On a 3G plan - HSPA faster than LTE? Set your phone to 3G and check

[horemansus]

Seems that on a 3G plan if you force your phone to connect with 3G (HSPA+) you will not be throttled like you are on LTE.

I am getting about 11 mbits on HSPA+, rather than the throttled 3 mbits on LTE. Surprisingly ping is only a little worse.

If your phone allows... Definitely most Android.. try setting to 3g and check your download speed. I did notice upload was slower, likely because only downloading is throttled on LTE {?}

[fredweet]

They haven't changed any settings yet lol. Don't think they will. 

I get 24 MBits download speed on HSPA, and 2.5 MBits on LTE in the same spot.

[David01]

Going back a few years to HSPA devices, streaming was terrible on an actual 3G network. I've noticed a significant difference between streaming on an HSPA network and PM LTE network. The "3G" over the LTE network is much more reliable, I find. 

[srlawren]

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@will13am wrote:

If people do have range anxiety, the proper solution is to get the latest phone.  Newer hardware will save power more than anything else, except for putting the phone in airplane mode or turning it off all together.  I have been test driving a phone with snapdragon 636 CPU.  This phone consumes a reported 0.8% per hour on with screen off and all sync features are enabled, bluetooth, wifi, GPS on.  Five days of standby is approaching flip phone territory for battery endurance. 

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@will13am indeed.  Newer chips typically run on a smaller manufacturing process than their predecessors, and the resulting die shrink typically leads to both quicker performance and lighter power consumption. 

[will13am]

If people do have range anxiety, the proper solution is to get the latest phone.  Newer hardware will save power more than anything else, except for putting the phone in airplane mode or turning it off all together.  I have been test driving a phone with snapdragon 636 CPU.  This phone consumes a reported 0.8% per hour on with screen off and all sync features are enabled, bluetooth, wifi, GPS on.  Five days of standby is approaching flip phone territory for battery endurance. 

[horemansus]

Latest observation..

Oakville, Dundas St at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital 3rd floor.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oyRU5PpjNjC1DrRQ9

Yes.. it is 17.4 mbits down.

Beats throttled LTE by a mile.

[horemansus]

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@srlawren wrote:

Okay I'm not an expert but here's how I think battery life plays out....

If you've turned off LTE (or have phone set to UMTS/HSPA+ only without LTE), you're running one less radio.  You need UMTS on regardless since it's used for talk and text, but when you turn on LTE you're using a second radio for the data.  

The result of this, I think at least in theory, is that while idling or if you're an infrequent data user, you're likely to see longer battery life from just using HSPA+ without LTE.  However, I think @kav2001c's point bout duration and screen-on time come into play if you're a more frequent/heavier data user; so if the phone can more quickly get the data it needs and display it to you, it may balance out the extra radio power by reducing the amount of time you're interacting with the phone with the screen on. 

As to how all this plays out in practice probably varies a lot, but such factors as (but not limited to):

- Chipset/SoC in your phone

- OS on your phone

- your usage scenario

- your other hardware in your phone and how "thirsty" they are for power e.g. LCD vs. OLED with light vs. dark screen content, screen size and refresh rate, lower power RAM and storage, etc.

It's probably very difficult to make a blanket claim here.  One thing I noticed while using LeFrench Mobile in Europe recently, which limited me to HSPA+, is that I perceived to be getting longer battery life from a single charge--more so in Paris than in London;  however, I also know that my overall usage was lighter as I was out and about and trying not to run out of battery, so we could still use Google Maps to get back to home base at the end of the day and communicate with our co-travellers over WhatsApp and so on.  Oh also my LeFrench plan was data-only, which means I was also running Fongo all the time which is a bit of a battery hog.  So, I can't really draw a lot of conclusions here overall since my usage wasn't consistent even between the two cities (for various reasons) let alone vs. my normal usage at home.

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Good real world observations.

YMMV

[srlawren]

Okay I'm not an expert but here's how I think battery life plays out....

If you've turned off LTE (or have phone set to UMTS/HSPA+ only without LTE), you're running one less radio.  You need UMTS on regardless since it's used for talk and text, but when you turn on LTE you're using a second radio for the data.  

