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Is AT&T Throttling iPhone Data Already? Some comparisons

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spyderx

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 20, 2011
91
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Here is what I have:
iPad 1 with unlimited 3G AT&T data with ios5
iPhone 4s with unlimited 3G att data with ios5
iPhone 4 with unlimited 3G att data with ios5

Ive Run several speed tests via different sites this morning.
Tests on wifi get 15+ mbs

I'm in SoCal and a week or so ago my 3G data speeds via iPad and iPhone 4 were almost identical at 3+ mbs

This is the interesting part run today (tested several times and via multiple sources):
iPad - 3.6mbs down
iPhone 4 - .700mbs down
iPhone 4s - .700 mbs down

I am on AT&T on all 3. All have full signal. My data use on these devices is NEVER more than 1.5mb per month. I woul not even be close to a high data user. In fact my iPad would be the much higher consumption device.

Anyone?????
 
I wouldn't doubt if they were throttling them at certain times in certain areas with high concentrations of iPhones. That sucks. It's not happening over here near Charlotte, NC. I'm getting 3.5Mb down consistently. It is unfortunate if they can't handle the full weight of the iPhones, but not unexpected.
 
AT&T's Really Fast

Choosing a wireless carrier can have a serious impact on your iPhone 4S experience. AT&T is the way to go if you plan on streaming a lot of content or transferring a lot of data when out of reach of a WiFi network.

While the AT&T iPhone 4S units could stream video with the Slingbox Player app, the Verizon iPhone 4S stuttered repeatedly, making it impossible to watch live television with it.

The AT&T iPhone 4S is nearly seven times faster than the Verizon version, at least in my home in San Francisco.

It’s important to note that we are well-covered by both Verizon and AT&T, hence the five signal bars in the top-left of each test result. I’d hate to see what Verizon’s 3G speeds are like when we’re further away from a cell site.


source
http://is.gd/rM9BCv
 
AT&T is def throttling speeds here in the new York area. Sometimes I'll get 3G speeds as high as 9.50 DL/1.75 upload, and other times like right now I'll get 2 dl at best, with a upload that doesn't even get over 1.

Very odd
 
vitzr said:
Choosing a wireless carrier can have a serious impact on your iPhone 4S experience. AT&T is the way to go if you plan on streaming a lot of content or transferring a lot of data when out of reach of a WiFi network.
source
http://is.gd/rM9BCv
Click to expand...

Tell me again how this post has any relevance to the original topic?? I know ATT is fast, it's been fine. And its still fine on my iPad. It's NOT on my iPhone. When they are sitting next to each other. ON a desk. With the same signal strength. When they worked identically a week ago.
 
I have noticed some slowdowns with 3g since getting my 4s. I initially blamed it on a great number of new phone activations in Northern California (and AT&T's network not able to handle it).

It wouldn't surprise me if they were doing this if network traffic was exceptionally heavy, the but the difference between the iPad and iPhones is dramatic and strange. If they wanted to throttle usage to make it more manageable for the network, why not cut the iPad as well?
 
Very slow here in the Philly area.

Less than 1.0 down and
Less than .10 up.

I have been trying different ares during my travels this weekend. Not good.....
 
I saw this article, suggesting that starting October 1st on ATT, if you have an unlimited plan, you will be throttled whenever you are among the top 5% of data users for the month --

http://www.iphonehacks.com/2011/07/...ted-data-plan-customers-from-october-1st.html

Considering stuff like this, if you aren't going to go above 2GB a month, you will see higher data speeds on ATT in general if your plan is not unlimited. Low volume users are probably better off canceling their grandfathered unlimited plans.

I know this will make many ATT users angry, but as someone who is new to ATT, I think it is a good idea. It is sort of unrealistic to expect your unlimited data plan to continue unhindered forever, that started years ago, especially as they roll out faster and faster networks, with LTE coming in the future. I don't think it is fair that the rest of us should have to deal with a bogged down network while original iphone users would at some point be able to download perhaps hundreds of GBs over LTE or whatever future technology brings for very low prices. It would be unfair, and frankly it is an unrealistic demand. Maybe we are not at that point yet, but we're getting there.
 
