Deferring GSM data connection

Question

Frequently I am in the range of WiFi. Still when waking up my phone (Motorola Milestone) it usually makes a GSM data connection (visible in the top bar), and only after few seconds the WiFi connection is made.

I understand that WiFi takes some time to connect to. Is it possible to somehow stop the GSM connection opening so quickly? I get billed for each such connection, and even though it is a very small price (0,01PLN/100kB), it is annoying to see all such attempts in billing, one by one.

I think it would be enough if I could defer any internet connection for few seconds after wakeup to give WiFi channel to get opened.

I do not want to block all GSM data connections, it would be a chore to unblock it when I really need it, and then I would keep forgetting to block it again when in WiFi range.

Answer 1

Go to SETTINGS > WIRELESS & NETWORKS > Wi-Fi SETTINGS

Press MENU and choose ADVANCED.

Click Wi-Fi SLEEP POLICY and make sure NEVER is selected.

This might help your WiFi connection remain connected.

These are available on my Samsung Spica running v2.1 (Eclair).

Answer 2

I'd say your best bet is to set your phone so when Wifi is turned on then 3G is disabled.

I'm running Cyanogenmod and the built in power widget offers an option to turn off 3G automatically when the Wifi is turned on. I don't remember if this was part of the stock Android, but I'll bet it's part of the custom ROM. That being said there are a number of apps that will toggle off the 3g when the Wifi is on (like Network Switcher).

The drawback to this is that you'd have to toggle data manually when you have your wifi on but aren't in range of any networks.

If all the WAPs that you use are known to you, you can use Y5 - Battery Saver to automatically turn wifi on and off when you are in and out of range to know networks. You can also do this with Tasker.