[Q] Automatically turn on Wifi ONLY when charging? - General Questions and Answers

Hi everybody,
Forgive me if the answer has been posted to this, but I have not been able to find it.
I live in a huge apartment, that sadly do not have proper wifi coverage. This means that when I am in half of the apartment I can reach my router but with signal so low that it is useless. The result is no wifi and no 3G unless I turn wifi off.
So I was thinking, when I am in the wifi reachable part of my apartment, I usually have my phone charging. I only use wifi for syncing, so charging is a good idea anyways.
So here is my question: Is there a way (or an app) that would make my Desire HD automatically turn on wifi ONLY when I connect to an AC charger or USB, and turn wifi off when I unplug the phone again?
This could make my life so much easier. I hope someone is able to help me with this.
Thanks in advance...
Kingkeld.

I think this is possible with tasker, but i am not sure

Or with SuperPower.

Poapfel said:
I think this is possible with tasker, but i am not sure
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It is possible with tasker, I have a similar profile

Go for Tasker, it's a bit clunky but you'll pick up how to set the rules quickly.
Pretty sure you can set it up so that wifi will come on when it's plugged in and you're home (detected by the phone network) so that if you are at a friend's and plug your phone in it won't automatically turn wifi on.

xaccers said:
Go for Tasker, it's a bit clunky but you'll pick up how to set the rules quickly.
Pretty sure you can set it up so that wifi will come on when it's plugged in and you're home (detected by the phone network) so that if you are at a friend's and plug your phone in it won't automatically turn wifi on.
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Thanks, everyone. I will try them both out.

Related

Use WiFi when available without turning it on

Hi guys,
I am new to amdroid platform. I've been using symbian before this. I want to know as to how do I auto use wifi when. Available without manually turning it on. Below is a use case scenario.
I have configured wifi as well as gprs. I have turned off background sync so as to conserve battery and the wifi is off. Now when my active sync want to connect to server to synchronize emails, it should auto check if I have a nearby wifi already configured. If yes, then turn on the wifi, sync the data and close the connection thereby disconnecting from wlan. If a known wlan network is not available, use the data plan of my service provider to get the job done.
Now I know for sure that when I've wifi turned off, the phone is not always connected to 3G. It uses it only if requested by an application. But when I turn ON wifi, it always remains connected to the known network. I want to avoid this for saving battery.
Please let me know if there is an app for that. I am using HTC DESIRE Z running Froyo (non rooted). I dont mind rooting the phone for this thing but only if a standard way is not available.
Thanks in advance,
Karan
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
I think Juice Defender does exactly what you're looking for.
Or Tasker if you really want to customize and make it location-based.
Good luck, and welcome to Android! I also came from Symbian.
Technically the phone can't know if there is wifi available unless wifi is on..
However, a tool like Tasker can use various contexts in order to determine if Wifi is to be turned on. For example you could use cell tower ID's to determine if you're at a certain (fairly wide area) location, like "at work". Or you could use GPS to get more fine tuned information, however it doesn't necessarily work indoors.
Or Tasker could also turn on Wifi if ActiveSync is running, assuming it's a distinct program it can detect.
I see in the time I opened the thread and responded someone else suggested Tasker as well. It's several bucks but it's well worth it, it does a LOT.
You should try an app called "Y5".
JuiceDefender does this for me. It must use gps positioning to determine if you are in an area that you have as a familiar wireless network. When I am home my wifi turns on and connects automatically. When I leave it shuts it off. JuiceDefender is great for many reasons beyond this.
foppa78 said:
JuiceDefender does this for me. It must use gps positioning to determine if you are in an area that you have as a familiar wireless network.
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GPS uses tons more battery power than just leaving WiFi on would. It might be using cell tower triangulation for a rough area, but I doubt it. The most efficient way to detect if familiar wireless is near, is to turn the WiFi on for a minute or so and do a scan.
kmmerwana said:
Now I know for sure that when I've wifi turned off, the phone is not always connected to 3G. It uses it only if requested by an application. But when I turn ON wifi, it always remains connected to the known network. I want to avoid this for saving battery.
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WiFi doesn't use power to maintain the connection until it's needed, or something wakes it and it realizes its no longer connected. 3G uses power to track cell tower connectivity and stay connected, but it is very little. WiFi only uses more power when you're in an unfamiliar location, since it actively scans for new wireless networks.

