Newer phone = better hotspot performance?

[jymbee]

Been quite satisfied with my LG V20 phone. Major feature for me is that it's one of the few phones that has a replaceable battery.

I use it quite a bit as a hotspot when traveling and for the most part it works well. But given it's been out since 2016 I'm wondering if a newer model phone might provide better hotspot performance, or not enough to be that noticeable?

 

[donn]

Not much difference. What you see is much improved performamce and way better battery life

 

[phil-t]

Way too many other variables; but newer is generally better if the device manufacturer keeps updates, bug fixes current.

 

[John From Detroit]

Well some newer phones will work better, some not as good.. Also 5G may be faster ... not noticeably different. User replicable battery.. I have no idea why they stopped that.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I doubt there has been a large enough technology shift since 2015 to make a noticeable difference.

When it does not do well what are the symptoms? If you have low/bad reception and suspect other phones are getting better reception in the same area that could be something to upgrade for.

 

[SargeW]

It depends on your carrier, but with all of the major companies adapting their bands to adjust for the requirements to the updated 5G spectrum, many new bands are being used, some are blended bands, and others traded off. The advantage of new equipment is that they will most likely be equipped to receive the newer different bands.

As an example my on board router that I have used for about 5 years still works but only has older technology on board. I purchased a new 5G router about 5 months ago that just rides on the dash board. The older system even with it's power booster and exterior antenna often doesn't get as strong a signal, and sometimes any signal at all, but the new equipment does.

Technology is evolving.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Creating a hotspot is the easy part. A newer phone might get a better signal, hence better hotspot. I must say, my iPhone 12 is leaps above my previous iPhone 6.

 

[jymbee]

When it does not do well what are the symptoms?

Actually the V20 works fine as a hotspot for the most part. Of course when the cell signal itself is marginal, throughput decreases accordingly. Was just wondering in any given situation if you had two phones side by side-- an old model and a "state-of-the-art" model whether there would be much difference.

As others have pointed out there's a number of variables to consider. 4G vs 5G being the most obvious.

 

[donn]

Camp hosted in the same parks for years using different phones. IMHO they all suck if tou dont have a strong signal. Back in the old days you could get a 1watt cell phone. Today their more like .5 watts. They used to have a big antenna that you could pull up. Today all have a tiny built in antenna that cannot pull in distant signals. In their defense there are way more antennas today than 20 years ago. Upgrade your phone if you want a newer model with more features, or if your old phone dies. Otherwise run it into the ground.

 

[UTTransplant]

Two weeks ago I had to update my venerable iPhone 7. The battery was toast, and it had even began swelling the case! RIP. I got an iPhone 12 with 5G, and the speeds are significantly better sitting in my house or driving around town. The hot spot technology hasn’t changed, but the cell signals themselves have changed.

 

[docj]

I got an iPhone 12 with 5G, and the speeds are significantly better sitting in my house or driving around town. The hot spot technology hasn’t changed, but the cell signals themselves have changed.

This is the first post in this thread that references the fact that there have been major changes in cellular technology over the past several years and unless you have a newer, higher end phone or hotspot you aren't going to benefit from them. For simplicity sake I'll lump all these features into two "bins", one called MIMO and one called carrier aggregation. Both of them make it possible for a cellular modem (the device that actually connects to the network) to make multiple spatial and frequency connections to the same cellular tower which can dramatically improve performance.

Modem are rated by "category" and modems with higher category ratings have more of these newer features. There are still plenty of inexpensive phones being sold with Category 4 modems which pretty much lack all these new features. The lowest category of modem capable of any carrier aggregation I believe is a Category 6 device. My old Novatel 7730L hotspot has a Category 8 modem; my Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 has a Category 16 and my Inseego M2000 hotspot has a Category 22.

As for amplifiers such as those marketed by WeBoost, they have a role when the cell signal is very, very weak, but the use of a basic amplifier negates both MIMO and carrier aggregation. Therefore, I suggest to people that they should measure their download speeds with and without their amplifier in use because not using it may yield higher speeds. With digital signals as used with cellular hardware, the stronger signal is not always the best signal.

 

[gfmucci]

Camp hosted in the same parks for years using different phones. IMHO they all suck if tou dont have a strong signal. Back in the old days you could get a 1watt cell phone. Today their more like .5 watts. They used to have a big antenna that you could pull up. Today all have a tiny built in antenna that cannot pull in distant signals. In their defense there are way more antennas today than 20 years ago. Upgrade your phone if you want a newer model with more features, or if your old phone dies. Otherwise run it into the ground.

Doesn't antenna length have more to do with wavelength of the signal? Longer antenna for longer wavelength, as for 2G. Shorter antenna for shorter wavelength, as for 5G. A higher antenna, e.g. mounted on top of your rig, is better than a ground level antenna, whether 2G or 5G, whether a long antenna or short antenna.

Correct me where I missed the mark. I'm still learning.

 

[donn]

Im not that well versed on the technology. Too far out of messing with it. But, if you have phone A for instance and all you can get is 1 bar on a good day. You then add an amplifier with an external antenna, now you get 4 bars. Is it the amp or the antenna? Turn the amp off and you still get 3 bars. Is it the weak antenna or the height of the antenna?

 

[Larry N.]

Doesn't antenna length have more to do with wavelength of the signal? Longer antenna for longer wavelength, as for 2G. Shorter antenna for shorter wavelength, as for 5G. A higher antenna, e.g. mounted on top of your rig, is better than a ground level antenna, whether 2G or 5G, whether a long antenna or short antenna.

Correct me where I missed the mark. I'm still learning.

In general terms antenna length is, indeed, related to wavelength as you describe. However the key takeaway here is that this is speaking of electrical length, not physical length, because different materials will have a different speed of propagation (speed of light, sorta), thus the physical length will be different in iron than in copper, etc. Antenna configuration also plays an important role, such as dipole vs quarter wave vertical vs loop, etc. And finally, for example, a nominally 9 ft. antenna (CB, 27 MHz) can actually physically be 3-5 ft if coils, etc. are configured to add to the electrical length to bring it up to the required 9 ft. (all figures approximate).

The above isn't a complete explanation, but should be enough to get the idea that there are many ways to compensate for the need to fit an antenna into a reduced space (of course performance suffers to some degree).

Height IS king, though, and you have that right, BUT, only with the right feedline setup and being in the clear (not behind metal, etc.)

Turn the amp off and you still get 3 bars. Is it the weak antenna or the height of the antenna?

Could be either, depending on the exact configuration. And don't expect "bars" to be a linear indication of signal strength -- generally more bars is "better" but multipath and other interference can affect (degrade) actual performance in surprising ways. Radio wave propagation is extremely complex, weird, and differs with frequency as well.