As you may know desire has a built in feature that monitors when you do need 3g connection and when not, so when you do not need it it automaticly switches to 2g. I have also read somewhere that this feature consumes less battery then being always on 2g. Is that true? I still heard a lot of people that are most of the time on 2g while they do not browse the internet, reporting decent battery lives.
So, as the title says, which is better?
2g uses less battery than 3g. Use 2g when not using data for the best battery life.
Whoever said that 2g and sometimes 3g uses less battery that 2g only needs to go back to school, its mathematically impossible if 3g uses more battery.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
lvnatic said:
As you may know desire has a built in feature that monitors when you do need 3g connection and when not, so when you do not need it it automaticly switches to 2g.
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Click to collapse
are you completely sure about that? my phone seems to be always in 3G as long as it is available and switchs to 2G if it cant get a 3g connection.
anyway, 2G is the best option battery wise.
there is a video from google i/o 2k9 talking about this. I think it's this one : http://developer.android.com/videos/index.html#v=OUemfrKe65c
I have used both modes for some weeks, but i didn't see any difference.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=688492
How about this? Does it apply to desire as well? I am curently using gsm only when im not browsing the net.
2g only will use the least battery.
Auto is great but the issue is that it will preferentially seek 3g. To seek 3g more power is required. (Now this is a negligible amount on its own). However if comparing the battery use in only a 2g area the 2g phone will last longer.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
if you have signal i recommend to use 3g. the cells needs more power to have/transmitt fast data connections like hdspa and in that case the cellphone need less battery to connect to it. in Romania the network it's kinda new hardware, because we use cellphones later than anyone else and the tech was envolved when we first install the network, but remember if your cellphone go from 2g to 3g often, this will consume a lot of power.
Robert A said:
if you have signal i recommend to use 3g. the cells needs more power to have/transmitt fast data connections like hdspa and in that case the cellphone need less battery to connect to it. in Romania the network it's kinda new hardware, because we use cellphones later than anyone else and the tech was envolved when we first install the network, but remember if your cellphone go from 2g to 3g often, this will consume a lot of power.
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Click to collapse
So you recommend wcdma only? Even when I don't use the internet? Its true that I have signal most of the time, but I am on "gsm only" all the time, switching to wcdma only when I browse the net.
I would recommend GSM auto (PRL) from the testing menu ( *#*#4636#*#* ) then in phone information. Your phone will still use 3G but only when the signal is strong. Otherwise it will prefer 2G.
WCDMA preferred will try to force 3G even when the signal is weak. Consuming more battery.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App
2G only uses the least power.
3G only uses moar power.
Constant switching uses the most, it peaks at 600mA battery drain in the process.
3G only will only give you signal outages, therefore I would not recommend it. It is not widespread as GSM signal is.
Oh I finally know how to acces PRL options, thanks. But regarding this, I found this thread on the nexus one section, which says wcdma prl is better. Any of you know how accurate that is?
Edit:
sheek360 said:
He mentioned that gsm auto prl will save the user a bit more power because it wont force the phone to continuasly hunt for a stronger signal. Typically this option gives our n1's a weaker signal and slower data speed. But he said it depends on our network in our city.
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Click to collapse
Nvm, it wasn't battery related anyway. And I found what I needed. Thanks a lot.
Im back to gsm only, gsm auto prl didn't seem to be better in terms of battery saving.
Related
hi all
recently i have just calibrate my battery.. and it works just fine
but now i found that it drains alot quicker using 3g signal compared to wifi...
the drain rate can take 10% /hour on 3g and only 4% / hour for wifi
why is that ?
is there something wrong on my gsm ?
btw am using leedroid froyo 2.0c and using latest radio 32.47.xxx
pls some one can tell me.. what to do ??any clues on this ?
3G has more power drain than wifi so it's normal.
Sent from my HTC Desire
elmalote said:
3G has more power drain than wifi so it's normal.
Sent from my HTC Desire
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Click to collapse
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?
interqd said:
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My 3G has always had higher power drain than WiFi. There isn't really anything you can do about it other than to turn it off. Alternatively you can disable "Always on Data" under Wireless & Networks => Mobile Networks
interqd said:
oiya ? is it ?
coz on my iphone it was different... wifi was worse..
anyway.. is there anyway to slower battery drain ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable automatic sync. My data networks are switched off since last week. Now my battery lasts 2-3 days. I only use wifi at home.
You can also use juicedefender to control battery use and sync intervals.
interqd said:
hi all
recently i have just calibrate my battery.. and it works just fine
but now i found that it drains alot quicker using 3g signal compared to wifi...
the drain rate can take 10% /hour on 3g and only 4% / hour for wifi
why is that ?
is there something wrong on my gsm ?
btw am using leedroid froyo 2.0c and using latest radio 32.47.xxx
pls some one can tell me.. what to do ??any clues on this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This can also be caused by low/patchy 3G coverage in areas you are in.