data conection/wifi question

if i have bouth data and wifi turned on and i am connected to a wifi spot...do i need to turn off the data conection first before it will stop sucking my topup?
shouldnt the device make sure it uses wifi if wireless network is available?
No, you don't need to.
When you connect to a wi-fi connection, the 3G data will automatically switch off (logo on status bar will go away) and it will return when you switch wi-fi off.
funstuffalex said:
if i have bouth data and wifi turned on and i am connected to a wifi spot...do i need to turn off the data conection first before it will stop sucking my topup?
shouldnt the device make sure it uses wifi if wireless network is available?
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what?
The phone will prioritize the WiFi connection over the 3G connection unless the WiFi is turned off, it's signal drops out(resulting in a disconnects), or you have the default still set for WiFi to turn off when the screen is off.
Am I right in thinking that although the 3g connection will kick in when the wifi signal is lost the phone will still continue looking for a wifi signal and therefore impact on the battery?
xspyda said:
Am I right in thinking that although the 3g connection will kick in when the wifi signal is lost the phone will still continue looking for a wifi signal and therefore impact on the battery?
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Once the WiFi signal it's connected to is lost, it will switch the data 3G connection back on. Once you're out of range of remembered WiFi networks, it does scan for new/known WiFi signals to automatically connect to(only in the case of known signals, it will not try to connect to unknown networks).
As far as impact on battery, I don't think it's much. Only one time has WiFi ever creeped up on my battery use meter and that was on a particularly light day. I still finished my work day at little over 70% battery. There's an app on the market called WiFi Toggle which can help you automatically manage the phones WiFi chip. For instance, one setting will let it turn the WiFi on for a second, scan for known networks and connect if it finds them. If it doesn't, it turns it back off.
That's as I thought, thanks for the confirmation. I'd really like something to make the android phones act like the nokias in this respect - only turn on a data connection when needed (ie when the browser is fired up) and also prioritise the connections such that if a pre programmed known wifi network is available it will connect to that but if not switch to 3g data. There is no scanning for wifi networks all the time.
Nice to know it doesn't seem to impact on the battery though and yes before anyone mentions it I am aware android devices are designed to be always connected
xspyda said:
That's as I thought, thanks for the confirmation. I'd really like something to make the android phones act like the nokias in this respect - only turn on a data connection when needed (ie when the browser is fired up) and also prioritise the connections such that if a pre programmed known wifi network is available it will connect to that but if not switch to 3g data. There is no scanning for wifi networks all the time.
Nice to know it doesn't seem to impact on the battery though and yes before anyone mentions it I am aware android devices are designed to be always connected
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I've been saying this for a while too. I came from Nokia symbian phones where they initiated the data session only when needed, like opening the browser etc. Android does not do this, instead it keeps a data session on all the time. Anytime you see that 3g symbol on an android phone means its data session is open. This is why android gets such poor battery life across all models and manufacturers.
Take one day as a test and simulate your symbian use by turning off mobile data, and your battery life will sky rocket on your nexus. So really It's just a trade off to make knowing you're always connected vs on others like symbian you need to manually do something to open the connection.
Oh and WiFi gets so much better battery life over 3g on android.

[Q] Is there a way to create a shortcut to my cellphone on the Xoom?

OK I know how to create a general shortcut, but what I am looking for is a way to create a shortcut to the BT connection to my cell. I have a WiFi only Xoom and when I am away from a hotspot I tether over BT to my cell. It would be great if I could make a shortcut so I would not have to go into settings>Bluetooth settings> etc. I use App Protector to password protect my settings page so what would normally take 6 clicks takes 10. A one click option sure would be nice.
Tasker. 'When Wifi not connected, connect bluetooth to device'
Thanks for the reply, but I do not want it to automatically tether. That would drastically reduce my cell phone battery life.
Why not wifi tether?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
HuckFinn said:
Thanks for the reply, but I do not want it to automatically tether. That would drastically reduce my cell phone battery life.
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I haven't messed with my tasker lately, but I think you can add a widget to activate certain profiles.
DroidHam said:
Why not wifi tether?
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
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WiFi tethering would mean I have to do something with the phone to make it work. The beauty of the BT tether is that I never have to touch my phone. As long as bluetooth is on, I can simply connect from the Xoom and I am good.
Also for some reason I have had much better luck with the BT tethering. It seems the WiFi hotspot feature on my phone will shut off if there is too long of an idle time. I tried playing with the settings but still had issues where I had to restart it. BT tethering seems to be very stable.
Kcarpenter said:
I haven't messed with my tasker lately, but I think you can add a widget to activate certain profiles.
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Thanks I will have to look into tasker. I have not used it and have heard it is pretty powerful, I will just have to consider if it is worth the $$.
HuckFinn said:
Thanks I will have to look into tasker. I have not used it and have heard it is pretty powerful, I will just have to consider if it is worth the $$.
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I have found it to be worth the money just in battery savings on my Epic.
Have it scheduled to turn off Mobile Data, and turn on wifi from 8-11:30, Data back on at 11:30-12:30 and Wifi on 12:30-5.
For my Milestone2 I could see where this would help with battery life a bit, but since this is a WiFi only Xoom I am having a hard time figuring out what else I could automate.
Since you are a user of Tasker, could I make a profile that would do the following?
-If there is no WiFi connection AND the screen is on connect via BT to cellphoneXXX.
-Once the screen goes off disconnect BT connection.
If I could set that up then I would be ok with it automatically connecting to my cell phone. I just do not want it sucking up battery power on my cell for background syncing of email, etc. Most of the day my Xoom has a WiFi connection so it is not that big of a deal.
HuckFinn said:
For my Milestone2 I could see where this would help with battery life a bit, but since this is a WiFi only Xoom I am having a hard time figuring out what else I could automate.
Since you are a user of Tasker, could I make a profile that would do the following?
-If there is no WiFi connection AND the screen is on connect via BT to cellphoneXXX.
-Once the screen goes off disconnect BT connection.
If I could set that up then I would be ok with it automatically connecting to my cell phone. I just do not want it sucking up battery power on my cell for background syncing of email, etc. Most of the day my Xoom has a WiFi connection so it is not that big of a deal.
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I will look when I get home, but I am 90% certain you can.

