Draaaastic data speed difference from S3 to N4 on ATT

[wthrower]

I have gone back and forth from GN to N4 to S3 to N4 again since November. The LTE S3 is ridiculously faster where I live...Orange County. No rocket science tests here. Just normal everyday streaming and instagramming. The N4 is clearly slower and always lags. Remember this is my 2nd one, so I have eliminated the "bad apple" device. Bummed because "for me" everything about the N4 is better. So I have decided to sacrifice speed for all of the other goodies that come with the Nexus....

 

[instigator008]

You do realize that the N4 doesn't have LTE (at least out of the box)?

 

[XChrisX]

I agree with OP, S3 is noticeably faster with data. My sim card has been back in my S3 for the past week, but I really want to love the N4, but without LTE it's just hard.

 

[DirkBelig]

Try coming from a GS2 on Sprint and tell me your phone is too slow. ST ATT is lightning fast compared to Trudge.

 

[XChrisX]

Try coming from a GS2 on Sprint and tell me your phone is too slow. ST ATT is lightning fast compared to Trudge.

LOL Sprint in general is just slow. I had a guy try arguing with me that his Sprint unlimited data was Superior to my AT&T plan, until I ran a speed test on my S3

 

[wthrower]

You do realize that the N4 doesn't have LTE (at least out of the box)?

Yes i realize this. Like ChrisXEe said..." I really want to love the N4 but it's just hard without LTE" Oh well, I am loving 4.2.1, and have accepted the patient wait until either a LTE N4 or the S4 (pending my liking of course).

 

[TheLibertarian]

Well of course an LTE device is faster.

I'm lucky in that I'm leaving Verizon on a Droid X2 (no LTE) and switching to Straight Talk AT&T... theoretically I'll see a drastic improvement (most of the time).

But living in a LTE area with an LTE device and leaving that behind would be tough...

 

[andr0idralphie]

So we're all in agreement, LTE is faster than HSPA+? I mean, am I wrong? The faster data connection is faster... wait, what's the point of this thread? Lemme scroll up...

 

[minnemike]

So we're all in agreement, LTE is faster than HSPA+? I mean, am I wrong? The faster data connection is faster... wait, what's the point of this thread? Lemme scroll up...

Haha, exactly.

In other news.... I can't imagine what one would need with so much more speed than HSPA+ for a phone? I think perfect coverage is really the only uncharted territory left and no single carrier has that cornered. If speed is your #1 priority far outweighing everything else, then I think you by default are forced to pick a phone based on carrier signal in your most frequented locale and if Tmo or ATT isn't the one, the N4 should have never been a candidate for you.

 

[javierlp]

I have another barely know fact, the sun is bigger than the earth.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[DeadpoolJunior]

I understand LTE is great and all and better than HSPA+, but I find that I don't care about data speeds as much as I care about overall performance of the phone. The N4 is the smoothest Android experience i've had. Smoother than my buddys SGS3 (Until he got JB, now they're pretty even). I find myself using the phone to do things that don't really require fast data speeds, or where WiFi is sufficient enough. Only thing where LTE would matter to me is if I browse alot, which I dont on my phone. Wifi and the HSPA connection I get at home is fine with me. But then again, I've never had an LTE device so maybe i'll just have to try it out to see how amazing it is.

 

[PWC Realtor]

Only thing for me that's useful about LTE over HSPA+ is the upload speeds.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[6tr6tr]

I have gone back and forth from GN to N4 to S3 to N4 again since November. The LTE S3 is ridiculously faster where I live...Orange County. No rocket science tests here. Just normal everyday streaming and instagramming. The N4 is clearly slower and always lags. Remember this is my 2nd one, so I have eliminated the "bad apple" device. Bummed because "for me" everything about the N4 is better. So I have decided to sacrifice speed for all of the other goodies that come with the Nexus....

what speeds do you get on each? you're being vague. drastically slower to some people could be 6mbps on one device and 16mbps on the other, but most people would say that's negligible. so what ping, down, up speeds are you seeing?

 

[minnemike]

Only thing for me that's useful about LTE over HSPA+ is the upload speeds.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

But what kind of content do you create on your phone where upload speed is so crucial to be on LTE? I guess the one item that maybe alot of people would enjoy would be the video phone quality increase, but I really can't think of anything else that needs upload speeds that your average user would want. I'd think you would have to be very very specialized in what you do with a phone.

Another area where I could see an advantage is if you wireless hotspot it with a laptop for a mobile office or something. But in every scenario where I would be doing this, I would be in some cabin on a lake in the middle of Wisconsin where no one has good data connectivity no matter the carrier anyways.

 

[andr0idralphie]

Via huluplus I watched a full episode of Key & Peele yesterday during my break with a buddy of mine... how much faster do I need my connection to be? Streaming video and it didn't skip a beat once...

 

[TheLibertarian]

Via huluplus I watched a full episode of Key & Peele yesterday during my break with a buddy of mine... how much faster do I need my connection to be? Streaming video and it didn't skip a beat once...

True, it's minimal in some cases, but as someone said browsing is where you notice a bigger difference. Hell, I'm on Verizon's CDMA network and have no issues with Pandora and only slight buffering issues with Netflix.

 

[hossman12]

Recently I've been getting around 6-7mbps down with my MetroPCS service and have no lag issues with streaming. Downloads and uploads are quick and browsing is also a very seemless experience. I also do a lot with music on my phone so I'm thankful for the decent speeds I get. Having those blazing 50mbps down LTE speeds is cool but also completely unneccesary for most people. I've learned to value consistency more than anything else.

Sent from my MetroPCS GS3