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[Q] Mobile data battery drain while travelling

I have realised something with all the Samsung Android's I've used over the years.
When one has been in a known area with mobile data on, regardless of wifi state, like home or work, standby battery drain is normal, 1% per 1-3 hrs. However, when one begins to travel, with mobile data on, battery idle drain becomes 1% per 10-20 minutes pretty immediately.
This is regardless of whether Wifi is On or Off (obviously disconnected in both cases).
I have ran so many tests on this with the S3, S5, N2 and N3, and all the results are the same, battery drain goes wild when one begins to travel.
I have tried turning location on/off, syncing on/off and again results are pretty much exactly the same.
It's got to be something to do with how well the phones deal with handshakes from cell tower to cell tower, but it really shouldn't eat the battery so much. The iPhone for example performs much better in this situation.
Has anyone come across this and any ideas?

I will try to explain what may is the problem in simple words. I am studying computer and electronic engineering and we had a class this semester based on phone signals.
When you stay at home your phone is connected on the phone company's antenna. To connect you need to exchange some info so i think this will consume some power. Also one you are connected the amount of data receiving and sending are the minimum possible.
When you travel your phone has to keep connect on an other antenna and keep searching for signal. Many connecting tries may fail due to bad signal and based on the phone and the company, if your phone keep change on 3G for better signal this "change" is that consumes much power.
This is probably the reason. I may be wrong because we did only some base things over the wireless communications signals.
Different phones operate different on the signal density. Good density better signal = better battery life

Phone radio battery drain is high although you have excellent coverage ? Here is why

My S8 plus had terrible battery life compared to the reviews . I get an average of 3-5 hours of SOT
i opened the stock android battery monitor and couldn't see what was eating up My battery so i downloaded the gsam monitor and found out that the phone radio was totaling a 60-70% of my consumption even exceeding my screen power consumption.
But i had excellent coverage(always full bars and -70 to -60 dbms)why would my phone radio consumption be that high ??
And my phone could last up to 11 hours of screen on time with continuous wifi websurfing with no mobile data usage so i know it isnt defective
Well i decided to do some research and testing.
In my country the cellphone network companies signed a national roaming agreement in an attempt to allow better coverage , which basically means that i can connect to any tower in my country even if its not the one that belongs to my provider. Which makes my phone always looking for the tower that has a stronger signal and switching to it.
I then decided to put that theory to the test and downloaded an app that lets me see the towers i am connected to
Check out the madness
https://youtu.be/n1VEjeskadU
3 towers in an area of less than 300 meters raduis and my phone keeps switching up between them .
So no matter what i do i will get the battery life of a roaming device ?

Chuck 3310 said:
My S8 plus had terrible battery life compared to the reviews . I get an average of 3-5 hours of SOT
i opened the stock android battery monitor and couldn't see what was eating up My battery so i downloaded the gsam monitor and found out that the phone radio was totaling a 60-70% of my consumption even exceeding my screen power consumption.
But i had excellent coverage(always full bars and -70 to -60 dbms)why would my phone radio consumption be that high ??
And my phone could last up to 11 hours of screen on time with continuous wifi websurfing with no mobile data usage so i know it isnt defective
Well i decided to do some research and testing.
In my country the cellphone network companies signed a national roaming agreement in an attempt to allow better coverage , which basically means that i can connect to any tower in my country even if its not the one that belongs to my provider. Which makes my phone always looking for the tower that has a stronger signal and switching to it.
I then decided to put that theory to the test and downloaded an app that lets me see the towers i am connected to
Check out the madness
https://youtu.be/n1VEjeskadU
3 towers in an area of less than 300 meters raduis and my phone keeps switching up between them .
So no matter what i do i will get the battery life of a roaming device ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That the same issue i am facing here. I'm using lycamobile during my visit in germany and i noticed a heavy battery drain during the standby. Usually i disconnect my phone from the charger before i sleep so i always loose arround 6 to 7% also i can confirm that roaming is actually consumes lots of juice specially mobile data. While in wifi network the battery life is great.
Try to use a local sim card like Vodafone or etesalat and compare it to the one you are using. Cheers
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Amar.B said:
That the same issue i am facing here. I'm using lycamobile during my visit in germany and i noticed a heavy battery drain during the standby. Usually i disconnect my phone from the charger before i sleep so i always loose arround 6 to 7% also i can confirm that roaming is actually consumes lots of juice specially mobile data. While in wifi network the battery life is great.
Try to use a local sim card like Vodafone or etesalat and compare it to the one you are using. Cheers
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do have a local line which is orange previously was mobinil . You missed the point I am not talking about international roaming . The issue is national roaming in egypt . As since 2007 the 3 major companies signed an agreement

