slow 3G speeds on iPhone 4

[ShStylo]

Hey Guys,

Recently got my iPhone 4 and I want to determine if there is a problem with my iPhone 4 or my network speeds are just slow in my area.

I live in the Vancouver area on the Rogers network. The Rogers network in theory provides download speeds up to 21Mbps (advertised on their website).

In downtown I get average download speeds at about 1Mbps and upload at about 0.7Mbps. One test I ran outside of the downtown area I got a top download speed of 2.5Mbps and upload of 1Mbps, however in that area I still averaged around 1.6Mbps for download speeds. Is this normal? It just seems really far off from the advertised speeds and from doing some research it seems the normal speeds on the Rogers network in Canada is around 3-5Mbps.

Also I have an Incase Slider Case, not sure if that reduces reception. I tried doing some tests with the case on and off and doesn't seem to vary greatly.

Any insights would be appreciated!

 

[Applejuiced]

Sounds normal.
Call up your carrier to make sure there's no 3G outages in your area.

 

[ShStylo]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Are plastic cases like the Incase slider known to have effects on reception at all?

I'm just dumbfounded on why realistic speeds are nowhere near the ranges of the theoretical speeds. I guess I'll have to adjust my expectations.

 

[Applejuiced]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Are plastic cases like the Incase slider known to have effects on reception at all?

I'm just dumbfounded on why realistic speeds are nowhere near the ranges of the theoretical speeds. I guess I'll have to adjust my expectations.

Plastic wont matter. If you get metal cases or those cases that include an additional battery for extra charge do hinder signal.
But again dont think you will ever see 21Mbps on the i4.
The i4 supports both HSDPA and HSUPA making the phone a ‘3.5G’ device and means it can theoretically achieve 7.2 Mbps downloads and 5.8 Mbps uploads max.
But real life speeds will be alot less, those are in perfect conditions, usage, signal and networking traffic and congestion will effect that.
Also depending how good your carrier is on a particular part of the country etc...