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Does 3G Use Less Battery Than 4G?


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Old 31-10-2016, 07:59
Doviak
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I was reading an article online which suggested disabling 4G and using 3G only to improve battery life, as apparently when using 4G many smartphones also stay connected to 3G.

How true is this? Can disabling 4G and using 3G really improve battery life?

I've tried this on my iPhone 6S and I haven't noticed any real difference yet. Does anyone have any experiences to share with other devices?
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Old 31-10-2016, 09:13
swb1964
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If there is any difference between the two I would expect it to be pretty marginal. After all two of the biggest power draws are the screen and the processor...
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Old 31-10-2016, 09:28
jchamier
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I was reading an article online which suggested disabling 4G and using 3G only to improve battery life, as apparently when using 4G many smartphones also stay connected to 3G.
In the US (only) this was an issue with some early 4G/LTE handsets that had two cellular radios operating at the same time. This was because of CDMA technology and they needed 3G to support voice whilst data on 4G/LTE.

In most of the world the radio switches mode between 4G/3G/2G as needed, so when a call is made, or a call arrives the radio switches automatically. (SRVCC). Some networks now support voice over 4G/LTE (known as VoLTE) and this helps again.

So I doubt you can measure a difference now on any handset in the last 2 to 3 years. Unless you are in an area with really poor 4G and really good 3G which would be very unusual.
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Old 31-10-2016, 09:29
jonmorris
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3G can be so hit and miss data wise, that I'd rather have to charge more often than struggle to get a connection. Forcing 4G has issues of its own, but I'd certainly never go 3G only and lose 4G willingly.

That said, in London, 4G can be quite congested so perhaps forcing to 3G can be a good idea.. but that's a totally different reason than reducing battery consumption.
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Old 31-10-2016, 09:55
mrdeejay
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It will use more battery depending on the network you are on.

I'm on Three and it ruins my battery as the phone keeps searching for 4G if in a 3G area which is most of the time.

If I switch 4G off the battery is improved.
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Old 31-10-2016, 11:06
Thine Wonk
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I'd have thought any effect would be marginal, I have never chosen to disable LTE but sitting on 3G on Three where 4G is available outdoors but not in I still get a full days battery use and probably still 40% at the end of the day on a work day.

Looking through the list of things using the battery cell standby is 8%, I'd hardly call that ruining my battery and that 8% is based on light usage with 26H usage on battery and 64% still remaining as I didn't really use the phone at all in the last 24 hours as it was Sunday and I was at home all day so it sat all day not doing a lot apart from updating background apps and cell standby.

In summary, I think marginal is the word, unless you've got an inefficient handset with multiple radio chips, as with anything the newer and better radio modules are smarter with battery.
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Old 31-10-2016, 15:29
Doviak
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Thank you all ☺️
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Old 31-10-2016, 22:58
jchamier
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I'm on Three and it ruins my battery as the phone keeps searching for 4G if in a 3G area which is most of the time.

If I switch 4G off the battery is improved.
Which handset is this?
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Old 01-11-2016, 08:20
planetf1
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I'm sure this was true when 4G first came out too because the chipsets in the phones that handled the radio were less well developed, optimized - new technology. Over time those designs have been refined and these days I'd doubt you could detect any difference
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Old 02-11-2016, 18:46
The Lord Lucan
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It is highly handset dependent. Also have to consider that 4G isn't as prevalent as 3G network coverage wise so signal strengths will be weaker, affecting battery performance.

But like for like on the newest generation of chipsets, there is little difference.
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Old 04-11-2016, 20:39
errea
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I notice a difference with Voda/O2 compared to 3/EE.

The lower frequency 2G/3G/4G the former use seem to give better signal/battery performance than the 1800/2100 MHz used by the latter.
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Old 04-11-2016, 21:15
jonmorris
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Back in the days of 900 on Vodafone/O2(Cellnet) and 1800 on Orange/T-Mobile(one2one) it was always a case of more coverage vs capacity, as the 1800 operators used more sites.

So it was swings and roundabouts, and I guess that remains the case in some places. Arguably, higher capacity is now favoured and required, but if you can combine high density for capacity with low frequencies for indoor coverage and filling in certain areas, you've sussed it.
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Old 04-11-2016, 23:31
jchamier
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I notice a difference with Voda/O2 compared to 3/EE.

The lower frequency 2G/3G/4G the former use seem to give better signal/battery performance than the 1800/2100 MHz used by the latter.
Interesting you'd notice, e.g.

EE use 1800 & 2600 for 4G (soon to add 800).
Voda use 800 & 1800 & 2100 & 2600 for 4G

So lower frequency (the 800) is better to travel long distances (e.g. open countryside) and gets indoors - but it carries less data (slower). The higher frequencies carry more data but travel less distance. So you need more masts.
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Old 06-11-2016, 09:48
mrdeejay
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Which handset is this?
iPhone 5S
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Old 06-11-2016, 21:16
neil79
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I tried using EE on a i phone 5s and can confirm that it killed the battery. The poor indoor performance of EE is a joke in this day and age and I wont be going back anytime soon.
Talking to colleagues at work with Samsung phones at work who also have the same problem so it definitely a hunting for network problem.
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Old 06-11-2016, 22:14
Mystic Eddy
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I tried using EE on a i phone 5s and can confirm that it killed the battery. The poor indoor performance of EE is a joke in this day and age and I wont be going back anytime soon.
Talking to colleagues at work with Samsung phones at work who also have the same problem so it definitely a hunting for network problem.
If you use WiFi Calling, the phone (iPhone at least) won't search for a stronger signal, so will benefit battery life.
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Old 08-11-2016, 10:48
errea
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What the networks have licenses for doesn't directly match their deployment.

In my experience, EE/3 use 1800 & O2/Voda 800 MHz as their primary 4G frequencies.
Voda/O2 have also refarmed some of their 3G 2100/2G 1800 capacity into 4G in urban areas.

Interesting you'd notice, e.g.

EE use 1800 & 2600 for 4G (soon to add 800).
Voda use 800 & 1800 & 2100 & 2600 for 4G

So lower frequency (the 800) is better to travel long distances (e.g. open countryside) and gets indoors - but it carries less data (slower). The higher frequencies carry more data but travel less distance. So you need more masts.
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Old 08-11-2016, 11:06
Ashley_Bradbury
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I was reading an article online which suggested disabling 4G and using 3G only to improve battery life, as apparently when using 4G many smartphones also stay connected to 3G.

How true is this? Can disabling 4G and using 3G really improve battery life?

I've tried this on my iPhone 6S and I haven't noticed any real difference yet. Does anyone have any experiences to share with other devices?
Lte uses quite a bit less than 3G as it introduced envelope tracking and is much faster to idle due to the much improved speeds.
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Old 08-11-2016, 20:50
samuel79
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In my experience if there is any difference between the two its small its the constant switching from 3/4g 4/3g and the fact it searches for the network that eats the battery
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