Database Users

[Q] Wi-fi doesn't turn off

The problem is that Background Data and Sync ignore the wi-fi policy meaning that the settings to disable wi-fi don't actually disable wi-fi, they just block applications from using wi-fi. The OS can still use it and it still drains power.
That basically means you can never disable wi-fi unless you go in and change multiple settings. The wi-fi policy when the screen is off is useless. Any toggle wi-fi widget you put on the page don't work.
Manually refreshing gmail shows 'no connection' - browser wont connect. But the OS can still get your email and download attachments. Relegating any wi-fi policy to a 'user stop function', not a 'data stop function'.
I have a toggle wi-fi widget on my home screen. I have wi-fi toggled off (also shows as off in settings) I *just* saw the widget flick on for a second, then flick back off. That's the Background data/ sync kicking in right there and that's my whole point.
Another point - if you have disabled wi-fi then turn it back on, it should be looking for the router and getting an IP address. It doesn't do that. When you turn it back on all it does is enable applications to connect. Meaning, when you disable it (via settings>disable wi-fi or disable wi-fi policy) all it does is make the software think you're not connected. It doesn't actually disconnect from the router.
It still shows in your routers wireless list (which it shouldn't if it's disconnected) and ping test will fail because it will refuse any incoming/outgoing requests that aren't from the OS (background data / sync)
If you wait for the background data/sync to connect, you can then ping your tablet and it will work. A security issue as far as I'm concerned.
UPDATE | May 05
An update. I can confirm that the wi-fi will never turn off for me. I have toggled it off and put it in airplane mode and I will still get email notifications.
Under battery power it even still shows wi-fi as taking 4% even though by all settings it is off.
The gmail application shows 'no connection'. If i refresh it, nothing happens. If i turn the screen off, eventually it will sync/connect and I will get email - even though I also have the wi-fi set to off when the screen is off.
So to sum-up - wi-fi never turns off. Ever.
You can help by testing!
Disable wi-fi
Set the policy for wi-fi to disable when screen is off
Go to home screen
Turn off the screen
From another location, send yourself an email
Wait for notification on your tablet or wait for about 5 minutes
Turn on your tablet, email should be waiting for you.
UPDATE | 12:15pm
On the phone with acer support and they confirmed this is the case. They started to explain about Background data and Sync and I stopped them right there. This isn't a settings issue, this is an OS/Hardware issue.
Going to the next tier.
UPDATE | 12:30pm
Everything is confirmed with tier 2 and for what it's worth, it'll be pushed further down the chain and looked into.
I had to clarify with them that the issue was with the OS/Hardware and it's not software. If the wi-fi is disabled and I can go into gmail and it show 'no connection' and i hit refresh and it wont get email, then open the browser and it tells me I'm not connected, then the software thinks the wi-fi is off.
The problem is that the wi-fi isn't off as far as the OS is concerned. It is still draining power and Background data/ Sync are still able to connect (and/or override your settings). This shouldn't be the case. The wi-fi setting should superseed all other settings. If i set the wi-fi to off, it should be off for everything and not be draining power. To me this means that the disable wi-fi setting doesn't actually disable the wi-fi, it just locks out software from using it... which is *not* disabling it.

Same issue here, have to get a widget to turn of the wifi. How can they oversee such simple things?
Also sometimes the power button just randomly lights up when its in sleep mode, it's a small light but very anoying if it's dark in the room (e.a on your bed stand).

Okay - Good to hear it's not just me then. But not so good in general.
If you're reading this thread, try it out. Set the wi-fi to disabled when the screen is off then email yourself from another computer and wait for the notification on your tablet. Or get a friend to email you a minute or so after you've turned your screen off (with wi-fi disabled on screen off)
You can reset the policy after.
If you get the notification then your wifi didn't disable while the screen is off like the setting is supposed to do.

mine is NOT giving me issues, but I have found that it can take up to 10 minutes for the wifi to go off. I just used ping to test it. In some cases it took a while but did turn off. My battery doesn't really go down at all when in standby with wifi off when screen off.

