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[Q] wifi sleep policy = NEVER works

hey all!
I'm struggling with this wifi sleep policy = never and it's refusal to work! I'd like to have reliable voip, but with the screen off, so goes my wifi! It seems as though if there is persistent data ( Pandora ) wifi will remain connected when the screen is off. I've searched this forum and others....it seems to be a consistent issue amongst various android devices - I even purchased a Adv. Wifi Lock application and tried several free versions all claiming results, but to no avail.
Has anyone solved this wifi sleep policy = never issue on the Atrix? ( in fear of being thrown into the whiner category, I still must mention that without this feature = deal-breaker )
Perhaps, I'm interpreting the policy wrong and what it really means ( wifi sleep = never ) is that wifi will not have to re-auth when the screen is back on???
TIA!

native12 said:
hey all!
I'm struggling with this wifi sleep policy = never and it's refusal to work! I'd like to have reliable voip, but with the screen off, so goes my wifi! It seems as though if there is persistent data ( Pandora ) wifi will remain connected when the screen is off. I've searched this forum and others....it seems to be a consistent issue amongst various android devices - I even purchased a Adv. Wifi Lock application and tried several free versions all claiming results, but to no avail.
Has anyone solved this wifi sleep policy = never issue on the Atrix? ( in fear of being thrown into the whiner category, I still must mention that without this feature = deal-breaker )
Perhaps, I'm interpreting the policy wrong and what it really means ( wifi sleep = never ) is that wifi will not have to re-auth when the screen is back on???
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're correct, if your wifi never sleeps it stays connected at all times, where as if you have it set to sleep it will break the connection and go into a low power (Still on but not connected to your network anymore) so when you turn your screen back on it connects faster to Wifi because it doesn't have to power on.

I believe what you are actually asking is:
Why does WIFI shut off even when set to NEVER when the screen goes off and there are no processes running.
So if a process is running that uses data connection you dont have an issue, but if not it shuts off.
1) This is an Android problem and has been since before Froyo (it was heavily vetted on the N1 boards, some solutions, still Android issue)
2) Are you saying that if you have the Data APN off and Wifi = Never you cannot get push email? Have you tried?
My money is that you do in fact have Wifi = Never working, but under Android it only means that Wifi = Never doesnt shut it down if a process is using it and the screen goes to sleep. It doesnt mean that wifi is always connected and being pinged even if nothing is using it. That is the issue to resolve with Android.

for android, normally, in the wireless setting =>(menu key) advanced, there's a wifi sleep policy there.
is it what you mean? if yes, i think that is a bug., if not, go see if it's there.
also, in developement setting, there is a "stay awake" option, which allow you to connect the wifi. it works when it's charging.

vista1984 said:
for android, normally, in the wireless setting =>(menu key) advanced, there's a wifi sleep policy there.
is it what you mean? if yes, i think that is a bug., if not, go see if it's there.
also, in developement setting, there is a "stay awake" option, which allow you to connect the wifi. it works when it's charging.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is what the OP is talking about. The setting is there.
The problem is how you define Never.
OP thinks NEVER = Always connected so all services run through wifi
Andrdoid thinks NEVER = Connected if a streaming service is running prior to the screen being turned off. Then when that service ends wifi sleeps.
Also with regards to the development setting, that means it keeps the screen on when charging, had nothing to do with wifi. Most annoying setting there is.

Ahhhh.... I see, I didn't have on my little green THINKing cap I indeed thought never actually meant never, even with no active data streams. But now I know, I have to start thinking like a droid to become one with my android. I'll check the market to find an application that tries to keep-alive by sending data packets or write my own. Thanks again snlu178!
UPDATE: Wi-Fi Keep Alive does the trick. Use Work-around #3. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.shantz.wifikeepalive&feature=search_result
- it pings the gateway every 10s - not ideal, but it works and drains your battery just as well

native12 said:
Ahhhh.... I see, I didn't have on my little green THINKing cap I indeed thought never actually meant never, even with no active data streams. But now I know, I have to start thinking like a droid to become one with my android. I'll check the market to find an application that tries to keep-alive by sending data packets or write my own. Thanks again snlu178!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful of this, your battery will be toast in a couple hours.

native12 said:
Ahhhh.... I see, I didn't have on my little green THINKing cap I indeed thought never actually meant never, even with no active data streams. But now I know, I have to start thinking like a droid to become one with my android. I'll check the market to find an application that tries to keep-alive by sending data packets or write my own. Thanks again snlu178!
UPDATE: Wi-Fi Keep Alive does the trick. Use Work-around #3. https://market.android.com/details?id=com.shantz.wifikeepalive&feature=search_result
- it pings the gateway every 10s - not ideal, but it works and drains your battery just as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do hope your battery survives this. Also I know the debs fixed this with N1. Let's hope GB has a fix in it. I do miss some parts of my N1.

