iPhone says 4G but doesn't seem to do anything

It's not 4G, just At&t convincing Apple to make customers believe it is. Enjoy HSPA+

 

I had the same issue with mine after the update. Try resetting your network settings.

 

If your only at 500mb you shouldn't be trotted until you hit 3gb. You should call AT&T CS and trouble shoot it.

 

HSPA+ is 4G, not LTE but it is 4G

 

If your getting .5 down and flat uploads on hspa+ either something is wrong with the radios in the phones or you live in one of the worst most congested areas lol. I'd take it back and compare with another one. I live in South FL and hspa+ can be as high as 7-9 down and right around 3-5 down normally especially at busy times (like lunch etc). Never dropped below 1, before hspa+ my 4 never hit 1 down ever.

Try to reset the phone first or restore as new (obviously backup) and see what happens. If that doesn't work, take it back to the store.

 

For consumers, yes. But according to the tech specs, it is not. Heck, even LTE is not 4G technically. Only LTE advanced is.

 

What is this, 2010?

The ITU, which created the requirements you are quoting, changed them in Dec 2010. HSPA+ is now 4G, deal with it already.

 

Would love to say to AT&T: "If its '4G' then why am I getting 2-3 Mbps down?"

It should have stayed as 3G. HSPA+ is NOT real 4G. Really shocked Apple allowed this. The average consumer has to be SO confused with all this fake 4G crap.

 

Was not aware they changed it.

 

They did. No thanks to the US carriers for 'nudging' their correction.

 

It seems like the people who are just saying "it's not really 4G" are missing the point here. I too have noticed that since the 5.1 update where it now says "4G" (regardless of whether it is or not) that my data speeds have slowed down to where it's almost impossible to use any data, in places where they used to be pretty good. It really seems like I'm almost being throttled, but when I checked my usage it was only at 976 MB, and I didn't get any texts from AT&T stating I was going to be throttled. I'm going to try to reset my network settings and see if that helps at all.

 

Why not just call them?

 

Sorry if I came off as an ass in my comment.

To those with data issues, even with LTE you could potentially get slow speeds depending on signal, traffic, etc. Restart the phone. I've noticed no slowdowns since 5.1.