topic PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed. in Get Support

PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

BEER — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:32:15 GMT

Just signed up on the $30 PM plan that includes 1GB data at 3G speeds however when I use the Data my iPhone shows it to be the much faster LTE speed. Is this correct or does my iPhone incorectly displays LTE. ---------(LTE is up to 10 times faster than 3G.)

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

Costello_P — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:14:03 GMT

Hi there Beer

Regarding your question, the phone shows the fastest possible speed but your plan will always dictate the actual speed you'll be on. In your case it will be 3G.

Costello from Public Mod Team.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

powerg21 — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:31:50 GMT

PM has LTE but for users who are on 3G plans, the speed will be throttled to 2.5-3.0MB/sec in few days. Mine was throttled within 48 hours. You can force your phone to connect using 3G only (in my case I set my network to WCDMA only) and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The latency suppose to be bit slower than LTE but I don't see a big difference.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

will13am — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:31:52 GMT

@BEER, the so called 3G plans are actually throttled LTE. You are connected to the LTE network with data speed capped at 3 mbits/s up and down. The throttling is not immediate. You will see it around day 3.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

wickedgx — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 16:55:53 GMT

I just recently signed up as well. It takes time for it to kick in.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

cavemantoronto — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 17:15:39 GMT

The fast speeds on lte are temporary. Turn off LTE to get fastest speeds on 3g plan.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

BEER — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 18:34:38 GMT

@powerg21 wrote:
PM has LTE but for users who are on 3G plans, the speed will be throttled to 2.5-3.0MB/sec in few days. Mine was throttled within 48 hours. You can force your phone to connect using 3G only (in my case I set my network to WCDMA only) and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The latency suppose to be bit slower than LTE but I don't see a big difference.

Thanks for iteresting info - increasing speed from 3 mb/sec to 15 mb/sec sounds good - I have an iphone 6s - how can I set my data network to WCDMA ?

I tried to do it as follows but no option to set to WCDMA--

Touch Settings.
Touch Cellular. ...
Touch Cellular Data Options. ...
Touch Enable LTE to use the LTE network. ...

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

stonechucker — Fri, 01 Mar 2019 18:51:32 GMT

@BEER, disable the option for LTE. That will drop you to the 3G network.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

BEER — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:31:59 GMT

@cavemantoronto wrote:
The fast speeds on lte are temporary. Turn off LTE to get fastest speeds on 3g plan.

But isn't LTE faster then 3G?

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

BEER — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:33:06 GMT

@stonechucker wrote:
@BEER, disable the option for LTE. That will drop you to the 3G network.

But isn't LTE faster then 3G?

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

powerg21 — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:39:40 GMT

LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

BEER — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 02:53:01 GMT

@powerg21 wrote:
LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.

Will try as you suggest but it doesn't make sense as to why PM would throttle it down to 3 mb/sec and not to the 3G speed of 15 mb/sec .

Re: PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.

srlawren — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 21:13:46 GMT

@BEER wrote:
@powerg21 wrote:
LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.
Will try as you suggest but it doesn't make sense as to why PM would throttle it down to 3 mb/sec and not to the 3G speed of 15 mb/sec .

@BEER @powerg21 to clarify:

IF you have a full-speed "LTE" data plan at PM:

- Using 4G LTE will get you the fastest data

- Setting your phone to 3G (HSPA+ data speeds) only, will get you slower data

IF you have a "3G" speed data plan at PM:

- Using 4G LTE will only get you approx 3.0 Mbps speeds since this network is throtttled on these plans

- HOWEVER, there is a loophole that has yet to be fixed (no guarantee it will stay around forever, but they have not been in a hurry to patch it) where if you limit your phone to 3G HSPA+ data, you will get an unthrottled HSPA+ connection. Typically, you will get faster downloads and slower uploads with HSPA+ vs. throttled LTE, but this will vary based on your phone, your area, congestion, etc.

You may get faster speeds if you turn off LTE on 3g plan.

BEER — Wed, 08 May 2019 01:56:01 GMT

Public Mobile's "3G" plans are using LTE, but it is "throttled" down to "3G-like" speeds of 3Mbps. You may get faster speeds if you turn off LTE on 3g plan. I don’t know how to measure this but I have read that data speeds may increase from a snail pace 3 Mbps to near 15 Mbps. In my case I have noticed a quicker web search response.

You can force your phone to connect using 3G only and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The way to do it with an iPhone is as follows.

From the Home screen, navigate: Settings > Cellular.
Ensure the Cellular Data switch is turned on .
Tap Cellular Data Options.

Anyways even if I'm just experiencing a placebo effect it will definitely not slow things down because it will be set for 3g and that's what we are supposed to get.

Re: You may get faster speeds if you turn off LTE on 3g plan.

will13am — Wed, 08 May 2019 03:22:54 GMT

This is a known fact and have been discussed many times. TBH, the real world experience could be YMMV. For activities that use very little data, the lower latency of LTE may yield a better overall user experience. For large downloads, 3G may be better. At work, the 3G connections are totally clogged with phone calls. It is about as bad as trying to run data on the Freedom network.

Re: You may get faster speeds if you turn off LTE on 3g plan.

stonechucker — Wed, 08 May 2019 14:43:10 GMT

@BEER, if you force 3G connection, you will not get the Alert Ready emergency alerts. If this is a concern for anyone, forcing the 3G connection will prevent getting these alerts on the device.

Test that proves turning off LTE results in faster 3G data speeds

BEER — Sun, 26 May 2019 16:09:54 GMT

Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)

Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--

On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload

Re: Test that proves turning off LTE results in faster 3G data speeds

Anonymous — Sun, 26 May 2019 16:12:06 GMT

@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload

Now go look at your consumed data counter 🙂

Re: Test that proves turning off LTE results in faster 3G data speeds

mimmo — Sun, 26 May 2019 16:25:55 GMT

@BEER this has been discussed several times. the big difference you are not considering is the latency of 3g vs LTE, this will often cause 3g to load slower even if it has faster download speeds.

Re: Test that proves turning off LTE results in faster 3G data speeds

BEER — Sun, 26 May 2019 16:40:54 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload
Now go look at your consumed data counter 🙂

I just did and nothing shows up for today - perhaps is the usage log delayed?

Ohhhhh - I just checked the data usage on my phone for the "Speed Test " app -- I now understand your comment - it ate up 77.4 mb of my data --