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When I turn the screen off on an Android smartphone, I want battery life to be conserved. Thus, I don't want any third-party apps running in the background, and I don't want the device periodically turning on WiFi (or connecting via 2G/3G/4G/5G).

I set up a test Android Samsung smartphone running Android Nougat, and installed just 25 popular apps. I set all 25 apps to "Always Sleeping" in Settings. I then let the device sit for 8 hours with the screen turned off. During those 8 hours, the Android device connected to a WiFi router 59 times and transmitted/received data each time.

I don't want to turn on Airplane Mode, because I still want the device to be able to receive and log incoming phone calls.

Is there a way to accomplish this with Android (on a non-rooted device)?

End Anti-Semitic Hate
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  • "Idle devices in Doze periodically enter a maintenance window, during which apps can complete pending work (syncs, jobs, etc.).". That's how Doze works in Android. So that cannot be altered without modifying source code. Keep WiFi off if you are concerned about that. Preventing apps running in background is possible: Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution – Irfan Latif Mar 04 '20 at 19:15
  • @IrfanLatif Thanks. If I turn WiFi off, won't it just connect via cellular data? – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 04 '20 at 19:18
  • Actually I meant keep internet connectivity off i.e. WiFi, Mobile Data, Ethernet or any other mode of connectivity. – Irfan Latif Mar 04 '20 at 19:26
  • @IrfanLatif Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wish Google (and Samsung) made it easier to toggle data. It's buried deep in the Settings. Even with all connectivity turned off, will the background apps keep waking up the device (even though the screen doesn't come on)? (Note: I haven't finished reading the content from link you kindly provided.) – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 04 '20 at 19:31
  • You don't have a tile to turn off Mobile Data like WiFi? // Yes apps keep running in background (if allowed by permissions) irrespective of internet connectivity (but their activity is reduced e.g. no notification fetches, no syncs etc.) – Irfan Latif Mar 04 '20 at 19:36
  • @IrfanLatif I wish there was a tile with that functionality. IIRC, Google removed access to that tile by default because they want you to always be connected to the internet, likely because it's more profitable for them. Some good manufacturers (not Samsung in this case), created their own tiles or enabled the hidden one. I recall a hack to enable it on a Samsung device, but the tile disappears every time the phone reboots. To toggle data on this Samsung flagship device, you have to go to Settings -> Connections -> Data usage -> Mobile data -> Data. They made it as inconvenient as possible. – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 04 '20 at 19:49
  • Well AFAIK the Mobile Data tile is enabled in AOSP. The removal is OEM-specific thing. – Irfan Latif Mar 04 '20 at 19:51
  • @IrfanLatif Thanks. That's interesting. I recall a discussion about it, and their conclusion was that it was Google's decision/direction. It's possible people involved in the discussion were mistaken. Whether it was Samsung or Google that made this decision, the result is obviously not good for the customer. – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 04 '20 at 19:58
  • @beeshyams Thanks. For non-rooted devices, do you have to grant Naptime elevated permissions via adb after each reboot? – End Anti-Semitic Hate Mar 04 '20 at 20:18

2 Answers2

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As discussed in comments

  • You want to make sure that the device enters doze mode quickly and disconnect wifi / mobile data when the screen is off. Aeroplane mode is not an option because you need to be able to make /receive calls.

  • You can achieve that by Naptime app:

  • Naptime lowers your device's power consumption while the display is off by empowering Android's built-in doze power saving functionality.

  • Faster idle means less power being consumed uneccessarily. By default doze can take a while to kick in so Naptime just speeds-up that process automagically for you.

  • It can also automatically disable W-iFi, mobile data, location & bluetooth as soon as doze kicks in.

In addition, Naptime can also help in enabling doze while in motion (phone in your pocket and you are walking).

It requires root but for unrooted devices it works with elevated privileges through adb commands given in app instructions.

This is a one time process and need not be applied on reboot (AFAIR).

You can identify such apps and decide on suitable alternatives.

  • As a second line of defense, in case you aren't happy with Naptime, try, Greenify is another useful app that can come in handy to tame troublesome apps. This works with unrooted devices with adb privileged permissions. Alternatively, you have an open source app Brevent that works as well but adb privileged permissions are required after a reboot. IMHO, with improved Android battery management in recent versions, you may not need this line of defense at all.

  • Also see this for more Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution

Community
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beeshyams
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I do it by disconnecting from data, WiFi & Bluetooth, then turning on airplane mode & power off.

Can also go to the dialer pad and dial *#*#4636#*#* (star-pound-star-pound-4636-pound-star-pound-star), tap phone information and scroll down to enable radios, and move the selector to the off position.

Andrew T.
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Nick
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