Setting up iPhone on 3G plan

[samblayney]

I just activated my iphone 7 on the 6 gig plan with 3G speed, I noticed that I was able to connect and use 4G LTE though, is this a glitch or will I be charged more for using the 4G or should i disable it in my settings. Thank you

[Clefort88]

@srlawren, that is an interesting thing to know.
However having my phone on 3G and having a 3G plan, it is quite slow compared to LTE. It doesn’t bother me; I’ve no need for lightning fast speeds and it hasn’t impacted me one way or the other, but I’m guessing it’s been throttled simply because I have definitely noticed how much slower it is. But it’s steady, reliable and still loads anything I’m needing in under 15 seconds, and that’s at a max haha.
Either way, I’d much prefer the slower speeds, with more available data as a security blanket, than LTE with less wiggle room 👌🏻👌🏻
I’m not fussy. I just want the best deal for my dollar.

[Acekiller]

Well, PM has a lot of things to fix and doesn't seem to be doing any of them anytime soon...

[srlawren]

@Clefort88 please note that right now if you're forcing your phone to 3G (HSPA/HSPA+) and using a "3G" data plan option, you're actually probably getting unthrottled (not speed limited) HSPA+ speeds, even though you technically *should* only be getting a max of 2.5Mbps for both upload and download speeds.  There is a glitch where only the LTE connection is getting throttled to the 2.5/2.5 speeds on the "3G" data plans.  Eventually, PM will (might?--hard to say at the pace they're tackling bugs lately) fix this and you may notice your speeds go down quite a bit at that time.  So, enjoy it while you can!  I'm guessing you'll get to keep it a while yet, as I said.  

[Clefort88]

I have the same phone with the same plan; and I had many of the same concerns.
I’ve now had my phone and plan set to 3G for two months now and honestly, I find it more reliable at 3G. For service alone, I actually have my phone constantly switched to 3G anyway. I don’t even have LTE enabled. There’s really no point, and I’ve had more reliable phone calls, more engaged data and I’ve rarely had less than full bars of service, even in my concrete basement.

I think PM’s ability to throttle like that is absolutely brilliant lol safe guard all across the board.

I hope you enjoy the service and are able to see the massive difference in quality and quantity 👌🏻

[samblayney]

Thanks everyone for your help!

[srlawren]

@wetcoaster I don't think they're going to rebrand it, unfortunately.  It's certainly confusing, as evidenced by this thread and many more like it.  😞

[NDesai]

@wetcoaster is correct.

@samblayney you will see full LTE speed for a couple days. After that, it will be throttled to 2.5mbps. 

[wetcoaster · Accepted solution]

PM's "3G" plans are not actual 3G but throttled LTE (I wish they had come up with a more accurate name like "LTE light" or something along those lines...).

So every thing is fine. You will not get charged extra. Your phone is on the right network, you get LTE latency, but restricted speed.