Stupid question. What does Wifi do if you are already on Verizon's Network?

[aaf709]

My wifi is a bit faster than 3g but it isn't as reliable plus it messes up my yahoo mail and facebook app

Yes, wifi, depending on where you use it, may not allow you do certain things. When I'm on a private wifi, I can access more, but less on "free" wifi. For example, Borders Books offers "free" wifi. When I connected to it, I couldn't use Amazon.com or Shopsavvy. Even BettrFlickr didn't work. When I turned wifi off, I could access them. At McDonald's free AT&T wireless, I can't get to the Android Market. Evidently the Yahoo mail and wifi use the same port in the Droid so if wifi is connected, Yahoo mail isn't.

 

[GerryG35]

Besides the difference in download speed - 3G range of 626 to 2072 kbps and 5771 to 7655 kbps with WiFi off my Belkin wireless router - I notice that (obviously) the farther away from the router - the more faults I get where I can't remember ever getting a fault with 3G.

Is there a setting so that if the WiFi signal becomes unavailable to the browser it will automatically fall back to 3G? In the few cases where I got out of range, I pressed the Home key and used a widget or setup to stop WiFi and then long press Home to get quickly back to the browser icon - reload the browser and hope that the page I was viewing is still displayed.

 

[takeshi]

Is it just for situations where you don't have any cell phone service (which is pretty much never for Verizon)

Every carrier has holes in coverage -- including Verizon.

Some apps do require WiFi for the added speed. I can't recall which ones off the top of my head. Also, WiFi allows you to connect to a specific network which may be useful in certain situations (e.g. if you want to mount via WiFi, etc etc).

Really, the usefulness of WiFi depends on your specific needs. I don't use it much. YMMV.

Does using wifi accrue data charges?????

Nope. WiFi isn't part of VZW's network.

Verizon told me I'd be charged for email when I turn on the phone whether I open it or not.

What they mean is that it doesn't matter if you open the app or not -- it's whether data is used to deliver the mail to the phone. You can receive mail without opening the mail app.