Nexus One and Tmobile Data speeds? - Nexus One General

Hello, I heard T-Mobile launched their new HSDPA network yesterday. I had a mytouch on the old 3G network and after doign a speed test i was getting ~110KB/s (thats kiloBYTES). On the about phone page in settings it showed me that my mytouch was on UMTS. (I live in NYC btw)
Now I have a Nexus One and T-Mobile has rolled out their new network. On my Nexus One about phone page it shows that my network type is now indeed HSDPA and no longer UMTS. HOWEVER im still getting the EXACT SAME SPEEDS as I did before on UMTS. What is up with this?

Ouch. Hopefully they'll work out the kinks in NYC. I almost always get around 3mbit in Philadelphia since they rolled out their new network.

melterx12 said:
Hello, I heard T-Mobile launched their new HSDPA network yesterday. I had a mytouch on the old 3G network and after doign a speed test i was getting ~110KB/s (thats kiloBYTES). On the about phone page in settings it showed me that my mytouch was on UMTS. (I live in NYC btw)
Now I have a Nexus One and T-Mobile has rolled out their new network. On my Nexus One about phone page it shows that my network type is now indeed HSDPA and no longer UMTS. HOWEVER im still getting the EXACT SAME SPEEDS as I did before on UMTS. What is up with this?
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I also did not notice an increase in speed in Des Moines, IA. I think they need to increase the backend support of the network. I am pretty sure the towers are enabled for HSDPA around here...

They didn't launch any HSDPA network, you we're all misled by some moron that completely mistook a tweet from TMOUSA.

except my settings > about phone > status > network type is showing that im on HSDPA now...

melterx12 said:
except my settings > about phone > status > network type is showing that im on HSDPA now...
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Click to collapse
Their network has been mostly HSDPA for a while now. It's still not 7.2mbps HSDPA. Any UMTS ("3G") are going to HSDPA (3.5G). Those are fairly hard to find, most of the network is already HSDPA.

I tested by navigating to www.mobilespeedtest.com. Using the app or a small test file doesn't show an accurate speed. At that site, I was able to choose a 5mb test file, and my peak speed was close to 4100kbps.
In a nutshell, I think that most tests use too small of a test file and the speed is still accelerating when the test ends.

my mytouch showed me 2 weeks ago that i was on UMTS, it literally said UMTS on that field. now it is showing HSDPA.

uansari1 said:
I tested by navigating to www.mobilespeedtest.com. Using the app or a small test file doesn't show an accurate speed. At that site, I was able to choose a 5mb test file, and my peak speed was close to 4100kbps.
In a nutshell, I think that most tests use too small of a test file and the speed is still accelerating when the test ends.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That site isn't accurate in the slightest, why people keep using it is beyond me. Use the speedtest app in the market. Some parts of Philly and NYC have 7.2Mbps HSPA already, maybe a few other places but it is NOT on a nationwide or even widespread scale.

heygrl said:
That site isn't accurate in the slightest, why people keep using it is beyond me. Use the speedtest app in the market. Some parts of Philly and NYC have 7.2Mbps HSPA already, maybe a few other places but it is NOT on a nationwide or even widespread scale.
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Hmmm... well I guess I'm wrong then. But why would there be such a large disparity? With the speed test app from the Market, I'd get up to 700ish kbps... That's a HUGE difference, and I don't think that mobilespeedtest.com would be off by that much, would it?

I'm in Philly. I used to get around 400kbps on average and never more than 800kbps. About a month ago it dramatically increased. I generally see anywhere from 2.5Mbps to 3.2Mbps download speeds using the speedtest.net application from the market. I just ran the test and got a 103ms ping, 3.74Mbps down, and 1.08Mbps up (a bit faster than usual). I'd post a screenshot but am unable to upload from the android browser.
Strangely enough in the settings it shows I am on UMTS, not HSDPA. Not sure why my speeds would have increased so dramatically if I'm still on UMTS, but they have. I'm sure other users in Philadelphia have had a similar experience.

mhaedo said:
I'm in Philly. I used to get around 400kbps on average and never more than 800kbps. About a month ago it dramatically increased. I generally see anywhere from 2.5Mbps to 3.2Mbps download speeds using the speedtest.net application from the market. I just ran the test and got a 103ms ping, 3.74Mbps down, and 1.08Mbps up (a bit faster than usual). I'd post a screenshot but am unable to upload from the android browser.
Strangely enough in the settings it shows I am on UMTS, not HSDPA. Not sure why my speeds would have increased so dramatically if I'm still on UMTS, but they have. I'm sure other users in Philadelphia have had a similar experience.
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UMTS has a max speed of 3.6Mbps, so they probably have all of the backhaul in place for HSPA (Fiber) but it hasn't been switched up yet..

mhaedo said:
Ouch. Hopefully they'll work out the kinks in NYC. I almost always get around 3mbit in Philadelphia since they rolled out their new network.
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This is different. Philadelphia is currently the only test market that has HSDPA+. The rest of the country got HSDPA which is much slower.

jimbo831 said:
This is different. Philadelphia is currently the only test market that has HSDPA+. The rest of the country got HSDPA which is much slower.
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Didn't realize we were the only market getting HSDPA+ so far. Strange that my cliq still tells me UMTS, but I guess as heygrl noted it's in place but hasn't been switched on yet. Can't wait until they do, because by then my Nexus One will have arrived

All of philly isn't HSPA+, only certain areas. The phone should be showing HSPA regardless, and if it isn't the tower is still UMTS (limited to 3.6mbps)

