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Vzw 3G is smokin!

Ozy

Ozy

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 8, 2006
139
4
Goodyear, AZ
With my 3G AT&T iPad 1, speedtest was .44mbps down, .12mbps at my house with 4 bars here in west Phoenix today. I tested this multiple times for months now First thing I did with my new vzw 3G 64gb was to test 3G throughput. I wasn't expecting the same speed as my mifi, but it is!,At 4 bars, I got 2.33mbps down, .78mbps up. This is fantastic. AT&T has always been bad in Arizona, and having 5 bars never meant having a good download rate. Plus no 3g in northern AZ besides Flagstaff was absurd. I'm giving up my AT&T unlimited plan for vzw and not looking back. Unlimited data means nothing if it's slow as crap.

My last business trip at the end of feb was the final straw. At the phx airport, full coverage, my AT&T 3G speeds were .11mbps down if I was lucky. I had to use my mifi to get anything done. On the return flight while waiting in san jose, the same thing! At this point perhaps my iPad is broken, but my iphone4 had similar results. I was so surprised that that SJC in silicon valley was so poor. Don't get me started about how pissed I was trying to do stuff in Vegas last trip at the MGM grand. SMS texts on my AT&T iPhone took 5mins plus to go through.

Sorry for the rant but I am smiling big and soooo glad I can pay $35 for 3gb of useable data instead of $30 for an unusable unlimited.

-posted from my vzw iPad!!
 
Ozy said:
With my 3G AT&T iPad 1, speedtest was .44mbps down, .12mbps at my house with 4 bars here in west Phoenix today. I tested this multiple times for months now First thing I did with my new vzw 3G 64gb was to test 3G throughput. I wasn't expecting the same speed as my mifi, but it is!,At 4 bars, I got 2.33mbps down, .78mbps up. This is fantastic. AT&T has always been bad in Arizona, and having 5 bars never meant having a good download rate. Plus no 3g in northern AZ besides Flagstaff was absurd. I'm giving up my AT&T unlimited plan for vzw and not looking back. Unlimited data means nothing if it's slow as crap.

My last business trip at the end of feb was the final straw. At the phx airport, full coverage, my AT&T 3G speeds were .11mbps down if I was lucky. I had to use my mifi to get anything done. On the return flight while waiting in san jose, the same thing! At this point perhaps my iPad is broken, but my iphone4 had similar results. I was so surprised that that SJC in silicon valley was so poor. Don't get me started about how pissed I was trying to do stuff in Vegas last trip at the MGM grand. SMS texts on my AT&T iPhone took 5mins plus to go through.

Sorry for the rant but I am smiling big and soooo glad I can pay $35 for 3gb of useable data instead of $30 for an unusable unlimited.

-posted from my vzw iPad!!
Click to expand...

good luck with that!

Around me, vzw sucks so im sticking with AT&T!
 
Ozy said:
With my 3G AT&T iPad 1, speedtest was .44mbps down, .12mbps at my house with 4 bars here in west Phoenix today. I tested this multiple times for months now First thing I did with my new vzw 3G 64gb was to test 3G throughput. I wasn't expecting the same speed as my mifi, but it is!,At 4 bars, I got 2.33mbps down, .78mbps up. This is fantastic. AT&T has always been bad in Arizona, and having 5 bars never meant having a good download rate. Plus no 3g in northern AZ besides Flagstaff was absurd. I'm giving up my AT&T unlimited plan for vzw and not looking back. Unlimited data means nothing if it's slow as crap.

My last business trip at the end of feb was the final straw. At the phx airport, full coverage, my AT&T 3G speeds were .11mbps down if I was lucky. I had to use my mifi to get anything done. On the return flight while waiting in san jose, the same thing! At this point perhaps my iPad is broken, but my iphone4 had similar results. I was so surprised that that SJC in silicon valley was so poor. Don't get me started about how pissed I was trying to do stuff in Vegas last trip at the MGM grand. SMS texts on my AT&T iPhone took 5mins plus to go through.

Sorry for the rant but I am smiling big and soooo glad I can pay $35 for 3gb of useable data instead of $30 for an unusable unlimited.

-posted from my vzw iPad!!
Click to expand...

LOL! No one believes you! Everyone here thinks Verizon is slow and crappy and therefore we think you have a 2nd class iPad 2.

u :mad:?
 
vladtheimpaler said:
LOL! No one believes you! Everyone here thinks Verizon is slow and crappy and therefore we think you have a 2nd class iPad 2.

u :mad:?
Click to expand...

U think I care that no one believes me? Cellular coverage is temperamental based on location, and my situation is accurate for my usage and location. I want a reliable network even if it may be slightly slower. 2.33Mbps is ~300kb/sec. Thats VERY acceptable for mobile use. I remember the days drooling over ricochet modems that we'd velcro to the back our laptop LCD screens. We have it so good now.

