Difference between 3G Speed and 4G LTE

[jordan23]

Hi, did anyone experience the difference between 3G and 4G LTE speeds when browsing the internet, watching videos, and downloading files? I know both their technical specs but am just curious about the actual user experience in regards to their speeds. Also, I currently have the $25 plan with 3G speed but when I was using my data earlier, I noticed on the top right of my phone (beside the signal bar) it shows "LTE" instead of "3G". Does that mean I'm getting the speed of 4G LTE even though I have the 3G plan? Thanks!

[jordan23]

Thank you everyone!

[kelvarnsen · Accepted solution]

I'm on the same plan and it works pretty well. Websites and streaming audio work well and I can even watch youtube videos on my phone, although they do take maybe a few seconds longer to load compared to on wifi. But it is nothing really noticeable.

[computergeek541]

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@jordan23 wrote:

Hi, did anyone experience the difference between 3G and 4G LTE speeds when browsing the internet, watching videos, and downloading files? I know both their technical specs but am just curious about the actual user experience in regards to their speeds. Also, I currently have the $25 plan with 3G speed but when I was using my data earlier, I noticed on the top right of my phone (beside the signal bar) it shows "LTE" instead of "3G". Does that mean I'm getting the speed of 4G LTE even though I have the 3G plan? Thanks!

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I would say that since you're on a plan with 1GB of data, you're a very light data user.  In that case, I think that you're unlikely to be using the connection for anything that the reduced speeds would have any significant impact on.  And, if you were, your data would run out very quickly.

[Triguy]

Your data will delivered over LTE when and where available, with the according latency / fast responding time. However up and download speeds are throttled to 3Mbps. If you force the phone to a 3G connection you have access to faster speeds.