EVO Weak 4G vs. Sprint Overdrive

[WindyCityGuy]

I have both the Sprint Overdrive and the HTC Evo and I am in Chicago. The 4G signal on the overdrive is much stronger than the Evo when I compare the two in the same location. For example, I get 3 bars with the Overdrive in my sunroom and get only one bar on the Evo. I have seen numerous complaints about a weak Wi-fi signal for the Evo and I have that problem as well (only 1-2 bars only inches away from the WiFi router). Is this a software issue? If not, I am going to return the Evo although it has great potential!

 

[hampstenj]

early adopter problems as usual... you know what I call you guys, beta testers who are paying the company for it...

I mean that out of care,

IMO I think it could be a software issue, could be a hardware issue. I'd contact sprint and let them know, as I recommend to everyone who has this issue, enough people call and complain about it, the more likely that Sprint will look into the issue.

 

[Auzo]

Hmm... this adds some credence to my theory that instead of adding a separate antenna for Wimax (2.5GHz) they just piggybacked off the wifi antenna (2.4GHz) and detuned it so that they got a wider operational bandwidth at the expense of gain so they could cover both bands.

I will be the first to admit that my theory makes some big assumptions that may not be true. Maybe the typical antenna used in cell phones can already handle that bandwidth I mean I know my router uses the same antenna for the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz radios, but I am assuming that because of the small space available they are highly tuning the antenna to a particular frequency to squeeze out as much gain as possible.

 

[Jordus]

My wifi has been fine, but i can't test 4G until next month.

 

[schj98]

Bars mean nothing when comparing one device to another on one device -64dBm might equal 5 bars and on another it might equal 3.

Now as far as WiFi goes I am seeing a low representation of signal level but no degredation in performance which leads me to believe this is just miscalibrated signal indicators which can be fixed in software.

 

[xorg]

I've tested against an Overdrive and Overdrive consistently outperformed. Minimum on OD was 6Mbps. I could ofen get 7Mbps on Evo at same location but otherwise typically 4-5Mbps. I'm OK with it as I can't think of a mobile app that would take advantage of >3Mbps (yet). I did Hotspot the Evo to PS3 and it streamed Netflix HD quite well. Very tempting to get a router that can repeat the EVo to all rooms and dump cable.

OD was designed to do one function. Evo is a Swiss pocket knife and does many things effectively, not perfectly.

Be sure to test with speakeasy.net and not the Android speedtest apps, as they do not work well for testing 4G.

See first post in this thread...
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-evo-4g/15481-post-your-highest-4g-performance-test.html

 

[WindyCityGuy]

While it may be Apples to Oranges to compare the Overdrive to the Evo, the fact remains that in my bedroom I get 4G connectivity always with the Overdrive and only a 3G connection with the Evo most of the time in the same location.

 

[UTnick]

i am torn on this. i know my wifi signal strength appears to be just fine by its performance the indicator shows that it is weak. and with 4g my gf has clear and it shows a full signal in her room and my phone struggles to acquire a 4g signal. i am truly hoping it is just a software bug.

 

[xorg]

^Bummer. It's unfortunate but cellphones will likely be less effective than dedicated routers until MIMO antennas appear in phones.

One option is to setup the EVO with a router repeater (Buffalo) in the best room in house and then the repeater would give you WiFi to whole place.

 

[WindyCityGuy]

There is a CLEAR store in the building where I work in Chicago (Ogilvie building on Madison Street). I went in this morning and the EVO could not find a 4G signal (3G only). The guy working at the CLEAR store was amazed and befuddled....as am I.

 

[theiphonewannabe]

I have heard rumblings that the speed on the EVO is capped whereas dedicated devices like the overdrive are not. This makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that in Dallas I was getting 6+ mbits per second on a borrowed Overdrive and reports out of Dallas with the EVO are about half that.

As to signal issues, it seems to be par for the course. Everywhere I have looked, I see the signal difference.

 

[ChaosShadow]

I have both the Sprint Overdrive and the HTC Evo and I am in Chicago. The 4G signal on the overdrive is much stronger than the Evo when I compare the two in the same location. For example, I get 3 bars with the Overdrive in my sunroom and get only one bar on the Evo. I have seen numerous complaints about a weak Wi-fi signal for the Evo and I have that problem as well (only 1-2 bars only inches away from the WiFi router). Is this a software issue? If not, I am going to return the Evo although it has great potential!

