Nexus 4 HSPA+ speeds on AT&T?

[saintforlife]

Anybody use a Nexus 4 on AT&T in the San Francisco Bay Area? What kind of download and upload speeds do you get? Are you able to get HSPA+ speeds? If you can post a couple of screenshots from the Speed Test app, that will be great. I am almost ready to jump ship to Nexus 4 from the iPhone and I am just a little bit worried about giving up LTE.

 

[yfan]

I am in the SF bay area, but I am on T-mobile. While I can't speak specifically to the speed you will get on AT&T's HSPA+ on your Nexus 4, I do know that AT&T's HSPA+ is not dual carrier, which means its theoretical speeds are limited to 21 Mbps, while T-Mobile's network, which is an HSPA+ 42 network, can theoretically give you twice the speed. Will real life speeds be different based on this? Yes. I also had the Galaxy Nexus on T-mobile, and I averaged around 7-8 mbps. With my Nexus 4 on the same exact network (T-mobile, SF bay area), I average 12-14. So your phone is capable of getting about twice the speed it is getting on that same network had it supported HSPA+ 42.

Just out of curiosity, given that T-mobile has excellent coverage in the SF bay area, why did you go with AT&T?

 

[MrVivekB]

I work in downtown SF, live in the East Bay, will grab one on Monday. (Inside the house now, late at night, crap reception inside the house).
I will say that I am noticing the drop more than I thought, and I rarely watch video. For me, its less about the speed, and more about the quality of coverage. I had an HTC One X beforehand, got LTE coverage nearly everywhere. With my Nexus 4, I have a lot more deadspots than I expected or enjoy. I'm definitely moving to the Nexus 5 assuming it has LTE.

 

[saintforlife]

Thanks guys. For reference, I am currently getting 20-25 MBPS download and 7-9 MBPS upload at home (south Bay) on my iPhone 5 AT&T LTE. My contract with AT&T doesn't expire till September 2014, so I am stuck with them till then.

 

[Farish]

Thanks guys. For reference, I am currently getting 20-25 MBPS download and 7-9 MBPS upload at home (south Bay) on my iPhone 5 AT&T LTE. My contract with AT&T doesn't expire till September 2014, so I am stuck with them till then.

Nexus 4 is sold off contract only so you can easily swap it out and put it on your ATT account.

 

[Jnorton2724]

Thanks guys. For reference, I am currently getting 20-25 MBPS download and 7-9 MBPS upload at home (south Bay) on my iPhone 5 AT&T LTE. My contract with AT&T doesn't expire till September 2014, so I am stuck with them till then.

I use my Nexus 4 on AT&T. I would expect speeds from 4 to 11Mbps down and 1 to 2Mbps up with very high ping. I was constantly frustrated with laggy downloads and streaming video or watching YouTube. T-Mobile is really the BEST choice for the Nexus 4 as far as data coverage and performance. I currently get 25 down 25 up on LTE with AT&T, that's why I switched.

I am in southern California, just posting my experience.

Sent from my HTC One

 

[yfan]

Thanks guys. For reference, I am currently getting 20-25 MBPS download and 7-9 MBPS upload at home (south Bay) on my iPhone 5 AT&T LTE. My contract with AT&T doesn't expire till September 2014, so I am stuck with them till then.

Ha! We're neighbors - I live in the south bay too! Since you are stuck with an AT&T contract till 2014, though, here are your options:

1. Stay with AT&T and your iPhone 5 until September 2014 and enjoy the LTE speeds.

2. Stay with AT&T, wait for the next Nexus to come out, and buy that. It will likely include AT&T's LTE bands, and you can use it on that. If you buy your Nexus 5 (or whatever it is called) from Google you will probably come out ahead from the money you will make selling your iPhone 5.

3. Break the contract, pay the ETF, and move to T-Mobile. But if you choose this route, make some calculations: how much will you make from selling your iPhone 5? Will it cover the cost of both buying a Nexus (either the current or the next iteration) as well as paying for the ETF? If yes, this is a no brainer. If not, approximate how you will be out net if you sell your iPhone 5, break contract, and buy a Nexus. Then calculate your monthly savings on T-mobile vs. your AT&T bill. If the monthly savings pay for the amount you are out net before September 2014, then even with the ETF, you will come out ahead.

Hope that helps.