[Q] Why 4G is the same speed as 3G, is it expected? - Atrix 4G General

I understand that ATT 4G is really 3G+ but still I'm getting exactly the same perfomance from my Atrix as from my Captivate in the same location. Roughly 1 MB up and 3 MB down. Sometimes I get up to 5 MB down on Atrix but upload is always capped at 1 MB. Is it expected?

Then you're probably not in an HSPA+ coverage area. I don't get HSPA+ speeds at my home, but if I go into Atlanta, I'll probably get HSPA+ speeds.
Check coverage on this page: http://www.att.com/network/?

MdX MaxX said:
Then you're probably not in an HSPA+ coverage area. I don't get HSPA+ speeds at my home, but if I go into Atlanta, I'll probably get HSPA+ speeds.
Check coverage on this page: http://www.att.com/network/?
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It shows H+ on notification bar and I'm in north Dallas which has 4G already.

artisticcheese said:
I understand that ATT 4G is really 3G+ but still I'm getting exactly the same perfomance from my Atrix as from my Captivate in the same location. Roughly 1 MB up and 3 MB down. Sometimes I get up to 5 MB down on Atrix but upload is always capped at 1 MB. Is it expected?
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I'd have to say yes. Can't remember where I heard it but this is the "first wave" of 4g and the next wave is being worked on for the fall. I believe lte is the second phase.
I have had a similar experience coming from the captivate. But we will see as more rolls out.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App

AFAIK, despite the icons showing H+ you are probably still using 3G.
I'm in NYC and I get various speeds depending on time of day and which APN Iuse, whether it's the custom APN for tethering or AT&T USA
Generally its around 4 down and 1.5-3 down
Even in an area like Long Island which doesn't have HSPA+, the H+ icon is still active and present when I use data.
It's weird though.
http://www.motorola.com/staticfiles...uments/StaticFiles/ATRIX_GSG_68014204002A.pdf
If you look at the section in the bottom with Icons and Battery Life, it says it's suppose to show 3G when 3G is being used.
The Atrix also has a help center app which has an icon section which shows 3G as an icon that should be present when 3G
If you were an early adopter of the Atrix, you would recall that when HSPA+ wasn't present in your city nor was it activated by AT&T, the H+ icon was present.
AT&T and Motorola as usual are misleading consumers.

Were I live in Louisiana I get up to 4 MB down highest I've seen so far and 2-3 upload pretty good compared to iPhone 3g half a MB both ways
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

I've noticed this as well.
When I purchased my Atrix and began my AT&T services back in April, I spoke very in depth with the sales rep about the 4G network thing. I told him I had worked for VerizonWireless for quite some time, and from that point on he didn't seem like he was holding back any information or "dumbing down" anything.
This is what he explained to me:
AT&T (at that time, before Verizon's LTE network started being instituted) was the network that was the farthest along in the process of having 4G everywhere, not just major cities.
At this point in time, the HSPA+ is basically a "3-and-a-half-G" network, with speeds up to 4x that of 3G, BUT ONLY WHERE THE TOWERS HAVE BEEN UPDATED, which is only in major cities, such as Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, etc. (I'm on the East Coast, so I'm not sure about West Coast cities )
Sometime around first quarter 2012 is when they PLAN on having SOME towers broadcast FULL 4G services, which will be 6x faster than the HSPA+ (which as I stated above, is roughly 4x faster than 3G IN APPLICABLE AREAS)
SO, once all is said and done, and everyone with 4G capable phones is on a 4G network, it SHOULD be 10x faster than 3G, and 6x faster than HSPA+.
HOWEVER, the speed of the network is all dependent on the amount of traffic. If there is a lot of people accessing the 4G network, it won't be as fast, as well as if there AREN'T a lot of people on it, it will be faster.
I spoke to a Verizon rep at one of their stores, and he said that on his Thunderbolt, he was achieving speeds equivalent to his in-home FIOS, simply due to the fact that there are hardly ANY users accessing Verizon's "4G" network, LTE.
Hope this kind of helps clarify the whole "4G" rumor

fastest bs of a coverage map too. methinks atnt just copy and pasted their 3g map onto a new map and unhighlighted some less populous areas and said "TAADAAAA!! 4G *****es!!"

