of the time on standby (not too many calls), it is better to turn on 3G. But if you are talking a lot, it is less power consuming if you turn on 2G. You can see on HTC's specs that on standby, 3G uses less battery power.
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That's probably why I have no problems with leaving it on then. Good to know I'm not restrictign my battery life!
 
When I go to the mobile network setting screen this is the list i get

Roaming
Data Roaming
Data roaming guard
Data Roaming sound
Call Guard
Enable always on moblie ( i have it unchecked)
Switch NAM (NAM 1)
Mode Operation (HYbrid)
 
Talk time:
  • Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
  • Up to 470 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
  • Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
  • Up to 440 hours for GSM
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I do not understand why HTC put a remark on the phone setting saying turning off 3G can save battery power. On their specs above, you can see that during calls, 3G only uses a little bit more power than 2G. But on standby mode, 3G is greatly in advantage.
 
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