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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
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It's not "Clear" but Sprint is capping for Qos.
nunyabiziz said:
It's not "Clear" but Sprint is capping for Qos.
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Not you're just arguing symantecs
Grims said:
Not you're just arguing symantecs
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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.
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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.
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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.
At my home in Haverhill, MA it works like a charm outside....full boat signal and it flies speed wise.
Walk in the house and the signal drops to a fragile connection.
Assuming it was just a fluke at my house, I tried it this morning in Boston as well while going to a project meeting.
Same thing...wonderful signal outside with great up and down speeds....walk indoors and POOF...it's gone.
What good is it if it only works OUTDOORS?
Are others finding this issue as well?
I have started a thread on the SPRINT website about this as well since it seems that SPRINT actually does monitor those threads and gives them attention...
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/44204
That's because WiMax operates on a 2.5GHz band, which is terrible for penetrating structures and solid materials. This has to do with the wavelength being used -the waves are more likely to be blocked/absorbed by particles in the material than to diffract around them.
APOLAUF said:
That's because WiMax operates on a 2.5GHz band, which is terrible for penetrating structures and solid materials. This has to do with the wavelength being used -the waves are more likely to be blocked/absorbed by particles in the material than to diffract around them.
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QFT - they should have used a licensed band of radio spectrum. Oh well, I'll never see 4G at my house anyway.
Here in Las Vegas, the Clear 4G market has been active for over a year. I have full 4G bars at home, inside and out. I have 1-2 bars of 4G at work, inside and 3-4 bars, outside. I had the Clear service until Sprint came out with these Epic 4G phones.
Have you used the Sprint tool to monitor 4G coverage for your area? The green cloud is pretty accurate in showing exactly where you get only outside coverage and where you get inside building coverage as well. I can attest to it's accuracy. My home in Texas is barely in the outside green coverage and no inside coverage at all. My son verified that he cannot get the signal indoors, but can get it outdoors.
As the market matures in MA, you will see more towers "turned on" to provide better 4G coverage. That did happen here in Vegas!
Kcarpenter said:
QFT - they should have used a licensed band of radio spectrum. Oh well, I'll never see 4G at my house anyway.
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2.5 Ghz is licensed spectrum. Perhaps you're thinking of 2.4 Ghz?
Ditto on Vegas being great on 4g coverage... I was out there for a week... stayed on the 12th floor and all the way down to the casino I had screamin fast internet... I just wish sprint would pick up the pace on LA - OC coverage... suppoedly wimax towers were going to be put on every walmart, wonder if that's still gonna happen
Awkwardly, the evo never had the issue.. I did notice one thing, the power of the signal is weak but that's cause it might not be an official band.
Sent From The Moon...
I live in a "4G" city, and I am disappointed. According to Sprint's coverage maps I'm supposed to have 4G inside my home, but I don't. Also, driving even on freeways has dead pockets.
That forces me back to 3G, which on the Epic has well-documented poor performance, especially on uploads.
I do get decent 4G indoors in a downtown office. When 4G is hot, it's hot -- about twice the 3G speeds I got with T-Mobile's HSPA+ on a Vibrant. But T-Mobile's 3G service is more consistent, with better infill coverage and indoor penetration. Overall, I think I got better real-life service with the #4 carrier. I may go back.
boomerbubba said:
I live in a "4G" city, and I am disappointed. According to Sprint's coverage maps I'm supposed to have 4G inside my home, but I don't. Also, driving even on freeways has dead pockets.
That forces me back to 3G, which on the Epic has well-documented poor performance, especially on uploads.
I do get decent 4G indoors in a downtown office. When 4G is hot, it's hot -- about twice the 3G speeds I got with T-Mobile's HSPA+ on a Vibrant. But T-Mobile's 3G service is more consistent, with better infill coverage and indoor penetration. Overall, I think I got better real-life service with the #4 carrier. I may go back.
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Im getting the Epic today in the mail, and ive already been missing tmob. The vibrant did get great speeds and in a wider coverage area. If im dissatisfied with the service in two weeks, ill just get another vibrant.
