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Shame on you AT&T, shame on you.

So I recently decided to stay with AT&T and get the HTC Inspire 4g. But I'm realizing this may have been a mistake. The Inspire is suppose to be 4G, yet the speeds are dismal. I rarely ever have all 5 bars, and at about 3-4 bars, speeds can range from 0.50-1.20 Mb/s. AT&T claims I'm on their "4"g HSPA+ network, which is suppose to get up to 6 Mb/s. If I truly am, this is embarrassing.

What makes things even worse is HSUPA is disabled on the Inspire (along with almost every other 4g AT&T phone). I am at a loss. If I am thinking correctly, AT&T wants me to pay for 4g and yet I get 2.5g over a third of the time?

I plan on rooting my phone so I can enable HSUPA. Any help?

-Shame on you AT&T-
 
The way AT&T cripples their android devices, you should go to another carrier. As long as people keep buying them, they will continue the practice of not enabling sideloading and crippling speeds. I know you can work around it, but they'll just keep doing it until they realize people don't want that bullshit.
 
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I just got the HTC Inspire about a week ago. The coverage where I live is horriable, I'm right in the middle of two towers so I don't get good signal because it boucnes back and forth between the two (this is what ATT told me). But my phone is really fast to want I am use to coming from a Blackberry. But from what I was told and understood that ATT will be getting 4g speed but do not have it now. They are selling phones that have 4g capabilities, but can't use it right now. I could be wrong but this is what I know.
 
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I guess you haven't been reading that HSUPA will be enabled with a software update and that AT&T has stated rollout of 4G speeds will begin at the end of March and continue throughout the year?
AT&T has never released an official statement about any of their devices getting HSUPA enabled. The only offical annoucment AT&T has made about the Inspire is that it will be getting gingerbread in the summer of 2011. I understand that AT&T is still building their 4g network, but since HSUPA is disabled I cant even get 3g speeds half the time, and that is what angers me.
 
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Let me offer some clarification.

But first I want to assure you that I am not advocating for ANY carrier, as they are all about the same. I know, I've been using smartphones since the category was established and I've had an obscene number of unlocked phones. I'm such an enthusiast.

I'm not married to any brand or carrier, I enjoy them all and some are simply better than others.

To the topic of 4G and AT&T.

If you follow mobile phones as closely as I do you know that AT&T was THE LAST to advertise 4G. And yes, they did not offer it, even though they advertised it.

Why? Because when you think about it, it's an American tradition to use false advertising to keep up with the competition. Everyone does it, especially industries like the drug industry, the auto industry etc.

I am not justifying or saying that AT&T was right for doing it, but they were backed into a corner by those like Verizon that have slightly faster networks, now and yet theirs is not a full 4G either.

Many people do not have a full understanding of how cell phone networks function and the differences in the protocols they use. As a result the companies and advertisers take advantage of this.

OK, let's put false advertising behind us.

What is the reality?

It's that indeed AT&T is likely to have one of the first widely available 4G services very shortly. They've been quietly working in the background on network buildout and as I mentioned only began advertising it once the pressure from the competition forced them too.

My personal experience with Verizon and AT&T is that they are both pretty responsible and offer decent (not fantastic) customer service.

About the only difference other than the fact that AT&T is GSM and Verizon is CDMA, is the fact that traditionally Verizon nickel and dimes you, so you end up paying more each month for similar service as AT&T.

Bottom line, No Carrier has great full 4G coverage with one exception. That's Sprint. I had an EVO 4G for just over six months and it was indeed faster, how much... not as much as I had expected.

In real life usage, and I use a lot of data it was about 20% faster loading web pages and navigating. This is far less than they would have you believe. So once again, even their network is lacking.

At the end of the day it will be nearly a full year before we have good 4G networks across all the major carriers. I just happen to know this with good authority as I have a close friend whose company builds the towers and infrastructure for the various carriers.

So where does that leave us? It means we should take the advertising with a grain of salt, be patient and eventually we will have the faster speed.

I hope this info has helped you.

