Database Users

Is your 4G a battery killer?

I tested the following:
Turning 4G on in a full bar area and letting it stand idle for one hour.
I lost about 20% battery in one single hour.
The phone had the screen off, wifi off and all apps but the essential ones off.
On 3G i lost about 5%/hour.
4G is supposed to be an "always-on" service with such a battery drainage?
I was sure it was supposed to be a power efficient service, like WiFi or at least like 3G.
Note the phone also gets a little hot after one hour if being idle with 4G on.
I wonder if other people are seeing the same results?

clubtech said:
4G is supposed to be an "always-on" service with such a battery drainage? I was sure it was supposed to be a power efficient service, like WiFi or at least like 3G.
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Ummmm...
Wow...
ummmm...
4g = bad for battery

OK...Thanks!
I really wanted someone else to test this and report back.
Maybe it is just my unit or the ROM that i am using?

clubtech said:
OK...Thanks!
I really wanted someone else to test this and report back.
Maybe it is just my unit or the ROM that i am using?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LoL sorry brotha' I was just messing around
You gotta admit though, you set yourself up for that one
In all seriousness, 4g is an absolute battery killer! ESPECIALLY if your in an area where you don't get good 4g signal.
If your in a good area and surrounded by 4g then the phone doesn't really have to work at all to keep the signal BUT if your in an area where there's not much 4g signal, like most of America, then it will destroy your battery life (and make your phone hot) because your phone keeps searching for it over and over which chews up the battery. I would ALWAYS keep 4g off unless your downloading something until the 4g becomes more expanded across America. Also download the app battery indicator and make sure you keep track of your battery temperature with it in the status bar. I never let my battery get above 99*F since that will cause permanent damage. In your first post you were talking about losing 20% in an hour while on 4g which would alot of sense since the phone (on 3g) is only slated to get 4-5 hours of talk time, with 4g on always searching for signal the 20% loss seems about right.
Sorry again for messing with you earlier

np.
I am with full 4g bar when testing, so it is not a signal issue.

Yeah, it's a huge battery drainer. I forgot I turned it on in town, took a nap and had 85% battery left, fell asleep and took a 2 hour nap, woke up and it was dead dead mofo dead.
So yeah, it's a battery killer.

Good thing you can barely use the main advertising feature of this phone.

roybotnik said:
Good thing you can barely use the main advertising feature of this phone.
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LOL A+
stupid10char

Batterylife, 3G vs. 4G

Okay, so WiFi is usually better than 3G when it comes to battery life; but what about WiMax? I don't have a stable signal yet so I can't reliably test the two. What are ya'll experiences (for those within a reliable 4G area)? Better, the same, worse, or a lot worse?

Award Tour said:
Okay, so WiFi is usually better than 3G when it comes to battery life; but what about WiMax? I don't have a stable signal yet so I can't reliably test the two. What are ya'll experiences (for those within a reliable 4G area)? Better, the same, worse, or a lot worse?
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I don't have reliable 4G in my area, but I notice that even turning on the wimax 4G radio dramatically drains my battery. Don't know if its becasue its constantly searching for signal or just becasue the radio is turned on. My 2 cents, but I know it's not very thorough..

Any time you have a radio turned on and do not have a signal it will drain the battery trying to find a signal.
If you go to an area with poor 3g service, your battery will drain crazy.
They are testing 4g in my area, so it is up and down a lot, so I cannot test.
From reading other posts, I believe 4g may take slightly more battery.

Since Froyo has been released, the 4G battery drain isn't nearly as bad as it was on 2.1. I've noticed that the speeds have substantially increased as well as better battery management as well.

infamousjax said:
Since Froyo has been released, the 4G battery drain isn't nearly as bad as it was on 2.1. I've noticed that the speeds have substantially increased as well as better battery management as well.
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Yeah, that's why I wanted to see how things are now. We all know how 4G got slammed by reviewers for killing the battery, but the new radio might have changed that. I'm just curious at how it compares to 3G now under ideal conditions (good signal).

I have full 4G coverage where I live and to be honest when 4G is on, the battery drainage difference is not much, when compared to 3G.

I have 4G in my area as well, but I leave it off because it goes back and forth from being connected to not being connected. I did notice last night that my battery went from 70% to 5% over night... Anyone know what could cause that?

pscalett said:
I have 4G in my area as well, but I leave it off because it goes back and forth from being connected to not being connected. I did notice last night that my battery went from 70% to 5% over night... Anyone know what could cause that?
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I have the same problem. I'm in the Baltimore area and the 3G/4G switches back and forth. I figured out that when the phone isn't in 4G, it searches for a 4G connection, but you can put it to 3G only (with an app called Phone Info) until Verizon is done with their 4G coverage.

