Database Users

WiFi / battery efficiency

At home my cell coverage is a little spotty. It jumps between 1x and evdo frequently. I'm experimenting with WiFi (just set it up yesterday at home) and I haven't yet had a chance to see first hand, but my question is, if I have a solid WiFi connection, is it more battery efficient than solely using the cell radio? I know that just having wifi on will drain the battery hence my confusion.

Strong WiFi is generally better on battery than even a strong EVDO signal. You should be much better off using WiFi. Make sure to set the WiFi to never sleep in the advanced settings.

zesta said:
Make sure to set the WiFi to never sleep in the advanced settings.
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Is this a new 2.1 option? I didn't even look for it because I am so used to having keepWiFi installed. Also, I have noticed that my wifi signal appears low even though I am only about 50 feet away from my router with only 1 wall in the way running on 802.11g on a dual band router. Also, my router has the ability to broadcast 2 SSIDs to allow for a guest network so you dont have to give out your WPA password to friends and it firewalls them away from your network. I have noticed that my phone has a problem with this. My netbook sees both SSIDs without any problems and stay connected to my main SSID. On my Hero, the main SSID appears and disappears constantly. I have to log onto my guest network because it is the one that my Hero likes for some reason.

In the WiFi setting, click menu and advanced option is available.
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Great info. Thanks!

wifi channel problem

In my house I have set up 2 wiress routers. One of them is the main router assigning dhcp and is on channel 1. The other is acting as an access point and is broadcasting on channel 6. Both are using the same ssid, and all of the security settings are the same. Anyway the network works fine. All devices flip to the strongest channel while roaming throughout the house, except this one. This one is locked on the weaker router (further away). I have tried forgetting the network and re-adding it. Any ideas? Is there a way to force the wifi on this to a specific channel?

I use a free app called Wifi Analyzer. You might install the app and look through the various screens to see what is going on in your network (they are easy to use). This will allow you to confirm the actual signal strength at various points in your home. It is possible that one of your neighbors might be using a channel that is interfering with yours. The app will help you understand what is happening.

thanks for the speedy reply! I actually have that app also and love it. that is basically how I know that it's using the weaker channel. I don't have nieghbors so that is not a problem. the biggest thing going to point me in the direction of something wrong on the Samsung is that I have a couple of thunderbolts, an incredible, and 2 wifi laptops that under testing all switch channels correctly.

So I just took another look at wifi analyzer. One of the sceens asked me to instal wifi connector. After I installed that I was able to connect to the specific channel. So thanks again !

will android switch to a better wifi if available?

Heyho, i currently have access to my wifi as well as to my neighbors network as my wifi gets weak while i am in the garden. I feel like android isnt awitching to my neighbors wifi automatically. Only when my wifi is completely gone, android will look for a new one.
I thought about making a task with tasker which looks for another wifi as soon as the current wifi strength goes below 25%.
Or is/should android do that aleady on its own?
Thanks

In wifi -> Advanced settings there's an option to avoid poor connection. I have no idea what it actually does, but give it a try.

I did the test with my router, which supports 2 frequencies.
Assuming both networks are saved in the phone, it connect automatically to the one with better signal or look for an alternative if signal is lost.

Thats what I mean, it will connect to the other WiFi if the connection is lost. But if the connection is crippled (bad) enough to not handle a music stream, but still "availabe" it will not switch to the other WiFi eventhough that other WiFi has 100% signal strength ?
I activated the "use wlan only if good strength available".. lets see how this works

I have multiple APs in my house and the only way I've ever got it to switch is by toggling wifi off and on (or loosing the first signal completely). This is an Android issue IINM, my GS2 and my N4 both have this issue.

I tried the "do not use weak WiFi".. didnt work.

zakazak said:
I tried the "do not use weak WiFi".. didnt work.
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It has never worked for me either. Didn't work on my GSM GNex or with the N4.

