Why does hotspot take so much battery?

[spinedoc77]

I like to have my non-WWAN tablet connected at all times thru my iphone 5s hotspot. But man it burns battery. The tablet isn't doing anything, in fact it's in sleep mode most of the time, I just like the ability to turn it on and go instead of having to open my phone and turn on the hotspot.

Is there anything I can do to minimize the battery life? Out of curiosity what exactly is it about turning on the hotspot that eats so much battery? Is it constantly doing a wifi search or something? Does bluetooth hotspot eat less battery? I don't even know if that's an option with a windows tablet but I might have to experiment with it.

 

[eelw]

Your data connection remains active entire time the hotspot is turned on. Unlike when you're surfing on your phone, it only reconnects as needed.

 

[thelookingglass]

Using bluetooth does use less energy, yes. But your speeds will also be slower