Must be the area/network.
Bell with the new update is really fast now.
reaching 10+ mbps down, 3.5+ mbps up
on avg. I'd say it's 5-7 mbps

Related

Is it possible for vibrant to run on T-Mobile 4G?

After reading of a new Mytouch HD product that is coming for T-Mobile Im pretty impressed with specs but very turned off by the looks.
So that makes me wonder does vibrant have the technology to run on T-mobile's 4G network with simple software updates?
Reason I am asking this is because I know The iphone 4G will be able to run on 4G network as soon as AT&T launch their 4G service.
Thanks for any knowledge in advance
.... Google is your best friend, its not 4g it's hspa+ on order to take advantage of that speed you ned the physical hardware in the phone which only the g2 had right now, in regards to the iphone 4, I've never heard anything about att launching any 4g network, I also work for att, the iphone doesn't have any hardware that support any faster speeds as far as I know
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
iPhone can handle ATT's new "Faster 3G", but they don't have 4G. My understanding is the Vibrant can do HSPa, but not HSPa+? I don't know the difference but that's what i understand. 2G, 3G and HSPa.
4G is just a marketing terms for the masses. After you look at this link...
http://shop.sprint.com/en/stores/popups/4G_coverage_popup.shtml
You should realize that the Vibrant is already capable of reaching the "average" speeds listed here (in areas with proper coverage). Wait...how is that possible?! It's not a 4G phone. Who cares!!! T-Mobile's network and phones already meet or exceed the speeds Sprint is advertising here. T-Mobile is way ahead of the curve here but they're not marketing the hell out of it. FYI, the average website (ATM) may have trouble maintaining a consistent throughput of 5-6 Mbps anyway. Even if you can go faster, does it really matter when the other side can't (yet)?
AlexSochi8 said:
After reading of a new Mytouch HD product that is coming for T-Mobile Im pretty impressed with specs but very turned off by the looks.
So that makes me wonder does vibrant have the technology to run on T-mobile's 4G network with simple software updates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile does not have a 4G network, and they probably won't roll out 4G for at least 5 years
Reason I am asking this is because I know The iphone 4G will be able to run on 4G network as soon as AT&T launch their 4G service.
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Click to collapse
Apple hasn't announced a 4G Iphone, so (by definition) you really don't know what you're talking about.
AT&T is set to roll out LTE, but it will almost certainly be data-only devices as they work the kinks out. (As Verizon has done)
Thanks for any knowledge in advance
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You should ask yourself why you care about 4G. I doubt you'll notice much of a decrease in load times, and the carriers are probably going to charge out the yin-yang for the enhanced features they will be able to offer to everyone with 4G.
AT&T and Verizon are going to limited data (AT&T already has). You should really look past all the marketing and hype. All the carriers are guilty of confusing the public to serve their interests.
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
Xard said:
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
Click to expand...
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Clear explanation
But one thing, i am in Boston and my vibrant never reach over 50KB/s...wtf
It supposed to have the + network already...
I get 6mbps on my vibrant on hspa. Home wifi I get only 2.8, I see no difference in browser page loading time..
Downloading w will be faster but whatever.. 6 is all I need. I've only seen some people getting 8 on their g2s, meh, I'm happy with 6..... Hell I'm happy with 3mbps....
Emama said:
Clear explanation
But one thing, i am in Boston and my vibrant never reach over 50KB/s...wtf
It supposed to have the + network already...
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Check the data icon top center - should be two arrows (up/down) and 'G','E', or '3G' to indicate tech. GPRS would be my guess for 50k... EDGE should reach around 200kbps. (I've maxed at about 1.8 mbps 3g in Charlotte, about 210k edge nearer home, and about 12mpbs wifi - same locations as that last my netbook gets 40-70mpbs though.
Check 'settings'->'wireless and network'->'mobile networks' and make sure '2g only' is unchecked. If so I'd suspect a hardware problem. (double-check that 3g is available where you're testing, of course)
j
newkirk said:
