Improving Battery Life

[sushiglobster]

I'm posting this from Reddit. User credit goes to: D14BL0

"Open dialer.

*#*#4636#*#*

Phone Information > "Set preferred network type". From here, set it to something that says "Preferred", instead of "Auto" (I'm not sure what the setting will be labeled for Verizon's LTE, but I'd assume it would say "LTE Preferred"). This will make sure the phone stays on one frequency more consistently.
The way Android devices lock onto a signal is by picking the frequency that has the strongest reception. Not necessarily the fastest connection. This means that if you live in an area that has great 3G coverage, but your 4G is spotty, the "Auto" setting will make it lock onto whichever one is better at that particular point in time.

Because it keeps switching frequencies over and over, it drains the battery that much more as it has to lock onto a signal again.

Setting it to "Preferred" instead of "Auto" means that unless there is no 4G signal, it's going to be using 4G. A side-effect to this is that you may get spotty reception if your 4G is weak, since your phone won't automatically switch to 3G (until the 4G signal is completely undetectable). But, if the battery life is a huge problem for you, it's definitely worth adjusting.

This has at least been the case with my Nexus One on T-Mobile, and two OG Droids on Verizon that I've also tinkered with. I'm pretty sure it's the same with the Galaxy Nexus."



Another user on Reddit reports that these are his options with the LTE Galaxy Nexus:

"I have the following options on my Verizon GNex:

WCDMA preferred
GSM only
WCDMA only
GSM auto (PRL)
CDMA auto (PRL)
EvDo only
GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)
Unknown"


No one is sure which option to select, but selecting GSM/CDMA auto (PRL) was recommended to try.

Any takers here want to try this out?

 

[sal24]

Problem is that the recommended option is selected by default anyway, that being GSM/CDMA auto. For users who prefer 4G no other options seem to be good because we would need a GSM preferred option. Obviously GSM being the LTE connection.

 

[anon(130383)]

What about users like myself who do not yet have 4G in their area? I've read articles on other phones being able to turn off the 4G in order to save battery, but being my first 4G capable phone, I am unsure how to do this... Would changing any of these settings prevent my phone from searching for a 4G connection?

 

[mikestorm]

What about users like myself who do not yet have 4G in their area? I've read articles on other phones being able to turn off the 4G in order to save battery, but being my first 4G capable phone, I am unsure how to do this... Would changing any of these settings prevent my phone from searching for a 4G connection?

Yes. You can do that right from settings.

Settings / Wireless & Networks (More...) / Mobile Networks / Network Mode

Change to CDMA.

 

[anon(130383)]

Yes. You can do that right from settings.

Settings / Wireless & Networks (More...) / Mobile Networks / Network Mode

Change to CDMA.

Wow, not sure how I missed that! Thank you!