• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

LTE Phones on 3G?

The latest phones are purported to be compatible with both 3G and 4G as you'll need both for the time being.
 
Would you be able to use 3G only even if you were in a 4G area? As I understand, 4G burns through data quite quickly, so would I be able to "tune down" my data consumption by forcing the 4G phone to use 3G at certain times of the month?
 
According to the verizon and motorla reps i spoke with today at ces you can use 3g and essentially have 4g turned off. But, the 4g data plans for smart phones havent been published so you never know... but i doubt it will be unlimited. The vzw rep said they were doing some isoloated tests on unlimited 4g and the test group went though a terabyte in 30 days!
 
AMTrombley0924 said:
Would you be able to use 3G only even if you were in a 4G area? As I understand, 4G burns through data quite quickly, so would I be able to "tune down" my data consumption by forcing the 4G phone to use 3G at certain times of the month?
Click to expand...

I know the EVO is set up this way. Under settings you can turn off 4G, effectively only using 3G for data. A lot of folks use this for the exact reason you stated.
 
Seems so counter intuative doesnt it? They are selling this awesomely fast data protocol but telling you not to use too much of it.
 
4G is a scam if they limit you to 5GB. Whats the point of such fast speeds if you cant use it for its intended putposes--ie watch video? Do I really care if my web pages load a second faster?
 
gwlaw99 said:
4G is a scam if they limit you to 5GB. Whats the point of such fast speeds if you cant use it for its intended putposes--ie watch video? Do I really care if my web pages load a second faster?
Click to expand...

The point is to make it incredibly easy for you to go over your limit so Verizon can charge you $40 for a data plan and $500 in overage fees.
 
Oh great, then my estimate was conservative assuming 1TB use.

Who uses that much, though? What a blatant lie by Verizon. I use under a quarter of that every month on my home cable (soon to be fiber!) connection and I use a digital download service for EVERYTHING, from video games to multimedia.
 
i just hope they dont force you to pay extra for 4G LTE if you only want 3G! I havent heard of a single new 3G phone announced at CES! I don't have 4G service here, and i dont really want to pay more for something that means little to me. If every new phone that gets announced from now on is going to be LTE, and i wont be able to waive the 4G service, then i guess i better make my droid last as long as possible.

i really want a tegra 2, but not willing to pay vzw anything more than i already do!
 
i want to get an LTE phone for this reason... i will continue to use 3g because honestly i have no problem with it, and it will work alot better one a 4g capable phone.

AND when they decide to lower the price on 4g and eventually create an unlimited data plan that isn't price aimed at CEO's of businesses... i will do that... i wont be paying per gb, no farkin way. i'd rather wait slightly longer with 3g.

that being said... is a 4g plan mandatory with a LTE phone?
 
The Thunderbolt will likely be the first and it works on both 3G and 4G. Looks to be a good phone. I will be upgrading from my D1 when this gets released. I dont use more than 5GB a month so the tiered pricing plan will be fine with me.
 
ocman said:
The Thunderbolt will likely be the first and it works on both 3G and 4G. Looks to be a good phone. I will be upgrading from my D1 when this gets released. I dont use more than 5GB a month so the tiered pricing plan will be fine with me.
Click to expand...
Thunderbolt doesn't impress me 1 bit. It's basically HTC's version of the Droid X
 
No, you mean it's the Verizon version of the EVO. Which is still the best phone in the world 6 months after its release.

No phone will be special until it has at least a 4.3" screen and a physical keyboard. That's my opinion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom