Data speed error

[rwilson10694]

I am paying for 4G but my phone says the network is 3G. Why is that?

[Wayworn]

I was under the impression that if you’re on a 4g plan you should select LTE and that would speed up the phone because it won’t be searching for 5G first and also save battery life. Am I wrong?

According to my google search -another limitation to 5G ------------------->Can 5G Wi-Fi penetrate walls? Although 5Ghz Wi-Fi can go through your walls, the signals will get blocked or weakened by obstacles like ceilings, floors, and walls. Hence, 5G Wi-Fi doesn't contain reliable wall penetrating ability.

[will13am]

@rwilson10694 , actual data speed performance is the result of many factors, local network congestion, your hardware, signal strength, etc.  if you purchased a 4G speed plan, that means Public Mobile has limited your data speed to a maximum of 100 mbits/s.  Regardless of other factors affecting data speed, you will be limited to the 100 mbits/s.  Generally, I would suggest not fretting about mobile data speed as it's performance is in most circumstances better than Wi-Fi performance.  

[Phil_Adelphus]

@rwilson10694  Glad it's working now!  My iPhone 13 has the options 5G Auto, 5G On, LTE (which is 4g for this purpose) and 3G.  I leave it on 5G auto and it spends most of its time on LTE.

[rwilson10694]

Never been to that screen before. The 3G box is active. There is no 4G box, so I clicked on the 5G box which was/is available. The phone now displays 5G, but that cannot be the true speed. Hmm. Welcome to iphone 15 Plus I guess. It only shows what's in that screen. Thank you much. We'll close this one.

[golfball]

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@rwilson10694 wrote:

It's Apple iPhone Plus and I've already restarted it.

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Plus isn't detailed enough to determine which phone it is, we would need the number that comes before that. You may need a software update.

[rwilson10694]

I live in a large urban area. 5G is available. The phone is using "Public Network" and it is set to 'automatic'. I checked all that.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@rwilson10694   If an iPhone go Settings - Cellular - Cellular Data Options - Voice and Data and make sure it is set to 4G/LTE.  If Android try Settings - Mobile Network - Preferred Network Mode or something like that and make sure it's set right.

[rwilson10694]

It's Apple iPhone Plus and I've already restarted it.

[BKNS27]

@rwilson10694 

What make and model is your phone so we can help you with the settings on your phone?

[computergeek541]

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@rwilson10694 wrote:

I am paying for 4G but my phone says the network is 3G. Why is that?

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All Public Mobile plans allow access to the same networks.   This coudl be a matter of network availability in your area, or it could be a compatibility issue.  Enture that your device's setting are set to automatically select the best network.