Data Connection/Radio on or off?

[Nagual]

I just read yet another post stating that having the Data Connection on in Comm Manager full time is a battery drain.

Now I'm looking at it and oddly enough it seems to have turned off on its own (or more likely, some app or setting turned it off) but I usually have had it on full time.

I have read many posts and threads on this forum and still can't seem to get a clear answer. Is it possible to get a more or less definitive one?:

Does it or does it not make a difference in terms of battery life and functionality whether this thing in Comm Manager is on or off?

If it's set to off, will it save battery life? And then when a program requiring data, like the web browser we often use, will it be re-enabled only during that time and then turned back off when no longer in use?

If it impacts the functionality of the phone (preventing data-requiring apps from working when launched) and saves virtually no power, I'd rather just switch it to on all the time. (Never mind why it sometimes seems to turn off on its own.)

Please share your knowledge, because this is one of the most confusing things about this phone to me.

[Nagual]

Come on, there have to be some facts or just opinions out there about this...

[flyhigh]

Simple answer. Turn off your data connection in comm manager, then open your web browser and look in your com manager to see that the data connection is turned on. close (end the program) your browser and see what happens to the data connection. this test should take less then a minute and you can see what it does for your phone. For mine, the data connection goes on and off as needed by whatever app needs access to the net.

[Nagual]

Originally Posted by flyhigh

Simple answer. Turn off your data connection in comm manager, then open your web browser and look in your com manager to see that the data connection is turned on. close (end the program) your browser and see what happens to the data connection. this test should take less then a minute and you can see what it does for your phone. For mine, the data connection goes on and off as needed by whatever app needs access to the net.

I have actually tried this on my own initiative since my thread started, and yes, it works.

Will it work similarly and not cause issues for any app which needs a data connection? Has anyone run into situations where it being off caused a problem, and you had to re-enable it?

And does it actually save any juice?

[FrozenIpaq]

Originally Posted by Nagual

I have actually tried this on my own initiative since my thread started, and yes, it works.

Will it work similarly and not cause issues for any app which needs a data connection? Has anyone run into situations where it being off caused a problem, and you had to re-enable it?

And does it actually save any juice?

Should work just like any other phone, smartphone or not. If your phone is attempting to grab data it will use a connection. When it is not it should have itself off. It's something you will have to find out by trial and error - if you have your mail app grabbing data every 30min or hour then your battery life will be lower as opposed to manually grabbing it

[Nagual]

Originally Posted by FrozenIpaq

Should work just like any other phone, smartphone or not. If your phone is attempting to grab data it will use a connection. When it is not it should have itself off. It's something you will have to find out by trial and error - if you have your mail app grabbing data every 30min or hour then your battery life will be lower as opposed to manually grabbing it

I only get mail manually.

But this brings up another maybe interesting question - is this setting meant to be "permanently on" only if you're using it constantly for data, like a PAM (phone as modem) type situation, and default is off?