5G network may negatively affect your phone battery

There is a 5G race in Norway, and mobile operators Telia, Telenor and Ice are vying to offer the best coverage in the country. At the same time, almost every mobile phone launched in the market offers support for the new technology that promises faster speeds and lower delays.

But even though there are 5G in many places, and you probably see the 5G logo on your mobile phone often, it is still connected to 4G network at the same time. Will this make the battery life worse?

Samsung claims this on its US website, Several people we spoke to also believed they experienced poor battery life. But is it just a placebo, or can 5G negatively affect battery life?

We contacted Telenor and Telia to check if this is true, and if in this case this bypasses Norwegian consumers as well.

There is no reason to turn off 5G to conserve battery, writes Anders Krokan, Press Director at Telenor.

There are other things that mainly consume the battery. It especially requires broadcasting where the phone screen is constantly active for an extended period of time, or if you have long video conferences.

On the other hand, Daniel Barhom, CIO of Telia Norway is not skeptical.

– 5G use can affect battery life as a result of the signals that occur so far over the 4G network, but this can also be modified via the settings on your mobile phone.

When we asked very specifically, we got a less clear answer.

Will you be able to get better battery life on your mobile phone if you turn off 5G, and only use 4G? To avoid using them in parallel?

We recommend our customers to use the various optimization solutions available on the individual phone to get the best possible 5G experience, Barhum writes.

Since the 5G network is not fully developed yet, the 4G and 5G networks will run in parallel. Simply because the 5G network doesn’t handle calls and texts. According to Samsung, this drains the battery faster than if you were only connected to one network.

– When Telenor comes with 5G base network, 5G network will work independently. Until we launch the 5G core, the phone will always be connected to the 4G network to be able to handle Krokan voice and SMS.

This was also confirmed by Barhoum.

5G is currently being deployed through a so-called “non-standalone” implementation. That is, there is a gradual transition, as 4G is still used in parallel.

Specifically, the signal will be via 4G, while the data transmission, with increased capacity and speed, will take place over 5G, Barhoum wrote.