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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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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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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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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.
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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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.
Wondering if anyone else with a GSM GNex on T-Mobile is having random connectivity losses?
It's quite rare (that I see it at least) so it's hard to identify a source or pattern. It seems that at random, I'll turn on my phone and there will be NO phone connection. After the screen is on for 15 seconds, the connection restores with T-Mobile, followed by 3g etc. The signal is great in the same location, so I don't think it's poor network signal quality.
This is stock 4.0.1, rooted, but no other fancy stuff. I do have SetCPU with a conservative governor with screen off, 350-700 range.
Yes, although I am in the UK with TMo, I have seen signal strength fluctuate randomly on its own. I have also seen the signal strengths fluctuate when left overnight in the same place....
Sometimes I have only been able to get back the good signal only by rebooting the device, but yes, I have seen similar behaviour from this phone..
I can confirm this behaviour, however only with the combination of 4.0.3 and XXKK1. With XXKK6, this bug seems to be gone. Yet, the phone stays on H all the time and does not switch back to 3g when idling.
s1977 said:
Yes, although I am in the UK with TMo, I have seen signal strength fluctuate randomly on its own. I have also seen the signal strengths fluctuate when left overnight in the same place....
Sometimes I have only been able to get back the good signal only by rebooting the device, but yes, I have seen similar behaviour from this phone..
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Yes, I was wondering if anyone else had the "reboot to regain any signal" situation too.
I had recently done some Tmobile account changes to others in my family plan (not my own), so I was unsure if this was related.
GMH24 said:
I can confirm this behaviour, however only with the combination of 4.0.3 and XXKK1. With XXKK6, this bug seems to be gone. Yet, the phone stays on H all the time and does not switch back to 3g when idling.
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Hmmm... continuous mobile signal = good. On H all the time = bad.
There's no way to win here! =P
waylo said:
Hmmm... continuous mobile signal = good. On H all the time = bad.
There's no way to win here! =P
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Losing is not an option either!
We'll see how development progresses...
I get the same thing here also in canada on bell mobility, my signal will out of nowhere drop every bar.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
What radio are you on?
I get the same problem. The signal will just die and comes back a min or two later.
I flashed with the Baseband of I920XXKK1.
Franco kernal 3.0.8-franco.Kernel-4.0.3
Build IML74K.
GHM24 - are you saying I should update baseband to I9250XXKK6?
You are having good luck with that?
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
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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?
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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.
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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 was comparing my S5 battery usage with my S6 last night, while I slept, and after 7 hours S5 = 93% and S6 = 82%. I have the update and I'm not rooted on the S6 and I'm rooted and have a ROM on my S5. I tried to have comparable things running. The biggest offender on the S6 was Cell Standby @ 7%, then Google Services @ 3%. What the heck is Cell Standby and how do I reduce the usage? What is Google Services and how do I reduce that. I had WiFi, Bluetooth and background sync all disabled. I'm ready to return my phone to Costco and go back to my S5. I cannot deal with such crappy battery life. As I write this 1 hr and 15 minutes later I've used my phone several times to look at traffic on Google Maps, and the battery is now at 74%. Please help. Thanks in advance.
I rooted my s6 and flashed ktoonsez kernel and lost 1% of battery within 8 hours of sleeping. Cell standby is when ur phone tries to find signal. If ur in bad reception area it will eat up alot of battery
jminor4326 said:
I was comparing my S5 battery usage with my S6 last night, while I slept, and after 7 hours S5 = 93% and S6 = 82%. I have the update and I'm not rooted on the S6 and I'm rooted and have a ROM on my S5. I tried to have comparable things running. The biggest offender on the S6 was Cell Standby @ 7%, then Google Services @ 3%. What the heck is Cell Standby and how do I reduce the usage? What is Google Services and how do I reduce that. I had WiFi, Bluetooth and background sync all disabled. I'm ready to return my phone to Costco and go back to my S5. I cannot deal with such crappy battery life. As I write this 1 hr and 15 minutes later I've used my phone several times to look at traffic on Google Maps, and the battery is now at 74%. Please help. Thanks in advance.
