Community

BEER · ‎02-28-2019

Just signed up on the $30 PM plan that includes 1GB data at 3G speeds however when I use the Data my iPhone shows it to be the much faster LTE speed. Is this correct or does my iPhone incorectly displays LTE. ---------(LTE is up to 10 times faster than 3G.)

BEER · ‎05-26-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
@Milk wrote:
@will13am wrote:
Speed test results are so YMMV it is not really informative. There are so many local factors that come into play. I have mentioned it many times, at work the 3G network is completely useless for data. Pretty much all the bandwidth is consumed on phone calls. The real practical test is every day usage. If it seems fast enough and everything loads without time outs, it is good.
How can you argue with test results?
This is Beer right? 🙂
Easy. An extreme example would be a bunch of bots attempting large-scale attacks on a large number of servers. This would bog down the internet as a whole thus slowing down your speed test. Even just at the time you're doing a test, a bunch of others are too and that would bog down the server hosting the test and slowing everybody down.

Just a bit more info --------- there are advantages of switching off the LTE setting if one only has 3G data.

(1) The phone will take a few extra milliseconds to adjust down from LTE to 3G “Circuit Switched Fallback'”

(2) LTE setting uses more power thus less power consumption if the phone is correctly set to 3G - (battery will last a bit longer).

Sooooo if for no other reason what's the argument against setting your phone to the data setting that one subscribes and pays for?

Milk · ‎05-26-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
@Milk wrote:
@will13am wrote:
Speed test results are so YMMV it is not really informative. There are so many local factors that come into play. I have mentioned it many times, at work the 3G network is completely useless for data. Pretty much all the bandwidth is consumed on phone calls. The real practical test is every day usage. If it seems fast enough and everything loads without time outs, it is good.
How can you argue with test results?
This is Beer right? 🙂
Easy. An extreme example would be a bunch of bots attempting large-scale attacks on a large number of servers. This would bog down the internet as a whole thus slowing down your speed test. Even just at the time you're doing a test, a bunch of others are too and that would bog down the server hosting the test and slowing everybody down.

No this is not Beer but he told me about your post and I had to get in - if nothing else it may help me get a community dollar LOL . Also please don't think we were trying to disrespect you but hope you agree that we are just having a discussion.

Now back to the subject -- I understand what you are saying ----- however the test we conducted were all :

(1) within at most one minute of each other using the same cell phone.

(2) Three test were conducted for each setting and for each results were consistent.

Not saying that all should turn off their LTE setting but for me and my friends it seems to work and following our test results we no longer wonder if we were just experiencing placebo effects.

Anonymous · ‎05-26-2019

@Milk wrote:
@will13am wrote:
Speed test results are so YMMV it is not really informative. There are so many local factors that come into play. I have mentioned it many times, at work the 3G network is completely useless for data. Pretty much all the bandwidth is consumed on phone calls. The real practical test is every day usage. If it seems fast enough and everything loads without time outs, it is good.
How can you argue with test results?

This is Beer right? 🙂

Easy. An extreme example would be a bunch of bots attempting large-scale attacks on a large number of servers. This would bog down the internet as a whole thus slowing down your speed test. Even just at the time you're doing a test, a bunch of others are too and that would bog down the server hosting the test and slowing everybody down.

Milk · ‎05-26-2019

@will13am wrote:
Speed test results are so YMMV it is not really informative. There are so many local factors that come into play. I have mentioned it many times, at work the 3G network is completely useless for data. Pretty much all the bandwidth is consumed on phone calls. The real practical test is every day usage. If it seems fast enough and everything loads without time outs, it is good.

How can you argue with test results?

will13am · ‎05-26-2019

Speed test results are so YMMV it is not really informative. There are so many local factors that come into play. I have mentioned it many times, at work the 3G network is completely useless for data. Pretty much all the bandwidth is consumed on phone calls. The real practical test is every day usage. If it seems fast enough and everything loads without time outs, it is good.

