Very very very slow hspa+ data speeds on Iphone 4S

[nyhunter77]

Just curious how many other people are having dead slow data speeds on the iphone 4S on the Hspa+ network AND Wifi?

I've switched phones once already and changed sims last night. Nothing seems to improve.

The Iphone4 was awesome at everything in the Chicago &  New York areas.

Now at least in Chicago, I can't get down speeds more than 0.6 mb down and up speeds of no more than 0.1 mb.

I usually have zero connection to the data network in most places as well except underground in the subway on one area of north downtown.

I don't know what to do as I have sold my Iphone4 already, I can't go back. No one seems to be complaining about this issue to ATT or stores though.  Am I the only one ???

So in addition, it's very slow on my wifi network as well while I have a few laptops and an ipad doing fine.  My significant other's older apple device and computer are fine speed wise as well.

Any suggestions? or are u guys just fine?

Thanks,

Ken

[nyhunter77]

No one's replied yet so i suppose everyone is actually doing ok with the data speeds and connection?

Try the speedtest app and let me know your speeds and city if you're ok with it.

Actually, my girlfriend's phone just broke, I would like to get her an iphone but i probably will try to Not get her a 4s.

I'd like some more confirmation of problems or nonproblems though, thanks!

Ken

[steve2016]

I am actually having the same issue...I found your post through Google... I think there may be an issue with some of the Iphone 4S's because mine is random.  It gets very slow on WiFi or 3G when I try to use Google or if I'm on Facebook, it just says updating and never works, but I'm still able to do other things like send a text or something like that.  It's just weird but very annoying.  When I reboot the phone and start my Facebook or Google app, the data seems to work fine for about 5 or 10 minutes, then it does it again.... I thought maybe my otterbox case was messing with it, so I took it off the phone and it still did the same thing, just sits there with that stupid little circle spinning at the bottom, and I live in Dallas!!  Like i said, not just 3G but Wifi too...something wrong with this stupid phone, I'm seriously thinkin about going in and trading it for another one and hope the other one is not faulty.....

[steve2016]

Strange thing is, I did test Speedtest while I was having this issue and Speedtest shows fine download/upload speeds....but anything network related like Google or Facebook, it will just sit there and not do anything.  Can't be the apps because they are all up to date and both are doing the same thing....I am wondering how many people have this same problem but just don't realize it as being an issue yet....

[xsrvx]

I have been quite dissapointed in the network speed. I don't even know if it is HSPA+ since the icon says 3G.

Wifi speeds are fine.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

I would not expect the HSPA+ speeds on the 4S to be that much noticeable nor nearly as reliable as opposed to the good ol' 3G signal. The iPhone will probably be able to handle faster speeds better when an LTE iPhone is released, which will probably be next year.

How are you able to tell the difference, anyway? As far as I know, there is no "4G" indicator on the 4S with the maximum level of service being 3G.

[nyhunter77]

I'm getting so fed up. I can't believe i'm saying this but if they don't fix this issue before the 30 day return policy, i think i might go android.  There is nothing I can do on this phone at many times and that's unacceptable.  I need a device i can trust to get online when i need it though. Argh!

Some say it's a network issue, some have said that it's iOS5, try tuning off and on this and that. nothing seems to work.

I hope a fix will be found soon.

[Ryan_ATL]

Have you contacted Apple about this?  It's possible the issue is specifically with your device, only way to rule that out is to let Apple evaluate it.

[nyhunter77]

Replaced the phone and then the sim.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

And still having problems such as connecting to the Internet, etc.?

[nyhunter77]

I am thinking that the 3G network problem was AT&T's. i've hit a few areas today that actually have given me pretty decent speeds up about 4 to 5 MB down. I also read today about a lot of slow data problems that seemed to have happened from the Midwest to the East Coast.

I still have very slow Wi-Fi data speeds though in my home and other people's homes as well as educational institutions. I'm finding that with the very low data speeds around 1 to 2 MB down in most areas I visit, it's still faster right now to leave my phone on cellular data rather than join a Wi-Fi network, that just can't be right.

This leads me to believe that it is iOS five which has given all my Apple devices now a slow Wi-Fi connection. This is really irritating though because I usually receive much faster data speeds everywhere I go when I joined Wi-Fi networks. Now I'm stuck in low gear. are you guys finding this too? Will we will have to wait for Apple to release an update and will it fix this problem?

