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AT&T capping 3G upload speed in NYC (iPhone 4)

tapuach said:
With all due respect, the Boy Genius report is absolutely talking about a different issue. It speaks of intermittent 3g connectivity issues that vary from one test to the next. It also speaks of a 3gs next to a 4 without experiencing the same issues. That is absolutely NOT what is happening here. This is problem affecting (most likely) all phones (certainly all iPhones- i tested) and it seems to be on a city by city basis.
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If you've been following along, this issue started about a week ago. Most of us couldn't access the internet and if we could, the speeds were extremely slow. Now, some of us have noticed that the speed is slow by very consistent speed test results showing a upload speed that is seemingly capped at a pitiful 200kbs. Agree to disagree.
 
kajoob said:
If you've been following along, this issue started about a week ago. Most of us couldn't access the internet and if we could, the speeds were extremely slow. Now, some of us have noticed that the speed is slow by very consistent speed test results showing a upload speed that is seemingly capped at a pitiful 200kbs. Agree to disagree.
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Agree to disagree though the article specifically talks about an iphone 4 problem.

I will say that mine started July 3-4 with a 60kbit cap. It was sudden.
 
Just noticed this too, tried to email a video I took on July 4th in NYC and could not get it to send for the life of me. When I got home on the wifi worked flawless....WTF AT&T???

Edit: Don't if this was discussed before, but the cap is not limited to the iPhone as my iPad shows similar upload speeds.
 
tapuach said:
Agree to disagree though the article specifically talks about an iphone 4 problem.

I will say that mine started July 3-4 with a 60kbit cap. It was sudden.
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Yep, sudden for me too and right about the same time. I have a speed test from July 1 which shows 1600 kbps up (and every day prior to that), and then I have one on July 3 which shows 90 kbps (and every day subsequent to that). I didn't do any on July 2, so I'm not sure exactly when it started.

But as you said, it was sudden. And from all indications, it was deliberate. I mean, it's not like it is just one geographical area. It really does feel like there was a memo sent out to some or all of the markets telling them to institute this cap... and either maybe some of them just haven't gotten around to it yet, or maybe they are only targeting certain ones right now.

Does anyone know how something like this is handled technically? In a specific market, for example, is there a centralized facility or headend that controls the 3G data access in that area?
 
I test d/u speeds almost every day. I saw the upload speed drop to 100kbps or less beginning on July 1st.
 
This has been going on for a week in SE MI. Had about 900 up, then no datA for 3 days and now cannot get above 90k up.

Went the the genius bar yesterday, and tested the employee's 4 and a 3GS: all reported the same abysmal results. They also have th ATT repeaters in the store, so I really hope it is a network update; because I cannot live with these upload speeds.

I pay for unlimited data, not unlimited with a cap to assure me it will take forever to reach it.

Edit: one last thing...

Last eve I was at a relatives home where 2 of the kids had evo's (had never seen one).

I got my ass handed to me on data testing with Sprint. They were pulling 4m down and 1.3 up, I had 1.8 down and 78k up. I looked like a chump.
 
tigres said:
This has been going on for a week in SE MI. Had about 900 up, then no datA for 3 days and now cannot get above 90k up.

Went the the genius bar yesterday, and tested the employee's 4 and a 3GS: all reported the same abysmal results. They also have th ATT repeaters in the store, so I really hope it is a network update; because I cannot life with these upload speeds.

I pay for unlimited data, not unlimited with a cap to assure me it will take forever to reach it.
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Yeap Metro Detroit was capped and so is the Lansing area. Was getting 2.5mbits down/1.5mbits up last week and now I get around 1.5 mbits down/80kbits up. Sighhhhhh
 
Travisimo said:
Does anyone know how something like this is handled technically? In a specific market, for example, is there a centralized facility or headend that controls the 3G data access in that area?
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I'm not a cell engineer but once it gets to the towers and onto the backhaul it's just like any standard ip connect, of which ATT's own software that handles subscriber info and cell access can also set additional params like throttling our connections to ungodly low levels.

Which is why I don't buy this tower maintainence BS. Unless mice chewed through the single ethernet/fiber/ds cable that ATT was using before they switched to a usb cable to handle all throughput. Otherwise there is no reason that users in Seattle and new york and misc points in-between experience a similar drop in speeds when you figure only a local segment should be affected. I mean, like I said i'm not a cell guy, i'm a data center/server guy, but if I need to bring down voip access for x amount of hours whilst I wire up a printer on the opposite side of the building, i'd probably get fired.
 
Yup. Weak. AT&T serves the weak sauce. Just got:

99kbps = 12.4kB/s

Reston VA (Fairfax county)

Some people believe it's service during the weekend but it's not smart to do such a thing over the holiday weekend where lots of people are on the road.
 
AT&T is likely just doing work over the holiday in certain metro areas.

Of course this gets blown out of proportion like every other issue in these threads. You guys are acting as if AT&T issued a press release saying these are going to be our new limits. It makes no sense, so please relax. If this continues for more than one day, then by all means, expand this thread to 800 pages.
 
