Question about 4G LTE vs HSPA or 3g - Galaxy Note II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello,
I am about to purchase a Note 2, but deciding to get the international and go with HSPA or 3G or go with the AT&T version with LTE. I currenly have a HTC One X international with AT&T media data plan. While Im at work I see full bars but the data signal really sucks, it would connect to such apps as imo but not facebook, web browsing is also slow. I thought that if I had full bars then I wold get fast data speeds.
My question is, will have 4G LTE improve the data speeds at work?

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GT-I9250 Galaxy Nexua - Fido in Canada

Hi,
Might be one of a few having the galaxy nexus GT-I9250 in Canada.. I tuned on the phone and it found Fido and it worked. I get 3g and H on the signal bar. How do i k ow if I have hspa + or 4g lte on the phone? Will it show 4g or H+?
Speed test gets only around 1 meg down...
Fido and rogers are one, according to service map by rogers HSPA+ is in Ottawa and soon LTE. Will they prevent Fido users from 4g?
Any settings I have to enter on phone to get the higher speeds? Anyone in Canada has this working?
Thanks a lot for any insight u might have...
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
forget LTE it will not work (for CDMA networks like Bell/Telus)
get the GSM version to work
The phone doesn't have LTE. It has GSM and HSPA+.
As far as speeds, you're going to have to talk to other Fido users in the same area and see their speeds (or other phones you own with the same SIM card). There may be some changes to the APNs you can do to increase speeds, again you're going to want to ask Fido users.
as for knowing how fast you are going
it's simply a matter of speed
in Canada normal H+ speed is around 8 Mbps down at best
if you seed speed that goes beyond 16 Mbps, you are most likely on "4G"
there's no real 4G if you check Wikipedia
all the current LTE / 4G technology are fake
they are more like 3.5G = H+, so "4G/LTE" is actually more like 3.75G
the real 4G is on WiMax radio which is not very popular in many places and phones
Is there a version that supports lte? All over web they say galaxy nexus lte...
If anyone lives in ottawa and has Fido, please share ur experience and settings.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
ssss25 said:
Is there a version that supports lte? All over web they say galaxy nexus lte...
If anyone lives in ottawa and has Fido, please share ur experience and settings.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is 1 version with LTE. And that is made for Verizon USA. You're probably only going to see the GSM/HSPA+ version in Canada.
Thanks all. OK, so hspa + I will forget about lte..
How do i know if my phone is connected to hspa+?
Will it has a plus sign on signal bar. If i go to settings, then about phone, then status. It shows the current connection, what should it be? Anybody has hspa+ can tell me what they see in status in setting and the signal icon on top?
I will be happy with around 8mb
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
ssss25 said:
Thanks all. OK, so hspa + I will forget about lte..
How do i know if my phone is connected to hspa+?
Will it has a plus sign on signal bar. If i go to settings, then about phone, then status. It shows the current connection, what should it be? Anybody has hspa+ can tell me what they see in status in setting and the signal icon on top?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So under connection it'll say "EDGE" on 2G, "UMTS" on 3G, and "HSDPA"/"HSPA+" on 3.5G/4G/H+ (depends what your carrier wants to call it).
i believe he was speaking about the ICON indicator on the status bar
it'll be either 3G in most areas, and in really go areas you'll see H+ or 4G depending on the ROM how it was coded for the signal quality strength
once you start flashing custom ROMs you'll notice that will change too, depending on the ROM Dev, it's all cosmetic eye candy
if you want to know the real deal install Open Signal from Market
it has a nice widget that tells you the true tower capacity
It fluctuates between
Umts:3 and hspa:11
The reason I ask about the plus is that there is hspa only.. no plus and i am not sure if the hspa:11 means plus or no plus.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
if there is no H+, then you are on 3G
ssss25 said:
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but H also means H+
just cosmetic again
ssss25 said:
Allgamer thanks. On the icon, I get 3g and H on stock ics. No H+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said earlier, if under "status" you see UMTS then you're on 3g. If you see HSPA you're on "4g". What that means for speeds is up to Fido.
The ROM just has "H" icon I believe. You won't see H+.
First of all, Bell and Rogers are GSM networks and they support LTE, however the phone itself only supports HSPA+ 21mb/s. Only the CDMA Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus will support LTE.
Note: This is only as far as my knowledge extends to, and I don't accept any responsibility if anything goes wrong
Thanks for all the replies. I had a nexus one which only supports hspa, not hspa+ and i used to see Hspa there. That is why I was concerned if the hspa I am seeing is using the plus protocol which supports a much faster speed than hspa. This is why seeing an h only, or hspa in connection didn't give me a good feeling as i had it on my nexus one. Its the hspa+ that gives me the extra speed on the galaxy nexus and i wonders if its being used.
Thanks for all your help and comment guys.. I appreciate it
It seems like the Verizon LTE version will not work on Fido/Rogers or Bell/Telus (each of which seems to have their own LTE network)
If you want to do a good speed test while around the BC area, go to Whistler and then do a speedtest.net test (via the app).
I've had 6MB/s down on standard HSPA.
Thanks for the info.
I found that in ottawa if i use spedtest.net app I only get between 1 and 2. If I use open signal, another App on market, I get around 6mb/sec.
Thanks.

