Database Users

Switching Wireless Networks

How can I set my phone up so that When I am at home or the office it uses WiFi, and if I am aay it automaticly switches over to medianet? I hate having to constantly switch the network.

if you have wifi on and leave wifi coverage it will always log onto edge if you have it set to gprs always on.

but then you dont want to have wifi on all the time; unless you want your phone to be dead in like 3 hours. When you are out of wifi coverage the wifi radio is still searching for connections so the battery still drains fast.

zeuzinn said:
but then you dont want to have wifi on all the time; unless you want your phone to be dead in like 3 hours. When you are out of wifi coverage the wifi radio is still searching for connections so the battery still drains fast.
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You're exaggerating a bit -- I leave WiFi and BT on and go 3-4 days between charges. In my experience it's the phone function that drains the battery fastest.

3waygeek said:
zeuzinn said:
but then you dont want to have wifi on all the time; unless you want your phone to be dead in like 3 hours. When you are out of wifi coverage the wifi radio is still searching for connections so the battery still drains fast.
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You're exaggerating a bit -- I leave WiFi and BT on and go 3-4 days between charges. In my experience it's the phone function that drains the battery fastest.
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Yeah, you are actually right... It just hit me that , unlike GPRS, wifi gets completely disabled when the device is on stand-by and gets back when its woken up.
That being said, I still support the idea that the battery would be drained in about 3-5 hours if the phone didn't go into sleep mode.

Holy crap. Change wifi sleep policy to never. BIG INCREASE IN BATTERY

I'm not sure if anyone else knows this, but I read somewhere that if you change the wifi sleep policy to never, it actually SAVES battery.
I thought this was insane, but if you think about it it actually makes sense. It stops your phone from the constant switch to Edge and 3G... which in return saves your battery.
Usually I can lose up to 5% in 30 minutes by not even using my phone.
Now that I have a constant wifi connection I have only lost 2% in an hour and a half.

Assuming you're connected to a wifi network, yes.
Otherwise, no.

JCopernicus said:
Assuming you're connected to a wifi network, yes.
Otherwise, no.
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I'm not sure how that works when you're not connected to a network and the phone goes into sleep...
I use Y5 which uses cell towers to remember where I am able to receive wifi. If I leave a remembered spot it will turn off the radio for me. When I come back it will automatically turn it back on and reconnect.

lance713 said:
I'm not sure if anyone else knows this, but I read somewhere that if you change the wifi sleep policy to never, it actually SAVES battery.
I thought this was insane, but if you think about it it actually makes sense. It stops your phone from the constant switch to Edge and 3G... which in return saves your battery.
Usually I can lose up to 5% in 30 minutes by not even using my phone.
Now that I have a constant wifi connection I have only lost 2% in an hour and a half.
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Hmmmm
Wouldn't the phone continue to have it's cellular Edge/3g connection going while you have the WiFi on?
Whenever I have WiFi on in addition to 3g I always see, under battery usage, wifi at about 2-3% and Cellular signal at 5-6%
Seem's like when you have WiFi on as well as Data that both are draining the battery...

The phone turns off 3g radio when you have a data connection.

JCopernicus said:
The phone turns off 3g radio when you have a data connection.
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Are you sure about that? I'm connected to WiFi on my phone and the Status screen under About Phone still stays UMTS rather than EDGE.

PrawnPoBoy said:
Are you sure about that? I'm connected to WiFi on my phone and the Status screen under About Phone still stays UMTS rather than EDGE.
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UMTS is just the 3g network, that doesnt mean data. the 3G network is used for voice calls too.
so yes, when the phone is connected to wifi, the cellular data connection is terminated. always been like this.
and yes i've seen a huge battery increase with wifi set to NEVER sleep policy.

It will stop hop between 2G/3G even if you're not using the data. You'd have to force it to 2G only and then enable wifi to take advantage of this the most.

I second those findings. When at home, use no sleep policy, and going out - turn off wifi manually. Works very well.

