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[Q] 2G, 3G, 4G? [T-Mobile]

Does TMobile not have a 3G speed?
Im always on EDGE unless I go Downtown. Then its HSPA+
Its never HSPA.
Verizon has 3G AND LTE coverage? wtf

BUMP.
I really want to know the reason for the issue

T-Mobile's '4G' network is just an enhanced version of their 3G network. So when you see 4G in some areas, you might actually be running on 3G speeds.

aNYthing24 said:
T-Mobile's '4G' network is just an enhanced version of their 3G network. So when you see 4G in some areas, you might actually be running on 3G speeds.
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I know that much,
but I never get HSPA (3G) unless Im directly under HSPA+(4G)
Basically I am always on EDGE unless I'm downtown.
Other TMO phones and VErizon have 3G coverage nearly everywhere..they never drop to EDGE or 2G

Correct me if I'm wrong, but t mobile does not have true 4g. When you get the 4g icon on your phone, that's just their enhanced 3g. So you are getting 3g. From what I've read i think they just upgraded their 3g towers with hshpa+ which only hsdpa+ enabled phones like the sensation 4g can take advantage of. What you're really missing is true 4g

burnie022 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but t mobile does not have true 4g. When you get the 4g icon on your phone, that's just their enhanced 3g. So you are getting 3g. From what I've read i think they just upgraded their 3g towers with hshpa+ which only hsdpa+ enabled phones like the sensation 4g can take advantage of. What you're really missing is true 4g
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I feel as no one is fully understanding what I'm trying to say.
I know 4G is really an overmarketed 3G+
Now, Tmobile phones and other services receive 3G where I only receive "2G" .
But I do receive HSPA+ when I go downtown.
Why dont I receive normal 3G speeds like other devices?
Its either EDGE or HSPA+
Never an inbetween

Check T-Mobile's website, where you live probably doesn't have or hasn't been upgraded to the 3G/4G service yet. Layman's term; the towers around your house don't support 3G/4G. Call T-Mobile and have them check.
This is common in a lot of suburbs that have a low population. Like you mentioned when you go downtown, you'll have 3G but not at home.

xdviper said:
Check T-Mobile's website, where you live probably doesn't have or hasn't been upgraded to the 3G/4G service yet. Layman's term; the towers around your house don't support 3G/4G. Call T-Mobile and have them check.
This is common in a lot of suburbs that have a low population. Like you mentioned when you go downtown, you'll have 3G but not at home.
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Hopefully your right. Hate it to be a problem with my SIM or phone.
I dont live but 5minutes from downtown.
Very residential but still out of the way, so like i said hopefully your right

I can directly relate to your problem. First off, I didn't know that T-Mobile's 4G is just 3G+, but that's good to know. I've had the HTC Sensation 4G for over 3 months, and I've travelled all over LA and the only services I've seen are 4G, 2G, & G. I've yet to see 3G.

I'll see my Sensation jump between "H" and "3G" all the time - essentially the same thing, as noted.
(in case this was part of your question) "Standard 3G" (such as what AT&T offers) isn't available on TMOUS because they missed out on buying part of the "standard 3G" spectrum.
Before my Sensation I had a Legend (still do actually) - it's a "standard GSM/3G" phone. Without the TMOUS-specific radio, best data I could get was EDGE. (though if I went to UK and used a local SIM, I'd get 3G just fine due to compatibility with their 3G nets)

[Q] Data Rates, signal, quality of service

Hellos,
Was wondering and wanted to know from others, their experiences with using a D2G with different carriers/services.
I have a D2G on simple mobile currently. Switched from Sprint using an EVO 4G, data in my calling areas just stunk and never got better, forget ever getting a 4G signal..
But, it seems I am in an area between towers, because I seem to get the same result using Simple Mobile connected to Tmobile Towers. Signal drops from nothing to 3 bars if I turn around. And I only get an Edge data connection (I understand it's a frequency issue).
I was told by a Walmart Rep, that they use Family Mobile powered by Tmobile and don't have the throttle issue as with Simple Mobile, but 250mb data cap at the same $45/month as Straight Talk (even thought I'd be stuck at Edge with the D2G anyways) is too low a cap, especially if I were to switch phones later on.
So I recently read into Straight Talk as an option, after reading how bad H2O data is and that Simple Mobile's 3G is throttled to 119kbs (tested on a SK4G, yeap confirmed 119kbs max).
So I wanted to know from others, what kind of data rates they are getting on various providers using a D2G.
-CC