Ubergizmo on Nokia Lumia 900 4G/3G/Edge switch

Has anyone else found the following web site with instructions on setting up a 4G/3G/Edge switch on the Web
(Do a search to find the link)
I tired it and was able to get the switch, but I have not been able to try it on 4G(LTE) yet as I do not have LTE reception where I live and only have 3G (the phone says 4G, but I know it is 3G+) but will try it at work tomorrow where I can actually get LTE.
But one thing I noticed is that I cannot get EDGE service where I live. I heard that AT&T wanted to get rid of 2G (EDGE). Have they done that already?
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
hx4700 Killer said:
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On AT&T, there are 4 types of data. 2G/EDGE, 3G, "4G"/3G+/HSPA+ and LTE.
We all know about 2g and 3g, but many people like you don't know about the difference between "4g" and LTE.
This whole thing was started by T-Mobile, because this was the early days of LTE, and Sprint was advertising it's WiMax network as 4G, T-Mobile decided to use a technology called HSPA+ and brand it as 4G. Initially, AT&T scolded T-Mobile for this move, but as soon as it was decided HSPA+ could be considered 4G, AT&T rapidly built up a network of this, almost as large as their 3G network.
HSPA+ is basically a faster version of 3G, hence why it's often called 3G+. However, AT&T tries to advertise it as 4G so they can boast they have the largest 4G network, even though Verizon leads the charge with the most LTE sites. HSPA+ is a bit faster than 3G, but doesn't hold a candle to LTE. However, it does have it advantages, such as being compatible on the iPhone 4S, and unlike Verizon, on AT&T, if you loose LTE coverage, you can fall back on HSPA+, where as on Verizon you fall back on their CDMA network (Which is still slower than AT&T's GSM network).
So over all it's good and leads to faster overall experience, unless of course you're in LTE coverage 24/7, then it doesn't matter that much. My (and others) only problem with this is AT&T branding it as 4G, which tricks consumers.
These days, both AT&T and T-Mobile branded devices display "4G" for *any* UMTS connectivity, instead of 3G/H.
It's lame.
My 900 has this switch in the settings without the need for any hacks
you hit #data# and then hit the ... button at the bottom and set up the toggle between speeds. Then restart the device, go under settings>cellular> select data speed.
With this device's data speed selection, 2G= edge, 3g= HSPA+/UTMS, 4G= LTE. Eventhough ATT modified the registry so that UTMS shows 4G at the top of the device, when you select 3G in the speed selection, you are only making the phone connect to HSPA+/UTMS
hx4700 Killer said:
Hre is the link:
http://www.ubergizmo.com/2012/04/nokia-lumia-900-gets-edge-3g-4g-toggle/
Im not sure what you mean about trying it on 4G... the only choices are 4G (LTE) 3G or edge so you get one of the 3.
In my LTE market when I choose 4G I get LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, they stole my article that I originally posted on Mobility Digest. (www.mobilitydigest.com). They even took my screen shot. I purposely took that shot when my phone was showing "G". Oh well. Btw, it does work.
Sent from my Lumia 900 using Board Express

(Q) how come theres no 3g icon?

