A LITTLE-KNOWN Wi-Fi issue might be weighing on your smartphone’s battery life, according to tech experts at Norton.
If you wrestle with your Wi-Fi on the regular, and suffer with a fast-draining battery – there is a fix you need to know.
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It is common knowledge that using mobile data drains your battery faster than surfing the web via a Wi-Fi router.
This is because your iPhone or Android is constantly searching for various signal towers, hunting for the strongest connection.
But using a poor Wi-Fi connection – such as a public network – can be even worse for your phone battery.
According to antivirus software provider Norton: “If you use a strong Wi-Fi connection instead, your device may spend less energy trying to improve your connection, therefore extending your battery life.
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“On the other hand, using cellular data may be easier on your battery when dealing with poor Wi-Fi, such as a public Wi-Fi connection.
“As a rule of thumb, try to prioritise whatever connection is the strongest.”
Five tips to improve your Wi-Fi
Sluggish Wi-Fi speeds can often be fixed with quick home remedies.
Firstly, avoid placing your router near these materials: metal, glass, concrete beams.
This is because they absorb Wi-Fi signals and reduce the strength of your connection.
Secondly, keep your router out of the kitchen, as your metal fridge, oven and microwave will interfere with the Wi-Fi signal.
Thirdly, if you have wireless speakers or baby monitors near your router, consider moving them.
All Bluetooth devices emit signals that can mess with your Wi-Fi signals.
The fourth trick you can try is changing your router’s frequency in the hub’s Settings.
Almost all routers operate on two channels: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
The 2.4 GHz band offers a wider range but is slower and more prone to interference from other devices.
Meanwhile, the 5 GHz band is faster and less crowded but has a shorter range.
One channel might be better for your home, so experiment to find the best performance.
Lastly, a router is only as good as its firmware.
Similar to a good computer and smartphone restart, rebooting your Wi-Fi router is essential.
This is because rebooting can not only clear out temporary bugs but also boost performance.
Experts suggest aiming for a reboot every month to keep things running smoothly.
A Samsung user on Reddit discovered this several years ago, when trying to fix their “unusually high” battery drain.
Their handset would lose around a third of its battery overnight, while it wasn’t in use.
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The device even got hot when installing an update – which shouldn’t happen.
“Then I turned off Wi-Fi on the phone, and I notice the battery drain is gone,” the wrote in a Reddit post at the time.
“I decided to reboot my Wi-Fi router because I noticed a slow download speed (5Mbit instead of 50Mbit), so maybe the Wi-Fi signal was weak causing my phone to work harder than necessary.
“After the reboot my download speed was back to 50Mbit. I think this fixed my battery drain.”
The Reddit user eventually concluded that their battery drain was a result of an ageing handset.
But a fellow Reddit user replied, saying they experienced a similar problem that they believe was due to their “cheap router”.
“I am experiencing the same issue, I leave my phone on during the night at 40 per cent and I wake up to my phone completely dead,” they commented.
“I am aware that my Wi-Fi keeps going up and down randomly which stresses many devices. Cheap routers are really annoying.”