We need a stickied battery improvement thread

I am happy to make one.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

My battery tips
1. Latitude : If you are logged in, it will update your location every few minutes. This will make a phone that should be on a very low power state, re-enable lots of things that suck power. (5hrs)
2. Home screen weather clocks : Just change the update interval to something more like every 3 hours and it won't kill your battery as quick. Make sure you don't have it use GPS for location. If you don't mind, set the location to be static. (1hr)
3. Chat programs that don't rely on push. If the program needs to keep your data connection alive, it will kill your battery.(1-5hrs)
4. Anything that will update automatically. The craigslist app for example will poll the site for changes, waking the connection and the processor each time.(1-5hrs)
5. Bluetooth. : I know it isn't an app, but if you aren't using it, don't have it on. It takes enough power to eat a few hours of battery life. Pretty major. (3hrs)
6. Leave 4G on. : This might not work for everyone, but when 4G is asleep, it doesn't seem to suck juice the same way 3G does. My EVO dies quick on 4G, my Epic battery lasts longer on 4G. (as long as you are in a 4G area). (3hrs)
Disable these things and you should get battery life that you hear others bragging about.

"Latitude" on my phone and others I've seen, does not update that often and really only constantly updates is when you have maps open. My wife and I both run latitude and have not noticed anymore of a battery drain than not running it.

sdrawkcab25 said:
"Latitude" on my phone and others I've seen, does not update that often and really only constantly updates is when you have maps open. My wife and I both run latitude and have not noticed anymore of a battery drain than not running it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine updates every few minutes on WM and Android. Turn on your history and you will see it updates hundreds of times a day. After my froyo update, I couldn't make it through the day. You might have location set to wifi or wireless, I probably should do that too, but I'd rather keep it active.

I subscribed to it.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=884684

i thought the whole idea of push was that it doesn't use data cause its a server side push instead of the phone polling at a set schedule

roghaj said:
Mine updates every few minutes on WM and Android. Turn on your history and you will see it updates hundreds of times a day. After my froyo update, I couldn't make it through the day. You might have location set to wifi or wireless, I probably should do that too, but I'd rather keep it active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, I have history on and the setting to update automatically, and still only updates only once every few hours on it's own. Maybe mine is "broken", but glad it is then. I'm on an htc Incredible.

If you are getting excessive drain while on wifi, check for unusual traffic on your network as the problem is probably not your phone and something else polling your device keeping it awake.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1087278
For me, the problem was HP's wireless printer software on one of my laptops.

I'm wondering if one of these 2 is a big sleep preventer:
1. "Background Data" (I used to think all you had to do was disable "Auto Sync" but when I uncheck "Background Data" I get a popup saying something about how I will save battery power if I agree to disable)
2. "Use Wireless Networks" (even if GPS is off).
I usually have been getting good results after unchecking a combo or both of these and sometimes I even have to reboot to get back to normal Epic sleep.

