[fbihawk]

Now, I'm no novice when it comes to my blackberry but here's a question that will say different. Does having your wifi and bluetooth signal active all the time drain the battery significantly faster? I'm sure bluetooth does when it has an active connection but what about when it just sits there not connected?

[Jancy10]

Yes WiFi and Bluetooth will completely drain your battery faster, u should turn them off when not using them...

[Jared DiPane]

Having these active when not in use will affect your battery life. Personally I never keep my bluetooth powered on.

I notice your device says your on a storm, which does not have WiFi capabilities, unless you have changed since then.

[12MaNy]

Well, the Bold in his avatar is pretty obvious.


Yes, having bluetooth and wifi both enabled will drain your battery faster. Turn them off if you're not using them.

[Username00089]

Yes WiFi and Bluetooth will completely drain your battery faster, u should turn them off when not using them...

Well, the Bold in his avatar is pretty obvious.


Yes, having bluetooth and wifi both enabled will drain your battery faster. Turn them off if you're not using them.

With all due respect, these are very inaccurate statements.

If the phone is connected to Wi-Fi it will actually INCREASE battery life.

As far as the bluetooth goes, I'm not sure about that.

[amazinglygraceless]

With all due respect, these are very inaccurate statements.

If the phone is connected to Wi-Fi it will actually INCREASE battery life.

Stands to reason seeing as there is no searching for towers and such.

As far as the bluetooth goes, I'm not sure about that.

During the day I constantly have Bluetooth connected and it has no
marked effect on my battery life. Been that way with every BB I have had.

[elvin1983]

During the day I constantly have Bluetooth connected and it has no
marked effect on my battery life. Been that way with every BB I have had.

I only have my Bluetooth connected when I'm at home, since I'm lazy, and don't want to actually hold the phone to my head while I lay on the couch, but when it's not connected, I have the Bluetooth power on all day every day, just not set as discoverable, and I haven't noticed any significant drain on my battery. Even while it's connected to my headset, I haven't noticed any big difference between using the headset or not. I use my BB fairly regularly throughout the day, albeit mostly for messaging, and when I go to bed I always have more than half my battery still left, usually around 60-75 percent.

As for WiFi, I don't know...

[cdaiscool]

I would think that yes, it would cause your battery to drain faster, if nothing else because the radios are being used. They're taking power, supplying the radios to just listen for a connection.

I cannot see how the Wi-Fi would save battery, unless you had your cell radios off. Then maybe, since the cell radios wouldn't be authenticating with the service every so often.

[GregMargie]

I use my bluetooth every day, all day, and never have a battery problem.

[elvin1983]

I would think that yes, it would cause your battery to drain faster, if nothing else because the radios are being used. They're taking power, supplying the radios to just listen for a connection.

Understood, but I assume since Bluetooth only works in a limited radius from the BB (say 30ft) and if it wasn't transmitting any sort of signal (not being connected to anything, set in hidden mode) that it wouldn't drain the battery significantly. If you use a headset, or Bluetooth headphones with any regularity, the ease of keeping Bluetooth powered on for quick and easy connect and disconnect, I feel, outweighs the miniscule battery drain that it may or may not cause. Like I said, I haven't ever noticed that the battery drained any faster because Bluetooth was powered on, both on my 8330, and the Razr that I had prior to my BB.

[12MaNy]

With all due respect, these are very inaccurate statements.

If the phone is connected to Wi-Fi it will actually INCREASE battery life.

As far as the bluetooth goes, I'm not sure about that.

Actually, the statements are very accurate...bluetooth and wifi being enabled will affect battery life. We were talking about having them enabled...not being connected to them.

[fbihawk]

Well I'm glad my simple little question became such a great debate I've honestly never turned off my wifi and usually go 1 1/2 - 2 days on a full charge with pretty heavy use. I do see the point on all sides. Yes, it will drain the battery because the it is searching for a connection. But then on the other side if I'm connected to wifi and on the internet, it will actually save battery because wifi uses less power than the 3g connection. I recently paired my phone with my gps and haven't really tried leaving the bluetooth connection on at all times so it will connect automatically when i get into the car

Oh, and for the record I do have a bold. I just hadn't updated it in my profile (reference my signature)

[12MaNy]

The bluetooth will drain your battery more than the wifi. If you only had wifi enabled (not connected), you might not even notice it because it's so slight. However, with bluetooth its like having one of your smaller apps open.

[anon(19759)]

I never turn off bt, whether it's connected or not, and have no issues with battery life. I have it set to non-discoverable, so I don't think it's using any power while enabled, not connected. It's not searching or broadcasting.

[Username00089]

Actually, the statements are very accurate...bluetooth and wifi being enabled will affect battery life. We were talking about having them enabled...not being connected to them.

How would they drain battery by simply being enabled then?

[cdaiscool]

Understood, but I assume since Bluetooth only works in a limited radius from the BB (say 30ft) and if it wasn't transmitting any sort of signal (not being connected to anything, set in hidden mode) that it wouldn't drain the battery significantly. If you use a headset, or Bluetooth headphones with any regularity, the ease of keeping Bluetooth powered on for quick and easy connect and disconnect, I feel, outweighs the miniscule battery drain that it may or may not cause. Like I said, I haven't ever noticed that the battery drained any faster because Bluetooth was powered on, both on my 8330, and the Razr that I had prior to my BB.

I know that when I did it, I noticed it drained a little bit but I preferred having the headset on as I walked, cleaned, and hung out and not having to do anything with the phone. That's the price you pay.

The Wi-Fi, however, would be much more powerful of a radio, and therefore the drain would be considerably worse.

[12MaNy]

How would they drain battery by simply being enabled then?

Trust me, it does...not by much, but yeah it does. It's like having a smaller app open. It's not going to suck your battery dry in a matter of minutes, but it does affect battery life.

Now, if your question is "Does it drain battery life considerably fast?" The answer is "No".