I live in Vegas and the WiMAX service sucks the big one. You can't maintain a connection while driving and because data doesn't smoothly transition, you get horrible data service. It's the outdoors network. Suburbs, no 4G, buildings without a 4G tower perched up next to it, no 4G.. driving down the street, no 4G. It's really poor. Sprint 3G coverage is ok, but the 4G is just plain horrible and there are no signs of it improving soon. They've colocated on all of the towers they can, so they will be building new ones if they want better coverage and as of right now cash is low at Clear.
lazytexan said:
Have you used the Sprint tool to monitor 4G coverage for your area? The green cloud is pretty accurate in showing exactly where you get only outside coverage and where you get inside building coverage as well. I can attest to it's accuracy. My home in Texas is barely in the outside green coverage and no inside coverage at all. My son verified that he cannot get the signal indoors, but can get it outdoors.
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I'm a little surprised the network is "launched" in DC, where it's so spotty I cannot get coverage at work (south of Dupont Circle) or at home (Waterfront) despite what the Clear map shows. Very frustrating.
even worse for me..im in an area that says "inside connection" and is dark blue..yet every time i turn on 4g.it will try to connect..then it may connect..and as soon as i pick up the damn phone..i get a "4g disconnected"..ish sucks man..very dissapointed
Here's a little one about how sprints gonna drum up a lil more money and help out good ol #4 in the process http://www.mobiledia.com/news/73500.html
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
T-Mobile isn't doing anything 4G until 2012. They've already stated it. To help out number #4 you'd actually have to be the one able to give the help. Sprint isn't building a 4G network for a reason. They can't afford to. Sprint is only #3 because of Nextel, a horrible purchase.
jlbiad said:
I'm a little surprised the network is "launched" in DC, where it's so spotty I cannot get coverage at work (south of Dupont Circle) or at home (Waterfront) despite what the Clear map shows. Very frustrating.
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DC isn't an official 4g market Sprintwise so don't blame them yet.. I know there's service and I am also from the area and felt comfortable paying extra because I knew there was some service, but no point in complaining if Sprint hasn't advertised your city.
Buyer beware! For some reason Richmond, VA is covered...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Wow i really do want this phone badly. But i'm just so afraid of sprints 3g coverage. I can barely watch a you tube video now. Anything that involves data sucks. What good is a phone if the coverage is horrable. Plus now they are really going to get hammered with to many people on the network for them to handle. Anyone else afraid of this?
I feel the same way. I live in phoenix and their 3g here (at least around my job and home) sucks balls. My friends edge tmobile phone gets better speeds.
No cause my sprints coverage has been great
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Sprint in Sacramento is kick-ass. I'm not worried.
drmacinyasha said:
Sprint in Sacramento is kick-ass. I'm not worried.
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+1 for sactown always have full bars
I posted this in another thread but it applies here too. I get crappy 3G in my area and no 4G. They are so focused on bringing 3D phones but we can't even upload/stream regular vids to YouTube with their ****ty network. Why not roll out 4G in more cities and beef it up first? T-mobile is turning up the heat with 40mb in a few cities. This proves that sprint could turn it up as well if they wanted to.
http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mob...mpaign=Feed:+androidcentral+(Android+Central)
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I do wish that the new Evo did have the LTE radio, as rumored, but I get 5Mbps in my apartment on 4G, so I'm not going to complain too much. And I have no issues with my 3G in this area, either.
The thing of it is guys, is what are our options? AT&T-Mobile or Verizon. Both with data caps, sub-par customer service(at least from my experience with the GF's iphone) and high rates. There's really no other choice.
That being said, sprint absolutely needs to step up their network. My evo will never connect to 4G. i can be sitting in downtown Dallas, TX, right in the middle of the alleged 4G coverage area and never connect. Its worthless.
I've never had an issue with 3G. Wimax is another thing. It's mostly good but I hardly use it for anything. I'm almost always in Wifi when I want to download a big file anyway. Pretty sure they are going to eventually add LTE support to their towers since Wimax is ok for cheaply blanketing an area in Wifi-like coverage but isn't so great in big buildings and they are dependent on Clearwire's oversubscribed network.
For all the talk of "why are they worrying about 3D phones and stuff like that", they need to stay up on the flashy new handsets because that is what gets them subscribers. This is their chance to really make or break their company with the playing field narrowing soon. AT&T proved with the iPhone that folks will put up with all kinds of crap for a must-have handset so they need to keep putting out exclusives that stand out in the market in order to stay attractive to customers.