In Seattle, Fremont specifically, my Nexus One shows HSDPA in the status. Once I head a bit north outside Seattle proper, it shows UMTS.
Cheers,
Kermee

used to average 600 kbps in austin on my mytouch 3g using the speed test app... with my nexus one and the upgraded network i'm averaging 1 mbps, or roughly 1000 kbps downstream

Everyone,
T-Mobile is running HSPA in the entire network. Why your phone states UMTS versus HSPA is beyond me. Now, Philidalphia is the current TEST market for HSPA+, not to be confused with HSPA. HSPA + is capable of much much faster speeds.
Also, like the previous preson stated, only parts of Philidalphia have HSPA+ launched.
To add to all of that, in order for your phone to recieve faster speeds the cell site requires more bandwidth. As T-Mobile is continuing to expand their 3G netowrk, they slowly adding more bandwidth (more T-1's) to the 3G sites so some area's will see higher speeds and again, Philidalphia is a HSPA+ test market so those sites that have that enabled will surely have more bandwidth ran to it.
Lastly for clerification:
HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) capable of 14Mbps download
HSPA+ (Evolved High Speed Packet Access) capable of 54Mbps download
HSDPA just adds a D for Download (High Speed Download Packet Access)
HSUPA just adds a U for Upload (High Speed Upload Packet Access)

Weird.
In areas where I have a strong signal (Max Bars) and the Nexus One shows "HSDPA" I get about 2.2-2.5 Mbps down using the Ookla App.
When I'm in areas where I have a strong signal (Max Bars) and the Nexus One shows "UMTS" I get about 1.2 Mbps down using the Ookla App.
All tested using the same test server.
*Shrug*
Cheers,
Kermee

Uhg! Okay maybe its me but I think people are not understanding Kb KB Mb MB. Kilobits, KiloBytes, Megabit, MegaByte.
If your Tmobile data connection is a 7.2Mb connection, you should be downloading at 921.6KB(KiloBytes) a second, if you go by kb(kilobits) it should be going 7372.8kb a second. So speed test is wrong or tmobile is jipping us the speed we should be going.

Related

T-Mobile HSDPA 7.2

Can any Nexus One owners confirm that this is in fact true? I've heard mixed reports. PC Mag announced that T-Mobile rolled out the service Jan 5th, right before the Nexus One release http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/185916/tmobile_usa_finishes_upgrade_to_hspa_72.html
If you do have anything above 3.6M bps (the current ceiling) please state your speed and city. You can use the speedtest.net app from the market to verify.
I saw that too from a few different sources, I've tried on all 3 of my phones and haven't got over 1mbps yet, I saw people posting on the Nokia forums that they were getting 6mbps, I didn't see pictures to verify though. I'm in Folsom, CA with 3 bars and I'm getting 824kbps down and 205 kbps up right now on my Nexus.
I don't break 800kbits
Yeah my G1 is not getting it either, I thought maybe Nexus One would have it before they enable it for other phones...
People are confusing HSDPA with HSDPA+. HSDPA will get you up to around 700-800kbps. HSDPA+ will get you up to 3Mbps or so. T-Mobile just upgrade nationally from UMTS to HSDPA which goes from like 400 to 800 kbps, a decent improvement. Currently, only Philadelphia has HSDPA+ as the test market. Hopefully the rest of it will get it soon. All T-Mobile 3G smart phones have the hardware to do HSDPA and I think HSDPA+ as well, so you won't need a new phone when T-Mobile activates it on the towers.
1st run:down 380 up 294
2nd run:down 203 up 384
3rd run: down 360 up 295
server in dc
Just did a series of 5 speed tests of a 1MB file via a local server from different points in my downtown Seattle office. Gots download speeds of 256, 700, 768, 1119, and 1330kbps. Tried the speedtest.net app with various endpoints and got 1694kbps as my best download and 434 as my best upload.
Will try again from a different location downtown later tonight.
][
ojiikun said:
Just did a series of 5 speed tests of a 1MB file via a local server from different points in my downtown Seattle office. Gots download speeds of 256, 700, 768, 1119, and 1330kbps. Tried the speedtest.net app with various endpoints and got 1694kbps as my best download and 434 as my best upload.
Will try again from a different location downtown later tonight.
][
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Click to collapse
Where do you live? If not in Philadelphia, are you sure you turned off WiFi?
I had a good number of 1500+
kbps readings in Chicago
jimbo831 said:
Where do you live? If not in Philadelphia, are you sure you turned off WiFi?
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Click to collapse
Seattle, WA. Double-checked, wi-fi is off. Just had a coworker with a G1 produce similar results.
][
ojiikun said:
Seattle, WA. Double-checked, wi-fi is off. Just had a coworker with a G1 produce similar results.
][
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Sweet deal then, perhaps T-Mobile is still slowly lighting it up one city at a time. Still only 600kbps here in Pittsburgh
kbps and kB/s are different. 1000kbps is 125kB/s, making it about 2/3 of your low end DSL connection.
Also, jimbo831, you're mistaken. T-Mobile has been on HSDPA/HSUPA since the rollout began, and everywhere in the nation had 3.6mbit potentially available. Realistically, no one got this. They just flipped the switch to 7.2mbit HSDPA (which is NOT HSPA+ that's in testing in Philadelphia, as that is 21mbit).
I'm seeing speeds of about 1.2mbit since the switch, compared to .5 before the switch in Atlanta, GA.
Casao said:
kbps and kB/s are different. 1000kbps is 125kB/s, making it about 2/3 of your low end DSL connection.
Also, jimbo831, you're mistaken. T-Mobile has been on HSDPA/HSUPA since the rollout began, and everywhere in the nation had 3.6mbit potentially available. Realistically, no one got this. They just flipped the switch to 7.2mbit HSDPA (which is NOT HSPA+ that's in testing in Philadelphia, as that is 21mbit).
I'm seeing speeds of about 1.2mbit since the switch, compared to .5 before the switch in Atlanta, GA.
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Click to collapse
Well, I'm just using information that has been reported by TmoNews. And I don't think HSDPA is active everywhere then, or it is just slow as molasses here in Pittsburgh because my phone is still only running at 600kbps, which is only about 100kbps faster than I remember during my last speed test a few weeks ago.
Edit: I have verified otherwise. I checked the "Status" on my G1 and it only reads UMTS. So it looks like T-Mobile has been on UMTS, and still is here in Pittsburgh. I guess once I get HSDPA, my speeds will go up.
I just checked my phone is Oklahoma City and it showed HSDPA instead of UMTS under phone info. Cool!
Can someone tell me what's wrong with my testing results?
1st test: down - 450ish, up - 45...
2nd test: down - 550ish, and wtf.. up - 6 kbps -___-
These are all in kbps btw.
aad4321 said:
I noticed in certain areas of Philadelphia where I live that speeds can be about 1 mbit a certian towers and 3.5 at others. At the slower locations it says hsdpa too. On my nexus at the locations it said hsdpa but umts on my g1. When I can see the speed differennce it clearly shows that tmobile has not completely upgraded their network. I think we Need to call and complain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this mean that the G1 doesn't support HSDPA, that it shows UMTS regardless of which 3G you're on, or if it just happened to click off HSDPA for that moment? I thought for sure when the G1 came out they said it was an HSDPA compatible phone.
Does the boost only effect 3g or Edge aswell?
Unfortunately there's no 3g in my area
Although I find PC World a reliable source, I think they meant to say AT&T. Here are three separate sources confirming AT&T with their HSDPA 7.2 rollout. And by the looks of other's speed tests, it isn't true for T-mobile.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2347725,00.asp
http://www.dailytech.com/ATT+Completes+Nationwide+3G+Tower+Software+Update+for+HSPA+72/article17308.htm
http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/17094/1/
Not actually done yet
Some cities got the green light but tmobile never actually made a press release I guess.
To clear up some misunderstandings:
For data transmissions (All speeds theoretical);
GPRS = 2G
EDGE = 2.5G
UMTS = 3G
HSUPA = A UMTS protocol/specification with speeds up to 5.76Mbit/s
HSDPA = 3.5G UMTS protocol/specification supporting speeds of 1.8, 3.6, 7.2(T-Mobile's latest upgrade) and 14.0 Mbit/s.
HSPA+ = 4G UMTS protocol/specification currently defined up to 56Mbit/s with potential of higher bandwidth. T-Mobile plans to start rolling this out mid 2010 with 21Mbit/s speeds.
byte = 8bits
Bandwidth is usually measures in Mbit/s(Megabits) where as download speed is measured in KB/s(Kilobytes). Divide your Mbit/s by 8 and you will have your download speed. So if speedtest says d/l bandwidth is 800Kbit/s then a file download would be approximately 100KB/s.
Alright now lets keep this thread on topic please and post only if your bandwidth is above 3.6Mbit/s which is the current theoretical limit in T-Mobile's network.