IMG_0065.PNG
 
I believe you. AT&T is very congested in the DC metro area. I was at the Verizon store yesterday,(which was right across from the apple store) in the mall area with lots of people(most of them waiting in line for iPad 2) my AT&T iPhone was sooo slow loading anything. Did several web page load comparisons and the VZ iPhone was blowing me out of the water despite having equal signal strength. I couldn't compare actual down/up speeds, but verizon certainly seems to blow AT&T away I'm real world performance when it comes to speed. AT&T is just so damn inconsistent and sporadic with data speeds and dropped calls, whereas VZW is much more reliable.
 
If more people would educate themselves about how cell phone networks operate, they'd realize how to properly choose a carrier for the best experience. One size does not fit all. That's Apples screw up.

Yet being the expert victims they are. Apples got people believing their BS.


It's no wonder Apple has so much money. Nothing beats a good lie.
 
Ozy said:
U think I care that no one believes me? Cellular coverage is temperamental based on location, and my situation is accurate for my usage and location. I want a reliable network even if it may be slightly slower. 2.33Mbps is ~300kb/sec. Thats VERY acceptable for mobile use. I remember the days drooling over ricochet modems that we'd velcro to the back our laptop LCD screens. We have it so good now.

IMG_0065.PNG
Click to expand...

I have a VZW iPad, too, so I'm glad it's fast... However, in this screenshot, wifi is still ON. Are you sure that's cellular speed and not wifi speed??

Edit: never mind. I see it says "Cellular." Very cool. FWIW, I'm getting 1.45Mbit/sec download on mine via VZW 3G.
 
Last edited:
Ozy,

I live in Queen Creek, AZ and was surprised by your download speed from AT&T on my iPhone 4. I get anywhere from 2 to 3 down in my house. My dad's Verizon mifi on a good day will only get 1.44 down.

I am not defending AT&T by any means and I am glad to hear you are loving your new iPad2! I am trying to convince my wife why we would need another iPad, I love my iPad, but the new iPad looks awesome.

Thanks for your post!
Jeff
 
I haven't tried my Verizon iPad yet but I just switched to the Verizon iPhone and I am blown away!! All these reviews say how horrible slow Verizon 3G speed is so I didn't even consider them. I went into the Verizon store few days ago to test out he speeds cause I travel a lot and only one town has att 3G. Well I went and downloaded sites on both my AT&T iPhone and the Verizon one. The Verizon KILLED my AT&T everytime! Going to totally random websites and just clicking on random links in them. Then I did a speed test and the AT&T killed the Verizon...I don't get it. I did get the Verizon iPhone that day and have tested loading speeds with all of my family who has AT&T and 90% of the time I load much quicker. And I have this service everywhere now! I guess it really is just very area dependent. In my area, Verizon wins..surprised me.
 
I got the Verizon last night. As I have posted, only think I dislike is the white.

I was scared of Verizon, but my speed tests are showing it on par with AT&T.
 
eldervovichka said:
Ozy,

I live in Queen Creek, AZ and was surprised by your download speed from AT&T on my iPhone 4. I get anywhere from 2 to 3 down in my house. My dad's Verizon mifi on a good day will only get 1.44 down.

I am not defending AT&T by any means and I am glad to hear you are loving your new iPad2! I am trying to convince my wife why we would need another iPad, I love my iPad, but the new iPad looks awesome.

Thanks for your post!
Jeff
Click to expand...

I was at Grand Canyon University when I ran that test. On my way back to Goodyear, I stopped a few times and ran tests. Certain pockets of exceptional coverage, my AT&T iPhone peaked 2.5mbps, but the VZW iPad was consistent at 1.8~2.3mbps every time. Travel to northern az and you are 2g only everywhere but Flagstaff on AT&T. These tests were ran late in areas of relatively low usage. The true test is at a ball game or concert or at the airport during a holiday. This is where AT&T on my iPhone failed EVERY time, yet my mifi worked like a champ.
 
Goodyear Coverage

Hello Ozy, I just got the iPad 2 Verizon version because I heard that the data coverage was more consistent. I live in Goodyear, but am currently in las Vegas for work so haven't been able to test it out at home. Here in las Vegas the 3G on Verizon is extremely slow. Getting about .35mbps average. When I tether thru my tmobile 3G I am getting an average of 2.5mbps. More important I guess thou is the data coverage in Goodyear. Are you saying that the coverage throughout the west valley is better on Verizon than att? Ie Goodyear/avon dale/ litchfield? Thanks a lot for your response since I can't test it for myself.
 
Ozy said:
I was at Grand Canyon University when I ran that test. On my way back to Goodyear, I stopped a few times and ran tests. Certain pockets of exceptional coverage, my AT&T iPhone peaked 2.5mbps, but the VZW iPad was consistent at 1.8~2.3mbps every time. Travel to northern az and you are 2g only everywhere but Flagstaff on AT&T. These tests were ran late in areas of relatively low usage. The true test is at a ball game or concert or at the airport during a holiday. This is where AT&T on my iPhone failed EVERY time, yet my mifi worked like a champ.
Click to expand...

