3g to 4g

[Zodiac1]

So I am having trouble wit the signal cutting in and out when using Microsoft teams when driving. It uses data (no call in number) I would like to switch from my current 3G plan to a 4G plan to see if that fixes it. Can I switch and keep the discounts and promotional minutes and data I have in my current account? If it does not make it better can I switch back? Would I be billed for a whole month or just for the day I tried 4G, if it doesn't work?

Addition:

So it seems MS Teams cuts out in about the same spots along my commute. When viewing my "bars" of signal they don't drop bellow 3 and are sometimes still at 5 (with LTE above them) when I am going through the problem zones. When I was using Google Meet this wasn't a problem because I was using a call in # (cellular minutes). For Teams it uses data. I turned off video so it shouldn't use much data, in fact my data usage is only a bit higher now that I use Teams. So I started checking my data connection speed while driving. While usually 3MB/s upload it dips to .25 MB/s in the trouble spots. I assume from what you mentioned, changing to 4G won't fix this... any solution? a new phone? a new provider?

[hTideGnow]

HI @Zodiac1   is team the only app with the problem? you use other communication app and have similar problem?

I think it could be the app problem.  Maybe try reinstalling Teams.  

And does the problem happen only when video is used?  Test with a voice only Team session

[dust2dust]

The 3G-only idea above from benfatto may be worth trying on that problem area. You might still get some video lag but it  should hold on.

Or as I mentioned earlier yes you should get some better throughput if you changed up to a full 4G plan. But try the 3G-only first.

[Zodiac1]

Thanks for the detailed response. So it seems MS Teams cuts out in about the same spots along my commute. When viewing my "bars" of signal they don't drop bellow 3 and are sometimes still at 5 (with LTE above them) when I am going through the problem zones. When I was using Google Meet this wasn't a problem because I was using a call in # (cellular minutes). For Teams it uses data. I turned off video so it shouldn't use much data, in fact my data usage is only a bit higher now that I use Teams. So I started checking my data connection speed while driving. While usually 3MB/s upload it dips to .25 MB/s in the trouble spots. I assume from what you mentioned, changing to 4G won't fix this... any solution? a new phone? a new provider?

[benfatto]

@Zodiac1  Upgrading to a 4G plan is almost certainly not going to help. Setting your phone's network to 3G instead of LTE/auto might help as the 3G is better than 4G in some locations. It's an experiment that cost nothing to try. 

[Yummy]

You can upgrade/downgrade your plan at any time (better on renewal) and you will NOT use your rewards, add-ons, bonuses loyalty, etc. UNLESS YOU switch to points...

[softech · Accepted solution]

@Zodiac1 it could be a local network issue around the area you drive.  Are you driving within city or around rural area?

Also, unless bandwidth is an issue, you likely  already using 4G LTE

Yes, you might be on a 3G speed plan, but most of us , the phone will by default chose 4G LTE network to connect.  Yes, 3G speed plan can use 4G LTE network, just on a reduced speed at 3Mpbs.  Unless you have changed your phone to 3G ONLY as the preferred network, your phone likely is selected automatic and 4G LTE will be used  

would it help to change to 4G speed plan? Maybe if upload and download speed is the bottleneck.    

Can you move to 4G speed plan for a month and change back to 3G speed plan?  Yes, absolutely.  And no worry, changing plan won't affect your rewards.  Only thing it might affect is if you activated with activation bonus, like this 2GB extra data for so many months.  If you have those, it will appear in the My Promotions section on My Account and you will loss it if you make plan change.  But if you don't have any activation bonus, then no worry

[dust2dust]

Changing plans won't change reception. You were always on 4G LTE (assuming your phone was set that way). The 3G marketing term here is dumb. But they do say "speed". It's all 4G but throttled speed. But yes changing to the 4G speed should give you a faster response but not necessarily reception if that is the actual problem.

It's recommended to change at next renewal. There's no pro-rating here.

[Handy1]

@Zodiac1  Rewards are tied to you account not your plan and if by promotional minutes the long distance add on more is merrier or any add on rolls over until it’s used also 

[Handy1]

@Zodiac1  Yes you can switch with no worry of losing old rewards 

edit just make sure to change plans for next renewal and not immediately PM is prepaid so you don’t get prorated for unused mins data