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snarestud940

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 3, 2012
516
28
My friend and I took speed tests on our phones from the exact same location. I have the iPhone 5 running on Tmobile and he has the iPhone 4 running on Verizon. I was totally shocked at the difference in download speeds. Is this common for Verizon?
 

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Zmanbaseball2

macrumors 68040
Aug 24, 2012
3,542
11
New York, USA
My friend and I took speed tests on our phones from the exact same location. I have the iPhone 5 running on Tmobile and he has the iPhone 4 running on Verizon. I was totally shocked at the difference in download speeds. Is this common for Verizon?

I think Verizon has faster speeds than all the carriers and better coverage IMO
 

Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,120
10,106
My friend and I took speed tests on our phones from the exact same location. I have the iPhone 5 running on Tmobile and he has the iPhone 4 running on Verizon. I was totally shocked at the difference in download speeds. Is this common for Verizon?

You posted a picture of your T-Mo iPhone speed test, not Verizon, so we have no idea what speeds he is getting.

But to answer your question without seeing the speeds, Verizon 3G is very, very slow. On average my friend was getting 1Mbps down on a good day, while I was getting 4Mbps down on AT&T 3G. True AT&T 3G, not HSPA.

CMDA is very good for voice, but horrible for data.

EDIT: Yes, that is typical for what I have seen for a Verizon phone over 3G, all phones. Not just the iPhone.
 

MVRL

macrumors regular
Oct 17, 2011
247
0
coverage, area, technology

just some things to think about
 

aristobrat

macrumors G5
Oct 14, 2005
12,292
1,403
Sorry. Here's the Verizon one too.
In my area (the largest metro area in Virginia), Verizon 3G rarely breaks 500-750kbps, which is actually a little slower than what you friend got.

Verizon doesn't have that middle-tier "4G" data speed like AT&T and T-Mobile do. With Verizon, it's either 3G or LTE. AT&T and T-Mobile have 3G, LTE, and a speed in-between the two that they call 4G, which pisses a lot of people off, since it's sort of a made up term. Call it 4G or whatever, but as you're currently demonstrating, it's not LTE, but it sure the heck isn't 3G either.

I've been using Verizon LTE here since the iPad 3 came out about a year ago, and it's steadily decreased from 15-20 Mpbs down to 3-7 Mpbs.

In most of the areas I use Verizon LTE, AT&T's 4G network is faster. :confused:

The speed of AT&T's LTE network here absolutely creams Verizon.

Verizon also hasn't seemed to started backfilling LTE coverage here. Two years later, the same spots that had crappy 1-2 bar LTE coverage still have crappy 1-2 bar LTE coverage. These spots are where their LTE speeds drop to 1-3 Mbps. :mad:

The only reason I'm staying with Verizon is because they will unlock my phone when I travel overseas (or not lock it in the first place, in the case of the iPhone 5). AT&T won't do that. Plus, Verizon lets me do a Share plan with family members that are out of state. AT&T can't do that.
 

Jades

macrumors 6502
Oct 15, 2012
317
51
My friend and I took speed tests on our phones from the exact same location. I have the iPhone 5 running on Tmobile and he has the iPhone 4 running on Verizon. I was totally shocked at the difference in download speeds. Is this common for Verizon?

You call that bad? Hahaha you make me laugh
Look at these in NYC

They're a few weeks old but if I get the chance to run recent tests, it would be the same or worse
 

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Mlrollin91

macrumors G5
Nov 20, 2008
14,120
10,106
You call that bad? Hahaha you make me laugh
Look at these in NYC

They're a few weeks old but if I get the chance to run recent tests, it would be the same or worse

I think those speeds (mainly the last one) are slower than GPRS data speeds, let alone LTE!
 

CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,452
1,243
Charlotte, NC
Verizon 3G is pretty slow. Always been that way since they're CDMA. It's one of the reasons they built out their LTE network so aggressively. Then when it comes to LTE they are pretty good from my experience. Usually used to get around 15-25 down with them. AT&T seems to have the overall fastest LTE speeds though.
 