Extremely frustrating WiFi issues

So, I have been having some extremely frustrating issues with the WiFi on my 6P. I got my phone in January and I have been super happy with it except for this one issue. Since I got it, I was using the stock OS up until the April security patches came out. Before the patches, I had some issues, but the phone was still mostly usable. Especially after that update, however, I have been faced with two very irritating WiFi issues.
When my phone goes to sleep, the WiFi connection inevitably drops out. Sometimes, the WiFi will still be active but not associated, but it will frequently have also switched itself off completely.
I can only stay connected to a network for about 30 seconds tops. The connection will just stall out and then reconnect after several seconds.
In an effort to get better performance, I decided to switch from the stock OS to PureNexus (which I used and loved on my old Nexus 5) and I also flashed the ElementalX kernel. For the first few days, the WiFi performance was rock solid, but slowly it got worse than it was on stock to the point of being unusable now. Now, here's what I have already tried/checked:
The "Keep WiFi awake during sleep" option in the Settings app is DEFINITELY set to Always.
This issue is not specific to any one network. It had occurred on every network that I've used and on 2.4G and 5G networks (although it seems to be worse on 5Ghz)
I tried turning the band selection off Automatic and choosing both 2.4 and 5 only options, both just seemed to make it worse.
I've removed all apps that I installed and checked logcat for any app info that might be related to the issue. All I see is just normal stuff and then BAM! The wifi driver states that it disassociated from the AP.
I tried installing WakeLock to hold WIFI_MODE_FULL at all times. This hasn't made much of a difference with it disassociating while the screen is off.
Has anyone else experienced issues like this? I am to the point now where I might have to send in my phone under the warranty because I don't know if it's just detective hardware or what at this point. The fact that it worked well after a clean install would seem to suggest that it isn't, but the fact that it persisted across two different ROMs suggests that maybe it is.
Either way, I am at a loss and I've exhausted all the diagnostic skill that I have trying to fix this because it's so damn frustrating when you're in the middle of doing something and you can't stay connected for 30 seconds. Any help or ideas would be appreciated immensely!

My issue is the wifi connects but no internet message
Sent from my Nexus 6P using XDA-Developers mobile app

Is this with different Access Points or just at a particular wifi spot? I would factory reset the device, reboot your router, make sure you don't have any odd settings on your router like modified channel bandwidth, etc. If the 6p doesn't stay locked on, it's a hardware issue and I would do a warranty claim. My 6p wifi has been money since January with every ROM.

wifi seemingly ignores "keep wifi active on sleep" setting

has anyone else seen this with stock OOS? when i pick my phone up after not using it for a while, almost every single time it can't connect to anything until the screen is on for a few seconds...as if it's needing to reconnect to the wifi. after a few seconds, everything is fine (as if it had finished connecting and now works). i have it set to keep wifi on during sleep, but it seems to be ignoring that setting...at least that's the only thing i can figure as to what's going on. i'm stock unrooted on oos 4.5.15.
is there anything i can do here? i love this phone in every way EXCEPT for the god-awful wifi performance. the wifi in general has gotten much better, but this one bug in particular is incredibly annoying...also, before someone mentions it, i've already changed my router out trying to fix this. i was having other wifi issues, so i upgraded to ubiquiti gear...hasn't resolved this particular issue.
edit: of note, i've also tried turning doze off to help fix this...but doze mode in general on this phone seems completely unreliable in pretty much every way. that didn't help fix anything either.

Getting your unit to easily connect to a hotspot?

I'm currently using the Pumpkin 8.0 unit and I really like it - however, the process of when I get in my truck is not nearly as simple as I would like it to be and usually involves several minutes of having to stop-start personal hotspot on my iphone (or unlock the screen) and then often opening the wifi settings, sometimes seeing an authorization error that clears up on the next attempt. It's never the same process, seems like there are several things that happen different to get in the way of it just happening.
I have an iPhone 8 Plus I dont use very often that I was just keeping in there with Personal Hotspot turned on, which seems to stay on for a day without turning off. But I usually have to unlock it to get it to show up in the wifi section. Should I disable the lock, would that make a difference? What about using my Galaxy S7, would that be "easier", I havent really tired messing with it yet since that is my main phone.
What hotspot solutions do people use in their setups to avoid the "process" of getting online?

Assuming Android would be much easier. The quickest way I can turn it on off is with bixby with note 8.
Since I'm not rooted I couldn't get Tasker to automate it. I tried nfc tags also. Eventually bixby was my solution.
I'll follow the thread for other recommendations

I also tried NFC tag, but for some reason cellular data can not be switched ON by NFC soft on non-rooted phone (it's OK with WiFi hotspot) - keeping this down during day helps to save battery.

I tried the NFC tag and while I dont turn off cellular data, I was disappointed to learn from the developer that the API to turn on and off hotspots was removed by Google and is not supported in 3rd party apps. I put the quick setting in my drop down notification screen, so at least I can turn it on and off easily. I'm going to try the android phone for a couple days and see if its just another reason for me to dislike apple.

So I have noticed that this is only an issue after the device wakes from sleep via the fast boot. If you reboot the head unit for real it connects first time with no issues.
It also seems happy to connect to real wifi networks without any issues. I don't have an android phone so have not been able to try that, but it would be good to know others findings. I'm not sure how the iPhone hot spot works but it must differ slightly to a normally wifi base station.