For battery life: Wifi, or keep 3G on?

[dushkin]

Hello again.

I'm wondering: I'm not too bothered by my data bill (I have a plan that's comfortably able to suit my needs).

However today at the office, where we have wifi. I turned it on and let my IM accounts stay on.

I noticed that my battery was about half empty by the time went home. Not that it's a major issue, because I spent another hour or so on it chatting, checking email, listening to music.

Ran a few errands, came back home, used it some more. By the time I came back home - the battery was pretty low. Still not DONE, but low.

So my question is, basically, should I turn wifi OFF at the office if I don't mind the data on my 3G? Would it save battery life?

Just a thought.

Thanks for your input

[ysss]

I think in general WIFI consumes less power than 3G radio.

But it also depends on your location and the signal strength there. Low signal reception forces your transmitter to use higher power thus draining the battery quicker.

[pycage]

If the WiFi router properly supports power saving, then the battery will hold a lot longer with WiFi than with 3G.

[9000]

Go to Setting, click Internet Connection, press Connection,
choose any wifi connection then press Edit, press Next, press Next, press Adance, click Other tab, there you can find your wifi output is 100mA, change it to 10mA.

It can be found in the wiki. You may look for corresponding wiki for more battery saving tips.

[sjgadsby]

If the WiFi router properly supports power saving, then the battery will hold a lot longer with WiFi than with 3G.

And if it doesn't...

For instance, the Cisco access points my employer uses cause the battery gauges on my N900, N810, and N800 to drop like stones.

[ysss]

I've experienced 3G radio draining battery about 2x as fast when I travel to countries with spotty 3G coverage.

The amount of data you transfer also affects the battery usage a lot..

[9000]

This is the corresponding wiki, but it's pretty old and the configuration has been changed since, but you'd get the idea:

http://wiki.maemo.org/Wifi_power_saving_mode

[tmarinos]

I find I get much better battery performance with my phone set to 2G. I have WIFI in the office so high speed data is not a problem.

As soon as I leave the office I have made it a habit to turn 3G back on.

[crail]

3g uses more than wifi in my case

[9000]

I find I get much better battery performance with my phone set to 2G. I have WIFI in the office so high speed data is not a problem.

As soon as I leave the office I have made it a habit to turn 3G back on.

Good idea. OP can install 2G/3G Mode Selection Applet which is available in Extras-Testing for his purpose. He could install WiFi switcher statusbar plugin as well to turn off the wifi when it's not being use to further save the battery.

[dushkin]

Go to Setting, click Internet Connection, press Connection,
choose any wifi connection then press Edit, press Next, press Next, press Adance, click Other tab, there you can find your wifi output is 100mA, change it to 10mA.

It can be found in the wiki. You may look for corresponding wiki for more battery saving tips.

What is its effect?

[9000]

What is its effect?

Smaller wifi coverage.

[dushkin]

Smaller wifi coverage.

Gotcha. Tested it at work. Seemed to do fine.