Does 4g drain battery??

**jeffreynothing43** · 04-10-2012, 07:09 AM

Since I've gotten my NS4G I have never really used 4G. I tried it for the first time yesterday and was surprised that I was connected to it in many places throughout my city. I also noticed how much faster it really was. I think part of the reason I've avoided using it was that I was under the impression it drains battery when it is not connected.

Can anyone confirm that having the selection of 4G turned on drains battery or has little or no affect?

Thanks!

**jtexans** · 04-10-2012, 07:28 AM

4G kills my battery...but I have chargers everywhere.

**oversteer325** · 04-10-2012, 08:12 AM

I have a Samsung Epic 4G Touch and my wife has a Nexus S 4G. We both leave 4G on all of the time and only have actual 4G at work. The rest of the time the 4G modem goes into a sleep state and I haven't noticed any additional battery drain. If anything it seems like 4G helps battery because the 3G connection is so slow. I am able to get the info I wanted and put the phone away before the page would have even loaded on 3G.

**Ryuuie** · 04-10-2012, 09:26 AM

Yes, 4G drains battery like a rock in water.

Rule of thumb is use wifi at ALL TIMES if possible. If you can't, don't leave it on 3G or 4G.

**j_grouchy** · 04-10-2012, 09:51 AM

Originally Posted by Ryuuie

Yes, 4G drains battery like a rock in water.

Rule of thumb is use wifi at ALL TIMES if possible. If you can't, don't leave it on 3G or 4G.

Mine is on all the time and I have seen almost no difference between 'always on' and 'always off'. For me, the biggest battery drain is any game by Zynga (Words with friends...).

**jvai** · 04-10-2012, 10:21 AM

question.... i notice that as soon as the data requested is finished downloading, the wimax sig goes into idle; isn't this suppose to save on battery life by such & such percentage?

**Zerocool84** · 04-10-2012, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by j'vai

question.... i notice that as soon as the data requested is finished downloading, the wimax sig goes into idle; isn't this suppose to save on battery life by such & such percentage?

Yes it's supposed to but if you're in an area with not a strong 4G signal, it can turn on and off scanning for a signal and as we know they didn't build out a huge area of it.

**rocker22dallas** · 04-10-2012, 11:19 AM

when you are not using the 4g, it goes into sleep mode, which consumes almost no battery, then when you request something using the internet, it wakes up the 4g and sends and receives data until there is no activity, then it goes to sleep again.

i only have 4g when i drive an hour up north, and i have about the same battery drain using 4g as i do with 3g as long as im not downloading some huge file.

**Ryuuie** · 04-10-2012, 11:31 AM

The reason why you don't leave 3G/4G on if you can help it (especially if you're near a stable wi-fi connection) is because as you travel, your signal constantly pings off of Sprint towers. That constant ping will eat your battery VERY quickly.

I keep 3G/4G off when needed, my battery lasts 3 days max, 2 days if I REALLY use it, and 26 hours if I leave 3G on but stay in one spot.

**everyday17** · 04-10-2012, 12:38 PM

In my experience with the Evo 3D, I leave my 4G on at work (where I have a good signal) and my battery life is no different than on 3G. The problem is when the phone is searching for a signal when you're moving, which it does more often on 4G since the coverage is more sparse.

**samanthanielquel** · 05-26-2012, 06:31 AM

Yes the nexus 4g has major problem of battery drain. This problem can be solved to some extent by using the Power Widget lite widget. Its free to download from the Google play store.

**mclasser** · 05-26-2012, 06:10 PM

I've noticed that leaving 4G on and using it lightly does not have affect battery life too adversely. But streaming videos or something will kill your battery fairly quickly. I've started leaving wifi on all the time and noticed at least a 50% increase in battery life. Sprint 3G is a pretty solid battery hog, so I try avoiding it if at all possible.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Android Central Forums

**philb#AC** · 05-26-2012, 11:12 PM

I can't speak for LTE, I can for wimax, yes when available I have seen battery drain big time. I know this, when I couldn't get it I felt ripped off. Once I had the ability I rarely use it. If I want to download large files like podcasts, it rocks. For every day Web browsing the battery drain isn't worth the speed.