Wifi vs 3G

[rwking]

Hey guys,

So I'm wondering. We have wireless here at work, and although I don't use my phone very often at my desk, occasionally I pick it up to browse for apps, send texts, etc. I'm wondering what is a more efficient use of my battery. Should I enable Wifi while I'm at work, or just use my 3G connection?

Thanks!

Rich

 

[cpjr]

I mostly depends on the signal strength for either. But keeping wifi turned off and using 3G will burn less battery.

 

[rwking]

Interesting. I was under the impression that it was the other way around, although I'm not sure why I thought that. haha Thanks for the tip! BTW, signal strength for Wifi in the office is maxed. 3G is also maxed. I guess I'll stick with 3G.

 

[mwhartman]

If your 3G is max then stay. Wifi will be a little faster but if you leave work and forget to turn wifi off the phone will continue to search for a connection thus draining the battery.

Mike

 

[zerosouls]

I doubt you can even measure a difference either way.

Sent from my Droid

 

[bastosero]

Mine is the opposite. If I leave it on with 3G connection, I get about 12 hours of juice on the battery with medium usage on my phone. If I leave it on with wi-fi, I get about 20 hours with medium use on my phone.

 

[LT*]

AT work, I have no wifi available, but do have a full 3G signal. I can see the tower from my window. At home though, I have pretty bad 3G. If I leave 3G on at home, I drain much quicker. If I leave wifi on, I get about the same battery drain as I do at work with a full 3g. So I think it really depends on your situation.

 

[cpjr]

Yup, like I was saying...depends alot on signal strength as to how much/often the phone is searching for signal.

 

[takeshi]

With a good WiFI connection you'll use less of the battery. You can test this yourself. Try browsing with one and then the other.

I've noticed very little impact on battery life leaving WiFi on but my WiFi sleep policy is set to When screen turns off which is the default, IIRC.

 

[rwking]

Is there an app for wifi sleep policies?