Why Does My Phone Say LTE Instead of 4G or 5G?

When connected to an LTE network, your phone displays LTE instead of 4G. Before 5G, LTE stood for ‘Long Term Evolution,’ and it is the type of 4G that provides the fastest internet speed. The conditions are unique to your career. When connected to an HSPA or HSPA+ network, your phone will display 3G, and when connected to an LTE network, it will display LTE or 4G LTE.

So now you know why your phone says LTE instead of 5G or 4G. In this article, we discuss almost everything you need to know about the LTE and 4G and 5G mix up.

Table of Contents

• Is LTE similar to 4G?
• How do you turn off LTE on your Android device?
• How do you turn off (or on) LTE on your iPhone?
• Why is my phone not getting 4G?
• Why does my phone change from 5G to 4G sometimes?
• Why does my phone display 4G rather than 3G?
• Some related FAQs
  • Is 4G superior to 5G?
  • Is it necessary for me to upgrade my phone to support 5G?

Is LTE similar to 4G?

LTE is a type of 4G technology that is also known as 4G LTE. It’s slower than “true” 4G, but much faster than 3G, which used to have data rates measured in kilobits per second rather than megabits per second.

How do you turn off LTE on your Android device?

1. To begin, go to your Android’s menu and select Settings.
2. Scroll down to Mobile Networks and tap on it.
3. Next, tap Network Mode to see a list of your phone’s preferred network modes.
4. Uncheck the LTE mode and select a different mode to use on your Android.
5. After that, press the back or menu buttons to return to the menu.
6. To complete the process of turning off LTE, restart your Android phone.

You can easily turn off LTE on Android devices by following the steps outlined above. If you have any issues during the process, please contact the support team. To begin, go to your mobile settings and find the network option, which you should tap. After that, go to the mobile network option and look for LTE calling. If this option is enabled on your phone, disable it.

How do you turn off (or on) LTE on your iPhone?

1. Choose “Cellular” at the top of the list in the iPhone Settings app.
2. Select “Cellular Data Options” from the drop-down menu (in newest versions of iOS, older do not have the sub menu)
3. Choose “OFF” under “Enable LTE” (or, alternatively, “Data Only” to stabilize some voice calls, or “Voice & Data” as the default)*.
4. Wait for the iPhone’s cellular connection to cycle on and off again, and 3G / 4G should now be turned on by default, with LTE turned off, as shown in the iPhone’s status bar.
5. Exit Settings and savor your sluggish cell service.

Why is my phone not getting 4G?

There can be many reasons for this problem. But don’t worry, we’ve got all the possible fixes that you can use to resolve the problem in no time. So what follows are some of those fixes. 

• Toggle the airplane mode on and off first.

In most cases, troubleshooting a phone that won’t show a 4G network is simple, and turning on and off Airplane mode may be your one-stop solution.

Turning on and off airplane mode for a few seconds refreshes your phone’s network and may trigger your phone to connect to the fastest available network, in case you didn’t know.

The airplane mode can be turned on and off from the Quick Settings panel on most Android phones. If this isn’t the case, go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Airplane mode.

• Make sure your network settings are correct.

If your phone and SIM card support 4G, you should be able to use it right away. But you may have switched by accident to a slower network, or changes to your system may have changed the settings.

If that’s the case, double-check to make sure you’ve selected the correct network setting. Here’s how to fix the problem with 4g data not working:

1. Start up your device. Settings
2. Select Network & Internet from the menu (or Mobile networks depending on how it is on your phone)
3. After that, choose your preferred network mode. This will bring up a pop-up menu.
4. Select the fastest network mode, which is usually 2G, 3G, or 4G. (auto).
5. Simply make sure that the mode you’ve chosen includes 4G (auto).

• Check to see if your SIM card and phone are 4G capable.

Even if you apply all of the fixes on this page, if your SIM card and phone hardware are not 4G-compatible, your phone will not show 4G or LTE.

Even if your phone and SIM cards have previously worked on a 4G network, you may not need to be concerned. It’s worth checking if you’ve recently received a new SIM card or phone.

Despite the fact that most modern phones have 4G (and 5G) chips, some entry-level devices only have 3G networks to save money. Even so, if you have an old SIM card that hasn’t been upgraded to 4G, your phone will not be able to connect to the internet.

If you have a dual-SIM phone, you’ll also want to make sure the SIM slot you’re using supports 4G. Only the first SIM slot on some phones supports 4G networks.

How to Turn Off In-Call Volume in Samsung?

Why does my phone change from 5G to 4G sometimes?

Because you are too far away from a 5G antenna, it switches to 4G. The 4G antenna is then selected as the next best antenna. 

When you’re too far away from a 4G/LTE or 5G antenna, you’ll be switched to a 3G antenna, and so on. The next step down is EDGE, which was never designed to carry large amounts of data like we do today.

In these first generation, non standalone 5G networks, if your operator offers 5G/4G, your phone will first search for 5G and if it finds it, it will stay on 5G for data and 4G for voice. It will use 4G for both data and voice if there is no 5G coverage.

Why does my phone display 4G rather than 3G?

When you’re in an area where 4G isn’t available, your phone will most likely switch to 3G. This means you won’t be able to use LTE on your phone. If you’re certain the area is 4G-enabled, you can force your phone to look for an LTE signal.

Some related FAQs

Is 4G superior to 5G?

The most significant distinction between 4G and 5G is latency. 5G promises latency of less than 5 milliseconds, whereas 4G latency ranges from 60 to 98 milliseconds. Lower latency also leads to improvements in other areas, such as faster download speeds. Download speeds are possible.

Is it necessary for me to upgrade my phone to support 5G?

Your current phone is 4G compatible if it receives LTE signals. You won’t be a part of the 5G revolution unless you upgrade, but your service should be fine for the time being. The majority of Americans will have uninterrupted service.