Confused about 3g speeds on the Nexus 4 - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Im confused about the maximum speeds the nexus 4 can handle, the terminology for it and the speeds the carriers offer
In theory the nexus 4 can reach up to 42 Mbps right? but thats still 3g? ive read about 3.5g but does it actually exists or its just marketing? when the phone displays an "H" that's HSDPA ??? HSDPA is still 3g? my galaxy nexus here in germany using vodafone most of the time displays an "H" and my plan has 7.2 mbps of speed but ive seen some phones displaying "H+" im confused , can someone enlighten me?
Also whats the point of google advertising the nexus can have 42 Mbps speeds if pretty much every carrier maxes up at 21 Mbps :/ (at least here in Germany)

The Nexus 4 is a 3G device capable of doing Dc hspa+ up to 42Mbps... If your carrier do not support it then you will fall back to hspa+ 21Mbps...
And for the 3g and the little h on the status bar only means that your are connected to 3G and the little h is when data is transmitting....
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

big samm said:
The Nexus 4 is a 3G device capable of doing Dc hspa+ up to 42Mbps... If your carrier do not support it then you will fall back to hspa+ 21Mbps...
And for the 3g and the little h on the status bar only means that your are connected to 3G and the little h is when data is transmitting....
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
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But ive seen my phone sometimes saying 3g on the status bar, that means i dont have 3g signal in thart moment? or maybe that the phone its switching from edge (2g) to 3g?

If you see the 3G icon in the status bar that mean you have a 3G signal... And when you see the H that means 3G data is being transferred...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

big samm said:
If you see the 3G icon in the status bar that mean you have a 3G signal... And when you see the H that means 3G data is being transferred...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
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But even when my phone is idle and i turn the screen the H is on the status bar, so the phone is always transfering data? i have sincronization off

Chad_Petree said:
But even when my phone is idle and i turn the screen the H is on the status bar, so the phone is always transfering data? i have sincronization off
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It's just telling you what kind of data connection is available.
The N4 just shows "H" while some other phones will show "H+" when connected to HSPA+. Custom ROMs will add it.
Sent from my cm_tenderloin using xda app-developers app

GPRS
EDGE
3G
HSDPA (10)
HSDPA+ (21)
DC-HSDPA (42)
LTE (100)
This is how I always saw it.
But in reality, most places 'on average' see LTE and DC-HSDPA share similar speeds on downstream even though LTE should be much faster , whereas upload is always higher on LTE.
Sent from my HTC ONE X using Tapatalk 2

Related

for those with network signal (possible help)

just recently a guy posted about the *#*#4636#*#* code and changing network preference. well fooling around at work yesterday i tried it out and i picked "WCDMA only" and before this, i get prettu good 3g and H signals but very few edge spots (inside). after i selected that though my signal was still on H speeds so i didnt think much of it but its been 15 hours and ive been around and my phone hasnt even as much as dropped down to 3g. so maybe or maybe not this could help you guys out but i just wanted to give a heads up. try out for yourself
p.s. i also heard it helps with battery because your phone isnt always busy switching back and forth between network.
"H" is what is displayed when you have a 3G signal.
dronepop said:
"H" is what is displayed when you have a 3G signal.
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There's a g for that
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
dronepop said:
"H" is what is displayed when you have a 3G signal.
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Click to collapse
no its not. download this app called "mobile signal widget" and it will show you when u cross between 3g and H
johnxjets said:
There's a g for that
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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Yeah. I've seen E, G, and H on my G2... granted I rarely ever see G. I actually thought it was a glitch when I saw it lol.
johnxjets said:
There's a g for that
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Click to collapse
Well, according to T-Mobile's G2 Guide:
H = Connected to the fastest 3G networks (UMTS or HSDPA)
E = Connected to the second-fastest network (EDGE)
G = Connected to a 2G network (GPRS)
You will see an "H" while you are using 3G. This means the "H" is shared for UMTS or HSPA as well ("4G"). I don't agree that this is how it should be noted, but that is how it is noted on the G2 without any 3rd party widgets installed.
H and G only in West Texas
Out here we are still stuck on a 3G network. (No idea when HSDPA or + will be here), but NO EDGE, unless you roam... It is 3G/H or GPRS... It kinds sucks, thank goodness for WIFI..
bigstunta101 said:
no its not. download this app called "mobile signal widget" and it will show you when u cross between 3g and H
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry you are wrong. H = 3G or 4G (HSPA or HSPA+)
I have that widget too, but the OP never said that widget is what he was looking at. Presumably, he was looking at the stock notification on the phone, showing "H". My point is that he would see "H" while on 3G or 4G, so he'd only be able to tell the difference by speed tests or some other measurement (such as a 3rd party widget).
I wanna get more replies and see from more people, the problem with me is, at school in campus the signal is really spotty, where I can even have 3 or 4 bars and be still on edge.
Another thing is where when the signal goes haywire, it will drop from either utms or hspa into edge and the data connection will just stop and it won't work unless I get the H. Its been happening for a week now and I'm up to a week on my remorse period and want to handle this before its too late.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
dronepop said:
Well, according to T-Mobile's G2 Guide:
H = Connected to the fastest 3G networks (UMTS or HSDPA)
E = Connected to the second-fastest network (EDGE)
G = Connected to a 2G network (GPRS)
You will see an "H" while you are using 3G. This means the "H" is shared for UMTS or HSPA as well ("4G"). I don't agree that this is how it should be noted, but that is how it is noted on the G2 without any 3rd party widgets installed.
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Click to collapse
What he said + if you do this and u get to were there is no 3g or 4g then you will get no signal because the phone isnt looking for an egde but only 3g/4g.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
dronepop said:
Sorry you are wrong. H = 3G or 4G (HSPA or HSPA+)
I have that widget too, but the OP never said that widget is what he was looking at. Presumably, he was looking at the stock notification on the phone, showing "H". My point is that he would see "H" while on 3G or 4G, so he'd only be able to tell the difference by speed tests or some other measurement (such as a 3rd party widget).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that they were saying for the OP to download that widget so that they will know when they are on HSPA+ or 3g. I'm pretty sure they didn't think the OP was already using the widget or they wouldn't have suggested downloading it.

Wheres my hspa???

I use to notice a h symbol in my notification bar which I assumed my network was connected to hspa but I havent seen it in months how can I connect to it?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Were you running a custom rom? Stock doesn't/has never shown this for me. I get the slightly higher speeds I believe though.
Bspence415 said:
I use to notice a h symbol in my notification bar which I assumed my network was connected to hspa but I havent seen it in months how can I connect to it?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
3g = h.
h = 3g.
Only custom roms show H. But even if it "just" shows 3g, you're still connected to the same network.
It's like the difference between pancakes and flapjacks. Some people call em pancakes. Some people call em flapjacks.
In the end they're the same damn thing.
^ true, but sometimes in my area I will have 3G, sometiems H, and sometimes Edge... (on my Nexus One). Seems odd that the phone makes a distinction between 3G and H if there is no difference. I also prefer the H and wish it showed on my phone (Vibrant this time) instead.
s15274n said:
^ true, but sometimes in my area I will have 3G, sometiems H, and sometimes Edge... (on my Nexus One). Seems odd that the phone makes a distinction between 3G and H if there is no difference. I also prefer the H and wish it showed on my phone (Vibrant this time) instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The distinction sometimes refers to basic UMTS, but at least in the United States, every UMTS tower has HSPA upgrades. The reason the distinction even started was because in Europe, there were many towers that were UMTS-only without HS[D/U]PA upgrades. That's not the case here.
On the other hand, now ROMS sometimes show H for HSPA+ areas. That is all fine and dandy, except that your Vibrant doesn't go faster than 7.2mbps HSDPA, or 5.6mbps HSUPA. It's not like when your phone is showing "H", that you're magically going to get faster speeds than your phone was designed to achieve.
So when it comes back to the OPs question, of "connecting" to a faster network, it's irrelevant. Once you're on 3g, it's all the same network. HSPA+ and HSDPA and UMTS are all the same network - just different data upgrades. And your phone will ALWAYS try to access the fastest data upgrade that it can.
Bspence415 said:
I use to notice a h symbol in my notification bar which I assumed my network was connected to hspa but I havent seen it in months how can I connect to it?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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it's depend on the phone i think. Before i switch to the vibrant (3G display), I used HD2.
On the HD2, i got H notification all the time. And speedtests on both phones yielded same results.
^^ great read, and I understood all of it... I just never understood why sometimes I got 3G and sometimes I got H in the notification bar, makes sense I suppose. I realize the same speeds were usually achieved.

Does G2 display hspa+?

Does anyone know if the G2 displays hspa+ in the phone signal? I only see UMTS or HSDPA and I live in Dallas which supposedly was one of the first cities to get HSPA+.
I've searched around but I have never found any concrete evidence regarding the issue. Fastest speed I've seen is about 6 Mbps, which I think is just standard 3G.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Nope the H displays for 3g and Hspa+
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=830907
You didn't read close enough. I am aware about the H displaying for both 3G, HSPDA, and HSPA+. I'm talking about what is displayed in the phone status settings.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
StockDroid said:
You didn't read close enough. I am aware about the H displaying for both 3G, HSPDA, and HSPA+. I'm talking about what is displayed in the phone status settings.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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I went to Dallas last weekend, and mine showed HSPDA on status... So, I'm not sure... I was getting pretty rock solid download and upload speeds, roughly around 8 Mbps download...
When it says HSPDA it is on HSPA+, UMTS is 3G. Only reason I know this is because I live in Chicago and we just got it, so ever since, it has said HSPDA. Before, it only ever read UMTS.
naria01 said:
I went to Dallas last weekend, and mine showed HSPDA on status... So, I'm not sure... I was getting pretty rock solid download and upload speeds, roughly around 8 Mbps download...
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Click to collapse
Which part of Dallas were you in when you got those speeds?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
papeshfoo said:
When it says HSPDA it is on HSPA+, UMTS is 3G. Only reason I know this is because I live in Chicago and we just got it, so ever since, it has said HSPDA. Before, it only ever read UMTS.
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Click to collapse
Surely you mean if it says HSDPA it's either on HSDPA or HSPA+ ?
imblacklife said:
Nope the H displays for 3g and Hspa+
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=830907
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Click to collapse
I see a lot of people around here saying this and it's a bit strange to me. I have very clear E/edge, G/3G, and H/HSPA+ indicators on my phone.
Maybe I got a special build. haha
Davidion said:
I see a lot of people around here saying this and it's a bit strange to me. I have very clear E/edge, G/3G, and H/HSPA+ indicators on my phone.
Maybe I got a special build. haha
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Click to collapse
umm, the G that displays is actually lower then E.
papeshfoo said:
When it says HSPDA it is on HSPA+, UMTS is 3G. Only reason I know this is because I live in Chicago and we just got it, so ever since, it has said HSPDA. Before, it only ever read UMTS.
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Click to collapse
I was rocking a N1 before and it clearly was on HSDPA... This was months before HSPA+ was officially released in Chicago.
papeshfoo said:
umm, the G that displays is actually lower then E.
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Is that so? My mistake then.
My phone almost never stays on G and if nothing else, is only on H and fluctuates to edge in some of the weaker signal areas.
G = gprs
e = edge
h = umts/hsdpa/hspa+, (3g/"4g")
g<e<h
Do you know of a way to force the phone to display 3G when appropriate? I think having the phone display "H" at all times is fairly misleading.
SRed13 said:
Do you know of a way to force the phone to display 3G when appropriate? I think having the phone display "H" at all times is fairly misleading.
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Click to collapse
That does seem pretty rubbish, if it shows "H" even on when you're on plain 3G speeds.
Just so everyone knows. This discussion is not about the H in the status bar. We already know it displays H for all high speed connection types.
It is about the network type displayed in the staus and how to determine if you ade on HSPA+.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
SRed13 said:
Do you know of a way to force the phone to display 3G when appropriate? I think having the phone display "H" at all times is fairly misleading.
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Click to collapse
The only other option you have is to grab the "Mobile Signal Widget" from the Android Market. That will accurately tell you your signal strength and what connection signal you're surfing. I.E it'll show 3G if you're on 3G and H if you're on HSPA+.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I do use that and I see 3G and H, but I assumed I would see H+ when it goes to HSPA+.
Sv3nt3k said:
The only other option you have is to grab the "Mobile Signal Widget" from the Android Market. That will accurately tell you your signal strength and what connection signal you're surfing. I.E it'll show 3G if you're on 3G and H if you're on HSPA+.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Its showing me h all the time. My hspa+ speed sucks then lol I only get like 3mbps.
[G2/HTC Vision]
It will never say hspa+ just hsdpa
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
I occasionally get HSPA+ from where I live and even then, my speeds are below 1 Mbps. At least the rest of you are approaching 3 or better, I'd kill for that.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Nexus 4 Doesn't ever show 3G

