Sprint Denies Widespread Issues with Slow iPhone Data Speeds

[Tiger8]

Don't believe everything you read! SPRINT ROCKS!

I finally got my phone on Friday, and activated it right away. Nevous, I did the speed tests and consumed a lot of data.

NOT TRUE!! this is the network that the iPhone belongs to, knock on wood, but it has been ranging between very good to EXCEPTIONAL for me. Siri did go down a couple of times but it was an Apple issue (i.e. the rest of the phone works).

I tried it in Hoboken NJ (right outside Manhattan), in like five different areas in Manhattan (Midtown east, west, financial district, the village, west village) and it provided nothing but excellent service.

I also noticed a very important thing, whenever I did speedtest.net and the server was 'optimum', it gave me 1.5 Mbps. There was another server whichs started with T and it always gave me 0.3, even though the phone would still be working great. So their tests are NOT 100% accurate. They depend on the server on the other end too.

This morning I pandoraed my way all the way to Philly, not even ONCE did I lose coverage, and now enjoying coverage even in Suburbia.

And oh yea, the phone actualy WORKS! People hear me loud and clear. Take that, AT&T!

 

[mrgreen4242]

Well, my speeds were terrible last week - in the 100-200kbps range for the most part, occassionally lower and usually higher outside of peak usage (say 9-10pm through 8-9am I had good speeds).

This week, so far, has been better. Seeing 3-5x my speeds last week at the same locations (in the high 300's to 800's for the most part, spiking into the 1mbps+ range if I go outside).

I was leaning towards switching to ATT as they're FAST in my area (1.5-2mbps inside, over 2 outside) as Sprint was looking unusable. However, if they can keep at 500+kbps average it makes the iPhone usable for all kinds of high bandwidth stuff that I couldn't do on ATT due to the 2gb cap (streaming Netflix/TV apps, video chat, etc).

I have until Friday to decide, though I would want to get the return done several days prior to that to avoid any issues, so I'll give them another day to see if they can keep in up before I make my decision.

Only trouble I'm having today is my upload speeds are really inconsistent, which is a problem for trying to do video chat with my wife/kids and sending photo/video mail (and Siri, of course!) - things I'd really want to be able to do reliably. Seeing anywhere from 11kbps(!) to 900kbps, with the norm being more in the 200-250 range.

 

[r.j.s]

It's odd. While speedtest speeds on Sprint for me have been slower than AT&T, I have had no trouble streaming NHL or Hulu onto my devices.

For me, Sprint seems to come through when needed, even if their speedtest results aren't stellar.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

Sprint's speeds have improved for me since launch day. Plus, I pretty much get a signal (for both data and voice) no matter where I am, even if I'm underground. AT&T couldn't deliver that. Surfing while on the subway? Never. Very happy with Sprint!

 

[r.j.s]

Sprint's speeds have improved for me since launch day. Plus, I pretty much get a signal (for both data and voice) no matter where I am, even if I'm underground. AT&T couldn't deliver that. Surfing while on the subway? Never. Very happy with Sprint!

Same for me on the signal ... I had AT&T, then I moved a few blocks and I got no reception in my new place. Sprint was full reception (I had a VM wifi hotspot, which uses Sprint, as my internet at the time.), so I switched.

 

[CaptSaltyJack]

The only bummer about the iPhone on Sprint (CDMA) vs AT&T (GSM) is that when I'm in an area where it's having a hard time getting a good signal, the phone gets warm and the battery drops like crazy. My GSM phones never did that. I literally have to put the phone into airplane mode to conserve battery. I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this.

 

[mrgreen4242]

The only bummer about the iPhone on Sprint (CDMA) vs AT&T (GSM) is that when I'm in an area where it's having a hard time getting a good signal, the phone gets warm and the battery drops like crazy. My GSM phones never did that. I literally have to put the phone into airplane mode to conserve battery. I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this.

I'm starting to notice that. Over the weekend I got pretty good battery life, but I was at home and out around town (mostly outside) the whole time. My signal at isn't GREAT but it's ok and I'm not usually hurting for a couple bars or more.

At work, though, I get 1-2 bars pretty consistantly as I am in a giant block and steel building (4-5 bars when I step outside). My battery during the work day is bad, though I don't notice it getting particularly hot.

Thing is that I get better reception with my iPhone on Sprint than my last phone (HTC Hero) but it didn't seem to exibit the same battery life fluxtuations - it was pretty consistent, though I used it a lot less.

Over the weekend, I was getting 6 hours, +/-.5, of usage and 18-22 hours before I had to plug it in. At work is seems more like about 4 hours of use anf 10-12 hours between plugging it (estiamted, as I'm not at work for 10+ hours thanksfully).