# How to keep 3G modem on and save power at the same time? **URL:** \ **Category:** Hardware\ **Created:** [April 1, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189 "2017-04-01T23:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnzhel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@johnzhel](https://community.particle.io/u/johnzhel)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/1 "2017-04-01T23:34:49Z")
What is the best way to keep the Electron 3G modem on listening to incoming messages from the cloud and save power at the same time? Or is that even possible? ---
**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/2 "2017-04-02T00:45:05Z")
Good question I don’t think there is a low power mode for the Electron but I do know you can turn off the LED if you wanted to reduce that constant power draw. ---
**Author:** ![johnzhel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@johnzhel](https://community.particle.io/u/johnzhel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/3 "2017-04-02T00:56:17Z")
> [@RWB](#): > > I don't think there is a low power mode for the Electron but I do know you can turn off the LED if you wanted to reduce that constant power draw. Thanks! What else can I turn off to save power besides LED? Or can 3G cellular modem wake up everybody? Or can Electron run in a lower power mode and quickly resume once there is a message coming in to the 3G cellular modem? ---
**Author:** ![ScruffR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/scruffr/32/6952_2.png) [@ScruffR](https://community.particle.io/u/ScruffR)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2017, 6:41am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/4 "2017-04-02T06:41:57Z")
There should be a way, but I’m not yet sure how it works. … investigating … ---
**Author:** ![thresholdengineering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@thresholdengineering](https://community.particle.io/u/thresholdengineering)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/5 "2018-10-29T18:31:32Z")
Does anyone know where there is documentation on the lowest low power mode? My device is very much like a smoke detector… idle indefinitely, but needs to work in an emergency. In normal operation mode I’d like to send the battery status weekly, other than that sleep. (Electron 3G Asset Tracker) Specifically, if the firmware loop only tracks time with a delay() and only wakes-up the rest of the tracker as needed (weekly), is that all I need to do? I also need to check for a switch on condition in each loop, in which case the whole thing comes on and battery life is no longer a concern (warning device) Or is there an actual low power mode setting that I have to manage in the firmware, and if so how? ---
**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/6 "2018-10-29T22:33:03Z")
This is a good thread on the Electron and different power modes. > [@Electron SLEEP\_MODE\_DEEP tips and examples](https://community.particle.io/t/electron-sleep-mode-deep-tips-and-examples/27823?source_topic_id=28366): > > It’s a little confusing getting an Electron to go into deep sleep, using the 130 µA that it should. These six annotated code examples should hopefully clear things up. All tests were run on 0.6.0 on a Electron G350. AUTOMATIC, no system thread #include "Particle.h" void setup() { } void loop() { // Results in 133 uA power consumption // Modem is turned off, full cellular resync after restart (blinking green, blinking cyan, fast blinking cyan), 5-6K of data usage System.sleep(SLEEP\_MODE\_DE… The new LTE Mesh Boron device has lower power consumption than the Electron so you may want to investigate that unit if you want even lower power draw than the Electron provides. ---
**Author:** ![rickkas7](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rickkas7/32/8681_2.png) [@rickkas7](https://community.particle.io/u/rickkas7)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/7 "2018-10-29T22:46:42Z")
And this doesn't answer the most recent question, but it does answer the original poster: Yes, it's possible to enter stop mode sleep (pin + time) and keep the cellular modem connected and wake up when data is sent from the cloud. > [@WakeOn RI in SLEEP\_NETWORK\_STANDBY?](https://community.particle.io/t/wakeon-ri-in-sleep-network-standby/43756): > > Hello community, Thanks to @rickkas7 for the excellent write up found here: It seems to me by doing a system.sleep with SLEEP\_NETWORK\_STANDBY along with setting up an interrupt on the RI signal would make for an awesome sleep mode? I understand that the RI output of the modem is normally set up to assert when there is a phone call or SMS coming in, but according to the ‘UBlox AT Command Manual’, the RI output can be configured to assert when there is incoming data too by using the comman… ---
**Author:** ![RWB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/community.particle.io/rwb/32/22599_2.png) [@RWB](https://community.particle.io/u/RWB)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://community.particle.io/t/how-to-keep-3g-modem-on-and-save-power-at-the-same-time/31189/8 "2018-10-30T01:11:27Z")
> [@rickkas7](#): > > Yes, it’s possible to enter stop mode sleep (pin + time) and keep the cellular modem connected and wake up when data is sent from the cloud. Do you think this will be easily doable with the new Boron also?