Chuck 3310 said:
I do have a local line which is orange previously was mobinil . You missed the point I am not talking about international roaming . The issue is national roaming in egypt . As since 2007 the 3 major companies signed an agreement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha i got your point now. Well i am not sure how you are going to solve this problem as you can't do nothing about it. Have you experienced the same issues with your previous android phones!
You shouldn't have any problems with battery as your network provider assigns automatically to the nearest tower to insure the best network reception.
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Amar.B said:
Aha i got your point now. Well i am not sure how you are going to solve this problem as you can't do nothing about it. Have you experienced the same issues with your previous android phones!
You shouldn't have any problems with battery as your network provider assigns automatically to the nearest tower to insure the best network reception.
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The constant connection and disconnection from towers does drain battery
My previous smartphones always had a battery life that is sub par with reviews

So today i activated tge 4g service on my sim card as the national roaming doesnt work on 4g . And to have 4g u have to be connected to your providers tower only ... and guess what ?
upload photo
upload photo
That SOT was continuous surfing using 4g and 20 mins of youtube using wifi and a mere 15 mins of playing fallout shelter
This is astonishing for me

Question [BATTERY] Post your GW4 size and battery life

Post your watch model and battery life, you can answer the poll to get some stats going

Better than expected but I expected bad

Mine is great. I have all the sensors turned on, always on display, tilt to wake, a lot of notifications on, and I also have Google Fit on and counting steps (just to see which app is more accurate). I charge it around 8-9, then put it on around 10:30pm to go to sleep, I do put it into sleeping mode, then on normal from around 7am to 8-9pm. It had 40% battery left last night when I put it on the charger. I'd guess in normal mode I would get around 24 hours.

2nd charge

It is really better than I expected. I passed on Watch3 because of this issue. Coming from a Watch (1). I have a classic 46mm. Not running wifi (only bluetooth) and was getting about 2 days with no workouts or gps. This is with notifications on with gmail and texts but that is it. Doing workouts and/or gps about a day and a half.
My last charge (which I believe is third time I charged it) lasted nearly 3 days (2 days, 20 hours). This was during this week and I was busy with work so pretty much no workouts but walked about 6,000 steps each day. I did not turn on power saving modes and went down to 1%. At 1% the watch was still syncing with phone.

First time use was this result. Now try it with this watch face. Like it because has compass and alot of other stuff

LTE version, about 2 weeks of use total. This is not exactly correct as getting notifications takes battery that is unexpected so it won't last that long

Ok I have had the GW1 46mm lte the GW3 in 41mm and 45mm both lte models and the GW4 in 42 mm and 46mm both lte
To ask the question on battery life you need to specify on lte models if lte is on ....off ...or on auto and
If you are in a low signal strength area ... if you are using remote connection to watch or are on 3g ...or 4g voicecalls
As a guide go onto 4g remote connection always on ....with bluetooth off ....wifi off....gps.off basically everything off apart from lte connection then go into a poor signal area from your provider you will not last 20mins before you overheat on a GW4 AND the battery drops by 20 percent ....hence do this a few times the battery is dead in 2 hours..?..or less
Do the sa e thing in a high signal strength area you can get over a days use and no overheating
But if you try just linking by bluetooth to your phone and turn every thing else off then same watch gets 2 and a bit days
Hence in answering the (how long does your bettery last question ?)
You need to say model of watch ....and what was turned on and what was off ..?and if lte model if it was on and in use and the signal strength during the test ...

