[kevdasev]

I have a 9800 and I found a great way to save battery. It only works where there's wifi though. I just turn off my 3G and put it to 2G and keep data services on. It's great

[gregorylkelly]

I also found a great way to save battery. I press and hold the power button for a few seconds. There is litterally NO battery drain until I press the power button again

[supamas]

awesome! what kind of a difference did you find? i always wonder if that actually helps battery life

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[youknwwho]

Not new at all. 2G is way slower on data than on 3G which save battery.
If you had wifi every you live+work+play, it'll be way better than 3g on it own

[byul]

It kills the purpose though but it saves some precious battery life in return.

[dcgore]

That's the thing about the 9700 i never had to worry about. I think it's silly to go to all these "extremes" for you to make the phone work...it should be the opposite.

At any rate, thanks for the tip.

[calicocat2010]

Sadly, for those that don't have the option to make just WIFI calls and even receive Calls through it don't have the majority to save battery this way.I just tried it with turning off my mobile network but keeping data services on. Didn't work. I have 4G on mine for .402

[Masahiro]

It kills the purpose though but it saves some precious battery life in return.

Hardly. The only major differences between 2G and 3G are web browsing speeds (maybe takes around twice as long to load web pages), streaming media (don't even try on EDGE) and the fact that you can't use data while on calls.

For everything else, like emailing, messaging, etc., it's pretty much not noticeable.

The tradeoff is perhaps around a 50% increase in battery life if I were to lowball it.

[Joltcola1234]

2G saving on battery is not a complete truth, actually.

depending on what you are doing with the phone, having it set to 2G can actually consume more battery. If you have the phone sitting idle or just using messaging/calls, 2G will more then likely save you some battery.

If however you are using data services like the browser, facebook, weather app, etc. The slower loading speeds can actually put more strain on your battery then the quicker loading 3G or H+ speeds would.

So whether or not 2G will save you some battery life is really dependent on what you are doing with the phone.

[gregorylkelly]

2G saving on battery is not a complete truth, actually.

depending on what you are doing with the phone, having it set to 2G can actually consume more battery. If you have the phone sitting idle or just using messaging/calls, 2G will more then likely save you some battery.

If however you are using data services like the browser, facebook, weather app, etc. The slower loading speeds can actually put more strain on your battery then the quicker loading 3G or H+ speeds would.

So whether or not 2G will save you some battery life is really dependent on what you are doing with the phone.

The OP is saying this works when using WiFi too. 2G + WiFi saves battery compared to 3G (according to OP).

[phonephreak1987]

I have a Blackberry Curve 9350 and the life sucks even though I've got spotty 3G in my building. But still, my phone lasts longer than 12 hours and I'm a super heavy user so it makes sense .

Sent from my BlackBerry 9350 using Tapatalk

[Joltcola1234]

The OP is saying this works when using WiFi too. 2G + WiFi saves battery compared to 3G (according to OP).

There's no need for 2G at all if you are using WiFi.

Unless you don't have WiFi calling.

[ichat]

Yes. You need data services on because I did a mini experiment right now. I tried sending a mail to my phone and it didn't receive it. The bb doesn't use wifi for receiving and sending push email. Only through data services

Sent from my BlackBerry 9860 on 7.1.0.342 with Tapatalk and my fingers

[Masahiro]

If however you are using data services like the browser, facebook, weather app, etc. The slower loading speeds can actually put more strain on your battery then the quicker loading 3G or H+ speeds would.

Actually, my battery drains far more quickly while browsing on HSPA. You must have been using it in an area with spotty 2G coverage.

[Joltcola1234]

Actually, my battery drains far more quickly while browsing on HSPA. You must have been using it in an area with spotty 2G coverage.

I can't find info to support 2G vs H+ (although I didn't really look that hard ), but here is something that might help you understand what I am saying.