Moving to another company would cost me a lot more per month and add a data cap so I am not going anywhere soon. I used to have T-Mobile to fall back on if Sprint ever pissed me off but with them being bought up, it's time to double down on Sprint.
Since when does VZW have a data cap? And I dont mean some data cap that "may" come at some point down the road. At this point the data is still unlimited.
I live in KC, which is basically saying the Sprint HQ (overland park is a division of KC) and the service here could def be better. 3g is no too bad, unless you go to Overland Park. Which is funny, because your IN the campus, and service blows. 4g... you pretty much have to be downtown to really make it "better" than 3g. I too find it odd that t-mo can ramp up 3g speeds to topple our 4g. Co worker has tmo and he dominates me in d/l speed. Somehow for him that equates to his mytouch slide 4g being better than my evo, but then again he does have a wicked self idolize-ing issue.
SilverStone641 said:
The thing of it is guys, is what are our options? AT&T-Mobile or Verizon. Both with data caps, sub-par customer service(at least from my experience with the GF's iphone) and high rates. There's really no other choice.
That being said, sprint absolutely needs to step up their network. My evo will never connect to 4G. i can be sitting in downtown Dallas, TX, right in the middle of the alleged 4G coverage area and never connect. Its worthless.
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what part of downtown? i can sit over by the opera house and get 4g.
Ok guys, relax. It's one of two things if you are getting slow 3g speeds.
First, Sprint is actually growing again. In some areas it's growing so much that the existing network is at capacity. It's being addressed.
Or, it's a bug with some phones on 3.70 or 3.70 based ROMs. It's being addressed in the next update (not sure if it's going to be gingerbread or not)
clamknuckle said:
Ok guys, relax. It's one of two things if you are getting slow 3g speeds.
First, Sprint is actually growing again. In some areas it's growing so much that the existing network is at capacity. It's being addressed.
Or, it's a bug with some phones on 3.70 or 3.70 based ROMs. It's being addressed in the next update (not sure if it's going to be gingerbread or not)
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Not disagreeing at all with your points, but the max capacity is what the op is saying he's/she's afraid of. I've seen extremely slow coverage expansion of 4g in KC, while other carries have been going hard at it. It's doubtful they are expanding 3g much anymore since 4g is the "new baby." I like Sprint don't get me wrong, but if the op is more concerned with coverage, and the fact that we face $10 a month for 4g coverage, he may very well be better off with another carrier.
You all act like Sprint could revamp their entire network overnight if they wanted. I know for fact they are working on it, and I see signs of improvement all the time. I can get 2Mb downloads now on 3g in several locations in my city where 2-3 months ago I was lucky to get 200k. Maybe they could make people happier faster in the short term by taking shortcuts, but it looks like they're doing it right. So have patience or gtfo.
http://newsroom.sprint.com/press_kits.cfm?presskit_id=19
xviiivx said:
You all act like Sprint could revamp their entire network overnight if they wanted. I know for fact they are working on it, and I see signs of improvement all the time. I can get 2Mb downloads now on 3g in several locations in my city where 2-3 months ago I was lucky to get 200k. Maybe they could make people happier faster in the short term by taking shortcuts, but it looks like they're doing it right. So have patience or gtfo.
http://newsroom.sprint.com/press_kits.cfm?presskit_id=19
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Well if it's ok in your city then that should be ok for everyone worldwide then. Try growing up before posting please.
brownhornet said:
Since when does VZW have a data cap? And I dont mean some data cap that "may" come at some point down the road. At this point the data is still unlimited.
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lol there unlimited, but we can and have canceled customers for using more then 5 gb a month without a tethering plan unlimited?
aimbdd said:
lol there unlimited, but we can and have canceled customers for using more then 5 gb a month without a tethering plan unlimited?
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Supposedly Sprint also has a "cap." Never seen it myself, but that "rumor" has gone around a bit.
I feel the exact same way. My 3g is terrible, I get anywhere from 200-700 MAX DOWN and about 400 UP. No 4g at all. :/
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jlechner said:
Well if it's ok in your city then that should be ok for everyone worldwide then. Try growing up before posting please.
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Try growing up?? WTF??? Did you not click on the link to see that I was trying to provide some hope for people that are not in a good data area?
I did not even say it was ok in my city... I said there are signs of improvement and there are places that are great. I was just trying to help people out who think the network sux everywhere and Sprint is not doing anything about it anywhere... because that is wrong. They are working on it diligently.