Hi all,
I have also recently bought one - GW4 classic 46 mm LTE.
On the attached screenshot you can see how I am with the battery life - roughly 2 days. That's the maximum with the following settings:
LET - OFF - I haven't activated a mobile plan
GPS - OFF
Wifi - OFF
AOD -OFF
NFC - OFF
Brightness - around 40%,
Bedtime mode - scheduled from 00:00 to 07:30 + Power saving for the same period
All smart gestures (raise to wake, gestures for answering/dismissing calls and notifications, quick launch) - ON
Notifications with turning display on for Viber, Gmail, Slack(not always), Phone, Yahoo Mail, FB Messenger, Calendar, Clock, Phone Messages) - ON
Vibration - OFF
Samsung Health monitoring features - OFF (only steps counting )
I have several calls during the day, and a light to moderate number of notifications.
My battery lasts around 43/6 hours - almost two days.
What's your opinion, guys? Am I doing well in terms of battery life, or is my battery underperforming for its capabilities?
P.S. This is my 3d charge cycle.

Alfiedog said:
....... As a guide go onto 4g remote connection always on ....with bluetooth off ....wifi off....gps.off basically everything off apart from lte connection then go into a poor signal area from your provider you will not last 20mins before you overheat on a GW4 AND the battery drops by 20 percent ....hence do this a few times the battery is dead in 2 hours..?..or less
Do the sa e thing in a high signal strength area you can get over a days use and no overheating
But if you try just linking by bluetooth to your phone and turn every thing else off then same watch gets 2 and a bit days ............
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@Alfiedog, interesting point. Are you basically saying that my battery will last longer if I am on LTE with BT, Wifi and GPS off?

Question Is LTE version really heating?

I have ordered LTE version and now I read in some forums and Youtube that Bluetooth version is working fine in every aspect but the LTE version is getting heated too much, especially while calling
My question is does everyone have the same opinion ? It is getting heated only when LTE coverage is low ?
Does it get heated while calling using standalone LTE mode or heating is there even if stream using watch LTE ?
Is there any chance Samsung would fix it or it could be because of Exynos or other hardware issues?

No heating issues and have LTE always on. My signal has good 4G coverage...

Yes, overheating is an issue for me especially when signal is low. Low signal makes the gw4 overheat in about a minute. When calling with good coverage you should be able to talk at least 5 minutes before overheating. Standby on LTE is not an issue if not transferring lots of data.

I don't have any heating problem... until I switch to LTE.
When using the Bluetooth, the battery drain is minimal, and the watch stays cold.
When using LTE (no problem with the signal), the watch heats a lot, especially when it's trying to connect to the phone. Yes because We don't receive most notifications if the phone is not connected. Battery drain is also huge. Like 4 or 5 times the Bluetooth usage.
I wanted to send it back, but tbh, I don't leave my phone away that often. Except in the swimming pool or the shower, where heat is not an issue, I almost always have my phone at Bluetooth range.
So I kept it, that's a good watch, the biggest flaw is the battery life.

I have both 44mm and 46mm and both overheat un low signal areas while on a phone call

As others have said, if you have LOW signal, cover it up or whatever to create low signal it's gonna overheat and suck your battery dry. The GW3 LTE did the same thing.
I sleep with my arm UNDER my pillow. I've learned to turn off LTE at night or I'll enjoy a nice dead battery and missed sleep tracking in the morning.

I wonder if the Apple watch has these issues?

galaxys said:
No heating issues and have LTE always on. My signal has good 4G coverage...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also please comment on the battery performance with LTE.

jonstatt said:
I have both 44mm and 46mm and both overheat un low signal areas while on a phone call
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Batter is fine with LTE?

pocoag123 said:
Batter is fine with LTE?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. The calls I made were VoLTE. Still overheat. Small amounts of Data is OK like notifications. Just phone calls cause problems.

jonstatt said:
No. The calls I made were VoLTE. Still overheat. Small amounts of Data is OK like notifications. Just phone calls cause problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you own Classic varient or the normal varient? It is learned that only the GW4 over heat and there is no issue with classic varient.

galaxys said:
No heating issues and have LTE always on. My signal has good 4G coverage...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yours is GW4 or GW4 classic?