Im coming from sprint to tmobile where it was 3g and 4g thats it. No matter what option i pick in mobile network i get the 4g icon up top. Is there no 3g?
SGS4 Tapatalk 2
With sprint they use evdo for 3g data, with tmo they use hspa+ which it technically is a 3g signal (upgraded to get near 4g speeds) they just call that 4g. Then on top of that they have lte which is true 4g. If you dont have lte in your area or you just turn off the lte radio you still get hspa+(hence why it says 4g).
Hope that helps
kanyewest said:
Im coming from sprint to tmobile where it was 3g and 4g thats it. No matter what option i pick in mobile network i get the 4g icon up top. Is there no 3g?
SGS4 Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile will not display the 3G icon because it is set up that way, custom ROM's on T-Mobile will display that 3G and H+ icons, rest assured, when using 3G speeds, the phone automatically drops to it. Edge even E, sometimes G lol. My wife's Note2 does that, I have the S2 and rooted with a custom ROM and I can display all when used.
My i9300 has showed everything but "g", guess I'm one of the lucky ones who gets 4g in my area on this beast.

Terrible LTE Connection

Hey guys.
I posted this on another forum, but I wanted to see if you guys had anymore input.
I have a HTC One M8 on Tmobile, flashed with Viper rom and fully updated. Ever since day one I've had pretty terrible LTE in my home. The phone would constantly switch over to HSPA+ and I would have to force it to connect to LTE. When connected to LTE it shows anywhere from 3-5 bars of signal and various apps show between -100 and -110 dbm.
Speed tests are horrific. I am showing 3Mbps down and average of 2.5 Mbps up. Other parts of my home get slightly better, but it never tops 10 down and 6 up.
Today my Nexus 7 from Tmobile arrived today. With a new data plan from Tmobile. This tablet is able to get 17 down and almost 12 upload literally sitting right next to my phone. The same apps are showing similar DBM and they are both connected to the same tower.
Any idea why this might be? Differences in the radio? Problem with my account?
My phone is on a grandfathered 20$ unlimited 4G, and the Tablet is on the free 1GB LTE plan.
Also, the phone was able to get 40-50 down and 20 up when I traveled to another town the other night.
Any input is appreciated.
ThackSS said:
Hey guys.
I posted this on another forum, but I wanted to see if you guys had anymore input.
I have a HTC One M8 on Tmobile, flashed with Viper rom and fully updated. Ever since day one I've had pretty terrible LTE in my home. The phone would constantly switch over to HSPA+ and I would have to force it to connect to LTE. When connected to LTE it shows anywhere from 3-5 bars of signal and various apps show between -100 and -110 dbm.
Speed tests are horrific. I am showing 3Mbps down and average of 2.5 Mbps up. Other parts of my home get slightly better, but it never tops 10 down and 6 up.
Today my Nexus 7 from Tmobile arrived today. With a new data plan from Tmobile. This tablet is able to get 17 down and almost 12 upload literally sitting right next to my phone. The same apps are showing similar DBM and they are both connected to the same tower.
Any idea why this might be? Differences in the radio? Problem with my account?
My phone is on a grandfathered 20$ unlimited 4G, and the Tablet is on the free 1GB LTE plan.
Also, the phone was able to get 40-50 down and 20 up when I traveled to another town the other night.
Any input is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would guess a bigger/better antenna in the Nexus 7 as one of the possible culprits. Also, the Nexus has been around longer, so the radio firmware is a little more mature. The M8 may get better with radio/firmware revisions, but there's no way to know for sure. I would call T-Mobile and ask for a signal booster and see if that helps. They're free save for a 7 dollar shipping charge, and sometimes you can get that waived as well.
ThackSS said:
Hey guys.
I posted this on another forum, but I wanted to see if you guys had anymore input.
I have a HTC One M8 on Tmobile, flashed with Viper rom and fully updated. Ever since day one I've had pretty terrible LTE in my home. The phone would constantly switch over to HSPA+ and I would have to force it to connect to LTE. When connected to LTE it shows anywhere from 3-5 bars of signal and various apps show between -100 and -110 dbm.
Speed tests are horrific. I am showing 3Mbps down and average of 2.5 Mbps up. Other parts of my home get slightly better, but it never tops 10 down and 6 up.
Today my Nexus 7 from Tmobile arrived today. With a new data plan from Tmobile. This tablet is able to get 17 down and almost 12 upload literally sitting right next to my phone. The same apps are showing similar DBM and they are both connected to the same tower.
Any idea why this might be? Differences in the radio? Problem with my account?
My phone is on a grandfathered 20$ unlimited 4G, and the Tablet is on the free 1GB LTE plan.
