[Q] Turning off cellular modem without turning off WiFi

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imapanther

Member
Jan 9, 2014
9
1
Hi all!

I just recently upgraded from a Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0" to a Moto G. I sold my SGP and accessories for almost what I paid for my Moto G, which I considered a pretty good deal. I currently have no need for a cell phone, however, and merely use the Moto G as I did the SGP. That means connecting with WiFi only and using it mostly as a media and navigational device (with pre-downloaded maps and GPS enabled).

In an attempt to conserve as much of the (already amazing) battery life as possible, I've set location to Battery Saver and disabled "Data enabled" and "Data roaming" under Settings>Wireless & networks>Mobile network settings. I've also set "Battery Saver" under Settings>Battery to "On". Despite this "Cell standby" under Settings>Battery still consumes an average 20% of a full charge of my battery. Part of this could be that as I am in a remote location, with only very weak cell signals available, the device is constantly searching for signal despite the fact that I do not even have a SIM card installed.

Is there any possible manner in which I could switch off the cellular modem in the phone without switching off WiFi? I can set the device to "Airplane Mode" but that also turns off WiFi, which I prefer to leave on during the day and only switch off at night. I am very new to Android 4.x, so do not yet know all the ins and outs of the Settings menu, and as such may be missing something. Or there might just not be the option. Either way, is what I am wanting to do possible?
 
T

tma200

Member
Sep 26, 2010
18
8
You can turn WiFi back on (long press it in the quick settings tile) after enabling Airplane Mode. There may be an app or widget to do this more seamlessly, though.
 
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AECRADIO

AECRADIO

Senior Member
Aug 31, 2013
51
10
Payson, AZ.
www.facebook.com
Turn OFF cellular radio.

I can't wait for my Moto-G to arrive, so I am winging it here..

You can try this: *#*#4636#*#*, and you will enter the TEST mode.
Select Phone information, and scroll down to where you see the SMSC dialog box, directly above this, you will see another greyed out box with the wording: Turn off radio. Select that, and the radio will be disabled, but will restart on a reboot, but there is a way to shut off the radio completely as well, but this should help for now.

You can also use this: ##7764726(program) and then tap DIAL to access the SPC password menu, where you enter SIX ZEROES, and tap 'verify' to enter the programming menu.
The two you will be more interested in, are the first and third selections, User activation and Extended NAM
You can wipe all the data if you wish (but write that information on paper so you will know its location if you decide to actually use that device in the future!
Scroll down to Extended NAM and write that information down, first to last, in proper order as before.
If you wish to completely disable ALL outbound dialing, you should delete the emergency number listings as well.
To upgrade your overload class, change that number to a '1', so some schmuck can't boot your call in favor of theirs.
Your MIN and MDN should be erased, as this prevents the phone from placing any calls, even 911 calls if you erased those numbers.
You can erase everything, from the SID to the MCC (Mobile Country Code), to anything the phone uses to access the network.
Just write everything down in proper order so you have a point of reference when you forget what you did.
Once you finish your task, reboot the device. You may need to once again, shut off the radio using the *#*4636#*# operation, but each device is unique here, you may not need to do this.

You can then try the above mentioned shut down procedure again, and disable the radio completely.
WiFi should still be operational
 
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imapanther

Member
Jan 9, 2014
9
1
Thank you both very much for your replies! tma200's method works quite well for me, being easy to get to (definitely seamless compared to doing anything in Gingerbread!) and simple to remember. Thank you for your reply, AECRADIO, I'll keep it in mind if I ever need to do some more advanced radio management on my device!
 
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    tma200
    You can turn WiFi back on (long press it in the quick settings tile) after enabling Airplane Mode. There may be an app or widget to do this more seamlessly, though.
    View
    1
    AECRADIO
    AECRADIO
    Turn OFF cellular radio.

    I can't wait for my Moto-G to arrive, so I am winging it here..

    You can try this: *#*#4636#*#*, and you will enter the TEST mode.
    Select Phone information, and scroll down to where you see the SMSC dialog box, directly above this, you will see another greyed out box with the wording: Turn off radio. Select that, and the radio will be disabled, but will restart on a reboot, but there is a way to shut off the radio completely as well, but this should help for now.

    You can also use this: ##7764726(program) and then tap DIAL to access the SPC password menu, where you enter SIX ZEROES, and tap 'verify' to enter the programming menu.
    The two you will be more interested in, are the first and third selections, User activation and Extended NAM
    You can wipe all the data if you wish (but write that information on paper so you will know its location if you decide to actually use that device in the future!
    Scroll down to Extended NAM and write that information down, first to last, in proper order as before.
    If you wish to completely disable ALL outbound dialing, you should delete the emergency number listings as well.
    To upgrade your overload class, change that number to a '1', so some schmuck can't boot your call in favor of theirs.
    Your MIN and MDN should be erased, as this prevents the phone from placing any calls, even 911 calls if you erased those numbers.
    You can erase everything, from the SID to the MCC (Mobile Country Code), to anything the phone uses to access the network.
    Just write everything down in proper order so you have a point of reference when you forget what you did.
    Once you finish your task, reboot the device. You may need to once again, shut off the radio using the *#*4636#*# operation, but each device is unique here, you may not need to do this.

    You can then try the above mentioned shut down procedure again, and disable the radio completely.
    WiFi should still be operational
    View

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