[Q] Q - wifi takes precedence over mobile network?

Hi, I'm new to android, but tech aware. Not sure if this is android or Sensation (I'm on XE with thanks to Mike1986).
I use WiFi a lot, but also wander. I tend to forget to turn off the WiFi when I leave work/home/pub - not top of my list!
Whilst I'm wandering I often try to look something up, when WiFi's scanning, and wait for ages.
Shouldn't the 'system' failover to phone data access if WiFi is not connected - or at least ask me for an action?
As I say, I'm new to this - apologies.
Thanks
yes, it should fail over to data if it is not connected to WIFI.
Correct. If you have wifi enabled, leave the area like to work that has no wifi, then yes mobile network takes over.
But I go one above and use Llama location profiles. Where depending where are based on the conditions you set, you can trigger actions using this app. The app is free in the market and is an invaluable tool for me when I am leaving work, heading to the car with my bt and gets connected because I set my condition to look for a bt device if I am no longer connected to my wifi at work.
Gotta love Android
Hmmm. That's not the behaviour I'm seeing. Just thought it was an irritation. Should failover be auto or is there settings (or apps) to control it? I like the concept of profiles ... But you've got to be more organised than I!
nightjar56 said:
Hmmm. That's not the behaviour I'm seeing. Just thought it was an irritation. Should failover be auto or is there settings (or apps) to control it? I like the concept of profiles ... But you've got to be more organised than I!
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It's auto. Like my n1, whenever I am in range of a known wifi connection, the wifi will auto connect if wifi was left on from the prior location or out of range and back again, if that makes sense lol...
So if you go out and are out of wifi range, and you manually turn off wifi, then no wifi won't auto connect of course.
Yes, that all works fine - when I'm wandering in and out of wifi zones. My gripe/question is :
When I am out of wifi range, and wifi is on (scanning), should the phone fall back to the phone data connection? The behaviour I see is that connecting just hangs until I turn wifi off.
Thanks

Question AutoWear for turning on LTE only when Galaxy Watch 4 is disconnected from Wifi/ Bluetooth

Hello everyone,
Is there a possibility to use AutoWear to turn on LTE only when the watch is no longer connected to the phone via bluetooth or wifi? I'm sure this will save battery life. One presumption is that calls over wifi to the watch would work. If they don't, not much point of turning off LTE.
I read a few posts stating that AutoWear for Wear OS 3 may not be properly optimized. Is this still the case?
I found a similar topic posted in r/AndroidWear 4 years ago and at that time, the developer had said that this isn't possible as they didn't have access to the LTE radio. Does anyone know if that's how things still are?
Thank you
No need for this. There is an "auto" option under mobile networks on the connection settings on the watch that does exactly what you say.
Oh that's brilliant!
Does it still stay connected to the network and turn off mobile data or does it pretty much go on airplane mode with only wifi and bluetooth being on?
vigneshnm said:
Oh that's brilliant!
Does it still stay connected to the network and turn off mobile data or does it pretty much go on airplane mode with only wifi and bluetooth being on?
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It disables network connection shortly after you are connected to your phone via Bluetooth or Wifi.
Just to add that the same happens with Wifi. You can either fully deactivate it or have it on an auto setting where it turns on only if you are not connected to your phone via BT or for apps that required Wifi such as downloading songs on Spotify
That's exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks a lot for confirming this.
So essentially, if the watch is always connected to the phone, there shouldn't be much of a difference in the battery life between the LTE and non-LTE versions
There is only one problem - for me, setting LTE to car consumed 30% of the battery in 1 day, even though it did not lose the BT connection for a moment (maybe max 5 minutes).
SebaRoz said:
There is only one problem - for me, setting LTE to car consumed 30% of the battery in 1 day, even though it did not lose the BT connection for a moment (maybe max 5 minutes).
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Sorry, I didn't understand. Setting LTE to car? What does that mean?
vigneshnm said:
Sorry, I didn't understand. Setting LTE to car? What does that mean?
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I'm sure the author of the posts made the mistake. he wanted to say that the galaxy watch 4 has an error at the moment (01/21/2022)? at least for me, the bluetooth is connected, but the LTE connection stays connected as well, so the battery uses both BT and LTE, although my active2 when BT is connected, the LTE connection disconnects automatically ... although on the galaxy watch 4 the LTE connection is set to connect / disconnect automatically

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