My "always on while sleep" doesn't work.. it opt's out anyway..
Edit: Installed an app called Wifi Fixer. And my connection hold up now while sleeping. nice....!!!

Where do I find this sleep-setting?

Not looking for a flame because I'm still learning.
if you have juicedender and keep the wifi setting on what it is when your phone sleeps the phone will turn off wifi and juicedefender will turn of 2g/3g correct? If this is true then you can save double the battery by installing defender (free); right?

bberry said:
Where do I find this sleep-setting?
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Go into Wi-Fi settings.. Hit Options (the capacitive button you know...)

Ha! I've had my N1 for two months now and didn't realize there was more Wifi options if you click on the options button to the left of the home button. I wish they would add some sort of indicator that there's more to do if you click on that button. I've run into this soooo many times. It's kind of nice, though, because I keep finding goodies even months after buying the phone lol.

Yes it's often a mystery - it would be cool if it was possible for the capacitive menu button be lit only when there are additional options.

Sindroid said:
My "always on while sleep" doesn't work.. it opt's out anyway..
Edit: Installed an app called Wifi Fixer. And my connection hold up now while sleeping. nice....!!!
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..will try that Wifi Fixer too

kbeeveer46 said:
Ha! I've had my N1 for two months now and didn't realize there was more Wifi options if you click on the options button to the left of the home button. I wish they would add some sort of indicator that there's more to do if you click on that button. I've run into this soooo many times. It's kind of nice, though, because I keep finding goodies even months after buying the phone lol.
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First rule of Android power-users:
Press Menu... Everywhere

Paul22000 said:
First rule of Android power-users:
Press Menu... Everywhere
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Click to collapse
I tried that on a hottie standing in line for coffee. I got slapped.

I've tried setting the wifi sleep policy on my phone (T-Mobile MyTouch Slide) to "never sleep," but I'm not sure it's helping. When I turn on wifi for a little while (say, an hour or two) and then look at the battery usage screen I see that wifi uses a pretty significant chunk of the battery, maybe 10% or so, higher if I leave it on for longer. This is even if I'm not using the connection much, sometimes I'll turn it on to do a little light browsing and then put the phone away for an hour and then check to see how much power the wifi connection ate. Today I turned on wifi for maybe 10 minutes to download a couple app updates and turned it off right afterward. The phone has been only off the charger for 3 hours, but wifi accounts for 8% of the battery drain (the rest is idle: 16%, standby: 31%, and display: 45%).
On the other hand if I stick to 3G data I don't feel like I see as much of a hit on the battery (though it's harder to tell how much of "standby" is going to 3G data).
I understand in theory that connecting to a wifi access point within the building should require less power than connecting to a cell tower a mile away, but I also disable "always-on mobile data" so hopefully I'm not maintaining a 3G data connection all the time either.
Those of you who leave the wifi connection on all the time and are reporting better battery life than with 3G data, how much of your battery do you see going to wifi in the battery usage screen?

Well for me when I leave WiFi set to never, I lost 11% in 12 hours. On 3g I lose way more in that same period.

Does edge icon mean voice only connection?

I am trying to save battery life and force my phone to have only voice/sms/mms capabilities only. I have background data disabled, roaming disabled, 2G-only enabled, and fake APN. However there is still an EDGE icon and it periodically flashes the up/down arrow. Is it trying to poll for internet or is this just basic cell tower polling for voice calls?
Also, there is a method of disabling internet permanently through the testing screen, which requires entering a code to access. Is this method more complete than a fake APN and thus better for battery life? I am afraid to test it as I don't like messing with hidden menus and want to easily be able to revert back without having to remember a code.
And yes I am aware this is a smartphone, but I need it to be a light-weight featurephone for right now.

All I can add is that when I unlock (not carrier/sim unlock) the phone I can see the Edge icon with the arrows flashing for a sec or two before the WiFi goes out of sleeping mode. My NetCounter application doesn't pick up any data drawn during that time. So either it doesn't transfer any data with the Edge during that time or the application is not perfect.
I know that doesn't answer your question but it can give you hope that the icon _may_ not be reliable.

