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General discussion

Is it possible to force iPod Touch's wifi to 'always on'?

Jul 28, 2010 8:00PM PDT

I have Google Voice set up to forward SMS to my MobileMe email address. With this setup I can reply to an SMS using my iPod Touch instead of having to use the inferior keyboard on my phone. The issue I've run into is that the iPod seems to shut off its wifi radio whenever the display is shut off. The only exceptions to this behavior I've noticed are 1) streaming audio apps like Rhapsody continue to work after the screen goes blank, and 2) Push email seems to continue working when the iPod is connected to the charger. I'm sure this is something Apple implemented to preserve battery life, but it sort of defeats the purpose of Push email. Aside from buying one of those expensive cases with a built-in battery, is there a way to force the iPod's wifi to 'always on'?

Discussion is locked

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Check the display settings
Aug 5, 2010 7:27AM PDT

Hmmm...you should be able to keep the display from turning off under settings. I believe that's what turns the wifi off. I'll double check this evening on my 32GB iPod Touch at home.....

But don't you simply receive the email anyway (immediately) when you wake up the Touch(?)

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Re:
Aug 5, 2010 10:20AM PDT

For some reason it rarely receives the email immediately after waking. If I don't open the iPod's mail app myself after my phone alerts me to a new SMS, it can take the iPod anywhere between 2 - 5 minutes before it makes the 'new mail' sound. I have noticed that the delay is usually shorter when I'm on my home wi-fi (versus the Verizon MiFi that I use at work), so maybe it's not an iPod issue.

This isn't a huge deal, it's just that I rarely get important calls at work, so, aside from alerting me of new SMSs, the phone is just taking up space in my pocket while working. Also, if I could get the iPod's Push mail to work all the time, I could set Google Voice to send SMS only to email and eliminate or at least downgrade my phone's text plan.

Thanks for the display idea. I'll have to try it. Hopefully it won't ding the battery too much.

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Battery life reduced
Aug 6, 2010 2:17AM PDT

I actually tried it last night. The Touch was completely dead this morning w/o the screen being shut down when not in use Sad.

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I might be dumb or missing something but...
Aug 6, 2010 2:04PM PDT

In the settings "app" if you click on "Wi-Fi" it will take you to a screen where you can set a slider to Wi-Fi "On". I'm pretty sure you already have this going as you are getting Wi-Fi. I am able to listen to streaming radio and browse the web, but I do not have Mobile Me or Push settings on. I hope this helps, and if not, I hope someone else knows! Good luck!

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'Always On'
Aug 6, 2010 10:16PM PDT

Even with Wi-Fi set to 'on', Apple has designed the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to temporarily shut off the wi-fi component within so many seconds after the display goes to sleep, and switch it back on whenever you re-awaken the iPod.

With the iPhone (and I suspect, the iPad 3G), this isn't a problem because email continues to get pushed to the phone over the 'always on' 3G or Edge connection.

Since the iPod Touch (and iPad Wi-Fi) only has wi-fi, I assumed that setting email to Push would cause the wi-fi to mimick the 'always on' behavior of the iPhone's edge/3G component, otherwise email stops getting pushed shortly after the screen goes blank. I assumed this was the reason for Apple's warning that Push email drains the battery faster.

After some lengthy searching I found an app called Insomnia that will force wi-fi to stay on. Problem is, it's a jailbreak-only app and reportedly doesn't work with OS 4.

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Apologies Fondy
Aug 7, 2010 9:58AM PDT

I realized now that my wi-fi does shut off after some time. The radio does go off, but I thought it was just a buffering issue. Thanks for the information.