Do you believe that using wireless technologies like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can reduce battery life? All wireless technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, need power.
However, how much power is required is a subject that is fraught with stories and hypotheses. Even though Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have improved much in recent years, there is still a common belief that turning them off can greatly increase your iPhone’s battery life and keep your wallet away from battery replacement cost.
As a result, in order to extend the life of their battery, many iPhone and Android users disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Well, that’s not the case. In fact, there are multiple advantages to always having both on, so there’s no need to ever turn either one off. Here are the real facts:
Facts about Wi-Fi
When an iPhone device is in sleep mode, its wireless network connection is disabled until it is plugged in. Consequently, there’s no use in deactivating it. When Wi-Fi is not being utilized, it consumes no power. When the phone is awake, it checks for networks every 15 seconds; however, this is only a receiver and has no discernible impact on battery life.
Wi-Fi requires 30 mW constantly while connected, whether or not data is being sent. However, mobile data takes 50–500 mW while utilising data or voice, depending on signal quality; thus, Wi-Fi is always preferable if you are frequently using the device.
Does Turning Wi-Fi On Drain Battery?
Having Wi-Fi always on is thought by many to be a silent battery drain. This makes sense when you think about the vast amount of Wi-Fi connections that are located in your near area but are inaccessible to the device we are using due to its lack of compatibility.
Is it true, therefore, that keeping Wi-Fi turned on all the time drains a phone’s power supply? It’s not quite that simple, but the honest answer is no. To put it another way, the applications that are compatible with the mobile device are the ones responsible for the bulk of the Wi-Fi-related drain on the battery.
Facts about Bluetooth
In the absence of a connected device, Bluetooth consumes no power. There is no need to disable it. When it is linked to your device, it is obvious that you are making use of it, and thus, you should avoid turning it off in any circumstance. Like Wi-Fi, it can scan for Bluetooth devices without using an appreciable amount of power.
When coupled with a hands-free device, Bluetooth uses 2.5 MW of power. Given that the typical phone has a battery life of around 25000 mWh, the device’s battery would take several months to die if Bluetooth were its main power user. Some Bluetooth devices have greater power requirements; the maximum will be 10 mW, but this does not change the fact that if your battery performance is not what you believe it should be, the issue is not with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Does Turning Bluetooth on Drain the Battery?
Bluetooth on both Android and an iPhone raises the question of whether or not it will cause the battery to drain. The fact is that Bluetooth does not significantly impact battery life on most mobile devices. Only when they are actively being used do Bluetooth devices use power. This implies that your phone’s Bluetooth functionality will not cause excessive battery drain, even after extended periods of inactivity. Turning Bluetooth off while it’s not in use is also a good way to save battery life and avoid any security issues. Furthermore, Bluetooth utilisation is in most situations insignificant.
Why Should You Keep Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Enabled?
As a primary consideration, there is no justification for deactivating them. Wi-Fi enables assisted GPS, sometimes known as A-GPS, which may be used for location services. Apple iPhone keeps track of all of the Wi-Fi hotspots around the globe. This means that your phone can still pinpoint your position even if it is completely cut off from receiving GPS satellite signals. Wi-Fi positioning may also be used to cut down on the time it takes to re-establish GPS satellite connections after changing.
If you enable backups when your device is locked, charging, and online, you won’t lose more than a day’s worth of information in the case of theft, breakage, or crash. That’s why it’s recommended that you should keep your Wi-Fi turned on all the times.
I found this article very confusing and not helpful at all. For example, these two sentences appear to directly contradict each other
“This implies that your phone’s Bluetooth functionality will not cause excessive battery drain, even after extended periods of inactivity. Turning Bluetooth off while it’s not in use is also a good way to save battery life and avoid any security issues”
And I’m pretty sure this is not true, because when my phone is in sleep mode it still receives notifications
“When an iPhone device is in sleep mode, its wireless network connection is disabled until it is plugged in.”