Perhaps my "have patience or gtfo" comment was a little rude, but that sums up the situation here. The network sux. It's getting better. If you can't wait for the improvements, complaining on xda is not going to do anything for you.
Sprint is running currently all of the data traffic on a extremely small amount of servers. This means that everyone that is trying to use the internet on their cellphones on sprint is running on the same highway. So speeds are going to be really slow. What does this mean for us? Sprint is upgrading and testing new 4G towers and servers. This is an internal data BTW. Places like the top of LQ Cove have weak 4G signal and places like the Costco JackntheBox area have strong out door signal. North indio as well as the K-mart area in indio have weak 4G. So switch over to 4G in those areas and test it. Please comment bellow if you have found places with 4G signal in the Coachella Valley. What a coincidence that we are starting to get 4G since before Coachella fest.
What??????
How cool a fellow xda'er in the valley
I live in palm springs and some days get nice speeds and other days... not so nice. Lol. I hope they're gonna bring in 4G soon valleywide! I'm dreaming, but hey...
I figured slow speed was due to them testing the network.
Mark_in_Tulsa said:
What??????
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I think he said something about the Nexus and how Cyanogen is an overhyped rom?
josh995 said:
How cool a fellow xda'er in the valley
I live in palm springs and some days get nice speeds and other days... not so nice. Lol. I hope they're gonna bring in 4G soon valleywide! I'm dreaming, but hey...
I figured slow speed was due to them testing the network.
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oh wow how nice i thought i was the only one in the valley
apparently parts of palms springs and cat city around the 111 area have had 4G since the evo came out
DirtyShroomz said:
I think he said something about the Nexus and how Cyanogen is an overhyped rom?
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yeah thats totally what i meant to say lol
I thought I was the only one too lol
But yeah I used to check all the time for 4G in different parts of the valley but got tired of being disappointed so I quit looking lol... I think I'll start looking again since it's been a while
Sent from my Evo using XDA App
yeah please do i usually have 4g on my phone on constantly but i switched to VR GengerSense rom with no 4G so i cant use it lol which means im stuck at 1X speeds till the tower at indio is back up and running
i was at LQ cove yesterday hiking towards cahuilla and i had the kingdom rom on my evo wich had 4G and i got full archs which was weird lol
Currently in Cathedral City, next to Date Palm, I am getting a fair signal and hitting speeds averaging 125 kB/s down and 15 kB/s up.
So one day I was browsing around on craigslist and I saw a new condition Moto Photon for $250.00 ( I know, Its not the galaxy s 2) but hey its was a good price and its a nice world phone. Anyways, I couldn't believe how much faster my data speeds were!
Previously, I was getting around 200-300 kbps with the latest SRF on my Epic. I am now getting 500-700 kbps in the same location with the Photon. Its a fantastic device. The antennae on the phone is really top shelf, areas I would get 1 or maybe 2 bars with the Epic I get 3-4 with the Photon. In areas I couldn't even get data, I am watching netflix with not buffering. I really forgot you could stream Netflix and YouTube on 3g because with my old epic.... you just couldn't. Anyways I am not hating. I love the Epic. I will miss the the everyone in here. Trust me, there isn't much developing going on in the photon forums yet but I am sure things will pick up in time.
Overall I am really happy with the Photon. Just wanted to share my experience with everyone. Thanks for all the support and help along the way. Having the Epic and the support in the forums have really helped broaden my understanding of Android and the entire rooting process.
Thanks Again,
Justin
After having read some early reviews it did seem to have great antenna/reception. How is moto in terms of providing source to developers? I suppose its too early to tell how fast they release updates as well?
dunno if I buy this argument, though I do have my doubts about the Epic. I'm inclined to think Sprint has plenty to do with the problem.
I drove all over Manhattan today and whenever I was stopped in traffic - which basically every 2 minutes - I'd run speed tests for both 3G and 4G. Suffice it to say that from about Times Square up through Morningside Heights, the service is (with a few exceptions) dreadful. When you get a bit south, speeds are much better. Both my wife and I (she's on a Nexus S 4G) were able to get about 6Mbps on 4G down near the Holland Tunnel. Up where we live, it's a total crapshoot. Every so often it's ok, most of the time it's garbage. 3G is on par with dial-up where we live. A colossal waste of time.