Also, the phone was able to get 40-50 down and 20 up when I traveled to another town the other night.
Any input is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-mobile Rep told me that M8 is lacking one of the LTE bands. I decided to try it anyways. I experienced same issues as you are. I will be returning this phone only because of connectivity issues, other than that I really like this phone.
My current phone is Nexus 5, and I never had any connectivity issues that I am having with M8.
ThackSS said:
Hey guys.
I posted this on another forum, but I wanted to see if you guys had anymore input.
I have a HTC One M8 on Tmobile, flashed with Viper rom and fully updated. Ever since day one I've had pretty terrible LTE in my home. The phone would constantly switch over to HSPA+ and I would have to force it to connect to LTE. When connected to LTE it shows anywhere from 3-5 bars of signal and various apps show between -100 and -110 dbm.
Speed tests are horrific. I am showing 3Mbps down and average of 2.5 Mbps up. Other parts of my home get slightly better, but it never tops 10 down and 6 up.
Today my Nexus 7 from Tmobile arrived today. With a new data plan from Tmobile. This tablet is able to get 17 down and almost 12 upload literally sitting right next to my phone. The same apps are showing similar DBM and they are both connected to the same tower.
Any idea why this might be? Differences in the radio? Problem with my account?
My phone is on a grandfathered 20$ unlimited 4G, and the Tablet is on the free 1GB LTE plan.
Also, the phone was able to get 40-50 down and 20 up when I traveled to another town the other night.
Any input is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not the phone, its the tmobile rom & radio....
i used to have htc one m7 AT&T and i installed tmobile stock ruu on it. i experienced better signal (i have at&t service) talk & text, the bars went from 3 to full bars with tmobile rom. but the 4g lte sucks, it keep switching from 4g lte to 4g all the time.
now i bought HTC one m8 T-mobile from friend, and im having the same thing 4g lte sucks it keeps jumping to 4g. but the signal is full bars.
i tried my at&t sim card into another HTC one m8 at&t for few days, and the 4g lte is very good and stable. matter of fact i haven't see the 4g icon ever on it. but i have 2 to 3 bars signal inside the home and if lucky get 4 outside.
i believe because at&t radio support more bands
LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100 - T-Mobile
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - AT&T
---------- Post added at 02:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
oh and don't try to flash just the radio, i have tried that and there is no different. it has to be the full stock RUU
salwansk said:
its not the phone, its the tmobile rom & radio....
i used to have htc one m7 AT&T and i installed tmobile stock ruu on it. i experienced better signal (i have at&t service) talk & text, the bars went from 3 to full bars with tmobile rom. but the 4g lte sucks, it keep switching from 4g lte to 4g all the time.
now i bought HTC one m8 T-mobile from friend, and im having the same thing 4g lte sucks it keeps jumping to 4g. but the signal is full bars.
i tried my at&t sim card into another HTC one m8 at&t for few days, and the 4g lte is very good and stable. matter of fact i haven't see the 4g icon ever on it. but i have 2 to 3 bars signal inside the home and if lucky get 4 outside.
i believe because at&t radio support more bands
LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100 - T-Mobile
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - AT&T
---------- Post added at 02:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
oh and don't try to flash just the radio, i have tried that and there is no different. it has to be the full stock RUU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply. Rep specifically said that it was a hardware issue.
My wife has M7 and she gets constant LTE on it.
Even when M8 has good LTE signal, speed test is so much slower comparing to M7 or Nexus 5.
To be honest, I use WIFI 98%. So you might be right, because I haven't install the AT&T RUU on my phone yet "not available". So I cant be 100% sure about it, but from my experience T-Mobile phones are cheaper quality anyway. Just like you buying a new car with basic options, not top loaded
I am stock not rooted and have had the T-MO HTC M8 for exactly one week today. I live in Miami, Fl and I might have seen the 4G icon 2 or 3 times in the last week. I'm always on 4G LTE.
HTC ONE M8
It's been 5 business days and I am still waiting to hear about the status of my tech support ticket sent to "engineering"
Not happy with this so far. The only way I can keep LTE is to force it via the radio menu and even then... the performance is literally 1/3rd of the Nexus 7 sitting right next to it.
Very disappointing. Not sure if its the phone.. the tower.. or what.
rome425 said:
Thank you for your reply. Rep specifically said that it was a hardware issue.
My wife has M7 and she gets constant LTE on it.