tmobile 3g speeds

this is my first week using tmobile in the US with the nexus one.
I am not able to get download speeds more than 800kbps. it does not matter how good the reception is.
I have tried in various places in north CA and in cleveland OH.
I think that such speeds are pretty bad for 3g. with at&t I used to 2-3mbps at times.
my friend with the verizon droid is seeing 1.5mbps-2.5mbps download speed .
what are other users on tmobile are seeing?
seems like tmobile is rate limiting the speeds or their network is just really bad.
How are u measuring the speed? I use the speed test app and it used to have a server close by in San Jose (65 mi) now I have to use a server in new Mexico and I'm in CA so that makes it seem slower too
There are two apps in the market i test with: speedtest.net and extreme speed test.
I also checked with the laptop tethered to the phone. same pathetic speeds. i can hardly call it 3g comparing to the competitors.
Is it the phone or is it tmobiles network?
clubtech said:
There are two apps in the market i test with: speedtest.net and extreme speed test.
I also checked with the laptop tethered to the phone. same pathetic speeds. i can hardly call it 3g comparing to the competitors.
Is it the phone or is it tmobiles network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just got 2MB/s up and 400 kb/s down
WOW thats whats im talking about best ive ever seen
still waiting for those 6mb/s up and 1mb/s down (a.k.a. my cable high speed enternet at home)
I have never seen verizon that fast in my area, generally 500 kbits to 1mbits but I would say that you are getting the norm for tmo as mine have never reached 1 mbit but can go past 10 mbit on wifi.
BGR did a test a while back although not scientific agrees with the tests I have done in my area.
BGR Carrier Wars
Average Download Speed
1. Sprint: 1361kbs
2. AT&T: 933kbps
3. T-Mobile: 786kbps
4. Verizon: 701kbps
Average Upload Speed
1. Verizon: 322kbps
2. Sprint: 267kbps
3. AT&T: 180kbps
4. T-Mobile: 177kbps
Try this speed test....
I usually see 1000 - 1200 kbps but quite often see 1700 - 2000 kbps using the speedtest.net app in the android market. Something to remember, your 3G connection is initially UMTS and will switch to HSDPA on demand and when available. You may notice that your first test will show a ping of ~300ms and speeds of 500 - 700 kbps (UMTS), but if you hit "test again" immediately after the first test completes you should see a ping of about ~175ms and approximately double the speed (HSDPA). I've noticed that the default server (closest server according to the speedtest.net app) is usually slow and doesn't give me proper results. I've had very good luck using the Chicago server. Try using the Chicago server and run back-to-back tests, let us know if your results change.
I would agree T-Mobile's 3G is crap. Using a Rogers G1 on AT&T using speedtest.net app, I was seeing over 2Mbit down and over 800kbit up consistently.
T-Mobile's so called "7.2 Mbit upgrade" is a joke. Kind of like their coverage maps. I want to like them, but at least in my area, AT&T obliterates them. It's too big of a different for me. If an AT&T 3G compatible nexus one is released, I will have to get one. I could probably live with the slower speeds if the coverage wasn't so spotty.
Your move T-Immobile.
-James
jmacdonald801 said:
I would agree T-Mobile's 3G is crap. Using a Rogers G1 on AT&T using speedtest.net app, I was seeing over 2Mbit down and over 800kbit up consistently.
T-Mobile's so called "7.2 Mbit upgrade" is a joke. Kind of like their coverage maps. I want to like them, but at least in my area, AT&T obliterates them. It's too big of a different for me. If an AT&T 3G compatible nexus one is released, I will have to get one. I could probably live with the slower speeds if the coverage wasn't so spotty.
Your move T-Immobile.
-James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a former T-Mo Wireless Engineer Intern, I can tell you that there is only a very very small roll out on 7.2 right now. They are testing the network before they enable more circuits. The original plan when I worked there was for a gradual 2 city per month rollout. Then slowly build the network to cope with added traffic. Its suppose to be a gradual process that will also involve using old equipment and expanding current 3g service. The high speed roll out was priority one, then is service expansion. Also contracts were involved last I saw that would expand coverage 2-fold, but negotiations for tower rights were falling through, so I don't know where thats going.
hamshu said:
As a former T-Mo Wireless Engineer Intern, I can tell you that there is only a very very small roll out on 7.2 right now. They are testing the network before they enable more circuits. The original plan when I worked there was for a gradual 2 city per month rollout. Then slowly build the network to cope with added traffic. Its suppose to be a gradual process that will also involve using old equipment and expanding current 3g service. The high speed roll out was priority one, then is service expansion. Also contracts were involved last I saw that would expand coverage 2-fold, but negotiations for tower rights were falling through, so I don't know where thats going.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, talk about an honest answer. If I could just get coverage at my house, I could support team Magenta
-James
There is an issue with 3g on the nexus that has been commented on a number of times, and that is the flapping of UMTS and HSDPA. (not to be confused with those flapping between 2g and 3g). With my G1 I was able to get speeds as high as 3Mbit, but I too have only seen 800Kbit max on my nexus and I believe its due to this constant flapping of 3g technologies.
Today is my first day on tmobile with the N1, I've been running on Edge ATT.
I was worried about switching over because my gf has had tmobile and doesn't have great service at our house.
I was afraid mine would be worse with the 3g issues the N1 has been having but it appears to be almost identical to hers.
in my living room we get 1-2 bars 3g and I see test speeds of 50-300 down and 950-1250 up.
I go to my office right above the living room and get 3 bars and 700-900 down speeds with 700-900 up speeds.
No stoked about it but I havnt had any signal swapping issues so I'm going to use it for GPS to test out now and see how it does. GPS and mapping even on edge with ATT was super fast so I have high hopes.
bofslime said:
There is an issue with 3g on the nexus that has been commented on a number of times, and that is the flapping of UMTS and HSDPA. (not to be confused with those flapping between 2g and 3g). With my G1 I was able to get speeds as high as 3Mbit, but I too have only seen 800Kbit max on my nexus and I believe its due to this constant flapping of 3g technologies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So are you saying that if you pop in the SIM card from the N1 to the G1 in the same place you get 3Mbps vs. 800Kbps on the N1?
clubtech said:
So are you saying that if you pop in the SIM card from the N1 to the G1 in the same place you get 3Mbps vs. 800Kbps on the N1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, I get full signal at my work (-63dBm 25asu). The G1 didn't skip around and stuck firmly to UMTS, and I was getting much better rates with it. My N1 however maxes out at no more than 800.
@jmcdonald what are you agreeing with LOL were talking about decent speeds then you say you agree with the low speeds??? LOL
Anyway I don't have 3g flopping problems neither did I on my g1
I am seeing speeds in most cases upward of 2.2 mbps... and am even averaging over 1mbps in upload speeds which is pretty good when I have full 3g reception in the Northern NJ area.
I get anywhere from 2.0 - 3.5Mbps down on average, and I have seen up to 4.5Mbps down on occasion. Up is always around 1 - 1.3Mbps.
However, I'm in Philadelphia, and we have HSPA+
Wow, I don't know how you guys are getting DL speeds upwards of 1.5mbps! Here in San Diego, the most I've seen anyone on ATT get is around 1.2mbps, and 1.1 on Sprint. Tmo is usually anywhere from 700-1mbps with some spikes over that now and then.
My G1 and N1 get the same speed range.
I'm in Maryland, just outside of D.C. I also just switched from AT&T to T-Mobile (yesterday actually). I'm also getting DL speeds of like 700-800 kbps. Hope it will someday be a little faster than that.
download - 137kbps
upload - 217kbps
From all the repots in this post it seems that tmob is just slower in some parts of the country and faster in others.
I hope they are planning on catching as 700-800kbps is a joke.

