Afrihost APN high battery drain - EXPLAINED (not solved)

linuxgal said:
Looks like the LTE, because when I changed network mode to 3G/2G only the battery usage is back to normal.
Click to expand...
Then its poor signal maybe the Afrihost apn is only supported by towers further away.

Try in a different location.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jan
@AfriNatic Would you be able to assist with an Axxess VPN? Also getting a public IP address and the reverse DNS is: *.ip.airmobile.co.za
 
Quick way to find out if you have a public IP that i used is to use this app:
play.google.com

Simple HTTP Server - Apps on Google Play

Small and convenient static-content HTTP server
play.google.com play.google.com
Download it. Turn off Wifi. Open it and click start. Then try access the IP address listed on port 8080
(Turn off and uninstall app after)

If found doing a simple ping wasn't super clear as it responds to pings even offline just with a different TTL if the device was offline
 
Also curious whether Axxess is affected. They also hand out public IPs on the same range it seems. Is their tech support aware of this or are they going to be completely clueless if I ask to be changed over to CGNAT... :unsure:
 
So I guess one question I'm wondering about is how much this would affect your battery health over a span of 2+ years or so? If you have to constantly charge your device more it will surely degrade the battery faster no? The difference is staggering:


1666333280829.png
 
r00igev@@r said:
And I'll point this out to all those haters who say NAT is rubbish as a firewall.:laugh::ROFL:
Click to expand...
It got me thinking about IPv6... The plan is to give every device a routable IP, no?

Given this behaviour on LTE that seems like a really bad idea.
 
Jan said:
It got me thinking about IPv6... The plan is to give every device a routable IP, no?

Given this behaviour on LTE that seems like a really bad idea.
Click to expand...

It would be a great test to do once Ipv6 become available on Mobile Networks. We are ready as an ISP once the carriers are ready.

I don't think we will see the same issues but I guess theoretically it is possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jan
Jan said:
It got me thinking about IPv6... The plan is to give every device a routable IP, no?

Given this behaviour on LTE that seems like a really bad idea.
Click to expand...
IPv6 is a really bad idea and everyone has painted themselves into a corner just like Liz Truss. All that was needed was to keep IPv4 and add one extra octet.

The fundamental problem is it messes with the ethernet frame and reduces payload. All round a kuk idea. Get rid of it and as you pointed out its going to be a hackers paradise. (It already is for those fools stupid enough to implement it).
 
cueball said:
Also curious whether Axxess is affected. They also hand out public IPs on the same range it seems. Is their tech support aware of this or are they going to be completely clueless if I ask to be changed over to CGNAT... :unsure:
Click to expand...
They are affected. I tested and can confirm it's a public IP.

Got this response from Axxess:
"We use the same backhaul yes, but we do not use CGNAT on our mobile services which is separate from Afrihost. So we cannot place him behind a CGNAT unfortunately. We do not have our network configured that way.
The only reason it shows airmobile is because we use some of their IP's."

So doesn't seem they care too much.
 
I was just told by an Afrihost call centre agent (after he consulted with his manager on a 25-minute call), that the myBroadband article is inconclusive and that Afrihost do not in fact switch customers to CGNAT addresses.
 
Last edited:
Ghost729 said:
Nobody else seems to be having this issue by the looks of it.

Nonetheless, here are the results of my testing:

Mi A2 Lite:
(recently factory reset with no other apps installed or settings changed other than the initial set up)

Connected to Wifi, with no SIM, the standby drain is <0.1%/hour. Adding in the Telkom sim, the drain is still <0.1%/hour. Disconnecting from Wifi and using Telkom LTE increases the standby drain to 0.2-0.3%/hour. Swapping out the Telkom sim for the MTN one and using the Afrihost APN sees the standby drain surge to around 2.4%/hour regardless of whether I am connected to a Wifi network.

Each case was tested over a 24 hour period and done more than once.

Oddly enough, switching off the mobile data, but still using the Afrihost APN, reduces standby drain to 1.2%/hour. I was expecting it to go down to about 0.2%/hour, because the APN should not be in use.

Galaxy S7:

On the Afrihost APN, the standby drain was 5-6%/hour, according Accubattery. After switching to APNs to MTN, it now hovers around 3%/hour.
Click to expand...
Likely cause is its connecting to a tower further away, so it needs to spend more watt's on radio transmission.

You can check what tower is in use, and signal strengths etc with GSM commands, or software.

eg - https://stelladoradus.com/blog/how-...hich-mobile-tower-your-phone-is-connected-to/

Suggest check both sims and compare what is being used for both in terms of signal power etc.
 
Ghost729 said:
Afrihost's response to my complaint:

Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding this issue.

Please kindly note that the Afrihost APN service itself cannot be compared with other networks as it runs simultaneously with the MTN network and therefore explains why it would consume more power. There is more processing that your device needs to do in order to connect to the Afrihost APN and We cannot do anything about this unfortunately.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused. We remain committed to assisting you should you have more questions.
Click to expand...
Cough, bullshit, cough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X