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How to speed up your 3G connection

androidpit sony xperia z3 speed test
© nextpit

Slow data speeds are something everybody wants to improve – no one enjoys staring at the rotating wheel of a loading video, but we seem to do it frustratingly often. Help is at hand thanks to hack discovered by XDA forums member bahathir. Keep reading to find out how you can speed up your 3G speeds and improve your internet connection.

androidpit Nexus 6P speed up
Want faster 3G? Here's how to get it. / © ANDROIDPIT

Warning: Though the procedures we describe here have been checked to ensure your device's safety, any operation that involves rooting a device can potentially cause problems. AndroidPIT.com is not responsible for any damage that may be inadvertently caused to your device. Please back up all of your Android data before proceeding.

What does speeding up my 3G data involve?

To optimize your connection, you will need to modify the file containing the internet configuration settings that are used by your device upon connection. In doing so, you can enable what is known as 'Van Jacobson TCP / IP header compression', which will essentially increase your 3G speed.

Users have reported speeds up to double what they previously had, but the effectiveness of the hack is dependent on whether or not your carrier supports the feature. 

What do I need to speed up my 3G?

  • Root permission: learn how to root your device without voiding the warranty
  • Options.7z archive: the folder thatcontains the amended version of the file already in your system folder, which needs to be replaced for this to work. 
  • ES File Explorer (or equivalent): a file manager compatible with root to allow you to enter the system folders and change file permissions.
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How do I speed up my 3G data?

  1. Download the archive options.7z and extract it with an archive manager like 7Zip. You will find a file named Options.
  2. Copy the Options file onto your device in a memorable location by connecting it to your PC or using the SD card, if available.
  3. Install and open ES File Manager (or equivalent) and give it root permissions (Menu > Root Explorer > ON > Confirm).
  4. Now find the options file from within the ES File Manage (press and hold and select Copy), which was previously transferred onto the device.
  5. Go into the folder: (Device) "/ system / etc / ppp" and paste the Options file, which you just copied, into it.
  6. Change the permissions of the Options file, (tap and hold on it: More > Properties>  Edit (Permissions) > then activate the three permissions under Readable (owner, group, other), deactivate the three under Writing, and activate the three under Execute. Now press OK. Next to Permissions you should now find writing like "r-x r-x r-x."
  7. Reboot the device.
androidpit speed up 3g one
Step 3 (left), step 5 (right). / © ANDROIDPIT
androidpit speed up 3g two
Step 5 continued (left) and step 6 (right). / © ANDROIDPIT

That's it. if you want to check your increase in speed immediately, just install the app Speedtest.net and run some tests. Depending on the current online traffic and the server to which you are connected, the test will give different results – try it a few times to get an average. 

Problems with speeding up my 3G 

If you experience any problems connecting to 3G or find that there is no improvement, you can reverse the procedure by deleting the options file you copied earlier in the folder "/ system / etc / ppp".

What else can I do make my 3G data faster?

The other solution to speeding up your 3G data is to change your carrier. It's a drastic measure, and you may be locked into a contract, but do some research and you will find that there are big differences between each carrier's network speeds. 

Let us know in the comments below if this process works for you.

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Go to comment (28)
Scott Adam Gordon

Scott Adam Gordon
Editor

Originally from the UK, Scott graduated in Popular Music Studies at Newcastle University and attributes much of his success there to his beloved Samsung Galaxy S2. His current aim is to write cool things about Android. And he loves it.

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  • 1
    User Oct 30, 2016 Link to comment

    Hello , my 3G net speed is about 8 kb/s . I do every step good , but i have still slow net speed... Help me


  • Joaquin Breslin 1
    Joaquin Breslin May 9, 2016 Link to comment

    Doesn't really work like it says. My results of internet speed before applying this file are: Ping=49ms Download=81.3kBps Upload=150.6kBps

    After applying it: Ping=69ms Download=51.9kBps Upload=201.7kBps

    It increases the upload speed, not the downloaf speed. I've removed and rebooted my device and now it became like before the file was ap


  • nt196140 2
    nt196140 Apr 25, 2016 Link to comment

    It's working 2day for me but now not working


  • 10
    parayil h. Jan 7, 2016 Link to comment

    For speed up in browsing in chrome there is a way, normally chrome uses 120 mb ram for browsing and this is in default settings, but this can be changed into 256,512,1054 as the availability of free space in ram. This is an experiential test so read the warnings in site, now open chrome browser and type "chrome://flags" hit ,see in the next page after scrolling more than forty notifications " default tile width " tap here on Default button and select your choice, then tap "#default-tile-width" and see below launch button tap to activate, then next see below the notification " default tile hight " do the same with this also. When need to cancel this open this site and at top see the button " reset all to default " tap here to go to default settings or open settings>storage>apps>chrome tap on this and tap to clear data. See the next way to increase speed in browsing, if you don't need images and surfing only for text you can disable image mode and enable text mode only ,for this go to above site scroll down for "Reader mode triggering" tap on Default and select choice then tap on #reader-mode-heuristics" and see below the launch button tap on to activate.


