How is AT&T's LTE vs. HSPA? - General Questions and Answers

I commute, and the H+ signal on my phone constantly switches to 3G and back, losing data connectivity when it does so, which is very frustrating and annoying. I can't find a way to lock to 3G only (since 3G is more widely available than H) for my phone (Inspire 4G).
So just wondering, if I get an LTE phone (like the Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket), would that be better, or similar to what I'm having issues with?
Would like any type of consensus before spending ~$400 on this decision.

Related

[Q] I get 4G but never 3G? Old sim card

Hi all, I have noticed an odd issue on my G2x that is not a huge problem but I wanted to see if any one had any thoughts on this.
First, I have a very old sim card, it actually has the VoiceStream logo on it. And the lock screen actually lists Vstream sometimes, and sometimes it has T-Mobile/VStream.
I've noticed that I get either 4G or 2G, but never 3G. It's even shown G before. I usually get 4G in my 14th floor office in downtown Chicago outside and some parts of my house, 2G in other places. I've tried speed tests downtown, and I got as high as 12mbps, but usually 5-7mbps. I'm just wondering if there is anything that can be done so I get 3G instead of 2G in certain areas.
Thanks
the phone will never show a 3g logo. It will only show 4g and 2g. And for that mattery t-mobiles "4g" is actually HSPA+ which is the upgraded version of HSPA. they are both 3g technology.

[Q] CDMA Data

I just switched to VZW, and I'm somewhat confused: should I be able to get data over CDMA? EvDO is 3G, are my options 3G, 4G, or bust? GSM has GPRS, which will faithfully deliver me data nearly wherever I am.
I don't know whether my VZW phone is simply mis-configured, or whether EV-DO is required for data access.
evdo rev a is verizon and sprints 3g
Is there anything slower than evdo on Verizon?
FFS one of you has got to bleeding know.
in some rare areas there might be evdo rev 0 witch is a tad bit slower.
1x which is national acesss and will be slower than dial up...
i almost never saw a "1x" / 1xEV-DO / cdma2000 icon on my phone during this trip. when i very rarely did see some icon on screen, it was usually 3G.
would you expect this on a somewhat-off-the-path road trip? i often had 5 bars, but still no data service; that seemed extremely odd to me coming from AT&T.
cdma has a 1x, it's like a gprs in gms
thanks for the help all. seems clear enough now.
now if only 1X had the availability/saturation of gprs, which seemed available basically everywhere.

Slowest speed data connection?

I'm writing because, on my first road trip with the Thunderbolt, there were a lot of places I expected to have some kind of internet service and couldn't get anything. On AT&T I could always fall back on GPRS if I had any signal, yet there's a lot of places I'll have 5 bars, but no 4G, 3G, or 1X icon up top, and be totally unable to get any data at all.
Does the Thunderbolt lack some capability other Verizon phones have? Is CDMA itself unable to be used for data transport? Is EVDO the "slowest" data speed Verizon offers? What options are there for being in the boonies wanting the most minimal service possible?
Thanks,
rektide
I've used data on 1x before so I know its possible. You might want to make sure you have data roaming turned on. You might have been on sprint's network.
I've been suprised a couple of times by lack of 3g/4g signal. It has been indoors both times, but really expected to have it. One time I was at the mall and only had 1x, turned on my time warner hotspot that runs on sprint's network and got 2 bars of 4g wimax which is supposed to have better building penetration.
Go figure.

(Q) Skyrocket 3G Compatibility.

