136. Resident Exclusive- Understanding Your Phone’s Internet Connection

Smartphones do a lot of work behind the scenes to keep us connected, but terms like Wi-Fi, LTE, 5G and cellular data can still be confusing.

In this episode, Tech@Home technician James Peck breaks down how smartphones connect to the internet and explains the difference between Wi-Fi and cellular service in simple, approachable terms. He walks listeners through what happens when a phone moves between home Wi-Fi and a cellular network, what signal bars and connection symbols actually tell us, and why strong signal bars do not always mean fast internet.

James also shares practical troubleshooting tips for common connectivity issues, including checking Wi-Fi settings, restarting a device and recognizing when an internet outage or weak cellular signal may be the problem.

The episode also covers public Wi-Fi and why users should be cautious about entering sensitive information when connected to an open network.

Listeners will come away with a clearer understanding of how their devices stay connected and greater confidence troubleshooting common connection problems.

About Tech@Home

Tech@Home by Parasol Alliance provides hands-on technology support and education designed specifically for senior living residents. From smartphones and tablets to Wi-Fi, streaming, smart home devices, and online safety, Tech@Home helps residents safely and confidently use technology to stay connected, independent, and engaged.

Find us online:
Website
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
 

Transcript

 [00:00:00] 

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. My name is James Peck, and I'll be your presenter today for Staying Connected: Cellular Networks, 5G, and Wi-Fi. I'm a Tech@Home technician based out of Wisconsin. Today isn't about becoming a network expert, but my goal is simply to help you understand what your phone is doing behind the scenes so these terms like Wi-Fi, 5G, LTE, et cetera, make a little bit more sense.

So some of the learning outcomes for today, understand how your devices connect to the internet, learn when your phone uses WiFi or cellular service, recognize common connection symbols, learn simple troubleshooting tips, and all of these will help you feel more confident while you're staying connected.

So let's start with the biggest question that I get. How does your phone actually get on the internet? There's two ways that your phone connects. [00:01:00] One of them is Wi-Fi, which is usually

There's two ways that your phone connects to the internet. The first way is Wi-Fi, which is usually home-based. You can also get Wi-Fi through your work or a public internet connection. The second way is through cellular. This is also called mobile or data, depending on who you talk to, and this connects you through your wireless carrier using nearby cell towers.

What's nice is that your phone is smart, and it automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular to give you the best internet connection at all times. So let's follow your phone through a normal day to see what this looks like in action

So when you're at home, your phone will be connected to Wi-Fi, and as soon as you leave your house, it's gonna switch to cellular. You'll be on cellular as long as you're out of the house and away [00:02:00] from a saved Wi-Fi network. And once you return back home, your phone will switch back to Wi-Fi.

This process should be seamless, and one of the amazing things about smartphones is that they're constantly looking for the best connection. Most of the time, you never have to think about switching from one to the other. Your phone may switch between Wi-Fi and cellular thousands of times every year, and when it works seamlessly, most people never notice.

But now that we know how it switches, let's talk about what cellular actually is So cellular service uses thousands of towers across the country, and your phone communicates with the nearest towers to either make phone calls, send text messages, or use the internet. And as you travel away from home, your phone will automatically connect to different towers.

Think of it like a relay race. As you drive, for example, think about all the towers that you pass on the highway. Your phone [00:03:00] will hand off its connection from one tower to the next, and this happens so quickly that you probably don't notice

A typical cell tower in a city can service about a quarter mile to a two-mile radius. For suburbs, two to five miles, and rural, five to 20, depending on population density. Because the rural cell towers are stretched so thin, this is sometimes why there's poor service, in these areas. If you're looking to switch phone carriers, some people might not know that most carriers will provide you a detailed cell service coverage map that you can use to help choose which carrier is right for you.

Most of these can be found on their websites. But moving on from cell towers, not every phone company actually owns towers, which surprises a lot of people.

Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T are the big three carriers that own [00:04:00] the cell towers in the United States. You may have also heard of smaller carriers that offer more competitive pricing, such as some of them listed on the screen. Typically, these smaller companies lease out the cell towers, and in leasing, they get to save money and pass that along to the customer.