Edge icon means its running on 2.5g mode. Shouldn't bother you much. Install 3g watchdog and android and set it up. Have look at activaty. Only way to make sure
Sent from my Apple Newton 2100

I'm not worried about data usage since I don't have a data plan. I'm only concerned about battery life, because it seems to be polling EDGE. If 2G voice calls and 2G data polled the same time using the same line and disabling data wouldn't really make a difference for battery, that would be good. But I'm not really sure.

silverwolf0 said:
I'm not worried about data usage since I don't have a data plan. I'm only concerned about battery life, because it seems to be polling EDGE. If 2G voice calls and 2G data polled the same time using the same line and disabling data wouldn't really make a difference for battery, that would be good. But I'm not really sure.
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Best battery life check: charge your phone up to 100% before going to sleep and unplug it, wake up and look at how much battery life you have left. It should be 98%+ if you didn't use it before going to sleep. This is even if you use it as an alarm clock and the screen is on for 3-10 minutes during your alarm/snooze/wake process.
Edge is a 2G network, the best way to test your device to see if it's doing anything is to open up an internet browser and see if you can get anything. If you can't open Google's homepage, your internet connection isn't being used and your standby battery life will be through the roof. This will also, in my experience, prevent apps from launching and causing partial wake issues and keep your phone idle time longer. I forgot my phone at home one weekend, came back home and lost like 8% of battery. I'd guess you are experiencing about the same if you can't get on the internet.

WIFI and 3g

Hi,
I just got the focus couple days ago and have a question:
when you use the WIFI connection (at my house for example), does the phone turn off the 3G? does it use both? how does it work?

3G still remains on/connected providing your carrier and phone support 3G. when wifi is on and connected, it takes over 3G connection for data till you disconnect wifi again.

powersquad said:
3G still remains on/connected providing your carrier and phone support 3G. when wifi is on and connected, it takes over 3G connection for data till you disconnect wifi again.
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Yes and no.
There's a bit of a design flaw in WP7 that is catching many users by surprise.
What you're saying is correct when you're using the phone. WiFi takes precedence over 3G for data.
But, and this is the surprise, when the phone goes to sleep (mine's set to the maximum of 5 min), it turns the WiFi off, meaning 3G takes over.
Many people learn this the hard way, because they'll start some large download and leave the phone alone. At some point, the phone goes to sleep (the display turns off, basically), which turns off the WiFi, and now your download is switched to complete via 3G. Many people are wondering on the various forums why they leave their phone (say overnight) thinking it's on WiFi, and wake up to a surprise data usage number on 3G.
If your wireless router has a status screen to monitor live connections (I use DD-WRT, which does), you can see this behavior for yourself.
It gets better! If you're a "normal" user who plugs in your WP7 to charge up the battery overnight, you'll notice you can't turn the phone off. So, without taking any specific action, you have absolutely positively no choice but to burn 3G usage during the time period that the phone's plugged in, but not in actual use.
The workaround, if you're really tight on data usage, is to turn off your cell/3G manually, or switch to Airplane Mode, or stick your phone in a lead-lined box (okay, maybe not lead, but you get the point).
Brad.

I am frustrated with this too. I wish there was a simple toggle switch, application , that would simply turn one of them on and the other off without going into settings everytime.

This is very interesting (and a little worrying). How can I check my data usage from the phone?

Data usage
Dial *3282# and hit call
A text will come in with usage.