Data Bandwidth: 2G (GPRS), 2.75G (EDGE), 3G (UMTS), HSDPA (H/3.5G)

I've seen that there's a LOT of confusion over the different data connection speeds.
I've seen a lot of comments with people asking why they keep getting a 'H' symbol like it's a bad thing, so here's a basic run-down:
GPRS: 56Kbit/s
EDGE: 236.8 kbit/s
UMTS: 384 kbit/s
HSDPA: 14,400 kbit/s - 14.4 Mb/s (only in certain places in England, blanket 7.2 Mb/s for Three UK)
GSM isn't included because it can't be used for data transfer, this is usually when the signal bar is shown, with nothing else.
2G:
GPRS is pretty negligible, I'd know I get stuck with it all the time in my house. It can load web pages but pretty slowly. This is shown on the N1 with a G next to the signal bar.
EDGE is still 2G but is multiple 2G connections combined. Here's a definition from soul2soul from a quick Google search:
"EDGE is part of GPRS network. During idle state, you will be given 1 timeslot only which is GPRS speed. When you start to download, you will be given more timeslots, hence you notice the sudden increase of speed to EDGE. If you are have lots of data users, you might be given only 1 timeslot. THis way, you might not hit the 220kbps speed consistently. Besides, Edge ping is quite horrible around 450-550 ms at first hop.
3G on the other hand, to my experience, consistentlys hit the 384kbps. It is sort like a guarantee pipeline for you. Of course, the latency is much lower at 150ms to 200ms."
This is shown by an E next to the signal bar.
3G:
UMTS is faster than EDGE but is still nowhere near HSDPA. As explained above though, 3G is much more stable than EDGE so you will get a more reliable speed. This is shown by a 3G symbol next to the signal bar.
HSPDA Is the good one. This one supports up to 14.4MB/s. This is shown by a H symbol (on certain ROM's) next to the signal bar.
Personally, I love knowing when I get HSPDA over UMTS since there could be a whole 7Mb/s difference on Three UK, for example; 14Mb/s on Vodafone (some places).
Feel free to comment on any faults and I'll correct them. I did this very quickly
Someone care to comment on LTE?
This post triggered me to try running a speed test on my N1 out of pure curiosity. I am using the speedtest.net app from the marketplace.
N1 status shows: HSPA
Server: New York, NY
My location: Midtown west manhattan, 12th floor of an office building
Ping: 109ms
Down: 1656 kbps
Up: 1286 kbps
HSDPA can range from just faster than 3G speeds to 14.4 Mb/s. Keep in mind it depends on how many people are connected to the cell (since it's the max bandwidth distributed between how many people connect to each basestation), and also the max bandwidth of the Basestation. If no one else is connecting to your basestation then it looks like it's limited to 1.8Mb/s. But i'm not sure on the specs of other basestations aside from the UK, so I could be wrong.
I would also like to add that HSPA is JUST a data service where 3G carries both data and voice. Quite a few people on here seem to be confused when they see their phone switch back and fourth from 3G to HSPA and they ask why its going back and fourth. It is because you phone will only use the HSPA services for data and then switch back to 3G when idle and not doing data.
Oh, and lets not forget HSPA+, currently launched on T-Mobile USA in Philidalphia, which has theoretical speeds of 56Mbps down.
setzer715 said:
I would also like to add that HSPA is JUST a data service where 3G carries both data and voice. Quite a few people on here seem to be confused when they see their phone switch back and fourth from 3G to HSPA and they ask why its going back and fourth. It is because you phone will only use the HSPA services for data and then switch back to 3G when idle and not doing data.
Oh, and lets not forget HSPA+, currently launched on T-Mobile USA in Philidalphia, which has theoretical speeds of 56Mbps down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone know what happens when a call comes in if you're using HSPA, for example downloading a large file?
I've gotten speeds of around 600-700kbps on UMTS pretty consistently here in Toledo... are you sure it's max speed is only half that?
I rarley get good speeds anywhere here (California). The best i can muster up is 700k down and up. :-/
Please take note that the Nexus One, as most other mobile phones has a official maximum bandwidth of 7.2 MBps using HSDPA, not the full 14.4 MBps.
Quote:
google.com/phone
Cellular & Wireless
UMTS Band 1/4/8 (2100/AWS/900)
HSDPA 7.2Mbps
HSUPA 2Mbps
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
25th Feb in Waitrose (** a supermarket **) car-park in Wokingham, Engerland @ 10:33am [waiting for the wife] download 3922Kbps, upload 1673Kbps, (Speedtest), 'phone status switching between UMTS & HSDPA.
At home some 5 miles away usually download about 1.4Mbps: When I'm back in God's ain country (bonnie Scotland, the Highlands,..) I'll try again...