Good to know! I have thought of switching back to Verizon. Again, thank you for the info!

Jeff
 
I ended up with a Verizon iPad (had hoped for ATT) and it has been great so far. The top speeds on ATT will always be faster but that doesn't really matter if you have spotty ATT coverage.
 
Ozy said:
With my 3G AT&T iPad 1, speedtest was .44mbps down, .12mbps at my house with 4 bars here in west Phoenix today. I tested this multiple times for months now First thing I did with my new vzw 3G 64gb was to test 3G throughput. I wasn't expecting the same speed as my mifi, but it is!,At 4 bars, I got 2.33mbps down, .78mbps up. This is fantastic. AT&T has always been bad in Arizona, and having 5 bars never meant having a good download rate. Plus no 3g in northern AZ besides Flagstaff was absurd. I'm giving up my AT&T unlimited plan for vzw and not looking back. Unlimited data means nothing if it's slow as crap.

My last business trip at the end of feb was the final straw. At the phx airport, full coverage, my AT&T 3G speeds were .11mbps down if I was lucky. I had to use my mifi to get anything done. On the return flight while waiting in san jose, the same thing! At this point perhaps my iPad is broken, but my iphone4 had similar results. I was so surprised that that SJC in silicon valley was so poor. Don't get me started about how pissed I was trying to do stuff in Vegas last trip at the MGM grand. SMS texts on my AT&T iPhone took 5mins plus to go through.

Sorry for the rant but I am smiling big and soooo glad I can pay $35 for 3gb of useable data instead of $30 for an unusable unlimited.

-posted from my vzw iPad!!
Click to expand...


http://www.wireless.att.com/coverag...n#?type=voice&lat=33.9725&lon=-111.3409&sci=3

you act surprised that your on edge in arizona. The map above shows your coverage. stop crying.
 
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3GS: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

I hate AT&T. They keep promising 3G in my area. Every month they say it will be on next month. Using my Verizon iPad makes me not want to use my AT&T iPhone now.
 
After waiting in line for four hours i was told there were no AT&T iPads left at all at the Boston apple store! Rather than go home empty handed I bought the Verizon 64 gig model and boy have I been pleasantly surprised. Speedtest ranks both services equally at my house but web pages actually load two to three times faster with Verizon. I do not really understand why that it is the case but there you have it. I am finding Verizon to be like greased lightning by comparison. That is possibly because of Boston being hammered constantly by a ton of AT&T users and Verizon by comparison has less data traffic, whatever. I am very happy with the Verizon model, even though it wasn't my choice!
 
I tried to get my hands on a 64 GB+AT&T so I can keep my $30/unlimited plan from my first iPad, but after about 4 tries and no luck, I settled for a 64 GB Verizon iPad. I was worried i had made a mistake, losing the unlimited data and using a "slower" network, but it's actually just as fast, if not faster than the AT&T iPad.

I signed up for the 3GB for $35 plan. Now I'm paying an extra $5, and capped at 3 GB, but now I have another iOS device that won't fight for the same bandwidth as my AT&T iPhone 4.

So, If you can get your hands on a VZW iPad, its really not that different.
 
random person said:
After waiting in line for four hours i was told there were no AT&T iPads left at all at the Boston apple store! Rather than go home empty handed I bought the Verizon 64 gig model and boy have I been pleasantly surprised. Speedtest ranks both services equally at my house but web pages actually load two to three times faster with Verizon. I do not really understand why that it is the case but there you have it. I am finding Verizon to be like greased lightning by comparison. That is possibly because of Boston being hammered constantly by a ton of AT&T users and Verizon by comparison has less data traffic, whatever. I am very happy with the Verizon model, even though it wasn't my choice!
Click to expand...

Any idea over this whole Verizon might charge re-activation fees if you don't use the plan every month? No one seems to know what's going on. Called my local verizon store today, and they told me there would be re-activation fees just like the Xoom.
 
I considered getting a 3G version but I opted not to, I own an iPhone 4 already and will tether when I need to. The only thing that sucks is dropping my unlimited data plan for my iPhone when I upgrade to the tethering option on Att. I tried the tethering option on my girlfriends iPhone and it works great.
 
aaronw1986 said:
Any idea over this whole Verizon might charge re-activation fees if you don't use the plan every month? No one seems to know what's going on. Called my local verizon store today, and they told me there would be re-activation fees just like the Xoom.
Click to expand...


Whoah I'd like to know this as well.. Reactivation fee?!?!
 
Lloyd50 said:
I considered getting a 3G version but I opted not to, I own an iPhone 4 already and will tether when I need to. The only thing that sucks is dropping my unlimited data plan for my iPhone when I upgrade to the tethering option on Att. I tried the tethering option on my girlfriends iPhone and it works great.
Click to expand...

I'm no advocate for JB but I did my iPhone 4 for 1 main reason.. I have the unlimited plan and don't want to lose it. I did it Sep last year and all is well. So I have MyWi 4.0 and feel pretty comfortable with it.
 
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