Airplane Mode and Widgets

[jpr196]

So, I travel every week for work and like to listen to music on my phone while on the plane. Today was the first day I used my phone with the signals off and I noticed my weatherbug widget kept saying "loading data...".

Does anyone know how widgets that rely on the network and airplane mode work together? I mean will I see significant battery drain while my widgets try to retrieve data?

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

It all depends on the widget. If you have widgets that constantly try to update on short intervals, yes it will take a heavy toll on battery life.

As for whether a widget is draining battery when it attempts to update and you are in Airplane mode, only one way to tell. You will need an app that shows process CPU usage and then that should determine if a widget thats trying to update is draining your battery.

You could expect to see cpu usage above 10% as a factor, especially if all you're doing is idling. Less than 10% isn't a big deal, but if let's say a widget is trying to update and is stuck looping at say 6% cpu usage for hours at a time, it will drain your battery much quicker than if that same widget wasn't on your homescreen trying to update, and was taking 0% cpu usage over the course of those same hours.

I believe Spare Parts may show you the info you need. If not hopefully some other poster can chime in and tell you a better app for this problem.

 

[jpr196]

It all depends on the widget. If you have widgets that constantly try to update on short intervals, yes it will take a heavy toll on battery life.

As for whether a widget is draining battery when it attempts to update and you are in Airplane mode, only one way to tell. You will need an app that shows process CPU usage and then that should determine if a widget thats trying to update is draining your battery.

You could expect to see cpu usage above 10% as a factor, especially if all you're doing is idling. Less than 10% isn't a big deal, but if let's say a widget is trying to update and is stuck looping at say 6% cpu usage for hours at a time, it will drain your battery much quicker than if that same widget wasn't on your homescreen trying to update, and was taking 0% cpu usage over the course of those same hours.

I believe Spare Parts may show you the info you need. If not hopefully some other poster can chime in and tell you a better app for this problem.

Thanks man...I have system panel on my phone so I'll check out the cpu usage next time i'm on the plane.

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Thanks man...I have system panel on my phone so I'll check out the cpu usage next time i'm on the plane.

No problem. That's the app I was thinking of, I know for sure it'll do what you need.

Post back when you get results, I'd like to know how this works out too

 

[Mahbles]

This is a dumb question, and I'm one of those still waiting for my DX to be delivered by FedEx, but doesn't airplane mode turn off the 3G connection to the phone? Wouldn't that automatically tell everything on the phone to go into "standby" mode and not seek updates unless 3G is restored?

From what I'm reading, the apps or widgets are independent of whether 3G/wifi is on or off, is that correct? Shouldn't plane mode render the DX like a iPod Touch? Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[jpr196]

This is a dumb question, and I'm one of those still waiting for my DX to be delivered by FedEx, but doesn't airplane mode turn off the 3G connection to the phone? Wouldn't that automatically tell everything on the phone to go into "standby" mode and not seek updates unless 3G is restored?

From what I'm reading, the apps or widgets are independent of whether 3G/wifi is on or off, is that correct? Shouldn't plane mode render the DX like a iPod Touch? Thanks in advance for the replies.

Not sure why you call my question a dumb question and then continue to add on to the questions on the subject...very random thought process.

Anyway, the reason I asked was because my weatherbug widget was saying it was loading data...please wait so I think it is reasonable to wonder whether the app is trying to access the network the entire time the wireless radios are off.

 

[DaRkL3AD3R]

Not sure why you call my question a dumb question and then continue to add on to the questions on the subject...very random thought process.

Anyway, the reason I asked was because my weatherbug widget was saying it was loading data...please wait so I think it is reasonable to wonder whether the app is trying to access the network the entire time the wireless radios are off.

He's not calling your question dumb, he's saying isn't his question dumb. At least I'm 99% sure thats what he means

In response to his question yes Airplane mode turns your Droid X into a 4.3" Android running tablet with Wifi, GPS and Bluetooth available. Widgets in theory should know to pause updating once the connection to 3G is lost, but not all apps are coded the same and are as smart as others.

Since theres so many out there and I personally haven't looked into specific widgets myself I don't know for sure how certain widgets/apps handle Airplane mode. Maybe they do shut down completely, maybe they try to poll the internet every once in awhile. Can't say until you really look into the monitoring software.

 

[jpr196]

He's not calling your question dumb, he's saying isn't his question dumb. At least I'm 99% sure thats what he means

In response to his question yes Airplane mode turns your Droid X into a 4.3" Android running tablet with Wifi, GPS and Bluetooth available. Widgets in theory should know to pause updating once the connection to 3G is lost, but not all apps are coded the same and are as smart as others.

Since theres so many out there and I personally haven't looked into specific widgets myself I don't know for sure how certain widgets/apps handle Airplane mode. Maybe they do shut down completely, maybe they try to poll the internet every once in awhile. Can't say until you really look into the monitoring software.

Ah, yeah you're right. I misread it the first time.