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
If you don't mind the slower data speeds, switch to 2G/GSM Only as this does not use as much power (due to 3G cell breathing - Google it )
r2b2 said:
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One way to alleviate *some* of that is to set the phone to "GSM Auto (PRL)".
Go to dialer and dial "*#*#INFO#*#*". That should take you to the settings screen.
r2b2 said:
This can also be caused by low/patchy 3G coverage in areas you are in.
If the 3G signal is weak then the handset will use a lot of power to try and keep the signal, as it prefers it over 2G.
If you don't mind the slower data speeds, switch to 2G/GSM Only as this does not use as much power (due to 3G cell breathing - Google it )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely true. Your cell will consume much more power when you are outside of coverage area. The antena will keep searching the network according to your preference. So if you have 3G active all the time the phones internal antenna will keep looking for it and will drain your battery quicker.
okey..
thx all 4 d answers...
goo that to know there's nothing wrong with my signal or battery..
i think my problem is bad signal coverage.. as i always be in the shop which is so inside ....
but cant make it to edge/gsm as 2g speed is awful here in indonesia...
i think i'll just use juicedefender
thx..
Is this an Android feature or is there something wrong with my 3G?
What happens is that whenever I am using my browser and searching on Google and my data connection shows 3G, when I click something it switches to H. Then, after page load, it changes back to 3G.
It makes me wonder if something is wrong with my 3G, or it is some battery-optimizing done by the phone.
Am I missing something? I did not notice this with my HTC Desire, it stayed on 3G or H until connectivity became worse or better.
perfectly normal,as 3G just being the band you can be called on,but once you start browsing and download stuf,your conection turns into HSPDA(thus the H) this is the data conection integrated in 3G(its faster than actual 3G)
you can see it as a download mode.
H is just a download indicator if you ask me.
thus maybe your HTC was downloading constand or had a lower refresh rate?
the described action you present is pretty common on my nexus S
Yes this is normal behaviour in stock Android.
Great to hear, thanks
Yeah it was constant on my HTC Desire, either on H or 3G. Apps were the same, so I don't think Desire did some background work that Nexus isn't doing.
I like it, thanks!
Every phone I've had from the Nexus One would do this - usually stock roms don't show an "H," only 3G, so you can't tell that it's switching between.
My HTC desire would switch between 3g and h on Orange but if I roamed on to t mobile it would permanently show as H. I guess it can also depend on the network.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
You don't want it to stay on H .. it uses heaps more battery. There's also limited capacity on the network to support H connections. If everyone connected in H they would run out. It's meant to be temporary while you need to download a webpage, etc.
Mine is doing this too
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk
I think there's been a thread on this already, but just to reiterate:
This is just a feature of UMTS and HSPA. Using HSPA takes more battery than UMTS or EDGE, so you only want it on when you are actively downloading or uploading data. Otherwise, UMTS serves just fine for background data and syncing.
When you're reading a web page (your example), there's not a lot of data being transfered, and you're sitting on UMTS. As soon as you click a link, it switches to HSPA, pulls down the info, and switches back again.
To my knowledge, stock android shows the difference between 3G and H pretty accurately. Carrier and/or manufacturer customized ROMs often tend to lead towards leaving "H"/"H+"/"4G" in the status bar more than 3G. If you watch your "about phone" > "status" screen, you'll see your phone switches between UMTS and HSPA quite often, even if the interface is preferring to show you "H". I think its mostly a marketing tactic that also reduces customer confusion.
So bottom line, you should be happy it switches to save your battery!
I have this and trust me, it cains battery.
I have never seen H in my Nexus S.
So this is good
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
gogol said:
I have never seen H in my Nexus S.
So this is good
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
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Click to collapse
That's because the Nexus S is a 3G phone that doesn't have the hardware required to transmit HSPA+ signal.
matt2053 said:
That's because the Nexus S is a 3G phone that doesn't have the hardware required to transmit HSPA+ signal.
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Click to collapse
The Nexus S is HSPA capable. just not HSPA+.
Actually HSPA doesn't use _more_ battery when you're camping. It only uses more battery while transferring, but even thats debatable. Eg 10mb downloaded in 1 minute over HSPA vs 5 minutes on 3G - which uses more battery to complete the task?
What does use extra battery is IF it has to switch to another tower to get you HSPA. However the network is pretty smart at choosing the most efficient thing to do, although it is biased to move people to towers which allow the most number of subscribers to be on the network. For example, if you are in a built up area and there are 3 towers within range, one perhaps right next to you, you may be switched to one further away so that one can service a user on the edge of its signal area. Although this uses more of your battery, it allows both of you to use the network rather than just 1.