  • 1
    Ashwath Reddy Jan 5, 2016 Link to comment

    Thank you for the post!!! My speed literally increased!


  • 1
    Abhinandan Mehta Dec 26, 2015 Link to comment

    Before 2 day I net recharge 3g but 2g going and how 3g doing me


  • 1
    Sadiq Mohd Dec 16, 2015 Link to comment

    Lot of time came unwanted apps I am useing browser it is correct ?


  • 1
    Ammar Rashid Oct 24, 2015 Link to comment

    I use samsung galaxy s4..i cannot turn on the root explorer...I cannot paste the option file..please help me


  • Jinka Varalakshmi 1
    Jinka Varalakshmi Sep 15, 2015 Link to comment

    google chrome data saver will also help to boost internet speed.


    • 8
      Michael Cook Dec 15, 2015 Link to comment

      That doesn't actually speed your connection up, it compresses the data and allows you to use less data by running it through Google's servers. It will raise your latency as well.


  • 1
    Mark Tagum Jan 19, 2015 Link to comment

    its working :)


    • 3
      Vicky C. Jan 19, 2015 Link to comment

      What do you mean by "it's working" if anything it hardly works at all well!!


  • 3
    Vicky C. Jan 15, 2015 Link to comment

    Thanks for replying, it's just really frustrating that if it does happen to be my carrier's fault, there is not much I can do about it right now because the one I use has the best plan I can get without having a contract, which is kind of important to me. But, they did pinpoint my exact location twice, and told me that I was in a great spot for full coverage, and when I still had a basic phone it worked fine. I tried having them send me refreshes, taking the battery in and out, etc., but to no avail. And my current phone will not send or receive MMS messages at all, and I haven't even bothered to let them know because I am so tired of the whole thing. I even have to use the WiFi calling in my house, then use the regular service once I am away from my house.


  • 3
    Vicky C. Jan 14, 2015 Link to comment

    I have a Samsung Galaxy S III, and I can't seem to get good 4G LTE coverage no matter what I do. This is my third Android phone, and the one before this was the exact same phone, and had the same problem before it somehow got a virus and broke down. My one right before that was a Kyocera Hydro XTRM, and yup, no coverage, so I'm pretty much frustrated and annoyed with the whole thing, to the point where I'm not sure what to do anymore because everyone has tried everything to help me fix this problem.


    • 12
      Paco Inurreta Jan 14, 2015 Link to comment

      Then is not the phone is the Carrier coverage. If 3 phones have failed it definitely not the phone.

      You cant do a single thing about this, you need to wait for your Carrier to upgrade/add more antennas for coverage.

      Corey Dorsey


    • 1
      Nicodemus Wilson Mar 12, 2015 Link to comment

      The S III is the worst phone off all Samsungs. You will never get good 4G coverageand 4G LTE is a piece of junk. LTE light and like mean the cheapest 4G possible you will never get good coverage with an LTE phone and Samsung galaxy s3 is drunk getting s 5 or one of the brand new S6's..!! I hope this answers at least a couple of your questions. Good bless.!!


      • 1
        Matt Sep 21, 2016 Link to comment

        1st Gen S III doesn't have 4G -_-


  • 2
    Bruce C. Anderson Oct 14, 2014 Link to comment

    Before:
    Download: 14.16
    Upload: 1.86
    Ping: 669

    After:
    Download: 0.32
    Upload: 0.02
    Ping 282
    This change catastrophically slowed my internet connection. Removing the Config file did not restore my previous performance.

    Is there any way to undo the damage?


    • 12
      Paco Inurreta Oct 14, 2014 Link to comment

      Remove and reboot the phone.

      Corey Dorsey


  • Junaid Q. 17
    Junaid Q. Oct 14, 2014 Link to comment

    will it work on 2G network ?

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