tmobile 3g speeds - Nexus One General

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?
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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
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.

Related

Nexus One and Tmobile Data speeds?

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.
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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.

Current Sprint customers: What speeds are you seeing on Sprint EVDO?

I have the EVO that was given out at the Google I/O so it is my first time with Sprint. It is one hell of a device.
I ran some speed tests all over the SF Bay Area and the EVDO speeds are total crap. Can't really call it 3G.
I get between 250Kbps - 700Kbps where the upper end is RARELY achieved . 90% of the time i see 300Kbps...
Are these typical Sprint speeds on 3G? or is there something wrong with radio on the EVO? (I am not sure if the firmware that is currently on the device will be the shipping firmware as some things are missing like the QIK video conf and TV OUT settings/app).
When i get 4G (rarely) the speeds are great (5Mbps down).
Curious what other Sprint customers are seeing on 3g.
San Francisco... specifically in the Outer Mission district... show on average 1700kbps down and 600kbps up.
I only get that 300kbps you're talking about when it is midday and my coverage bars only show one or two. But that's rare.
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yeah...Im fearing a 3G speed letdown going from att N1 to Sprint Evo.
rockky said:
yeah...Im fearing a 3G speed letdown going from att N1 to Sprint Evo.
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Click to collapse
They really aren't...I don't understand why people think sprint has a crappy 3G network, theirs is very comparable to verizon with speeds, but about halfish the size, maybe a bit more than that. Coverage with sprint is WAY better than at&t and t-mobile, speeds are a bit slower but not enough to cause a heart attack or anything...
check the sig... tether from my house
I get about 1.1Mbps down / 300Kbps up from my Palm Pre around Charlotte. Pretty stable as long as I have at least one bar. The Pre is one of the worst phones I have had for reception though so...
I get 700-1200kbps in good service on 3G. I can't wait to test out 4G.
Here in Boston I get between 1.6mb to 2.1mb constantly.
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TickLe MY eLMo said:
They really aren't...I don't understand why people think sprint has a crappy 3G network, theirs is very comparable to verizon with speeds, but about halfish the size, maybe a bit more than that. Coverage with sprint is WAY better than at&t and t-mobile, speeds are a bit slower but not enough to cause a heart attack or anything...
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I dont know SF very well but in t mobiles coverage and speed defense.. on my HD2 i got 4.3Mbps.. i was with my son outside the science museum. perfect 3g coverage.. home in NYC i get upwards of 5mbps. daytime-afternoon goes down to about 3.2Mbps. i came to T mobile from sprint. left sprint when hd2 came out. i must say t mobile is smashing sprint with coverage and speeds for me. with sprint i never got over 2.7Mbps no matter where i went. (i had the touch pro)
criticalchild said:
I dont know SF very well but in t mobiles coverage and speed defense.. on my HD2 i got 4.3Mbps.. i was with my son outside the science museum. perfect 3g coverage.. home in NYC i get upwards of 5mbps. daytime-afternoon goes down to about 3.2Mbps. i came to T mobile from sprint. left sprint when hd2 came out. i must say t mobile is smashing sprint with coverage and speeds for me. with sprint i never got over 2.7Mbps no matter where i went. (i had the touch pro)
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Must just be a new York thing..
T mobile ass here
Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
criticalchild said:
I dont know SF very well but in t mobiles coverage and speed defense.. on my HD2 i got 4.3Mbps.. i was with my son outside the science museum. perfect 3g coverage.. home in NYC i get upwards of 5mbps. daytime-afternoon goes down to about 3.2Mbps. i came to T mobile from sprint. left sprint when hd2 came out. i must say t mobile is smashing sprint with coverage and speeds for me. with sprint i never got over 2.7Mbps no matter where i went. (i had the touch pro)
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Click to collapse
If you look at the maps, sprint really does have a much larger 3G network than t-mobile, it all depends on where you are though to be honest. T-mobile is definitely faster though, never said it wasn't, i was specifically talking about SIZE not SPEED.
1000-1500 average in Denver and St. Louis.
Used to be higher last year, but network either slowed or more users. Not quite sure.
brownhornet said:
Must just be a new York thing..
T mobile ass here
Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
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T-Mobile sucks in the Bay Area. Can't see more than 1Mbps, not to mention indoor 3G coverage.
1380 down, 670 up
Location is Lower Pac Heights in San Francisco
in Brick NJ, seeing a consistent 2.3-2.5mbps down, 900k up.
viperv990 said:
1380 down, 670 up
Location is Lower Pac Heights in San Francisco
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is common in the San Francisco Bay Area - all the way from Pacifica where I work to San Jose. Morgan Hill/Gilroy (deep South Bay) is where Sprint needs to turn up the coverage. The best I've averaged is 600kbps down there.
Tmobile sucks in miami..struggling to get 700kb down..
clubtech said:
I have the EVO that was given out at the Google I/O so it is my first time with Sprint. It is one hell of a device.
I ran some speed tests all over the SF Bay Area and the EVDO speeds are total crap. Can't really call it 3G.
I get between 250Kbps - 700Kbps where the upper end is RARELY achieved . 90% of the time i see 300Kbps...
Are these typical Sprint speeds on 3G? or is there something wrong with radio on the EVO? (I am not sure if the firmware that is currently on the device will be the shipping firmware as some things are missing like the QIK video conf and TV OUT settings/app).
When i get 4G (rarely) the speeds are great (5Mbps down).
Curious what other Sprint customers are seeing on 3g.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Philadelphia I get between 600 and 1200 kbps d/l during peak and offpeak respectively. While I was in Las Vegas last week I could not get better than about 500 kbps d/l so I think 3g can be pretty variable. Good to hear you are getting nice 4G speeds.
Sprint Hero using the FCC speed test app:
Downtown Nashville, TN
2.03 Mbps down
566 kbps up
337 latency
For some reason the speed test app does not work with 2.1 on my hero. Not that I care, because I will have an EVO in my hands very soon!
Speed test comparison does not mean anything
unless you state what browser and what test you used. There can be a huge difference in results from browser to browser and test site to test site. With Skyfire I get 14053 Kbps down and 1816 up. Same test with Opera 3587 down and 890 up. Same test with uZard 14586 kbps down, 12053 kbps up. Using Brighthouse speed test. Huge difference. Opera mini will not run the flash test on Brighthouse.