Booo. So I just upgraded from a mt4g (the old one) to a GN, and now when I stream Sirius, it cuts out as it switches between H & 3G. I used Wifi today because it was driving me crazy. I wish there was a switch to turn off 4G, not 3G also.
hello, I was just wondering if there was any app that will allow me to turn off hspa+ on my GSM galaxy nexus? I prefer using 3G only
thank you
anyone?
10 char
haven't seen this anywhere except on original samsung galaxy S, where dialling in a code allowed you to change the data connection speed.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=837716
seems you can only choose either 2G or 3G/HSDPA data but not specify one.
Hspa+ is 3G.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
@rbiter said:
Hspa+ is 3G.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HSPA+ is 3.5G
Lol. I know that but for all intents and purposes, who is going to weed out UMTS and hspa and hspa+ just so you can have UMTS only? It's 3G no matter how you slice and dice it.
Sent from my Nexus in Texas.
in an area of low signal, you're going to spend more power trying to have a stable "H" connection rather than "3G". Back in the SGS1 days i remember it did actually have a little but noticeable effect on battery.
if you watch careful, when you have a low "H" signal it will once in a while drop back to 3G...3G is way better than Edge or GPRS but not as fast as HSDPA which goes to 20+ mbps, whereas 3G AFAIK hovers around 700-800kbps.
zerozoneice said:
in an area of low signal, you're going to spend more power trying to have a stable "H" connection rather than "3G". Back in the SGS1 days i remember it did actually have a little but noticeable effect on battery.
if you watch careful, when you have a low "H" signal it will once in a while drop back to 3G...3G is way better than Edge or GPRS but not as fast as HSDPA which goes to 20+ mbps, whereas 3G AFAIK hovers around 700-800kbps.
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Click to collapse
3g / umts limit is 384 kbps. I'm having a hard time seeing tgere would be any difference in power drain in terms of low signal seeing as its the same exact air interface (wcdma) for all of them.
Its like saying wifi b drains less power than wifi g in low signal. If its true someone would have to explain cause i dont understand how it could be...
RogerPodacter said:
3g / umts limit is 384 kbps. I'm having a hard time seeing tgere would be any difference in power drain in terms of low signal seeing as its the same exact air interface (wcdma) for all of them.
Its like saying wifi b drains less power than wifi g in low signal. If its true someone would have to explain cause i dont understand how it could be...
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Click to collapse
yea 384kbps.
dunno the exact reason but i know it had results at least on stock SGS roms...couple of %, not much...but something.
probably radio uses more power to keep a good (faster H) connection in a low signal area before giving up and falling back on 3G.
Hi,
I have had my One x since this Monday, constantly using mobile data because i didnt have WiFi at hand. I noticed my battery dropping super fast for no real reason. What i also noticed was the icon all the time switching back and forth between 3g and H ... I dont really know why this is happening, does anyone have an idea? Now that im using WiFi my battery seems to drop a lit less quickly..
Offtopic question about the battery: when i got the phone i didnt let it charge before i started using it, i just let it drop from the 20 % to 0 and then charged it... Did this maybe mess things up?
Thanks a lot
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Same here. I'm having the same issue. I'm using mine on AT&T.
I have seen my signal go 3G to H+ a lot but my battery is no worse than my GNex. I am also on ATT.
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Generally speaking, my Android phones have shown a 3G symbol when not using data, and will switch to H when starting to transfer data. This is when you have 3G network coverage.
A bigger battery drain is normally when you have poor signal, and the phone is always trying to search for a signal, or when it is constantly going between 2G and 3G/H.
Being on wifi is definitely easiest on the battery though.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Mmm thats weird never seen that happen with my previous phones... I always thought the arrows on the side indicated wether or not they were using data or not... The arrows beside the 3g flash as well when using data...
I hope the update comes soon. Because i dont really like the battery life atm
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
.26 firmware has major batt issues... You guys are not alone...I'm getting more pissed by day...
mr.boonet said:
Mmm thats weird never seen that happen with my previous phones... I always thought the arrows on the side indicated wether or not they were using data or not... The arrows beside the 3g flash as well when using data...
I hope the update comes soon. Because i dont really like the battery life atm
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See if you get the arrows beside the 3G symbol. I'm pretty sure on mine, as soon as the arrows come along, it switches to an H.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
You are completely right about the arrows thing. I just can't imagine the switching being better for the battery or whatever... Seems to me that just keeping it on H would be less hard on the battery than constantly switching between 2 radio's.