& If the 'phone was normal way up (therefore aerial at the bottom... slightly behind car dash) I got a lower speed, turn N1 upside down and she goes faster ..
Anyone??
Cheers!
Lodger
uansari1 said:
I've gotten speeds of around 600-700kbps on UMTS pretty consistently here in Toledo... are you sure it's max speed is only half that?
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Click to collapse
Actually, a correction to the previous. You see, HSPA is just an enhancement of UMTS. To say 3G is VERY broad statement because pretty much all carriers have some sort of 3rd Generation technolocy in use on thier networks. Now, T-Mobile and ATT both use UTMS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication Service) and to be specific they use W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access).
The quoted data speeds of 384Kbps are the theorecital max of R'99 (Revision "99). Moving on to R5 (Revision 5) incorporate HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access) with theorecial max download speeds of 14.4Mbps. Then there is R6 (Revision 6) which incorporates HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access. I'm sorry I dont know the max theoretical upload speeds. Lastly we have HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access Enhanced) which has theoretical download speeds of 54Mbps.
Now on to your quesiton, if you are reaching those speeds you are more than likely on a HSPA network. If you are using an Eclair ROM your data symbol next to your signal strength will NOT switch from 3G to H. Its not built into the rom. If you are using a Desire ROM you will see this happen.
Here is another way to check, start downloading a large file (to give yoruself time) then back out and let it download in the background. Open your dialer and type *#*#4636#*#* then select phone info. Scroll down and look at network type. It will either say UMTS or HSPA. Make sure when your viewing it that there is data going in the background.
A quicker way to get to the Phone Info is to download/install Anycut and create a shortcut on your desktop for Phone Info.
Hope this helps.
You guys are incredibly knowledgeable! I have been extremely curious as to what HSPA+ was exactly, thank you for explaining it!
I do have a few questions:
1. With HSPA+ on the horizon for T-Mobile (US), what frequencies will be used to broadcast?
2. Will the freq be the same as UMTS?
3. Will devices like the HD 2 be able to utilize the new network (if not will a simple radio ROM fix that?)
Thanks for the explaination,as I was wondering what this ment as well..
My UMTS/3G speed too high?
There's a device that I'm interested in that will only do Edge. I wanted to see if I could tolerate the reduced speed and found this thread stating connection speeds. When I select "use only 2g networks" I connect at about half the max you state for Edge...which sounds about right. But, when I connect 3G (with my 3G phone), my DL speed is about 2.5Mb/s or 2500Kb/s, almost 7x as fast as the 384Kb/s stated here for max 3G. Could somebody please explain to me how I'm looking at things the wrong way? Thanks.
Because by "3G" the setting you're switching means "3G and up". To reach those speeds your phone is switching to HSDPA mode, which on Nexus One is limited to 7.2 Mbps, and you're still far below that limit.
Jack_R1 said:
Because by "3G" the setting you're switching means "3G and up". To reach those speeds your phone is switching to HSDPA mode, which on Nexus One is limited to 7.2 Mbps, and you're still far below that limit.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for that. But bear w/me for just one more sec; I'm a relative newby. Let me see if I understand. With my 3G Huawei Comet in hotspot mode and a netbook connected to Speedtest.net thru the hotspot, I'm getting a download thruput of 7X 3G speed and 1/3 4G speed. If this is right, since I don't think I could expect to reach the maximum 4G speed with an actual 4G phone but maybe more like 1/2 4G speed, since I'm getting close to that (1/3 4G) miraculously I think, (especially since that was at 2 of 4 bars), I think I shouldn't waste my time and money ever upgrading to a 4G phone; I should stick w/my miraculous little 3G Comet. Please let me know; is all this right? Thanks for any more help.
Is my connection way faster than my device is supposed to be capable of?
Sorry for repeating myself but I didn't get a reply and I really need an answer.
With my 3G Huawei Comet in hotspot mode and a netbook connected to Speedtest.net thru the hotspot, my DL speed is about 2.5Mb/s which is almost 7 times as fast as the 384Kb/s I read is supposed to be the max for 3G. My signal indicator does show the H for HSDPA (2 bars) so since my connection is SO much faster than the max for 3G, and squarely in the realm of 4G speeds considering 2 bars (about 1/3 the max for 4G), is my Ideos/Comet somehow doing 4G? Thanks for clarifying for me.