I know this is a question, but it's also the only Skyrocket forum. Sorry...
Does the Skyrocket get straight 3G reception? The AT&T Vivid does not. H+ and above work great, but in straight "H" areas the Vivid reverts to edge. I'm considering returning the Vivid and getting a Skyrocket because of this. Also, how's the battery life on the Skyrocket? The Vivid's is abysmal.
Thanks!!
Both the Vivid and Skyrocket work on 2G, 3G and LTE.
When the indicator says 4G without the LTE under it you are on 3G/UMTS/H/H+ whatever...
If you lose the 4G then you are on 2G/GSM/EDGE.
The LTE indicator only works for data. When you make a voice call the LTE will go away because the Ue falls back to 3G or even 2G if necessary. You can still talk and surf at the same time, but it will be at 2G or 3G speeds depending on where you fallback.
Thanks for the reply!
Unfortunately, that's not the way my Vivid is working. I have confirmed that my Vivid drops to Edge in several areas that my HD2 retains 3G. Plenty of bars, so good signal. It's just that the Vivid doesn't seem to stay on 3G in less than H+ areas. Lots of people reporting the same issue.
As far as talking and surfing simultaneously on edge/2G: Maybe it's different in your area, but getting an "E" ALWAYS coincides with failure to surf and talk and the same time here. I do believe you need 3G to do that.
What I'm looking for is a first hand report from a Skyrocket user about 3G reception in less than an H+ area.
Thanks!
Nakel said:
Thanks for the reply!
Unfortunately, that's not the way my Vivid is working. I have confirmed that my Vivid drops to Edge in several areas that my HD2 retains 3G. Plenty of bars, so good signal. It's just that the Vivid doesn't seem to stay on 3G in less than H+ areas. Lots of people reporting the same issue.
As far as talking and surfing simultaneously on edge/2G: Maybe it's different in your area, but getting an "E" ALWAYS coincides with failure to surf and talk and the same time here. I do believe you need 3G to do that.
What I'm looking for is a first hand report from a Skyrocket user about 3G reception in less than an H+ area.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the basement of our office for supplies, I revert to 4G on my Skyrocket. Once I go upstairs, LTE comes back. I can confirm making a phone call and surfing the web in the basement on pure 4G (3G+).
truciet said:
At the basement of our office for supplies, I revert to 4G on my Skyrocket. Once I go upstairs, LTE comes back. I can confirm making a phone call and surfing the web in the basement on pure 4G (3G+).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! My Vivid works great on 4G too. My problem is that it drops to Edge in areas where my HD2 stays on 3G. I'm not sure why; some people are reporting the Vivid doesn't recieve pure 3G. I have no idea what--if any--the difference is between 3G and 3G+.
How's the battery lfe on your Skyrocket?
Yeah, my bad...you can't talk and surf at the same time on 2G/EDGE.
And sadly I have great coverage at my house. And I have not had my Samsung long enough to compare it to the Vivid for reception or battery life. But when you fire up these big screens and start hitting the LTE juice it can really drop.
I am not sure what people are saying about "pure 3G". All the H/H+ is just for data. I only know of 1 flavor of 3G that supports voice calls.

Does 4G have a more extended range than 3G?

Hello,
I was wondering if 4G antennas have a bigger range than 3G antennas. I will be moving to a more remote location and I will depend on the signal from a nearby town.
I was wondering if I should buy a 4G dongle for my mobile internet or just stick with my phone, which has H+. I know there is a signal there, but I don't know which type (3G or 4G). Considering the 4G dongles are way more expensive, I wouldn't like to invest in one and have a 3G signal. I also can't test the signal because I don't have a 4G phone.
So let's assume the antennas are in the same place, one is with 3G technology and one is with 4G and I am pretty far away (let's say 3/5 max bars of signal). From which antenna would I have a faster internet connection?
keeekeeess said:
Hello,
I was wondering if 4G antennas have a bigger range than 3G antennas. I will be moving to a more remote location and I will depend on the signal from a nearby town.
I was wondering if I should buy a 4G dongle for my mobile internet or just stick with my phone, which has H+. I know there is a signal there, but I don't know which type (3G or 4G). Considering the 4G dongles are way more expensive, I wouldn't like to invest in one and have a 3G signal. I also can't test the signal because I don't have a 4G phone.
So let's assume the antennas are in the same place, one is with 3G technology and one is with 4G and I am pretty far away (let's say 3/5 max bars of signal). From which antenna would I have a faster internet connection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well 4g is not available everywhere. It depends on what carrier u have and where u are. But from what I noticed is 4g is not as strong as 3g. I get 4g at home but if I go in my basement or in the woods I only get 3g. It's very picky but if you get 4g you won't regret it, even if you don't get it everywhere.
4G is open to certain areas. The main areas I would say is the city. 3G range is allot better as its universal, although 4G is faster, 3G is good.
I can't say we can compare these two networks as 4G isn't universal and it currently isn't available everywhere.

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