LTE or WiFi longer battery life?

[tonyr6]

Since T-Mobile offers unlimited streaming for many of the music services like Slacker, DI, Sky.fm that I subscribe to I wonder streaming them on LTE if it uses less battery life than streaming them on WiFi on 5 Ghz?

 

[jj14x]

That will likely depend on the signal strength. But from my experience, WiFi seems to use less battery. YMMV

 

[mclasser]

That will likely depend on the signal strength. But from my experience, WiFi seems to use less battery. YMMV

+1

Sent from my Nexus 5 via Android Central App

 

[tonyr6]

That will likely depend on the signal strength. But from my experience, WiFi seems to use less battery. YMMV

Thanks. I get 2 to 3 bars on WiFi in another room and on LTE I get 1 to 2 bars.

 

[jj14x]

Thanks. I get 2 to 3 bars on WiFi in another room and on LTE I get 1 to 2 bars.

While Android has improved the signal strength indicator considerably since 4.4.3 onwards, I still think you shouldn't trust it entirely for this purpose.
I'd look at the actual RSRP (in dBm) measurement. On Sprint, I can dial *#*#DEBUG#*#* on the Nexus 5 dialer and look at the LTE engineering section to find out the exact LTE signal strength. RSRP levels for usable signal typically range from about -75 dBm close in to an LTE cell site to -120 dBm at the edge of LTE coverage.
I think this same check will work on T-mo as well.

 

[LeoRex]

A strong WiFi signal sips charge. If the WiFi radio can turn down the power and maintain its connection, it'll have little to no impact on your battery..... conversely, a bad Wifi link will devour your battery. And while the same still holds true with LTE, it'll still use up a charge quicker than a good WiFi link, no matter how strong it is.

But a good T-M LTE link is like a direct pipe into the internet backbone..... dat speed!. I never get a really good LTE link at my house, but if I did, I would consider dropping off my home WiFi and sticking to LTE... damn the battery hit.