[REF] WORKING: How to disable HSPA / HSDPA for better battery life

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hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Hi people.

One way to get longer battery life is to disable HSPA and just use 3G. 3G (UMTS) is not as slow as EDGE/GPRS but doesn't use as much power as HSPA.

Here's a quick comparison of *typical* download speeds:
GPRS: 48 kbit/s, EDGE: 150-200 kbit/s, 3G: 384 kbit/s, HSDPA: 1000 kbit/s

After some searching, I've found a method that actually works for our Galaxy S:

Go to the phone dialer pad and enter this code: *#301279#
Click [2] CHANGE HSPA REVISION
Click [1] RELEASE 99 (HSPA OFF)

Then you should see something like:
CHANGE_R99
HSDPA OFF, HSUPA OFF

Done!

Press the BACK button to exit, or press MENU button then END.

The setting should take effect shortly after you exit the menu. To be sure that the setting take effect, toggle Flight/Airplane mode.

You could store that number in your phone book or speed dial for a quick way to toggle HSPA.

The setting STAYS ACROSS REBOOTS!

If you want to enable HSPA again just go back to the same menu and choose [3] RELEASE 6 (HSDPA/HSUPA).

Just tested it with the XXJPP radio and it really works.
Longer battery life at last! :)

EDIT: Deleted the earlier method of using local.prop / build.prop which doesn't work on the Galaxy S. Ignore posts #1 to #15 as they are regarding the earlier method.
 
Last edited:

ashwinds

Senior Member
Aug 10, 2010
807
52
Very interesting - I have 3G shut and use 2G for precisely this reason. I always presumed the drain was because of the WCDMA mode - will definitely try this.
 

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Very interesting - I have 3G shut and use 2G for precisely this reason. I always presumed the drain was because of the WCDMA mode - will definitely try this.
Yes we want to achieve something like just using 2G, but 2G on its own is pretty slow, and on 2G, sometimes while you are transferring data, people cannot call you.

Moreover in certain countries like Singapore where they don't have EDGE, but only GPRS and 3G/HSPA... setting the phone to 2G mode makes mobile data so slow, its virtually unusable.
 

ashwinds

Senior Member
Aug 10, 2010
807
52
I agree... 2G is a ridiculous compromise - but necessary given the rapid drain. Anyway, tried the patch and I have:

# getprop | grep ro.ril
[ro.ril.hsxpa]: [0]
[ro.ril.gprsclass]: [12]


But the indicator still shows the H - does that mean anything? I expected to see 3G instead.
 

RyanZA

Senior Member
Jan 21, 2006
2,023
784
JHB
AFAIK the power required for the radio is linked 100% to connectivity to tower, and swapping between 3G or HSDPA should have zero effect on battery life. Just disabling HSDPA really shouldn't affect power supply to the radio on the device.

Of course if someone could do some heavy testing so we could know for sure, that would be great. :D Would need to be some very good testing, perhaps with a multimeter? Because if there is any difference in power draw, it's going to be very hard to make out in regular usage.

(You will still see the H at the top, because you are really still connecting using the hsdpa radio (it's the same radio as the 3g one), and the tower you're connecting to supports hsdpa. But your downloads speeds should be less.)
 
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ashwinds

Senior Member
Aug 10, 2010
807
52
Thats kind of what I was worried about - my understanding is that 3G/HSDPA need to connect to more than 1 tower concurrently and stay connected.

Just the warm feeling when I switch to WCDMA makes me wary :)
Heat => Energy => Battery Drain :p
 

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
But the indicator still shows the H - does that mean anything? I expected to see 3G instead.

Me too, indicator says H but speed should be slower. 3G (non-HSPA) speeds top out at around 384kbit DL / 64kbit UL.

AFAIK the power required for the radio is linked 100% to connectivity to tower, and swapping between 3G or HSDPA should have zero effect on battery life. Just disabling HSDPA really shouldn't affect power supply to the radio on the device.

I'm quite sure that limiting it to 3G instead of HSPA speeds will save significant battery, because HSDPA/HSUPA use multiple radio channels to get those high speeds. It's sort of like MIMO, but not really. More channels = more power required.

And I think one of the reasons why the XXJPP modem is a battery killer while surfing, is probably because it supports faster HSPA speeds than the older modems.
 
Last edited:

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Darn. It doesn't seem to limit the speed for me (at least not from /data/local.prop). I'm gonna try to put the no-hspa values into /system/default.prop and /system/build.prop and see what happens.
 

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Darn. It doesn't work even if I put it in /system/build.prop.

Maybe those props only work for HTC radios. Would be great if someone could figure out whether the Samsung radio has a similar setting.
 

ashwinds

Senior Member
Aug 10, 2010
807
52
Tried it with setprop... doesnt work - makes me wonder how local.prop worked...

# getprop | grep ro.ril
[ro.ril.hsxpa]: [0]
[ro.ril.gprsclass]: [12]

# setprop ro.ril.hsxpa 2
# setprop ro.ril.gprsclass 12

# getprop | grep ro.ril
[ro.ril.hsxpa]: [0]
[ro.ril.gprsclass]: [12]
 

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Tried it with setprop... doesnt work - makes me wonder how local.prop worked...

