I have a Novotel 4510l mifi device with Verizon which I use with my ipad 2. I use it daily to connect to my iMac using Splashtop remote desktop. The performance is great via 4G with this setup. Using my friend's new iPad with 4G in the same location demonstrates noticeable lag within Splashtop when connecting to the same iMac. Basic network tests on the new 4G iPad show slightly faster upload and download speeds with slightly lower ping times than the iPad 2 + mifi device. What could be causing this worse performance with the 4G iPad?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
4G iPad 3 slower than iPad 2 + mifi
- Thread starter citivolus
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
3 Questions
What carrier is you friend's iPad on?
Was your friend's iPad connected via 4G or 4G LTE?
Was your Novatel MiFi connected via 4G or 4G LTE?
I'm guessing the reception might be stronger on a dedicated MiFi that doesn't have to deal with signal attenuation from being held.
I don't think so because the upload/download speeds were faster on the new iPad than the mifi and the ping time was also lower. There's got to be another network dimension that affects performance in Splashtop.
Maybe the difference in resolution? I don't use Splashtop and don't know too much about the specific app, but maybe if it supports Retina, then the network has to push more pixels through to the new iPad vs. the iPad 2. That's just a guess though.
Something you can try to rule out network, setup iPad as a hotspot and see if the iPad 2 on splash top lags connecting via the new iPad instead of the mifi device.
Whorehay nailed it.
Resolution indeed is the issue. Try connecting with the ipad3 using wifi through your mifi, and see if the performance is laggy like when the ipad3 connects directly.
Bet it is.
Do you have an option to adjust the resolution on the desktop when connecting (I use LogMeIn, so I don't know).
Set the desktop up with 1024x768 resolution, and connect with his ipad3. Bet now it has the same performance as your iPad 2 with mifi.
Think about it; same connection speed, iPad3 is getting 4 times the pixels pushed through. So of course it is laggy.
Great suggestions, but unfortunately they are wrong. As another test, I went to a Verizon store with my ipad 2 and MiFi. I set up the new iPad on display in the store as a hotspot and connected to it with my ipad 2. Then I fired up Splashtop on my ipad 2 and connected to my iMac at home and experienced major lag. I disconnected, switched the wifi connection on my ipad 2 from the hotspot to the Mifi, reconnected in Splashtop, and performance was significantly better. That focuses the issue squarely on the Verizon LTE radio in the new iPad. But what is the underlying root cause? I really wanted to switch to the new iPad but until I get to the bottom of this I cannot.