Cheers :)
 
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AT&T has never released an official statement about any of their devices getting HSUPA enabled. The only offical annoucment AT&T has made about the Inspire is that it will be getting gingerbread in the summer of 2011. I understand that AT&T is still building their 4g network, but since HSUPA is disabled I cant even get 3g speeds half the time, and that is what angers me.


That's in error. Att has stated that hsupa will be enabled with an update before April is out. Now hopefully it wnt get pushed back. Also hspa+ already has started the rollout
 
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i could go in to explanation of my experience; but there is always some company cheerleader like you whom never listens anyway....so why bother.


some have great experiences while others have bad, this goes for all carriers. on my end att is great with no problems in my 6yrs with them, i despise sprint for my own reasons while others absolutely love sprint.

every carrier is a nickel and diming whore out to make money, its just about finding a carrier you can accept paying those charges to for the services you get.
i am however happy with what i pay for from att with the number of lines i have in service with them.
 
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some have great experiences while others have bad, this goes for all carriers. on my end att is great with no problems in my 6yrs with them, i despise sprint for my own reasons while others absolutely love sprint.

every carrier is a nickel and diming whore out to make money, its just about finding a carrier you can accept paying those charges to for the services you get.
i am however happy with what i pay for from att with the number of lines i have in service with them.


I agree completely.
My end being 7 years with at and t, then getting away after a screwing and me threatening a lawsuit.
I expect like you said, its just a matter of which one you can deal with their system/offers/crap/etc.
 
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For 14+ years I've been a faithful, patient and loyal BellSouth Mobility ... Cingular ... AT&T customer. Mainly because I travel a 400 mile radius for business and they have had the most extensive coverage areas and descent service, pretty much .... until now. I used to get a good signal in my home and in my office at work on all the mobile phones I've had (Audiovox, Nokia, HTC, Samsung and Now HTC Inspire 4G/2.5E). Now, when I pick up my Inspire at my home (or office) and press the power button the signal indicator shows "H"-3 bars. Before I can unlock it, the indicator shows "H"-1 bar. If I make a call, sometimes, it will stay on "H"-1 bar BUT ....... you let me try ANYTHING with data (on my unlimited data plan) and it immediately streaks past 3G and shows "E"-4 bars. I never see "H" or "G" again until I've put the phone in 'sleep mode' and pick it up again later. Rinse and repeat.

Today was my second grandchild's 1st birthday party. We were outdoors grilling (7 miles across town from my home) and discussing some of the recent destruction locally from the tornadoes and I was asked if I had seen the "YouTube" video from a near-by community. I said no and whipped out my trusty Inspire 2.5E and had an "H"-4 bars signal. I thought to myself ..... 'this is going to be easy." I hit the pre-loaded "YouTube" widget, turned the phone to landscape so I could take full advantage of the beautiful 4.3" SLCD screen and all I got was a buffering wheel and after a couple of minutes returned the phone to the upright portrait view so as to see the signal strength ...... it was "E"-5 bars. In disgust, I put the Inspire 2.5E back in it's protective leather case and proceeded with 2 hot dogs, a chicken leg, cole slaw and a very large piece of birthday cake. After a little settling, my son asked if I had been able to see that "YouTube" tornado video. I told him no, but, let's try again. Sure enough, I had "H"-4 bars again and was satisfied that this would be the fastest video download (or stream) ever. Again after a minute or two of foot tapping, I returned the phone, again, to the portrait position and again, .... "E"-5 bars. Rinse and repeat.

I like the phone. It's fast offline and on my Wifi at home. I don't even have a problem with the duration of the battery. I have downloaded Market Apps to customize it to my liking. This fake 4G is ...... well, I won't call it false advertising (YET), lets just call it ........ A D*** LIE!

And now for the questions:
1) What is causing the "auto-switch" from "H" to "E", especially for data, and what is the cure?
2) Do you have to be an Iphone owner to get at least a 3G signal?
3) My 30-day return expires in 5 days, can anyone tell me a comparable model from Verizon or Cellular South, because, if this problem isn't resolved by AT&T in 4 days, I'll be a proud new customer of some other company.
 