Slow 4G Speeds?

I live near San Jose and today I tested out the "trial" 4G network at the Cisco campus. I seemed to get a good signal but the results were disappointing - 1.5 Mbps downstream, 800 Kbps upstream.
Is anyone able to get better? Maybe the "trial" network at Cisco is just crappy??
Here in Atlanta I'm getting download speeds of about 3megs. I believe that they are capping the speeds. I have a 4g usb dongle and that is the same speed I get on it. Once upon a time I used to get anywhere from 6-11megs using the dongle and it now only gets 3megs (just like my phone). I know there is no signal strength issue because the tower is on the roof of the building and I get a very good signal.
Anyone else experiencing this?
I got 2.2mbps, but no 4g. I was thinking it was 4g, but I shut the 4g button down and it's never said 4g and I still get 2.2mbps down and .32mbps up. I'm in Pasadena. I'm not sure what to make of that.
I'm in a 4g coverage area and still cant get it to connect to 4g unless im at sprint or bestbuy... and even then 3g is still faster...
Nothing against anybody, but I would kill for 3G where I live, let alone crappy 4G.
Be thankful for what you have, no matter how much you may think it sucks.
In the roswell/alpharetta area and I am getting about 4.7mbs works pretty well. Sprint tv needs improvement though otherwise very happy with new phone. Seems snappier than incredible phone I have too.
I'm in Dallas and I"m loving my 4.5ish download and 1.3 upload, you heard right. 1.3 upload.
pretty bAd
I'm getting 1 bar or less of 4g service at my house.. I live in tacoma wa. The 4g coverage map shows that I should have about the best service speed.. I just have to stand outside and down the block to get it. so much for pitching Comcast.
Dallas, TX
I am currently north of Dallas and I get zero bars of 4G, though sometimes I see one bar light up. So far the most I have seen in a speed test is 1.6 mbps down and 223 kbps up.
I will test again when I am actually in the City of Dallas and see if it improves. Web is still quicker than any other phone I have owned.
in san antonio tx i get about 1.8 down and 1.5 up lol.... and before the launch a friend used to get from 10-11 megs on his wireless card... i think since the phone is new the network is congested with ppl doing speed tests and downloading apps
mrmomoman said:
In the roswell/alpharetta area and I am getting about 4.7mbs works pretty well. Sprint tv needs improvement though otherwise very happy with new phone. Seems snappier than incredible phone I have too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also in roswell, however i'm not seeing speeds above 3mb
Are you getting close to the speeds of 3?
splicitysplat said:
I'm also in roswell, however i'm not seeing speeds above 3mb
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Click to collapse
I've tried running the speed test in the Roswell, Sandy Springs, Smyrna, Airport area, and McDonough and I still keep getting the same speeds nothing higher than 3.3 down. I consistently seem to get anywhere from 2.7-3.0
ShawnN said:
I live near San Jose and today I tested out the "trial" 4G network at the Cisco campus. I seemed to get a good signal but the results were disappointing - 1.5 Mbps downstream, 800 Kbps upstream.
Is anyone able to get better? Maybe the "trial" network at Cisco is just crappy??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OP, I did a whole write up on the Bay Area 4G network - which in case you haven't noticed, is just for developer testing, NOT meant for EVO devices - over on my blog. Please read.
http://dylandersen.me/post/633300884/4g-in-the-bay-area-how-fast-is-it-really
THIS NEEDS TO BE SETTLED! I think I have an objective view.
I'm in Houston, TX so we have 4G coverage with ClearWire. I got my EVO yesterday, along with everybody else. I went to Best Buy to look at some accessories, while I was there I was chatting with the ClearWire rep running the demo and trying to sign up new customers. He was inside with store with his Clearwire USB dongle and laptop. We decided to run some speed comparisons, so I downloaded 2 speedtest apps from the Android market, one of them being for Speedtest.net. The best speed I got on my EVO with 4G enabled (and 1 bar of 4g) was about 2.25 Mbit down, and 1.1 Mbit up. I ran this test multiple times with me standing next to him, then putting my EVO next to the USB dongle to make sure I was getting the same signal. The rep's laptop, again running the speedtest from Speedtest.net and us using the the SAME servers, he got at least 6 Mbit down and almost 2 Mbit up. The best he got that I saw was like 7.2 Mbit down. He said that earlier that day he got as high as 10 Mbit down.
This is just telling me that it's either the processor that is limiting the speed, or it's the 4G antenna in the EVO. I saw that his 4G signal was pretty good being a bit outside the city, in Katy at Fry Road and I-10. I live just outside downtown I do get 4G inside my home, but again 1 or 2 bars. With my limited investigation I'm going to have to conclude that the network speed is NOT ClearWire's fault, but more like a hardware limitation on the EVO. If someone modded the phone with a better antenna the speed might improve.
About the existing 3G speed and with EVO is WOW! 3G response is soooo much faster on the EVO that it was on my G1. Another comparison is my home AT&T U-verse: I get 5.71 Mbit down and 0.94 Mbit up. I'm trying to think of a way that I can get my TV another way and get ClearWire for home instead of U-verse.
I dont think clear caps their 4G at all. See if you can connect to clear's 4G from your phone.
I get 2.5-3.5mb down and 800-1.3mb up. Still better than my dsl.
1.33 mpbs is the most I've gotten with 4G enabled. I am going to try again when I get home and see if the speed improves.
Anyone out there in the LA area getting 4g? I don't get 4g at all. My 3g is really fast, but no 4g shows. It just shows "scanning" in the settings.
Ok nevermind: LA still shows as coming soon on the sprint site.
****, I'm in Portland, one of the first WiMax areas, and I'm only getting 300/k down and 800/k up as I speedtest it now.
No big to me. I have wifi at home that pegs 5/5ish and at work about the same. I usually keep the 3g/4g off unless I am out and need it. Battery suckin' pig that stuff.

