Does turning off "sync" save battery?

[tu3218]

Now that the semester is over, I don't receive any important emails and usually just emails from forum posts here. I was wondering if turning off sync on the power control bar, if it would save me battery?

 

[LtKen]

Maybe slightly, but since e-mails (assuming you're using GMail) is push, not poll, I cant imagine turning off sync making that much of a difference.

 

[searayman]

it will actually save you a lot of battery

 

[Abe21599]

it will actually save you a lot of battery

where do you get this info from? Im agreeing with LtKen on this one

 

[tu3218]

Yeah I would think it would save me battery, ive just always had it on so im not too sure about it.

 

[eliassami5]

yes it will save you battery, but not that much since the real battery hogs are the apps that you have set to grab the news or the weather or movies/gas stations/atms..etc neer you. Your mail is the least of your worries. Going to settings > accounts > and turn off background data will make a big difference in battery life. But that kinds defeats the purpose of some apps. I get great battery life anyway so i dont worry about either of those.

Go to settings > applications > running apps, and see what is running a lot and if you dont need the program or its not that important then uninstall it or just change it's settings to stop auto syncing.

 

[xliderider]

There's an app for that... it's called Juice Defender. It limits your APN data connection to 1 minute every 15 minutes when the phone is in standby. Your APN data connection is on whenever you're using the phone, ie your screen is on.

 

[tu3218]

There's an app for that... it's called Juice Defender. It limits your APN data connection to 1 minute every 15 minutes when the phone is in standby. Your APN data connection is on whenever you're using the phone, ie your screen is on.

Yeah I've heard of that, but I've also heard of once people installed it they weren't able to get 3G back on.

 

[naman919]

There's an app for that... it's called Juice Defender. It limits your APN data connection to 1 minute every 15 minutes when the phone is in standby. Your APN data connection is on whenever you're using the phone, ie your screen is on.

Plus one to this app. I use it and it is very customizable.

I have mine set to access the APN connection for 2m every 30 minutes. Also, you can buy the "ultimate" JD for a buck or two and it will allow you to control the APN during specific times of the day. At Night, I have mine to shut off the connection (APN is data only) from 11pm to 8am.

This saves a TON of battery. My JD widget usually indicates my battery is experiencing about 2x the normal longevity.

Yeah I've heard of that, but I've also heard of once people installed it they weren't able to get 3G back on.

This seems to be an issue more so for the Wifi options within JD. It's a problem with JD telling Android to turn off Wifi and resume the 3G connection. I heard about this too and have stayed away from using the Wifi auto on/off with JD and experience no 3G issues.

The default is to turn on 3G whenever the screen is on, the timed poll (i.e. the 1m every 15, etc) is while the backlight is off. So while actively using the phone, you'll get the data you need immediately if it's waiting in the poll queue.

I recommend JD. In your case, set it to poll 1-2m every hour or so. Seems like you're not in a hurry to get emails. That will save a ton of battery.

Best of luck! YMMV.

 

[tu3218]

thanks naman, I'm really tempted to get JD. It's not like I'm experiencing horrible battery life but in the summer I'm out a lot more using my phone more, so I'm just trying to find more ways of extending battery because sometimes I stay out and can't charge my phone. I'm just worried about the 3G issue, but you say as long as I don't mess with the wifi functions in JD then I probably should be good from any 3g issues.

 

[naman919]

Do a nandroid backup if you are concerned, but you should be fine.

I have installed it on a couple friends phones and they haven't had any issues that i have heard.

hope it helps. Report back!

 

[bomber889]

Juice defender doesn't work for the droid yet.

 

[naman919]

uhhh what? i've had it for months. Of course is works. where would you get information like this?

Here's one of my screens:

 

[tu3218]

I've never seen it say not for the droid but when I found it in the market it says something about not for CDMA phones running 2.1. Well thats what my droid is...so what does that mean? Am I good to use it? Also naman, my droid isn't rooted anymore so I can't do a nandroid backup.

 

[bomber889]

Juice defender doesn't work for the droid yet.

uhhh what? i've had it for months. Of course is works. where would you get information like this?

Here's one of my screens:

There really is no impact. The app thinks its working, but it isn't. If you want, you can search the thread with the list of beta testers for juice defender. Latest update i think is that the apn turned off but there were difficulties with turning it back on. So, this does not work the the droid yet.