Check the data icon top center - should be two arrows (up/down) and 'G','E', or '3G' to indicate tech. GPRS would be my guess for 50k... EDGE should reach around 200kbps. (I've maxed at about 1.8 mbps 3g in Charlotte, about 210k edge nearer home, and about 12mpbs wifi - same locations as that last my netbook gets 40-70mpbs though.
Check 'settings'->'wireless and network'->'mobile networks' and make sure '2g only' is unchecked. If so I'd suspect a hardware problem. (double-check that 3g is available where you're testing, of course)
j
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This is 3g network already,
My phone and my gf's one has the same result
I can have up to 2000kB/s with my home Wi-Fi....but tmo network sucks..
I never see a "G" in that blue icon
And the above result is based on the 3G icon...if it is E, it has only 4-5 kB/s! !!
Any other guy in Boston can tell me if it is T-Mobile network sucks or my phone
I live in Cambridge and just did the speed-test, 3g w/2 bars in my apartment. 129kbps download 614 upload. It really varies quite a bit probably depending upon network traffic.
Xard said:
All T-Mobile phones will benefit from HSPA+ as it's backward compatible. However, the theoretical maximum throughput on the Vibrant (or any legacy phone) that doesn't have the HSPA+ antenna built in caps out around 7Mbs as I recall. The G2 which is built to run HSPA+ has a theoretical througput around 15-20 I believe.
Seriously though, even 7Mbs is pretty stupid fast for a cell phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the 7mb cap only apply to hspa, or hspa+. Because on my wireless g network I get blazing speeds.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
ackattacker said:
I live in Cambridge and just did the speed-test, 3g w/2 bars in my apartment. 129kbps download 614 upload. It really varies quite a bit probably depending upon network traffic.
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I am talking about KB not kbps,
129 kbps is really slow!
I try to compare my friend incredible verizon network at Cambridge
He has 280KB while i have only 45KB download....damn
I get 5mbs in my hspa area on the vibrant.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Should I call T-Mobile to ask about it as it is ridiculous to have only 50-70kB (Less than 0.6 Mbits) in HSPA+ area
jayprime said:
Does the 7mb cap only apply to hspa, or hspa+. Because on my wireless g network I get blazing speeds.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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theoretical caps. HSDPA 7.2Mbps, T-mobile's variety of HSPA+ 21Mbps according to a T-mobile press release, Wi-fi G 54Mbps.
real word numbers HSDPA 1-5Mbps in good coverage depending on network traffic, HDPA+ on a vibrant 3-7 Mbps again depending on network traffic, Wi-fi... depends on your home internet connection speed.
Some people seem to misunderstand whether or not a non HSPA+ phone (such as ours) can benefit from HSPA+. It indeed can, but not in a straightforward way. In order for T-Mobile to support HSPA+ in a given market they must make reasonable upgrades to their networks backhaul capacity to support it. And these backhaul upgrades will become more important as T-Mobile actually begins selling HSPA+ devices.
One of the most important factors often overlooked with any network is it's backhaul capacity. Bottlenecks in familiar networks can easily make themselves apparent. Take for example the traditional DSL and Cable networks most of us use for wired internet service.
While you may pay for a given advertised speed, whether or not you actually see those speeds has less to do with the connection type and more oftentimes to do with how it has been implemented. In the case of DSL for instance, whether or not you can experience your advertised speed reliably depends on how many other customers are routed through the same DSLAM, *AND* how good the backhaul connection from the DSLAM is to your providers internal network. The same thing occurs with Cable and how many customers are aggregated into a given areas HFC. Bottlenecks within cable and dsl infrastructures occur at different points (because they're architecturally different), but once your outside those infrastructures they both share the potential for having backhaul bottlenecks.
In my area cable is way the fastest connection option, and though I do not pay for the highest speed tier here (15/2, instead of the 10/1 I have), when 10/1 was the fastest tier I'd rarely actually see those speeds. Now I see those speeds reliably. Why? Well there are many factors that effect a network topology, but it's clear that in order to reasonably support 15/2, my cable provider had to make sure it's backhaul could actually handle the load, so it was likely updated to accommodate this.
Hope this clarifies things a bit.

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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.