Nat.smith26 said:
I don't have any heating problem... until I switch to LTE.
When using the Bluetooth, the battery drain is minimal, and the watch stays cold.
When using LTE (no problem with the signal), the watch heats a lot, especially when it's trying to connect to the phone. Yes because We don't receive most notifications if the phone is not connected. Battery drain is also huge. Like 4 or 5 times the Bluetooth usage.
I wanted to send it back, but tbh, I don't leave my phone away that often. Except in the swimming pool or the shower, where heat is not an issue, I almost always have my phone at Bluetooth range.
So I kept it, that's a good watch, the biggest flaw is the battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have GW4 or GW4 classic? According to the latest info it seems heating issue is with GW4 only and not with classic version.

pocoag123 said:
Do you own Classic varient or the normal varient? It is learned that only the GW4 over heat and there is no issue with classic varient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both! And BOTH overheat. The classic might go a few more seconds before overheating but both do it

pocoag123 said:
Yours is GW4 or GW4 classic?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is the GW4 LTE. What's yours?

galaxys said:
Mine is the GW4 LTE. What's yours?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am still waiting for my pre-order of GW4 to arrive. GW4 is thinner than classic and if slimness is the reason for heat I thought I should cancel GW4 and reorder Classic version, that's why asked.

Just adding my experience. I have both a 46 Classic and a 44 Regular/Non-classic. Both overheat (in fact the Classic seems slightly more prone to it but only slightly).
Overheating occurs when LTE signal is low, and actively using the LTE connection (calls, updating/downloading an app, streaming music etc.). Just being on standby / remote connection to phone to display notifications seems relatively fine. Though the Non-Classic did shut down one time just receiving a text message.
I mostly have my phone with me, and LTE is just for emergency use, so I can live with it but it is beyond annoying. I would much rather they run modem at lower power / treat low signal as no signal than ramp up the power and cause phone to shut down.

My watch 4 44 LTE overheaths too when LTE signal is too low.

shaune said:
Just adding my experience. I have both a 46 Classic and a 44 Regular/Non-classic. Both overheat (in fact the Classic seems slightly more prone to it but only slightly).
Overheating occurs when LTE signal is low, and actively using the LTE connection (calls, updating/downloading an app, streaming music etc.). Just being on standby / remote connection to phone to display notifications seems relatively fine. Though the Non-Classic did shut down one time just receiving a text message.
I mostly have my phone with me, and LTE is just for emergency use, so I can live with it but it is beyond annoying. I would much rather they run modem at lower power / treat low signal as no signal than ramp up the power and cause phone to shut down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the exact same situation.
They have a lot of work on optimization.

Question Battery Life: Lte watch in bluetooth mode vs bluetooth only watch

I checked all the topics (one topic with 2 answers mentions that) and I didn't find an answer to my question, which is:
Is using only bluetooth connection on LTE version watch has worse performance than using watch with only bluetooth version?
Manual says it is possible to change LTE connection to "always off" in the settings, so theoretically battery life should be the same.
And while you are already here, one more question: LTE connection allows only to recieve calls and sms, no app notifs as standalone, right?
I am facing a decission which one 46mm classic shall I buy, and LTE is only 20$ more so I wonder, as I would use eSIM ocasionally, if I should get more expensive one (price for plan taken into account, low cost).
Most worrying are stories that right out of the box LTE versions battery life is pathetic; not even reaching 18hrs not even connected to LTE, while bluetooth versions are doing much better. Any chance that updates changed these problems?
Thanks in advance.

Bo_Doc said:
I checked all the topics (one topic with 2 answers mentions that) and I didn't find an answer to my question, which is:
Is using only bluetooth connection on LTE version watch has worse performance than using watch with only bluetooth version?
Manual says it is possible to change LTE connection to "always off" in the settings, so theoretically battery life should be the same.
And while you are already here, one more question: LTE connection allows only to recieve calls and sms, no app notifs as standalone, right?
I am facing a decission which one 46mm classic shall I buy, and LTE is only 20$ more so I wonder, as I would use eSIM ocasionally, if I should get more expensive one (price for plan taken into account, low cost).
Most worrying are stories that right out of the box LTE versions battery life is pathetic; not even reaching 18hrs not even connected to LTE, while bluetooth versions are doing much better. Any chance that updates changed these problems?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am also wondering which one gets the best battery life. Hopefully someone has an answer, so both of us can make a more informed purchase decision.