Oh, and just for a little extra chuckle, consider this: at the moment we're in upstate NY, about 75 miles north of the city. Just ran a speed test and 3G is faster here than in most of Manhattan.
Yeah I am getting pretty consistent 5-7Mbps download speeds on 4G in SoCal. I don't have any complaints here
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Moto is releasing updates for the stock rom almost every other day it seems. As of now there is no source code available to Dev's. I am not sure if/when that will happen. Right now we are just getting Pseudo Roms and themes. I haven't come across any noticeable bugs yet. Although Unlocking the Boot loader breaks 4g. In my case that is a non issue because we don't have 4g in most of Riverside County.
JohnCorleone said:
Yeah I am getting pretty consistent 5-7Mbps download speeds on 4G in SoCal. I don't have any complaints here
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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SoCal? Where? I've been all over San Diego (almost to Mexico) and I can't find anything.
Or did you mean Central California...you know, LA and all that NORTH of San Diego?
dead78 said:
dunno if I buy this argument, though I do have my doubts about the Epic. I'm inclined to think Sprint has plenty to do with the problem.
I drove all over Manhattan today and whenever I was stopped in traffic - which basically every 2 minutes - I'd run speed tests for both 3G and 4G. Suffice it to say that from about Times Square up through Morningside Heights, the service is (with a few exceptions) dreadful. When you get a bit south, speeds are much better. Both my wife and I (she's on a Nexus S 4G) were able to get about 6Mbps on 4G down near the Holland Tunnel. Up where we live, it's a total crapshoot. Every so often it's ok, most of the time it's garbage. 3G is on par with dial-up where we live. A colossal waste of time.
Oh, and just for a little extra chuckle, consider this: at the moment we're in upstate NY, about 75 miles north of the city. Just ran a speed test and 3G is faster here than in most of Manhattan.
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I am in a non 4g area so I am not really concerned with 4g speeds. My focus is 3g. I reside in a rural area of Riverside County in Southern California. I would get atrociously slow, spotty data. Getting the Photon made a huge difference. In the same location I would rarely ever hit 400 and frequently run between 200-300 kpbs I am getting 500-700 consistently. I'm just sharing my experience for others to draw on. Granted your location may keep this from applying to you specifically. But one of the things that drew me to the Photon in the first place was the well regarded hardware specifically the radio in the device.
Also Networks are different all over the place. The user load in Manhattan is presumably higher then a rural area of So-Cal. As well as the obvious building obstructions. When I was in Manhattan about 6 months ago I enjoyed my 4g speeds on my Epic which ranged anywhere from 4Mbps-7Mbps. Granted most of what I was using the phone for was uploading videos and looking for places to eat ;-) Sure its not as fast as WiMax can get but what do you need it faster for on your phone anyway? Video Streaming, Music Streaming all worked nearly instantaneous for me.
Again just my 2 cents I am not claiming to be a sprint messiah or anything. My first android device got faster data speeds too (HTC Hero). It was a big deal for me when I got my epic and noticed the data speeds were much more choppy and slow. In case this is a big issue for other Epic users getting ready to jump ship I wanted to share my experience with the Moto Photon 4g. Not to mention the Hardware is pretty sweet and its a world phone.
othan1 said:
SoCal? Where? I've been all over San Diego (almost to Mexico) and I can't find anything.
Or did you mean Central California...you know, LA and all that NORTH of San Diego?
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Lol.. well you know San Diego isn't a major city. kidding of course. I am right in between Orange and LA counties in Uptown Whittier. I have bull bar 4G inside my apartment and basically I have one small dead spot about a half mile away but it's rock solid everywhere else. I heard there's a small pocket in San Diego but I haven't heard of it working for anybody down there though.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
Its not the phone I just pulled 1100kb down with 2 bars. I also just had my modem wiped and re programmed
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Test Date: Sep 23, 2011 6:19:26 pm
Connection Type: Unknown
Server: Minnesota City, MN
Download: 12.03 Mbps
Upload: 1.64 Mbps
Ping: 159 ms
External IP: 184.225.237.43
Internal IP: 184.225.237.43
Latitude: 38.74700
Longitude: -90.65400
A detailed image for this result can be found here:
http://www.speedtest.net/android/86974782.png
just sayin...
watermoore said:
So one day I was browsing around on craigslist and I saw a new condition Moto Photon for $250.00 ( I know, Its not the galaxy s 2) but hey its was a good price and its a nice world phone. Anyways, I couldn't believe how much faster my data speeds were!
