Database Users

3G Speed issues - Vibrant vs Nexus One

I have had the Vibrant for about a week, and love it dearly despite its shortcomings. I have noticed the data speeds and connectivity are in no way related to the amount of bars of service showing, except when it drops to EDGE (which it seems to do an seemingly random times).
I ran the Speedtest.net app about 20 times in different settings, many one right after another without holding the phone. The speeds fluctuate so wildly I can't describe it.
Sometimes I get DL speeds of 100kbs and upload speeds of over 2mbs in the same test, and everywhere in between.
The Nexus one fluctuates a little bit, but no where near this. N1 is on CM6.
This sucks because sometimes for example I'll click the news widgets story, and the webpage will not load even with full 3g service.
And yes, I can stop the speedtest completely by covering the antennae bump with my finger.
Any Ideas?
I also suffer from very spotty GPS functionality, even after the fix. I am not able to root this phone the standard way, tried over 20 times to restart holding VOL up and down, never gets to recovery mode - have not tried adb yet. (I'm at work lol)

Have you done a factory reset on the Vibrant? You should if you haven't. Might solve this too but there is something you have to understand, bandwidth is shared on every tower. If 2 phones are downloading a 1GB file EVERYONE's speed will suffer on that tower. So make sure you're not doing them at the same time because it's not going to be accurate if you are doing them at the same time

Hmm interesting, and thanks for the response. I don't think two phones downloading a file at the same time should make a huge difference, I am in downtown New York City.
I usually kill all processes on an hourly basis usually to prevent lag. Should I not?
System restore from the recovery menu you mean?
I only did two concurrent tests on the N1 and my Vibrant - all others were done by itself.

heygrl said:
Have you done a factory reset on the Vibrant?
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i see this alot, i got my vibrant and rooteded but never done a factory reset... Im not having any issues, is there a reason i should look into this?

SuperMiguel said:
i see this alot, i got my vibrant and rooteded but never done a factory reset... Im not having any issues, is there a reason i should look into this?
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I factory reset every new phone. Just because.. been doing it since windows mobile... any problems factory reset helps so I just start from a factory reset. ...

Do you recommend a backup first? Like Titanium if I was rooted?

heygrl said:
Might solve this too but there is something you have to understand, bandwidth is shared on every tower. If 2 phones are downloading a 1GB file EVERYONE's speed will suffer on that tower. So make sure you're not doing them at the same time because it's not going to be accurate if you're doing them at different times.
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Umm, not necessarily. We don't know how big the internet pipeline for each tower is. The way GSM works though, is each tower only has a specific number of slots for phones that can be connected at one time. Kinda lile a QOS type thing. So each phone sorta has a dedicated pipeline while it's connected. That's just on the GSM switchboard, though. As far as I know the internet pipeline is shared. I'm not saying one way or another on speeds slowing when more people are online, just saying "don't jump to conclusions". Because if they engineered the internet pipeline the same way they engineered the GSM switchboard, then each phone might have it's own dedicated pipeline. Just saying.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Just did a factory reset, seems speedier already.
I used mIQ to sync because I wasnt able to root the phone for Titanium. Will report back.

gravis86 said:
Umm, not necessarily. We don't know how big the internet pipeline for each tower is. The way GSM works though, is each tower only has a specific number of slots for phones that can be connected at one time. Kinda lile a QOS type thing. So each phone sorta has a dedicated pipeline while it's connected. That's just on the GSM switchboard, though. As far as I know the internet pipeline is shared. I'm not saying one way or another on speeds slowing when more people are online, just saying "don't jump to conclusions". Because if they engineered the internet pipeline the same way they engineered the GSM switchboard, then each phone might have it's own dedicated pipeline. Just saying.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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3G is not GSM. Bandwidth on each and EVERY tower is a shared media. I know because I've done it myself. Two phones pitted against each other would always leave one phone slower than the other.
Also there is the possibility that the phones are each on a different tower.

heygrl said:
3G is not GSM. Bandwidth on each and EVERY tower is a shared media. I know because I've done it myself. Two phones pitted against each other would always leave one phone slower than the other.
Also there is the possibility that the phones are each on a different tower.
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True, 3G is a CDMA technology but I really doubt the pipeline is so small that two phones running a test would cause it to slow down. A more likely explanation would be that the radios in the two devices were interfering with each other, and suffered a slower data speed due to lower SNR.

unrelated to this, how do you guys get your speed test results to show on your signature?