sgdossey said:
mine is NOT giving me issues, but I have found that it can take up to 10 minutes for the wifi to go off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Updated OP

gammaRascal said:
I've set the wi-fi to disable itself when the screen goes off but unless I disable sync and background data, the wi-fi still stays on when the screen is off and I can hear my email/IM notifications still.
Anyone else have this issue?
I mean, I think it's an issue. If you set the policy to disable wi-fi when the screen is off in the OS it should override any apps - I shouldn't THEN have to go and disable sync and background data as well otherwise whats the point?
UPDATE | May 05
An update. I can confirm that the wi-fi will never turn off for me. I have toggled it off and put it in airplane mode and I will still get email notifications.
Under battery power it even still shows wi-fi as taking 4% even though by all settings it is off.
The gmail application shows 'no connection'. If i refresh it, nothing happens. If i turn the screen off, eventually it will sync/connect and I will get email - even though I also have the wi-fi set to off when when the screen is off.
So to sum-up - wi-fi never turns off. Ever.
You can help by testing!
Disable wi-fi
Set the policy for wi-fi to disable when screen is off
Go to home screen
Turn off the screen
From another location, send yourself an email
Wait for notification on your tablet or wait for about 5 minutes
Turn on your tablet, email should be waiting for you.
UPDATE | 12:15pm
On the phone with acer support and they confirmed this is the case. They started to explain about Background data and Sync and I stopped them right there. This isn't a settings issue, this is an OS/Hardware issue.
Going to the next tier.
UPDATE | 12:30pm
Everything is confirmed with tier 2 and for what it's worth, it'll be pushed further down the chain and looked into.
I had to clarify with them that the issue was with the OS/Hardware and it's not software. If the wi-fi is disabled and I can go into gmail and it show 'no connection' and i hit refresh and it wont get email, then open the browser and it tells me I'm not connected, then the software thinks the wi-fi is off.
The problem is that the wi-fi isn't off as far as the OS is concerned. It is still draining power and Background data/ Sync are still able to connect. This shouldn't be the case. The wi-fi setting should superseed all other settings. If i set the wi-fi to off, it should be off for everything and not be draining power. To me this means that the disable wi-fi setting doesn't actually disable the wi-fi, it just locks out software from using it... which is *not* disabling it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I just ran these tests and unfortunately I can't reproduce your results.
When I disable wifi, I don't have any data connection.
As for wifi sleep, I don't know if it's a bug or intentional but it seems to put wifi into an extremely low power mode, but not necessarily disable it or turn it off when using the sleep policy.
As someone mentioned somewhere in this thread, it looks like wifi has some sort of 'cooldown' period until it turns the chip and process off completely.
I have used Wifi sleep and played Pandora and had Pandora play for hours until it finally disconnected.

The problem is that Background Data and Sync ignore the wi-fi policy meaning that the settings to disable wi-fi don't actually disable wi-fi, they just block applications from using wi-fi. The OS can still use it and it still drains power.
That basically means you can never disable wi-fi unless you go in and change multiple settings. The wi-fi policy when the screen is off is useless. Any toggle wi-fi widget you put on the page don't work.
Manually refreshing gmail shows 'no connection' - browser wont connect. But the OS can still get your email and download attachments. Relegating any wi-fi policy to a 'user stop function', not a 'data stop function'.
I have a toggle wi-fi widget on my home screen. I have wi-fi toggled off (also shows as off in settings) I *just* saw the widget flick on for a second, then flick back off. That's the Background data/ sync kicking in right there and that's my whole point.
Another point - if you have disabled wi-fi then turn it back on, it should be looking for the router and getting an IP address. It doesn't do that. When you turn it back on all it does is enable applications to connect. Meaning, when you disable it (via settings>disable wi-fi or disable wi-fi policy) all it does is make the software think you're not connected. It doesn't actually disconnect from the router.
It still shows in your routers wireless list (which it shouldn't if it's disconnected) and ping test will fail because it will refuse any incoming/outgoing requests that aren't from the OS (background data / sync)
If you wait for the background data/sync to connect, you can then ping your tablet and it will work. A security issue as far as I'm concerned.

[Q] Wifi always on

Hi, is there a way to keep wifi ALWAYS on?
My mom doesn't have a data plan, she doesn't need one. She spends 22 hours a day at home with a wifi connection, so I got her this phone. But the problem is that wifi automatically turns itself off after a while! She has to turn it on to get the notifications. Is there a way to always keep it on so that notifications always come through? I've tried the battery management profiles, but unless I'm doing something wrong, it doesn't work correctly!
Any ideas? Apps? Or tweaks or something?
Thanks!
NEVERMIND! FIXED IT! I couldn't find the sleep policy but now I did ^^ Thanks guys!

