Phone shows LTE while I'm on 3g plan

[purpledream]

I just switched yesterday, set up apn today. On $50 8g +5mb plan, but phone shows LTE. Will it cause any problems?

[powerg21]

Thanks for the information!  

[computergeek541]

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@powerg21 wrote:

I have my phone set to 3G as well to get the faster speed.  Are there any disadvanges to having it set like this compared to having it set to LTE?  Are the coverage the same for both 3G and LTE? 

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Coverage won't be 100% identical because there are more/different frequency bands used for LTE, but most people won't notice a difference.  Either way, we can't really compare coverage because we need the 3g network to be able to make and receive phone calls.

The 3g network tends to have higher ping times before a website or download starts reponding. We're talking very small fractions of a second.  Also, I believe that the 3g network has a tendency to require a stronger signal to maintain consistency.  With higher speeds, you'll also be likely to consume your data faster.

[powerg21]

I have my phone set to 3G as well to get the faster speed.  Are there any disadvanges to having it set like this compared to having it set to LTE?  Are the coverage the same for both 3G and LTE? 

[PlanShopper]

Pro tip: If you need more speed, you can flip your phone to 3G mode (Disable LTE in the Mobile Network settings) and you'll actually get faster speeds in most cases. THis is because you're throttled on the LTE network, but not on the 3G.

You should get anywhere from 10-50mb down, and 3-15 up instead of 3down/3up on the LTE.

Most times, you won't even notice the slower speeds, but figured I'd mention it since it was news to me. There may be a time when you need that extra speed.

[NDesai · Accepted solution]

@purpledream That's correct! You will stay on LTE but the speed will be throttled to 3mbps instead of full LTE speed. 3G plan is basically a LTE lite plan. 

[Anonymous]

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@purpledream wrote:

I just switched yesterday, set up apn today. On $50 8g +5mb plan, but phone shows LTE. Will it cause any problems?

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No. Public Mobile really uses LTE and then throttles it down to about 3mbps and calls it 3G which is a bit of a misnomer when they actually mean 3G speed.