Houston 4G connectivity issues

Greetings folks, long time no see
Anyone having a difficult time staying connected to 4G in Houston? From my experience so far, all 3 locations I have tried it out... (BB, Work, Home) are all in "In-Building" 4G coverage area. NONE of them can connect "In-Building". If I walk outside, it will connect then drop sporadically, or not connect at all. 3G has connectivity issues as well, but I want to focus on the big selling point of 4G here.
Any other experiences to speak of?
-Rock
Guess I should have posted this in the Q&A. MOD: Please feel free to relocate thread.
I have the same experience in the Memorial City (I-10 BW8 W) and East Katy (Fry) area. I'm happy with the 3g speed for what I use the phone for and have only turned on 4g for testing.
Im guessing it might be an issue with both signals from the towers and radio on the EVO. I have called Sprint to express my disappointment with the 4G service. I hope that HTC will make some magic happen with software upgrades. I also have tried the newer radio upgrade but still have issues once im inside of buildings.
just like when the iphone came out there were problems the same is happening now. i was getting good speeds up until a few hours ago here in NJ. my phone says 3G but im getting edge speeds
Not Houston, but same for me...
I am in St. Louis, and although 4G isn't official here yet (last I heard was 6/21) I am seeing the same thing. Indoors, it is almost a crap shoot.
Outside, it will get one "bar" of 4G... sometimes. Never really solidly locks on 4G.
I think it is an issue with the EVO radio firmware, at least I hope so, because I have the luxury of testing it side-by-side with an Overdrive, and I can consistently maintain a 4G signal of 2-3 bars on the Overdrive, if I put it in the window of my office.
Sadly, the Overdrive is seriously outperforming the reception of the Evo in my experiences so far.
-Rob
I'm in Houston. After doing the PRL update I got great coverage, everywhere except my downtown office (15th floor...so thats to be expected)
had connectivity issues the first day, here on the Northside, but if you update your profile, prl, and take your battery out a few times you may find a change..i did
THIS NEEDS TO BE SETTLED! I think I have an objective view.
I'm in Houston, TX so we have 4G coverage with ClearWire. I got my EVO on Friday, along with everybody else. I went to Best Buy to look at some accessories, while I was there I was chatting with the ClearWire rep running the demo and trying to sign up new customers. He was inside with store with his Clearwire USB dongle and laptop. We decided to run some speed comparisons, so I downloaded 2 speedtest apps from the Android market, one of them being for Speedtest.net. The best speed I got on my EVO with 4G enabled (and 1 bar of 4g) was about 2.25 Mbit down, and 1.1 Mbit up. I ran this test multiple times with me standing next to him, then putting my EVO next to the USB dongle to make sure I was getting the same signal. The rep's laptop, again running the speedtest from Speedtest.net and us using the the SAME servers, he got at least 6 Mbit down and almost 2 Mbit up. The best he got that I saw was like 7.2 Mbit down. He said that earlier that day he got as high as 10 Mbit down.
This is just telling me that it's either the processor that is limiting the speed, or it's the 4G antenna in the EVO. I saw that his 4G signal was pretty good being a bit outside the city, in Katy at Fry Road and I-10. I live just outside downtown I do get 4G inside my home, but again 1 or 2 bars. With my limited investigation I'm going to have to conclude that the network speed is NOT ClearWire's fault, but more like a hardware limitation on the EVO. If someone modded the phone with a better antenna the speed might improve.