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AT&T has never released an official statement about any of their devices getting HSUPA enabled. The only offical annoucment AT&T has made about the Inspire is that it will be getting gingerbread in the summer of 2011. I understand that AT&T is still building their 4g network, but since HSUPA is disabled I cant even get 3g speeds half the time, and that is what angers me.

They have. AT&T says Atrix 4G, Inspire 4G will have HSUPA enabled in April -- Engadget

Whether it really happens in April I have my doubts...
 
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One other thing I just read about AT&T They rolled out there own app for us Droid users that if you have a "dead spot" you should be able to send them a message that will alert them to the issue. Not sure how responsive they will be with the new rollout they have but it's worth complaining to them dirrect when your phone drops a call (as mine does @ my home as well) If nothing else it will give us a feeling of we did something about it!
 
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Let me offer some clarification.

Why? Because when you think about it, it's an American tradition to use false advertising to keep up with the competition. Everyone does it, especially industries like the drug industry, the auto industry etc.

Cheers :)

False advertising?? No, sir. It is not false advertising it is LYING to the buyers!!

Is is a tradition which you are talking about?
 
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I have my phone rooted.

Live Brooklyn, NY, and never have good data speeds.

Rooted (attempted multiple ROM's), flashed various radios, absolutely nothing is resulting in good data speeds. Everything is enabled, attempted tweaking build.prop, no matter what happens, it appears I am stuck with a crappy connection.

I'm curious is anyone else in the NYC area has had similar experiences, or otherwise, who can advise on settings to use.

I'm talking hitting 1 mbps tops, if I'm lucky. Usually it's at 600 down, 400 up, with some spiking in Manhattan. It bounces between H and 3G, more often listed as 3G.

Bah. I'm almost wishing I was still using my iPhone 3GS for data at this point. And that's a disgrace.
 
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You mean you're not getting FAKE H+ 4G?

I have my phone rooted.

Live Brooklyn, NY, and never have good data speeds.

Rooted (attempted multiple ROM's), flashed various radios, absolutely nothing is resulting in good data speeds. Everything is enabled, attempted tweaking build.prop, no matter what happens, it appears I am stuck with a crappy connection.

I'm curious is anyone else in the NYC area has had similar experiences, or otherwise, who can advise on settings to use.

I'm talking hitting 1 mbps tops, if I'm lucky. Usually it's at 600 down, 400 up, with some spiking in Manhattan. It bounces between H and 3G, more often listed as 3G.

Bah. I'm almost wishing I was still using my iPhone 3GS for data at this point. And that's a disgrace.
 
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To be fair - the ITU jerked the 4G spec around for some time and frustrated a lot of members.

After finally releasing the spec where only WiMAX 2 and LTE-Advanced qualify as 4G per the spec, on the same day or within a day, they came out with an official statement that the efforts in the US to deploy technologies superior to 3G were _officially_ 4G - ITU says LTE, WiMax and HSPA+ are now officially 4G - Phone Arena

So, HSPA+ is really not fake 4G.

It may be some time before we see WiMAX 2 or LTE-Advanced, if ever.
 
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before update yesterday... .5-.8 download and .3-.4 upload

after update and phone is showing H+ with only 3 bars! (Notice the "Hsdpa" connection type) Faster than my home wifi connection...

So to all the people saying this will only improve your upload speeds.. I say HOGWASH.. my download speeds have improved dramatically.

I received the update on first day of deployment by at&t. I live in Southern Indiana. I would expect the rollout over the country pretty fast since i was able to receive it the first day. At&t actually came through this time! :D


I used the speedtest.net app if your curious


Test Date: Apr 30, 2011 8:27:31 am
Connection Type: Hsdpa
Server: Nashville, TN
Download: 5.08 Mbps
Upload: 1.25 Mbps
...Ping: 155 ms

External IP: 68.179.174.202
Internal IP: 10.24.179.185
Latitude: 37.98593
Longitude: -87.52
 
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