When I am in a 3g only area and I see other people with t mobile connected to 3g but my nexus 4 can't connect to 3g only 2g(E). My home will only show a (H) and a (E) but never a 3G! is there a reason why?
http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-4963
I've only ever seen G+H here, not sure why.
UK-Ovivo (cheapskate)
H is better than 3g
Rizy7 said:
H is better than 3g
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i know H is better than 3g! but 3g is better than E!..... i mean where im in a area i know there's 3G im getting Edge instead of 3G..... I think i've never seen my phone once display 3G ever!! and i travel allot!
Depending on your carrier, if tmobile then usually H and 3g usually are one in the same because H technically is 3g uhh 3g(+).
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Teo032 said:
Depending on your carrier, if tmobile then usually H and 3g usually are one in the same because H technically is 3g uhh 3g(+).
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
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H is 3g, you are right.
here in the nyc area, i almost always see an H(rom enabled H+ when on a H+ network), at certain places i see an E. every once in a few months, i see a 3G and a G.
Go to dialer, then type in *#*#4636#*#* then choose phone info, then scroll down and you might see a little rectangle with "WCDMA Preferred", choose that and change it to WCDMA Only if you want to only have 3g/H signal. But note that if you're in an area with no 3g signal then you wouldn't have any signal on your phone, you'd have to choose GSM Only (only 2g networks such as edge or gprs, saves more battery) or back to WCDMA Preferred.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Seems it's a "bug" or whatever you want to call it in the Nexus 4 radio and even the old SGS2 (international) had this with newer ICS/JB radios.
I'm on AT&T and I noticed after some point when the radios would come out for that phone it would no longer show 3G when idle and H or H+ when active, it was "idle" on H all the time. Without moving my location i can restart my phone (talking about the SGS2 here) and flash between new and old radios and it would either be on 3G all the time when idle or H. Don't think there was a battery loss as a result but still it's a bug or towers need to be updated or something.
The Nexus 4 came with newer radios obviously and from day 1 it would sit on H all the time. Some other people in other parts of the country show it dropping down to 3G when needed but not here in the NYC area.
3G is not the same as H but i guess without being technical you can say it is .
3G = UMTS
H = HSPA (and up to 14,4Mbps)
H+ = HSPA+ (HSPAP)
I was thinking AT&T disabled UMTS around here but as I said, my SGS2 with an older radio will still show 3G (both running same ROM).
I haven't tried a T-Mobile SIM but seems to be the same anyways.

nexus 4 data speeds

i flashed the .33 radio and so currently i have 4G on my nexus 4 on Fido network. Download speeds are 10mb.. Is that normal? Is it really LTE?
jjs0891 said:
i flashed the .33 radio and so currently i have 4G on my nexus 4 on Fido network. Download speeds are 10mb.. Is that normal? Is it really LTE?
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Click to collapse
it depends.. depends where the tower is in relation to you, how busy the network is, and what kinds of speeds your provider gives. does it say 4G in the notification/status bar?
jjs0891 said:
i flashed the .33 radio and so currently i have 4G on my nexus 4 on Fido network. Download speeds are 10mb.. Is that normal? Is it really LTE?
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Click to collapse
I think its not LTE cause normal or low speed is 15 Mbs some get even 35 Mbs so i think you have some problems i get 12-13 Mbs on HSPA+
Hope this helps.please hit thanks
NexusMobileGamer said:
I think its not LTE cause normal or low speed is 15 Mbs some get even 35 Mbs so i think you have some problems i get 12-13 Mbs on HSPA+
Hope this helps.please hit thanks
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Click to collapse
does it say h or 4G? and just because its lte, it doesnt mean you will get 30mbps all the time. you can be on the edge of lte coverage and barely get 5mbps, but its still lte. how your upload speed?
simms22 said:
does it say h or 4G? and just because its lte, it doesnt mean you will get 30mbps all the time. you can be on the edge of lte coverage and barely get 5mbps, but its still lte. how your upload speed?
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Click to collapse
5 or 6 MBs sometimes lower and sometimes higher like 8 Mbs
it says 4G on the notification bar...
jjs0891 said:
it says 4G on the notification bar...
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Click to collapse
then you are connected to lte. maybe your area is either very congested, or on an edge of the towers coverage.
I think the major benefit of lte is it's superior building penetration and more consistent signal.
It's all relative on coverage but yes, your speeds are prob lte. I go from 35 to 5mbps depending on location. I had same thing with Verizon lte.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
honestly i don't really mind because i only use it for web browsing as i have limited data. I just want higher speeds for bragging purposes. But the slow speed could be because of my cell signal. I always get 2 bars. I don't think i've ever seen my phone at full bars. Do ROMS/kernels affect this?
i remember seeing my phone at 4 bars before. After installing cm/francokernel/flashing .33 radio/changing apn, i think all this might've affected my signal somehow.
jjs0891 said:
honestly i don't really mind because i only use it for web browsing as i have limited data. I just want higher speeds for bragging purposes. But the slow speed could be because of my cell signal. I always get 2 bars. I don't think i've ever seen my phone at full bars. Do ROMS/kernels affect this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't noticed roms or kernel affecting signal. I think the bars are mostly for voice and text service, not data, but is a rough indicator I guess
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app

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