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3g and wifi
- Thread starter thehulk20
- Start date
You've got a GOOGLE phone! Google it! Haha! No, but seriously...
3G - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wi-Fi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anyone else, feel free to correct me on the following...
Basically, 3g is your connection to the cell network.
WiFi is your connection to a network...think of this like a laptop computer connecting to a network at Starbucks or anywhere else with free wifi.
Which one is better to use is really a question of what you're planning to do.
Personally, while I'm at home [where I have a secured wireless network setup], I use WiFi. This is MOSTLY because the coverage is iffy in my area. This ensures that my calls and texts go through and come through.
Additionally, if you're browsing the web and/or downloading things, the speed is considerably faster on WiFi, as it's utilizing the power of the internet connection, instead of talking to cell towers. Obviously, you're going to be closer to the router that's wired up to the internet than you will be to the tower.
If you don't have WiFi available at home, work, local McDonald's, etc, 3g is still the fastest you can download things on a cell phone that's not WiFi compatible.
If you've got full bars most of the time, then 3g is perfectly fine to use and certainly fast enough for downloading apps, pictures and etc. [I'm speaking as someone who had T-mobile's G1 in a non-3g area, and still had no problem browsing the web and downloading things, although it was sluggish.]
Hope that clears things up. Your question was a little bit broad, so if you have something more specific you're wondering about, please feel free to add, or if the information I've given brings up another question!
DessoThumbs
Member
Wifi for me at home is considerably faster for downloding web pages and media than 3G. I only get one or two bars for 3G out here in the sticks.
We're in the same boat then! I don't think I've used WiFi on my Droid somewhere that I get FULL 3G bars, but from everything I gather, unless the internet connection is terrible on the wireless network, WiFi is definitely faster either way.
I think it is. I only get 1 bar but if my connection to my wifi is solid and all the bars there light up (on the wifi indicator) it will blow 3G away.
My problem is sometimes I get great WiFi and sometimes I don't. Last night it was super, best I'd ever seen it and there is no rhyme or reason why.
Same here, but I get full 3G bars at work, and I'm always surprised by the fact that I notice a difference in the speed of that Vs. full WiFi connection...[ie, 3G is fast, but noticeably slower than WiFi]
Thanx for the reply. Sorry I was vague.
I just recently chose the wifi route due to lack of a good signal. Actually, I went the wifi route by accident, but, it helped me establish a connection as opposed to the 3g.
Hopefully, this will be more to the point....are there any real problems with using wifi as a "primary" means of connecting? Or should I use the 3g primarily and use the wifi as a last resort?
I just recently chose the wifi route due to lack of a good signal. Actually, I went the wifi route by accident, but, it helped me establish a connection as opposed to the 3g.
Hopefully, this will be more to the point....are there any real problems with using wifi as a "primary" means of connecting? Or should I use the 3g primarily and use the wifi as a last resort?
Not at all. If I happen to not have WiFi on during a call and am getting crappy reception, I turn it on and it gets better.
As well, when I moved out of T-mobile's coverage area, they asked me if I had WiFi available, because they could still offer me service that way. [I told them no, because that got me out of the contract. Who wants a HOME phone anymore...? Haha!]
Not quite. Unless you are using Skype or some other VOIP (voice over IP) solution, your "calls and texts" do not use WiFi. They always use Verizon's (or another carrier's) cell phone network. Data transfers, however, can use either the cell phone network or WiFi. For me (though not for everyone), WiFi is about 12 times faster than the 3G cell phone network. But unless you're streaming video or internet sites that make heavy use of images, you're unlikely to experience much difference.
CYBER DROIID
Member
[quoteYou've got a GOOGLE phone! Google it! Haha! No, but seriously...][/quote]
Im not sure why but that really made me laugh.......lol duh...........
download speedtest from the market and test wifi verse 3g there is a huge difference.
Im not sure why but that really made me laugh.......lol duh...........
download speedtest from the market and test wifi verse 3g there is a huge difference.
Well then it's a miracle that having no bars of cell service and activating WiFi seems to make the call quality better when I'm sitting still in a certain room of the house...Guess It's just my mind thinking it's better...
Im not sure why but that really made me laugh.......lol duh...........[/QUOTE]
I couldn't help it. Please let the record show that I also offered a bit of information...I Wiki'd it for the OP...Haha!
[I'm not on my phone, but I AM using Google Chrome right now...]
You're not alone, friend.
You'll notice on your notification bar, however, that there are separate icons to denote cell phone network strength and whether you're using 3G or WiFi. If you truly have "no bars" (no connection to a cell phone network at all) you can still use WiFi (assuming there's a network available) but you can't make or receive a call. Some people take advantage of this feature to use their CDMA phones (such as the Droid) in Europe to access the internet although their phones will not function. And as noted, there are options for using Skype (or other VOIP solutions like "Magic Jack") to make/receive phone calls using the internet.
Good to know! I suppose I forget, as well, that unless there's an X on my signal strength, I'm still getting SOME reception...right...? I forget, but I'm pretty sure that's how that works.
All I know is, I'm glad that they improved reception out here in the woods. Now, if they'd only bump it up just a little more...:icon_ banana::icon_ banana::icon_ banana:
All I know is, I'm glad that they improved reception out here in the woods. Now, if they'd only bump it up just a little more...:icon_ banana::icon_ banana::icon_ banana:
There are woods in Kansas? As I recall growing up in Oklahoma, woods were pretty scarce. :biggrin:
If you're having trouble getting phone reception, though, you might want to consider a signal amplifer. They aren't cheap (a couple of hundred $$) but I have friends who swear by them when they're at their cabins in the Cascades.