Sprint and Apple Working On "Issue" With iPhone Data Speeds

[MacRumors]

In the days after the iPhone launched on Sprint, a number of customers complained about extremely slow data speeds on Sprint's network. Sprint initially denied that there were any problems, but now a report from TheNextWeb suggests that is a problem with Sprint's iPhone data speeds:

Now it seems that an internal email has been sent to Sprint representatives, informing them that Apple and Sprint are working together on a "confirmed nationwide issue" dealing with the slow data rates many users are experiencing. There was no information about what the cause of the issues are or what the expected resolution date might be.

The email did contain a reference to a 'Service Settings' update, which sounds like it could be referring to the carrier settings file that contains access point info for the carriers.

The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S broke Sprint's "device family" one-day sales record on October 14, the first day the phones were available on the network.

Article Link: Sprint and Apple Working On "Issue" With iPhone Data Speeds

 

[jdpruitt]

Finally

I've been bitching about this since I got the phone on Sprint and Macrumors threads. I eventually went crawling back to AT&T and am loving the speed (though I wish the 2GB package were 3GB.)

 

[tempusfugit]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A334)

Sprint has very slow 3G. That problem won't be fixed anytime soon.

 

[TheRealHershey]

I've averaged 150k 3G data speeds on my EVO 4G on Sprint for over a year, and now on my iPhone 4S. I've spent countless hours talking on the phone to their horrible CSRs, and have concluded, I know more about their network and how a network works than they do. Their network is over capacity in a lot of areas, and this problem isn't limited to just the iPhone - they're just trying to pad everyone past the 14 day return policy.

 

[hfletcher]

GSM FTW!

But seriously, my iP4S gets better signal and data speeds on HSPA+ (GSM) than the iPhone 4 did in exactly the same place on my desk, so this data issue is absolutely Sprint's problem, and not the iPhone's (unless it is a failing of the CDMA technology? or the CDMA firmware on the iPhone?)

 

[gigadigit]

It's not just the iPhone, my Epic Touch data speeds are very slow compared to before.

Might want to change the title of the article from "Sprint and AT&T" to "Sprint and Apple".

 

[acidfast7]

4g lte



well, at least you didn't get locked into a 2-year 2000-dollar contract for those speeds.

wait a second

lol

 

[TheRealHershey]

Yes, but you see, they're not saying it's a problem with their 'network', therefore, they'll never have to issue one service credit (which they no longer do until after the problem is fixed) or let anyone go ETF free.

They're just trying to mull people past the 14 day return policy. The iPhone works just fine on Verizon, and just about every other carrier on this planet.

 

[macabouttobe]

Waiting delivery on mine, but I understand it takes advantage of HSPA+ which some call 3.5g and some call 4g depending on what comercial they are watching. I understand it to be a software "stepping stone" on the network between HSPA and LTE.. whatever it is I've seen some great speed jumps (individual results may vary..)

 

[Yumunum]

Even after it's fixed you'll still have sub-par speeds compared to AT&T. :/

 

[penajmz]

As much as a lot of people complain about AT&T, I must say I'm very satisfied, I always have been. My data speeds are great and being grandfathered into an unlimited data plan is even better!

 

[Tiger8]

Even after it's fixed you'll still have sub-par speeds compared to AT&T. :/

I used to have MEDIOCORE speeds, coverage, and even PHONE on AT&T on an iPhone 3Gs.

My iPhone 4s on Sprint is working very well. Yes, it is slightly slower, but 1.3 Mbps is nothing to frown upon. I was very worried last week reading the reviews but I am glad I activated my phone anyway.

So at least for me, 4s is a faster phone on a faster network on Sprint. I am sure 4s works well for those on AT&T as well, if they are lucky to have decent coverage.

 

[Bawstun]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A334)

Sprint has very slow 3G. That problem won't be fixed anytime soon.

That isn't the issue that I and thousands others are having. (at least I don't think it is)

For me...slow is 0.50 mbps. And that's FINE. I can watch Netflix on that, I can YouTube on that, I can play Pandora on that. Things at least...WORK.

What I and others are getting right now is 0.00-0.04

Sometimes when I run a speed test it stays flatlined at 0.00-0.01.

