Battery Life on CDMA vs. GSM?

[1901Madison]

I am currently out of contract and am strongly considering buying the Droid Maxx. My number one priority in a cell phone is battery life. I subscribe to the theory that a phone that requires me to constantly worry about (or charge) my battery is kind of worthless because I won't be able to use it as I want. Anyway, Verizon is the only carrier that offers the Maxx and the Maxx has the biggest battery.

I have always been on GSM networks - T-Mobile and AT&T. While I know the Maxx has an awesome battery, will battery life diminish significantly because Verizon is a CDMA network rather than GSM? If there is no difference between CDMA and GSM, then the Maxx will definitely have the longest battery life, but if CDMA hurts battery life, I wonder if it evens out a bit?

Also, I read that the new Verizon phones, such as the Maxx, are built with GSM radios in addition to CDMA radios. Does this change the analysis at all if it is true? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[DASHAUS]

My assumption is that when you choose the gsm option the CDMA antennae didn't fire on; battery life should be great as well.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 4

 

[1901Madison]

Thanks for your response. So are you saying that if I were to switch from LTE/CDMA to GSM / UMTS, I would be on a GSM radio signal and thus get better battery life? Just curious, would this still be compatible with Verizon's network?

 

[raichur0xx0rz]

Thanks for your response. So are you saying that if I were to switch from LTE/CDMA to GSM / UMTS, I would be on a GSM radio signal and thus get better battery life? Just curious, would this still be compatible with Verizon's network?

If you select GSM/UTMS while on Verizon, it will not work. That option will be if you decide to use a GSM carrier's SIM card. I've used the Maxx on T-Mobile and on Verizon and I have not seen any noticeable difference in battery life. Perhaps, in theory (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), if you were to go on a GSM carrier, since you are not using LTE data, you should get better battery life.

But I have not noticed any differences.

 

[ttwiitch]

Battery life when comparing gsm to CDMA mainly concludes on signal strength, on average. If you are on a weak signal strength most of the day, your battery will be horrible...... Regardless of network.

Sent from my SPH-L710

 

[1901Madison]

Cool. So long as the signal strength is relatively the same on all carriers where I live, whether I keep the Verizon service or pop in an AT&T or T-Mobile sim card shouldn't really affect the battery life, right?

 

[DASHAUS]

I'm sorry I think I read too fast, I assumed you were taking it to art/T-Mobile and using it there. No the phone wouldn't work with Verizon if that setting was changed

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk 4

 

[raichur0xx0rz]

Cool. So long as the signal strength is relatively the same on all carriers where I live, whether I keep the Verizon service or pop in an AT&T or T-Mobile sim card shouldn't really affect the battery life, right?

That's correct.

 

[1901Madison]

I think you actually read correctly. The question was really if I get a Droid MAXX, will my battery life be better if I take it over to AT&T or T-Mobile than if I keep it on Verizon?

- - - Updated - - -

Great - thanks!

 

[ttwiitch]

Cool. So long as the signal strength is relatively the same on all carriers where I live, whether I keep the Verizon service or pop in an AT&T or T-Mobile sim card shouldn't really affect the battery life, right?

Yup

Sent from my SPH-L710

 

[Mr Bigs]

Hands down a CDMA phone drains down more rapidly in a weak signal area compared to a GSM phone especially if your using it.

 

[ttwiitch]

Hands down a CDMA phone drains down more rapidly in a weak signal area compared to a GSM phone especially if your using it.

Prove it.

Sent from my SPH-L710

 

[Mr Bigs]

Prove it.

Sent from my SPH-L710

Prove it yourself get 2 phones the same one cdma the other gsm.

 

[ttwiitch]

Prove it yourself get 2 phones the same one cdma the other gsm.

Sorry I know this isn't so, so I don't need to prove it. You are are the one saying it is..... So to back your words up, prove it and show pictures or stats.

Sent from my SPH-L710

 

[raichur0xx0rz]

Hands down a CDMA phone drains down more rapidly in a weak signal area compared to a GSM phone especially if your using it.

Are you talking two of the same device, one running on CDMA and the other on GSM? Or just in general, CDMA based devices require more power than GSM?

 

[doogald]

Power consumption of CDMA vs gsm are mentioned in this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_mobile_phone_standards


This ars technical review of the iPhone 5c (I know; but, the Verizon and ATT iPhone 5c are the exact same model, with the only difference being that Verizon uses CDMA and ATT uses GSM for talk and 3G data) shows that the battery life was only slightly better with the gsm vs CDMA - a matter of minutes over 8 hours. http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/0...k-are-the-new-black-the-iphone-5c-reviewed/2/ (scroll down to the battery life entry)

It'd be interesting to find a review of the two moto x phones for battery life. Still, I bet they'd be negligibly different that it's just not worth worrying about.

The Droid Maxx simply will not have battery life issues, whether on Verizon or gsm networks. Plus you know it's not sim locked.

 

[FrogVomit]

A few years ago, my company was working with Motorola and I made a few business trips there. I bought a Moto Q (Windows phone) from a vending machine in their cafeteria at the employee price, and switched my service from ATT to Verizon. I noticed that the battery drained really fast when the signal was weak. When I mentioned this to my contact at Motorola, he said "Welcome to CDMA!".

That said, I have a really weak signal at work, and my Ultra battery life is great.

 

[Mr Bigs]

A few years ago, my company was working with Motorola and I made a few business trips there. I bought a Moto Q (Windows phone) from a vending machine in their cafeteria at the employee price, and switched my service from ATT to Verizon. I noticed that the battery drained really fast when the signal was weak. When I mentioned this to my contact at Motorola, he said "Welcome to CDMA!".

That said, I have a really weak signal at work, and my Ultra battery life is great.

That was exactly what I said GSM is better in a low signal situation. Full signal battery life is about the same.

 

[1901Madison]

I guess if the droid Maxx comes SIM unlocked and will work on gsm networks, then that's really the most important thing.

 

[doogald]

I guess if the droid Maxx comes SIM unlocked and will work on gsm networks, then that's really the most important thing.

It does and it will. (Not LTE at the moment, though.)

One thing I am wondering, though - will a Droid Maxx get OTA updates if it is not activated on a Verizon network? I thought that OTAs worked over WiFi, but I'm not sure if that is still the case. As my last phone received its last one in May of 2012...