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I work for Sprint (not an official spokesperson or anything, so don't think my word is an official statement representing them), and I had a similar issue with the Nexus. I saw it again on the S6, so I tried the same thing I did on the Nexus 6, and it got way better:
Settings->Mobile Networks->switch to LTE/CDMA
Also be aware that if your bedroom is in an area of the house that doesn't get good reception, it's going to drain the battery trying to find it, like the other user mentioned above. Change it and see if it helps.
Xylomaphoner said:
I work for Sprint (not an official spokesperson or anything, so don't think my word is an official statement representing them), and I had a similar issue with the Nexus. I saw it again on the S6, so I tried the same thing I did on the Nexus 6, and it got way better:
Settings->Mobile Networks->switch to LTE/CDMA
Also be aware that if your bedroom is in an area of the house that doesn't get good reception, it's going to drain the battery trying to find it, like the other user mentioned above. Change it and see if it helps.
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Click to collapse
Actually I have done the exact opposite and changed it to CDMA only mode and ever since y battery has been amaizng.
If you switched to cdma only. Do you still get 3g/lte?
JoeFCaputo113 said:
Actually I have done the exact opposite and changed it to CDMA only mode and ever since y battery has been amaizng.
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Click to collapse
That's not surprising if you're in an area that hasn't completed the spark/LTE upgrades, but not that would won't be able to get full speeds in that mode.
Xylomaphoner said:
That's not surprising if you're in an area that hasn't completed the spark/LTE upgrades, but not that would won't be able to get full speeds in that mode.
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Click to collapse
Making these changes has made a big difference. Thank you for the explanation and suggestion. I leave my phone in the living ara at night and I do have reasonable cell service. If I make the setting for CDMA only, not LTE/CDMA under Settings->Mobile Networks, will LTE still work automatically.
I would assume you're going to lose LTE by going to just CDMA....and Sprint's 3g is poor so losing even average LTE is not desirable for me.
crazymook said:
I would assume you're going to lose LTE by going to just CDMA.
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Duh haha.
JoeFCaputo113 said:
Duh haha.
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Click to collapse
More replying to everyone else asking.
Sprint's 3g is garbage...I'll take any battery hit not to have to sit on 3g, ever, haha.
crazymook said:
More replying to everyone else asking.
Sprint's 3g is garbage...I'll take any battery hit not to have to sit on 3g, ever, haha.
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Sprint in general is pretty trash lol... been wit em since they were Nextel (roughly 15+yrs) -_-
JoeFCaputo113 said:
Sprint in general is pretty trash lol... been wit em since they were Nextel (roughly 15+yrs) -_-
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Same. I dont know why I stick with them, other than the fact I'm on employee pricing and I cant beat my plan.
crazymook said:
Same. I dont know why I stick with them, other than the fact I'm on employee pricing and I cant beat my plan.
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Click to collapse
Unlimited everything is why I stick wit em haha. Plus them & T-Mo are the only carriers with unlimited plans, wifi calling AND unlocked bootloaders!
All the promises of a better network is such a crock tho.
crazymook said:
All the promises of a better network is such a crock tho.
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Click to collapse
CDMA only means you're not going to get LTE.
Regarding Sprint's service, it got very rocky when they started upgrading the network, but has gotten so much better, at least in my area. I get LTE pretty much everywhere I go now. I lose it at the gym sometimes, but that's about it.
Its such crap that Google removed the ability to toggle LTE on or off via a widget or toggle switch (you cant even toggle data on or off, you need to manually go to the networks page).
crazymook said:
Its such crap that Google removed the ability to toggle LTE on or off via a widget or toggle switch (you cant even toggle data on or off, you need to manually go to the networks page).
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Verizon and AT&T can on their S6's -_-
How lovely for them
It helped
Xylomaphoner said:
I work for Sprint (not an official spokesperson or anything, so don't think my word is an official statement representing them), and I had a similar issue with the Nexus. I saw it again on the S6, so I tried the same thing I did on the Nexus 6, and it got way better:
Settings->Mobile Networks->switch to LTE/CDMA
Also be aware that if your bedroom is in an area of the house that doesn't get good reception, it's going to drain the battery trying to find it, like the other user mentioned above. Change it and see if it helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It helped, Thank you. Mine had gone to "automatic" so I changed to the LTE/CDMA and battery is better. Thanks again.
If LTE/CDMA gets turned on will the phone still fall back to 3G?