OK, NEVERMIND! It's STILL not working! I got the policy to ALWAYS ON, but after a little bit the wifi connection disconnects! I went through the battery saving profiles as well, and same thing. Is there an application or a setting I can use to fix this?
Thanks!

you can try "soft locker" apps in market to keep your phone not "100%" sleep when the display turned off . .

adityo97 said:
you can try "soft locker" apps in market to keep your phone not "100%" sleep when the display turned off . .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give it a try. What about any of those battery saving apps? The ones that auto turn on / off your wifi and 3G based on time. Do you think any of those could also work? I wrote Motorola and let's see what they say.
Thanks though I"ll give it a try today

[Q] Annoying wifi deactivation

Hi,
when I am downloading a large file, my screen turns off after some time when I do nothing. So far so good. But when I resume to my Android I must see that the Wifi-connection was turned off, too - I think because of battery power saving.
But it was turned off during my file download, so I have to download it again and I have to keep my screen not to turn off by tapping on it periodically. That's what is annyoing me.
I recognized that the connection is not deactivated directly after the screen was turned off. It lasts some time (minutes?) then the wifi connection is turned off, too.
Is there a way to prevent the deacitivation of the wifi connection when the screen is turned off?
Thanks for your answers.

Yes,
Goto settings>wireless connections>wifi adjustments
There you should find an option for WiFi selection politics. Just choose not to never disconnect.
Cheers

Hmm, it is already set to "Never disconnect".
I think this setting is only useful when you want to switch automatically between mobile data (GPRS/UTMS) and WiFi.

lowlands said:
Hmm, it is already set to "Never disconnect".
I think this setting is only useful when you want to switch automatically between mobile data (GPRS/UTMS) and WiFi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. That happens whether you want it or not if you have a wifi access.
Or I have a couple of busted phones at home that totally ignore this setting.

Tell your screen to never shut off, then change back.

[FIX] Stock Lollipop 5.0.2 Wi-Fi Battery Drain Issue

If you are on Stock Motorola Lollipop 5.0.2, check your Battery History in System Settings - you may notice Wi-Fi is constantly active, even when you turn it off.
In my case, the following setting in Viber was the cause: Settings > General > Wi-Fi sleep policy > Change to 'Use device's settings'
Instructions:
Firstly, go to: Settings > Wi-Fi > Advanced Wi-Fi > Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep > Change to 'Never.'
The issue appears to be that certain apps are keeping Wi-Fi active in Lollipop. Not every app may offer this setting related to 'sleep policy', a workaround is to use the App Settings Xposed Module - which allows you to disable such a permission for individual apps.
The permission can be known as: Change_Network_State.
After making these changes you may need to turn off Wi-Fi and restart phone.​
Related: https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79368

Thanks . it solve my real problem.

i have question. If we have change Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep to 'Never.' Will programs like Whatsapp or Viber get the gcm notifications when phone is going to sleep?

Dizzyrul3z said:
i have question. If we have change Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep to 'Never.' Will programs like Whatsapp or Viber get the gcm notifications when phone is going to sleep?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true, when phone sleeps - there is no Wi-Fi data connection.
Rather than leaving Wi-Fi on however, some people might prefer the phone wakes up every 15 minutes / 30 minutes / 1 hour, and enables Wi-Fi for 1 minute - allowing any messages to arrive. Many apps can do this, one example is DS Battery Saver.
There is also an argument that if you use Wi-Fi a lot, it's better to leave Wi-Fi on during sleep, because excessively enabling and disabling it is costly in terms of battery-life.

I've been using stock Lollipop on XT1008(Moto G Forte, I read it was just a "commercial" variant of the XT1032).
As far as I can tell, my phone doesn't report high Wi-Fi usage, but I disabled an option that I think it´s more responsible than the one mentioned here, that's "Search Always Available", this one was turning on my wifi when I even shut it down, wasting more battery than keeping it on.
Currently, my phone has been on like 13 hours and has 13% left, with a WiFi usage around 85% of the time.