clockcycle said:
Hellos,
I was told by a Walmart Rep, that they use Family Mobile powered by Tmobile and don't have the throttle issue as with Simple Mobile, but 250mb data cap at the same $45/month as Straight Talk (even thought I'd be stuck at Edge with the D2G anyways) is too low a cap, especially if I were to switch phones later on.
So I recently read into Straight Talk as an option, after reading how bad H2O data is and that Simple Mobile's 3G is throttled to 119kbs (tested on a SK4G, yeap confirmed 119kbs max).
So I wanted to know from others, what kind of data rates they are getting on various providers using a D2G.
-CC
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I would not know about Droid using 2G (on my old phones what I used as T-Mobile EDGE) or what I call "100K data" connection since I don't get it around here. I am sure that my data connection at times has degraded to 2G, but I have not noticed that as being the issue, so I have not been able to perform a speed test while in 2G mode.
Last June 2011 I used a Droid style phone on Virgin Mobile USA prepaid. That was the Motorola Triumph. I can't recall as a MVNO who was providing Virgin Mobile's signal, but I think it was Sprint by that point (Sprint bought Virgin Mobile USA prepaid). In any event, I was not pleased with the VM speeds (that is, if I was not using WiFi). My speeds were consistently about 300K to 700K.
Currently I use Straight Talk and I am VERY VERY pleased with the service. When I bought a phone and a Straight Talk SIM card I opted for GSM AT&T service since it had better GSM phones than T-Mobile did.
Since Straight Talk is an MVNO (buying its signal or "tower space" from other carriers and spectrum resellers) one's Straight Talk signal and data connection will only be as good as the provider you chose to use with your Straight Talk account. I assume the same principle applies to CDMA and Droid (Motorola) handsets.
Where I live in San Francisco I get a better signal from GSM-based AT&T than I did with T-Mobile GSM handsets, so on Straight Talk's SIM purchasing site I chose to buy an AT&T GSM SIM.
Whereas with T-Mobile 4G I would often get 2G in most parts of my residence, with AT&T 4G (again, this is with Straight Talk) using an Samsung Galaxy S II and ATT HTC Inspire, I consistently get a strong 4G signal (says "H+" on notification bar). And speed tests have been outstanding, (using speed test net 2286 kbps download, 1130kbps upload). Those speeds are in the "slower part of the house). This does not matter most of the time, however, since I use WiFi 90% of the time.
Bottom line: I suspect one's physical locale, handset model, and provider (CDMA, GSM, or specific carrier) all play an important part in the speed and quality of a data connection. In other words, everyone's experience may differ, even with someone who has the exact same setup as I, but who lives down the block.

[Q] Why is AT&T LTE faster than Verizons LTE?

So my two year contract is up and I wanted to see what network was best to go with, my biggest concern is LTE and wich network is better that means T-mo is out, Sprint not ready in my area so that leaves AT&T and Verizon. Now I talked to reps at both AT&T and Verizon and nither one knew what they were talking about making outragous statements about why their LTE network was better than their compettitors. On my way out of the AT&T store the rep said one of their techs just came in and can explain it all to me. The tech seemed to know what he was talking about he showed me they are testing LTE in my area right now and showed me it was working on his phone. He told me if I got a LTE phone right now today I would get the fastest LTE around because no one is the network in the area right now unless they have an LTE phone already and have it turned on for LTE. He also told me once LTE is offically turned on here that I will lose LTE speeds because of all the other devices plugging into it but even with speeds being reduced after testing I would still get LTE speeds faster than Verizons LTE because LTE is a GSM technology and works better with GSM phones and GSM networks. Verizons network is CDMA and has to be reworked to make it compatable with LTE and right now isn't all that stable and it crashes all the time, and since the phones are set for CDMA/LTE the phone has to work harder causing more/faster battery drain. I forget all the technical words he used but the guy really seemed to know his stuff and did say that Verizon is working to make it's LTE stable and believes theyt would have everything fixed by the end of year but because it's CDMA/LTE it can never be as fast as GSM/LTE.
Anyway my question is Is he correct and AT&Ts LTE is faster than Verizons? or is that more BS with alot of technical terms thrown in?