It is unlikely anyone can really answer your question authoritatively because I doubt anyone here has BOTH an LTE and non-LTE watch such that they can be compared with otherwise identical setup and use-cases.

Inclement_Death said:
I am also wondering which one gets the best battery life. Hopefully someone has an answer, so both of us can make a more informed purchase decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These are information I was able to find:
*There are some posts over the net of owners claiming that LTE has poor battery life, which is changing every update - once for worse, once for better. There are some news today saying that latest update made battery life worse.
*There is one topic on this forum saying directly that LTE version with Bluetooth turned on has worse battery life than regular LTE, while some owners post LTE screenshots of getting 2 days of battery life
*LTE versions receive updates later - needs confirmation
*LTE allows to recieve and make sms and calls, and also to use Google maps sort-of. Watch standalone doesn't receive phone apps notifications.
*First days are the phase of watch learning battery habits, usually length of battery cycle extends
That's most important info I was able to find so far where it is not mentioned in reviews. Feel free to add something that will be useful for someone looking for advice and if I wrote something wrong - please correct me.
I ordered LTE version. Gonna check out how it will handle basic tasks.
Also there's one very good discussion about the problem:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GalaxyWatch/comments/p8wj76/_/h9xjbcf

crxssi said:
It is unlikely anyone can really answer your question authoritatively because I doubt anyone here has BOTH an LTE and non-LTE watch such that they can be compared with otherwise identical setup and use-cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it is kinda unacceptable, but i might order two models and gonna compare both of them and return one as it might turn with worse battery life than the other. I want to avoid that, so I'm searching for advice here. If i won't find any, there will be only one thing left for me to do.

Bo_Doc said:
Well, it is kinda unacceptable, but i might order two models and gonna compare both of them and return one as it might turn with worse battery life than the other. I want to avoid that, so I'm searching for advice here. If i won't find any, there will be only one thing left for me to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do not need to do that. It is simple logic. BT and LTE will have exactly the same battery life if you turn mobile data off on the LTE model. If you actively use LTE, this will drain the battery in less than 12 hours.

Fousekis7 said:
You do not need to do that. It is simple logic. BT and LTE will have exactly the same battery life if you turn mobile data off on the LTE model. If you actively use LTE, this will drain the battery in less than 12 hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there is some logic behind that, but surprisingly there are topics like this:
Where are the battery troubles in the LTE models coming from
There seems to be some sort of consensus that the LTE versions of the watch have more battery trouble Has anyone actually given it some thought as to why? When LTE is off it should not make a difference, but it does seem to exist. Is the...
forum.xda-developers.com

FWIW, I have an LTE Galaxy watch 4 (non classic) 44mm. I usually get 36-48 hours with LTE mode on automatic (which means it only connects to LTE when BT is disconnected or there is no data connection from phone, of course if the phone had no data like in an elevator then the watch won't either regardless of it trying to connect to the same non existent data source). If I turn LTE off completely I can stretch it out to 2 full days. But that's my usage, ymmv.

I too have a GW4 Classic 46mm and have experienced battery drain, however, I expected this and am prepared to live with it as being untethered from my phone was THE primary reason for purchasing this model (My previous watch was a Gear S3 BT version hooked up to my S9).
I hate being out for a run and having to carry my phone with me. It's much more convenient, for me at least, to head out now with my Buds Pro and stream Spotify and not have to carry my bulky S21 Ultra (even with an arm band).
Mind you, when I say battery drain, I'm using mobile data, GPS, AOD and BT, so it's expected.
It's not a deal breaker as far as I'm concerned as I chuck it on the charger while in the shower and by the time I'm ready to wear it again, it's back to the battery level it was when I walked out the door.
Everyone's use case and expectations will vary though and opinions are like aholes; everyone has one.
Hopefully the efficiency of the watch and it's OS improve over the next 6 to 12 months but I, for one, am happy with mine.
If you're searching for the perfect piece of tech, thats akin to searching for that elusive pot of gold at the end of that rainbow.
Happy trails!

