4 ms·

An Android WiFi App I Need

6 points by acangiano 16y ago

reedlaw 16y ago
How hard is it to add the power control widget to the Home screen that turns on and off WiFi with a single touch? I use this widget all the time.
- mcherm 16y ago
  > I use this widget all the time. So do I. Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't HAVE to -- that was the original author's point. The notes and comments on the article suggested that Y5 was a good, free tool for this and I'm going to give it a try.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - reedlaw 16y ago
    From the tone of the article it seems as if it is a long, arduous task to turn on or off WiFi. How many times a day does one typically switch between home, work, and coffee-shop? Likely 2-3 times at most. I manually put my phone to sleep more times than that. Does that mean someone should make an app that intelligently puts the phone to sleep? They could, but I doubt it would work better than my thumb on the power button (i.e. probably more hassle from false positives than it's worth).
Maxious 16y ago
As mentioned in the comments, there are already plenty of apps that do this. I use JuiceDefender (Wifi on/off is the only thing based on location but it has power source/battery level/time related features too) but Locale and Tasker will do much more based on more triggers like mute ringer based on device orientation. A long time ago I thought how cool would it be if my Palm could HotSync over bluetooth automatically based on location (time was easy to do) but 3G and Google Calendar/Contacts have made that irrelevant.
mootothemax 16y ago
I think this is indicative of my only gripe with my Android phone: the woeful experience of attempting to search for relevant apps via Google's app store. I've been shocked at how easy it appears to be able to game the system by keyword stuffing.
timmins 16y ago
Sounds like he's looking for Tasker. One of the first apps I install after a wipe. https://market.android.com/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm https://market.android.com/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.... I'm pretty sure he's not going to see this reply but I thought any HNer that thought "that would be helpful" should see this app. There is likely a better way using solely Tasker but this is my first run at solving. New Profile: On Time event: repeat every 30 minutes from start time to end time. Add action: Net dialog: Wifi to on. The whitelist would reside in Wireless Settings. Any AP already connected remains as a preferred AP. So, Tasker flips WiFi on and Android spots the AP. Then, create an Exit event the Tasker profile. If Wifi Status is disabled then turn Wifi off. Tasker recognizes two Wifi states, enabled (connected) and everything else.
ugh 16y ago
Would such an app actually help? Is there, for example, a difference in power usage between using a 3G connection for data and merely keeping it open and listening for calls? If there is, those 30 minutes between checks for Wifi could potentially be very taxing for the battery. Real world tests would certainly be interesting. (I only have an old dumb phone so I have no idea. I do see substantial differences between using 3G on my iPad and using Wifi — 7h vs 10h — but when I'm using Wifi I turn 3G off since I'm on a prepaid plan.)
- CrazedGeek 16y ago
  It's completely anecdotal, but a friend of mine has an Evo that absolutely couldn't last eight hours without dying. She added a widget to her home screen that turns off any mobile data (2G and 3G). Now, with it off most of the day, she regularly has 60-70% of battery life left at the eight hour point.

6 points by acangiano 16y ago

How hard is it to add the power control widget to the Home screen that turns on and off WiFi with a single touch? I use this widget all the time.

mcherm 16y ago
> I use this widget all the time. So do I. Wouldn't it be nice if I didn't HAVE to -- that was the original author's point. The notes and comments on the article suggested that Y5 was a good, free tool for this and I'm going to give it a try.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- reedlaw 16y ago
  From the tone of the article it seems as if it is a long, arduous task to turn on or off WiFi. How many times a day does one typically switch between home, work, and coffee-shop? Likely 2-3 times at most. I manually put my phone to sleep more times than that. Does that mean someone should make an app that intelligently puts the phone to sleep? They could, but I doubt it would work better than my thumb on the power button (i.e. probably more hassle from false positives than it's worth).

Maxious 16y ago

As mentioned in the comments, there are already plenty of apps that do this. I use JuiceDefender (Wifi on/off is the only thing based on location but it has power source/battery level/time related features too) but Locale and Tasker will do much more based on more triggers like mute ringer based on device orientation. A long time ago I thought how cool would it be if my Palm could HotSync over bluetooth automatically based on location (time was easy to do) but 3G and Google Calendar/Contacts have made that irrelevant.

mootothemax 16y ago

I think this is indicative of my only gripe with my Android phone: the woeful experience of attempting to search for relevant apps via Google's app store. I've been shocked at how easy it appears to be able to game the system by keyword stuffing.

timmins 16y ago

Sounds like he's looking for Tasker. One of the first apps I install after a wipe. https://market.android.com/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm https://market.android.com/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.... I'm pretty sure he's not going to see this reply but I thought any HNer that thought "that would be helpful" should see this app. There is likely a better way using solely Tasker but this is my first run at solving. New Profile: On Time event: repeat every 30 minutes from start time to end time. Add action: Net dialog: Wifi to on. The whitelist would reside in Wireless Settings. Any AP already connected remains as a preferred AP. So, Tasker flips WiFi on and Android spots the AP. Then, create an Exit event the Tasker profile. If Wifi Status is disabled then turn Wifi off. Tasker recognizes two Wifi states, enabled (connected) and everything else.

ugh 16y ago

Would such an app actually help? Is there, for example, a difference in power usage between using a 3G connection for data and merely keeping it open and listening for calls? If there is, those 30 minutes between checks for Wifi could potentially be very taxing for the battery. Real world tests would certainly be interesting. (I only have an old dumb phone so I have no idea. I do see substantial differences between using 3G on my iPad and using Wifi — 7h vs 10h — but when I'm using Wifi I turn 3G off since I'm on a prepaid plan.)

CrazedGeek 16y ago
It's completely anecdotal, but a friend of mine has an Evo that absolutely couldn't last eight hours without dying. She added a widget to her home screen that turns off any mobile data (2G and 3G). Now, with it off most of the day, she regularly has 60-70% of battery life left at the eight hour point.