I posted this elsewhere but I will repost it here. I get a 4G signal and have been testing the tethering. I live in Hollywood, near the corner of
Lexington Ave and Cherokee Ave. Depending on where I am in my apartment, I get a poor, weak, or good signal, according to the phone.
Sorry for the long post, but it has some decent info.
I have no idea if this is real, but it seems that 4G is working for me. I'm in Los Angeles (Hollywood). I can tether just fine using the prompt that pops up when I plug in the USB cable (I will call this "HTC Internet Sharing" from now on). I also did some tests with PDAnet and EasyNet (free versions). I tested it all again on 3G. Here are the results.
Notes:
- I put in a Kansas tested because I get an IP from them when using HTC Internet Sharing. I get a Los Angeles IP when using PDAnet or EasyNet.
- in all my tests, Wi-fi is off, and so are the other radios (e.g. while testing 4G, I turned off the 3G radio. I even unplugged the computer's ethernet and unplugged my router just in case).
- Although I only post a few results, I tested these a few times to get consistent results. I tested these at around 3am, but I got similar results a few hours earlier.
- I couldn't test the $29.99 wireless hotspot because I didn't add that to my plan.
- I couldn't test PDAnet's bluetooth because I don't have that on my desktop pc.
4G Tests
HTC Internet Sharing
to New York
to Kansas
PDAnet
to New York
to Kansas
EasyNet
to New York
to Kansas
3G Tests
HTC Internet Sharing: did NOT work. Gave me the usual "PCS Vision" error
PDAnet
to New York
to Kansas
EasyNet
to New York
to Kansas
Other tests
Wi-Fi (yes, I realize this sort of defeats the purpose of tethering but it could come in handy...)
to New York
to Kansas
My
cable internet, via ethernet cable
to New York
to Kansas
Conclusions:
- I've had over 1.2Mbps from the 3G before, but for some reason they were low during my tests just now. This at least shows it fluctuates a lot.
- 4G is definitely faster, and faster than the top speed for 3G. Does this mean I'm really using 4G, in Los Angeles?
- 3G or 4G, the ping is awful and jittery. However, I played TF2 and it felt fine (that game has a lot of lag compensation).
- I will be sad to cancel my cable internet. It's way faster than the advertised 10 Mbps I'm paying for.
The Sprint rep I spoke to when I activated my phone said that 3G and 4G access was unlimited and uncapped. However, she did not specify if this included USB tethering, as I am not paying for the wireless hotspot.