topic Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G? in Get Support

Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

Corwin — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:00:22 GMT

Hi there I just signed up for Public Mobile's $40 (Limited Time) Plan Offer

- 5GB at 3G Speed
- Unlimited Canada-wide Talk
- Unlimited International Text

I just set up my phone and it's working fine but it reads Public Mobile 4G at the top instead of 3G? Help?

My phone is a brand new Xiaomi Mi A2

I set my wife's iPhone 5s up yesterday with the same plan and it prompted me to change the APN which I did sucessfully. However I can't figure out if and or how I should do that on this phone. Also, when I go into to look at the SIM card in the settings its listed as a Telus Sim card. But I did purchase/it is a Public Mobile card. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

missorange — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 03:53:39 GMT

you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

Corwin — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 03:54:45 GMT

Hi Jinwei, how?

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

wetcoaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:02:05 GMT

@Corwin wrote:
Hi there I just signed up for Public Mobile's $40 (Limited Time) Plan Offer
- 5GB at 3G Speed
- Unlimited Canada-wide Talk
- Unlimited International Text
I just set up my phone and it's working fine but it reads Public Mobile 4G at the top instead of 3G? Help?
My phone is a brand new Xiaomi Mi A2
I set my wife's iPhone 5s up yesterday with the same plan and it prompted me to change the APN which I did sucessfully. However I can't figure out if and or how I should do that on this phone. Also, when I go into to look at the SIM card in the settings its listed as a Telus Sim card. But I did purchase/it is a Public Mobile card. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Public Mobile's "3G" plans would be better defined as "LTE light": You have LTE latency but the speed is throttled to 3Mbps. Unless you are streaming HD video or gaming it's unlikely that you notice a difference to "standard" LTE.

As for APN settings: I assume your new phone runs Android 8.1? APN profile not showing, not editable and/or not able to add a new profile is a known and widly discussed. https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Android-8-1-APN-settings/td-p/241715

One way to deal with it: https://forums.redflagdeals.com/solved-fido-apn-miui-10-cant-add-apn-2239645/#p30122708 (Disclaimer: I have not tried this myself. But have seen several reports that it works.)

Other people have had success putting a Freedom SIM in, which seemed to have allowed them to add a new APN, fill in Public Mobile settings, reboot. Put Public Mobile SIM in. https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Phones-Hardware/Android-8-1-APN-settings/m-p/289974/h...

(I think... For me playing with an active SpeakOut SIM eventually populated the Public Mobile APN settings, but I didn't write down the exact steps, sorry.) YMMV.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

missorange — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 03:57:59 GMT

you click ur data setting, there should have a option saying"open 4G" then u just turn off.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

wetcoaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:12:34 GMT

@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.

Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).

I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

RobertQc — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:18:59 GMT

@wetcoaster wrote:
@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.
Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).
I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.

@wetcoasterI had not used my data before my last renewal and did a couple speed tests on my 90 day 3G plan, set up as 4G LTE and as 3G. The 3G always produced a faster overall speed but interestingly enough I actually got faster pings on the 3G network each time (only 1-3ms but still). vs the LTE, I don't know if it was an isolated event but it happend. Maybe my area? I don't know but I plan on my next renewal with unused data to try this again. I regret now not taking screen shots.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

will13am — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:37:28 GMT

@RobertQc wrote:
@wetcoaster wrote:
@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.
Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).
I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.
@wetcoasterI had not used my data before my last renewal and did a couple speed tests on my 90 day 3G plan, set up as 4G LTE and as 3G. The 3G always produced a faster overall speed but interestingly enough I actually got faster pings on the 3G network each time (only 1-3ms but still). vs the LTE, I don't know if it was an isolated event but it happend. Maybe my area? I don't know but I plan on my next renewal with unused data to try this again. I regret now not taking screen shots.

