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Staying on the fence, suspect a problem with the atrix

The whole "slow HSPA+" thing affects all ATT 4G phones because they haven't enabled it yet - end of story. My HTC Inspire is no different than what your Atrix reviewers are seeing for speed. Just... breath deeply, be calm, and we'll just have to wait until ATT gets around to throwing the switch.
 
I just want to say "I told ya so!!" I really really like the Atrix but with the locked booter an the At+t crippling the data flow on this phone, my money stays in my piggy bank for now.
 
Boomer Dog16 said:
I just want to say "I told ya so!!" I really really like the Atrix but with the locked booter an the At+t crippling the data flow on this phone, my money stays in my piggy bank for now.
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Okay, well you just keep waiting for that phone that AT&T and/or the manufacturer doesn't cripple then, I'm sure it is just past the horizon.
 
s.m.knipe said:
My admittedly amatuer-ish take on this is thus:
Firstly when tested against the iPhone 4 the Atrix will be slower because, primarily, of the OS itself. iOS does not use real multi-tasking, which means that background processes (and/or open apps) are not eating into the processor use and bandwidth being sucked down (both play a part in the speed, especially webpage rendering) because they are not running, they are "on hold" until accessed again. On Android, apps and processes can run fully in the background even while the browser or test application is the main one open, increasing the load on the processor and bandwidth even during the test itself. Also, the iPhone 4 has re-written drivers (from previous iterations) to enable HSUPA (which AT&T does not seem to be allowing on any of its branded phones, including the Atrix) and decrease latency, both of which improve the speed results. As to other phones, I haven't seen comparisons to other phones so I don't know. I do know that most reviewers were "disappointed" with the 3G speeds on the Inspire too, which leads to the second point.
Secondly, the HSPA+ rollout is physically "complete" but is not in use yet, as the backhaul has to be hooked into AT&T's network and turned on. The "H" is displayed because the device's radio is receiving the HSPA+ signal, but without the backhaul and infrastructure in place, it is only passing 3G-like speeds to the radio. Remember that HSPA+ is really a type of 3G, it is 3G with additional bandwidth available...

Admittedly I might not be correct, but when I encountered those spots in the reviews at first I was worried, but now these two points are realizations I have had. Frankly, I know AT&T will not top T-mo "4G" speeds (They can't as they have more load on their network), but I know that it is coming and it is an improvement over what is in place already, and an improvement over Verizon's and Sprint's 3G speeds- potentially even at least on par with their 4G speeds too.
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I canceled my pre-order and now I am waiting for people to have a phone in their hands to provide feedback after release.

This stuff just doesn't add up -- even without any expectation of reaching hspa+/4g speeds, why the hell is the Atrix clocking in at bandwidth speeds slower than other 3g devices. Shouldn't it at least be able to provide 3g speeds on par with current devices?

Because no reviewer has shown it to be doing that.... I couldn't care less about the semantics around their hspa+ rollout as long as it was currently providing 3g speeds. I feel like something is wrong with the Atrix, whether or not it is simply firmware/software or modem related remains to be seen
 
Excuse me everyone, i actually OWN an iPhone 4 right now, on ATT. I also have an Atrix 4G coming to the house.

I can tell you i've been following this story VERY closely and I will be making a video about this the moment i get the Atrix in Hand.

Right now i get over 3-4 Megs/Download on the iPhone 4 CONSISTENTLY at all times, and 1.5 Megs Upload at all times. I can also provide screenshots.

this is on 3G, doesn't even have anything to do with the new +

I will provide a video on youtube once I make it, you can follow me on twitter or something- Computermilk
 
Judgement said:
I canceled my pre-order and now I am waiting for people to have a phone in their hands to provide feedback after release.

This stuff just doesn't add up -- even without any expectation of reaching hspa+/4g speeds, why the hell is the Atrix clocking in at bandwidth speeds slower than other 3g devices. Shouldn't it at least be able to provide 3g speeds on par with current devices?

Because no reviewer has shown it to be doing that.... I couldn't care less about the semantics around their hspa+ rollout as long as it was currently providing 3g speeds. I feel like something is wrong with the Atrix, whether or not it is simply firmware/software or modem related remains to be seen
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Why would the Inspire 4G have similar speeds than the Atrix? It is definitely network related ! This thread really doesn't give any concrete evidence that the Atrix 4G has a defect except for what a couple of reviewers said and solely based on buyer's remorse..
 
zizo79 said:
Why would the Inspire 4G have similar speeds than the Atrix? It is definitely network related ! This thread really doesn't give any concrete evidence that the Atrix 4G has a defect except for what a couple of reviewers said and solely based on buyer's remorse..
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It's NOT network related, as i said up above.

