Why are 3G speed tests so slow?

[coolguy949]

I've tried Xtremelabs Speedtest (which seems more reliable) and Speedtest.net's app (which uses Kansas City as the server due to Sprint's proxy). I haven't been able to get over 800Kbps down no matter what. This morning I hit a new low and couldn't go over 350 with full service. My Touch Pro would consistently get about 1.2 - 1.5MBps. I would tether with it and use it as a hot spot with no issues. Friends would comment on how fast the 3G speeds on Sprint are. I don't feel I can have the same confidence in the Evo's speed.

I'm thinking either there is some aggressive power saving happening on the phone or Sprint's network has been heavily congested since the release of the phone.

Are there other speed tests people are doing? I'm going to try dslreports but I know that one has issues on accuracy sometimes.

 

[THEFORCE]

when you use speedtest.net app turn your gps on so it can find the closest server

 

[RiverOfIce]

Try speakeasy it get a consistent 1.5-2.5 mbps.

Why is it about confidence of speed? That seems really weird to me. Your internet speed will change to many different factors, including server load, solar flares, and time of day.

 

[TravyEvo]

Ironic timing for this thread. I have been testing 3G here in seattle and can't get over 500k consistantly. A lot of the time, it stays around 200-300. My upload speeds vary from horrible to great (700k). 4g speeds are 2.5 meg down and about 1 up, but I'm on 3G more than 4G.

Hoping this gets fixed.

 

[coolguy949]

when you use speedtest.net app turn your gps on so it can find the closest server

Bingo! That worked at picking the closest server, but the results are....odd....

 

[THEFORCE]

Bingo! That worked at picking the closest server, but the results are....odd....

lol...how mant tests have u ran

 

[coolguy949]

lol...how mant tests have u ran

They all have the same result. I just did one now that got 183 down and 3086 up. Something's definitely wrong. The gauge jumps around a bit too during the upload.

 

[coolguy949]

Just switched servers to San Diego, CA - same thing. I'm rebooting my phone since it hasn't been rebooted in about a week.

 

[THEFORCE]

see what u get at mobilespeedtest.com and try the 1mb download test

 

[ecb]

I'm glad to see this thread because I was wondering if my slow 3G speeds were the EVO or just Sprint's 3G network (this my first Sprint phone).

I'm in an area that gets good Sprint coverage and I seem to get a decent EVDO signal (between -80 and -90) but I rarely manage to get over 600KB down (upload speeds are pretty good at between 500 - 700KB)

I've got a Verizon phone (HTC Incredible) and an ATT phone (iPhone 3GS) and they both get much better download speeds (1.2 - 1.7MB).

I do know from comparing signal strength that Ia slightly stronger Verizon signal (-70 - 85) but I'd still expect to be pretty close to 1MB download speed at home.

If there longer tenured Sprint customers that are reporting that the EVO has poor 3G speeds then the phone must be the source of the problem.

 

[THEFORCE]

it may be the speedtest app...have u noticed slow speeds on the internet?

 

[Yankees368]

I was going to post the same thing recently, except my speeds have been MUCH worse. My average download speeds over EVDO seem to be around 0.10 Mbps (100 kbps), and uploads of 0.25 up. No matter where I am, I am getting the same speeds. What do I do here.

 

[coolguy949]

see what u get at mobilespeedtest.com and try the 1mb download test

90Kbps

Something is definitely up. Ran Speedtest again as well and got 158.

 

[THEFORCE]

um maybe a prl and profile update...the only thing i can think of right now

 

[coolguy949]

I did the new PRL update yesterday already. Just checked now and it downloaded one again. No improvement. Getting the same speeds. Trying profile update now.

 

[thaprinze]

I see the same results from time to time, where the upload speed is far greater than the download speed. I have no idea why.

Edit: Just got 151kbps up, 581kbps down with 466ms latency on Speedtest.net app

On top of that, anytime I use orb & it runs a speed test to play files, it always returns a constant 250kb/s. My wife's BB Bold normally in the ~1,200kb/s range.

 

[Yankees368]

Something is up with our evo's, people. Activate the crisis response team!

 

[coolguy949]

Did the profile update. Got up to 400 download and 350 upload. Ugh.

 

[THEFORCE]

maybe sprint made the evdo slower so it would make wimax look faster lol

 

[coolguy949]

Another nail in the coffin for this phone.

Oh that's great, as I was typing this the phone rebooted itself. :\ First time that's ever happened.

 

[ThatNewAndroidGuy]

Another nail in the coffin for this phone.

Oh that's great, as I was typing this the phone rebooted itself. :\ First time that's ever happened.

You have background data unchecked? I think that's what's causing the reboots. My GF never had that unchecked, and never had a problem, but she was having horrible battery life. I always had it unchecked, but never had it restart till yesterday once. Then hers restarted yesterday as well for the first time. So something needs to be fixed about that background data being unchecked.

 

[RiverOfIce]

Go to speakeasy.net, select san francisco.

Post what happens.

If the phone is rebooting you need to do a hard reset. Something is really wrong. That is like 2g speeds.

 

[coolguy949]

You have background data unchecked? I think that's what's causing the reboots. My GF never had that unchecked, and never had a problem, but she was having horrible battery life. I always had it unchecked, but never had it restart till yesterday once. Then hers restarted yesterday as well for the first time. So something needs to be fixed about that background data being unchecked.

I've always had it checked.

 

[coolguy949]

Go to speakeasy.net, select san francisco.

Post what happens.

If the phone is rebooting you need to do a hard reset. Something is really wrong. That is like 2g speeds.

Yeah. I'm not sure where it went wrong. I haven't really been downloading apps or messing with the phone settings much.

 

[ecb]

i just did a PRL and Profile update and ran the SpeedTest.net app.

I got 341K download, 53K upload. My EVDO signal strength was -85 (unless I'm wrong -85 is a decent signal)

I also tried using the speed test on dslreports.com (in case there was an issue with the SpeedTest app) and I got 400K down and my EVDO signal strength was -88

I'll give the EVO until the update comes out on 6/28 but those speeds make the EVO useless as a HotSpot, which is one of the main reasons I purchased the phone.