I make a habit of turning 3G off unless I need it, just to avoid 3G being used over WiFi or apps auto updating.

bpsmicro said:
Yes and no.
There's a bit of a design flaw in WP7 that is catching many users by surprise.
What you're saying is correct when you're using the phone. WiFi takes precedence over 3G for data.
But, and this is the surprise, when the phone goes to sleep (mine's set to the maximum of 5 min), it turns the WiFi off, meaning 3G takes over.
Many people learn this the hard way, because they'll start some large download and leave the phone alone. At some point, the phone goes to sleep (the display turns off, basically), which turns off the WiFi, and now your download is switched to complete via 3G. Many people are wondering on the various forums why they leave their phone (say overnight) thinking it's on WiFi, and wake up to a surprise data usage number on 3G.
If your wireless router has a status screen to monitor live connections (I use DD-WRT, which does), you can see this behavior for yourself.
It gets better! If you're a "normal" user who plugs in your WP7 to charge up the battery overnight, you'll notice you can't turn the phone off. So, without taking any specific action, you have absolutely positively no choice but to burn 3G usage during the time period that the phone's plugged in, but not in actual use.
The workaround, if you're really tight on data usage, is to turn off your cell/3G manually, or switch to Airplane Mode, or stick your phone in a lead-lined box (okay, maybe not lead, but you get the point).
Brad.
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Click to collapse
correction:: When you plug in your phone for charging the wifi stays ON even during standby, so 3G data is not used during this period.

@pigue
"Dial *3282# and hit call
A text will come in with usage."
That didn't work for me... I'm in Canada on Rogers. Is the number different up north?

im having problem with my 3g data.brought in my phone to my service provider.they couldnt fix my data because they were looking for the proxy and port.but they can only the apn settings.pls need help.im paying for data and im not able to use it.

BenJG said:
@pigue
"Dial *3282# and hit call
A text will come in with usage."
That didn't work for me... I'm in Canada on Rogers. Is the number different up north?
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Click to collapse
Sorry this is for AT&T....

cbebop7 said:
correction:: When you plug in your phone for charging the wifi stays ON even during standby, so 3G data is not used during this period.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that clarification. I spent a bit of time yesterday monitoring my WiFi connections and it appears as though you're quite correct, WiFi does stay on the phone's when plugged in. That's a tolerable workaround.
Pity none of this is actually documented, and we're all forced to figure this out for ourselves.
Brad.

bpsmicro said:
Thanks for that clarification. I spent a bit of time yesterday monitoring my WiFi connections and it appears as though you're quite correct, WiFi does stay on the phone's when plugged in. That's a tolerable workaround.
Pity none of this is actually documented, and we're all forced to figure this out for ourselves.
Brad.
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Click to collapse
I read about this in the documentation for the wifi sync somewhere. Can't remember if was M$ documentation, though.

Wifi vs 3g power draw

My friend told me that staying connected to a wifi connection is less demanding powerwise. I always thought keeping the wifi attenna on would drain more power because ur running to attenndas at once. Anyone care to chime in with their opinions?

I have no real data to back this up, but it does seem like my battery lasts longer with wifi on. I believe the 3G radio shuts off when there is an active wifi connection but i could be wrong.

lilgrass71 said:
My friend told me that staying connected to a wifi connection is less demanding powerwise. I always thought keeping the wifi attenna on would drain more power because ur running to attenndas at once. Anyone care to chime in with their opinions?
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Correct for the most part. So long as you're connected to a stable WiFi signal, of course.
3G data constantly looks for available HA's (Home Agents) to deliver the best upload/download speed, and, depending on how much you use your data, the constant on/off of using 3G causes the fast battery drain.
Modifying your HA in data settings will reduce the amount of ping attempts 3G will make, but you will still get the battery drain every time you use data. Keep in mind that sending SMS or making phone calls don't use 3G, but if you don't have 3G turned off, it will always switch to 1X during these processes. If you're a heavy texter, rule of thumb is to leave 3G off during the day unless you are going to be using it consistently for a period of time. This will save you a great amount of battery life.

Wifi is MUCH easier on battery for me.
^ Shift Faced

jesusice said:
Wifi is MUCH easier on battery for me.
^ Shift Faced
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I totally agree. At home my battery stays between 90-100% for a full 24 hours before it starts to drop on my Moment using the ubuntroid 4.2 ROM. If I pull my phone off the charger in the morning for work I'm at 70% by the time I get back home.