Still getting the 1.2 Mbit up I was getting a week ago here in central CT. Download has actually increased a bit -- was getting 2.2 Mbit before, getting 3.2 Mbit now.

My bet is that this is a technical problem rather than a policy change. If there were going to cap upload speed, I don't think they would cap it at 100 kbit/s; the cap would be greater than that.

Large networks are centrally managed. It's possible some update to software or configuration was pushed out and hammered the systems.
 
Eddyisgreat said:
I'm not a cell engineer but once it gets to the towers and onto the backhaul it's just like any standard ip connect, of which ATT's own software that handles subscriber info and cell access can also set additional params like throttling our connections to ungodly low levels.

Which is why I don't buy this tower maintainence BS. Unless mice chewed through the single ethernet/fiber/ds cable that ATT was using before they switched to a usb cable to handle all throughput. Otherwise there is no reason that users in Seattle and new york and misc points in-between experience a similar drop in speeds when you figure only a local segment should be affected. I mean, like I said i'm not a cell guy, i'm a data center/server guy, but if I need to bring down voip access for x amount of hours whilst I wire up a printer on the opposite side of the building, i'd probably get fired.
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As a data center/server guy, have you ever pushed an update out to your servers and suddenly they all start acting funny? Managing a large network is similar. I'm not saying I know that's what happened in this case, only that it is at least a plausible explanation.
 
So no one with a new 2GB/200MB plan was affected? or everyone here has unlimited I presume! I'm guessing if this is intentional it is likely aimed at the unl customers, as the rest would only offer them more profit as they go over their allotment of MB.

If this is the case I would think this would violate the agreement as it's placing a "limit" on your usage, assuming it's intentional... which I'm betting it is!

I asked someone to test this in Eugene, Oregon, ouch!!! 170kbps up...
 

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Steviejobz said:
AT&T is likely just doing work over the holiday in certain metro areas.

Of course this gets blown out of proportion like every other issue in these threads. You guys are acting as if AT&T issued a press release saying these are going to be our new limits. It makes no sense, so please relax. If this continues for more than one day, then by all means, expand this thread to 800 pages.
Click to expand...

It also helps to read all of the post entries, and many of us have stated this has been going on very several days now. I personally noticed it on July 3 and it has consistently been at 100 kbps or below since then, whereas just a day before it was at 1600 kbps.

I would not be concerned about a 1 day issue, which is why I never posted here until after a couple of days and reports from other users.

EDIT: Also, if they were doing work in many major metro areas, would there have been some kind of announcement, user bulletin, or something since this is a very noticeable thing for many of us? More likely, to me anyway, is that they pushed this out over the holiday weekend in order to get the least amount of negative press from it. Only time will tell, I suppose. At least they did it before the 30 day return policy is up, because this is a deal-breaker for me. I'll reserve a bit of judgment over the next few days to see if anything comes up, but it smells really rotten and is something AT&T would definitely do.
 
Steviejobz said:
AT&T is likely just doing work over the holiday in certain metro areas.

Of course this gets blown out of proportion like every other issue in these threads. You guys are acting as if AT&T issued a press release saying these are going to be our new limits. It makes no sense, so please relax. If this continues for more than one day, then by all means, expand this thread to 800 pages.
Click to expand...

Mine started over a week ago, well before the holiday. Blown out of proportion? I'll ask you this, would you mind if this is capped for you as well, forever? Just wondering here, as you may be fine (should things remain as they are) however I and many others cannot.

BTW, these boards are here for discussion. If you choose to call all in this thread out for crying "wolf" so be it; but I find no other reason for your post.

I am sure of this: if data speeds are not back to normal by my 30 day window- it's going back, and I will leave AT&T. Have not searched for another device, however I'm sure there are plenty that are sufficient for my needs. I don't want another device, but if this data holds to be the new speeds- I will have no choice. Not too easy sending a 5m email on a network that could take 20 min.
 
Travisimo said:
Yep, sudden for me too and right about the same time. I have a speed test from July 1 which shows 1600 kbps up (and every day prior to that), and then I have one on July 3 which shows 90 kbps (and every day subsequent to that). I didn't do any on July 2, so I'm not sure exactly when it started.

But as you said, it was sudden. And from all indications, it was deliberate. I mean, it's not like it is just one geographical area. It really does feel like there was a memo sent out to some or all of the markets telling them to institute this cap... and either maybe some of them just haven't gotten around to it yet, or maybe they are only targeting certain ones right now.

Does anyone know how something like this is handled technically? In a specific market, for example, is there a centralized facility or headend that controls the 3G data access in that area?
Click to expand...

I tested on July 2 and as of 1:40pm in Denver, u/l was fine (~1.4mbit/sec).
 
tigres said:
Mine started over a week ago, well before the holiday. Blown out of proportion? I'll ask you this, would you mind if this is capped for you as well, forever? Just wondering here, as you may be fine (should things remain as they are) however I and many others cannot.

