Automatically going to the mobile network if wi-fi dead?

[smgoma]

@titanoman is on the right track here. The EVO 3D seems to have issues with latency getting the WiFi radio reconnected after it goes to sleep, which (I think) is the problem you guys are seeing.

By default, Android sets the WiFi to sleep whenever the screen turns off, which sounds like a good idea, but doesn't actually get you the extra battery you would think. This is because the phone *wants* an internet connection so, as soon as the WiFi cuts out, the 3G tries to come back on.

This is generally a good setting to change on any phone if you spend most of your day around WiFi access points, since the WiFi radio uses significantly less juice than the 3G radio. Here's how you do it:

1. From the home screen, press the "Menu" softkey and select "Settings" from the popup menu.
2. Select "Wireless & Networks" from your settings screen.
3. Turn on WiFi (if it isn't already) and then click "Wi-Fi Settings".
4. Now, hit the "Menu" softkey again and you'll get a popup menu with an "Advanced" button.
5. After hitting "Advanced" you'll go to the screen were you can see your current WiFi IP address and connection info. At the top is an option called "Wi-Fi Sleep Policy". Click that.
6. The options are as follows:
   • After 15 min: WiFi shuts down after you haven't been transmitting or receiving data for 15 minutes.
   • Never when plugged in: WiFi will always stay on if the phone is plugged in, otherwise the 15 minute policy applies.
   • Never: Exactly how it sounds. WiFi will never sleep and will always remain connected.
7. There's also an option here called "Best Wi-Fi Performance", but the phone warns that it could drain the battery faster. I honestly don't know exactly what that one does.

It's important to note, that this could have a negative impact on your battery depending on your use. I strongly recommend going to the basic WiFi settings screen and disabling the "Network notification" option, since this will cause your phone to constantly scan for an open WiFi when you're not connected. And, since we've just set your WiFi radio to never go to sleep, that could be very bad

Also, I would recommend turning off the WiFi radio when you know you're not going to be around WiFi for a while. There's a ton of widgets out there that make this super easy, even if you don't like the ones included with Sense. Personally, I use the Power Control Plus widget, cause I like being able to configure it with exactly with options I want.

http://market.android.com/details?id=com.siriusapplications.eclairwidgets

Good luck, guys. I hope this helps.

Mine was set to sleep after 15 min. I have changed it and will see how it goes. Thanks.

 

[anon(285475)]

To help with the original question, I do not believe there is a way to auto-enable wifi to turn off and use the mobile network if your internet goes sour. It's not the phone's fault, just that sometimes internet goes down and you can still be connected to the wireless router. This would be a cool feature though because I've definitely had this happen to me before, and it would be nice if it gave you a little message like Windows 7 where it says you don't have a connection to the internet even though you're connected to a network.

Also, I noticed that if you have selected "enable power efficiency" under settings/power that could actually be causing the wifi to turn off regardless if you select it to never sleep. And enabling "best wifi performance" just gives a boost to your wifi antenna if you have a weak connection. That's why it will eat away at the battery faster.

 

[ernier]

@Sirrob
I'm having the same issue you have, I would go to the browser and try to load a page and it would only get as far as the http:// and stay there loading, so I have to switch wifi off and then6 turn it back on again, which is very annoying. I also have to do this for any app that needs internet access but can't get to the internet for the same issue.

Also I'm having similar issues with the 3G when playing Pandora, I would be listening to Pandora with perfect 3G signal, and all of the sudden it stops playing, so I turn the screen on and there is no 3G connection but almost immediately it connects and starts streaming music again, which is very weird.

 

[TheMatrix31]

Pretty nonsensical for it not to switch to the next available connection.

Oh well, I'll live with it.

 

[Gantry]

Just want to confirm that I have the same issue at home - the WiFi just stops working after a relatively short period of time. No errors, stays connected but all Internet stops working. Only turning off WiFi and turning back on helps.

My WiFi sleep policy is set to "Never" so that isn't the issue. Anyone come up with a fix? Drives me nuts...

 

[TheMatrix31]

I'm new to Android and HTC....how often do they typically push updates for their phone?

Maybe such an issue would be fixed in an update.