Switching from 4G to 5G leads to much faster battery discharge

Hi, I sent below message to support,

Recently my contract with my provider (Odido, the former T-Mobile) expired and I decided to switch my Fairphone 4 settings to G5.

Unfortunately, this resulted in a drastically reduced time between battery charges.

I did a test, and when I hardly use my phone (using my PC instead), the battery lasted less than 24 hours with G5. When I Switched back to G4 it was more than 3 days before I had to recharge. Again, with non-intensive use.

This can only mean there must be some glitch in the software.

I do not really need G5, but it would be very usefull if you could check this before delivering the new update to Android 14.

It is likely that, at some point, I can no longer avoid a switch to G5, and it would be nice if, by that time, this problem is fixed. Of course, this is also bad for the environment: the constant recharging. Also, I could not help wondering why you offered an extra battery with Fairphone 5?

I am still quite satisfied with my Fairphone 4, by the way. I hope this glitch did not cost you any customers.

Kind regards,

CG
1 Like

Please remind that you are not adressing support here in the user forum.

First of all: You probably mean 4G and 5G, right?

There is an option to limit the connection to

  • 5G/4G/3G/2G
  • 4G/3G/2G
  • 3G/
  • 2G

The option can be found if you search in settings app for “5G”. In German it is called “Bevorzugter Netzwerktyp” which would translate into English as “Preferred Network Type”.
This is something you could/should try.

BTW, for me 5G only makes slightly more battery consumption. The worst for me was wake lock caused by the option to have mobile connection always on even with Wifi active.

2 Likes

If I understand you correctly, you changed the provider and the network type from 4G to 5G at the same time? Changing just a provider can result in a faster battery drain since the cell tower may have a bigger distance to you. I recommend to change the preferred network type to check it out, too, but you could also change the provider. Using two sim cards results in a faster battery drain, too.

3 Likes

Thanks for responding.
No, I did not switch providers, just a contract renewal.
I no longer had to pay extra for 5G, so I tried that, with the result I mentioned earlier. So I switched back to 4G. Tethering with 4G is really fast, so I do not need 5G, at the moment.
Cheers,
CG

1 Like

If you didn’t change the provider it could be, that your provider has a cell tower next to you with 4G only and a 5G cell tower in a bigger distance. In case you are in an area with a very good 5G network you could try to switch 5G on again.

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Also there were reports that 5G increases the battery consumption in some cases.

Hi Jens,
Many thanks!
There is a 5G mast within 150 meters.
I will retry switching to 5G in the future.
Kind regards,
CG