I think it's how most WiFi clients work, otherwise if you were in the middle of 2 equal signals, it would spend more time disconnecting and reconnecting creating a DOS attack on the 2 AP's and leaving you with no data.
As for 2 home wireless routers, use the same SSID and authentication settings for both, and put one on channel 1 and the other on channel 11.
Make one a AP only (no router, no firewall, no dhcp server) and connect it to a client wired port on the first one. You can roam between them like people in large offices do.

or I try to make a tasker profile
if wifi strenght below 20% and another wifi is available with more than 30%, connect to that one.. then wait 5 minutes ?

[Q] dreaded gray Wi-Fi bar

Hey guys,
My nexus 10 had a gray Wi-Fi bar and is failing to connect any of the Google services such as play store, search app, or gmail. Basically GAPPS. I cannot find a solution to this besides factory resetting, can someone help? My tablet is on stock rooted.
Thanks!
add12364

My N10 either has a grey WiFi bar or it disconnects completely. This happens very often and occurs no matter what rom I have, even stock. I've always felt that the WiFi has always had issues but never got resolved. I've looked around for solutions but not found any. Much appreciated if someone explained or had a solution.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD

I completely cannot use Google play, someone please help.

Toggle the Wifi off and then back on a few seconds later.
If this doesnt fix anything then you need to modify your router settings to be compatible.

Don't use 5g on router.
Sent from my Nexus 10

5GHz networks work fine on this tablet.

trickster2369 said:
Don't use 5g on router.
Sent from my Nexus 10
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No offense meant, but that's a pretty silly claim. The transmission technology involved (2.4GHz/5GHz) or protocol (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) has no bearing on the color of the Wi-Fi indicator, which indicates just one thing: does a request to Google's secure servers work, or not? It's virtually always a problem with the network setup, be it with the ISP or the router blocking a port. OP should try using a public access point (coffee shop or something) or mobile hotspot to see if they're able to connect that way.

EniGmA1987 said:
5GHz networks work fine on this tablet.
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My apologies. There was a lot of discussion concerning the use of 5ghz when the tablet was released. My comment was more of a suggestion than an absolute, and probably wasn't written the best.
Rirere said:
No offense meant, but that's a pretty silly claim. The transmission technology involved (2.4GHz/5GHz) or protocol (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) has no bearing on the color of the Wi-Fi indicator, which indicates just one thing: does a request to Google's secure servers work, or not? It's virtually always a problem with the network setup, be it with the ISP or the router blocking a port. OP should try using a public access point (coffee shop or something) or mobile hotspot to see if they're able to connect that way.
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None taken. I was under the impression that grey/no bars, meant that there was no signal or there was a connection issue. I had no idea that the wifi state on the tablet had anything to do with Googles secure servers. I would like to learn more about that, if you would be so kind.

trickster2369 said:
None taken. I was under the impression that gray/no bars, meant that there was no signal or there was a connection issue. I had no idea that the wifi state on the tablet had anything to do with Googles secure servers. I would like to learn more about that, if you would be so kind.
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The Wi-Fi state doesn't depend on the connection to Google's servers-- that's why it's quite possible to get full graybars. You'll also notice that if your Wi-Fi goes to sleep, when you wake up a (stock) Android device, you should basically always see it gray first, then turn blue after a second or so (speed depends on how good your connection is).
It's also not as simple as just going to google.com, because you can (usually) do that regardless of the status reported. That's because going to google.com only relies on basic HTTP/HTTPS web traffic through ports 80 and 443, which on most functioning networks are never going to be blocked (mostly because it would make even basic web browsing more or less impossible without workarounds). All of your "real" transactions with Google (Gmail sync, location reporting, etc.) happen through secured connections that run on different ports.
Some networks will block those ports for security reasons (the more ports you have open, the greater the network's functionality-- and its vulnerability to outside attack). In those situations, you'll see a gray bar indicating that while you've got connectivity, you won't be able to establish the connection to Google needed for some services to run (most importantly, any GCM/C2DM-based push notifications).
And no problem. Unfortunately, many OEMs muck around with the iconography, making this distinction meaningless on a pretty wide range of devices. It's annoying because this is one of the more common reasons that Google services don't work.

