4G and battery life

[pappy53]

I am starting a new job in Raleigh NC, which has Sprint 4G coverage. My question is will 4G hurt or help my battery life?

 

[eagle63]

It will hurt it significantly. I've found 4g unusable due to the battery drain unless I have it plugged in.

 

[snowwy66]

3g has been pretty good around here. but occasionally it has a weak spot so i turn on 4g.

4g isn't 100%. if it drops it never comes back untill you turn it off and on again.

and yes. it's sucks the battery down.

i'm wondering how the new 4g only phones are doing for battery?

 

[drjb74]

I just recently started receiving 4G. I have found that the battery drain is bad if you are in and out of 4G coverage. If I have a consistent signal, it isn't horrible, IMO, but it definitely drains faster than having it turned off. I usually turn it on when I want to use internet or something like that, otherwise I have it off. Not necessarily an ideal fix, but it works for me.

 

[Joescan09]

I have tested 4g vs 3g battery drainage. If you stay within a 4g area you will average just about the same battery as if you are on 3g. I have gone 13 hours while on 4g the whole time. I average 15 hours on 3g so it's not much but there is a difference.

 

[snowwy66]

i'm not going anywhere tonight. so i'll test the 4g at the house for battery life.

 

[BigFace]

4g drains a battery like crazy and I have a 3500 battery. When I add bluetooth and GPS, sometime during the day, I have put the phone on charge.

For me, wireless tether only works when on 4g...this might be the norm.

I can only hope that somewhere in the future, battery life will be better...lasting all day with 4g and bluetooth and GPS running simultaneously.

PS. Don't forget brightness of screen. :0)

 

[snowwy66]

well. i left 4g on for an hour and the battery level was still full. staying at the house.

so what the above post said must be true. moving about the city is a killer on battery with 4g. since coverage is only about 40%.

 

[JamesKBoyd]

If you constantly keep a strong 4G signal like I can, the battery drain actually isn't all that much of a concern.