Pizzaeh · ‎05-26-2019

Wouldn't a better comparison be to switch to 3G then do the things you would normally do (email, browse internet, social media, etc). Try that for a few days/week. Then switch it back to LTE, and see how it is in comparison. Maybe you notice a slight difference, maybe you don't. At least this way you get to actually use the data for something, instead of using it up for speed tests.

Anonymous · ‎05-26-2019

@BEER wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:

In my observations I seem to think it's immediate other than the little buffer it holds. Others have claimed it's twice a day. Maybe add-on data is different from plan data. Dunno.
The reason I said something is that speedtests can suck down a lot of data.
Ohhhhh - I just checked the data usage on my phone for the "Speed Test " app -- I now understand your comment - it ate up 77.4 mb of my data --

Turn off your data, flip in and out of airplane mode, take note of your current usage counter on the overview and refresh it. Does the counter change?

BEER · ‎05-26-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:

In my observations I seem to think it's immediate other than the little buffer it holds. Others have claimed it's twice a day. Maybe add-on data is different from plan data. Dunno.
The reason I said something is that speedtests can suck down a lot of data.

Ohhhhh - I just checked the data usage on my phone for the "Speed Test " app -- I now understand your comment - it ate up 77.4 mb of my data --

torontokris · ‎05-26-2019

@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload

I showed this at least a year ago. I was getting approx 8mbps.

maybe PM will cap the 3G now that people keep bringing it up / mentioning it.

Anonymous · ‎05-26-2019

@BEER wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload
Now go look at your consumed data counter 🙂
I just did and nothing shows up for today - perhaps is the usage log delayed?

In my observations I seem to think it's immediate other than the little buffer it holds. Others have claimed it's twice a day. Maybe add-on data is different from plan data. Dunno.

The reason I said something is that speedtests can suck down a lot of data.

BEER · ‎05-26-2019

@mimmo wrote:
@BEER this has been discussed several times. the big difference you are not considering is the latency of 3g vs LTE, this will often cause 3g to load slower even if it has faster download speeds.

OK perhaps the latency may be slower by an unnoticeable few milliseconds but isn't the point to have faster downloads? Anyways in my case turning off LTE has resulted in much less lag when loading even this PM Community forum.

BEER · ‎05-26-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload
Now go look at your consumed data counter 🙂

I just did and nothing shows up for today - perhaps is the usage log delayed?

Ohhhhh - I just checked the data usage on my phone for the "Speed Test " app -- I now understand your comment - it ate up 77.4 mb of my data --

mimmo · ‎05-26-2019

@BEER this has been discussed several times. the big difference you are not considering is the latency of 3g vs LTE, this will often cause 3g to load slower even if it has faster download speeds.

Anonymous · ‎05-26-2019

@BEER wrote:
Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)
Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--
On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload

Now go look at your consumed data counter 🙂

BEER · ‎05-26-2019

Cut and pasted ---(Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network)

Have used the "Speed test app" with results as follows--

On my home WIFI -- ------------------ --176 Mbps download -- 237 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE disabled -- 12.3 Mbps download - 1.26 Mbps upload
On my PM data with LTE enabled -- 3.23 Mbps download -- 1.90 Mbps upload

stonechucker · ‎05-08-2019

@BEER, if you force 3G connection, you will not get the Alert Ready emergency alerts. If this is a concern for anyone, forcing the 3G connection will prevent getting these alerts on the device.

will13am · ‎05-07-2019

This is a known fact and have been discussed many times. TBH, the real world experience could be YMMV. For activities that use very little data, the lower latency of LTE may yield a better overall user experience. For large downloads, 3G may be better. At work, the 3G connections are totally clogged with phone calls. It is about as bad as trying to run data on the Freedom network.

BEER · ‎05-07-2019

Public Mobile's "3G" plans are using LTE, but it is "throttled" down to "3G-like" speeds of 3Mbps. You may get faster speeds if you turn off LTE on 3g plan. I don’t know how to measure this but I have read that data speeds may increase from a snail pace 3 Mbps to near 15 Mbps. In my case I have noticed a quicker web search response.