It's Android related more or less. and it's already been confirmed that this can be fixed. Some users have already reported that they have used different /settings or Roms on the inspire and they started to see Normal 3G speeds that the iPhone 4 sees. which is around 3-4 down and 1.5 Up.

Basically there's a Block on these phones, and it can be removed. I'm not a rooting/Rom expert so i'm not up on the lingo/syntax of what it's called, but it CAN be fixed.
 
The reviewers speeds are in line with what my stock Captivate sees as 3G... so I am not worried as it will only get better as the 4G gets switched on or whatever. Convince yourselves of whatever you want...
 
iPhoneMilk said:
It's NOT network related, as i said up above.

It's Android related more or less. and it's already been confirmed that this can be fixed. Some users have already reported that they have used different /settings or Roms on the inspire and they started to see Normal 3G speeds that the iPhone 4 sees. which is around 3-4 down and 1.5 Up.

Basically there's a Block on these phones, and it can be removed. I'm not a rooting/Rom expert so i'm not up on the lingo/syntax of what it's called, but it CAN be fixed.
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Once again...no proof, pure speculation!
 
There is marginal substance there, as AT&T is disabling HSUPA for some reason, but as xda has already found a way to alter the build prop file to enable the froyo wifi tether (the non AT&T cash cow one) so this will not be a problem for long for those looking for something to complain about with this device.
zizo79 said:
Once again...no proof, pure speculation!
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zizo79 said:
Once again...no proof, pure speculation!
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What more proof do you want? There are thousands of iPhone users out there who can report the 3g speeds they obtain on the current AT&T network every single day, but there hasn't been a single preview/review of the Atrix where the network speeds werent abysmal in comparison

This is not a matter of "Oh it will be fixed when they enable hspa+ backhaul" - that is really irrelevant - the device isn't even matching existing obtainable 3G speeds - not even getting close

Who wants to pay for this device (with 4G in its name no less) and pay for these data subscription fees while having significantly slower network speeds than other 3G devices

I'm not writing off the Atrix - I still have hope, but something is not right with the pre-release models and I think people should wait to see what gets reported by users when the phone is released
 
There have been reports of instances of 6-7 mbps down that mysteriously the next day it will be back down to 1.5 and then hovering around 3-4mbps. Check out Getaphixx's experiences here:
http://androidforums.com/motorola-atrix-4g/277081-atrix-4g-w-laptop-kit-user-review.html
as well as read some of the testers' comments to some of the articles elsewhere stating similar experiences to those of getaphixx.

If this was an issue exclusive to the Atrix I would be worried, but because the stock Inspires see the same thing I am not worried about it...
 
Willy Willy said:
That's not proof... I have an iPhone 4 and I have pulled down 2+ speeds ONLY a few times I am normally 1-1.7
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That's irrelevant, you're in a bad area then. Nothing to do with ATT's network as a whole.

Look up the iPhone 4, ATT Speed tests yourself on youtube. Don't be ignorant.
 
iPhoneMilk said:
That's irrelevant, you're in a bad area then. Nothing to do with ATT's network as a whole.

Look up the iPhone 4, ATT Speed tests yourself on youtube. Don't be ignorant.
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I would believe you if you had the Atrix but I don't ... Please leave your assumptions to yourself. I have an iPhone 4 and my speeds are 3-4 MBPS and I am still getting the Atrix because it is a beast of a phone !!
 
Bottom line is the Atrix doesn't have HSUPA so until HSPA+ is fully available and useable it will be slower than the iPhone 4 on the network until someone figures out how to re-enable it on this phone.
 
The HSDPA+ network is not enabled yet. ATT is however misleading people with the H+ symbol. I am on inspire 4g and When I go to about phone-network it says I am on HSDPA network ando HSDPA+. However it will always say I am on H+ on the top bar. and ATT is saying I have 4g all over the place. The problem is they have the coverage but they haven't deployed backhaul yet. Its not a new thing a big corporation lies straight in to or face and get away with it. everyone does it. I am sure by the end of summer the we will finally get backhaul implemented and get some faster speeds. I am getting 3mb on the inspire and that is the best case scenario. Upload speeds are plain pathetic. I am hating verizon right now for not releasing thunderbolt already.
 
iPhoneMilk said:
That's irrelevant, you're in a bad area then. Nothing to do with ATT's network as a whole.

Look up the iPhone 4, ATT Speed tests yourself on youtube. Don't be ignorant.
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You're numbers are irrelevant to anyone who isn't in your area. Where I am, I see no better than 2mbps on an iPhone 4 and on a 3g.
 
ranova said:
faster upload means better latency.
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True however regardless of upload "capability", the "higher" speeds may not be enough to overcome network/connection issues, and delay could still be enough to impact time sensitive applications (e.g. VoIP).
 
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