Rirere said:
The Wi-Fi state doesn't depend on the connection to Google's servers-- that's why it's quite possible to get full graybars. You'll also notice that if your Wi-Fi goes to sleep, when you wake up a (stock) Android device, you should basically always see it gray first, then turn blue after a second or so (speed depends on how good your connection is).
It's also not as simple as just going to google.com, because you can (usually) do that regardless of the status reported. That's because going to google.com only relies on basic HTTP/HTTPS web traffic through ports 80 and 443, which on most functioning networks are never going to be blocked (mostly because it would make even basic web browsing more or less impossible without workarounds). All of your "real" transactions with Google (Gmail sync, location reporting, etc.) happen through secured connections that run on different ports.
Some networks will block those ports for security reasons (the more ports you have open, the greater the network's functionality-- and its vulnerability to outside attack). In those situations, you'll see a gray bar indicating that while you've got connectivity, you won't be able to establish the connection to Google needed for some services to run (most importantly, any GCM/C2DM-based push notifications).
And no problem. Unfortunately, many OEMs muck around with the iconography, making this distinction meaningless on a pretty wide range of devices. It's annoying because this is one of the more common reasons that Google services don't work.
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Would you happen to know if roms can affect wifi reception?

ikenvape said:
Would you happen to know if roms can affect wifi reception?
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Click to collapse
ROMs and kernels shouldn't affect reception in a technical sense (unless the kernel developer really messes up or something), but they will affect what your device can do with the signal it has. There are also various modes your device can follow that offer compromises (i.e. for CDMA devices, EVRC-B vs. EVRC-C -- one is better for normal usage, the other holds clearer calls with low signal).

Rirere said:
ROMs and kernels shouldn't affect reception in a technical sense (unless the kernel developer really messes up or something), but they will affect what your device can do with the signal it has. There are also various modes your device can follow that offer compromises (i.e. for CDMA devices, EVRC-B vs. EVRC-C -- one is better for normal usage, the other holds clearer calls with low signal).
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Really appreciate the reply Rirere
I tried several lately. Since day one I have been receiving such poor reception. We have heavy wireless users here ranging from multiple game stations,phones tablets ,PC's etc. All have been receiving full strength except for the N10. From what your saying it seems like I have adjust the router for this one.

ikenvape said:
Really appreciate the reply Rirere
I tried several lately. Since day one I have been receiving such poor reception. We have heavy wireless users here ranging from multiple game stations,phones tablets ,PC's etc. All have been receiving full strength except for the N10. From what your saying it seems like I have adjust the router for this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you be a little more specific? Android has some nasty Wi-Fi issues (never have as many on my iOS devices), but the situation you describe doesn't sound like it helps. I'm the student manager at a college helpdesk, so we sometimes have this kind of problem in the dorms. If you give some more info about your setup, I might be able to at least point you in the right direction.
Things like what's the make and model of the router, where it's located, how close are neighbors, and so on. You can also use this app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImNvbS5mYXJwcm9jLndpZmkuYW5hbHl6ZXIiXQ) to see if there's channel interference. If your router is new enough, you could also potentially kick it up to use 5GHz only (although that causes lower speeds the further you get much faster than auto 2.4GHz/5GHz).

Rirere said:
Could you be a little more specific? Android has some nasty Wi-Fi issues (never have as many on my iOS devices), but the situation you describe doesn't sound like it helps. I'm the student manager at a college helpdesk, so we sometimes have this kind of problem in the dorms. If you give some more info about your setup, I might be able to at least point you in the right direction.
Things like what's the make and model of the router, where it's located, how close are neighbors, and so on. You can also use this app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/...SwxLDEsImNvbS5mYXJwcm9jLndpZmkuYW5hbHl6ZXIiXQ) to see if there's channel interference. If your router is new enough, you could also potentially kick it up to use 5GHz only (although that causes lower speeds the further you get much faster than auto 2.4GHz/5GHz).
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Click to collapse
Your too kind Reiere Thank you,
I'm using a Media Link MWN-WAPR150N. I see, it doesn't support 5ghz which seems to be a total bummer. I could have sworn that I purchased a dual band model. It's a wonderful device as I'm not having to constantly power cycle it like in the past. We do catch a neighboring facility's wifi here on our devices so I believe this can be causing interference and it would be best to switch up to a 5ghz router? Definitely will check out the app. Thanks allot. I apologize for the ignorance in this area.