[Q] Are these speeds terrible?

I ran tests with speedtest.net but I don't know enough to understand the results. Can someone point me to a good reference on EDGE/3G/wireless speeds? Or, just tell me, what do you think of these numbers. Is this slow, fast, average or what?
I'm in SF and chose the SF server:
3G Down: 979
3G Up: 1323
Wireless Down: 4402 kbps
Wireless Up: 3175 kbps
My 3g speed is actually better than your wireless speeds. Your location and of course how much the 3g network is being used in your area by others will contribute to slower speeds. But that still does seem fairly slow for 3g, maybe high traffic bogging down the network at the time you tested? Have you run any other tests?
I haven't run any other tests. Can you recommend any other tests?
Also, just for context, I ran the test from inside an old apartment building in a dense neighborhood between 8p and 10p.
that's pretty terrible
I get about 3.7meg consistantly down, 600k up in bentonville arkansas
speeds are alot lower than what i see in seattle, but on par with what i saw in most of O and Ca on a recent road trip.
I meant another speed test using the speedtest.net app, that would probably be the one of the worst times to run a test probably when theres the highest traffic. Just be sure you have a good signal when you run tests.
I just ran two more tests with speedtest.net, 10p PT. This time I made sure I had a decent signal (didn't pay attention last time).
3G up: 2226
3G down: 597
3G up: 1.04 Mbps
3G down: 1.05 Mbps
Honestly, the speed/performance has never bugged me or caught my attention because it was slow. But, what I'm gathering here is that I'm getting some pretty ****ty speeds, comparatively.
In Chicago we are only getting 1mb down 600-850 up....pisses me off...if tmobile doesnt raise it I need to consider att or sprint galaxy s....store claims speed in Chicago way behind rest of network and will get much better...i dont know if I can trust tmobiles network...is 3 mb common on tmobile 3g hspa like I have seen a few people claim in nj
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
trunkstar1 said:
I ran tests with speedtest.net but I don't know enough to understand the results. Can someone point me to a good reference on EDGE/3G/wireless speeds? Or, just tell me, what do you think of these numbers. Is this slow, fast, average or what?
I'm in SF and chose the SF server:
3G Down: 979
3G Up: 1323
Wireless Down: 4402 kbps
Wireless Up: 3175 kbps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uh, thats fine for normal 3g i think. t-mobile new 3.5/4g network will show higher numbers, but i think those are pretty normal for 3g.
i just did a speedtest and got 948kbs down and 1320 up. im in so cal with normal 3g, not new network
Is it weird that my up speeds are always greater than my down speeds?
kboater said:
uh, thats fine for normal 3g i think. t-mobile new 3.5/4g network will show higher numbers, but i think those are pretty normal for 3g.
i just did a speedtest and got 948kbs down and 1320 up. im in so cal with normal 3g, not new network
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, thanks for the reference. What's the "new network?" Is that the HSDPA+?
I get similar speeds on so. cal. as well.
Yes, the new network is HSDPA+. The coverage map for HSPDA+ is here, http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/?WT.z_unav=mst_global_cvg#.
I'm in Miami and I get an average of 2meg download and 1.5meg upload
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Parts of Jacksonville, FL have been upgraded to the "faster" 3G network. Other parts are still on regular 3G or even edge.
I'm on fast 3G right now. Just got 5087 kbps down and 1599 kbps up. Regular 3G usually give me around 1000 down, 600 up.
trunkstar1 said:
I ran tests with speedtest.net but I don't know enough to understand the results. Can someone point me to a good reference on EDGE/3G/wireless speeds? Or, just tell me, what do you think of these numbers. Is this slow, fast, average or what?
I'm in SF and chose the SF server:
3G Down: 979
3G Up: 1323
Wireless Down: 4402 kbps
Wireless Up: 3175 kbps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think your speed is fine. If you dont try to download a HD movie to your phone through 3g you will be fine with youtubing and web surfing.
elreason4 said:
In Chicago we are only getting 1mb down 600-850 up....pisses me off...if tmobile doesnt raise it I need to consider att or sprint galaxy s....store claims speed in Chicago way behind rest of network and will get much better...i dont know if I can trust tmobiles network...is 3 mb common on tmobile 3g hspa like I have seen a few people claim in nj
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in Chicago and I get speeds between 1.5-5mbps up and 700kbps-1.5mbps depending where in Chicago I am and but more constantly 2mbps up, 800kbps down.
Sent from Vibrant XDA app
I just got 192 down and 158 up inside the barracks at camp smith upstate ny... Back in long island I get 506 down 166 up
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Here in Sacramento California
When I use 3G I get the following average over three attempts:
149ms ping (145ms, 130ms, 174ms)
4891 kbps download (4922, 5212, 4539)
1322 kbps upload (1332, 1325, 1311)
When I use WiFi I get the following average over three attempts:
32 ms ping (31ms, 33ms, 31ms)
4179 kbps down (4130, 4049, 4359)
3163 kbps up (3338, 3019, 3133)
But, earlier when I was in the San Francisco bay area I was getting 1.6kbps down and .8 kbsp up.
I'm in the Suburbs of Seattle and I'm getting nearly 6mb/s download speed all the time.

