[AV2RY]

For the first (data/WiFi) I just want to be connected to internet always, just not to miss any messages (ex. Whatsapp) and Bluetooth just for the cars hands free system.
I think.. most Wifi -BT-Data least could be wrong

[StevoPhilo]

BT definitely does consume a LOT. It's always on and it's always seeking for devices it can connect to. I leave wifi on almost all the time and do pretty okay with it.

[hprvez]

Data should be the biggest battery drainer among the three. Wifi can greatly increase it's consumption depending on the device you connect to, but when it's not connected, it should consume relatively little energy. Can't tell about bluetooth, i never leave it on when i don't need it

[foxbat121]

I leave all three on all the time. The extra battery consumption is minimum depending on what is going on with the phone.

[wapoz]

I leave all three on all the time. The extra battery consumption is minimum depending on what is going on with the phone.

Same here. I got tired of constantly toggling wifi, Bluetooth, and cellular data on/off all the time and worrying over my battery life. I just leave all 3 on now and I don't notice much of a difference.

[OzRob]

In general, power consumption on any non-wired connection is dependent on the strength and quality of the wireless signal. But 3G/4G data is often perceived to be the power hog because the signal strength varies so much from area to area and the radio ramps up power to compensate. This is less of an issue with wifi or Bluetooth.

Personally, I'm in the 'leave 'em all on' camp unless I've got a specific reason to turn one or more off.

[BaritoneGuy]

Cellular Data is usually the biggest consumer by far. It will vary though depending on the signal strength you phone is seeing. I am in the leave all 3 on camp unless I am roaming.

[Paul Verizzo]

4G wireless data is a huge power drain compared to 2G or wifi. Can't speak experientially to BT.

[fatclue_98]

BT definitely does consume a LOT. It's always on and it's always seeking for devices it can connect to. I leave wifi on almost all the time and do pretty okay with it.

BT isn't as power consuming if you toggle discovery off. WiFi is in the same situation if you toggle "join networks" off as well. I juggle many different devices so my terminology may be off a hair.

There are many threads where users ask for a 3G/4G toggle to stay on EDGE when not necessary and it's a very valid point. Especially for T-Mobile users since their coverage is so spotty.

[shmsnh]

From experience, I've noticed 2G data consumes the least power on my phone. WiFi consumes more than 2G, but less than 3G.

[Marty Larsson]

For me its def WIFI when i get home from work and connect to mine after watching a good few vines, checking twitter, facebook etc couple of txts and whatsapps my phone battery can drain awful quick lol i use a 925.

[foxbat121]

That's because you are using the wifi connection for data communication. If you do the same thing on cell data, you will find your battery drains the same or even faster depending on the connection and signal type.

[fatclue_98]

That's because you are using the wifi connection for data communication. If you do the same thing on cell data, you will find your battery drains the same or even faster depending on the connection and signal type.

You're saying cellular connections drain batteries faster than WiFi? That makes no sense. WiFi is for data only, which means you're still using cellular for voice and texts. I'm not an engineer but I know that 2 radios consume more resources than 1.

[foxbat121]

You're saying cellular connections drain batteries faster than WiFi? That makes no sense. WiFi is for data only, which means you're still using cellular for voice and texts. I'm not an engineer but I know that 2 radios consume more resources than 1.

Good thing you are not an engineer :)

Read what OP said. He watch online video on Vine. If you watch video on 4G or 3G connection instead of wifi, you may use more battery juice. Try it and you shall see. Your voice cellular radio is always there. The only difference here is which radio you use for large amount of data transfer.

And in case you haven't bother to read earlier posts, on idle, they don't make much of difference whether you have wifi on or not.

[BaritoneGuy]

4G wireless data is a huge power drain compared to 2G or wifi. Can't speak experientially to BT.

I think it depends a lot on how built out the 4G/LTE network is. My provider in Canada (Bell) has been building out LTE like crazy. I don't really see any difference between it and 3G. I get around 2 days with my Ativ S between charges. I am not a power user though.

[Jan Tomsic]

BT definitely does consume a LOT. It's always on and it's always seeking for devices it can connect to. I leave wifi on almost all the time and do pretty okay with it.

after getting bluetooth headphones I leave it on all the time and unless i don't see much difference in battery life. When listening to music yes, but not when its disconnected.
I've gotten tired of toggling wifi/data/gps all the time a long time ago. I carry an external battery pack so I can use the smart in smartphone without worries.
I know though, that staying at home uses less battery then commuting, because constantly switching towers while on the road eats more juice then solid and stable network (both cell and wifi) at home.
I've tried toggling 3G/4G (since I have LTE limited to 20mbps it makes no difference - I'd have to pay 6€/month for full speed LTE) and I don't notice much difference in battery life. Maybe like 30 minutes at the end of the day.
In other words, I haven't had my 925 die on me (so far)

[OzRob]

I think it depends a lot on how built out the 4G/LTE network is. My provider in Canada (Bell) has been building out LTE like crazy. I don't really see any difference between it and 3G. I get around 2 days with my Ativ S between charges. I am not a power user though.

There is also a difference in 3G vs 4G power consumption depending on the chipset in the phone. When 3G first came out the 3G radio was separate to the the System-on-Chip that ran the voice and 2G comms. Gradually the 3G functions were integrated into the SoC, so the difference in power consumption between 2G and 3G became less, and is minimal on the latest phones. Same is happening now with 4G. Most phones run a separate 4G chip at the moment, but these functions will gradually be integrated into the SoC.