# getprop | grep ro.ril
[ro.ril.hsxpa]: [0]
[ro.ril.gprsclass]: [12]

# setprop ro.ril.hsxpa 2
# setprop ro.ril.gprsclass 12

# getprop | grep ro.ril
[ro.ril.hsxpa]: [0]
[ro.ril.gprsclass]: [12]
Past a certain point in the boot phase, I think certain props cannot be edited.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
 

tonyjansen

Senior Member
Nov 26, 2009
69
10
The Samsung way of doing this would probably involve assigning CONSTs to the props in some unexpected places. Been going over the source for the last two weeks and it aint pretty. Samsungs' QA department seems to rather not be bothered by Android code.
 

hi_bye

Member
Jul 18, 2010
17
0
I need high speed

I am in need of high speed. Could anyone suggest how to do it on a rooted SGS 2.2

Can I make a local.prop file with the below specification and save to /data/local.prop on the rooted SGS 2.2 (as the HSDPA is 7.2 Mbps & HSUPA is 5.6 Mbps):-

ro.ril.hsxpa=2
ro.ril.hsdpa.category=7
ro.ril.hsupa.category=6
ro.ril.gprsclass=12
ro.ril.enable.3g.prefix=1
 
Last edited:

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
I am in need of high speed. Could anyone suggest how to do it on a rooted SGS 2.2

Can I make a local.prop file with the below specification and save to /data/local.prop on the rooted SGS 2.2 (as the HSDPA is 7.2 Mbps & HSUPA is 5.6 Mbps):-

ro.ril.hsxpa=2
ro.ril.hsdpa.category=7
ro.ril.hsupa.category=6
ro.ril.gprsclass=12
ro.ril.enable.3g.prefix=1
These commands don't work on the sgs. Just use the xxjpp modem, it's fast.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
 

hardcore

Senior Member
Sep 12, 2006
3,435
7,992
Good news! I found a setting that works from the service menu. Details in the 1st post.
 

titooo7

Senior Member
Sep 29, 2010
1,687
4,468
London
Thanks hardcore! Its really useful. Hope chainfire can implement it on supperpower app. So its finally tested that 3g spends less battery?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
 

dupel

Senior Member
Jun 2, 2010
1,394
23
London
I prefer speed, cince 3g can suck pretty hard here in london, whereas H is very-very fast.
 

Adevem

Senior Member
Aug 4, 2010
1,349
87
I'm sorry but I'm insanely confused lol.

In Singapore, we have GPRS(G), HSDPA(H) and 3G(3G) right? correct me if I'm wrong!

so... what is HSPA lol. I've done some Googling but I'm still crazily confused, any help is appreciated. Thanks!
 

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  • 15
    Hi people.

    One way to get longer battery life is to disable HSPA and just use 3G. 3G (UMTS) is not as slow as EDGE/GPRS but doesn't use as much power as HSPA.

    Here's a quick comparison of *typical* download speeds:
    GPRS: 48 kbit/s, EDGE: 150-200 kbit/s, 3G: 384 kbit/s, HSDPA: 1000 kbit/s

    After some searching, I've found a method that actually works for our Galaxy S:

    Go to the phone dialer pad and enter this code: *#301279#
    Click [2] CHANGE HSPA REVISION
    Click [1] RELEASE 99 (HSPA OFF)

    Then you should see something like:
    CHANGE_R99
    HSDPA OFF, HSUPA OFF

    Done!

    Press the BACK button to exit, or press MENU button then END.

    The setting should take effect shortly after you exit the menu. To be sure that the setting take effect, toggle Flight/Airplane mode.

    You could store that number in your phone book or speed dial for a quick way to toggle HSPA.

    The setting STAYS ACROSS REBOOTS!

    If you want to enable HSPA again just go back to the same menu and choose [3] RELEASE 6 (HSDPA/HSUPA).

    Just tested it with the XXJPP radio and it really works.
    Longer battery life at last! :)

    EDIT: Deleted the earlier method of using local.prop / build.prop which doesn't work on the Galaxy S. Ignore posts #1 to #15 as they are regarding the earlier method.
    2
    Hey guys, i dont think no body unaware of this app call 3G Auto ON/OFF, which is bit easy to turn off 3g by simply screen locked, bit saves battery also. If any body intrested just chk below link http://www.androidzoom.com/android_applications/tools/3g-auto-onoff_livn_download.html

    A Simple Thanks enough If it helps You
    1
    AFAIK the power required for the radio is linked 100% to connectivity to tower, and swapping between 3G or HSDPA should have zero effect on battery life. Just disabling HSDPA really shouldn't affect power supply to the radio on the device.

    Of course if someone could do some heavy testing so we could know for sure, that would be great. :D Would need to be some very good testing, perhaps with a multimeter? Because if there is any difference in power draw, it's going to be very hard to make out in regular usage.

    (You will still see the H at the top, because you are really still connecting using the hsdpa radio (it's the same radio as the 3g one), and the tower you're connecting to supports hsdpa. But your downloads speeds should be less.)
    1
    @ those who prefer speed: then simply don't use that trick ;) Just because it isn't useful for you it doesn't means it will be the same for the rest of us. Writing a comment to say that you dont need it it's not very constructive...
    1
    I used to use that application. but switching between 2g and 3g cuts off reception so I'm laying off it for now.

    I won't say I'm receiving insanely huge amounts of emails, and they're mostly just text so I think it's fine ;D

    oh yeah, android is just too fine...

    Sent from Tapatalk - pardon spell errors and non-rich text.

    why are you switching between 2g and 3g? just leave it on 3g and shut off the data, that's all you need. plus turn off all display animations and screen rotation and you'll save loads of power.