The result of this, I think at least in theory, is that while idling or if you're an infrequent data user, you're likely to see longer battery life from just using HSPA+ without LTE.  However, I think @kav2001c's point bout duration and screen-on time come into play if you're a more frequent/heavier data user; so if the phone can more quickly get the data it needs and display it to you, it may balance out the extra radio power by reducing the amount of time you're interacting with the phone with the screen on. 

As to how all this plays out in practice probably varies a lot, but such factors as (but not limited to):

- Chipset/SoC in your phone

- OS on your phone

- your usage scenario

- your other hardware in your phone and how "thirsty" they are for power e.g. LCD vs. OLED with light vs. dark screen content, screen size and refresh rate, lower power RAM and storage, etc.

It's probably very difficult to make a blanket claim here.  One thing I noticed while using LeFrench Mobile in Europe recently, which limited me to HSPA+, is that I perceived to be getting longer battery life from a single charge--more so in Paris than in London;  however, I also know that my overall usage was lighter as I was out and about and trying not to run out of battery, so we could still use Google Maps to get back to home base at the end of the day and communicate with our co-travellers over WhatsApp and so on.  Oh also my LeFrench plan was data-only, which means I was also running Fongo all the time which is a bit of a battery hog.  So, I can't really draw a lot of conclusions here overall since my usage wasn't consistent even between the two cities (for various reasons) let alone vs. my normal usage at home.

[kav2001c]

@sirvarthe issue is here real world testing does not match lab results

For the average user on an average carrier LTE will consume far less battery

The reason being your screen is on for a shorter period of time

Now IF the OP is correct in that HSPA is that much of a speed boost, then on Public (due to throttle) HSPA would actually consume less battery

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@sirvar wrote:

One thing you will notice is poor battery life on your phone. HSPA+ consumes a lot more power than the low power LTE. I would recommend leaving it on LTE while data is on in the background, and switching to HSPA+ when you need to use faster speeds.

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[horemansus]

Great doubter.. why not do your own speedtest?

speedtest with Meteor...

http://bit.do/er4LF

And i am on a 3g plan.. phone is set to 3g.. shows HSPA+

Why don't you do your own speed test?

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@

Where did you get this information?  Proof or it didn't happen. 

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[will13am]

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@sirvar wrote:

This is from my experience of being on a 3G signal vs 4G. Significant "Phone Services" battery usage when on 3G on my Android

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I think it's hardware dependent.  The modems these days don't really use more or less power either way.  Back in the day, it was much more battery efficient to run 3G.  I remember using LTE unofficially on the Nexus 4 with a hacked modem firmware.  In the early days, AWS LTE was really weak indoors.  The modern would heat up like a super nova trying to stay connected.  Gone are those days with current generation hardware.  Lately I am test driving a Xiaomi redmi note 5 AI.  This thing is so power efficient, it matches flip phones for endurance.  At work my connection runs the entire gambit, from edge to LTE.  Signal strength is often weak.  It doesn't really affect standby power usage.  I always advocate selecting LTE preferred connection.  Let the phone do the rest from there.

[mtfolks]

I’m gonna change to a 3G plan and they’re totally gonna fix this loophole. 😂

[sirvar]

This is from my experience of being on a 3G signal vs 4G. Significant "Phone Services" battery usage when on 3G on my Android

[will13am]

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@horemansus wrote:

Seems that on a 3G plan if you force your phone to connect with 3G (HSPA+) you will not be throttled like you are on LTE.

I am getting about 11 mbits on HSPA+, rather than the throttled 3 mbits on LTE. Surprisingly ping is only a little worse.

If your phone allows... Definitely most Android.. try setting to 3g and check your download speed. I did notice upload was slower, likely because only downloading is throttled on LTE {?}

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Shhhh. 

[will13am]

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@sirvar wrote:

One thing you will notice is poor battery life on your phone. HSPA+ consumes a lot more power than the low power LTE. I would recommend leaving it on LTE while data is on in the background, and switching to HSPA+ when you need to use faster speeds.

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Where did you get this information?  Proof or it didn't happen. 

[horemansus]

My speedtest with Meteor...

http://bit.do/er4LF

[sirvar]

One thing you will notice is poor battery life on your phone. HSPA+ consumes a lot more power than the low power LTE. I would recommend leaving it on LTE while data is on in the background, and switching to HSPA+ when you need to use faster speeds.