You can force your phone to connect using 3G only and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The way to do it with an iPhone is as follows.

From the Home screen, navigate: Settings > Cellular.
Ensure the Cellular Data switch is turned on .
Tap Cellular Data Options.

Anyways even if I'm just experiencing a placebo effect it will definitely not slow things down because it will be set for 3g and that's what we are supposed to get.

srlawren · ‎03-03-2019

@BEER wrote:
@powerg21 wrote:
LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.
Will try as you suggest but it doesn't make sense as to why PM would throttle it down to 3 mb/sec and not to the 3G speed of 15 mb/sec .

@BEER @powerg21 to clarify:

IF you have a full-speed "LTE" data plan at PM:

- Using 4G LTE will get you the fastest data

- Setting your phone to 3G (HSPA+ data speeds) only, will get you slower data

IF you have a "3G" speed data plan at PM:

- Using 4G LTE will only get you approx 3.0 Mbps speeds since this network is throtttled on these plans

- HOWEVER, there is a loophole that has yet to be fixed (no guarantee it will stay around forever, but they have not been in a hurry to patch it) where if you limit your phone to 3G HSPA+ data, you will get an unthrottled HSPA+ connection. Typically, you will get faster downloads and slower uploads with HSPA+ vs. throttled LTE, but this will vary based on your phone, your area, congestion, etc.

>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

BEER · ‎03-01-2019

@powerg21 wrote:
LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.

Will try as you suggest but it doesn't make sense as to why PM would throttle it down to 3 mb/sec and not to the 3G speed of 15 mb/sec .

powerg21 · ‎03-01-2019

LTE is normally faster than 3G but PM throttles it to 3MB/sec. 3G is not thottled so it's around 15MB/sec.

BEER · ‎03-01-2019

@stonechucker wrote:
@BEER, disable the option for LTE. That will drop you to the 3G network.

But isn't LTE faster then 3G?

BEER · ‎03-01-2019

@cavemantoronto wrote:
The fast speeds on lte are temporary. Turn off LTE to get fastest speeds on 3g plan.

But isn't LTE faster then 3G?

stonechucker · ‎03-01-2019

@BEER, disable the option for LTE. That will drop you to the 3G network.

BEER · ‎03-01-2019

@powerg21 wrote:
PM has LTE but for users who are on 3G plans, the speed will be throttled to 2.5-3.0MB/sec in few days. Mine was throttled within 48 hours. You can force your phone to connect using 3G only (in my case I set my network to WCDMA only) and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The latency suppose to be bit slower than LTE but I don't see a big difference.

Thanks for iteresting info - increasing speed from 3 mb/sec to 15 mb/sec sounds good - I have an iphone 6s - how can I set my data network to WCDMA ?

I tried to do it as follows but no option to set to WCDMA--

Touch Settings.
Touch Cellular. ...
Touch Cellular Data Options. ...
Touch Enable LTE to use the LTE network. ...

cavemantoronto · ‎02-28-2019

The fast speeds on lte are temporary. Turn off LTE to get fastest speeds on 3g plan.

wickedgx · ‎02-28-2019

I just recently signed up as well. It takes time for it to kick in.

will13am · ‎02-28-2019

@BEER, the so called 3G plans are actually throttled LTE. You are connected to the LTE network with data speed capped at 3 mbits/s up and down. The throttling is not immediate. You will see it around day 3.

powerg21 · ‎02-28-2019

PM has LTE but for users who are on 3G plans, the speed will be throttled to 2.5-3.0MB/sec in few days. Mine was throttled within 48 hours. You can force your phone to connect using 3G only (in my case I set my network to WCDMA only) and the speed will increase to ~15MB/sec. The latency suppose to be bit slower than LTE but I don't see a big difference.

Costello_P · ‎02-28-2019

Hi there Beer

Regarding your question, the phone shows the fastest possible speed but your plan will always dictate the actual speed you'll be on. In your case it will be 3G.

Costello from Public Mod Team.

Community

PM 3G plan but phone shows faster LTE speed.