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AT&T's 3G Network Struggling to Keep Up?
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AT&T "3G" is a total joke in the Bay Area. If you find a spot where you can actually get 3G speeds, you better not move.
Like the wired phone system around here, it basically needs to be torn out and completely replaced. If you're lucky enough to live in a recent-construction area, then you might be in good shape. If you live in a neighborhood of old Victorians and Spanish Revivals like I do, we're lucky we can even get broadband.
There's a strong correlation between U-Verse availability and 3G availability, I've noticed.
cite:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/463080/
3-30-08
"EDGE is underestimated since after the iPhone release AT&T has been updating the tower based bandwidth and also it is the service NSA uses so has more coverage and backup than any other service here or anywhere."
Rocketman
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/463080/
3-30-08
"EDGE is underestimated since after the iPhone release AT&T has been updating the tower based bandwidth and also it is the service NSA uses so has more coverage and backup than any other service here or anywhere."
Rocketman
I have the same issue. I've never gotten 5 bars of 3G, and my speeds are slower with 3G than with EDGE. I certainly hope they fix this because I didn't shell out $10 a month extra to have slower speeds and worse coverage.
I am in lower westchester county NY 20 minutes north of NYC, and I am getting around the same results. Even worse than yours too.
Edge is faster than 3G at some points. What the **** is going on!
If you have only one bar, chances are that you're in an area that doesn't get 3G, but is managing to pick up a signal from another area. Like in Freehold, NJ where I got my iPhone. It didn't have true 3G coverage, but I could still pick up a horrible signal from a few miles away. It could be better than EDGE or not if you're outside of a 3G area. That's true even if you're only a mile outside of a 3G area, like at my friend's house.
Allow me to demonstrate just how sluggish EVERYTHING has been since the software update: when typing in a password (say, on macrumors for instance, to respond to a thread) the actual letters are appearing as you type a split second before being replaced by the familiar black security dot that usually appears immediately to mask it.
Combine this with all the other lag problems -- ranging from screen transitions between and within applications to generally slow Internet connectivity even in major cities like Atlanta -- and you can definately tell something is amuck either with the software itself or, as has been suggested, the ability of the network to handle all the traffic.
My guess (and hope) is that they'll be releasing a software tweak within the next couple of weeks to address the issues....oh and a new phone within the next 6 months or so!!!
So if you were a first gen owner and you've managed to resist the initial temptation so far and have been content with just the software update, no need to be suckered in now!!
A 32GB version with video recording (among other niceties) is just around the corner. This is in keeping with how Apple screws its early adopting customers! I see no reason why they'd do any different this time around.
Combine this with all the other lag problems -- ranging from screen transitions between and within applications to generally slow Internet connectivity even in major cities like Atlanta -- and you can definately tell something is amuck either with the software itself or, as has been suggested, the ability of the network to handle all the traffic.
My guess (and hope) is that they'll be releasing a software tweak within the next couple of weeks to address the issues....oh and a new phone within the next 6 months or so!!!
So if you were a first gen owner and you've managed to resist the initial temptation so far and have been content with just the software update, no need to be suckered in now!!
A 32GB version with video recording (among other niceties) is just around the corner. This is in keeping with how Apple screws its early adopting customers! I see no reason why they'd do any different this time around.
Right, because we're obligated to buy the latest and greatest. Or maybe you're saying that Apple shouldn't try to be as profitable as possible. Or perhaps what you're really upset about is progress - you'd prefer as little innovation and product development as possible, or maybe just as long as it syncs with your budget?
I'm here in San Jose. I don't have an iPhone 3G but I get pretty decent speeds on my LG 3G phone that I use to tether. 4 bars of 3G too.
Weird.
On wifi (I have a 100Mbps fiber connection) I get 466.8 ...
On 3G, with one bar of signal strength, 527.8 ...
On wifi (I have a 100Mbps fiber connection) I get 466.8 ...