So ??? is Tmobiles Hspa Network better than Sprints 4G Wimax ?

anyone know if tmobiles hspa is better than sprints wimax
By actual performance yes, but by technicality and service, that's not necessarily true.
What was nice about t-mobile hspa+ upgrade was they even sped up 3g service for regular 3g users. But their network is spotty unless you're in texas pretty much.
My friend with a t-mo TP2 never gets reliable speeds. Its always fluctuating. Idk about the G2 though with its hspa+
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I was under the impression that hspa+ requires certain hardware like wimax so the only phones that actually utalize the service are the g2 and mytouch 4g. Technically neither wimax nor hspa+ is really "4g" by the official definition, however, from what I've read, wimax is probably the closest we have right now. Hspa+ is an upgraded 3g network, like 3.5g. Both will run faster than 3g though so its more about what area you live in and the kind of coverage you get than which is faster. I know sprint doesn't have coverage in a lot of areas, but I'm not sure about tmobiles network.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Yes and no..the reason why wimax right now is that speed is because sprint is only running it in 10mhz of spectrum..if they run it in larger mhz it will be faster...
overall though while HSPA+ on t-mobile you might get faster speeds it will diminish greatly..HSPA+ is not as efficient as wimax, thus cannot support as many simultaneous users as wimax can.
And yes HSPA+ upgrade should offer some benefit to HSPDA devices as well even if they cannot utilize the HSPA+ speeds..
Wimax is also suppose to offer lower latencies...but I don't know if that can be seen or not..I do get around 100ms when I test which isn't too bad...but some got a lot higher...
The great thing about hspa+ and hsdpa is that the switch is made without affecting the user. There's no need to turn anything on or off and there's no message popping up in your taskbar. You can go from GPRS to EDGE to UMTS to HSDPA to HSPA+ or any combination of the 5 without doing anything. Your internet just gets faster or slower depending on where you are. Tmo has good building penetration and MUCH faster speeds than any other network today.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Herd sprint is leasing the 4g curently for verizon and tmoible(gsm cdma) I don't care its what I was told. As far as speed? Id like to see 4g at all.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
i have the g2, on my epic in my area i would get 2.2-2.4 Mbps on tmo in same area i get a much larger coverage of the hsdpa speeds and i get about 3.5-5.0Mbps down. i have yet to see hspa+ in my about phone but i do get faster speeds with tmo.
the thing i like is its using the same radio so i get the increased speeds without loss of battery unlike wimax
Shadomastr said:
I was under the impression that hspa+ requires certain hardware like wimax so the only phones that actually utalize the service are the g2 and mytouch 4g. Technically neither wimax nor hspa+ is really "4g" by the official definition, however, from what I've read, wimax is probably the closest we have right now. Hspa+ is an upgraded 3g network, like 3.5g. Both will run faster than 3g though so its more about what area you live in and the kind of coverage you get than which is faster. I know sprint doesn't have coverage in a lot of areas, but I'm not sure about tmobiles network.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
+1 for mentioning the truth of 4g!
I loved my G1 with its internet speeds and voice reception when I lived in New England and its speed kicked the **** out of Spring 4g service but when I moved out to the midwest I couldn't get 3g barely anywhere yet alone HSPA+ and Sprint is much better overall out here. So pretty much its better as long as you live in a highly populated area that they deem is worthy for their service.
