Why is my WiFi constantly transmitting?

[jkreisberg22]

WiFi constantly transmitting

Hey all,

I have a lumia 920, am running w10m TP build 10536. My WiFi transmitting arrow is almost always "on," and my battery drain is substantial. I have searched the forums. I found posts (mainly on Android Central and XDA Dev's) that say the WiFi router is the culprit (most posts are from 2+ years ago). This almost always "on" occurs no matter which WiFi I'm using (home, starbucks, library, restaurant).

Steps I have done:
- Turned phone off, let sit 15+ mins, turn back on.
- Soft reset (hold power/vol dn until vibrate/reboot).
- Turn WiFi off and on.
- Turn airplane mode off and on.
- Hard reset without using backup to restore.

So far, no fix or solution.

Does anyone have any helpful hints, tips, or potential solutions?

I appreciate any help you may provide. Thanks in advance.

 

[gpobernardo]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

The battery drain in the TP is almost always associated with having the Location Service turned on... so try turning that off first and see if there will be noticeable improvements in your battery life... it may not be Wi-Fi after all.

 

[920Walker]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

The hard reset without backup is a good starting point.

Have you checked the Data Usage setting and looked at WiFi usage? The culprit app should hopefully rear its hungry head. From there, whether an app or system culprit, probe the settings of such app or remove it all together if suspect.

 

[realwarder]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

Are you sure you haven't just recorded a bunch of photos or video and it's uploading to OneDrive. That can take a while and uses Wi-Fi.

 

[broar94]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

Maybe it's because of the beta W10 OS itself. Do you get the same uplink behavior on Wp 8.1?

 

[jkreisberg22]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@gpobernardo: Location service is (and has remained) off.

 

[jkreisberg22]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@920Walker: When I try to open "Data Usage," the whole settings app closes and returns to the start screen - I can't (for some reason) access the Data Usage info...

 

[jkreisberg22]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@realwarder: I actually haven't taken a photo/video in several weeks, and OneDrive isn't allowed to "run in background."

 

[jkreisberg22]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@broar94: I've been on the w10mTP for about 2 months, but (if memory serves) I don't believe it did behave that way. I will also say that previous TP builds didn't behave that way.

 

[920Walker]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@920Walker: When I try to open "Data Usage," the whole settings app closes and returns to the start screen - I can't (for some reason) access the Data Usage info...

The same happened to me when I went to open the setting to look for the correct setting names when writing my previous post. I tried two more times and it eventually opened without a restart.

 

[gpobernardo]

Re: WiFi constantly transmitting

@gpobernardo: Location service is (and has remained) off.

It's possible to just "Quote" a post so the person will be notified about the reply made... just like this one. :smile:

There's another way to really determine if it's Wi-Fi that's draining your battery. Activate airplane mode and let it stay that way overnight, or for a prolonged period of time (as opposed to just turning airplane mode on and off quickly)... of course Wi-Fi should be kept off while airplane mode is on. If battery drain is less without Wi-Fi and cellular connections, then try activating Wi-Fi (only, not including cellular connections) then observe again. The goal is to eliminate all transmission-related causes in this manner (proceed to the next phase until a significant drop in battery life is observed - and the longer the observation (at least an hour), the better):

1. Everything (both cellular and Wi-Fi) turned off; (you should have good battery life here, otherwise it's not Wi-Fi that's causing the drain)
2. Only Wi-Fi turned on; (if battery life drops here, then it is Wi-Fi that's causing the drain)
3. Both Wi-Fi and cellular turned on but without mobile data; (if battery life drops here, it's GSM that's causing the drain)
4. Everything (Wi-Fi and cellular data) turned on. (if battery life drops here, it's mobile data that's causing the drain)