YouTube has long been one of the most popular services on the Internet. Millions of users use it every day. Its advantages are that you can watch all the videos for free and upload them to the platform to distribute them and make money. However, it would be best to have a stable Internet connection to access YouTube, which you can’t always get. Many users wonder if their 3G Internet connection is enough to watch YouTube.
Although 4G is currently the most popular mobile network and 5G is being developed, there are still many regions that 4G does not cover. At the same time, 3G is almost always available anywhere there is a connection. This allows you to use the Internet even in the most remote places. Of course, if it’s minus the data transfer rate. Because 3G is much slower than 4G, you may have problems when watching YouTube in high quality. Let’s find out what speed 3G has and whether it’s enough for you to watch YouTube Videos.
How fast is the 3G connection?
Let’s start by understanding what a 3G network is and how fast it can be. Suppose you are not interested in more detailed information about 3G networks and want to know the necessary connection speed for watching YouTube videos. In that case, you should go to the next section of this article, where you will find detailed information about the requirements for your Internet.
3G networks are mobile networks that became very popular after the release of the iPhone 3G. This network has several disadvantages; the main one is its low speed for modern Internet services. The maximum speed for 3G is up to 3 Mbps per second. In fact, at the time of release, it was quite a prominent figure, but in today’s realities, when all produced strive for content resolution in 4K, 3 Mbps looks ridiculous.
3G has long been replaced by the most common 4G and even 5G. So today, you will not find any new devices which only support 3G, and you will not see many areas where coverage is limited to 3G. However, you can still attach a 3G modem to your computer or other device and use that network, as it is still working and has excellent coverage.
Is 3G enough to watch YouTube?
Now let’s see if 3G is enough for you to watch YouTube videos. The short answer to this question is, of course. You can watch videos with a 3G network enabled, but you will have to sacrifice quality or experience constant loading problems and long buffering times. Let me give you a table below with the recommended speed requirements from YouTube.
| Video Resolution | Recommended Speed |
|---|---|
| 4K UHD | 20 Mbps |
| 1080p FHD | 5 Mbps |
| 720p HD | 2.5 Mbps |
| 480p | 1.1 Mbps |
| 360p | 0.7 Mbps |
As I wrote above, the 3G can support up to 3 Mbps. This means that you can watch 720p videos, but if you decide to turn on 1080p, you will most likely have problems watching it. You should not worry about 2k or 4k, you should not worry, as 3G will be unable to load such videos.
If you have, for example, a 3G modem with several computers or smartphones connected, the speed will be even slower, and you will have to pay for it by the quality of your YouTube videos. So first, you must determine precisely how fast your device can get and choose the quality according to the table above.
Is 4G or 5G enough to watch YouTube?
If we talk about modern networks, such as 4G or 5G, their speed will be enough to watch Youtube videos, even in 4K resolution. Because 4G speeds can reach up to 1 Gbps, and 5G speeds up to 20 Gbps. That’s enough speed for watching videos and uploading videos to a site or streaming.
However, the problem with these networks is the signal strength. The fact is that the peak speed data were obtained from different tests under laboratory conditions. In real life, the towers broadcast these signals have a minimal range. And while 5G will almost certainly give you enough speed for high-resolution YouTube, 4G may require you to downgrade if the connection is inferior.
This can be affected by many factors. Typically the connection will fail if you are too far away from the cell sites above, underground, or have large, thick buildings with thick concrete walls around, which can block a 4G or 5G signal. So you should be aware of this.
