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3g or wifi??

M

m.vasquez009

Member
hey i was just wondering which of these were to use more battery quickly leaving your 3g on all day even when at home or using wifi when possible?
 
Leaving them both on uses the most battery life. Theoretically a Wifi radio uses more power than your 3G radio, however Wifi data rates are much greater than 3G so while it uses more power, it finishes it's transmission more quickly. It also can vary by signal strength. In an area with a marginal 3G signal, your radio will be constantly re-negotiating and cause significant battery drain. You really have to see for your situation works best.

For me, i get optimum battery life keeping 3G and Bluetooth on 24/7 and turning on GPS and Wifi only when using them.
 
what do u mean leaving them both on uses the most battery? i thought once u turn on wifi the data radios automatically turn off?? so in other words when i turn on wifi do i have to go into settings and disable the network radio also?
 
If you have both radios enabled it will use Wifi when available but still keep the 3G radio active in case the Wifi connection ends. While it uses minimal power, it will periodically renegotiate with the network to keep the connection active.
 
lunatic59 said:
Leaving them both on uses the most battery life. Theoretically a Wifi radio uses more power than your 3G radio, however Wifi data rates are much greater than 3G so while it uses more power, it finishes it's transmission more quickly. It also can vary by signal strength. In an area with a marginal 3G signal, your radio will be constantly re-negotiating and cause significant battery drain. You really have to see for your situation works best.

For me, i get optimum battery life keeping 3G and Bluetooth on 24/7 and turning on GPS and Wifi only when using them.
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You got that backwards there, chief. 3G uses more power than wifi. It's like a game of pitch and catch.

Wifi is like tossing a baseball back and forth to a friend that is 5 feet away. You barely have to toss it to get it to your friend's glove. Where as 3G is like throwing to him when he's 20 feet away. It takes more energy to complete the throw.

Reception plays a huge role in power used, as well. The better your reception, the less power your radios will use to try to get a good signal. Wifi is typically strong, as most wifi routers have an effective range of 50 feet, and how often are you outside of that 50 foot range of your wifi router?

Now, if you're no where near your wifi router, then yes, wifi is just simply an unnecessary drain on your battery. It's unfortunate that the Android OS doesn't track battery usage due to the 3G and 4G radios. It would become more apparent if it did.
 
I would tend to think more about the monthly costs than battery life given the choice of 3G or WiFi. WiFi data is practically unlimited as far as a phone is concerned, a carrier's often migre 3G data allowance is a finite resource for most of us.
 
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