Lousy down/up load speed on 3G

[KoukiFC3S]

This upload limit must be why my fring video feed looks like crap on my gf's evo. You can't even make out my face lol, just a blurry mess.

 

[Bmerz]

The problem is, we don't have 4G officially yet here in Denver. But we do have a few testing spots in downtown Denver, one place is our Capital building.

So while downtown today, I decided to do some speed test...

In my house (not downtown) I get (if I am lucky) 500+ DL, and an average of around 150 or less UL.

At a friends house in downtown (3G) the highest I got was; 2124 DL, and 107 UL.

Then 3 blocks from Capital building (low 4G 1-2 bars), 1375 DL, and 471 UL.

Then 1 block away from Capital building (higher 4G with 3-4 bars) 3158 DL, and 1148 UL.

The front of the Capital building was blocked off, due to an event going on, so I couldn't park in front of Capital to get a full 5 bars.

Good news is that 4G does make a difference on getting pass the 150 UL mark, but 3G seems to have a cap at 200 max. The most I've gotten 3G UL in my house, was 191 - but usually around 150 or less.

Now my problem is getting a blue tint when I take pics - so I may have to exchange this Epic for a 3rd one... *sighs* My first Epic took great pics, this new one pics sux!

Hopefully 3rd time is a charm, otherwise - it's back to Tmo.

 

[ElToro]

Given that the Fascinate is not having the same uploading issues, would it be possible to flash the Fascinate radio onto the Epic? Would that even solve the problem? I guess I'm not too familiar with radio flashing and compatibility.

 

[johnnyappleseed]

My Epic has been right around 150kbps upload speed on 3G since the first test I ran on 8/31. I thought this seemed low, but never cared enough to reactivate another phone to test (and never thought to post a thread)

Just ran 3G, 4G, and Wifi speedtest.net app tests:

3G: 761 down/156 up
3G: 712 down/135 up

4G: 8878 down/1127 up
4G: 11202 down/1144 up

Wifi: 9944 down/2048 up
Wifi: 12668 down/2122 up

 

[ImNotYourGirlfriend]

My Epic is doing this at my apartment. Actually, it's worse. I'll be sitting at 3 bars then go to data roaming then no signal and in and out like that constantly.

My phone will be at 3 bars, and then drop to zero bars after a couple seconds, and go back and forth from there every couple minutes. I can't update the PRL or profile as it says I can't get a connection. I've had a couple dropped calls but it was in a no service area around town.

I'm just concerned if I should maybe try and switch out my phone again or think about switching carriers~!

Thanks!

 

[ElToro]

My Epic is doing this at my apartment. Actually, it's worse. I'll be sitting at 3 bars then go to data roaming then no signal and in and out like that constantly.

Have you tried toggling airplane mode? There seems to be a bug with the phone that it's constantly searching for some other (GSM?) signal, and can be 'fixed' by toggling airplane mode right after boot.

 

[ImNotYourGirlfriend]

I have not tried this and will not be at my apartment until tomorrow (er, technically later today...). I will test it out and report back.

Have you tried toggling airplane mode? There
seems to be a bug with the phone that it's constantly searching for some other (GSM?) signal, and can be 'fixed' by toggling airplane mode right after boot.

 

[robl45]

4g and wifi work fine, its only 3g that seems to be broken. 4g is capped to 1mb upload though per sprint rules at least for the time being. i tried 4g today as well, got over 6mb down a few times.

The problem is, we don't have 4G officially yet here in Denver. But we do have a few testing spots in downtown Denver, one place is our Capital building.

So while downtown today, I decided to do some speed test...

In my house (not downtown) I get (if I am lucky) 500+ DL, and an average of around 150 or less UL.

At a friends house in downtown (3G) the highest I got was; 2124 DL, and 107 UL.

Then 3 blocks from Capital building (low 4G 1-2 bars), 1375 DL, and 471 UL.

Then 1 block away from Capital building (higher 4G with 3-4 bars) 3158 DL, and 1148 UL.