I had the G2 but due to my house being in a t-mobile black hole I decided to switch to sprint.
I live/work in an area that has both HSPA+ and Wimax and in the areas that I had a strong signal, HSPA+ would d/l at 2-6Mbps and with Wimax I average 4-5Mbps.
For me, T-mobiles coverage was spotty. Sprints has been much better.
As for the ease of switching between networks, I had a really hard time with t-mobile staying on HSPA+ even when there was a decent signal. It was much more prone to staying on the slower 3G network unless I manually forced it to stay on HSPA+
IMO, Long term, since Wimax and LTE will be the prevailing technologies, T-mobile will most likely be changing their network over at some point. HSPA+ is just helping them to buy some time so they don't fall to far behind in the carrier data race.
It all depends on what market you are in. I live in the midwest and TMobile coverage sucks all around. ATT isn't much better. ATT still doesn't even have 3G in the city I live in, which is only 10 miles north of the biggest metro area in the state. (I laugh at my one buddy who has an iPhone) It's basically Sprint, Verizon or US Cellular if you want quality coverage here.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
shabbypenguin said:
i have the g2, on my epic in my area i would get 2.2-2.4 Mbps on tmo in same area i get a much larger coverage of the hsdpa speeds and i get about 3.5-5.0Mbps down. i have yet to see hspa+ in my about phone but i do get faster speeds with tmo.
the thing i like is its using the same radio so i get the increased speeds without loss of battery unlike wimax
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I'm not sure what your 4g signal is where you live, but even in Denver, where 4g isn't official yet, i get anywhere from 4-9 Mbps. Then again, it isn't Live yet, so it could go down as more people start using the 4g service.
bighuta said:
I'm not sure what your 4g signal is where you live, but even in Denver, where 4g isn't official yet, i get anywhere from 4-9 Mbps. Then again, it isn't Live yet, so it could go down as more people start using the 4g service.
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Thats about what I get here in Baltimore and we had WiMax first. I average about 6-7 Mbps inside my house
Funny, I live in philadephia, pa area. I have epic, 2 of my friends have tmobile {hd2 and tmobile gs phone}.
I get 2-4 mbps, they get 3-4, shockingly their upload is better as well. Seems their faster coverage is better on the outer areas of my 4g coverage and get it where I can not sometimes[suburbs and south nj]
Sent from my Epic 4g powered by EE Froyo, Emotionless Beast themed!
Sprint wimax seems pretty useless here in san francisco. It gets pretty good data rates when it works but you pretty much have to be outdoors in the open. The main problem though is that it's very spotty and every time it falls back to 3g or switches back up to 4g there's no connectivity AT ALL for at least 30 seconds or so, which makes it more or less unusable. I just leave it turned off. Also the battery doesn't even last half a day with it enabled.
One problem I've noticed w/Sprint 4G in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale -- your connection drops & IP address changes whenever you 1)get ip lease from a tower, then 2)move somewhere more than 1 tower-hop away into a new tower's area with 3 bars of signal strength.
The moment you hit 3 bars, the connection drops to release your ip address back to the first tower... but the phone will have no connectivity at all for a few seconds, and won't try to reconnect to 4g for a few minutes unless you manually toggle 4g off & on to force an immediate reconnect.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