Results are dependent on so many variables that individual data points are almost meaningless unless. Many tests taken over a relatively long period of time may yield something worth talking about. I will give you my long term (the entire time I have been with Public Mobile) test results at the salt mine (work). 3G is virtually useless for data. The sheer number of cellular calls on 3G swamp the local towers to the point that trying to do data is virtually impossible. Because of QoS, phone calls get priority over data. LTE for me is not much better. Although I have a full speed LTE plan, most days it is like I have the new LTE lite plans. At the end of the day, it is good enough.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

wetcoaster — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:49:22 GMT

@RobertQc wrote:
@wetcoaster wrote:
@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.
Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).
I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.
@wetcoasterI had not used my data before my last renewal and did a couple speed tests on my 90 day 3G plan, set up as 4G LTE and as 3G. The 3G always produced a faster overall speed but interestingly enough I actually got faster pings on the 3G network each time (only 1-3ms but still). vs the LTE, I don't know if it was an isolated event but it happend. Maybe my area? I don't know but I plan on my next renewal with unused data to try this again. I regret now not taking screen shots.

@RobertQc

Honestly, I've never seen the point of using my data on speed tests. I did some, obviously somewhat subjective, real life testing between "real 3G" and LTE light, on PM, same location, nearly same time, etc. 3G seemed to be consistently "less responsive, but similar loading speed" than LTE light for me.

I guess I should have thrown a YMMV in there, sorry, my bad.

As an additional data point, I also have a data only plan from another carrier, which is advertised as LTE but 99% of the time seems to run on 3G in the location mentioned above. That carrier's 3G is essentially unusable for watching even low res videos, again at my location, YMMV.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

RobertQc — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 04:55:04 GMT

@wetcoaster wrote:
@RobertQc wrote:
@wetcoaster wrote:
@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.
Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).
I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.
@wetcoasterI had not used my data before my last renewal and did a couple speed tests on my 90 day 3G plan, set up as 4G LTE and as 3G. The 3G always produced a faster overall speed but interestingly enough I actually got faster pings on the 3G network each time (only 1-3ms but still). vs the LTE, I don't know if it was an isolated event but it happend. Maybe my area? I don't know but I plan on my next renewal with unused data to try this again. I regret now not taking screen shots.
@RobertQc
Honestly, I've never seen the point of using my data on speed tests. I did some, obviously somewhat subjective, real life testing between "real 3G" and LTE light, on PM, same location, nearly same time, etc. 3G seemed to be consistently "less responsive, but similar loading speed" than LTE light for me.
I guess I should have thrown a YMMV in there, sorry, my bad.

As an additional data point, I also have a data only plan from another carrier, which is advertised as LTE but 99% of the time seems to run on 3G in the location mentioned above. That carrier's 3G is essentially unusable for watching even low res videos, again at my location, YMMV.

@wetcoasterHaha no need to be sorry. If you have to say sorry, then I am sorry and should have worded it differently I am really bad at that. I do agree with you and I still will continue market LTE has faster pings, I currently keep my phone on LTE and a good explanation I think is by @will13am above. My comment was not to disagree, but more to say welcome to the twilight zone and share something that caught me off guard.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

will13am — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 05:01:01 GMT

@wetcoaster wrote:
@RobertQc wrote:
@wetcoaster wrote:
@missorange wrote:
you can go to your phone setting, then turn off 4g. actually the speed will be faster, i did this on my phone.
Personally, and for my use I take low latency ("ping") over "faster 3G speed", never had a problem. (yes, I do watch the occasional video (standard definition) on my phone if I have data left near my renewal date).
I strongly believe that LTE light is a very good option for most people who don't watch HD videos on their phone (why would you do THAT?) or use it for other extremely data heavy applications.
@wetcoasterI had not used my data before my last renewal and did a couple speed tests on my 90 day 3G plan, set up as 4G LTE and as 3G. The 3G always produced a faster overall speed but interestingly enough I actually got faster pings on the 3G network each time (only 1-3ms but still). vs the LTE, I don't know if it was an isolated event but it happend. Maybe my area? I don't know but I plan on my next renewal with unused data to try this again. I regret now not taking screen shots.
@RobertQc
Honestly, I've never seen the point of using my data on speed tests. I did some, obviously somewhat subjective, real life testing between "real 3G" and LTE light, on PM, same location, nearly same time, etc. 3G seemed to be consistently "less responsive, but similar loading speed" than LTE light for me.
I guess I should have thrown a YMMV in there, sorry, my bad.