ikenvape said:
Your too kind Reiere Thank you,
I'm using a Media Link MWN-WAPR150N. I see, it doesn't support 5ghz which seems to be a total bummer. I could have sworn that I purchased a dual band model. It's a wonderful device as I'm not having to constantly power cycle it like in the past. We do catch a neighboring facility's wifi here on our devices so I believe this can be causing interference and it would be best to switch up to a 5ghz router? Definitely will check out the app. Thanks allot. I apologize for the ignorance in this area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're almost always going to get some degree of interference from other devices. How bad it is depends on the power of your neighbors' rig and its proximity. Other items, such as microwaves can cause temporary disruptions in wireless power, but it's much more unusual these days than it was in the past.
Given the way other devices in your network seem to be functioning alright, it might be a device-side issue. However, before that I would look into a Wi-Fi analyzing app like I posted earlier and try setting your network to a particular channel. If you pick one clear of your neighbors' wireless network, then if it's set to auto (which it probably is), it should adjust around yours and grant you a clear channel. (two networks on auto can occasionally snarl with one another, and the one with more power is going to win. Since yours is a single-band N home router, there's a good chance you'd lose with the routers out these days).

WiFi unstable

WiFi is very unstable when you aren't next to the access point. It keeps switching from WiFi to data connection.
Furthermore, when gripping the phone from the upside without a cover (near the camera), the WiFi connection will not work anymore.
Someone is experiencing this problem?

same to me

WiFi works normal here... No deathgrip

Maybe you can try enabling Aggressive WLAN to Cellular handover at developer settings under the networking tab to fix your issue

alfatihrobb said:
Maybe you can try enabling Aggressive WLAN to Cellular handover at developer settings under the networking tab to fix your issue
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Click to collapse
Definitely this is not a solution...

jack_21 said:
WiFi is very unstable when you aren't next to the access point. It keeps switching from WiFi to data connection.
Furthermore, when gripping the phone from the upside without a cover (near the camera), the WiFi connection will not work anymore.
Someone is experiencing this problem?
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Click to collapse
Well, the problem in my case was that I have two access points with the same name at the two sides of the house, and from my room the second AP has a better signal, but it had some trouble and it wasn't working, so the phone wifi was switching from the first to the second continually.
However if you hold the phone from the upside, there is a very strong loss of signal. A workaround is to use a case.
I can say that wifi antennas of this phone are not that good, like the iPhone 7.
My previously Xiaomi phone had a better wifi signal on very distant access point.

jack_21 said:
Definitely this is not a solution...
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I agree: not a solution.
I've changed ssid of 5Ghz wifi (now is different from 2.4) and wifi don't disconnect random anymore.

ohdearlord said:
I agree: not a solution.
I've changed ssid of 5Ghz wifi (now is different from 2.4) and wifi don't disconnect random anymore.
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Yes, the same SSID on different AP / technologies makes only troubles.
Never use the same name for 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz. Unfortunately many providers have the routers that are configured this way.

jack_21 said:
Yes, the same SSID on different AP / technologies makes only troubles.
Never use the same name for 2,4Ghz and 5Ghz. Unfortunately many providers have the routers that are configured this way.
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I've configured my router with same ssid to use band steering (i can't post link: search "band steering avm" from a search engine)
That technology do exactly the trick: switching from frequency bands, but even disabling it Mi A1 doesn't manage WiFi correctly and don't suppose to do that!

Hi Guys
Is there a solution for unstable wifi connections.
thank you