5G Phone on 4G Plan Inquiry

[ConnorHand]

Hi! 

I have a Pixel 7 Pro but currently on a 4G plan. I'm struggling to find an answer regarding which network I should select for my preferred network in my network settings. Selecting LTE makes sense since I have a 4G plan but my phone recommends I leave it on the default 5G.

What this post boils down to is does the '5G' preferred network outperform 'LTE' on a 4G plan OR should I just leave my preferred network to LTE since that's what I'm paying for?

Thanks

[DennyCrane]

I have a 4G plan but I leave my phone on 5G preferred. My results seem to be all over the map though. At home last week I was getting better speeds on 4g, but still a far cry from the 100Mbps max, but now today at home I exceed 100Mbps on both, with better results in 5g.

 

 

[ConnorHand]

Thank you both for your input. I'll just leave it on LTE as planned.

[BKNS27 · Accepted solution]

@ConnorHand 

There are a lot of YouTube video showing the speed test of 4G/LTE vs 5G.

Most of them shows the 4G/LTE was faster. The other thing to remember the 5G only works outdoor because the signal can’t go through walls. 
Also as @Handy1  pointed out…it is a battery drainer and your phone may run warm.

I have my iPhone 14 Pro on 4G/LTE.

[softech]

@ConnorHand with PM now has 5G enabled, you can set your network to Automatic or 5G  and it will work, the speed will still capped at your plan speed

[ConnorHand]

So theoretically, assuming say network coverage and signal strength are the same at any given location, the 5G setting has an edge even though it's still a 4G plan?

[Handy1]

@ConnorHand  Honestly no I don’t , think it may just drain battery quicker is all 

[ConnorHand]

I'm aware. To confirm you think there is no benefit to selecting 5G over LTE as my preferred network in this case?

[golfball]

It should be throttled to the same speed regardless. In theory the 5G network should be better but results will vary based on many factors.

[Handy1]

@ConnorHand  4G /LTE same thing , you can leave it on 5G too but your will still only get the 4G speeds 

add 5G may use more battery also