[Q] WiMAX vs. Hspa+

I know that Hspa+ is just a "faux"-g network, it's not even close to the ITU specifications, but I thought hspa+ would be able to go neck, and neck with WiMAX. I was wrong.
Perhaps I am being stupid, and back-haul hasn't actually increased yet, but I was just disappointed when I did a speedtest.
While WiMAX constantly gave me 6mbps/1mbps, and even peaked at 7mbps/1mbps, hspa+ only gave me 4.5mbps to 5.5mbps down, and the upload was horrendous, it was like 256k!
Fortunately the ping on the evo and atrix were both good. To a local server they got around 150- 200 ms.
But really, I expected higher than 5.5/.256 from Hspa+. It's not even close to WiMAX, which was the first 4g technology.
Is anyone else experiencing these terrible "4"g speeds?
in los angeles, the highest i've ever seen is 3.2 Mbps. consider yourself lucky.
have they rolled out backhaul to you yet?
i'm guessing not, although their coverage map says otherwise. it doesn't matter where in LA.... LAX, downtown, west LA, hollywood, east LA. max i've seen is 3.2 with average 1-1.5 Mbps.
dLo GSR said:
i'm guessing not, although their coverage map says otherwise. it doesn't matter where in LA.... LAX, downtown, west LA, hollywood, east LA. max i've seen is 3.2 with average 1-1.5 Mbps.
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idk about la but i have seen a max of 5.7 mbps down here in downtown phx on my atrix
and i attached proof
brian2220 said:
idk about la but i have seen a max of 5.7 mbps down here in downtown phx on my atrix
and i attached proof
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That's INSANE!!!!
My best:
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2605/20090206010.jpg
Note how my wifi scores lower than 4g.
im getting 3.5 down on a captivate that doesnt even support hspa+, the speeds will pick up, the HSPA+ tech is able to get to 14.4 eventually, so be patient, eventually ATT will have up to 21.6 on 3G, but no device supports better than 14.4 currently
The HSUPA+ (upload) threshold is supposed to be 5.76, so you figure that will be even higher also.
The speed is coming, the devices are just ahead of the network right now, and before you blame ATT, look around, when it comes to speed nobody else even compares, WiMax is a dead tech, LTE is the way of the future. Its like having a HD DVD player, it didn't win as the main standard.
rodimus_prime said:
im getting 3.5 down on a captivate that doesnt even support hspa+, the speeds will pick up, the HSPA+ tech is able to get to 14.4 eventually, so be patient, eventually ATT will have up to 21.6 on 3G, but no device supports better than 14.4 currently
The HSUPA+ (upload) threshold is supposed to be 5.76, so you figure that will be even higher also.
The speed is coming, the devices are just ahead of the network right now, and before you blame ATT, look around, when it comes to speed nobody else even compares, WiMax is a dead tech, LTE is the way of the future. Its like having a HD DVD player, it didn't win as the main standard.
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Click to collapse
the captivate is capable of 7.2 hspa+ and if im not mistake a software upgrade would bring it to 14 if not the 21 eventually course youll never see that update
AT&T haven't switched it on yet. Chill out and wait.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
I just switched from Sprint to AT&T and I for one will tell you that data service with AT&T has consistently been better in my case.
I am not in a WiMax area (neither are the majority of Sprint customers) and I can say that AT&T's 3g absolutely destroys Sprints 3g service. I used to average around 750 down and 400 or so up with Sprint at home and work. Now I average over 2500 down and 300 or so up. I actually still have my Sprint activated and can say that I have noted this trend over the course of a month. Now that I am confident that AT&T service is going to work out for me, I am terminating my Sprint account.
Yes, my upload took a minor hit, but for daily phone use, my download has more than made up for that. I can only hope that when AT&T actually activates their true HSPA+ backhaul, I see the same improvement.
rodimus_prime said:
im getting 3.5 down on a captivate that doesnt even support hspa+, the speeds will pick up, the HSPA+ tech is able to get to 14.4 eventually, so be patient, eventually ATT will have up to 21.6 on 3G, but no device supports better than 14.4 currently
