Dr.Sunil Vaswani asks:
If a device is 3G capable (Download speeds 7.2 Mbps), would it work with 4G Internet speeds?
Browser: Chrome 19
System: Windows
Tagged: 3g, 4g lte, compatibility, computer hardware, internet speed
System: Windows
Tagged: 3g, 4g lte, compatibility, computer hardware, internet speed
9 Answers -
Dalsan
May 28, 20123G devices can use the 4G network, but only at 3G speeds. 4G requires specific hardware to connect to 4G networks and 3G devices do not have that hardware. It would be the same difference of having a wireless g device on a wireless n network. Still connects to the network, but will not connect at wireless n speeds.
What are the hardware specifications specific for 4G device?
and What are the HSDPA & HSUPA ranges for 3G and 4G?
May 29, 2012Sorry, I misread an article, 3g phones cannot connect to 4g networks as the chips and technology are different as Kyem said. Each phone company has different technologies, frequency ranges, and chip types, and haven’t come across anything to give the true specifics of each. Early 4g products were actually under the upgraded 3g technology, and some companies did call it 3.5g. I will try to find out Niue specifics than just the usual “4g is 10 tunes faster than 3g”. Bandwidth – It is the data rate which makes the difference. Both 3G and 4G have a bandwidth of 5 – 20 MHz. For 4G network, the data rate has been set at 100 Mbit in moving vehicles and 1 Gits in stationary and walking users. The data rates specified by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for 3G are 2 Mbps for stationary or walking users, while it is set at 384 kbits in a moving vehicle.
May 29, 2012Thanks
Are the data rates which you have mentioned the maximum or minimum?
I have found 3G to be pretty fast, so 4G can be faster than 3G? or Is it a marginal increase in speed? Please elaborate
And , does 4G have additional features which can distinctly distinguish it from 3G?
May 30, 2012Taken from: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2011/10/30/consumers-say-4g-is-an-important-feature-but-what-exactly-is-it/
The original definition of 4G, as defined by the governing body known as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), is any network that can achieve minimum speeds of 100 Mbps and top out at 1 Gbps. However, various U.S. carriers have defined 4G speeds as anything that exceeds standard 3G speeds, with AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon each calling their HSPA+, WiMax, or LTE networks 4G though all networks achieve speeds far less than the minimum 100 Mbps speeds.
Those carriers have chosen to re-define their speed claims. Verizon says its LTE network can achieve 5-15 Mbps in real-time usage while Sprint claims speeds are up to 10 times faster than 3G speeds. More elusive are T-Mobile’s and AT&T’s speed claims where the two HSPA+ network defines their speeds by theoretical maximums–T-Mobile claims up to 42 Mbps while AT&T is now rolling out new devices with 21 Mbps maximum theoretical speeds–but real life usage will yield results that are not even close to the maximum speeds.
Average speed of 3G devices are around 384Kbps to 3Mbps (if you have what some consider 3.5G) and 4G gets an average of 5Mbps to 12Mbps (some higher in some instances). It really depends on the technology behind what is considered by the telecom company as 4G. WiMax is nowhere close to 4G speeds as the companies consider them, but no technology is implemented by any phone company to be actual 4G, but instead is upgraded 3G. 4G is actually supposed to be a minimum of 100Mbps with a maximum of 1Gbps, and the phone companies say that the maximum bandwidth they have is 42Mbps for 4G, but only average below the 10-15Mbps average they claim. 3G (originally governed as being minimum speed of 384Kbps and maximum 2Mbps) is definitely slower than 4G, and is noticeable in terms of internet video buffering and stuttering. 4G is worth it if you were to use it and have access to the networks that contain it, but if you don’t have 4G access, then it will drain your battery big time. You could lose 2 hours or more of battery life just from having 4G capabilities turned on, let alone using it.
Using video conferencing like Skype was not capable on 3G devices as the speeds were too low to handle it, but 4G devices are able to handle it with little problem. The speed increase is anywhere from 2 to 5 times that of 3G (maximum of 2 or 3Mbps versus peak average of 10Mbps on 4G).
The only extra feature 4G has is higher internet speed capabilities with the ability to be backwards compatible with 3G networks. The device will have a “4G” if it is using a 4G network, an “H” if it is using an upgraded 3G (or 3.5G) network, “3G” if it is using 3G network, or “E” for Edge or 2G network.
May 30, 2012Nice reply
May 31, 2012Is the speed of data transfer directly proportional to the network signal ( as for voice calls )
June 1, 2012In my experience with 3G and 4G devices, the signal strength will affect the speed a little except when signal is low where it slows down more, but the number of others on the same network and the phone company limiting your access if you use too much bandwidth too often are the big factors. Too much video and audio streaming will cause them to slow down your access speed throughout the day and month, no matter if you have unlimited data plan or not.
June 2, 2012I understand
June 3, 2012can I use BSNL3g sim in a 4G supported device???
October 21, 2012There are some 3G devices having HSDPA of very good levels compared to other 3G devices with lower HSDPA ,, Would such 3G devices with high HSDPA capability be compatible with 4G network?
October 17, 2012Kyem Ghosh
May 28, 2012both 3g and 4g uses HSDPA, n HSUPA for data transfers but the versions are different… The one used in 4G are much advanced (latest) than the one used in 3g…. so a 4g device will support 3g bt the 3g device will not support 4g network…
What is maximum HSDPA value that defines 4G and 3G speeds respectively?
May 29, 2012For the HSPA standard the values for HSDPA (downlink) maximum is 14Mbps and HSUPA (uplink) is 5.8Mbps
For HSPA+ (MIMO) the maximum downlink is 42Mbps and 11Mbps uplink.
For DC-HSPA (Dual cell or Dual carrier) the maximum downlink is 84Mbps, not sure about the uplink but probably around 22Mbps
Newer releases (Triple-, Quad-, Hexa-, Octa-cell) state downlinks of up to 300Mbps but at this point it doesn’t look like carriers are going to implement these..
After HSPA+ or DC-HSPA (running at 42Mbps) the next step most carriers go is 4G using Long Term Evolution standard (LTE, LTE-Advanced). LTE Category 5 offers a maximum downlink of 300Mbps and uplink of 75Mbps.
May 29, 2012Are such speeds so fast?
Because even speed rates much lower than these can be pretty smooth even to video talk?
May 30, 2012jacky
June 21, 2012I have an Atrix 4g and i recently downgraded to the go phone plan with the same phone_they say i cant use the internet on it since the 3g doesnt support the 4g but is it possible to still be able to connect to the internet even if it is at a 3g speed through the atrix 4g? and not through wireless.
Sorry for the late reply. 4G phones are backwards compatible to 3G, unless they change the frequency that the phones connect to the network for prepaid services, which I highly doubt since they would have to use T-Mobile networks for that. However, they could block access to 4G for phones to save extra costs, which wouldn’t surprise me with how AT&T has been behaving with their customers.
July 3, 2012Declan Lopez
August 26, 2012No, to use the 4G network you will need a 4G modem.
Amit Sinha
September 5, 2012no absolutely not because of hardware limitations
joty
October 14, 2012my hand set name is symphony t50.can i use 3g net through my phone
Sunil
October 17, 2012Thanks to respondents for answering
jorge sanchez
October 20, 2012i have a sgh-t959 t-mobile vibrant. its a 3g phone. How can i change it to 4g?
Ergo
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