Just Joined the Family

[Lavrishevo]

Just Joined the Family... Unhappy with Verizon Data

Greetings!

I just picked up my first Droid phone yesterday, the X. I also own the iPhone 4 but wanted to pick up another phone for business purposes. Is it as dysfunctional over here as it is at the iPhone forums?...

Anyway, I have been enjoying the phone. The call quality and overall voice network is great! I do wish Verizons data network was faster. This is my question. When do you think Verizon will roll out a 4G or whatever they call it? I like Verizon but their data is much slower then I hoped. I have been comparing data speeds via the speed test app on the Droid X and the iPhone 4 and AT&T has been consistently 3 - 4 times faster! I mean a lot faster. I am considering retiring this generation Droid and waiting for the LTE / 4G or whatever they call it.

Any ideas when this will come?

 

[SEGA]

Welcome to the forum,

As for the 4G (4th Generation) expect it soon.

I have no problem with Verizons speed, but it all depends on were you live.

Like at work, I can surf the web and download things my coworkers with iPhone or Evo's lag on, but again it's all about were you live, because when we are in the break room, my phone lags were the Evo speeds up, building structure is also a factor.... obviously

It might show 3G (3rd Generation) on your phone, but it can still be a weak signal.

 

[Lavrishevo]

Welcome to the forum,

As for the 4G (4th Generation) expect it soon.

I have no problem with Verizons speed, but it all depends on were you live.

Like at work, I can surf the web and download things my coworkers with iPhone or Evo's lag on, but again it's all about were you live, because when we are in the break room, my phone lags were the Evo speeds up, building structure is also a factor.... obviously

It might show 3G (3rd Generation) on your phone, but it can still be a weak signal.

I agree that AT&T can be fairly inconsistent with data speeds though I have noticed it improving over the last 6 months.

Now I have only had the X for two days but yesterday I set it up downtown Atlanta and tested it.
Droid down: 456 Kbps - iPhone: 2505 Kbps
Wifi test at the house:
Droid down: 7479 up: 1650 - iPhone down: 13392 up: 4698 this was a bit shocking.
Atlanta airport this morning:
Droid: 237 - iPhone 2017
Sacramento, CA downtown
Droid: 740 - iPhone: 2867

I travel a ton for work with often no wifi and would like to put PDA net on the droid but not at these speeds. Otherwise I like the phone and the Droid OS. Needs some polishing and the browsing experience is much 'choppier' then the iPhone. Love the notifications on Droid.

 

[Lefaid]

Verizon will have LTE by the end of November based on the rumors I have been hearing. I need to add though that your Droid will not work on the Lte network, only phones designed to work on the network will. If you want to take advantage of it and cannot tolerate Verizon's 3G speed in your area, return your phone and wait for the first LTE phones to come out.

Personally, I have been going around the country a lot lately (mainly in the Northeast and South) and I have not had a problem with the 3G speed. Sure it is a little slow but I tend to be able to wait it out. What really comes in handy in my opinion is the size. The rest of my family is on AT&T and I gotta say, its nice when you have the only smartphone that is working in the area.

 

[droidbionic]

welcome to Droidforums

 

[jsh1120]

I agree that AT&T can be fairly inconsistent with data speeds though I have noticed it improving over the last 6 months.

Now I have only had the X for two days but yesterday I set it up downtown Atlanta and tested it.
Droid down: 456 Kbps - iPhone: 2505 Kbps
Wifi test at the house:
Droid down: 7479 up: 1650 - iPhone down: 13392 up: 4698 this was a bit shocking.
Atlanta airport this morning:
Droid: 237 - iPhone 2017
Sacramento, CA downtown
Droid: 740 - iPhone: 2867

I travel a ton for work with often no wifi and would like to put PDA net on the droid but not at these speeds. Otherwise I like the phone and the Droid OS. Needs some polishing and the browsing experience is much 'choppier' then the iPhone. Love the notifications on Droid.

Two possibilities. First, it is entirely possible that AT&T provides much better 3G performance than Verizon in the locations you frequent. I know that here in the Seattle area AT&T (and Sprint and T-Mobile) all outperform Verizon for most users.

The most reliable information on coverage and performance for both phone calls and data transmission I know of is provided by Root Wireless.
Their data are provided by thousands of users on an ongoing basis rather than snapshot tests from a few locations. You might want to check out their website.

On the other hand, the speeds you're reporting strike me as absurdly low for the Droid X, especially since you're comparing the devices in spots where both AT&T and Verizon could be expected to have at least adequate coverage/performance. The RootWireless data in my area, for example, demonstrate better performance for other carriers, but the differences are in the range of 10-20%, not 300%-400% as you're reporting.

If I were you, I'd do some investigation of your particular phone.

 

[Lavrishevo]

Thanks jsh,

This is why I am thinking about returning the X and waiting for an LTE compatible Droid. Just tested again this morning, Sunday at 7:50 am

Droid down: 1095 up: 846 - iPhone: 2938 up: 1236

I understand Verizon throttles data to make voice more reliable but with LTE coming soon and my discount would no longer apply I think I am going to return the X and wait for the next generation.

At least for me, data speeds are drastically different.