No Change in battery life if u use automatic mode. I have Galaxy watch 46 mm and my battery remains on 45 percent at the end of day when i use bluetooth or LTE only mode. Original glaxy waych is bigger and has bigger battery with less functions and hence lasts longer.

I totally agree with this. That's why I got it. But nevertheless the battery life isn't long enough for a 2 hour run if LTE, BT playing music are active. It really is frustrating. I actually power the watch off totally and only power up just as I begin a run.

I have both. I have a watch 4 classic and a watch 4 lte. This is not to say my experience is better, worse, or the same as anyone else's but here is what I've dealt with. The Bluetooth only lasts about a day and a half, sometimes 2. The LTE version was at least a day, until after a couple of updates. The LTE version over heats on me whether I am on LTE or not or even have it turned on. I can't run many apps without it overheating. Turning on LTE without the watch pretty much turns it to airplane mode. If I just leave it set to automatic and not really do much with it other than let it be a watch and receive notifications. Now the battery life is horrible. I can take it off the charger and drive to work, a 10 minute drive, it's already down to 92-95 percent by the time I clock in. By lunch, it's asking to go into battery saver mode. That's with LTE mode in automatic. Turning it off is not better. I tried to track a hike and it overheated on me. I got the LTE version because of the fall detection just in case anything happened on the mountain trail. I had to turn LTE off to continue and even then battery drained like crazy and the device was sluggish. Totally defeating the purpose of me paying for it.It wasn't that bad in the beginning but if course, it's worse after my return period ended.

has anyone with LTE model and using auto mode that lte will stay on no matter what? mine for some reason won't turn off the lte connection even when my phone is connected to it. very seldom do i see the bluetooth only with my phone around. am i missing something?

I've notice that watch being connected to wifi with LTE on auto has much worse battery life. Ergo - i set LTE on only purposefully while choosing to go out without phone, otherwise i choose LTE always off. When i choose LTE off it switches off without problem. Does restart help?

When I went to bed, my watch was on about 60%, left it in the shelf and thought there would be enough juice for the next day but was down to 45%, when the watch isn't on a wrist, surely it goes into a low power state?

Bo_Doc said:
I've notice that watch being connected to wifi with LTE on auto has much worse battery life. Ergo - i set LTE on only purposefully while choosing to go out without phone, otherwise i choose LTE always off. When i choose LTE off it switches off without problem. Does restart help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too. Though I tried setting LTE to ON and then to auto and it seems to now deactivate when connected to by or Wi-Fi (at least from the quick settings pane or can I see somewhere else if lte is active?)

HI all,
Are there any updates if there are differences in the performance between LTE in BT mode and BT only?
@Bo_Doc, did you manage to find out, did you buy both?
I am currently with LTE 46mm. Airplane mode is turned ON and then BT turned ON manually to connect to the phone - calls, messages, notifs - all good.
I bought the watch on 10.02.2022, so pretty new. Here is my experience with the battery life.
With the settings below my battery lasts around 43/6 hours - almost two days. That's the maximum for me.
LET - OFF - I haven't activated a mobile plan
GPS - OFF
Wifi - OFF
AOD -OFF
NFC - OFF
Brightness - around 40%,
Bedtime mode - scheduled from 00:00 to 07:30 + Power saving for the same period
All smart gestures (raise to wake, gestures for answering/dismissing calls and notifications, quick launch) - ON
Notifications with turning display on for Viber, Gmail, Slack(not always), Phone, Yahoo Mail, FB Messenger, Calendar, Clock, Phone Messages) - ON
Vibration - OFF
Samsung Health monitoring features - OFF (only steps counting )
I have several calls during the day, and a light to moderate number of notifications.
What's your opinion, guys? Am I doing well in terms of battery life, or is my battery underperforming for its capabilities?
P.S. This is my 3d charge cycle.