The 4G in the Chicago 'burbs isn't any better either. The best signal I've seen yet is one bar and that's inside or out. Now, I haven't driven around much with the 4G on to save battery, but so far... it doesn't look too promising :/

 

[wrxdrunkie]

I have heard rumblings that the speed on the EVO is capped whereas dedicated devices like the overdrive are not. This makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that in Dallas I was getting 6+ mbits per second on a borrowed Overdrive and reports out of Dallas with the EVO are about half that.

As to signal issues, it seems to be par for the course. Everywhere I have looked, I see the signal difference.

I also think the speed is capped, which sucks, I get 2.5Mbps down on 3g and like 3.0-3.4 on 4g... I know CLEAR provides faster data speeds than this.

 

[theiphonewannabe]

Yep. Very annoying. No 4G in my hometown until the first part of July, so I haven't even been able to do a test. 3G is netting me around 1.2 mbits, and that is passable for work emails. 3-4 wouldn't be so bad.

 

[theiphonewannabe]

So I found something interesting...

Try wired tethering you EVO to your computer. I am getting 7 mbits down. There is a rumor that the Speedtest.net app is less than accurate on the EVO.

 

[xorg]

Speedtest.net is apparently more accurate. It's the Android speedtest apps that are not accurate for 4G...

See first post here...
http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-evo-4g/15481-post-your-highest-4g-performance-test.html

 

[Torq#AC]

I have the same problem. My OverDrive gets a solid lock at almost full signal, and my Evo, sitting right next to it, won't lock onto 4G properly. It'll find the 4G network, connect, and then drop off almost instantly.

This is not down to differently calibrated signal displays, its down to an inability to hold the signal either as a result of issues in software or hardware.

When the Evo does connect and stay connected (and there are places that it will), then its pretty fast (usually faster than 3G, though I get very good 3G speeds).

However the hotspot function, regardless of whether the phone is on 3G or 4G, is terrible. The phone will pull say 4Mb/s directly but devices (and I've tried a bunch now, including various Dell and Toshiba laptops, as well as iPads/iPhones and so on) connected to the WiFi hot spot are seeing 200Kb/s to maybe 500Kb/s, with massively high latency and huge packet loss.

I can watch NetFlix on an iPad using the OverDrive on a 3G signal without any issues. It's a stop-start nightmare using the Evo's hotspot IF it works at all.

I think it is time for me to call this one done and return it. Talking to Sprint has been pointless, they just keep babbling on about 4G coverage limitations (clearly nothing to do with it). I am not getting stuck with the phone and a $200 ETF for something that does not work to a reasonable degree.

I'd be okay with the OverDrive performing better, but the Evo's wireless hotspot is so slow it's useless to me.

 

[xorg]

I can watch NetFlix on an iPad using the OverDrive on a 3G signal without any issues. It's a stop-start nightmare using the Evo's hotspot IF it works at all.

Huh, I used EVO wifi hotspot and was able to pull up to 7Mbps. I was able to connect PS3 wirelessly and do Netflix HD streaming with no issues. Even if only pulling 3Mbps.

A friend has Overdrive and was able to get higher performance, up to 10Mbps at same spot, but the EVO was more than sufficient to stream Netflix on PC and PS3, even HD streams.

 

[williejr185]

I live in the chicago area and Im satisfied with the 4G network. I was just at the train station on 500 west Madison and I had a 2 bar signal. I live in Country Club Hills (s.suburb) and I only get 1 bar there, but in both cases the speed feels a lot faster than 3G. I haven't run any actual tests though. Im also using a custom rom with an updated radio.

 

[uale]

I know this post is a month old now but I too have both the evo and overdrive with hopes of going to a single device soon. At times I have to use the overdrive as the hotspot for the evo just because the signal is so weak indoors. I commute between 3 4G markets Atlanta, Dallas, & Kansas City where the results are the same.

Many people have reported improved WiFi and 4G performance since the oral update on June 29th but mine seem to have no change or worse performance.