So if you're shopping for something that fits your budget, definitely take a look at some alternatives to the big three. You may have also noticed on your phone that you have symbols like LTE or 5G. So let's talk about what those mean, 'cause they are important

On your phone, on the top right, you're gonna see two things, likely signal bars, which are those vertical bars, and then either 5G or LTE or some mix of letters next to it. One funny thing that we talk about is that the G in 5G does not mean good. Just because something says 5G doesn't mean that your service is great [00:05:00] necessarily.

That's why we rely on the number of bars next to the, next to the number. These symbols will constantly change as you move around, and they're a great way to determine how fast your internet might be or how clear a phone call might come through. It's important to know that things like parking garages, large buildings, skyscrapers, hospitals, or rural areas may have lower signal than normal, and sometimes you might lose all cell signal.

If you do miss signal, you will see on the top right that your phone says SOS if you're on iPhone, or it might have an X and you'll see no bars. During that time, you'll be unable to place or receive calls. So it's always important to be aware of where you are and know if you're able to make calls in the instance that you might have to Another tidbit is that having full signal bars on your phone doesn't always mean that your internet will be fast.

The [00:06:00] tower may be busy even if your signal is excellent. So this often happens during large scheduled events in your area, like concerts, fairs, or big sports games, where the amount of people in an area can overwhelm local cell towers, and this is on the scale of thousands or tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people.

So moving away from cell service, Wi-Fi works a little bit differently, and that's what we're gonna talk about next Unlike a cell tower that's miles away, your Wi-Fi router is probably somewhere inside your home, and Wi-Fi is what connects you to the router. So some common places that you'll have Wi-Fi are gonna be in your home, firstly and most importantly, but you also might have public Wi-Fi in libraries, coffee shops, community centers, or hotels.

And Wi-Fi usually works best when you're closest to the router. Sometimes your phone has a signal, but sti- things still don't work on the internet. Why is that? [00:07:00] So some common causes are listed here on screen. Oftentimes it's going to be because your Wi-Fi was toggled off accidentally. You could have a weak Wi-Fi signal.

The cellular network could be busy, although this isn't a huge issue in the current year. You may be facing an internet outage, in which you may need to contact your ISP to find out. You also could be in airplane mode, accidentally, which is also toggled on and off on your phone. Or your computer or phone might be experiencing a temporary problem, which can be fixed with a restart.

When your phone doesn't have good internet, this may stop you from doing a couple things, like reading your emails, holding video calls or Zoom calls, or opening up social media like Facebook. Most connection problems aren't permanent, and most of the time a simple restart or reconnect will solve your problems.

To toggle your Wi-Fi on or off [00:08:00] on your phone, pull down the shade by swiping down from the top of your screen, and tap the Wi-Fi symbol to toggle it on or off. On Android, you'll wanna look at the top photo here where it says Wi-Fi underneath my head. You can tap that on and off. And then on iPhone is the picture below.

The little Wi-Fi symbol in blue there has the arrow pointing to it. When it's blue, that means you're connected to Wi-Fi. If it's gray, that means that your Wi-Fi is toggled off, and tap it to toggle on and off

So let's also talk about public Wi-Fi. This can be found in any area that's offered for free. Oftentimes, public Wi-Fi doesn't have a password that's required to connect to it. This can be helpful for saving your cellular data and also accessing the internet while traveling or accessing the internet in a place where you can't get cell service.

Always connect to the official network or Wi-Fi that's provided, and avoid [00:09:00] entering in sensitive information when you're on other people's Wi-Fi, specifically public Wi-Fi. This could be things like avoid making orders, logging into your bank account or doing things like that. If you get a new device that needs to be connected to the Wi-Fi for the first time, always check and make sure that the name of the Wi-Fi network is correct before you type in the password and connect to it.

If you're having trouble at your community, you can always ask another resident or a staff member for the correct name of the network if you're unsure

So some key takeaways. Your phone uses Wi-Fi and cellular automatically and will negotiate these connections for you. Cell towers keep you connected while you're traveling, and Wi-Fi is usually best at home and better than cellular network. 5G is the newest generation of cellular service. Most connection problems with regards to internet and Wi-Fi have some simple [00:10:00] solutions.

Oftentimes, just a restart will fix. And you know how to understand the symbols and troubleshoot with confidence. And hopefully, the next time you see an LTE or a 5G symbol, you'll know exactly what they're telling you. Your phone is doing a lot of work in the background to keep you connected. And now I hope that you have a better understanding of how it works.

Again, my name is James. Thank you for joining us today, and I hope to see you another time. Thanks.