temperbad said:
I factory reset every new phone. Just because.. been doing it since windows mobile... any problems factory reset helps so I just start from a factory reset. ...
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just learned that myself, for some reason my pinch to zoom was not smooth at all when loading certain websites it would be very choppy and such until I did a factory reset, now everything works perfectly. Also I think having a task killer is a must on this phone at times I can have 36 apps running at a time which makes for a laggy phone. I thought these phones had better self management systems. Guess not!

badaphooko01 said:
unrelated to this, how do you guys get your speed test results to show on your signature?
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Get the image of the speedtest result then [ img] picture link [ /img] ?
To get the image: Do a speedtest.. click Direct link when its done and bam.
But most likely since its T-MOBILE USA as the ISP.. they most likely tethered and did a speedtest on speedtest.net

badaphooko01 said:
unrelated to this, how do you guys get your speed test results to show on your signature?
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When you complete a test at Speedtest.net, it gives you a link to a picture of your results to post on forums and such.

PePPaZ said:
I have had the Vibrant for about a week, and love it dearly despite its shortcomings. I have noticed the data speeds and connectivity are in no way related to the amount of bars of service showing, except when it drops to EDGE (which it seems to do an seemingly random times).
I ran the Speedtest.net app about 20 times in different settings, many one right after another without holding the phone. The speeds fluctuate so wildly I can't describe it.
Sometimes I get DL speeds of 100kbs and upload speeds of over 2mbs in the same test, and everywhere in between.
The Nexus one fluctuates a little bit, but no where near this. N1 is on CM6.
This sucks because sometimes for example I'll click the news widgets story, and the webpage will not load even with full 3g service.
And yes, I can stop the speedtest completely by covering the antennae bump with my finger.
Any Ideas?
I also suffer from very spotty GPS functionality, even after the fix. I am not able to root this phone the standard way, tried over 20 times to restart holding VOL up and down, never gets to recovery mode - have not tried adb yet. (I'm at work lol)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing.
I will say though that speedtest.net is not very accurate and very buggy. I've experienced some of the same issues as you and have been using speedtest.net for a very long time.
I'm curious to know what the most accurate speed test site is out there.
Try: www.MobileSpeedTest.com
When doing the test, let the initial test finish, but scroll down and click on 2MB test to test it again. That should give you a pretty accurate result.

so there is no way to do it from the app itself?

badaphooko01 said:
so there is no way to do it from the app itself?
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Not that I know of. I looked for that option but couldn't find it.

i keep getting a "Missing Liscense Key" error at speedtest.net.

badaphooko01 said:
so there is no way to do it from the app itself?
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Could do a speedtest on the phone and take a screenshot of it on the phone if you REALLY REALLY wanted it but it wouldn't look very official lol.

badaphooko01 said:
so there is no way to do it from the app itself?
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Click to collapse
yes, go to the results tab then go to the specific test you want the results to. Then hit the menu button and click "email results", it will send you the same picture that the "direct link" would give you.

[Q] Low DL Speeds, Increased UL Speeds after DI18 Update...

Ever since I downloaded the new update (DI18) this morning, I cannot get good download speeds, but my upload speeds have greatly increased. Any ideas? Here is some proof...If someone could give me a clue of what the problem could be, that would be great.
I tried to insert the pictures of speedtest.net results, but since I'm new, it won't let me.
I've had crazy results like 97kbps down and 702kbps up?!?

my download has remained the same while the upload increased

Between 900 and 1200 down and 400 to 700 up depending on signal strength. I'm in the western suburbs of Chicago.
Sent from my Epic 4g

I had same problem, I rebooted the phone and all seems fixed now
Sent from my Epic 4G

All seems normal after OTA update, loving the increased upload speeds.

I was getting like 650s up and about the same or worse down. Very laggy net and things would time out frequently. 600 or 700 was the best down I could get even with full signal strength. I flashed the previous release and all went back to normal. Up was between 100 to 200 and down was 1.5 or better. I guess I prefer better down. I guess if when it gets pushed to me officially, and things act like that, I will go back to 06. Really looking forward to 2.2 and the improvements it offers.

Downstream speeds are exactly the same or better for me. My update was pushed OTA. Is everyone waiting for the GPS to resolve completely before testing? It seems to affect speed, this happened with my Evo, and seems to still be the case with the Epic.

Right now I'm getting 6.24 mpbs download and 1.13 upload on 4g is that good?
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

my download is always awful on 3g after the update.

J3ff said:
my download is always awful on 3g after the update.
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Dude why are you complaining this is by farrrr the best phone right now....and a few months down in developement imagine how much better it will be i still am in awwww with a 2.1 rom if you have so many complains take your phone back.