On 3G, with one bar of signal strength, 527.8 ...
Yea, I just got radically different results compared to the iNetworkTest app ($0.99):
San Francisco (3G): 235.5 Kbps.
Wow,
I went to testmyiphone.com today and did like 1.67Mbps on 4 bars of 3G.
Tampa, FL
Fast enough anything I do on my mobile device
Though I generally hate living in Tampa, this could be a bright spot!
I don't think it's AT&T - it's the iPhone 3G!
I get dropped calls here in Germany, no bars at all at most times - in well covered areas, even under the open sky.
This is happening all over the world:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1602608&start=60&tstart=0
I get dropped calls here in Germany, no bars at all at most times - in well covered areas, even under the open sky.
This is happening all over the world:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1602608&start=60&tstart=0
I'm concerned when I read that people with EDGE are getting better speeds than people with 3G, however one must realize there really isn't much difference, and 3G is still slow!
I rely on 3G as my primary internet connection (using an ExpressCard 3G modem). It's slow! I'm happy if I get anywhere between 13-20k/sec. I was saying this before the 3G iPhone; don't expect to be blown away by the speeds. 3G is great for mobiles (the best out there) but really... it's not very fast.
People have become too used to having mega-fast broadband connections that can download a few megs every second and are upset with anything slower.
I think a text-only web browser such as Lynx would be great for the iPhone! Safari's great in that it downloads full web pages and displays them correctly however most pages these days are majorly bloated! People asking for Flash on the iPhone didn't really understand me when I said "it's too slow unless you're using a WiFi hotspot!!"
Many mobile phones use text-only browsers because it significantly speeds things up with 3G connections (which are slow!). My phone uses a text-only Opera-based browser (yep it's in Japan).
On my Mac I use Lynx because it's text-only and makes pages really easy to read. I actually made a funky OS X GUI for it if anybody wants a copy
I rely on 3G as my primary internet connection (using an ExpressCard 3G modem). It's slow! I'm happy if I get anywhere between 13-20k/sec. I was saying this before the 3G iPhone; don't expect to be blown away by the speeds. 3G is great for mobiles (the best out there) but really... it's not very fast.
People have become too used to having mega-fast broadband connections that can download a few megs every second and are upset with anything slower.
I think a text-only web browser such as Lynx would be great for the iPhone! Safari's great in that it downloads full web pages and displays them correctly however most pages these days are majorly bloated! People asking for Flash on the iPhone didn't really understand me when I said "it's too slow unless you're using a WiFi hotspot!!"
Many mobile phones use text-only browsers because it significantly speeds things up with 3G connections (which are slow!). My phone uses a text-only Opera-based browser (yep it's in Japan).
On my Mac I use Lynx because it's text-only and makes pages really easy to read. I actually made a funky OS X GUI for it if anybody wants a copy
As was stated before (and people seem to have missed), it's probably not the network in most areas.
Where I live, we are smack in the middle of a excellent 3G area. I took my iPhone 3G and my girlfriends 3G Razr. Side by side, the Razr kept up it's full bars pretty much all the time.
The building I work in is known for killing cell signal. I can get 2-3 bars (3 when I'm lucky). My girlfriend's Razr, stays at a solid 4 bars.
I personally think the antenna on the iPhone sucks for 3G.
This is my average speed on 3G, even with low bars.
Where I live, we are smack in the middle of a excellent 3G area. I took my iPhone 3G and my girlfriends 3G Razr. Side by side, the Razr kept up it's full bars pretty much all the time.
The building I work in is known for killing cell signal. I can get 2-3 bars (3 when I'm lucky). My girlfriend's Razr, stays at a solid 4 bars.
I personally think the antenna on the iPhone sucks for 3G.
This is my average speed on 3G, even with low bars.
Attachments
Agreed. I returned my iPhone on Monday. Very disappointed with this new phone. I'll wait for the next revision. Feels like the Treo 650 all over again.