4G LTE extremely slow in Chicago(downtown & suburbs), as slow as 300kbps down and 150kbps up

[TENYKS]

I have been experiencing extreme slowness of 4G LTE in Chicago(both downtown & many different suburbs... plus O'Hare airport)

I frequently only get 300kbps download and 150kbps upload, even when the signal meter shows 4G LTE signal at 3 or 4 bars. It doesn't matter if it's 7AM, 1PM, 6PM, or even 2:30AM....

Is it possible that I'm being throttled? Yes, I realize that Verizon decided not to do it... buy I do use a LOT of bandwidth on my unlimited plan. (20gb or more per month) I know the phone is fine, because I've swapped the SIM card between 3 different phones and still go the same slow resultes. (Galaxy Note 2, Note 3, and S5)

 

[Rukbat]

It could be. (Companies have been known to ignore consent agreements if they thought they could get away with it.) See if you can find someone else on Verizon, have them stand next to you and both of you go to speedtest.net and do a speed test. If they get full speed while you're getting 150kbps at the same time and place, call tech support. If the situation doesn't improve, type up a letter explaining the situation (nicely and politely, no accusation of being throttled) to the FCC at

Federal Communications Commission
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554

And mark the letter (under the signature)

CC: Federal Communications Commission
Verizon Wireless Technical Support (via telephone)

Then call tech support again, ask for a supervisor and ask him to mark in your record that the complaint has been turned over to the FCC, and Brian Pascoe will be copied and notified of the call you're currently on. (He's president of the Wisconsin/Illinois region.)

If you don't hear from the FCC within 30 days (at least a form letter letting you know that they received your complaint), look up the address for Verizon Wireless in the Wisconsin/Illinois region and send a copy of the letter to Brian Pascoe. (If he calls tech support, you can bet someone will be working on the problem by the time his phone hits the cradle. He wants to be able to truthfully tell the FCC, when they contact him, that the problem was resolved to the satisfaction of the customer. If they have to investigate, the name on his door might have to be changed. [They consider a violation of a consent agreement to be a little short of treason. Just a little bit. And they'd love to be in the news for handing out a humongous fine to a huge corporation. When you hit the 500 pound gorilla in the room with a 5,000 pound whip, he tends to notice.])

 

[TENYKS]

It could be. (Companies have been known to ignore consent agreements if they thought they could get away with it.) See if you can find someone else on Verizon, have them stand next to you and both of you go to speedtest.net and do a speed test. )

I called my next-next-next-door neighbor. She reported the same speeds.... but she's like me, still on Verizon unlimited data. In fact, all of my friends/co-workers who still have Verizon are all on unlimited data. I annoyed the heck out of them when I asked all of them to run speed tests. The ones who gave up unlimited data all switched to T-Mobile in the last several months. (upload speed on T-Mobile around here have been consistently more than 18mbps)

 

[dpham00]

Re: 4G LTE extremely slow in Chicago(downtown & suburbs), as slow as 300kbps down and 150kbps up

Are you on 700MHz or xlte? There are definitely areas where Verizon is loaded in high areas . I have experienced areas where 700MHz couldn't even finish speed tests. But xlte is slow,but still usable.


Some phones can be forced onto xlte, though requires root. Beware that you might only get xlte or nothing if set this way

Try to find someone with a non unlimited phone, or add a tiered data line to see if speeds are different on the same location on the same lte band.

Btw, if tmobile has better service where you need then you should consider switching

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4