Does leaving WiFi constantly turned on use up my battery?

[nickname303]

I leave my WiFi constantly turned on on my phone. I use WiFi at home and work so it will automatically connect when I'm in those 2 places, but anywhere else it isn't connected. Is it still using battery even if its not connected? Does it search for a connection when its not connected, sort of like the radios searching for a cellular signal? Or is it only using battery when connected? I just wanna know so that I can set up some automation to turn the WiFi off when I'm not at home or work if it does indeed affect battery life

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[LeoRex]

When your WiFi is disconnected, it really isn't using a lot of power. It isn't really transmitting much, only sniffing around every so often to find out what hotspots are nearby. The amount of power used is negligible.

I have some personal experience with this.... Back when I had my SIII (and to some extent my Nexus 5), I became obsessed with trying to squeeze everything I could out of the battery. I fiddled with all manners of things using automation apps like Tasker and Llama. One of those was disabling WiFi when it disconnected and turn it back on when I was around a known hotspot. Turns out that toggling the Wifi adapter actually did more harm than good as the power it used ended up being more than just letting it sit there, waiting for something to connect to.

 

[crackhd999]

If you're a paranoid type, I have read about potential hacks that can occur with open wifi connections. I'm not sure if I'm that paranoid...

 

[Javier P]

I agree with LeoRex. Keeping your WiFi always on you should consider switching network notifications off. You can do that in settings - WiFi - three dots - advanced.

 

[nickname303]

Thanks guys, looks like I don't need to worry about it too much then

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[LeoRex]

Yeah... I always give that advice to people who spend time fussing with these things. Bith WiFi and your GPS.... neither uses much, if any, power when they aren't active.

I'm charging up now... but I'll try to post some actual data to show you in a little bit. I'm at work, so I'm on my mobile connection. I can give you a good hour's worth of power usage data.