Didn't see any slow download speeds on my 3g are >1000 and uploads >150. So I'm fine over here. Go outside or somthing, this could deal with your location.
And even before this update my phone perfformed fine on all radios.(less upload of course)
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

II5StarII Swag said:
Dude why are you complaining this is by farrrr the best phone right now....and a few months down in developement imagine how much better it will be i still am in awwww with a 2.1 rom if you have so many complains take your phone back.
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Click to collapse
The guy asked a question.
My downloads since the update here at home on 3g has never been above 400k/sec
That's pretty weak isnt it?
Also my uploads since the fix have ALWAYS been faster! Which is neat, but man.

hmm maybe something is wrong with your phone bro if your getting that on 3g..didnt know it was that low

II5StarII Swag said:
hmm maybe something is wrong with your phone bro if your getting that on 3g..didnt know it was that low
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Click to collapse
Looks like I'm not the only one.
The pictures posted in this thread are exactly like what I'm seeing.
http://androidforums.com/samsung-ep...ds-increased-ul-speeds-after-di18-update.html

I just did a test w two bars of 3 g and dl speed was 400 and up speed 70 ? On wifi it was 600 dl and 147 up the update made my phone slower is that possible wtf
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

I just downloaded the speedtest net version and
got 550 dl and 250 upp and wifi 680d 450up

I get 500-1000 down consistently and up to 700 at times up.
I do remember pre update going over 1000 down was very common and pushing 2000 wasn't out of the question either.
While not complaining my downstream did take a hit but with the nature of networks and cell towers it could simply be not phone related. If it's the same a few weeks or so from now I would consider it phone related. (Unless someone can run side by side tests with another phone). 4G is still blazing fast though.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

I'm just wondering. Are you noticing slower download speeds or are you just going by the speed test programs?

You can tell the difference in just browsing. There used to be a not so dramatic difference between 3g down and 4g down. At work. 2000 down on 3g wasn't uncommon at all.. I get full bars here all day long on 3g. Just running a speed test on a server 12 miles away I got 649 down with full strength. Tried different server, the same. At home the results are worse. So yeah you can notice the difference between 500-1000 down(average is 700 with good signal) and 1000-2000 down without speed tests.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Let me add also. Speed tests down before the update the needle on the meter was fluid and smooth in movement. Now it seems to be rigid and make sudden jerky shifts in speed like there is some kind of random packet lose.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

Upload issues again?

Hey guys,
I know this was an issue on release, that was fixed, but now I notice (ec05 sfr, genocide latest) I'm having almost the same issues. Anyone else notice the upload test runs for half a second, stalls, moves a tad, stalls, and gets abysmal scores? Or is it just me. (No I haven't done a hard reset yet, that was my next plan. Just didn't wanna waste the time/effort if it was a known issue).
Sent from my pocket rocket

I have always had this issue on every epic rom I can remember. I don't know anything about it however...

3G speed tests have ALWAYS been twitchy and sporadic on the Epic. 4G looks like any normal speed test on a PC while 3G the needle looks like a feigning meth addict trying to hold a pen straight.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

While I agree they've always been wonky, I feel like it was much better back in 2.1 after the fix came out. I feel like it was never great but at least testable, and with results higher than 200kbps... maybe some devs could shine some light on the root cause of the problem? For that matter, anyone have better luck on the flakey gingerbread build that's been floating around?
Sent from my pocket rocket

Try the EB13 modem, or blame Sprint.

I have tried both EB13 and EC05 modems on SFR1.1 and did not notice a difference. I consistently get 80-150kbps upload speeds at home in front of an Airave (compared to 1600-1800 down). I can't really complain since my Epic is a pure "3G device." I did have it test at 600-800 at a Dunkin Donuts a few days ago which is a 1 in 100 shot it seems.

k0nane said:
Try the EB13 modem, or blame Sprint.
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Click to collapse
Lol, will try the eb13 modem, but I'm not trying to play a blame game. Just resolve an issue. And it's hard to blame sprint when I know I'm getting fairly good 3g down speeds (although my moms new thunderbolt has me seriously considering lte. 14 down 4 up...just waiting to see what happens when they roll out the caps...
Sent from my pocket rocket

[Q] HSPDA/3G Issue on ROMs, Radio Question

When I was on stock with my MT4G I stayed on HSPDA almost all the time. Now, after flashing, every ROM has trouble sticking to H and goes back and forth between that and 3g. This has been on GB sense, ICS Sense, ICS CM9, ICS MIUI, and ICS AOKP ROMs equally. (I was on stock for a good while as I didn't require root at the time)
After searching around I see signal strength and data speeds on 3g discussed with radios but not H not sticking and continually flipping. For all i know this isn't even a radio issue.
Anyone Experience the same issue?
Any suggestions for radios or other fixes?
This is extremely annoying as while it flips there is a pause in the data stream so it's almost worse than just having 3g. Any help is greatly appreciated.