Or is it 1 and the same radio?
mr.boonet said:
You are completely right about the arrows thing. I just can't imagine the switching being better for the battery or whatever... Seems to me that just keeping it on H would be less hard on the battery than constantly switching between 2 radio's.
Or is it 1 and the same radio?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am pretty sure 3G and H are the same thing, so it won't affect battery drain. It's not like switching between 2G and 3G, which I think causes more battery drain because your phone is searching and switching. I'm sure there's some expert here that can clear it up.
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk
Mm ok indeed, but i guess when the engineers at htc/google do it like that, and it's not only happening on my device, there should be quite a good reason for it
Sent from my HTC One X using XDA
I think some confusion is present here.
3G data and HSDPA data are both 3G technologies on the same frequency bands. However HSDPA uses MORE power because it bonds on multiple channels to get the bandwidth up. When the phone is doing very low amounts of data, or no data, it will revert to 3G only to save power. It will ONLY go to HSDPA when it is obvious there is much data to be transferred! This behaviour is correct and appropriate.
Just thought I would add there is only one mobile network radio in our phone so there will never be any radio switching issues.
M.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
jonstatt said:
I think some confusion is present here.
3G data and HSDPA data are both 3G technologies on the same frequency bands. However HSDPA uses MORE power because it bonds on multiple channels to get the bandwidth up. When the phone is doing very low amounts of data, or no data, it will revert to 3G only to save power. It will ONLY go to HSDPA when it is obvious there is much data to be transferred! This behaviour is correct and appropriate.
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Click to collapse
That makes absolute sense. Except that what tends to happen (with me at least) is that it switches multiple times while I am trying to load something which interrupts the transfer again and again. Sometimes I get 'Connection error' messages while trying to download apps from Google Play. If I keep trying, it will download successfuly after a few tries, when it can stabilise long enough on either 3G or H. And it isn't a situation where I'm on the edge of either because this happens no matter where I am. Any insight on this?
jonstatt said:
I think some confusion is present here.
3G data and HSDPA data are both 3G technologies on the same frequency bands. However HSDPA uses MORE power because it bonds on multiple channels to get the bandwidth up. When the phone is doing very low amounts of data, or no data, it will revert to 3G only to save power. It will ONLY go to HSDPA when it is obvious there is much data to be transferred! This behaviour is correct and appropriate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's called "fast dormancy," do a search on XDA or Google. It saves battery provided the carrier you're using supports fast dormancy. It's erratic when they don't and should be turned off. AT&T supports fast dormancy so that shouldn't be the cause for anyone on their network to have abnormally high battery usage. I’ve used an i9100 for a year all over AT&T’s network and never had an issue with fast dormancy active. And it works exactly like described above. In certain parts of the country (EG: Louisiana) my battery drains 25-50% faster but that's due to signal not fast dormancy.
you guys also have to calibrate your battery in order to get a decent battery life
Fast dormancy can be disabled by going to service menu by typing *#*#9900#*#*
Worked with most of my devices. Donno it will work with this device as i dont have one now.
I'm about to get 3G plan for my phone, and curious about a few things, thanks in advance for anyone who can answer them:
1) Is there any problems with connecting to 3g, just like there is in wifi sometimes?
2) Outside, would you rather using 3G than searching a wifi network? (because of speed, etc)
3) How fast is it (in average, for an average phone company)
Thanks again!
GFex said:
I'm about to get 3G plan for my phone, and curious about a few things, thanks in advance for anyone who can answer them:
1) Is there any problems with connecting to 3g, just like there is in wifi sometimes?
2) Outside, would you rather using 3G than searching a wifi network? (because of speed, etc)
3) How fast is it (in average, for an average phone company)
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no problem with 3g or wifi.
Wifi is sometimes quicker, sometimes free or cheaper than data, and uses less power.
No such thing as average, it varies wildly based on carrier, location in the country, maybe time of day, signal strength and many other things.
3G is fine but it's not down to the phone it's down to your carrier.
As mentioned above, time, congestion, signal strength all play a part in how good a connection is.
Radio keeps getting better for me on each new release so not an issue, just find a radio that works well and stick with it.
GFex said:
I'm about to get 3G plan for my phone, and curious about a few things, thanks in advance for anyone who can answer them:
1) Is there any problems with connecting to 3g, just like there is in wifi sometimes?
2) Outside, would you rather using 3G than searching a wifi network? (because of speed, etc)
3) How fast is it (in average, for an average phone company)
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm using 3g instead of wifi because i have hardware fault and i didn't fix it yet. 3g works perfectly!
i reached 7mb/s with 3g (vodafone italy)
it doesn't drain much battery so you can just keep it on everytime