Tuesday, October 7, 2014

wi fi - How does power usage for data over WiFi compare to data over 3G? (Ignore LTE for now)


If you have unlimited data over 3G so that cost is no option, which is more power efficient?


Using the WiFi or 3G connection for data usage?


Extending battery life being the goal




Answer



It depends on several things


As Matthew Read mentions, the hardware, your location, and the other fiddly bits about actual communication are important to the discussion. But, you also need to consider what you're doing with the phone.


Are you retrieving largish amounts of data often? If so, Wifi may be less drain on the battery by letting you finish sooner - remember the screen drains power while you're waiting for 3G to finish what WiFi may have finished much sooner. (But that depends on what brightness level you have your phone set to.)


In short, set your phone up the way you like to use it, in the place you like to use it. Then run the best test you can to see which uses more battery. Keep everything as much the same during the tests as possible. (Know exactly which apps are running, plan what data to use, and time how long you use the data after it's retrieved.)


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