The HSUPA+ (upload) threshold is supposed to be 5.76, so you figure that will be even higher also.
The speed is coming, the devices are just ahead of the network right now, and before you blame ATT, look around, when it comes to speed nobody else even compares, WiMax is a dead tech, LTE is the way of the future. Its like having a HD DVD player, it didn't win as the main standard.
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Click to collapse
Actually, I don't think AT&T has ever said what their HSPA+ speeds are SUPPOSED to be. T-Mobile has said theirs is 21 Mbps, I'd assume AT&T is probably the same, but like you said, they don't have any phones that do more than 14 Mbps right now. The SGS2 will have HSDPA 21 Mbps support. But of course, regardless of what they are CAPABLE of, when was the last time you saw a cell company in the US offer as much speed as their spec allowed?
shoefly said:
the captivate is capable of 7.2 hspa+ and if im not mistake a software upgrade would bring it to 14 if not the 21 eventually course youll never see that update
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Click to collapse
The Captivate doesn't have HSPA+, it has HSPA, and you're correct that it's 7.2 Mbps. Actually, HSPA allows downlink speeds of up to 14.4 Mbps, but I'm pretty sure AT&T had only deployed 7.2 for their HSPA, and the Captivate only supports 7.2. Not sure if that's even software upgradeable or if it's limited by the radio hardware.
Actually, I'm curious if the HSPA+ upgrade automatically upgrades the speed of HSPA to 14.4 as well. Even if it does they'll probably lock the speeds lower so they can make sure only their HSPA+ phones get faster service. It's not like they are going to give us 14.4 Mbps on HSPA+ anyway. (At least I doubt they will)
OK, I found ATT's Statement on expected speeds:
"Question:
Just how fast is AT&T 4G?
Answer:
With enhanced backhaul AT&T is seeing network speeds up to approximately 6 Mbps. Actual speeds experienced will vary and depend on several factors, including location, device, environment, and capacity. LTE is expected to deliver even faster speeds.
Note: 4G speeds require a 4G device and are delivered when HSPA+ technology is combined with enhanced backhaul. 4G speeds are available in select cities with availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. For information on currently available 4G markets, see 4G Speed from AT&T and select the Coverage map."
Source: http://www.wireless.att.com/answer-...locale=&_dyncharset=UTF-8&solutionId=KB115947
6Mbps is pathetic for pseudo 4G. I've seen regular 3G (HSPA) devices do just as good.
If that's the best their "enhanced backhaul" can provide on HSPA+, their LTE service will be a joke too.
my friend gets 9 Mbps download and .6 Mbps upload on his G2 here in Minneapolis. i get 5 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps Upload on my iPhone 4.
you know if HSUPA is finely tuned, it can reach speeds VERY close to LTE. I don't understand what the complaining is all about. For them to fully roll out the "4G" network; it will take them the entire year, also with the acquisition of T-Mobile, we will definitely see improvements later on. Just give it some time, we'll see significant speed improvements my guess by Q3.
done12many2 said:
I just switched from Sprint to AT&T and I for one will tell you that data service with AT&T has consistently been better in my case.
I am not in a WiMax area (neither are the majority of Sprint customers) and I can say that AT&T's 3g absolutely destroys Sprints 3g service. I used to average around 750 down and 400 or so up with Sprint at home and work. Now I average over 2500 down and 300 or so up. I actually still have my Sprint activated and can say that I have noted this trend over the course of a month. Now that I am confident that AT&T service is going to work out for me, I am terminating my Sprint account.
Yes, my upload took a minor hit, but for daily phone use, my download has more than made up for that. I can only hope that when AT&T actually activates their true HSPA+ backhaul, I see the same improvement.
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I have a buddy with an EVO 50 miles from Philly and does not have 4G. He has paid that additional $10 to get it and can't. His download speeds are horrendous on 3g(600mbps).
In Miami I'm getting 7-9 down and 1-2 up
My highest was 7167 upload so far here in so cal