hspa plus south florida

Ok, my hspa+ does not work, my top speeds have been 3.2 ....I was wondering if anyone else here in south florida is picking up quicker speeds, I'm using the quick speeds app to see what network speed I'm running also, If you guys know any other one I can use please let me know.
Its been really random for me. I dont think hspa+ is active in all of south florida.
However the other night I was getting 7-9 Mbps constantly. I use speedtest.net app.
Bbe1367 said:
Ok, my hspa+ does not work, my top speeds have been 3.2 ....I was wondering if anyone else here in south florida is picking up quicker speeds, I'm using the quick speeds app to see what network speed I'm running also, If you guys know any other one I can use please let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Miami or Ft Lauderdale? I know West Palm wont be active until the end of the year i think
I drove around today between Hollywood and boca - no H+ indicator at all. The best speed test I've seen was 7mbps on Hollywood Blvd. Thing is, my Nexus One supports HSDPA, so not a huge difference between the two devices in that regard.
I'm sick of T-Mo's bull**** on this, their coverage map is retarded and we can't get a clear idea of wtf service we are supposed to be getting.
That, among many other reasons (especially MMC write protection), is why my G2 goes back to T-Mo this week.
kcm117 said:
I'm using the quick speeds app to see what network speed I'm running
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to check out that app, but can't find it... What's the full name and/or developer?
I've been using http://bit.ly/dc83QK this widget updates what type of service your getting and strength. Try it out. Hope this helps.
fRom Snugs G2 ^.^
Hey everyone,
Just to add, Im also in South FLA, miami to be exact and I too have been experiencing pretty odd signals on my G2. Sometimes my speeds are blazing fast then all of a sudden I'm running on edge with super low speeds.
It seems to me as the phone has trouble staying connected to one network and is constantly switching.
(I'm on my 2nd G2 btw since I thought it was a hardware related issue)
Esteef said:
Hey everyone,
Just to add, Im also in South FLA, miami to be exact and I too have been experiencing pretty odd signals on my G2. Sometimes my speeds are blazing fast then all of a sudden I'm running on edge with super low speeds.
It seems to me as the phone has trouble staying connected to one network and is constantly switching.
(I'm on my 2nd G2 btw since I thought it was a hardware related issue)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into settings / about phone / status - you will see exactly what network type you are connected to (UMTS, HSDPA, etc) I'm not sure how + would show up, or if the indicator at the top changes, but you should be able to tell from that screen or the "Phone Information" screen (dial *#*#4636#*#*)
Esteef said:
Hey everyone,
Just to add, Im also in South FLA, miami to be exact and I too have been experiencing pretty odd signals on my G2. Sometimes my speeds are blazing fast then all of a sudden I'm running on edge with super low speeds.
It seems to me as the phone has trouble staying connected to one network and is constantly switching.
(I'm on my 2nd G2 btw since I thought it was a hardware related issue)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's crazy, in westchester I get pretty nice 3G speeds, but I go to kendall and I'm on edge. And it seems like its the most random switchoff too, because 5 steps in one direction I'm back on 3G, so I don't know if it's the phone or tmo's network. I expect edge in the middle of BFE, not in the middle of a pretty densely populated area.
add.: I've never seen my phone connect to the HSPA network, ever. The UMTS 3G has been enough to get me by I guess, it's just the random edge switching thats confusing me.
i live in miami, near the miami international airport. on average my nexus one would run about 1.5-2.5mb per second. with an occasional spike around the 4mb realm.
in contrast, my g2 is getting me 2-4.2 on average with spikes as high as 9mb per second.
Here in Boca the fastest i have gotten is around 3 Mbps in East Boca. In West Boca i only get edge at my house , i have to use wifi at home.
Side note: wow there are alot of South Floridians here, lol.
I live in palm city about 15 minutes from west palm and i get around 7 mbps and it says im on HSPDA network?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
ShaunMichael80 said:
I live in palm city about 15 minutes from west palm and i get around 7 mbps and it says im on HSPDA network?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Froyo won't ever say HSPA or anything of that sort, it always will say HSDPA or UMTS, depending on where you're at.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Try this widget out its awesome! http://bit.ly/dc83QK I use it whenever I wanna speed test.
fRom Snugs G2 ^.^
You all need to understand the difference from 3G to HSPA+.
HSPA+ is not 4G network like sprint it is simply a boost to the 3G network. On 3G you would never ever achieve a download speed of 4mb down constantly there for H+ is working how it should. I am getting anywhere from 3mb to 7mb down in NYC and evryone should know that in the city the service kinda blows.
