Smartphone users who notice "H+" appear in their network status bar instead of 4G or 5G are actually connected to HSPA+, an older 3G-era network, according to a report by tech outlet BGR.
Phones are built to connect to ever-faster networks, but infrastructure does not always keep pace. Even a handset that supports 5G may have to fall back to 4G, or to lesser-known networks such as EDGE, depending on where its user is. The phone will always display whichever network it is using, but the symbols it shows, such as "H+", can be confusing.
BGR explained that the "H+" symbol has nothing to do with the line "Put it in H!" from the cartoon series The Simpsons. It is instead an indicator that the phone is connected to Evolved High Speed Packet Access, or HSPA+. The network first appeared in 2008, and some carriers marketed it, somewhat misleadingly, as 4G.
What HSPA+ actually offers
HSPA+ was effectively "3G 2.0," according to BGR, capable of download speeds of up to 21 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 11 Mbps. That is slow by today's standards, when 5G download speeds can reach as high as 20 Gbps.
BGR also noted that the HSPA+ symbol is nearly identical to the one for a similar network, High Speed Downlink Packet Access, or HSDPA. The only difference is that HSPA+ is shown as "H+", while HSDPA appears as a plain "H" without the plus sign. In terms of performance, HSDPA is not as fast as HSPA+, particularly for downloads.
Global shift to faster networks
The better networks for smartphones become, the faster users move onto them, BGR reported. Citing the International Telecommunication Union, the outlet said around 55% of the world's population now uses 5G, while another 38% uses 4G.
In 2022, the United States officially shut down all of its 3G networks, which caused HSPA+ to disappear there.
Where HSPA+ still exists
Travelers abroad may still come across a few carriers and regions in Canada and Mexico, as well as networks and countries in Africa, that support HSPA+, according to BGR. The outlet said such cases are now very rare.
