Should You Leave Wi-Fi On on Your Smartphone

How Does Wi-Fi Impact Battery Life?

When it comes to battery life on your phone, several factors come into play. Screen-on time, background app usage, etc. But does Wi-Fi affect your phone’s battery life? Well, there’s no straight answer to that.

Compared to cellular data, using Wi-Fi has a significantly lower impact on your phone’s battery life. Plus, the Wi-Fi connections on our phones are smart these days. If they find a spotty Wi-Fi connection, they will switch to a stable network automatically. In some cases, if the network is patchy, your phone may switch to mobile data, which consumes more power, but it would still be less than frequently disconnecting and reconnecting to a network.

Apart from that, your phone’s connection settings also play a major role. Most Android phones let you search for public Wi-Fi networks. When enabled, this will prompt your phone to constantly search for available networks when you are on the move—even when Wi-Fi is turned off. This consumes power in the background, so if you don’t want this, it’s best to turn the toggle off.

Notably, most modern-day phones have efficient processors that don’t drain much battery, even with Wi-Fi enabled at all times. So, don’t worry about turning the toggle off every time you step out.

Data Speed

Wi-Fi networks are generally faster than most mobile networks unless you live in the vicinity of a top-end 5G network (and you have a compatible phone). So, whether sending out an email with several attachments or transferring larger files, switching to Wi-Fi will yield better results.

The same is also true if you are streaming songs or movies. You must stay within a strong network. If you are opening a web page to read an article, then, of course, speed is not much of a factor here.

Privacy Issues

Unlike a few years ago, most Wi-Fi networks are no longer open. The Wi-Fi Alliance released Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) as a security standard in 2003. There are two more versions out after that.

WPA2 was released in 2004 and is still a popular standard. Unfortunately, even though it’s more secure than its predecessor, it has some vulnerabilities. One of the popular vulnerabilities was codenamed Krack, in which hackers could read sensitive information from Wi-Fi traffic.

Another recent case was when researchers found vulnerabilities in the Wi-Fi setup, which lets hackers inject malicious code into Wi-Fi traffic.

On the positive side, WPA2 networks give the network owner privacy and security. That said if you must send sensitive information via a public Wi-Fi network, the first option would be to see its nature. For instance, iPhone users can see the nature of the Wi-Fi network’s security standard.

If you are unsure about the nature of the Wi-Fi network, you can use VPN services like Proton VPN.

Nonetheless, if you are in the mood to read a few articles while waiting for a friend in a mall or a cafe, the current WPA standards ensure that you can do so without trading sensitive information. But of course, you must keep the potential risks in mind.

Again, if you want a secure home Wi-Fi network, switch to WPA3-approved wireless routers like the ASUS RT-AX86U or ensure your current devices are updated to the new standard. If you’re not going to download large files, stick to using your mobile data connection in crowded areas like airports and malls.