What we should be upset about is the fact they stated we will achieve up to 20mb down. Still I also believe that its too soon for H+ to get these speeds as these "towers" are fairly new and not everywhere yet.
Give it time people and figure out how far you are from your H+ towers. I reach what I do only from 4+ miles away. I still think it isn't bad as it is faster then regular 3G
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
TheMan42 said:
Froyo won't ever say HSPA or anything of that sort, it always will say HSDPA or UMTS, depending on where you're at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HSDPA is HSPA and HSPA+ - both appear as "H" in the signal indicator.
UMTS appears as "3G" in the signal indicator.
There is no distinction between HSPA and HSPA+ according to T-Mobile - the phone will display H/HSDPA for either.
elracing21 said:
You all need to understand the difference from 3G to HSPA+.
HSPA+ is not 4G network like sprint it is simply a boost to the 3G network. On 3G you would never ever achieve a download speed of 4mb down constantly there for H+ is working how it should. I am getting anywhere from 3mb to 7mb down in NYC and evryone should know that in the city the service kinda blows.
What we should be upset about is the fact they stated we will achieve up to 20mb down. Still I also believe that its too soon for H+ to get these speeds as these "towers" are fairly new and not everywhere yet.
Give it time people and figure out how far you are from your H+ towers. I reach what I do only from 4+ miles away. I still think it isn't bad as it is faster then regular 3G
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually your'e wrong on a couple of points here...
First off, the G2 (and MyTouch HD) have only been advertised to do 14mbps. The 21mbps upgrade does not happen until next year.
Second, just because you have a certain connection, that doesn't mean you can pull that much bandwidth from the internet. There are many obstacles: Traffic on your local cell, insufficient backhaul bandwidth to the tower, any connectivity issues between your tower and the other end of the connection, etc.
This applies to any sort of service, cable, dsl, mobile, etc: Just because you have X mbps connection does not mean that you will see X mbps to every site on the web.
On DSL, for example, you are less limited by others in your area, you have a 1:1 connection that terminates at your local central office. But on Cable or Wireless, you are sharing the available bandwidth X:1 with all others in your "neighborhood" (cable) or cell (wireless).
So your actual speed depends on many factors. Take speed tests with a grain of salt, the bigger issue for mobile is latency, not bandwidth. All the bandwidth in the world still makes a 300ms round-trip time "feel" slow.
ZeroSX said:
It's crazy, in westchester I get pretty nice 3G speeds, but I go to kendall and I'm on edge. And it seems like its the most random switchoff too, because 5 steps in one direction I'm back on 3G, so I don't know if it's the phone or tmo's network. I expect edge in the middle of BFE, not in the middle of a pretty densely populated area.
add.: I've never seen my phone connect to the HSPA network, ever. The UMTS 3G has been enough to get me by I guess, it's just the random edge switching thats confusing me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, I seem to get the best reception around 137th Ave and Coral way actually. (A go there alot to eat at some place)
And the speeds there are almost at 1MB/sec (Yes i'm saying 1MegaByte not megabit)
But a few hundred feet west of that spot and I'm already running on Edge. O_O
elracing21 said:
HSPA+ is not 4G network like sprint it is simply a boost to the 3G network. On 3G you would never ever achieve a download speed of 4mb down constantly there for H+ is working how it should. I am getting anywhere from 3mb to 7mb down in NYC and evryone should know that in the city the service kinda blows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, there is no real 4G network yet. Sprint, like T-Mobile, have used the term 4G for marketing purposes.
Here's a good read on Sprint's forums:
http://community.sprint.com/baw/message/141144
With the HSPA+ infrastructure upgrades, T-Mobile also gained the ability for HSDPA to cap at 7.2mbps. So in reality, you might see 6+mbps.
As for the coverage in urban areas, Verizon's frequency is better suited to penetrate buildings and urban environments. This is why they have been so successful in cities like NYC, while GSM-based providers have trouble with weak spots around any given corner.
HamNCheese said:
HSDPA is HSPA and HSPA+ - both appear as "H" in the signal indicator.
UMTS appears as "3G" in the signal indicator.
There is no distinction between HSPA and HSPA+ according to T-Mobile - the phone will display H/HSDPA for either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The stock "signal indicator" on the notification bar will never display 3G on the G2.
RTFM
I'm in the Tampa area, and I get 3-4Mbps d/l speeds. Occasionally I will get 8 or 9Mbps down. Upload speeds are consistently 1.5Mbps.

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