Thanks for making us aware of that option in Viber.
But even after disabling that option in Viber, in the battery graphic seems like wi-fi is always active. Is it because I will also need to set "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" to "never"? But if it's set to never, doesn't it mean that when phone screen is off, it automatically switches off wi-fi even if you kept it on from the toggle?

lollerblade said:
Thanks for making us aware of that option in Viber.
But even after disabling that option in Viber, in the battery graphic seems like wi-fi is always active. Is it because I will also need to set "Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep" to "never"? But if it's set to never, doesn't it mean that when phone screen is off, it automatically switches off wi-fi even if you kept it on from the toggle?
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Click to collapse
Yes, 'never' means Wi-Fi is off when phone is sleeping. There is also the advance Wi-Fi option 'Scanning always available - which' you might want to disable.
Double check you have changed the setting in Viber, and you may need to reboot phone. It's also possible another app is causing Wi-Fi to always be active, for some it's Whatsapp.

lost101 said:
Yes, 'never' means Wi-Fi is off when phone is sleeping. There is also the advance Wi-Fi option 'Scanning always available - which' you might want to disable.
Double check you have changed the setting in Viber, and you may need to reboot phone. It's also possible another app is causing Wi-Fi to always be active, for some it's Whatsapp.
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Click to collapse
Ok so that option works as I thought, so for correctly receiving notifications with screen off it should be set on "always". I double checked on Viber's option and it's set correctly, then rebooted, plus scanning always available is off, geolocation (which can keep wi-fi on) is off and apparently there are no things that can keep wi-fi on.
Whatsapp does not allow to set wi-fi behavior, and the strange thing is that I have the same apps I had on Kitkat, where I didn't have such problem of viewing in battery graphic.
I am having the doubt if this may be only a Lollipop graphic issue or if wi-fi actually stays on...

lollerblade said:
Whatsapp does not allow to set wi-fi behavior, and the strange thing is that I have the same apps I had on Kitkat, where I didn't have such problem of viewing in battery graphic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why I mention the 'App Settings' module in OP. I believe Whatsapp can and does cause this issue - there is just no setting within the app itself. You can check what permissions apps have by using 'App Settings.'

lost101 said:
That's why I mention the 'App Settings' module in OP. I believe Whatsapp can and does cause this issue. You can check what permissions apps have by using 'App Settings.'
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Click to collapse
Mmm yes I saw that...but I'm guessing that without root there's nothing else to do, right?

lollerblade said:
Mmm yes I saw that...but I'm guessing that without root there's nothing else to do, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. Root would be necessary for changing permissions. However this issue may have been resolved in Android 5.1 - removing the need for this fix.

Wifi should be lefy alone as default to "never sleep"
Wifi should never sleep, even if the phone's cpu sleeps. Wifi will receive messages from whatsapp or whatever and wake up the cpu.
But if you put wifi chip to sleep, the phone will connect using 2g or worse, 3g or HSPA, and drain even more battery.
Wifi comes by default to "never sleep" for this reason, it is more battery efficient than 2g/3g.
And if you dont have wifi at home, all you have to do is slide down the menu and turn of Wifi. No need to change internal configuration on behaviour who only make things worse.
On the other hand, Viber is known for years to be a battery abuser.
I have been using android for years, and wifi policy was always the same, and my phones have idle times of several days
i even published some screen shots of my moto defy and moto G with a full week Idle without charging.with whatsapp and Wifi polocy never sleep.. With viber i wouldnt even try to make it last 2 days.

WiFi turning on by itself

Hi,
My H990DS has been bothering me for a couple of days as WiFi turns itself on without any kind of intervention.
Turning it off manually or having the phone restart does not help. I made sure the latest apps installed make no impact.
Playing with Developer Options made no difference.
I am ready to Factory Data reset.
Anyone experienced something similar ?
Thanks,

My 918 always shows wifi active in GSAM's graph, even when set to "Never" under the "Wifi on while inactive" option in system settings. I ended up just downloading Leandroid from the play store and setting it to disable the wifi radio, and renable it periodically to check for push messages. Seems to work fine with doze and standby time has improved.

Under settings, location, three dots top right, scanning, turn wifi scanning off. It turns back on anytime you use wifi and you manually have to turn it back off each time.

Mine (918) does this all the time. Im thinking its a 7.0 thing. There has been a few exceptions where it has stayed off. In my case I drive through a busy section in town and it constantly connects to the 20 or so open wifi spots so I turn it off. Well once I pull into the garage at home its magically back on.
Maybe something to do with networks it recognizes, Xfinity wifi wreaks havoc on it as well.

As soon as I uninstalled the latest apps, the issue disappeared. Not a single exception in 24 hours.
I suspect a Sip Client had caused the problem.

Gytole said:
Under settings, location, three dots top right, scanning, turn wifi scanning off. It turns back on anytime you use wifi and you manually have to turn it back off each time.
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Click to collapse
What!?
That sounds utterly horific for the battery, nevermind privacy concerns. I thankfully haven't experienced anything similar myself, but I've only ever used custom ROMs so perhaps that's the cause. But that sounds terrible.