Why does 3G speeds suck on Fascinate?

[voghan]

So I have been on Sprint, At&t and now Verizon. I got ok 3G on Sprint and at&t but with the vibrant I got awesome 3G speeds on t-mobile. I ended up on Verizon because t-mobile sucked at my office and work has a deal with Verizon.

I can't seem to get much more than a 1mb down and often get 400kb down and 100kb up. Thankfully the phone is amazing on WiFi where I get 11mb up and 2.5mb down. Any suggestions?

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[sgtmack]

I just tried mine. I got 1657 kbps down, and 557 up. I'm guessing Verizon doesn't have great coverage where you are. Have you tried testing from another location?

 

[F34R]

In my area, it's spotty coverage, so it's not that great. However, I've had like 2.5Mb down, and 1Mb up in other areas with the Fascinate.

 

[NickA]

What's the app/website everyone is using to test their speed?

 

[fwdixon]

speedtest.

I've noticed reduced speeds and inconsistent speeds with my SF as well. I had a Omnia before this and reliably had around 2mbps down and 1mbps up. SF in the same locations gets between .5 and 1.5 mbps down and avg .8mbps up. Kinda disappointing but I am hoping it's just a software issue, as I'm pretty sure it's the phone not the network.

 

[abowlofsoda]

I've found mine to be pretty fast. My basis is coming from AT&T and the iPhone tho. I couldnt get 3G ANYWHERE on the iPhone thru 2 states.

I run around to thrift stores (ebay seller) all over and so far I have yet to not have 3G web surfing when it was needed.

I've had my Fascinate for a month and a half now.

 

[voghan]

I'm using the speedtest app in the market to test speeds. I normally have two or three bars showing. I'm just not seeing fast speeds.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

 

[NOsquid]

Verizon's 3G isn't generally fast, its just reliable. The others tend to be faster...when they work.

Just my experience, might vary greatly depending on where you live.

 

[F34R]

I'm using the speedtest app in the market to test speeds. I normally have two or three bars showing. I'm just not seeing fast speeds.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

The speeds you're seeing have several different factors. Location of the tower, tower bandwidth, signal strength, server capacity of the test, etc.

What are you doing that you need "X" amount of speed? I only ask because I've not run across anything where I'd need to download large files and would require me to long for DSL/Cable like speeds.

 

[voghan]

It's not so much what I do as much as it is I left t-mobile where I was getting 4x faster speeds but less reliable service.

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[NOsquid]

Yep, that's the compromise. For me its the right one. You might run into situations where you have internet access (albeit relatively slow) while your buddies with other providers don't even have phone service.

 

[F34R]

Signal quality and tower bandwidth (supplied and congestion) are probably the two most limiting factors for the speeds you see.

 

[nickf126]

Honestly, I think the slow speeds are due to the radio in the Fascinate.

I did some very non-scientific side by side signal tests with my Fascinate and Droid one.

Sitting right next to eachother, the Fascinate always had 2 or more bars fewer than with the D1.

This result was the same regardless of the area that I was. By the way, I am in northern New Jersey, close to NYC, which has excellent Verzion coverage. I hope that this gets addressed in a future patch.

 

[joebob2000]

Honestly, I think the slow speeds are due to the radio in the Fascinate.

I did some very non-scientific side by side signal tests with my Fascinate and Droid one.

Sitting right next to eachother, the Fascinate always had 2 or more bars fewer than with the D1.

This result was the same regardless of the area that I was. By the way, I am in northern New Jersey, close to NYC, which has excellent Verzion coverage. I hope that this gets addressed in a future patch.

I have seen the bars fluctuate from 4 to 1 to none and back again when doing a series of speed tests; for me they do not translate into data performance at all. If anything, the bars drop one or two notches when the speed test starts but they rarely correlate with a fast speed, it's time of day and local infrastructure that seem to play the biggest role in my tests.

I thought 600 or so was good (i get it from any area with 3g coverage early in the morning when theres light traffic) but that was in Ohio. This week I am in So Cal and the 3g speeds here, off peak, are amazing. I am getting 800 to 1200 download from any 3g area unless i run the test during primetime (5pm to midnight or so on weekdays, any time noon to midnight on weekends).

The bars are a rough guide, but speed tests tell the story. Honestly I have to say I'm not disappointed in the radio; as long as I'm not out in the boonies, or inside a bunker, I can test at 400 or faster.

 

[NOsquid]

Wow if that's all you guys are getting I'd be complaining too. I get 1300 at my house, I'm traveling this weekend and got 1800 down in a Dallas restaurant.

Just depends I suppose.

 

[F34R]

Honestly, I think the slow speeds are due to the radio in the Fascinate.

I did some very non-scientific side by side signal tests with my Fascinate and Droid one.

Sitting right next to eachother, the Fascinate always had 2 or more bars fewer than with the D1.

This result was the same regardless of the area that I was. By the way, I am in northern New Jersey, close to NYC, which has excellent Verzion coverage. I hope that this gets addressed in a future patch.

Bars are long way off from being reliable when trying to determine signal strength. Especially from two different manufacturers.

 

[SOTK]

Yep, that's the compromise. For me its the right one. You might run into situations where you have internet access (albeit relatively slow) while your buddies with other providers don't even have phone service.

This is what I've found to be true. Verizon is just usually more reliable but not necessarily faster.

 

[F34R]

This is what I've found to be true. Verizon is just usually more reliable but not necessarily faster.

Certainly that is going to be area dependent though.

 

[SOTK]

Certainly that is going to be area dependent though.

Agreed. Personally, I don't have any complaints about 3G speeds with Verizon. Mine does fine.

 

[fwdixon]

Well, I decided today to update my PRL (*228 opt #2) and so far my d/l speed seems to have improved significantly. I tested about a half dozen servers 3 times each varying from 30 mi away to 650 mi away and saw consistent speeds between 1.3 and 1.8 mbps. Compared to out of the box (same locale, on my desk) speeds of 0.4 - 1.4 mbps. U/l speeds varied a bit more depending on the distance, but still were a manageable .5-.8 mbps.

Anyhoo, I'll keep playing around with it at my usual haunts with speedtest, but it looks like the update may be the solution.