The front of the Capital building was blocked off, due to an event going on, so I couldn't park in front of Capital to get a full 5 bars.

Good news is that 4G does make a difference on getting pass the 150 UL mark, but 3G seems to have a cap at 200 max. The most I've gotten 3G UL in my house, was 191 - but usually around 150 or less.

Now my problem is getting a blue tint when I take pics - so I may have to exchange this Epic for a 3rd one... *sighs* My first Epic took great pics, this new one pics sux!

Hopefully 3rd time is a charm, otherwise - it's back to Tmo.

 

[Aero1]

Hey, I hear you. Everything you listed I had it. Part of it is the Epic. The Evo has a much better Radio. If you check back to page 1 and 2, I listed my speeds often lol. I had some of the worse on here. So weaker radio and a weak Sprint signal. Dropped calls, internet way to slow to even consider tethering.

It isn't the "radio" oif by that you mean possibly worse signal reception because no one with epic, under any circumstance, probbly including standing under a Sprint tower, seems to get over 150 up on 3g.

Have you tried toggling airplane mode? There seems to be a bug with the phone that it's constantly searching for some other (GSM?) signal, and can be 'fixed' by toggling airplane mode right after boot.

Please read the thread. this is not a gsm phone, and where did you get "can be fixed"? since by reading the thread you can see NO ONE ever is getting over 150 up on 3g on Epic

 

[ElToro]

Please read the thread. this is not a gsm phone, and where did you get "can be fixed"? since by reading the thread you can see NO ONE ever is getting over 150 up on 3g on Epic

I'm fully aware it's not a gsm phone, that's the whole reason why I said 'some other signal'. In any which case, it's not unheard of for a CDMA phone to search for a GSM signal. As the question mark implied, I'm not exactly sure what it IS doing.

Please read the ImNotYourGirlfriend Post. The issue he was having (that I was referring to as being 'fixed') has nothing to do with the upload speed. It has to do with an inconsistent signal.

 

[TheMostToys]

To add my findings. I've been traveling this week with an Epic and Evo. Ive been to New York, Raleigh, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Houston and Austin. Where the Evo performs as expected (between 400 to 800 up) the Epic tops out at 150 (with a very few spike exceptions to 190, but even then it immediately drops back down.)

I've also observed (as others have) that the 3G radio consumes too much power. I've also noticed a consistent difference of two bars less signal strength when compared to the Evo.

BTW, I am not an Evo fanboy, actually I'm a keyboard fanboy so I actually prefer the Epic. But the radio and GPS issues are making it very difficult to love.

 

[robl45]

we know there is an issue with the upload in 3g, but as far as the signal bars, you think thats just the coding on the bars? i'm around the fort lauderdale area and this thing has signal everywhere, regardless of what the bars actually say. i've made calls inside buildings, something that was sketchy or impossible with tmobile. the phone frequently will sit at 1 bar yet I make crystal clear calls.

To add my findings. I've been traveling this week with an Epic and Evo. Ive been to New York, Raleigh, Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, Houston and Austin. Where the Evo performs as expected (between 400 to 800 up) the Epic tops out at 150 (with a very few spike exceptions to 190, but even then it immediately drops back down.)

I've also observed (as others have) that the 3G radio consumes too much power. I've also noticed a consistent difference of two bars less signal strength when compared to the Evo.

BTW, I am not an Evo fanboy, actually I'm a keyboard fanboy so I actually prefer the Epic. But the radio and GPS issues are making it very difficult to love.

 

[Bmerz]

Ok, so we seem to have it narrowed down to 3G being the issue when it comes to UL - which to me (and I could be wrong) makes it sound as though it's a radio frequency and or software issue (or whatever, IDK).

My question is this, if you're getting 3G now and are due to have 4G in your city/state soon - will the 4G automatically take over 3G, and I will no longer be on 3G - but rather I'll get 4G once it hits Denver?

