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haroldo
join:2004-01-16
USA

haroldo

Member

[iPhone] Is the 4S Internet speed faster (NJ)?

I use the iPhone 4 in the northern NJ area with Verizon and the 3G speeds aren't very fast. I've seen a lot of articles on LTE and 4G, etc., but want to know from real life experience, is the 4S (Verizon) faster than the 4, in this area? Is AT&T quick with the 4S?
Thanks!

HiVolt
Premium Member
join:2000-12-28
Toronto, ON

HiVolt

Premium Member

Just wait till iPhone 5 with LTE. Thats where the true speed is. Verizon's EVDO is old and crap, and AT&T's HSPA+ is a bit better but not much.

For what it's worth, it all depends on the load on the cell towers in your area... I still have my iPhone 4, and it's HSPA radio allows for 7.2mbps down and 5.76mbps up.

In my city of Toronto, I usually see around 2mbps, unless I'm closer to a tower.

But at my cottage, I've gotten 6.5mbps down and 5mbps up, because there are less people there...

owlyn
MVM
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
Netgear CM2050V
Netgear RBRE960
Netgear RBSE960

owlyn to haroldo

MVM

to haroldo
On my 4s, I average about 3 down and 1 up, but I've been as high as 7 down and 1.75 up. I've also been as low as .25 down, but that is at work where I have a poor signal in a crowded downtown area (lots of demand on the towers).

Except for the work location (and the inevitable dead spots here and there), I am quite happy with the speed for browsing and even for streaming music and the occasional video. It feels faster than the speeds I mentioned

Thinkdiff
MVM,
join:2001-08-07
Bronx, NY

Thinkdiff to haroldo

MVM,

to haroldo
The Verizon iPhone 4S will almost definitely be slower than your AT&T iPhone 4. Verizon's EVDO maxes out around 1Mbps real world. AT&T 3G is anywhere from 1-3Mbps.

That being said, if AT&T service really sucks in your area then it's possible VZ would be faster just because your signal strength is much better, but you'd have to pay attention to how many bars you're getting when it feels slow.

If you get an AT&T iPhone 4S, it will support HSDPA+, which allows up to 6Mbps real world if your area supports it.

»www.wireless.att.com/cov ··· ype=data
It looks like nearly all of NJ has HSDPA+.

Elite
Kiss My Ass
join:2002-10-03
New Haven, CT
Synology RT2600ac
TP-Link TC-7650
ARRIS SB8200

Elite to haroldo

Member

to haroldo
The 4S, when used with AT&T, supports HSDPA 14.4Mbit and HSUPA at 5.76Mbit.

My best speed test ever over 3G was about 7Mbit down and 3Mbit up, but I think there's some kind of algorithmic bug in the iOS speedtest.net App since iOS 5 regarding upstream measurement... I ought to contact the devs...

Anyhow, my "real world" tests with 3G usually translate to about 4Mbit down... and to the best of my knowledge, about 1.1Mbit up.

The 4S, when used on Verizon's EV-DO Rev. A network, is limited to 3.1Mbit down and 1.8Mbit up. But I haven't a clue how the phone actually performs on their network as I do not have a Verizon service plan.

For the curious, Sprint also uses CDMA, and likely EV-DO Rev. A.

Lastly, I think AT&T spouted some press nonsense claiming nearly all their 3G markets can push 7.2 or 14.4Mbit HSDPA. Obviously, this should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx to haroldo

Premium Member

to haroldo

Verizon's EVDO is old and crap, and AT&T's HSPA+ is a bit better but not much.

I disagree. Around here I'm lucky to get a Verizon EVDO speed test above 500kbps. Speed tests with AT&T are regularly in the 5-7mbps range, which is perfectly fine for mobile browsing.

I have both a Verizon iPad and an AT&T iPhone, so I can compare them readily.

The conclusion is the same though - Stay the hell away from Verizon until there's an LTE iPhone.

WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state

WK2 to haroldo

Premium Member

to haroldo
Verizon= Great call reception, terrible data speeds (in my experience)

ATT= Not so great call reception, much better data
DarkSithPro (banned)
join:2005-02-12
Tempe, AZ

DarkSithPro (banned) to haroldo

Member

to haroldo
An LTE phone with a 2-4 GB monthly limit. Makes a lot of sense, LOL!