That's an issue, not just "slow 3G" IMO.

----------

Even after it's fixed you'll still have sub-par speeds compared to AT&T. :/

Yeah, well, I wasn't grandfathered in for unlimited data. And with no other option other than paying for TETHERING that I wasn't going to use, I couldn't get more data than 2GB.

What's the point of having an iPhone if I can go over my monthly allotment in 4 or 5 days playing Pandora or streaming YouTube videos? An iPhone with 2GB of data (or an extra $10 per GB) is sort of senseless.

 

[powerbook911]

The image shows what I experienced when I tried one of the Virgin Mobil Mi-Fis last year that use Sprint.

They claimed 3G in my area, but I got the exact speeds shown in that image, AT BEST.

Returned it and lost about $50.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Is the abnormal slow data speed only effecting the iPhone or is that the speed for all sprint phones. It would be nice to see some side by side comparisons with some Android phones running on Sprint's 3G.

If it is just the iPhone then I put the blame completely on Apple screwing something up yet again.

 

[Bawstun]

Even 0.17 is better than what I'm getting right now. I'm at 0.02, as I am all day during these hours. 500-800 ping.

----------

Is the abnormal slow data speed only effecting the iPhone or is that the speed for all sprint phones. It would be nice to see some side by side comparisons with some Android phones running on Sprint's 3G.

If it is just the iPhone then I put the blame completely on Apple screwing something up yet again.

Supposedly it's an issue that is just affecting iPhones.

If it is hardware they are going to have a huge problem on their hands if it is not something that can be fixed easily.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Supposedly it's an issue that is just affecting iPhones.

If it is hardware they are going to have a huge problem on their hands if it is not something that can be fixed easily.

Apple better not hope it is hardware because they will have to complete foot the bill for the screw up.

Looks like Apple really dropped the ball on this one. While Sprint's 3G speed is not the greatest the iPhone should work like all the other phones in terms of speed on Sprint's 3G

 

[johncrab]

My 4S outperforms my 3GS on AT&T by a factor of 7. After reading this sad take of Sprint, I'm even happier that I left with iPhone 1 in 2007.

 

[macse30]

If an iPhone falls in a forest and nobody hears it...

Just kidding. I'm rooting for any and all competitors. We need more.

 

[daneoni]

GSM ftw

 

[Mr. Gates]

GSM ftw

Seriously !

I never believed in CDMA

Never will

 

[DblHelix]

GSM ftw

Only if you are in the right part of the country. In SF on AT&T the fastest I have ever seen is 175 ms ping and 1.5 down. Fastest I have seen anywhere in the bay area is 110 ping and 3.2 down.

 

[BC2009]

GSM ftw

I'm on AT&T and I can tell you I have yet to find the sweet spot in town where i get the 5.5MBps down. I live towards the edge of town so even Sprint/Clear have poor WiMAX coverage in my area. The nice thing is that I work at home so most of the time I am on WiFi which gets about 20MBps over my cable modem.

I will say that I hedged my network bet... I bought a Verizon iPad 2 because my AT&T iPad 1 (now sold) did not get enough speed/signal whenever I bought the data plan and travelled places. So now I have the option of AT&T or Verizon to get my data while traveling.

Specifically, the AT&T coverage in Idaho was very poor and in NYC the bars were there, but there was not enough backbone to handle all the users (this was circa 2010, before the AT&T upgrades in NYC). In both places, local family told me that Verizon worked better in those areas (both in rural Idaho and metropolitan NYC). The only place I find AT&T has pretty decent coverage is going around my home town or traveling to the Los Angeles / Anaheim area. I'm betting the fact that Los Angeles/Anaheim being more spread out than NYC is helping AT&T there. I will say that when AT&T has a strong signal, the speed rocks.

 

[mds]

GSM sucks here in LA. Too many hills, too many buildings. I used to get lots of dropped calls and my ATT friends complain of this all the time. I never get dropped calls on Sprint and my data is fine here. Seem to be regional issues, but I have no complaints with Sprint or the 4S.

 

[W1MRK]

Glad I did not jump on with Sprint