Battery life and signal strength

**scorpiodsu** · 09-22-2012, 11:05 AM

Hey guys, not sure how everyone else is but I gotta say this iPhone 5 battery life on LTE and overall radio strength is superior to most devices out there. I'm not a loyalist to any brand. I'll try any device and over the past year I've had the rezound, nexus, gs3, 4s and 4 just gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised at the performance so far. And usually it gets better over the first couple weeks. But even on day 2 my battery life is awesome and I'm getting LTE in place where my nexus and gs3 would barely get 3G. The criticism of Samsung radios is valid. Even Moro does better than theirs. And to think apple was able to do this with such a thin and light device. Hope everyone else is getting good performance.

**Exxod** · 09-22-2012, 11:30 AM

It's has been quite excellent so far. I was able to get through my day yesterday, 2:30pm-2am, on the factory charge (phone was at 90% out of the box). This includes 2-3 hours of LTE browsing as well.

**Joshua Shorter** · 09-22-2012, 11:32 AM

I have been pleasantly surprised with battery life today. I was going to be fine as long as it didn't get worse and it has been much better instead!

**Peligro911** · 09-22-2012, 11:35 AM

I'm impressed so far

**v1nn1e** · 09-22-2012, 11:37 AM

I'd say mine is pretty good too! It took me a few to remember to turn off LTE when I'm at home (and on WiFi) which obviously made for a longer charge.

**Peligro911** · 09-22-2012, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by v1nn1e

I'd say mine is pretty good too! It took me a few to remember to turn off LTE when I'm at home (and on WiFi) which obviously made for a longer charge.

I thought LTE turns off when on wifi ?

**SeanHRCC** · 09-22-2012, 11:53 AM

Wonderful battery life...Signal strength is impressive. I'm getting better reception than my 4S in places where it struggled with 3G.

**zschiffman** · 09-22-2012, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by v1nn1e

I'd say mine is pretty good too! It took me a few to remember to turn off LTE when I'm at home (and on WiFi) which obviously made for a longer charge.

Doesn't being on wifi turn off lte? My battery went dead in 12 hours yesterday. Moderate use. But curious about the lte and wifi cause at home I get no service but use a network extender for voice

**Dennisgarcia** · 09-22-2012, 12:01 PM

Curious about the wifi and LTE thing too. Doesn't it turn off when you turn on wifi?

**barkerja** · 09-22-2012, 12:40 PM

When you're on WiFi, the cell radio remains active as some services continue to use it for data even though you're on WiFi; iMessage is one of those services. I don't know if it continues to use LTE when it's on WiFi or if it falls back to 3G.

**trmoney24** · 09-22-2012, 12:58 PM

Originally Posted by barkerja

When you're on WiFi, the cell radio remains active as some services continue to use it for data even though you're on WiFi; iMessage is one of those services. I don't know if it continues to use LTE when it's on WiFi or if it falls back to 3G.

I'm pretty sure iMessage works through wi-fi as well. If you turn on Airplane mode and turn wi-fi on, iMessage will still work. We use that all the time when taking international trips with a group of friends since we use the hotel's wifi.

I do notice that when I turn my screen back on, I see the WiFi symbol come back on from LTE. Almost like it was turned off when the phone is locked. Not sure why its does that. Even Apple says browsing with WiFi uses less power than your cell network.

**scorpiodsu** · 09-22-2012, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by barkerja

When you're on WiFi, the cell radio remains active as some services continue to use it for data even though you're on WiFi; iMessage is one of those services. I don't know if it continues to use LTE when it's on WiFi or if it falls back to 3G.

iMessage doesn't need to use carrier data to work. It works on wifi. For instance, iPod touch and iPad all use the service without needing data.

**scorpiodsu** · 09-22-2012, 01:09 PM

I'm not sure how the radio works exactly but iOS is pretty energy efficient where it only switches a radio on when it's needed. Unlike other OS you have to toggle or have apps do it for you. iOS manages these things pretty well on it's own. Again, not sure how it works, but I wouldn't be surprised if data radio are turned off until wifi is turned off.

**barkerja** · 09-22-2012, 02:00 PM

Originally Posted by scorpiodsu

iMessage doesn't need to use carrier data to work. It works on wifi. For instance, iPod touch and iPad all use the service without needing data.

Right, that's not what I'm saying. When your phone has an active cellular data connection, regardless if it's on WiFi or not, iOS' APN service (which iMessage uses) always uses cellular over WiFi.

If you're in Airplane Mode, then yes, all data will be routed through WiFi.

Edit
Maybe my choice of wording is poor, but the docs describe it better than I can:

When connecting to APNs, iOS devices will use the cellular data connection if it's available. Only if the cellular connection is not available or viable will the device switch to Wi-Fi for APNs connections.

For those that are maybe looking for a slight battery life bump, disabling data or going into Airplane mode and using WiFi only yields much better battery performance. Only caveat is you won't receive phone calls or regular SMS.

**scorpiodsu** · 09-22-2012, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by barkerja

Right, that's not what I'm saying. When your phone has an active cellular data connection, regardless if it's on WiFi or not, iOS' APN service (which iMessage uses) always uses cellular over WiFi.

If you're in Airplane Mode, then yes, all data will be routed through WiFi.

But your notion that iMessage is dependent on cell data is wrong. It works with or without. So having the LTE radio on while wifi is running for services like iMessage (according) to to previous post in incorrect. The LTE radio or cell radio wouldn't stay on for iMessage because its not needed for it. That's all I'm saying. In any event that's not what this post about. Just want to know who is getting good performance from their device. Thanks for your input though.

**barkerja** · 09-22-2012, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by scorpiodsu

But your notion that iMessage is dependent on cell data is wrong. It works with or without. So having the LTE radio on while wifi is running for services like iMessage (according) to to previous post in incorrect. The LTE radio or cell radio wouldn't stay on for iMessage because its not needed for it. That's all I'm saying.

Maybe my choice of wording is poor, but the docs describe it better than I can:

When connecting to APNs, iOS devices will use the cellular data connection if it's available. Only if the cellular connection is not available or viable will the device switch to Wi-Fi for APNs connections.

**trmoney24** · 09-22-2012, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by barkerja

Right, that's not what I'm saying. When your phone has an active cellular data connection, regardless if it's on WiFi or not, iOS' APN service (which iMessage uses) always uses cellular over WiFi.

If you're in Airplane Mode, then yes, all data will be routed through WiFi.

that sucks if iMessage uses cell data when available even if wi-fi is on. i'm trying to save my data usage! though i'm sure sending a basic text message through iMessage can't be that big. Perhaps 1kb?