Should I let Wi-Fi turn off when the phone sleeps?

[Mastaking]

I am running CM10 and have the Wi-Fi shut off when the phone is sleeping for 15 minutes but I don't know if that is a good idea.

Does it save battery or kill it. I think kill because there are constant switch overs but what do I know.

Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(847090)]

its a save since wifi use battery. Imagine at night, it saves about 8 hrs of wifi battery
If you have 3G ON all the time its a kill because when wifi sleeps 3G will be used,

 

[Mastaking]

So I should set mobile data to sleep as well?

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[davidnc]

I have my WiFi's to always be on ,,, Settings>WiFi>Advanced>Keep WiFi on during sleep >Always

 

[Srambo217]

With Nova Prime and Tasker you could set profiles to on-screen gestures. For example, if I swipe up with two fingers my bluetooth toggles, my wifi shuts off, and my music player opens. I call this 'drive' mode. When I make the motion like I'm turning a dial to the right my wifi turns on, my media mutes, and my brightness drops, I use this when I get home from work.

With Tasker you can set profiles to do literally anything, you could even set them to a timer so at your normal bedtime Airplane mode will automatically kick on and than off 15 minutes before you wake up.

Sent From My Rooted/Modded SGSIII - If I've helped you please click 'Thanks'!

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I am running CM10 and have the Wi-Fi shut off when the phone is sleeping for 15 minutes but I don't know if that is a good idea.

Does it save battery or kill it. I think kill because there are constant switch overs but what do I know.

Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

It depends...in most cases I'd say leave it on and don't let it shut off. I don't get the mentality that if my phone's screen is off that I don't still want my phone checking for new email messages and/or updating my apps. If wifi is shut off it will switch to mobile data, which both uses more power and counts against my data limit.

*IF* you have mobile data shut off as well and really don't want your phone to be using data while the screen is off, then that setting makes sense, but I don't feel like this describes most people.

 

[PsYcHoNeWb]

It depends...in most cases I'd say leave it on and don't let it shut off. I don't get the mentality that if my phone's screen is off that I don't still want my phone checking for new email messages and/or updating my apps. If wifi is shut off it will switch to mobile data, which both uses more power and counts against my data limit.

*IF* you have mobile data shut off as well and really don't want your phone to be using data while the screen is off, then that setting makes sense, but I don't feel like this describes most people.

I am with this, I never found the need to constantly have WiFi or mobile data for that matter turn off while the screen is off. Most cases it would drain slightly more battery life because every time you turn the screen back on it will turn everything back on and then off again when you turn the screen off. Depending on your usage daily this could help drain your battery since it could be turing these on and off constantly.

 

[Tarpit_Carnivore]

I leave wifi on all the time when I'm at home and the battery difference is negligible, if any at all. I think a lot of the 'old wives tales' with previous versions of Android are going to, or should, go away (wifi off, gps off, screen lowest brightest, under volting, etc) since battery life has improved so much.

 

[muiriddin]

I can say that wifi off on my rooted Kindle running CM10 makes a huge difference in battery life. I have never tried doing this with my GS3 though. Basically with my phone when I get home wireless gets turned on and I don't turn if off till I leave.

 

[mrshickadance9]

Wifi being on uses almost no battery at all. On an average day, the wifi radio uses less than 1% of what I've used. I just leave it on.

 

[Suntan]

Wifi being on uses almost no battery at all. On an average day, the wifi radio uses less than 1% of what I've used. I just leave it on.

Be careful making these kinds of comments. *If* you have a very strong connection to your WLAN, battery usage is almost nothing. If you have a very weak signal, the battery consumption can be significant over the period of a day.

In any case, to the OP, if you don't care about missing email notifications, or any VOIP-type alerts (WhatsApp, Skype, Tango, etc.) and you don't *need* to have that weather widget updated the second you turn on your phone, then turning off wifi and/or cell data when the screen turns off *may* save you some batt life.

Personally, I have my tablets turn off wifi when the screen goes off. I have my phone always connected (unless I am travelling and need to maximize phone life.)

-Suntan

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I can say that wifi off on my rooted Kindle running CM10 makes a huge difference in battery life. I have never tried doing this with my GS3 though. Basically with my phone when I get home wireless gets turned on and I don't turn if off till I leave.

Wifi being on uses almost no battery at all. On an average day, the wifi radio uses less than 1% of what I've used. I just leave it on.

Be careful making these kinds of comments. *If* you have a very strong connection to your WLAN, battery usage is almost nothing. If you have a very weak signal, the battery consumption can be significant over the period of a day.

In any case, to the OP, if you don't care about missing email notifications, or any VOIP-type alerts (WhatsApp, Skype, Tango, etc.) and you don't *need* to have that weather widget updated the second you turn on your phone, then turning off wifi and/or cell data when the screen turns off *may* save you some batt life.

Personally, I have my tablets turn off wifi when the screen goes off. I have my phone always connected (unless I am travelling and need to maximize phone life.)

-Suntan

Exactly.

With tablets, it's a bit of a different story. It's not so much that wifi uses more power on a tablet, but generally tablets are less likely to have apps that need updating regularly. The point I made above was that it makes no sense to set wifi to turn off automatically *IF* you still have mobile data turned on.

On a tablet where you're not concerned about apps updating instantly, sure, you can save a considerable amount of battery during standby with Wifi turned off...wifi may not consume a lot of power, but with tablets you are sometimes talking about a considerable amount of standby time. The battery on my Galaxy Tab will sometimes last a full week with the wifi turned off. With my phone, however, I want it connected at all times -- if I get an email, I want my phone to notify me, I don't want to have to turn the screen on every 15 minutes to enable wifi to check for it.