I made a quick video to demonstrate the vast difference in reported 4G speed between the Android speedtest.net app and the browser version of the speakeasy test. My results show great differences btw the two (2-3 Mbps). I don't know which one is correct; but I think the Speedtest app cannot correctly determine WiMax and WiFi speeds. In addition to what the video shows, when the EVO is connected to home Wifi the greatest speed Ive seen is 11 Mbps (even though the app dial stops at 10) when a laptop test done at the same time correctly shows 15+.
Is anyone else seeing similar? I just think its flawed that many are using the app as the standard for network speeds on mobile devices... YouTube - HTC EVO 4G Speed Test Speakeasy vs Speedtest.net
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on my laptop speedtest will show 8-20mbps depending on what server i use.
speedtest.net apps on my phone have had 3g speeds anywhere from 100kbps to 1800kbps. they change as easily as setting the phone on the seat next to me, or holding it differently.
however when connected to my wifi i've never had the phone go above 6.5mbps, usually its 4.5-5.0. where as on the laptop it can hit up to 20mbps.
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I'm so glad someone brought this up, because this has been bugging me.
I've determined that the Speedtest app is faulty. Because it gets inconsistent and wierd readings during the test. The speakeasy test is usually pretty consistent and makes more sense.
But if someone can figure out an official answer that would be awesome, because this irks me as well.
Interesting results...
I always use SpeedTest.net both mobile and at home.
I checked my EVO on my home wireless network, it blew a 11.63Mb/s down while my lap top got 20.64Mb/s download on the same wireless router. Comcast in ATL below
On the Sprint 4G-Clearwire around ATL the best I have gotten down is 3.26 Mb/s.
Will try an alternate test site and repost back
Love the phone, and the connectivity. Great work by HTC and Sprint
the speedtest app seems more consistent to me. over 3g i average 1.2 to 1.5mbps. with speakeasy i see .7-1.2mbps, a larger differential range. over wifi with the speedtest app i see around 4.8mbps with att dsl that is rated max of 6mbps, speakeasy sees 5.1mbps. my hardwired pc at speedtest.net reads 5.1mbps and same for speakeasy. my wifi speeds are what i expect out of my att dsl.
wifi all seems very similar to me with whatever i test it with. mobile networks seem way more variable to me.
also with the speedtest app it does not detect my location correctly. i can not find a server within 1000 miles of where i live. it tells me wichita kansis is 45 miles away... i live in san francisco
The Speedtest.net app is flaky as heck, one test it will give 1mb per second next it will give 100kb per second. I think there are too many people using their servers or something.
I think they're both junk. Best way, IMO, is to tether and test speeds on a computer. Testing within the mobile space, whether it's through an app or mobile browser, has always given me varying results.
also with the speedtest app it does not detect my location correctly. i can not find a server within 1000 miles of where i live. it tells me wichita kansis is 45 miles away... i live in san francisco
Yeah sometimes Ill get defaulted to KS also (Sprint HQ??). Even after the GPS indicator blinks/searches.
Got a response: Here is the email. He acknowledges slower speeds on the phone with Wifi, no mention of WiMax limitations though..
Me:
"Hello. Your Android app never reports the correct speed when connected to Sprint WiMax 4G. WiFi also. Id it designed to only work on cell networks? Does anything need to be optimized to report correct speed?"
Response:
Jeremy,
The program is capable of reporting both 3G and Wifi connection speeds. Phones have limitations that computers do not, so you will typically see slower speeds on your phone vs your computer when connected to Wifi.
If you continue to have problems, uninstall the application and reinstall. Reboot the phone once the reinstall is complete.
Yes I think Speedtest is wrong. Today I got 3G seed of 24kbs but I was downloading things and connecting with the INTERNET very fast. It can't be so slow.
What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.
Comcast, ATT, Verizon, Roadrunner.....etc etc
Quote:
Got a response: Here is the email. He acknowledges slower speeds on the phone with Wifi, no mention of WiMax limitations though..
Me:
"Hello. Your Android app never reports the correct speed when connected to Sprint WiMax 4G. WiFi also. Id it designed to only work on cell networks? Does anything need to be optimized to report correct speed?"
Response:
Jeremy,
The program is capable of reporting both 3G and Wifi connection speeds. Phones have limitations that computers do not, so you will typically see slower speeds on your phone vs your computer when connected to Wifi.
If you continue to have problems, uninstall the application and reinstall. Reboot the phone once the reinstall is complete.
Kind Regards,
Andrew @ Speedtest.net
I've hit 10-12 mbps on my Samsung Moment through wifi.