Previously, I was getting around 200-300 kbps with the latest SRF on my Epic. I am now getting 500-700 kbps in the same location with the Photon. Its a fantastic device. The antennae on the phone is really top shelf, areas I would get 1 or maybe 2 bars with the Epic I get 3-4 with the Photon. In areas I couldn't even get data, I am watching netflix with not buffering. I really forgot you could stream Netflix and YouTube on 3g because with my old epic.... you just couldn't. Anyways I am not hating. I love the Epic. I will miss the the everyone in here. Trust me, there isn't much developing going on in the photon forums yet but I am sure things will pick up in time.
Overall I am really happy with the Photon. Just wanted to share my experience with everyone. Thanks for all the support and help along the way. Having the Epic and the support in the forums have really helped broaden my understanding of Android and the entire rooting process.
Thanks Again,
Justin
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When roaming my epic is super fast occasionally it's also fast on sprint's network. I think the 1900mhz antenna in this phone may not be so great. While roaming on 800mhz I get 1100k+ all the time.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
JohnCorleone said:
Lol.. well you know San Diego isn't a major city. kidding of course. I am right in between Orange and LA counties in Uptown Whittier. I have bull bar 4G inside my apartment and basically I have one small dead spot about a half mile away but it's rock solid everywhere else. I heard there's a small pocket in San Diego but I haven't heard of it working for anybody down there though.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
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San Diego has so many hills, not sure if they want to invest in wimax there at this moment
It's not the phone! It's SPRINT! For the last time I have talked to Sprint and they have had outages throughout different areas, mine included. My and my girlfriend, my kids and my ex all have Sprint and all have different phones. Epic, EVO, EVO 3D and Moto Photon. All were great then they ALL sucked. Issues in my area are fixed now and I have no data issues any longer and neither does my gf, kids or ex. None of us did anything to our phones to make the signal better. So for the last time, IT's SPRINT.... not the phone.
MikeyLee said:
It's not the phone! It's SPRINT! For the last time I have talked to Sprint and they have had outages throughout different areas, mine included. My and my girlfriend, my kids and my ex all have Sprint and all have different phones. Epic, EVO, EVO 3D and Moto Photon. All were great then they ALL sucked. Issues in my area are fixed now and I have no data issues any longer and neither does my gf, kids or ex. None of us did anything to our phones to make the signal better. So for the last time, IT's SPRINT.... not the phone.
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AGREED! Sprint service in my area was great a year ago and now it's slowly gone downhill. EVO 4G; Epic 4G; Epic 4G Touch; It doesn't matter which phone I use, Sprint's 3G performance is TERRIBLE.
Um, actually it's both. The Epic, (and the nexus too) have mediocre signal reception. Couple that with low signal strength and you get really slow data. If Sprint's coverage were better the weak reception wouldn't be as big an issue. If the phone were more sensitive it could deal with the lower signal strength better.
i have the eh07 modem and ecop5 rom and my 4g sucks..it hardly connects not sure whats the issue
I know for sure its the phone. nothing posted higher 3g speeds than my old HTC HERO.
I was around 2.5mb/s peaking and 1.8+ normal rate.
Now when I got the evo, the speeds were down. Epic the speeds were down. Photon speeds were down. Epic 4g Touch the speeds were up at 1.8
So my experience for fastest as follows:
Hero: fastest 3g @2.5mbs
Photon: fastest 4g upload @1919mbs
EpTouch: fastest 4g download @15.179mbs
poit said:
Um, actually it's both. The Epic, (and the nexus too) have mediocre signal reception. Couple that with low signal strength and you get really slow data. If Sprint's coverage were better the weak reception wouldn't be as big an issue. If the phone were more sensitive it could deal with the lower signal strength better.
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It's not the phones! Again until about a month and a half ago my phone used to scream and now it sucks! I never had reception problems ever. Sprint has done something (at least in my area) to slow down data service. It's obvious.
Sprint certainly had outages in various areas. Common sense would say check Sprint Forums or do a simple Google search.
Phones certainly can have an effect on your speeds but not as much as a Tower.
Having both phones side by side its Sprint and not the phone....
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium