Battery life on Android phones is still a key area of concern for users, especially for those with a device from Google or Samsung. While brands like OnePlus and others have seemingly mastered mobile battery life, we can’t say the same about the rest of the market. Leading Pixel and Galaxy flagships still charge slowly with relatively small battery capacities. If you’re trying to squeeze every last percent out of your smartphone, there may be one setting that can help you do just that.
No, it’s not one of the basics. You probably know all about adaptive charging, low power modes, automatic brightness, and turning off mobile data to preserve power. You might not know, however, that some Android phones actually keep mobile data connections active — even when you manually turn them off. This could drain your phone’s battery quicker than expected on standby. It’s easy to turn off, if you know where to look.
This pesky setting could waste battery
It’s on by default, and you need to dig into dev options to find it
Android, like many operating systems, has default behaviors that work behind the scenes. Most users never know about them — until the problems start creeping up. Many of these default settings and little-known behaviors are hidden behind Android’s developer options menu. This is a selection of advanced tools for developers, but power users and enthusiasts can also find the extra toggles and customization options beneficial.
You can enable developer settings on any Android phone in a few quick steps. First, open the Settings app and find the About phone page. Find the build number or version number listed, which may be behind a tab called Version. When you’ve found the build number, tap it seven times. You’ll need to enter your password to confirm the change.
Developer settings are experimental. If you disable developer options after enabling it, your changes will automatically reset to their factory defaults. Be careful any time you change settings in the developer options menu.
With developer settings active, every developer option unlocked will be accessible via Settings → System → Developer options. If you open up the page, you’ll find an entire collection of Networking toggles, including one named Mobile data always active. The toggle may be enabled or disabled by default, depending on your device. OnePlus phones typically have this option disabled, while Samsung and Google handsets often have this toggle enabled out of the box.
It’s described in the Settings app as a toggle that can “always keep mobile data active, even when Wi-Fi is active (for fast network switching).” That about sums up the feature and how it works. By default, some phones stay connected to cellular networks even when Wi-Fi connections are available. The idea is that when you leave range of your Wi-Fi network, or need to use cellular, it’s immediately available with no delay.
The flip side is that, with Mobile data always active enabled, your device is making unnecessary cellular connections. Considering that 4G LTE and especially 5G connections use a considerable amount of power, this is significant. If your phone’s battery is dipping irregularly on standby, it may be connecting to cellular networks and using mobile data without your knowledge.
Why you might want to leave mobile data on
Slower transition times and Wi-Fi calling issues may persist
Justin Duino / MakeUseOf
Luckily, this setting is fairly easy to change after enabling developer options in your Android phone’s Settings app. The question is — should you actually turn it off? There’s a case for either option. With Mobile data always active turned off, your phone will take extra time to establish a cellular connection after you turn off Wi-Fi or exit your network’s range. This could lead to longer loading times or dropped calls in rare cases. For the most part, you can expect a delay of an extra few seconds when switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data after turning this toggle off.
This sounds like a minor hassle that could bring battery life benefits, but there’s a catch. Some use cases rely on both Wi-Fi and mobile data, like Wi-Fi calling or sending MMS texts. With this feature disabled, it’s possible your phone drops more calls if you use Wi-Fi calling. It’s also possible that MMS messages fail to send. If you don’t use Wi-Fi calling or are lucky enough to rely entirely on RCS, this won’t be a major issue.
Why Keeping Battery Saver On 24/7 Is a Mistake
Why own a fast phone if you’re keeping it in slow mode?
Is this hidden battery setting worth changing?
Yes, if you want the most out of your phone’s battery life
In all likelihood, most Android users will never need to dig into their phone’s developer options menu to change this setting. The default will work for almost everyone, whether it’s enabled or disabled. The differences are minor, but that doesn’t mean they are nonexistent. If your battery life is fine, there’s no need to disable Mobile data always active. However, those having issues, especially on standby mode while connected to Wi-Fi networks, could see better battery life by making this tiny tweak.
It’s something to keep in mind as your smartphone ages. Your battery life might serve you well now, but after battery degradation takes its toll, that could change. You can keep this Android trick in your back pocket in the event it does and possibly gain an extra bit of battery life later.
