5G, 4G, H+… what the mobile coverage letters mean

In this case, the truth is that it does not matter what phone we have in our possession. It does not matter if you are an Android user, an iPhone user or another smartphone that has a different operating system. All these smartphones have in common a coverage indicator at the top of the screen.

There’s also usually a letter next to the signal strength which, depending on where you are, is sometimes likely to show 4G, but sometimes it might show H+, 3G, E, or even 5G . But, it is quite likely that you will ask yourself the following question: What does this alphabet soup really mean?

what the mobile coverage letters mean

Very easy. Each letter that appears next to the coverage symbol on our smartphones shows what type of mobile network the phone is connected to. In addition, these different networks will offer very different speeds that can weigh down your user experience and, above all, be better or worse when browsing the Internet.

Origin of mobile networks

It is clear that the world of mobile telephony is probably one of the markets that has evolved the most in recent years in the entire technological environment that surrounds us in our daily lives. Although, what is clear is that these changes have also contributed to the different evolutions that have taken place in the world of connections, especially in mobile networks.

However, it all started in the 70s with cell phones, which it was still unthinkable would become smartphones, really big and not very easy to transport with which you could only talk. And although it seems unimportant now, the fact of having managed to incorporate SMS messages into phones, 2G mobile networks provided us with a new form of communication, which was a milestone.

But, if we have to set a first great revolution in mobile telephony, it was with the appearance of the first mobile network that we used to have on our smartphones, as happened with 3G, to later give way to 4G. And, later, we experienced the arrival of 5G and the great changes in speed that it would entail.

Bandas de frecuencia móviles

Type of connections

Surely you have wondered on more than one occasion what that letter or symbol that appears next to the smartphone coverage means when you are using mobile data. Well, depending on which one appears, we already warned you that it means that you will have a worse or better signal. For this reason, it is important that you know all the types of connections that tell us how good or bad the coverage is when using the mobile network of the Android or iPhone device.

G

The years go by, and the evolution in mobile networks has been quite remarkable. For this reason, if we find this network, it will mean that it will be the worst thing we can see on any mobile. If we have the letter G next to the coverage of the mobile device, it means that you are going to navigate at the lowest speed possible. This letter represents a low speed GPRS connection .

Basically, this connection is the slowest of all the technologies that we will see below throughout the article. In addition, it is considered a second generation network that is used to send text messages with any terminal and does not go much further, since it is the oldest of all.

AND

For those who do not know, the letter E is the acronym for EDGE, an improved version of GPRS. However, it is one of the mobile connections that today is totally insufficient to navigate the Internet with the mobile. Also, this network connectivity is identified with a 2G connection type.

This connection was created in the 1980s. This is a frequency that is compatible with WAP application protocols, SMS and MMS, web access and email, even P2P services. Although, as we have been explaining to you, this connectivity has a speed that, at present, would weigh down the experience when browsing the net.

3G

We are facing another connection that, practically, is already part of the past. This was the first mobile network capable of supporting video calls with our mobiles thanks to reaching a speed of up to 2 Mbps, although initially only speeds of 384 Kbps were obtained.

In addition, this smartphone connectivity was a before and after, as it gave us the possibility of enjoying the Internet through data on Android or iPhone devices. This network, known as UMTS, is a third generation connection that was designed for multimedia content that needed high-speed connections.

3G red móvil

H

The HSDPA connection is basically a slightly slower version than the one we will see just below, named HSDPA +, although the icon that will appear on the terminals will be H or H+, in the case of the other network that we have just mentioned. In this case, we will achieve a maximum speed of up to 14 Mbps.

This connectivity can be used at any time to use social networks , for example, although in other cases it will be quite ‘short’. And even more so if we compare it with the rest of the technologies that have been arriving on the mobile phone market. Although, a few years ago it was one of the most used networks.

H+

In the case of the HSDPA+ connection, which we named earlier, it is a faster data network before the adoption of 4G, with a download speed of around 21 Mbps. So there was a significant improvement from one generation to another for Internet connectivity of smartphones.

In many versions of Android the full name, ‘ H + ‘, is displayed, but in later versions it is simplified to just ‘H’. Although, this symbol may also vary depending on whether we have a customization layer of the Google operating system or even if our terminal has other software, as is the case with iPhones that come with iOS.

4G/LTE

This next connectivity, the truth is that it also usually appears as LTE and offers speeds of up to 150 Mbps. It is faster than many broadband connections and was the most common that we could find in the coverage of our mobile in 2019. Although Like what has been happening with other technologies, it has lagged behind compared to 4G+ and 5G .

However, this mobile network is still quite present. At the time, this connection of smartphones became as fast as the Wi-Fi connection. In any case, if we connect to it, we will be able to download, watch any quality streaming content or browse at high speed.

señal 4g

4G+

We go with the symbol that will mark us that we are using a technology that will indicate that we are using a network that marks the intermediate stage between 4G and 5G, sometimes called 4.5G. This connection offers speeds that can be two to three times faster than a standard 4G connection by using multiple signals and antennas.

In any case, this network technology has a higher speed than 4G as we mentioned before. So it will be the ideal in case we do not have a smartphone capable of connecting to 5G networks or we are living in a rural area, town or city that does not have fifth generation technology.

5G

This symbol or letter with a number refers to a fifth-generation mobile connection that first appeared on a few phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G or the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G. In any case, it manages to offer faster speeds, around 1 Gbps download, and 300 Mbps upload.

In addition, in order to have a mobile phone that could connect to this network, a greater investment was needed. Although, over time this network technology has become more widespread , so we can find cheaper smartphones that allow us to enjoy this connection. In any case, it is the best lyrics you can find on your mobile. However, we will not only need a telephone with this capacity, but we will also have to contract a telephone rate that offers us this connectivity.

5G

Other coverage symbols

There are other symbols that accompany the coverage of our mobile, especially if we have a 5G mobile, as well as others that have nothing to do with download speed. In any case, these will be the other options that may appear in any terminal

  • R

The letter that appears when we have roaming activated on our phone. It means that we are connected to a Network that is not that of our telephone operator. Normally, this symbol will not appear while we are using mobile data in the country where we have contracted the mobile rate. Only, the phone would show us this letter if we have gone on a trip to another region and we have enabled data and roaming.

  • No signal

A kind of symbol could appear that looks like a prohibited sign that will directly indicate that the smartphone does not receive any signal, so we cannot communicate in any way. Although, if no symbol or letter directly appears, it will mean that we do not have any type of coverage and it will be impossible for us both to surf the Net and to make or receive calls. However, in other cases, ‘ No Service ‘ will appear directly.

iPhone Sin Servicio