Does WiFi drain smartphone battery?

[juiceesquire]

man I can NEVER get a definitive answer on this. I was always told that if you are in an area with a strong wifi connections, you should turn Wifi on. But now I'm getting reports that it actually drains battery.

-The Juice

 

[quik1987]

of course, if ur not using it, it shouldn't be on.

otherwise ur phone will keep looking for networks.

 

[ballahb]

Simple answer YES, connection to a network doesnt matter, your phone is working to either stay connected or find a connection

 

[juiceesquire]

Originally Posted by quik1987

of course, if ur not using it, it shouldn't be on.

otherwise ur phone will keep looking for networks.

But what if its connected to a strong network already?

-The Juice

 

[airthompson]

Yea huh

 

[odog24]

but is ur phone wasting wifi?

 

[fullmetal]

turning on wi-fi is like turning on a radio in your phone. of course it uses batteries.

 

[0n the grind]

man shut up juice 

 

[mycoldyourdone]

yes. same for laptops.

its always checking. always.

 

[scshift]

Yeah it does drain it. Best to turn it off, along with stuff like GPS and the mobile network when you don't need it.

 

[imstillmike]

Originally Posted by Mycoldyourdone

yes. same for laptops.

its always checking. always.

 

[iYen]

What is wifi?

 

[killthehype]

Always.

 

[mister916]

I learned the hard way.

 

[jordanhead718212]

Not for me, my battery gets crushed alot faster on 3g/4g than it does on wi-fi

 

[navarretr]

Wifi and 3G both use a lot of battery. 3G yields mote power usage tho. It's common sense..

 

[buggz05]

Wifi doesn't even use electricity, that's why its wire-less.

 

[youngdoc]

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Not for me, my battery gets crushed alot faster on 3g/4g than it does on wi-fi

Same here. My phone lasts a lot longer at home on wi-fi then out relying on 3G/4G. Probably because Sprint sucks and my phone struggles to load webpages while on mobile network. Wi-fi is so much quicker.

I do turn my wi-fi off when I'm on the move so it doesn't constantly search

 

[credo]

Originally Posted by youngdoc

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Not for me, my battery gets crushed alot faster on 3g/4g than it does on wi-fi

Same here. My phone lasts a lot longer at home on wi-fi then out relying on 3G/4G. Probably because Sprint sucks and my phone struggles to load webpages while on mobile network. Wi-fi is so much quicker.

I do turn my wi-fi off when I'm on the move so it doesn't constantly search

That's because 3G/4G trade off power efficiency for data transfer efficiency.  There is a ton of research in how to make that style of data transfer power effective.

 

[SHERLOCK87]

it really depends on the signal, more bars = less battery drain, and vice versa.

 

[juiceesquire]

See. Now look, people in favor of wifi. I think if you are in a area of strong conncection, wifi doesnt drain as much as if you were on 3G/4G

-The Juice

 

[iheartboost]

Yes.

 

[Shanegerous]

I have to charge my phone twice a day...smh

 

[lil black jean jacket]

heard someone say "wee-fee" before

&

Yes.

 

[tecca nena]

Yes.. If your low on battary turn yer wifi , 3 g or even yer data off... Yer fone would last a few days this wayW