About the existing 3G speed and with EVO is WOW! 3G response is soooo much faster on the EVO that it was on my G1. Another comparison is my home AT&T U-verse: I get 5.71 Mbit down and 0.94 Mbit up. I'm trying to think of a way that I can get my TV another way and get ClearWire for home instead of U-verse.
More likely clear is capping us to maintain QoS for direct customers.
Sent from my EVO
Hmm, I'm inside my house on Katy "Fry Rd. @ I10" and have 2 bars. Walk outside the front door no change. Typically outside around the Katy area I get about 2-3 bars.
Grims said:
More likely clear is capping us to maintain QoS for direct customers.
Sent from my EVO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not "Clear" but Sprint is capping for Qos.
nunyabiziz said:
It's not "Clear" but Sprint is capping for Qos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not you're just arguing symantecs
Grims said:
Not you're just arguing symantecs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a little upset for the reason being that Sprint would state that their 4G is 10x faster than EVDO. Taking the lower results of EVDO(600Kbps) and comparing it to the higher 4G(6Mbps). I have yet to see 3Mbps downstream on their 4G network in Houston. I have tested Clear's and Sprint's usb side by side and ofcourse it's only capped on Sprint. So on that point its not the same.
nunyabiziz said:
Just a little upset for the reason being that Sprint would state that their 4G is 10x faster than EVDO. Taking the lower results of EVDO(600Kbps) and comparing it to the higher 4G(6Mbps). I have yet to see 3Mbps downstream on their 4G network in Houston. I have tested Clear's and Sprint's usb side by side and ofcourse it's only capped on Sprint. So on that point its not the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see that, but even 3G on this phone seems way faster than other phones. I'm sure it has to do with the CPU beign able to render pages much quicker than previous devices.
That said, my 4G speeds are averaging about twice as fast as 3G
Drove down 45 from the medical center to Spring yesterday and got 4G all the way. As far as the downspeed goes, I agree, it's probably QoS since Sprint's 4G network is still in its infant stage.
Antebios said:
THIS NEEDS TO BE SETTLED! I think I have an objective view.
The best speed I got on my EVO with 4G enabled (and 1 bar of 4g) was about 2.25 Mbit down, and 1.1 Mbit up. I ran this test multiple times with me standing next to him, then putting my EVO next to the USB dongle to make sure I was getting the same signal. The rep's laptop, again running the speedtest from Speedtest.net and us using the the SAME servers, he got at least 6 Mbit down and almost 2 Mbit up. The best he got that I saw was like 7.2 Mbit down. He said that earlier that day he got as high as 10 Mbit down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this info, I think you are right, something is capping our throughput. I hope Sprint come out with new firmware patch to resolve this. I am not happy with my less than 2Mbit download speed on 4G!
Well, I wish I was seeing the same coverage as everyone else. I can't get 4G inside at all. I got all the updates last week, but see there is yet another PRL update I was unaware of. *Finders crossed.
I don't think wimax will ever have good indoor coverage. The frequency it runs at is much too high.
Sent from my EVO
Since I work for Clear, I can tell ya'll that we do not cap anything. Also, as far as Sprint goes, they just use and resell our service. I will, however, be willing to be that there may be something with the device that maybe a firmware upgrade may fix but honestly who knows.
I have yet to see anyone get above 4mbs on the Evo...I think it has something to do with the device.

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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