What does the +H sign that sometimes appears on your phone mean?

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Smartphones increasingly support faster network connections, but the infrastructure does not always keep pace with this development.

Even if your phone is capable of connecting to a 5G network, you may have to use 4G networks or even a less common network like "EDGE." Your phone always informs you of the network you are using, but it may sometimes confuse you with symbols that do not clarify much, such as "+H."

Depending on where you are, the network status on your phone may display a "+H" above two arrows pointing up and down, indicating that you are connected to a "+HSPA" network, which stands for "Evolved High Speed Packet Access," according to a report from the technology news site "BGR," which "Al Arabiya Business" reviewed.

If you have never heard of this network, it is because it was launched in 2008, and some telecommunications companies marketed it, somewhat inaccurately, as a 4G network.

+HSPA was essentially an upgraded version of 3G, capable of reaching download speeds of up to 21 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 11 megabits per second, but it has become slow by today's standards, as 5G networks can reach download speeds of 20 gigabits per second.

The "+HSPA" code closely resembles a similar network status code, which is HSDPA, or "High Speed Downlink Packet Access." The only difference is that the +HSPA code appears as "+H," while HSDPA uses the letter "H" without the "+" sign. In terms of performance, HSDPA is slower than "+HSPA," especially regarding upload speeds.

As smartphone networks became more advanced, users adopted them more quickly. According to the International Telecommunication Union, about 55% of the world's population uses 5G networks, while another 38% rely on 4G.

These developments make older networks like +HSPA barely existent compared to what they used to be.

As an advanced 3G network, +HSPA relied on 3G service to operate. The United States officially shut down all its 3G networks in 2022, leading to the disappearance of +HSPA along with it.

Unless someone is able to create their own unofficial network, which seems highly unlikely, your phone's network status should not display the "+H" symbol while you are within the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

If you travel abroad, you may find some carriers and areas in Canada and Mexico, along with networks and countries within Africa, that still provide +HSPA. However, these cases are few and far between.

While most of the world relies on 4G and 5G networks, and countries like China are testing "pre-6G" networks, the few remaining 3G and 2G networks are gradually being replaced by newer technologies.