E2EK1EL

macrumors 6502
Nov 19, 2012
493
8
my friend and i took speed tests on our phones from the exact same location. I have the iphone 5 running on tmobile and he has the iphone 4 running on verizon. I was totally shocked at the difference in download speeds. Is this common for verizon?

ymmv
 

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maxosx

macrumors 68020
Dec 13, 2012
2,385
1
Southern California
I think Verizon has faster speeds than all the carriers and better coverage IMO
That's an opinion based on guesswork. And I'm _not_ being critical of you. It's just a fact. All carriers have both strong and weak areas.

The basic rule when buying coverage is to identify which carrier is the best in _your_ area, then choose the phone you wish to buy.

That's how AT&T bashing got started. Apple forced anyone who wanted an iPhone to go with AT&T.

Not one single carrier anywhere in the USA has perfectly good coverage in all geographic areas.

Just a fact of how cellular systems operate.

I expect a lot of people to argue this, denial runs rampant, but those experienced and knowledgeable have accepted cellular system characteristics.
 

snarestud940

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 3, 2012
516
28
I was just purely shocked that for the carrier with the most customers, the speeds were that low. I've been on T-Mobile ever since they were VoiceStream. And I never had a problem with any speeds as far as my smart phones or regular phones. I was just utterly shocked at how slow the Verizon speed was. Granted it was on an iPhone 4. But still, I thought that was way slow!
 

mittencuh

macrumors regular
Nov 4, 2012
146
192
Colorado Springs
I was just purely shocked that for the carrier with the most customers, the speeds were that low. I've been on T-Mobile ever since they were VoiceStream. And I never had a problem with any speeds as far as my smart phones or regular phones. I was just utterly shocked at how slow the Verizon speed was. Granted it was on an iPhone 4. But still, I thought that was way slow!

I don't think you realize that the iPhone 4 on any carrier lacks CDMA. Even if it's on AT&T, you're only going to max out at a theoretical 5.75mbps. In my use, with a 4 and 4S on Verizon, I've gotten as high as 1.43mbps down and I average probably around 900mbps. Obviously on the Verizon iPhone 5 you'll be on LTE... cruising much more quickly. Which LTE network is faster just depends on where you are. For example, in Denver AT&T's LTE is barely faster than HSPA+, but in Seattle, I've seen over 50mbps. Same thing can happen with VZW.
 

dictoresno

macrumors 601
Apr 30, 2012
4,495
631
NJ
I was just purely shocked that for the carrier with the most customers, the speeds were that low. I've been on T-Mobile ever since they were VoiceStream. And I never had a problem with any speeds as far as my smart phones or regular phones. I was just utterly shocked at how slow the Verizon speed was. Granted it was on an iPhone 4. But still, I thought that was way slow!

CDMA EV-DO rev B is slow, theres no doubt about it. youre comparing apples to oranges and judging verizons network as a whole, based off some crummy 3G speeds. their LTE will, for the most part, blow the doors off of other carriers speeds in most areas. i see anywhere between 25-48mbps down on LTE around here. i would compare EV-DO to GSM's EDGE more than i would GSM's 3G speeds.

one of the reasons i was hesitant about leaving AT&T for verizon was because with verizon you have two speeds.....EVDO (slow) and LTE (fast). at least with at&t or t-mobile, you have in-between speeds like 3G, HSPA, HSPA+. these fill the gaps and give you decent speeds when not on EDGE or LTE. us verizon people dont have that. its simply a limitation of CDMA from a technology standpoint, not necessarily "verizon". it will all end soon once all carriers completely adopt LTE as the new standard. eventually CDMA, iDEN (if it hasnt already) and probably GSM, will end up just like TDMA and analog. they will be phased out and shut down. i dont know why verizon chose to be different and choose CDMA anyway, considering the other 85% of the world uses GSM. CDMA has alot of shortcomings, which is why im thankful they are finally migrating away from it.
 
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