WiFi saves over 4G data but uses more battery?

[Dave12308]

While I agree with your statements, according to 802.11g Speed - How Fast Is 802.11g Wi-Fi Networking? WiFi has a maximum of 54Mbps and according to 4G LTE Advanced Tutorial :: Radio-Electronics.Com 4G LTE has a maximum of 100Mbps. As others have said, YMMV, and will probably be far less. For example, I downloaded Dungeon Hunter II on WiFi and Dungeon Hunter III on 4G. Both files were about the 485mb and took about the same time to download.

100Mbps theoretical. But that spec is useless, as we all know how Verizon is and there is no way they will allow us those kinds of speeds. If anything, over time our LTE experience will slow down because VZW is not exactly eager to add bandwidth to increase the capacity of their network.

That being said, in day to day use assuming one is connected to a server that has enough bandwidth to saturate the connection, an internet connection that maxes out an 802.11g connection is going to be faster than a 4G connection.

When I speak of a 30Mbps up/down, I am talking about consistent speedtest results that I can post a screenshot of, not just theoretical. You will see that 100% of the time, my wifi connection slaughters my 4G connection - UNLESS I happen to leave bluetooth on, which seems to kill wifi speed on the Bionic.

 

[aaf709]

100Mbps theoretical. But that spec is useless, as we all know how Verizon is and there is no way they will allow us those kinds of speeds. If anything, over time our LTE experience will slow down because VZW is not exactly eager to add bandwidth to increase the capacity of their network.

That being said, in day to day use assuming one is connected to a server that has enough bandwidth to saturate the connection, an internet connection that maxes out an 802.11g connection is going to be faster than a 4G connection.

When I speak of a 30Mbps up/down, I am talking about consistent speedtest results that I can post a screenshot of, not just theoretical. You will see that 100% of the time, my wifi connection slaughters my 4G connection - UNLESS I happen to leave bluetooth on, which seems to kill wifi speed on the Bionic.

Yeah, like the car analogy just saying 4G is at 100Mbps max and WiFi is at 54Mbps doesn't mean much as you'll see that ever. Who cares if your car can go 180mph if all you can do is 55mph (if you're lucky) because of traffic. In my case WiFi is 6.89 Mbs down & 2.2 Mbps up while 4G is 25.92 Mbps down & 14.79 Mbps up (on Speedtest.net). Great, but when I'm updating an app in the <gag> Play Store it's downloading at most 1.1 Mbps (I only use about 1 Gb of data per month [on unlimited] so I don't think I'm being throttled). Doesn't matter what's faster there.

The OP was worried about battery draining. A bad signal, whether it's WiFi or 4G will sap power. With 4G always on I'm getting 20+ hours, which is more than I need in a day.

 

[hAHAha Halo]

This sounds backwards... wifi is no where near as fast as 4G... and if you have a good strong wifi signal you can see hours longer battery life while not using the battery sucking 4G radio... i use wifi all day at work and at home during the week... then on the weekends while i'm out traveling with the wife and i'm stuck on 4G i can really see the battery suffer... it's a huge difference

Not always true...
Try an airport xD

Anyways, I have strong 4G Speeds that sometimes surpasses my wifi.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using DroidForums

 

[ripper2860]

Isn't the Bionic an N class wifi device operating in the "G" 2.4GHz spectrum? If so that gives it a theoretical of 150mbps over an N-based WiFi network. My Bionic maxes out at approx. 20mbps down with Internet based speed tests -- limited by my FIOS 20mbps down speed cap. Much faster than th 12mbps I get over 4G -- but then again, I am in a weak 4G area so mine is not representative of the best 4G can do.

 

[aaf709]

Isn't the Bionic an N class wifi device operating in the "G" 2.4GHz spectrum? If so that gives it a theoretical of 150mbps over an N-based WiFi network.

The Bionic is a 802.11 b/g/n and according to The WiFi standards - 802.11a/b/g/n | WiFi How To N can reach 300Mbps (on current devices) to 600Mbps (on future devices), but like you said YMMV (and will probably be far less). All these "Top Speed" claims are like seeing the top speed of a car at Bonneville. While going along at single-digit speeds on the freeway during rush hour that "Top Speed" doesn't mean much.

On Speedtest.net I can see for 4G LTE:
View attachment 49455

And for WiFi I see:
View attachment 49456

But that's because I don't have WiFi at home and this is a free WiFi from the Public Library. Most "free" WiFi I've found are crippled so they won't even take the tests. I know that with a good secure (ie login required) connection it should be faster, but that's even going to vary from WiFi to WiFi as not all are sending at the same signal strength.

Even so, when I'm on the <gag> Play Market, the download speeds are closer to 1.1 Mbps (sometimes going to 5.3 Mbps) so high speed doesn't mean much there.

Which is faster isn't the point as the OP is saying that WiFi consumes more power with his Bionic. I'm putting that down to a weak signal as a weak signal, whatever you're using, will drain power faster than a good signal.