Sorry, I am not techie savvy, so I have no clue how this works. But since I know my phone works on 4G with the UL (after testing it yesterday in downtown Denver), if 4G will automatically take over all the 3G areas, then I would be willing to keep the phone - as I can live with the lousy UL on 3G for a couple of months. As we're supposed to have 4G fully rolled out between Oct/Nov (I think I read).

Also another thing I'd like to know (since I am on my 30-days free trial, with only about 2 weeks left), will Froyo 2.2 help with speed of the phone as well as a better reception? Sometimes my calls have some static, and cuts out - or is this also 3G thing?

Again IDK, as I am not tech-savvy at all...so I appreciate your info and knowledge. TIA

 

[robl45]

unfortunately it doesn't work like that, for one thing, it depends where 4G will blanket your area, will they setup every tower, I don't know, also, 4G uses an even higher frequency than sprints already using and higher frequencies don't penetrate buildings as well, so the odds of not having to rely on 3G are slim. plus, I don't think there will be too many more wimax phones and honestly don't know how much longer sprint will keep up with wimax when everyone is going LTE.

I just got 1950dl on 3g and 150k upload. this is pathetic and needs to be fixed. I hate to give back the phone. I really love sprint service especially down here in south florida, but I'm not getting an evo and there is no other choice on sprint.

Ok, so we seem to have it narrowed down to 3G being the issue when it comes to UL - which to me (and I could be wrong) makes it sound as though it's a radio frequency and or software issue (or whatever, IDK).

My question is this, if you're getting 3G now and are due to have 4G in your city/state soon - will the 4G automatically take over 3G, and I will no longer be on 3G - but rather I'll get 4G once it hits Denver?

Sorry, I am not techie savvy, so I have no clue how this works. But since I know my phone works on 4G with the UL (after testing it yesterday in downtown Denver), if 4G will automatically take over all the 3G areas, then I would be willing to keep the phone - as I can live with the lousy UL on 3G for a couple of months. As we're supposed to have 4G fully rolled out between Oct/Nov (I think I read).

Also another thing I'd like to know (since I am on my 30-days free trial, with only about 2 weeks left), will Froyo 2.2 help with speed of the phone as well as a better reception? Sometimes my calls have some static, and cuts out - or is this also 3G thing?

Again IDK, as I am not tech-savvy at all...so I appreciate your info and knowledge. TIA

 

[Bmerz]

unfortunately it doesn't work like that, for one thing, it depends where 4G will blanket your area, will they setup every tower, I don't know, also, 4G uses an even higher frequency than sprints already using and higher frequencies don't penetrate buildings as well, so the odds of not having to rely on 3G are slim. plus, I don't think there will be too many more wimax phones and honestly don't know how much longer sprint will keep up with wimax when everyone is going LTE.

I just got 1950dl on 3g and 150k upload. this is pathetic and needs to be fixed. I hate to give back the phone. I really love sprint service especially down here in south florida, but I'm not getting an evo and there is no other choice on sprint.

Thank you Rob, for explaining this better to me. Of course this is NOT what I wanted to hear (read), as I have a feeling I'll be having to go back to Tmo. Which would be Ok, if I liked any of their phones.

Tmo has their 1st HSPA+ phone coming out at the end of Sept., a G2. But it only has a 4 row qwerty, a small 3.7" screen (I am spoiled now to 4" or more), and it's an ugly phone (IMO)! lol

On the upside with Tmo, my reception is 4-5 bars in house, and they are rolling out HSPA+ here in Denver by years end. And test have shown that HSPA+ is actually a little faster than 4G.

But if the phones all sux and are ugly, who cares if HSPA+ is faster! *rolls eyes* lol Anyways, thx again!

 

[gtl408]

I've also observed (as others have) that the 3G radio consumes too much power. I've also noticed a consistent difference of two bars less signal strength when compared to the Evo.

