Networks are rolling out 4G but let's be honest here who even gets 3G most of the time? Even in city centres I'm lucky to even get more than H+.

Most of the time my 3G enabled smartphone is fluctuating between G, where you're lucky if it even manages a simple Google search to H and H+ and in some places I am unable to get a data signal at all.

When it does move over to 3G the signal is so bad that I'm actually better off on a good H+ signal than a totally crap 3G one which mostly keeps dropping out.

So why oh why are networks now pushing 4G when the majority of the time they can't even offer us 1G? We can't even manage a stable 3G coverage. How about they get that up and running before moving on to the next level?

Try walking before you can run.

I've recently got 4G and tbh can't see a lot of advantage to it as web pages etc loaded fast enough on 3G - the only ones I could see would benefit are those with a large data allowance who stream a lot of video or music (which I don't), as for normal web use and making calls/texts etc it seems pretty pointless.

But what's the point when for the majority of the time you can't even get 3G? On the rare occasions you can it's so weak you're actuality better off on H+?

Why roll out 4G when most people can't even get 3G and are stuck with plain old 2G? For years phones have had the ability to make video calls but most of the time it doesn't work because you can't get a good enough signal.

You do realise that H+ is a faster firm if 3G right it is not a 2G service.

Secondly depends where you live I get 4g pretty much everywhere round London and find the 3G band pretty congested.

H+ is a faster, more advanced form of 3G which can deliver real world speeds of up to 30Mb/s.

Are you on O2 or Vodafone? Their 3G networks are known to suffer from very patchy coverage especially outside towns/cities. Three and EE on the other hand have almost blanket coverage.

Firstly which network are you on and which area? Two have you tried another handset?

As I travel the length of the country regularly I absolutely disagree with you, I 9 times out of 10 find I have 3G.. So yes most of the time I DO!

This is a mistake many folk make when complaining... Your experience is usually only yours, not everyone's.

A quick look on Root Metrics would show you a massive chunk of the country is covered by 3G. This is user generated maps.. So fairly resembles real world conditions.

Agreed. You can't speak for everyone because of your own experiences. I'm on Three and have had a solid 3G connection across much of the Midlands, Manchester, and into London, etc, and I am now getting 4G in most of those areas too. I admit I'm seeing a massive boost on 4G, but then as I said the 3G was decent in the first place, and I'm not doing anything really data intensive on the move.

The only network around here with 4G is EE, I was with them for just over a year, at the end of the year you could already see quite a drop in their speed than when I started with them. Its only when you go to a crap 3G network like O2 that you appreciate how good 4G is, the ability to load videos without a constant stuttering match for a start, or the little spinning circle when trying to load a webpage.

I find a lot of 3G nowadays on EE and Three but to be fair it is quite often weak - it does work though - whereas on O2/Vodafone I get a fantastic 2G signal most of the time but goodbye data.

Lots of places you have to choose between the 2. Good 2G or good 3G and it's all down to frequency. Certainly where I am. Hopefully 800 4G and VoLTE will sort that in the next couple years.

Friend of mine on o2 says the 4g is great and coverage is improving. He is a technofobe so for him to notice means it must be improving. The new o2 mast I'm using is giving great 3g coverage and 9meg speeds so really can't complain.

He did say 4g is annoying as the phone latches on to a weak signal and not the closer and better quality 3g mast. He also says then getting calls can be a pain as some drop out.

Surely when he gets calls the phone falls back to 3G, there isn't any VoLTE in the UK is there?

An indicated weak signal on 4G means nowt , i have had downloads of 30Mbit with barely any indication.

Or even 2G. No VoLTE yet.


Likewise.

The calculation is different on 4G so on most phones the number of bars displayed are not comparable from 2G/3G to 4G.

I think before anything more we need to educate the OP on the various technologies, they appear to not understand H+ is better than 3G on the phone.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think in order slowest to best its something like.

G OR 2G
GPRS
3 or 3G
H
H+
4G

3G can be iffy around here, in fact with Vodafone it seems to be getting worse. When it does work I do get H which is good, but never h+. Got H now.

Most of the time I use Wi-fi, if I go to friends places I hook on to their network.

I doubt we will get 4G around for a while yet, not that it will make any difference to me as my phone is 3G.

H+ may also only appear when a data connection is active, I think in some phones at least it idles in H mode

It's usually good 2G or bad-ish 3G in my experience, or is that what you meant?

Yeah, doesn't the 4G "bar" calculation take into account power and quality of the signal as well as "pure signal"?

I rarely see 3G anymore. 90% of the time I have a strong 4G signal.

I wish that was true for me

They can all be patchy too even towns and cities!

In Northern Ireland I would say the exact opposite is true. ,

I think it might - isn't it RSSI instead of RSRQ or maybe the other way round.

iPhones have taken into account the "quality" in the signal bars since iOS 5, but Android and Windows Phone has just used strength.

EE 4G coverage I found to be superb 3 months ago in NI..

Oh yes EE 4G is fantastic, Three on the other hand useless.