The end of 3G cellular

If that bandwidth test takes as much data as Ookla does on my home Internet, just running that test once on my phone would consume half of my monthly data cap. I don't understand what people are doing with a phone that needs any kind of speed. You can't even see an improvement in video beyond 480p on a 6-inch device, so you can stream sharp, detailed video at a half of 3G speeds. What's the utility in minimizing the number of seconds it takes to reach your data cap or throttle point?

 

Did you convert between bits and bytes? I don't recall seeing any (modern) data caps expressed in bits.

 

That's beyond impressive. I just checked and my down and up speeds on 5G are both 12 Mbps. Apparently Verizon's 5G is pretty puny around here. I keep it turned off and use LTE since I can't see a real world performance issue and 5G is such a battery eater.

 

Haha, I have yet to experience 5G on my phone. I don't think there is a single tower in my nearby areas that is covered by 5G. I don't even get 4G all the time. I don't know what happens to my phone when 3G is finished. I do get some areas with only HPSA service now. Then again, it is not rare that I am in an area with no cell signal including my own house, so not having 3G for data is not going to be a problem.

 

I've seen insanely fast speeds when the little doo hickey displays a good 5g signal. normally lte of the 4th generation variety will be about 1/10-1/4 the speed of 5th gen stuff.

the battery life is pretty good, but this is a huge brick of a battery Kyocera tough phone.

more than likely I'll upgrade to an iPhone to gain that tof3d sensor next. this phone has dtof but it's poorly implemented.

 

I've seen those recommendations, too. My iPhone 13 Pro has three options for 5G; Off, Auto, and On. Auto was the default, but I just turned it off since I'm not downloading huge files.

I'm beginning to get the impression that they truck in your daylight on a logging road. The nature nut in me would love that, but the geek part of me would go bonkers.

 

Anyone have Xfinity cell phone service? I'm thinking of switching from Verizon. I have my phone set to use the Xfinity hotspots and find them to be much faster than Verizon 5g and sometimes get service with that when my Verizon signal is week.

 

When you have XFinity cellular service, the phone is configured to use Xfinity hotspots if available, otherwise use Verizon 4 or 5G for cellular service. If you have service directly with Verizon, you can configure your phone to use the Xfinity hotspots if you have Xfinity Internet service. The only functional difference is that when you get service from Xfinity, the phone is pre-configured to prefer the Xfinity hotspots. And the monthly cost may make one or the other preferable.

 

LOL Yes, that's why I am very afraid of running a speed test on 5G. I do it very rarely. Speedtest used 1.14 GB in that single test I did, which lasted for only a few seconds. I still have 8 GB/10 GB left on my $20 a month Mint Mobile plan with seven days to go; so, I am good.

 

Speedtest used 1.14 GB (gigabyte) in that single test.

 

You live in the nature like the hippies. You don't even need a phone.

 

That's because T-Mobile (or its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Mint Mobile) is the only carrier that has true 5G in the US. AT&T and Verizon only have pseudo 5G, as they don't have the proper frequency bands, which are in the mid-spectrum, to implement practical and efficient 5G.

 

I rarely use my phone as a phone. My plan is $10 every three months prepaid SIM, I pay each call, text, and data (mb) as I go. I can top off any time, but I have never topped off my plan during the service period. Unused money carries over, but I still have to pay at least $10 every 3 months. I have accumulated over $100 on my plan so far since I only use ~$2 worth of service every three months.

I don't mind digital detoxing for a while even now, but my work requires a constant connection to the server. Internet connection is a must. When I retire, I plan to build a tiny house with no connectivity to live completely off-grid. Yeah, then I may toss all my IoT gadgets, including computers and phones.

I am glad I did not test my cellular data connection speed on my Pay-as-you-go phone. At the $0.10/mb rate I pay for Data on my pre-paid SIM, the test would have cost me $114!

 

Honestly, the test doesn’t need to be over a meg to have pretty good accuracy, no idea why they don’t let you set the sample size

 

That's more than my data cap.

 

You wouldn't have such a low data cap if you had 5G service.

 

Maybe, but my Verizon cellular bill wouldn't be $35.

 

That's your problem right there. You shouldn't be with Verizon or AT&T to begin with. With Mint Mobile, which is a T-Mobile MVNO, you get 4/10/15/unlimited GB for $15/20/25/30 a month, respectively, and 5G and better service as well.

Cell Phone Plans with Unlimited Talk, Text & Data | Mint Mobile Plan Sale

 

TMobile's coverage around here is trash. Don't believe their maps, believe people with actual TMobile phones visiting your home/office. The also don't support my Pixel XL phone.

 

Any network will have coverage issues in certain pockets, depending on where their towers are. T-Mobile still has the best overall coverage. Always make sure that you have coverage at home and in the office. You can always try and switch back if it doesn't work out.