I agree that it's probably congestion. I'm getting between 1.5 Mbps and 3.85 Mbps down right now which is a bit low for where I live.
 
bk888 said:
I agree that it's probably congestion. I'm getting between 1.5 Mbps and 3.85 Mbps down right now which is a bit low for where I live.
Click to expand...

agreeing on the congestion..its no different than your ISP on cable modem connections. Because everyone is sharing the bandwidth, certain times of the day you aren't going to be getting the advertised speed. So if you're on a tower that has a lot of data throughput transmitting, speeds will be lower. Speedtest are sort of a placebo effect anyways - everyone takes them at face value, and not what type of speed you are getting with real world use. Just my opinion
 
Vegasryn said:
agreeing on the congestion..its no different than your ISP on cable modem connections. Because everyone is sharing the bandwidth, certain times of the day you aren't going to be getting the advertised speed. So if you're on a tower that has a lot of data throughput transmitting, speeds will be lower. Speedtest are sort of a placebo effect anyways - everyone takes them at face value, and not what type of speed you are getting with real world use. Just my opinion
Click to expand...

Watch the video. 2 devices. Same location. Same time. If it were congestion would it not affect BOTH of them at the same time??? I think so.

BTW, I validated the effect from several other sources for download including my own hosted http server. All were within 10-15% of each other. And all exhibited the same behavior.

iPad way faster than iPhone 4GS
 
Well I guess when it comes to unlimited data and throttling, i guess i like VZW's plan much better than att's throttle plan, as VZW's throttle plan will only affect VZW customers for seconds to maybe a few hours, Where att seems to be throttling for an entire month or longer...................


From VZW's website:
"So, if you’re in the top 5% of data users, your speed is reduced only when you are connected to a congested cell site. Once you are no longer connected to a congested site, your speed will return to normal. This could mean a matter of seconds or hours, depending on your location and time of day."
http://support.verizonwireless.com/information/data_disclosure.html
 
spyderx said:
Watch the video. 2 devices. Same location. Same time. If it were congestion would it not affect BOTH of them at the same time??? I think so.

BTW, I validated the effect from several other sources for download including my own hosted http server. All were within 10-15% of each other. And all exhibited the same behavior.

iPad way faster than iPhone 4GS
Click to expand...

Why would they throttle you?
The 4S has been out for 2 days, you already went over 2GB's of data?
 
Applejuiced said:
Why would they throttle you?
The 4S has been out for 2 days, you already went over 2GB's of data?
Click to expand...

Didn't read the thread??

BTW, I have a 4 and 4S, on different accounts. Both exhibit same behavior. Much slower download than my iPad.
 
Applejuiced said:
I did.
Did you use lots of data on each iPhones account on the same billing cycle?
Click to expand...

From first post:
"My data use on these devices is NEVER more than 1.5mb per month. I woul not even be close to a high data user. In fact my iPad would be the much higher consumption device."

Data use is less than 500mb on all 3 devices this billing period. Was less than 1gb on all 3 devices last billing period.
 
I was curious if you've had any other luck with this.

I remember reading last month that users were getting texts that were basically telling them to cool it or be throttled... with so many people loading up their apps and using Siri, I'd be curious to know how data consumption is going to be for everyone this month.


AT&T has also repeatedly stated that only smartphone users will receive the warnings and be throttled and, from my experience, that is definitely the case. Personally, I find that odd since it's still network usage... but if they don't want to throttle me, I'm ok with that.
 
I am in SF on AT&T and I consistantly get 5-10mbps download and 3-8mbps upload.

I don't think AT&T is throttling anyone until they reach that 2GB mark. Im guessing it's just your area and that you are getting a bad data connection.
 
no

I'm in menlo park, ca was getting 3MB day one and can get 2.6MB today, seems about same.
 
Hitch08 said:
Very slow here in the Philly area.

Less than 1.0 down and
Less than .10 up.

I have been trying different ares during my travels this weekend. Not good.....
Click to expand...

it sucks around here! philly suburbs.. average 1mb down and anywhere from .5 to 1.5 up (yes normally my up is faster than my down :confused:) i'm way jealous of some of the speeds people are posting and bitter about those who complain about only getting 2-3mb haha. there is hardly any improvement over my iphone 4. and yes my area is saturated by hspa+ coverage according to at&t coverage map.

sucks that we're paying the same price for a "totally different" product than some...
 
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