Verizon has been hyping 5G for years, though it only brought a small speed upgrade outside the limited areas where millimeter wave spectrum was deployed, but the service provider’s support team advised users yesterday to turn off 5G if their phones suffer from poor battery life.
The tweet from VZWSupport, now removed, said: “Notice that your battery life is declining faster than normal? One way to help save battery life is to turn on LTE. Just go to Cellular> Cellular Data Options> Voice & Data and tap LTE. “
Although Verizon did not mention 5G in the tweet, people responding on Twitter to Verizon and journalists who wrote stories noted that the effect of these instructions is to turn off 5G. “LTE is active by default as a backup for the times when 5G is not available. Following these instructions can disable 5G,” Mashable noted. (Verizon’s instructions are for iOS, but it’s also possible to turn off 5G on Android phones.)
Apple fights 5G battery outage with Smart Data mode
An Ars story in December 2018 warned that 5G components would take up precious space in smartphones, which would reduce the size of batteries. In Ars 2020, the Ars review of the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro noted that “5G seems to have a big impact on battery life, especially if you drive on that ultra-fast mmWave.”
Apple said it has implemented a ‘Smart Data Mode’ that shifts every phone from 5G to LTE when 5G speeds are not needed, saving battery life, while allowing phones to use 5G if the speed increase would make a noticeable difference offer. If you enable “5G Auto” in the iPhone settings, Smart Data mode is turned on; the other choices are “5G On” and “LTE.” Apple notes that the 5G On mode “always uses 5G network when available. This can reduce battery life.”
We asked Verizon for more details on the impact that 5G has on the battery life of its users today, and will update this article as we respond.
Verizon’s tweet comes just days after its latest 5G announcement that ‘parts of Sacramento, Seattle and Pensacola’ are the latest areas targeted by Verizon’s ‘aggressive implementation of its transformative 5G Ultra Wideband service’. Verizon has also just pledged to spend $ 45.45 billion on a mid-range spectrum auction it plans to use with 5G.
Samsung, Huawei also warn users of the discharge of the 5G battery
Other mobile phone manufacturers have recognized 5G related battery in the support pages. Samsung tells users: “You can see that your phone’s battery is draining faster than usual while connected to a 5G network. This is a limitation of current 5G networks and will improve as the networks expand. . ” Samsung’s support page continues:
At present, the 5G networks are only used for data connections and are not yet capable of making calls and messages. Your phone must be connected to the 3G or LTE network in addition to the 5G network so that phone calls, text messages and data are delivered consistently.
Because your phone is connected to multiple networks at the same time, the battery will drain faster than you would normally expect, and the phone may get hotter than on 3G or LTE only.
As the 5G networks grow in capacity and capacity, they can handle more of your phone’s features with less battery.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) supports the diverse networks. Jumping between 3G, 4G and LTE uses a lot of battery life, and the current limited infrastructure of 5G makes it worse [battery-drain] problem, “says the IEEE.” Current 5G smartphones need to stay connected to multiple networks to ensure consistent phone calls, text messages and data delivery. And this multiplicity of connections contributes to the battery running low. ‘
A Huawei support page tells users that they can charge the battery faster on 5G compared to 4G, especially if they stream video. “In a 5G network, more bandwidth is needed to create a smoother user experience when using the Internet,” says Huawei. “Therefore, more power can be consumed, especially if you use the Internet to watch online videos.”
The wireless industry used 5G before providers were ready to use the “standalone 5G” version that requires no connection to 4G networks. But that is about to change, as T-Mobile launched a standalone 5G in much of the U.S. in August 2020, while Verizon and AT&T plan to follow suit.