4G uses more power than 3g, which uses more power than wifi.
4g<3g<wifi.

it's significantly worse on 4G, so much so that I have an extended battery and I still don't use it.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

AvatarOfFrost said:
I have full 4G coverage where I live and to be honest when 4G is on, the battery drainage difference is not much, when compared to 3G.
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there is something wrong with your phone then, maybe it's not sleeping. you should be noticing a huge difference.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App

Theory as to why there is such a difference in some people's battery life times

I live in Idaho. Sprint advertises that they have 'mammoth coverage' around here, but they're wrong. They don't. Well, they have coverage (except for my house and office) and the 3G/4G speeds are usually complete **** unless you're within sight of a tower.
Data from the towers out in Caldwell haven't worked for over 2 months and Sprint claims that they're working just fine and have recently been updated - apparently they updated to dial-up. I really wonder how they're even selling phones over there right now.
Idaho = Battery life is usually 5 to 10 hours with normal usage.
2 weekends ago I was in Omaha and used my evo a little bit less than normal, but I could get through the whole day and still have 50%+ battery life left. The 3G speeds were also 2x better, as well as service in general.
I think it depends on where you're located and if sprint has maintained/updated their towers. I also think that most of the towers in Nampa/Caldwell (20 mi. out of Boise) are older nextel towers, which are probably complete ****/half working.
Just my theory.

Sounds plausible, but I have no idea scientifically speaking. I could guess but I don't think it would be productive.
My honest suggestion? Post this over at the dslreports.com forums; there were some really knowledgeable people lurking there.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I agree. In addition to rogue apps/processes, it seems that weak network is #2 on my list of things to check when my batt life is draining too much.

This isn't really a theory, it is fact. If you have bad coverage you can basically watch your battery drain. I could drain mine dead overnight by leaving my phone unplugged and in the basement.. I had 1 bar of roaming service. I now hqve an airave and battery life drains much less overnight.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

teamgreen02 said:
This isn't really a theory, it is fact. If you have bad coverage you can basically watch your battery drain. I could drain mine dead overnight by leaving my phone unplugged and in the basement.. I had 1 bar of roaming service. I now hqve an airave and battery life drains much less overnight.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive had my batter die in 3 hours because of no service. I watched my battery go from 70% to 30% in 1 hour because of no signal. Since I'm not running CM6 the roam control app has been well worth the couple of bucks. No more missed calls and far less battery drain when im in low signal areas.

Poor 3G low signal is the biggest battery problem for Android!
Android (not the Evo but the entire OS) has a very poor system for dealing with Low Signal for 3G and it does NOT automatically switch over to 2G when it's supposed to which CAN and DOES result in greatly increased battery life.
Other phone OS's do this or are supposed to do this but for some reason Google has just not implemented a good system for dealing with this COMMON issue.
I use a program called JuiceDefender (Paid version is best but the free version will prove to you how useful it is) and it is literally the best app I run on my Evo. Overnight I went from my phone dying by 4pm when working at a location with low signal to having it last multiple days in some cases depending on my usage.
Do yourselves a favor, Get this application and if you have your phone rooted you get many extra features out of the full version. Can't speak highly enough of this application.
Tim

teamgreen02 said:
This isn't really a theory, it is fact. If you have bad coverage you can basically watch your battery drain. I could drain mine dead overnight by leaving my phone unplugged and in the basement.. I had 1 bar of roaming service. I now hqve an airave and battery life drains much less overnight.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
I agree with that and know that when you have 0/1/2 bars it really drains your battery life, however, I get the same battery life if I'm at home all day using it (0/1/2 bars), or if I'm at college and have 5 bars all day and I'm not using it quite as much.
I have fresh 3.3 with the htc kernel 53 fps (and all the latest radios/pri/prl/ect.) and have seen much improved battery life, but it's still the exact same.
I also have an airave at the office (which is out in Caldwell where the data doesn't even work) for the other two people on my plan, and while they have seen slightly less battery drain since we got the airave (for free), it's not a mind-blowing difference, other than the data actually works. They're also running the 2.1 stock, but rooted with unrevoked.
I guess I'm wondering if staying connected to a tower with older tech/Nextel uses more power than if it's connected to a sprint tower.