For the most part, the number of devices connected to the network is the biggest factor. The more devices connected, the slower it will go.
There might be some truth to the fact that Verizon's LTE network is newer and therefore unstable (as we've seen in the past) but that doesn't mean it will be necessarily slower while it's working for that reason, and AT&T's LTE network is newer so I don't see how that would be a plus for them. It's true that AT&T phones are GSM, and LTE is based on GSM, but implying that strong UMTS/HSPA+ network coverage is going to magically supplement LTE coverage sounds like BS to me. This might make it easier for AT&T to roll out their LTE network for that reason, but that doesn't mean that they've even come close to meeting Verizon in coverage yet.
So, in a nutshell, there's some truth to it. It's faster for the time being since there's no one on it, but there's nothing technically BETTER about AT&T's LTE as far as I know. LTE is LTE; it just depends on the carrier's infrastructure (internet connections to towers, tower locations and coverage, etc) to determine the the quality and speed of connection.
Besides, if AT&T's abilities to keep up with new subscribers on their 3G network is any indication, it won't be long before their LTE networks is slower than Verizons

Thanks
Thank you for clearing this up for me so your saying there is no difference between Verizon and AT&Ts LTE other than Verizon having a Larger Network right now.

*Compairson* One S On AT&T vs T-Mobile - Network Flopping

I thought I would bring this up.
I have the T-Mobile US One S carrier unlocked and I have used it both on ATT and Tmobile.
With all the network flopping going on I noticed something between the two. When i use the phone on ATT, I rarely see 3G. It's always H. And the speeds reflect that.
When I use the phone on T-Mobile, it's always on 3G. I only see the H when the phone needs to do something data intensive. For instance, I start a speed test.. It will start 3G and flop to H for the test. I can sit with the screen on playing around with the phone and it will not switch H at all. I am in a good 4G coverage area.
I know many users are looking for a update to fix the flopping. However, to me it seems more like a power management thing and perhaps on Tmobile's network side.
Just a thought.

I was wondering if you've been able to use AT&T's network with your T-Mobile sim? I haven't, but I thought the Roaming agreement was all set. Am I wrong?

Droidificator said:
I was wondering if you've been able to use AT&T's network with your T-Mobile sim? I haven't, but I thought the Roaming agreement was all set. Am I wrong?
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According to the coverage maps, postpaid and prepaid are identical. However, I have seen this as well. I can have full ATT coverage and zero T-Mobile coverage.

Straight Talk AT&T SIM

I recently just migrated to ST from T-Mobile because I had very low network speeds at home with T-Mobile. Im all setup with the service and am getting "expected" speeds around 5-8mbps down in my area and other towns.
I did purchase the ATT LTE Compatible SIM.
Now here comes the confusion...
Does Straight Talk provide lte speeds in LTE coverage areas for ATT? I've been in areas that should have LTE coverage from ATT but my ST speed was nothing close.
Im running CleanROM ACE 5.0 (awesome) and don't have an option to change my network mode now to lte/gsm/wcdma... Although I don't think it might matter from what ive been reading in other forums.
I really just want to know if its ST not having lte or my phones modem/apn configuration the problem?
I feel like a leech asking a paragraph question and not completely browsing other threads. Even though the other threads dont seem to have a concise answer to this.
I would greatly appreciate even a simple link to a specific post that will clarify this issue.
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