I've been using speedtest.net for a while on my phone but just learned about speakeasy. I just connected to Chicago 4G on the Evo and got 5mbps down on speakeasy on the first attempt. I then immediately closed it and went over to speedtest.net and got 3mbps down. Seems inconsistent. I feel like speedtest is very inaccurate- if I sit on my phone hitting "Test Again" repeatedly I always get different results each time. It almost seems like the server is sluggish, not my connection
First, I luv and hate speed tests. We all want to see how fast our stuff works, but unless you setup a lab in an environment that you can control ALL the variables, you'll never know the true speed. Here are some MAJOR factors: 3G/4G/Cable/DSL/wifi are shared mediums. You are not the only person on that line and must share it with everyone else. Second, I may have a 100Mbps connection with Verzion, but once I go outside their network to somewhere else (general the case), my speeds are affected by every router I cross. Third, many (not all) speed tests simply upload/download a single file such as a jpeg and this is not representative of 'average' traffic of anyone. For example, Speakeasy clearly states not to use their test with lines over 20Mbps, yet I know several people complain to me about this and I keep pointing this out.
So, setup the lab, then let's see what's on the slab!
What kind of high speed home internet gets 20mbps? My crappy DSL gives me less than 1 mbps. Might as well cut that garbage off and tether my phone.
Cable Internets...like Comcast. I get 10.3mbps with a wireless connection. If I plug my laptop into the wall, it is closer to 15mbps a second. I think that's false too because I can download a 5mb song in about 3 seconds.
Last edited by FatalErrorz; March 9th, 2011 at 01:18 PM.
I've been using speedtest.net for a while on my phone but just learned about speakeasy. I just connected to Chicago 4G on the Evo and got 5mbps down on speakeasy on the first attempt. I then immediately closed it and went over to speedtest.net and got 3mbps down. Seems inconsistent. I feel like speedtest is very inaccurate- if I sit on my phone hitting "Test Again" repeatedly I always get different results each time. It almost seems like the server is sluggish, not my connection
Same here. With the speedtest.net app, I can hit the test button over and over in the same spot and the results will be ALL over the place. Like not even remotely close. Ever since I realized that I have used speakeasy, seems to be a lot more accurate however sometimes I have problems loading the page on my phone.
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Interesting results...
I always use SpeedTest.net both mobile and at home.
I checked my EVO on my home wireless network, it blew a 11.63Mb/s down while my lap top got 20.64Mb/s download on the same wireless router. Comcast in ATL below
On the Sprint 4G-Clearwire around ATL the best I have gotten down is 3.26 Mb/s.
Will try an alternate test site and repost back
Love the phone, and the connectivity. Great work by HTC and Sprint
FOr all the people saying they have higher speeds on a laptop than their cel phone on the same router here is the reason: Internet speed is greatly dependant on the operating system of the computer, the hardware (ram and ESPECIALLY the processor power), the quality of the wifi antenna, and the browser.
The difference between my laptop and home pc is quite a bit on the same router because my laptop is half the processor and ram that my desktop is. The evo is a 1ghz processor with a lot less ram than most laptops. Also the wifi hardware is a lot smaller inside a phone. Then you have to look at the browser and OS differences. Browser can make a huge difference. On my old treo phones PIE (portable IE) was horribly slow and when i usd opera my speed tests would DOUBLE.
I think when you read most of the reviews on phones the reason tethering a cell phone on a 4g network is slower than direct 4g from a usb dongle is due to the processor speed of the phone that is receiving the signal. Many articles on cnet and engaget talk about this.
edit: but of course i'm not discounting the fact that either of these speed tests could be inaccurate.
Same here. With the speedtest.net app, I can hit the test button over and over in the same spot and the results will be ALL over the place. Like not even remotely close. Ever since I realized that I have used speakeasy, seems to be a lot more accurate however sometimes I have problems loading the page on my phone.
network traffic. That's why when comparing results you average a group of results instead of just a single test.
say you hit the button and get a great result then 5 seconds later you hit "test again"and suddenly 5 million other people in the US decide to test theirs at the exact same time. You'll have a lower score hands down.
Just did the results and they are pretty close. One right after the other. Timestamps are included in the pictures but you have to convert the timezones. They were done about 30 seconds apart and both on test servers in chicago.
Testing Wifi speed on the Speedtest.net app shows DL speed of 2.3MBps
Testing Wifi speed on speakeasy.net/speedtest with the browser using Flash shows a DL speed of 6.3MBps.. which is what my DSL speed actually is: 6MB
Both test results showed identical upload speeds of .96MBps
Glad I found this post because I couldn't figure out why I was getting such poor download speed test results on the Speedtest app. Now I know I'm not the only one.
When Sprint announced their first ever 4G handset at CTIA in March 2010, they dropped a bombshell on the mobile world. The HTC Evo 4G is a device that introduces a lot of firsts when compared to other North American handsets. This is the first Andr... Read More
Accuracy of Speedtest.net app vs Speakeasy