This needs no fix. Unless forced otherwise by base station, 3G will be the default connectivity and it'll automatically switch to H whenever traffic is going back and forth. Perfectly normal and expected.
If you get drops to 3G while data is actively required - it means that baseband might be overloaded. In any case, this isn't your phone's fault.

Tested back with the the Stock ROM and I can confirm that it doesn't happen on stock.

Sounds too strange. GB Sense = stock ROM.

ShoelessRob said:
Tested back with the the Stock ROM and I can confirm that it doesn't happen on stock.
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Well, the stock ROM has crap battery life. Perhaps it tries to force HPSA+ too often, which looks good when you're staring at your status bar, but kills battery.
I'm probably wrong, but it is a thought.

To clarify the data so people with more knowledge than I have can have an objective look at it. On any ROM, including stock, I tend to stick with H during a continuous download for the most part. Occasionally it will drop to 3g which may be a tower issue like you were saying. At times where I have apps open for data use but not continuous file download, say, in the middle of browsing web pages.... Even as a web page is loading I get continuous flickering back and forth of 3g/H on multiple ROMs but not on stock.

ShoelessRob said:
To clarify the data so people with more knowledge than I have can have an objective look at it. On any ROM, including stock, I tend to stick with H during a continuous download for the most part. Occasionally it will drop to 3g which may be a tower issue like you were saying. At times where I have apps open for data use but not continuous file download, say, in the middle of browsing web pages.... Even as a web page is loading I get continuous flickering back and forth of 3g/H on multiple ROMs but not on stock.
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i get slow data speeds on custom roms around 1.5mb 1mb up. i tested my bros he gets around 18mb 7mb up. i tested my dads he has att 25 mb and 12 mb up

Soul817 said:
i get slow data speeds on custom roms around 1.5mb 1mb up. i tested my bros he gets around 18mb 7mb up. i tested my dads he has att 25 mb and 12 mb up
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What phones do they have?
Sent from my Dark JellyBellyG1 using xda app-developers app

THEindian said:
What phones do they have?
Sent from my Dark JellyBellyG1 using xda app-developers app
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This device is only capable of 14.4mbps on network. Whatever they have, it's not a glacier.
Sent from my HTC Glacier using xda app-developers app

i stay on 3g and never anything more during downloading, apps web browsing whatever. but as soon as i switch back to stock ruu as a test 4g all day everyday. wtf

Icons, icons. Nothing more than icons.
When will people understand...
Don't look at the damn icons, look at Settings/About/Status, and if you don't understand what's written there - measure speed with SpeedTest. That's it!

[Q] Terrible wifi; ROM or old tech?

So I recently got this tablet, rooted it, and installed the 4.3 nightlys (this ROM: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2413878)
I've been bringing it to work so I can just get things done faster reading e-mail and news without distracting during my breaks. At some point, I started to noticed how incredibly slow things loaded up such as trying to load articles from feedly as well as its videos. I later noticed that my wifi was only 2 bars. I figured it was enough but apparently it isn't as things just load up so bloody slow.
I decided to to download the app, Speed Test, into the tablet and found out I've been downloading at crappy speeds of 900-1100 kbps while my Samsung Galaxy S4, in the same area I'm testing the speed, is running at ridiculous speeds of 26-30 >mbps<.
I actually restore the tablet back to original stock and tested again and same deal. Has anyone got this problem? I'm leading to believe its old hardware which would be incredibly disappointing if that's the case... but maybe there's an update or fix for this terrible wifi?

Check your Advanced WiFi settings - disable 'WiFi optimisation' and see how that goes. Apparently it slows things down!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app

zaki0saad said:
Check your Advanced WiFi settings - disable 'WiFi optimisation' and see how that goes. Apparently it slows things down!
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda app-developers app
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I turned off and used it for a few days; same issue. Is there any other possibilities? Any patches or fixes for this? Because if it's really because of old tech, I'm going to sell this and try out Swappa to avoid eBay fees for such a disappointment.

Maybe you got a bad tablet mine off n router is way faster then that. Loads almost instantly
Sent from inside my mkv.

the router/modem combo that Time Warner gave me is junk, don't know what the hell is wrong with it
but other routers at my friends houses seem to do fine
so i'm guessing it's a hardware issue
im going to hook my d-link router up to the modem/router combo (if i can ever figure it out)
oh yeah, if anyone know how to do that (router to router) message me or something