Hrshycro said:
I think it depends on where you're located and if sprint has maintained/updated their towers. I also think that most of the towers in Nampa/Caldwell (20 mi. out of Boise) are older nextel towers, which are probably complete ****/half working.
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There's no way your Evo is working off of any Nextel towers. Those are IDEN and your Evo is CDMA...not happening. It's been known for years now that if you have poor/no signal, your battery will drain rapidly as the device will constantly search for a better signal.

anthony67 said:
There's no way your Evo is working off of any Nextel towers. Those are IDEN and your Evo is CDMA...not happening. It's been known for years now that if you have poor/no signal, your battery will drain rapidly as the device will constantly search for a better signal.
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Good to know - How do people get Sprint Phones to work on Boost mobile then? Boost is using nextel towers, or that's what I've read several times.
I agree with that and know that when you have 0/1/2 bars it really drains your battery life, however, I get the same battery life if I'm at home all day using it (0/1/2 bars), or if I'm at college and have 5 bars all day and I'm not using it quite as much.
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Hrshycro said:
Boost is using nextel towers, or that's what I've read several times.
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You're half right. Boost does use nextel towers--For iDen phones. They do use the Sprint network for CDMA phones. Basically boost carries both CDMA and iDen phones.
As for how people get Sprint phones to work with Boost(CDMA)... Hm... Let's just say they do something shady and possibly illegal...They clone ESNs.

Concerns about Xoom 4G upgrade (Verizon)

I have read some disturbing reviews about the Thunderbolt which is a 4G LTE Verizon phone. Although the phone itself sounds great, what concerns me are reports that the battery life is around 4-5 hours with 4G turned on.
So my question and concern is, once we upgrade the Xoom to 4G when available, are we going to be victims of the same poor battery life with 4G?

You're not required to have data connection on all the time. A toggle switch widget can fix the problem. Just turns it on when needed. But yeah I do agree that 4g and 3g will drain the battery.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I already keep my Xoom on airplane mode to disable all radios that I don't specifically activate. Seems to help with battery life. I downloaded some toggle Widgets to shortcut all the steps.
[sent with Xooming Android technology]

wang1404 said:
You're not required to have data connection on all the time. A toggle switch widget can fix the problem. Just turns it on when needed. But yeah I do agree that 4g and 3g will drain the battery.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
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That is not really a solution. Currently with my Xoom, I can be on Wifi at home and when I am out, 3G kicks in. I do not want to toggle a widget when I need data (which is always) as I am sure most other people will not want to do. My battery life is totally acceptable currently with 3G and no toggling on/off. So will the 4G upgrade cause the battery life to be cut in half or worse?

keitht said:
That is not really a solution. Currently with my Xoom, I can be on Wifi at home and when I am out, 3G kicks in. I do not want to toggle a widget when I need data (which is always) as I am sure most other people will not want to do. My battery life is totally acceptable currently with 3G and no toggling on/off. So will the 4G upgrade cause the battery life to be cut in half or worse?
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I seriously doubt 4g will be much (if any) worse than 3g is now. The only way would be that you are on it more and keeping the screen on for longer times because it will RULE! lol

ghoticov said:
I seriously doubt 4g will be much (if any) worse than 3g is now. The only way would be that you are on it more and keeping the screen on for longer times because it will RULE! lol
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Just debating here but why do you think that? Why would Thunderbolt have a 4-5 hour battery life using 4G? You think that poor life is not 4G LTE related? And they have the luxury of swapping batteries which we cannot do with the Xoom.

I don't know how closely it is to sprint's 4g, but enabling 4g on my evo is a battery killer too. the good thing is that you can toggle 4g off and run in 3G mode. no need to disable data completely

madsquabbles said:
I don't know how closely it is to sprint's 4g, but enabling 4g on my evo is a battery killer too. the good thing is that you can toggle 4g off and run in 3G mode. no need to disable data completely
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That begs the question,why get 4g if you have to manage it manually like that?

keitht said:
That begs the question,why get 4g if you have to manage it manually like that?
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Keep in mind, that the 4g upgrade will be OPTIONAL and if you are seriously debating whether the upgrade will be worth it or not, then simply don't send it in for the upgrade! The less people to send it in (like you), would in turn mean faster return time for my upgrade! I personally don't give a damn about having to click a toggle switch when I want to download at crazy fast speeds!
Just my .02
I can also guarantee you that 4g will have a pretty noticeable impact on battery life. And to be perfectly honest with you, the HTC Thunderbolt (stock), even with 4g turned off, still has absolutely horrible battery life.