BTW, these boards are here for discussion. If you choose to call all in this thread out for crying "wolf" so be it; but I find no other reason for your post.

I am sure of this: if data speeds are not back to normal by my 30 day window- it's going back, and I will leave AT&T. Have not searched for another device, however I'm sure there are plenty that are sufficient for my needs. I don't want another device, but if this data holds to be the new speeds- I will have no choice. Not too easy sending a 5m email on a network that could take 20 min.
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I dont think this is permanent. A couple reasons

1) Why would they be investing in faster networks than just keep on expanding older networks whose tech can accomodate these caps?
2) Similar problems concerning uploading were noticed last year during this same time
3) If they were capping, why would some areas not be affected?
 
tigres said:
I am sure of this: if data speeds are not back to normal by my 30 day window- it's going back, and I will leave AT&T. Have not searched for another device, however I'm sure there are plenty that are sufficient for my needs. I don't want another device, but if this data holds to be the new speeds- I will have no choice. Not too easy sending a 5m email on a network that could take 20 min.
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Same here. Here's a good example. Most of the photos I have taken on my iPhone 4 average around 2 MB. If our upload is capped at 100 kbps, ONE full-sized photo would take nearly 3 minutes to upload! Not to mention, this also has a noticeable effect on web browsing, etc. And just TRY uploading a Youtube video you took with your iPhone 4 video camera. Even at the reduced resolution that Apple forces you to upload, it would take forever.

That's why there's perhaps one and only one hope here. 100 kbps is even slower than the average 300-400 kbps that standard 3G service provides on previous iPhones and other carriers. It's basically right around Edge upload speeds, so there's a glimmer of hope that maybe we are just experiencing some kind of 3G upload outage (though I don't know how that's possible since downloads are still at 3G levels)? But 100 kbps uploads is so severely gimped that it's hard to imagine they would lower it THAT much. But alas, it's very possible.

NOTE: It's not just upload speeds that have reduced in my area. I was previously getting 4 mbps+ on a pretty regular basis and now it's rarely over 2-3. Perhaps they have also capped the download a bit as well?
 
tigres said:
Mine started over a week ago, well before the holiday. Blown out of proportion? I'll ask you this, would you mind if this is capped for you as well, forever? Just wondering here, as you may be fine (should things remain as they are) however I and many others cannot.

BTW, these boards are here for discussion. If you choose to call all in this thread out for crying "wolf" so be it; but I find no other reason for your post.

I am sure of this: if data speeds are not back to normal by my 30 day window- it's going back, and I will leave AT&T. Have not searched for another device, however I'm sure there are plenty that are sufficient for my needs. I don't want another device, but if this data holds to be the new speeds- I will have no choice. Not too easy sending a 5m email on a network that could take 20 min.
Click to expand...

This thread was posted today, not a week ago. All of a sudden people are getting worked up. My issues started July 3rd - the start of the weekend. Prior to that I was getting 1.3MB (have a pic in this thread of a test on July 1) Without definitive word from AT&T, or a timeline longer than than a few days when known upgrades are taking place, I would say the argument for this being only temporary is very strong. Especially, since it is not occurring nationwide.

As for this being a discussion, I agree 100%. But there are people are cursing AT&T like spoiled brats without complete information. If this were official, then some crying would be warranted. But I think some of the nerd rage should be parked for the time being.
 
Steviejobz said:
This thread was posted today, not a week ago. All of a sudden people are getting worked up. My issues started July 3rd - the start of the weekend. Prior to that I was getting 1.3MB (have a pic in this thread of a test on July 1) Without definitive word from AT&T, or a timeline longer than than a few days when known upgrades are taking place, I would say the argument for this being only temporary is very strong. Especially, since it is not occurring nationwide.

As for this being a discussion, I agree 100%. But there are people are cursing AT&T like spoiled brats without complete information. If this were official, then some crying would be warranted. But I think some of the nerd rage should be parked for the time being.
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I came in because there have been many threads this past week about this same topic. Just seems that the revelation of this data issue was making some steam.
 
Steviejobz said:
This thread was posted today, not a week ago. All of a sudden people are getting worked up. My issues started July 3rd - the start of the weekend. Prior to that I was getting 1.3MB (have a pic in this thread of a test on July 1) Without definitive word from AT&T, or a timeline longer than than a few days when known upgrades are taking place, I would say the argument for this being only temporary is very strong. Especially, since it is not occurring nationwide.

As for this being a discussion, I agree 100%. But there are people are cursing AT&T like spoiled brats without complete information. If this were official, then some crying would be warranted. But I think some of the nerd rage should be parked for the time being.
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Though your argument that this may only be temporary is certainly believable, so is the argument that they would do this on purpose. So until we hear otherwise, we are currently *experiencing* the issue for several days now with no end in sight. So while it may not warrant an extreme position, it does certainly show cause for alarm.
 
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