2G GPRS vs. 3G UMTS connection battery usage on mobile phones � /contrib/famzah

Here is a quote from the linked article:

Here is an example to illustrate the above statement. Let’s assume that we want to download 1000 Kbytes:

2G: 1000 Kbytes at download speed 8 Kbytes/s will take 125 seconds. At the power usage of 1.27W this will take about 159 Watts-seconds (125 seconds * 1.27 Watts).
3G: 1000 Kbytes at download speed 65 Kbytes/s will take 15 seconds. At the power usage of 1.69W this will take 26 Watts-seconds (15 seconds * 1.69 Watts).
Therefore, using 3G the consumption has decreased to 16.3%! Yes, in this case 3G would use six times less energy from the phone battery, if we downloaded the same amount of data using 2G, at maximum speeds.

[Masahiro]

Although I'm no electronics engineer, those numbers were taken from a Nokia. It would probably look a lot different for BlackBerrys. The assertion that 3G uses six times less energy from the phone battery when downloading the same amount of data just doesn't seem applicable to my experiences (and I've done a lot of switching back and forth between the two networks to try and find the right balance for me), which I've monitored through MeterBerry.

Here's an (unscientific) example. I have a spare battery for my 9900 sitting in my wallet. I used it maybe a couple times a week when using the phone on HSPA+. Since switching over to EDGE (and it's been a few weeks now), I haven't had to use it once.

[Joltcola1234]

There are a lot of factors that effect that though, you can't just say "my phone lasts longer when I'm on 2G compared to when I'm on 3G" or in your case, H+.

You have to factor in what in particular you are doing on the phone, the signal strength of coverage between 2G vs 3G/H+, phone settings, etc. There is a whole slew of things to consider.

The example I posted is based on a Nokia, but the general idea stands despite the numbers almost certainly being slightly different based on BlackBerry technology.

It's a pretty simple concept to understand, 2G = websites take twice as long to load (your words - I actually think its longer) compared to 3G/H+ = The battery is being taxed harder.

I'm certain that in many cases people might get better battery life out of 2G, such as in your case, but like I said, other factors need to be considered. From what I understand, under optimal conditions 2G can and will use more battery for data use.

[Masahiro]

It's a pretty simple concept to understand, 2G = websites take twice as long to load (your words - I actually think its longer) compared to 3G/H+ = The battery is being taxed harder.

I'm certain that in many cases people might get better battery life out of 2G, such as in your case, but like I said, other factors need to be considered. From what I understand, under optimal conditions 2G can and will use more battery for data use.

In my case, the only thing I change is the network setting (from 3G only to 2G only). I track the battery going to and from work mostly, so it's not like I'm going out in the middle of the ocean with 3G on.

I can see how 3G can save a bit of battery life while it's loading up websites, but you have to consider how much time is actually spent waiting for a website to load compared to doing other things. How many minutes in the day does your phone spend loading up websites? Maybe five? Let's say five minutes. How much of a difference will it make if that time is divided by two or even four? Let's assume the phone spends one minute of the day loading up websites instead of five minutes. Will that four minutes really matter?

I know I'm pulling numbers out of thin air, but the basic idea is the same. Either way, I don't think this argument will really go anywhere. You have your numbers, I have my experiences.

[Joltcola1234]

In my case, the only thing I change is the network setting (from 3G only to 2G only). I track the battery going to and from work mostly, so it's not like I'm going out in the middle of the ocean with 3G on.

I can see how 3G can save a bit of battery life while it's loading up websites, but you have to consider how much time is actually spent waiting for a website to load compared to doing other things. How many minutes in the day does your phone spend loading up websites? Maybe five? Let's say five minutes. How much of a difference will it make if that time is divided by two or even four? Let's assume the phone spends one minute of the day loading up websites instead of five minutes. Will that four minutes really matter?

I know I'm pulling numbers out of my , but the basic idea is the same. Either way, I don't think this argument will really go anywhere. You have your numbers, I have my experiences.

Agree to disagree is the only option