Instien said:
Keep in mind, that the 4g upgrade will be OPTIONAL and if you are seriously debating whether the upgrade will be worth it or not, then simply don't send it in for the upgrade! The less people to send it in (like you), would in turn mean faster return time for my upgrade! I personally don't give a damn about having to click a toggle switch when I want to download at crazy fast speeds!
Just my .02
I can also guarantee you that 4g will have a pretty noticeable impact on battery life. And to be perfectly honest with you, the HTC Thunderbolt (stock), even with 4g turned off, still has absolutely horrible battery life.
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Your response is very defensive and that is not the purpose of my questions. I am looking for meaningful conversation regarding the possibity that a 4g upgrade will significanty reduce battery life on the Xoom. All speculation but something to talk about.

So what I can gather is more or less around what everyone says. Get your 4g upgrade but don't turn it on and stick to 3g unless you feel you need the speed bump. So nothing will change except you know you have your turbo button-widget (yes old school) available.
That is unless it will be stuck on 4g at all times but looks like that is a feature that is toggled by today's hardware not permanent yet due to battery capacities.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using XDA App

foreverinpanama said:
So what I can gather is more or less around what everyone says. Get your 4g upgrade but don't turn it on and stick to 3g unless you feel you need the speed bump. So nothing will change except you know you have your turbo button-widget (yes old school) available.
That is unless it will be stuck on 4g at all times but looks like that is a feature that is toggled by today's hardware not permanent yet due to battery capacities.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using XDA App
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I am not one to complain without reason but I certainly hope this is not the case.

MY plan is to remove the dummy card right before shipping it out so I can put it back if I am unhappy with the battery life.

In theory, 4g should use less battery, not more. 3g chipset firmware is highly optimized, though, due to the technology having been around for a while.
It may be a few firmware revisions to hit minimum use for 4g, but it shouldn't use dramatically more than 3g.

The answer for this thread is simple. Yes 4G will use more battery power, that's the short end of the stick. If you live in a 4G area and don't need the speed boost and would rather save battery there will be a way to disable 4G and use 3G just like with the thunderbolt or evo
Sent from my Evo using Tapatalk

It isn't speculation. The evo has a long track record with 4g of a very similar type. 4g will be a battery hog. But I never use it on my evo unless I'm tethered or streaming. Otherwise I find 3g more than enough for most tasks. I will send my xoom in for the upgrade. But I don't activate it. I tether it to my evo. But yes it will be a battery hog. Whenever you use cutting edge technology they tends to develop the speed and reliability first and worry about power consumption last.

I work for Verizon and honestly rarely hear many complaints about the battery life on the Thunderbolt. Many of my customers get awesome battery life and we have 4g in my area. The LTE radio does consume more battery than 3g especially if you are downloading a large file or something. Another thing to consider is the Thunderbolt is like a big brother to the Incredible and that phone had HORRIBLE battery life. The Thunderbolt has a much larger screen, 4g, and does not have a very large battery. I don't see 4g having a huge impact for most people but for those that feel it helps there will always be a toggle widget or “turbo button” like someone said earlier. I will definitely be sending mine in right away...
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

Ferradinho said:
I work for Verizon and honestly rarely hear many complaints about the battery life on the Thunderbolt. Many of my customers get awesome battery life and we have 4g in my area. The LTE radio does consume more battery than 3g especially if you are downloading a large file or something. Another thing to consider is the Thunderbolt is like a big brother to the Incredible and that phone had HORRIBLE battery life. The Thunderbolt has a much larger screen, 4g, and does not have a very large battery. I don't see 4g having a huge impact for most people but for those that feel it helps there will always be a toggle widget or “turbo button” like someone said earlier. I will definitely be sending mine in right away...
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
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Sorry but you either live in a nice vacuum or a bubble or a cocoon because EVERYONE I know with this phone (friends, foes and customers too) loves it to death but hates the battery life with 4g on, and by default there's no way to turn off 4g when not needed.
Had to root for some friends and show them the 4g LTE off widget that came out the other day. At least that helps.
As for the Xoom, even if you might not want to use 4g or sign up, still send it in to be done. Definitely will help with resale value down the road.

my friend has the thunderbolt and the battery sucks, and he isn't in a 4g area. Mr verizon rep is on a feel good drug, or something.