Try toggling on/off the flight (airplane) mode on the phone. The Epic has some weird bug that frequently loses its 3G radio connection when in a coverage area. There's a thread in the Tips section with the subject "Fix for major battery drain". I'm in a strong coverage area, but if I go to settings -> about phone -> battery use -> cell standby, my time without service value would be in the double digits. Toggling the flight mode, makes it be 0%, the way it should be. Just doing that, I found my battery life was better.

 

[TheMostToys]

we know there is an issue with the upload in 3g, but as far as the signal bars, you think thats just the coding on the bars? i'm around the fort lauderdale area and this thing has signal everywhere, regardless of what the bars actually say. i've made calls inside buildings, something that was sketchy or impossible with tmobile. the phone frequently will sit at 1 bar yet I make crystal clear calls.

Since I have not had any dropped calls that could be part of it. But looking at the debug screen and the SNR #, it is more than just a bar's displayed issue. It's either something in the radio (firmware) code or the antenna design. I hope it is in the radio code (that can be fixed with an update if Samsung and Sprint care to) if it is an antenna design issue we are out of luck. The thing that worries me is the similar problems with the GPS (pointing to it being an antenna design issue.) But we will see what if anything is done to help in the coming weeks.

Try toggling on/off the flight (airplane) mode on the phone. The Epic has some weird bug that frequently loses its 3G radio connection when in a coverage area. There's a thread in the Tips section with the subject "Fix for major battery drain". I'm in a strong coverage area, but if I go to settings -> about phone -> battery use -> cell standby, my time without service value would be in the double digits. Toggling the flight mode, makes it be 0%, the way it should be. Just doing that, I found my battery life was better.

Yes thanks, that is an important tip. I've been doing that after every reboot (unfortunately I need to reboot regularly to get the GPS to function.) That does improve the power consumption to something that I can live with for now, but not so much that it is in line with expectations. To test, use Juice Defender or any other power control widget to toggle the 3G radio off. With 3G off, the battery lasts forever (well, a very long time). When I test this with both the Epic & Evo, the 3G radio on the Epic draws close to twice as much power as the Evo's 3G radio in the exact same conditions. Again, I don't know if it is a firmware issue or antenna issue. In the first week I had my Evo I saw similar results. HTC / Sprint released a radio update quickly (and have since release others) to improve the Evo. Now we will see if the Epic will get the same level of focus. I do worry a little because with Evo (and it's early issues) had a LOT more press than the Epic.

Thank you

 

[dgtsunami]

This is what i get on 4g but it has me testing in AZ and i live in california so it's not the fastest!

 

[robl45]

i just updated my PRL and 3g uploads are working now!!!

I'm so excited, 1100kbps down and 600kbps up. sprint said I should get 300-500kbps up so I guess I can't expect more than that.

 

[mojomojo]

I updated PRL and Im still capped at 150kbps.
Even with 3500 kbps download,I could only get 150 up.
This phones getting exchanged.

i just updated my PRL and 3g uploads are working now!!!

I'm so excited, 1100kbps down and 600kbps up. sprint said I should get 300-500kbps up so I guess I can't expect more than that.

 

[Nucleartx]

i just updated my PRL and 3g uploads are working now!!!

I'm so excited, 1100kbps down and 600kbps up. sprint said I should get 300-500kbps up so I guess I can't expect more than that.

Your baseband still the same at dg27?

Edit: still sitting at 354/133...

 

[robl45]

Your baseband still the same at dg27?

yes same.

 

[robl45]

well I don't know what to say, maybe it was a fluke, but my speeds are back down to 150kbps, I have 3 speedtests to prove that it happened though. all between 7:46 and 7:47 EST. one at 422, one at 588 and one at 630kbps upload.

 

[ImNotYourGirlfriend]

1. I'm a she, ElToro.
2. Airplane toggle did fix the in and out data roaming, thank you.

 

[iamyourdemize]

I am way jealous of your guys speeds.

I have yet to have over 250 kbps down and 30 up. I JUST switched to Sprint for this phone (from AT&T). 3G has been completely worthless. I have also never had more than three bars of service. I live in Milwaukee and have an August build.