[OzRob]

You're saying cellular connections drain batteries faster than WiFi? That makes no sense. WiFi is for data only, which means you're still using cellular for voice and texts. I'm not an engineer but I know that 2 radios consume more resources than 1.

The GSM radio for voice, texts and 2G data (it's a single radio) is always on, regardless of whether you're running on wifi or cellular data. So there will always be two radios on when you have 3G, 4G or WiFi data switched on as all three will use a separate radio to voice/texts. 3G and 4G tend to have to work off lower signal level levels than WiFi and therefore tend to use slightly more power than WiFi when in use. Hence, pulling data on a 3G or 4G network will typically use more power than on WiFi (for the same amount of use).

As Marty Larsson has highlighted, though, many people have limited cellular data limits but much higher or unlimited WiFi quotas. Therefore they don't use data as much on cellular as they do when they are connected to WiFi. So the battery gets more of a hammering on WiFi - but not because it's less power efficient, simply because the phone in general is doing more work (screen on, processor working hard, etc.).

[SwimSwim]

Same here. I got tired of constantly toggling wifi, Bluetooth, and cellular data on/off all the time and worrying over my battery life. I just leave all 3 on now and I don't notice much of a difference.

Ditto. Always leave 'em on, and still get 20 hours of battery life from my 1020, minimum. Really convenient, too, for when I need to use my phone as a hotspot for my SP2. Just go into my available connections, tap my phone, and it automatically sends a signal via Bluetooth for my phone to set up hotspot.

[fatclue_98]

Good thing you are not an engineer :)

Read what OP said. He watch online video on Vine. If you watch video on 4G or 3G connection instead of wifi, you may use more battery juice. Try it and you shall see. Your voice cellular radio is always there. The only difference here is which radio you use for large amount of data transfer.

And in case you haven't bother to read earlier posts, on idle, they don't make much of difference whether you have wifi on or not.

No, voice & SMS are not always there. The GSM radio can be toggled off and use BT or WiFi exclusively. If you had read one of MY earlier posts you would know that 3g/4G/LTE will consume a lot of power if it has to hunt for a signal because of spotty coverage. GSM power consumption has everything to do with strength of signal so what works for you or me, may not apply to the next guy.

[OzRob]

No, voice & SMS are not always there. The GSM radio can be toggled off and use BT or WiFi exclusively. If you had read one of MY earlier posts you would know that 3g/4G/LTE will consume a lot of power if it has to hunt for a signal because of spotty coverage. GSM power consumption has everything to do with strength of signal so what works for you or me, may not apply to the next guy.

How do you turn the GSM radio off (without putting the phone into flight mode)? It's the thing that keeps you connected to the cellular network.

[genuine555]

1. BT -> sucks the life out of your device before you could boot it

2. Data Connection -> compared to Wifi it also sucks quite a bit

3. Wifi ->lowest battery consumer out of the three


Also Background Tasks can suck life out of the battery.
Minimize those background tasks-<.m.

[SwimSwim]

1. BT -> sucks the life out of your device before you could boot it

2. Data Connection -> compared to Wifi it also sucks quite a bit

3. Wifi ->lowest battery consumer out of the three


Also Background Tasks can suck life out of the battery.
Minimize those background tasks-<.m.

I always leave BT on, and still get awesome battery life. Maybe if it's actively connected to something: then perhaps it's a battery hog.

Otherwise, it's impact on my 1020's battery is minimal to nonexistent. I like to leave it on so I easily pair my phone with my BT speaker, without any hassle or set up.

[anon(8657436)]

This question's answer depends on the state of the particular connection you are talking about, as in Active, Passive and Off.
Active means that data transfer is occurring, Passive means that the radio is switched on, Off means the radio is off.

Active: Bluetooth > 4G (LTE) > WiFi > 3G and 2G
Passive: Bluetooth > 4G (LTE) > 3G and 2G > WiFi

In the active state, bluetooth keeps looking for devices to connect to and broadcasts a bluetooth signal to allow other devices to discover it. The latter is one of the greatest causes of battery drain apart from actual data transfer. To prevent it, you should turn off "Visibility/Discovery" which is something not available on all devices.
The battery consumption from any cellular connection depends a lot on the signal stability and strength, so prefer 3G and 2G over LTE because as of now LTE doesn't have a great network.
WiFi in the active state doesn't consume too much power as the data transfers are completed in a shorted period of time and the radio remains idle for more time than compared to cellular connections.

In the passive state, bluetooth searches for discoverable devices making it drain too much battery. WiFi when idle has no network activity and hence the radio 'sleeps' to allow for power savings. (PS: Allowing your device to automatically discover hotspots will drain a lot of juice as it requires the WiFi radio to both transmit and receive WiFi signals.)

I hope I have solved your problems.

[HoosierDaddy]

In the active state, bluetooth keeps looking for devices to connect to and broadcasts a bluetooth signal to allow other devices to discover it. The latter is one of the greatest causes of battery drain apart from actual data transfer. To prevent it, you should turn off "Visibility/Discovery" which is something not available on all devices.

As you say that option isn't available on all devices, including my 925. However, it's settings seem to indicate that it is only in discovery mode while the Bluetooth setting page is open. So is that the equivalent of turning discovery off on the devices that have that option? And by equivalent, I am only talking about power usage, not the steps to pair a phone.

Also, aren't there different versions of Bluetooth that use power differently? And if so, do any of them change the hierarchy you listed?

TIA