keitht said:
I have read some disturbing reviews about the Thunderbolt which is a 4G LTE Verizon phone. Although the phone itself sounds great, what concerns me are reports that the battery life is around 4-5 hours with 4G turned on.
So my question and concern is, once we upgrade the Xoom to 4G when available, are we going to be victims of the same poor battery life with 4G?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's going to drain more then the cdma radio does, at least until the technology and the software support behind it is more mature. But that is to be expected with bleeding technology.
Also remember that part of the battery issues on the TB comes from the fact that people use it alot more then previous phones. Streaming data is alot more power intensive then just the comparable occasional usage their previous device saw. I have a TB and if I use the snot out of it then yeah I can kill the battery in a couple of hours. However if I am busy and use it like I used my D2 or DX then I can get through the day without having to recharge.
Also you can turn just the LTE radio off when you are not using it if you are that concerned
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

How can I make my n4 on T-Mobile always stay on hspa +?

Its constantly switching from edge to hspa when it switches to h I have two bars then goes to edge I wanna force it to stay on h and stick how can I do that?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

You on 4.2.1 or 4.2.2?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

You cant force it to stay on hspa+ all the time. Same thing applies to a WiFi signal. You can't force a WiFi device to stay connected to WiFi all the time when you're out of range. When you are out of range you will lose the signal and it will try to reconnect.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

twolfekc said:
You on 4.2.1 or 4.2.2?
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
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4.2.2
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

scream4cheese said:
You cant force it to stay on hspa+ all the time. Same thing applies to a WiFi signal. You can't force a WiFi device to stay connected to WiFi all the time when you're out of range. When you are out of range you will lose the signal and it will try to reconnect.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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Click to collapse
I did this on my gs2 it had an option WC DMA only that's what I'm looking for here.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

You can change WCDMA preferred to WCDMA only in the *#*#4636#*#* menu... It doesn't mean signal will magically reach your phone though, it could just be the the N4 isn't as good at picking up a weak-ish 3g signal as your old device. I can't imagine they will have set it up to band-hop unless the signal on wcdma is somewhat marginal.

Azurael said:
You can change WCDMA preferred to WCDMA only in the *#*#4636#*#* menu... It doesn't mean signal will magically reach your phone though, it could just be the the N4 isn't as good at picking up a weak-ish 3g signal as your old device. I can't imagine they will have set it up to band-hop unless the signal on wcdma is somewhat marginal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know I won't magically get signal I know I have signal it just keeps switching even tho I have signal in h. I thought it switches when it gets really weak I get really good speeds with two bars I don't consider that weak.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

horr1blek1tten said:
I know I won't magically get signal I know I have signal it just keeps switching even tho I have signal in h. I thought it switches when it gets really weak I get really good speeds with two bars I don't consider that weak.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
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It switches in response to demand from the device. If your phone is idle or at the very least not using network intensive applications it will ramp the radio down to 3G/Edge. Once your phone detects that you're running applications that demand more network allocation it will adjust appropriately to HSPA+. This is a feature not a bug and if your phone was always using it's HSPA+ capabilities then your battery wouldn't last half a day. I don't even think you can force enable HSPA+ always on anyway, I may be wrong though. If you get it though remember to carry your charger with you.

ian577416 said:
It switches in response to demand from the device. If your phone is idle or at the very least not using network intensive applications it will ramp the radio down to 3G/Edge. Once your phone detects that you're running applications that demand more network allocation it will adjust appropriately to HSPA+. This is a feature not a bug and if your phone was always using it's HSPA+ capabilities then your battery wouldn't last half a day. I don't even think you can force enable HSPA+ always on anyway, I may be wrong though.
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Click to collapse
I might have misunderstood your post a bit, but EDGE does not run on 3G. EDGE works on 2G networks. HS(D/U)PA(+) works on 3G networks. The phone should try to hold on to a 3G (WCDMA, whether that be using HSPA or not) network in preference to a 2G (GSM, whether using EDGE or not) network as long as a strong enough signal is available. Although it was not worded as such, I think the OP was enquiring as to why the phone was dropping to 2G when 3G signal is available, not concerned by whether that 3G signal was HSPA or not and asking if it was possible to switch to 3G only, and I explained how to do that. No modern smartphone automatically drops from 3G/HSPA to 2G/EDGE to save battery, I don't think modern modems draw that much more power when talking to a 3G network. The device will automatically fall back to 'normal' 3G data to save power when the data connection is not in use, but that's a different matter.