iPhone 4S new iOS update 4G using A LOT of DATA?!?!

[jaeb0922]

Ever since the new update about a week ago, my phone ALWAYS says 4G now. It also seems to burn up data faster! Is this true? Is there a way to only limit it to 3G?

[youngjm ACE - Professor · Accepted solution]

Your connection to the wireless network did not change with the upgrade.  They just re-badged the HSPA+ as 4G. You had it before but is showed as 3G.  You may be getting a faster signal if your network area was recently updated with a faster backbone so you might be getting a more fuller signal when you are watching videos?

On the 4S, you do not have the option to only use 3G.  You can turn off cellular data but that has consequences.

[jaeb0922]

Thanx for the reply! Useful info!

[anton697]

Of course with the higher/faster speeds that come with 4G, there is the possibility for a user to selectively choose to download/view higher-quality video and/or webpages--e.g., you probably would not choose to view a HQ Youtube video over 3G but might consider doing so over 4G since it offers higher bandwidth and speeds...and it would go without saying that viewing a HQ video would use up more data than viewing a non-HQ version of the same video.

[youngjm ACE - Professor]

Some services judge the quality of the connection. That determines how much they compress what you see or hear.

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior]

There are no higher/faster speeds on the iPhone. The iOS update didn't suddenly change the way iPhones connect to the network. It just rebadged what used to be called 3G on the iPhone as 4G, since the ITU (Int'l Telecom Union) said that HSPA+ (which the iPhone has had) can be called 4G.

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anton697 wrote:

Of course with the higher/faster speeds that come with 4G, there is the possibility for a user to selectively choose to download/view higher-quality video and/or webpages--e.g., you probably would not choose to view a HQ Youtube video over 3G but might consider doing so over 4G since it offers higher bandwidth and speeds...and it would go without saying that viewing a HQ video would use up more data than viewing a non-HQ version of the same video.

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[anton697]

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BadBadLeroyBrown wrote:

There are no higher/faster speeds on the iPhone. The iOS update didn't suddenly change the way iPhones connect to the network. It just rebadged what used to be called 3G on the iPhone as 4G, since the ITU (Int'l Telecom Union) said that HSPA+ (which the iPhone has had) can be called 4G.

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anton697 wrote:

Of course with the higher/faster speeds that come with 4G, there is the possibility for a user to selectively choose to download/view higher-quality video and/or webpages--e.g., you probably would not choose to view a HQ Youtube video over 3G but might consider doing so over 4G since it offers higher bandwidth and speeds...and it would go without saying that viewing a HQ video would use up more data than viewing a non-HQ version of the same video.

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So you're saying that HSPA+ is the same as 3G, as far as speeds are concerned?  Guess all those iPhone 4S folks must have been lying when they said that they observed much faster speeds (when on a HSPA+ network) compared to when they're on a 3G (or even EDGE)?  If one of the primary benefits/advantages of being on HSPA+ isn't faster speeds, then what is the benefit of HSPA+ compared to 3G?

[BadBadLeroyBrown ACE - Warrior]

HSPA+ IS 3G. It's simply an extension of the capabilities of regular HSPA, which itself was an incremental "upgrade" over the base WCDMA/UMTS air interface. It's all marketing. Nothing about the update will make anyone's phones any faster than they were before the update.