Do any of you use your 4G?

[Robbie317]

Prepare to be annoyed then. And why would you find it odd? It's a separate wireless radio, so when you turn on 4G you have both the 3G and 4G radios going, plus you may have weak signal to contend with (e.g., if you're in the car, you'll likely go in and out of 4G). 4G is also high frequency so penetrating some buildings will weaken the signal if you aren't somewhat near a window (which I usually am). To be honest, it doesn't kill my battery that bad if I am just at work or something, but YMMV. The widget to toggle 4G is simple and not bad at all; literally takes a few seconds. Is it less than ideal? Yes, but 4G is quite worth it, IMO.

Sprint Wi-Max 4G Users...Signal Penetration vs 3g?? - Page 2 - xda-developers

Yeah and for me 3G is plenty fast enough for 99% of what I do.... There is no reason to have the 4G antenna on 24.7.... Yeah I guess it's less than Ideal but it's not "Annoying" in any way (at least not in my opinion) It's kind of like complaining you have to turn your screen on and off.... Yeah you could set your screen to stay on at all time but that too would eat your battery alive. If your not using it turn it off...... Not that bad....

I only switch to 4G if some one sends me a large attachment I need to download or a link to a video I am watching... Other than that basic internet use is great on 3G...

 

[R1_Rydah]

I turn it on whenever I'm at home (my wifi connection is flaky) and whenever I'm stationary in 4G area... I use 3G when driving because 4G coverage is to spotty...

 

[R1_Rydah]

i use it when i go into one. either way i still download a ton on my account

2 weeks done 20 gigs in billing cycle so far

whoa

 

[Robbie317]

I turn it on whenever I'm at home (my wifi connection is flaky) and whenever I'm stationary in 4G area... I use 3G when driving because 4G coverage is to spotty...

Yeah using 4G while driving is nuts... lol... You need to be in one spot to use 4G but then again most states have laws against using your phone while driving so that should be a problem (and not like the laws stop any of us)

 

[Robbie317]

i use it when i go into one. either way i still download a ton on my account

2 weeks done 20 gigs in billing cycle so far

It's guys like you who cause the rest of us to pay that $10 EVO tax

I only use about 1.5 - 2 gigs per month and the most I have used is 3.2 gig in a month.... But even with the $10 my bill is less than what I paid on AT&T with my iPhone....

People STILL to this day want to complain and call it a 4G fee but it's not.. On average EVO owners are going to consume more data both and 4G and 3G... I ported my number over to Sprint about 2 weeks before the EVO came out and I basically got a "Loaner" Hero to use and swap out when the EVO hit.... Because of the Hero I couldn't see myself using even 1/2 the data I use with my EVO... With the Hero I would actually get up from the couch and either go get my laptop or go to my office and use my desktop were as now I just use my EVO to get on the internet....

 

[eagle63]

Prepare to be annoyed then. And why would you find it odd? It's a separate wireless radio, so when you turn on 4G you have both the 3G and 4G radios going, plus you may have weak signal to contend with (e.g., if you're in the car, you'll likely go in and out of 4G). 4G is also high frequency so penetrating some buildings will weaken the signal if you aren't somewhat near a window (which I usually am). To be honest, it doesn't kill my battery that bad if I am just at work or something, but YMMV. The widget to toggle 4G is simple and not bad at all; literally takes a few seconds. Is it less than ideal? Yes, but 4G is quite worth it, IMO.

I guess what surprises me is the general consensus that having 4G on 24/7 is really hard on the battery. Yes it's a separate radio, and simply having it on (even when idle) will draw some battery power - but in my mind it should be a trivial amount. Look, we've all come to accept that leaving our WiFi radios on 24/7 is a reasonable thing to do - even if we spend much of our day not in a WiFi hotspot. Why should the Wimax radio be any different??

My point is, if Wimax is so hard on the battery (while idle) that we are forced to manually turn it on/off in order to make it through the day, then something is wrong. Either Wimax is a fail, or the radio/driver in our Evo is a fail. I can guarantee you that the when an LTE-enabled iPhone arrives, no one will be forced to manage their 4G radio like people seem to be doing now with the Evo.

Now, I'll qualify everything I said by conceding that since Wimax is brand new, the coverage areas are probably pretty spotty for many people. No doubt that you will lose some juice if the radio is fighting to maintain a connection to a weak signal. However, when in a decent coverage area, I don't see how just having 4G on should make any meaningful dent in the battery.

 

[italianotampa]

I know a wimax software update will change things next year by improving building penetration and have a noticeable increase in speeds. They are in the rolling out stages now. Even LTE with lower frequencies is having a hard time penetrating buildings from what I read from the test trials.

 

[81]

it's my only internet connection, so yes, i use 4g all the time at home. when i'm out and about i turn it off since it seems the phone has major issues holding a 4g connection when moving

 

[81]

I guess what surprises me is the general consensus that having 4G on 24/7 is really hard on the battery. Yes it's a separate radio, and simply having it on (even when idle) will draw some battery power - but in my mind it should be a trivial amount. Look, we've all come to accept that leaving our WiFi radios on 24/7 is a reasonable thing to do - even if we spend much of our day not in a WiFi hotspot. Why should the Wimax radio be any different??

My point is, if Wimax is so hard on the battery (while idle) that we are forced to manually turn it on/off in order to make it through the day, then something is wrong. Either Wimax is a fail, or the radio/driver in our Evo is a fail. I can guarantee you that the when an LTE-enabled iPhone arrives, no one will be forced to manage their 4G radio like people seem to be doing now with the Evo.

Now, I'll qualify everything I said by conceding that since Wimax is brand new, the coverage areas are probably pretty spotty for many people. No doubt that you will lose some juice if the radio is fighting to maintain a connection to a weak signal. However, when in a decent coverage area, I don't see how just having 4G on should make any meaningful dent in the battery.

if it is an area that is getting 4g, leave it on, if you are moving turn it off. it sucks power searching for a signal.

i for one only turn my wifi on when needed. i use it rarely

 

[eagle63]

if it is an area that is getting 4g, leave it on, if you are moving turn it off. it sucks power searching for a signal.

i for one only turn my wifi on when needed. i use it rarely

But why should it suck much power? WiFi doesn't.... I leave WiFi on all the time, even though I only really use it when at home. Why? Because the amount of power it draws during the course of the day is small enough that it's not worth my time to switch it on and off every day. I've measured it, and over the course of a day it adds up to maybe 2-4% of my battery. (not scientific testing of course, but a good ballpark) Why should Wimax spend any more energy searching for a signal? Again, my point is: if it chews up 15% (or more) of my battery looking for a signal then something is wrong.

I get that there are people out there (like you) who want to maximize every last watt of power by turning things and off all day long. That's great and more power to you (pun intended!), but we shouldn't have to do that.

 

[eagle63]

I know a wimax software update will change things next year by improving building penetration and have a noticeable increase in speeds. They are in the rolling out stages now. Even LTE with lower frequencies is having a hard time penetrating buildings from what I read from the test trials.

The only thing that would affect building penetration is the frequency. That sort of thing - at least as far as I'm aware - is not software upgradable, either at the cell site or on our devices.

 

[81]

But why should it suck much power? WiFi doesn't.... I leave WiFi on all the time, even though I only really use it when at home. Why? Because the amount of power it draws during the course of the day is small enough that it's not worth my time to switch it on and off every day. I've measured it, and over the course of a day it adds up to maybe 2-4% of my battery. (not scientific testing of course, but a good ballpark) Why should Wimax spend any more energy searching for a signal? Again, my point is: if it chews up 15% (or more) of my battery looking for a signal then something is wrong.

I get that there are people out there (like you) who want to maximize every last watt of power by turning things and off all day long. That's great and more power to you (pun intended!), but we shouldn't have to do that.

i'm not very smart, but i'm guessing the wifi and 4g radio's are different. i only turn off wifi because i almost never use it. But it's been reported a number of places that 4g sucks the power when searching for a signal.

 

[eagle63]

i'm not very smart, but i'm guessing the wifi and 4g radio's are different. i only turn off wifi because i almost never use it. But it's been reported a number of places that 4g sucks the power when searching for a signal.

Right, I'm not arguing or disagreeing with you - I'm just annoyed that Wimax might end up being a less than ideal solution. We'll see I guess!

 

[Jerzyiroc]

But why should it suck much power? WiFi doesn't.... I leave WiFi on all the time, even though I only really use it when at home. Why? Because the amount of power it draws during the course of the day is small enough that it's not worth my time to switch it on and off every day. I've measured it, and over the course of a day it adds up to maybe 2-4% of my battery. (not scientific testing of course, but a good ballpark) Why should Wimax spend any more energy searching for a signal? Again, my point is: if it chews up 15% (or more) of my battery looking for a signal then something is wrong.

I get that there are people out there (like you) who want to maximize every last watt of power by turning things and off all day long. That's great and more power to you (pun intended!), but we shouldn't have to do that.

4g is taking in a LOT more data than 3g. And it's not like wifi where you're right by the router 4g is very data intensive and the fact that there aren't many towers around doesn't help either. Just put a 4g toggle and call it a day.

 

[eagle63]

4g is taking in a LOT more data than 3g.

Right, but then pages load faster too - so your total time actively downloading something should be much less than 3G. A wash, in other words. But all that aside, my point has been about idle time, not when actively using 4G. It's the (supposed) big battery draw while NOT actually using Wimax that has me concerned.

 

[DougB541#CB]

The antenna probably just takes more power. The technology is young...tis to be expected...it'll improve as it matures.

 

[skrilla]

no, i don't use it. i am in Houston which is supposed to be covered. most of the time i can't get a signal. when i do get a signal it disconnects shortly after. i should have returned the phone (evo) because the 4g is worthless. will be switching to verizon when they launch LTE here.

 

[81]

in other news, i turned on the wifi, used for a few minutes, went back to my office which is out of wifi range and looked at my phone an hour later. battery was chewed up pretty good.

 

[Darth Mo]

But why should it suck much power? WiFi doesn't.... I leave WiFi on all the time, even though I only really use it when at home. Why? Because the amount of power it draws during the course of the day is small enough that it's not worth my time to switch it on and off every day. I've measured it, and over the course of a day it adds up to maybe 2-4% of my battery. (not scientific testing of course, but a good ballpark) Why should Wimax spend any more energy searching for a signal? Again, my point is: if it chews up 15% (or more) of my battery looking for a signal then something is wrong.

I get that there are people out there (like you) who want to maximize every last watt of power by turning things and off all day long. That's great and more power to you (pun intended!), but we shouldn't have to do that.

I'm guessing the additional battery drain is from having two cellular radios running as 4G is data only. Cell standby is the biggest drain when the phone is idle, so it makes sense that adding another one would be equally detrimental to the battery.

Perhaps in the future one of the radios can be eliminated? Not really sure how that would work.

 

[sasha]

I use my 4g every chance I get, I am in Chicago so I get pretty good 4g coverage everywhere except my apartment.