Even when M8 has good LTE signal, speed test is so much slower comparing to M7 or Nexus 5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rep lied to you. The m8 supports the exact same LTE bands as the m7, no more no less. It isn't a frequency or band support issue. Both devices support 700MHz and AWS Bands for LTE. If you can CONNECT with one you can CONNECT with the other.
The problem really seems to be t-mobile hasn't updated all their systems to work well with HTC's new radio firmware (I'm not referring to their refarming here). The solution would be HTC could revert the firmware or t-mobile could update their system. T Mobile does not seem keen to do that, likely do to using all their resources being used on Samsung at the moment.
They (T-Mobile) can't admit they share the blame for the problem so they pass the buck to HTC, but its not solely HTC's fault. The truth is it is only older network systems that are affected. So, areas like LA that have older systems and more traffic have problems, areas like Las Vegas where the system has been completely overhauled have no issues with LTE CONNECTIVITY at all.
I can attest to this personally as I was traveling to Los Angeles just last week. I could be sitting in the same spot and one minute have LTE connection with solid speeds and the next minute sit with no connection while still displaying a full LTE signal. This is because t-mobile's system wants to kick you down to a stronger signal, that being HSPA, but HTC's radio firmware wants to keep you on LTE. They are not playing nicely.
The reason why I'm stressing the words connect and connectivity is because that is what we are really talking about. Speeds are completely different issue. If you do not have support for a certain LTE band then you will not have any connectivity. Not just a slow speed and not just a bouncy connection, but no connection at all.
sources:
http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-one-m7/#/
http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-one-m8/
Not sure what it is, but I'm also having LTE issues...quite a few times I have to turn it on airplane mode then back off for it to reconnect. Speed test results are weak too.
Now the AT&T branded HTC One M7 I had before this FLEW...might have to return the M8 and go back to the M7 :crying:
I don't have any issues with mine and I drive all over L.A .
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA F
mobile app
salwansk said:
its not the phone, its the tmobile rom & radio....
i used to have htc one m7 AT&T and i installed tmobile stock ruu on it. i experienced better signal (i have at&t service) talk & text, the bars went from 3 to full bars with tmobile rom. but the 4g lte sucks, it keep switching from 4g lte to 4g all the time.
now i bought HTC one m8 T-mobile from friend, and im having the same thing 4g lte sucks it keeps jumping to 4g. but the signal is full bars.
i tried my at&t sim card into another HTC one m8 at&t for few days, and the 4g lte is very good and stable. matter of fact i haven't see the 4g icon ever on it. but i have 2 to 3 bars signal inside the home and if lucky get 4 outside.
i believe because at&t radio support more bands
LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100 - T-Mobile
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - AT&T
---------- Post added at 02:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:34 AM ----------
oh and don't try to flash just the radio, i have tried that and there is no different. it has to be the full stock RUU
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is Tmo's LTE bands. 1900 has been rolling out this year and 700 later this year. So you can't blame it on the missing the new band 2.
I'm sorry I missed something these are the Frequency
LTE 700 / 1700 / 2100 - T-Mobile
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 / 2600 - AT&T
The bands are
ATT uses or has spectrum for LTE bands:
2,4,5,17
While TMO only has spectrum for LTE bands:
2,4
Dunno what's going on in Philadelphia this past week but before I get no signal in my bathroom and my speed are around 18 down 12 up. But today I get good lte signals in my bathroom and my speed bump 35 down and 20 up.:thumbup:
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk 2

4g LTE missing

Hello all!
I have a new Motorola G8 play, using AT&T....
Currently I don't have 4g LTE at this point. It has an H by the cell signal icon.
I do have data, but it seems a little slower than I was expecting.
I tried a couple different APN settings based on web results, but they weren't the solution.
Any idea what I can do before I go to the AT&T store?
It can this phone get 4g LTE? I am in the US.
Can't go till tomorrow, so just curious.
Thanks in advance!
Yes this phone has compatibility with 4G LTE. Maybe your area doesn't have good reception for LTE? If so it switches to a lower quality but more stable ( because slower but stable is better than a stuttering connection)

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