As an additional data point, I also have a data only plan from another carrier, which is advertised as LTE but 99% of the time seems to run on 3G in the location mentioned above. That carrier's 3G is essentially unusable for watching even low res videos, again at my location, YMMV.

There isn't a point in doing speed tests unless there is a data issue and testing is used as a troubleshooting tool. I think a lot of people do speed tests to show off the E-P****.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

Corwin — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 12:24:58 GMT

Thanks very much, I'm not very tech savvy but will try and follow the steps laid out in the links you provided.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

srlawren — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:06:23 GMT

@Corwin wrote:

I just set up my phone and it's working fine but it reads Public Mobile 4G at the top instead of 3G? Help?

@Alan_K @Brooke_C I would like to tag you again to remind you that continuing to call your throttled data plans "3G" is continuing to cause confusion to your customers. I'm going to ask you yet again to please consider changing the name to "LTE Lite" and optionally the regular LTE plans to "Full-speed LTE" (or similar).

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

stonechucker — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:49:46 GMT

@srlawren wrote:
@Corwin wrote:

I just set up my phone and it's working fine but it reads Public Mobile 4G at the top instead of 3G? Help?

@Alan_K @Brooke_C I would like to tag you again to remind you that continuing to call your throttled data plans "3G" is continuing to cause confusion to your customers. I'm going to ask you yet again to please consider changing the name to "LTE Lite" and optionally the regular LTE plans to "Full-speed LTE" (or similar).

Or just go back to better pricing on FULL LTE plans in general, and forget the 3G Speed stuff. Let's make this a better 3rd Tier provider.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

srlawren — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 19:55:28 GMT

@stonechucker wrote:
Or just go back to better pricing on FULL LTE plans in general, and forget the 3G Speed stuff. Let's make this a better 3rd Tier provider.

@stonechucker ideally, yes, 100% yes! However, as I find this unlikely anytime soon, making the nomenclature clearer would be a big help.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

computergeek541 — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 22:14:31 GMT

@stonechucker wrote:
Or just go back to better pricing on FULL LTE plans in general, and forget the 3G Speed stuff. Let's make this a better 3rd Tier provider.

I think you forgot to bold the "er" in "better" and make it show in blue letters. Is Bell still using that marketting strategy?

When it comes to Koodo and Telus, one would think that the opportunity to secure phone devices and a great discount would be enough.

When it comes to 3g speeds vs. LTE speeds, I'm not entirely sure why Public Mobile is doing this. Last time I checked, carriers want us to use our data amounts faster. This way, they can see us data add-ons, or make us consider switching to a plan that includes more.

As for the concept of confusion by the term "3g data" being used, perhaps that's deliberate? If it makes things confusing for consumers, direct comparison between Public Mobile's plans and the more expensive carriers' plans is made more difficult.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

SkimGuy — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:46:42 GMT

Was anyone able to change the settings to enable 3g instead of "LTE lite"? Would this save on battery life with a negligible impact on speed?

Using a Samsung Galaxy s9 if it matters

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

srlawren — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:36:41 GMT

@SkimGuy wrote:
Was anyone able to change the settings to enable 3g instead of "LTE lite"? Would this save on battery life with a negligible impact on speed?

Using a Samsung Galaxy s9 if it matters

@SkimGuy yes that's entirely possible. Set your preferred network settings to something like "2G/3G" or "3G Only" (not sure what's offered on an S9). You will get unthrottled HSPA+ 3G data that way, which is typically quicker than the throttled "3G" LTE, at least for downloads.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

srlawren — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 18:37:42 GMT

@computergeek541 wrote:
As for the concept of confusion by the term "3g data" being used, perhaps that's deliberate? If it makes things confusing for consumers, direct comparison between Public Mobile's plans and the more expensive carriers' plans is made more difficult.

@computergeek541 interesting thought...it had not occurred to me that it might be deliberate to cause confusion.

Re: Why does my phone read 4G when my plan is 3G?

shanaaz — Thu, 02 May 2019 23:35:02 GMT

Thanks...I have the exact same Xiaomi phone and was wondering exactly the same thing! 🙂