There’s a special annoyance that comes with picking up your phone after it’s been sitting idle for hours, only to find the battery has dropped significantly. While the screen may not be on, your Android phone is always doing something. But is it doing too much?
If you happen to be connected to Wi-Fi most of the time—and let’s be honest, most of us are—there’s one setting that could be enabling some unnecessary background battery usage. It’s called “Mobile Data Always Active,” and it’s enabled by default on most Android phones. However, you’ll need to access a hidden menu to disable it.
Why is “Mobile Data Always Active” enabled?
I probably don’t need to spend much time explaining what this setting does. As the name implies, it simply keeps mobile data active at all times. The bigger questions are, why is this a default setting, and why is it hidden behind a menu that most people don’t know about?
The feature is intended to essentially make it so you never notice when your phone switches between Wi-Fi and mobile data. Say you’re connected to Wi-Fi at home, and you leave, or it just drops for a bit, your phone can quickly switch over to mobile data without missing a beat. It’s the same concept as keeping an app running in the background so it opens immediately.
So, why is this a bad thing? Well, first and foremost, it’s not. For most people, this is a nicety that makes switching between internet networks perfectly seamless. However, using mobile data does require more power than Wi-Fi, so if you’re blanketed in rock-solid, stable Wi-Fi all day, every day, it could be worth disabling.
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Entering Android’s secret settings menu
There’s a simple toggle to turn off “Mobile Data Always Active”—but you won’t find it. That is, unless you’ve already enabled Android’s hidden Developer Options menu. This is a place where you’ll find a cornucopia of power user settings and toggles. There’s some genuinely useful stuff in here for everyone, but don’t be careless—it’s hidden for a reason.
To get started, open the Settings app and find the “About Phone” section. Scroll all the way down to “Build Number” and tap it seven times in quick succession. Use your security method when prompted, and you’ll now see “Developer Options” in the “System” section of the Settings app.
Once you’re in Developer Options (Settings > System > Developer Options), scroll down to the “Networking” section and look for the “Mobile Data Always Active” toggle. There’s a good chance it will be enabled, so go ahead and turn it off.
Is it worth disabling?
You’re probably wondering just how much battery you can save by disabling this setting. The answer will be different for everyone, but I can share my experience.
As I’m writing this, I’ve been at home using Wi-Fi for the majority of the day—around 10 hours. I left my house for only about 20 minutes. 22% of my used battery for the day has gone to Wi-Fi, and 16% went to mobile data. That’s pretty high for mobile data when you consider I only needed it for a brief trip outside.
The other thing to consider is how long it actually takes for your device to switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data without the “Always Active” setting enabled. At least for my device (Pixel 10), it was still very quick. In fact, I had to double-check that the setting was disabled because it was connecting to mobile data so quickly. Your mileage may vary.
That being said, there’s one situation in which you may not want to disable “Mobile Data Always Active.” If you talk on the phone a lot and you use Wi-Fi calling, you may notice interruptions or dropped calls, depending on your Wi-Fi network. Just something to keep in mind if you suddenly notice unreliable phone calls.
Little tricks like this may not make a huge impact on their own, but they add up to help your Android phone laster longer. And that’s something every smartphone owner can appreciate.
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