What do you prefer and why 4G Late or 42+hspa

Which service is best...
Sent from my HTC Sensation
It probably depends on the area. DC-HSPA on T-Mobile actually runs faster than Verizon LTE in some areas just because Verizon doesn't open it up enough or have enough capacity or something. The nice part is that DC-HSPA is really just a fast 3G, so even if your phone only hits 14.4 HSPA, it still goes pretty fast. T-Mobile will deploy LTE next year and if that has problems it will have DC-HSPA as a fallback.
I have T-mobile and I easily get 22mbps down, 2mbps up. My husband has Verizon and he gets 23mbps down, 7mbps up. The downlink speeds are comparable. The only difference is in the uplink speeds. Verizon has the edge here. However, I have used both phones side by side and for most tasks, there isn't a huge difference.
Snowflake approved this message....
4G Late?
4G LTE
-Destroys Battery life
-Sales Gimmick
4G HSPA+
-Fast enough
-Better battery life
Can anybody really distinguish, with the naked eye, which is faster? Whose testing website is really accurate? Besides bragging rights and marketing fanfare, does it make any difference?
Hi guys,
I do not need LTE due to those facts:
1) HSDPA is fast enough.
2) in common cell phone contracts over here in Germany your speed is reduced to 64kbit after you used up 300mb per month. If I had more than that we could talk about LTE.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda app-developers app
Looneytoon98 said:
Can anybody really distinguish, with the naked eye, which is faster? Whose testing website is really accurate? Besides bragging rights and marketing fanfare, does it make any difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope.
Snowflake approved this message
LTE plans here are more expensive. That's a good reason.
Sent from my XT883 using xda app-developers app
LTE not Late
Mesaman2012 said:
Which service is best...
Sent from my HTC Sensation
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Click to collapse
FYI there is no "Late 4G", it is called "LTE". Actually there are two types of 4G; LTE and WiMax.
LTE was first used by Verizon, but is now also used by ATT. Due to marketing "schemes" some believe the Apple iPhone 5 has 4g. False! it has HSPA+, not 4G/ Sure, HSPA+ is a ton faster than 3g, but it is still not 4G.
Sprint, and T-Mobile are now also starting to use LTE. Unfortunately I don't believe LTE is standard worldwide, meaning they use different frequency bands. Similar to how a GSM american phone, may or may not work in Europe
I'm sorry that I ever put up such a topic would you ladies and gentlemen please not respond to this stupid topic.I would like to apologize for spamming the thread with this ignorant topic. Takecare
Sent from my HTC one x
Either way, we won't be hitting 4G for another 5/10 years. Although, I can't imagine why the hell a phone needs 1Gbps down and 100Mbps up. Maybe 30 years from now those speeds will be standard.
LTE and WiMax are still 3G. They're marketed as 4G (read: FauxG). They're really 3.9G.
Only LTE-Advanced is a certified 4G tech. All the others are still 3G
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
times_infinity said:
LTE and WiMax are still 3G. They're marketed as 4G (read: FauxG). They're really 3.9G.
Only LTE-Advanced is a certified 4G tech. All the others are still 3G
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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Click to collapse
I know that was the case originally, but it's my understanding that the group behind the 4G standards was pushed enough to bend what it qualifies as 4G. Originally 4G was when you had a minimum of 100Mbps download, but now HSPA+, WiMax, and LTE are all considered 4G technologies.
geoff5093 said:
I know that was the case originally, but it's my understanding that the group behind the 4G standards was pushed enough to bend what it qualifies as 4G. Originally 4G was when you had a minimum of 100Mbps download, but now HSPA+, WiMax, and LTE are all considered 4G technologies.
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Click to collapse
By name only. The carriers cried and whined for it, so the ITU caved. It's STILL "faux G" as far as many people are concerned.
Call it whatever you want. It doesn't change the fact that it's still technically based on an older technology.
Snowflake approved this message....
Would prefer HSPA than 4G. On 4G, it's really a battery eater. However, the highest HSPA speed I've gotten was around 3mbps and around 1-2mbps upload compared to 30-45mbps download and ~20-30mbps upload.
Normally the HSPA speeds is almost the same as running on GPRS during peak hours until the three local telco was fined for providing below standard data speeds/coverage then it managed to peak around 4-5.
Clubbysupercharged said:
Would prefer HSPA than 4G. On 4G, it's really a battery eater. However, the highest HSPA speed I've gotten was around 3mbps and around 1-2mbps upload compared to 30-45mbps download and ~20-30mbps upload.
Normally the HSPA speeds is almost the same as running on GPRS during peak hours until the three local telco was fined for providing below standard data speeds/coverage then it managed to peak around 4-5.
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Click to collapse
That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.
MrObvious said:
That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.
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Click to collapse
Or his location (or the hardware limitation of the handset)
Hickory, Dickory, Dox...Snowflake approves of my HOX....
MrObvious said:
That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, that's my carrier problem. Their HSPA speeds is really pathetic.
Thanks for sharing
LTE>HSPA+
My best friend bought the black Iphone five (64 gig) when he came down to Jax, and in town, we compared our speed test results.
Iphone five (lte on at&t) first test- 68 mbps down/16 mbps up
Htc Amaze (faux g) best result that day-23mbps down/3 mbps up
So, strictly speed wise, he consistently was able to pull high 60's down, while my phone that theoretically can hit 42 mbps, never reached 30's. So it seems that location is an important factor, but none the less, I cant kid myself, I rooted my phone and changed the values in the build.prop file to command the phone to max out the radio, while his was straight out of the box. Imagine if he were to jailbreak that monster, its capable of 80 mbps down. The only problem is that his screen is smaller than mine, and he has some crappy plan that wont let him tether, as oposed to us, we can hack out phones to utilize our signal on something easier on the eyes.
Now bear in mind, I am just commenting on data speed, and he is back in Greensboro, North Carolina, and he only gets 20mbps down at best. Then again, 20 mbps down would be my phone on a good day in the middle of the night.

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