I have no idea. But, I am annoyed.

Just as an example, I was finally able to re-cache my slacker radio stations. I couldn't do it before because my Wi-Fi connection was so slow on my iPhone. I finally did it today over HSPA plus but at half the speed of my usual Wi-Fi connection. I would have rather use my Wi-Fi and not my cellular data.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

The Wi-Fi issue certainly does not make sense to me. Even with a poor network connection, the speeds for Wi-Fi using my Android phone top out at 52 Mbps. I am sure it is a heck of a lot faster with a full connection.

iOS 5 must be to blame if it is happening on all of your Apple devices. I'm glad I didn't update my iPhone quite yet, if I even do at all...

[nyhunter77]

Here's hoping for the answer, just noticed the update ios5.0.1 is out, downloading now

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

I noticed that in a thread another poster here posted. That was pretty quick from the update to iOS 5.

Cross your fingers... Hopefully the new iOS update will correct possible errors found in the original iOS 5.

[nyhunter77]

Yep, I'll get back to you guys after the install. I'll let you know how it goes.

[nyhunter77]

Nope, did not fix the issue, devices get .6 mb down and .75 upload on WIFI - att dsl elite speed

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

I'm sorry to hear that. I wonder what else there is for you to do, because it's clear that the devices are not the problem if this problem is happening across different Apple devices.

Surely they can't all be bad apples...

[dwill05]

I'm lost here, is this a problem with the WiFi speeds or the cell data speeds? The WiFi speed on my 4S when connected to my home network is over 5Mbps, which is normal for the connection I have

[XurXes]

It's a problem for both, means it most be software or hardware but i doubt it's hardware since all his devices worked fine till after update.

[nyhunter77]

Actually. Now I've learned it's probably wifi only. Cell speeds were slow bc AT&T was "degraded"

My wifi speeds on my devices are super slow though and they shouldn't be.
Stinks!

[XurXes]

Well if it's wifi only and it's happening on all devices couldn't it be your router? Maybe it just happened to mess up when you updated, unlikely but it could happen. Borrow a friends router or buy one and if it's the router keep the new one, and if not, return the router make sure they accept returns first, then if it's not the router try modem?

[nyhunter77]

It's on many wifi areas.

[dwill05]

Just did an interesting test. I got my 4S yesterday and although the WiFi speeds seem fine, I was getting horrible speeds on 3G at my house. Using the Speedtest app, my 3G download speeds were only about 0.3 Mbps! Strangely, just after I activated the phone, I tried and was getting between 4-5 Mbps, but after the first time it dropped to 0.3. Tried multiple times last night and again this morning in case it was just a temporary tower problem. Still 0.3, and I double checked with the Cisco speed app, and got the same slow result.

Then, I moved the SIM card from my 4S back to my old 4 (updated with iOS 5) and tried it. I got 4-5 Mbps in the old 4! Tried 3 times in a row, and got the same result. Put the SIM card back into the 4S, and now it's showing 4-5 Mbps consistently.

Don't know what this means. Maybe the SIM card wasn't seated fully in the 4S and pulling it out and then back in reset the connections. Has anyone tried reinserting the SIM or resetting Network Settings to see if that clears it up for them?

This shouldn't affect a WiFi speed problem if that's your problem, but I never had a problem with my WiFi speeds on either my 4S or the 4 after updating to iOS 5.

[nyhunter77]

That's certainly strange, I think I'll try taking out and putting back the Sim card just for the heck of it later. for the 3G speeds though, at least since last week, I suspect that that has been AT&T's problem. they never said anything and customer service didn't seem to know anything about it but I've read a few times online how service has been really low since last week DataWise throughout the country.

Other than in my immediate neighborhood, HSPA plus have gotten up to decent speeds. In my neighborhood, it's still slow cellular speeds, I'd like to use my Wi-Fi at its faster speeds but I guess that's not possible, thinking that it's iOS 5.

After your updates here, I'm thinking maybe it's the router? the Wi-Fi speeds in many places for my iPhone 4S are very slow though but I ordered a new router in any case, I'm going to give that a try. mine is still an old 802 11 B so I just ordered an N because it was on sale.

I hope that will help fix the problems I have at home. that won't help at all my Wi-Fi connections outside though. My Wi-Fi at home was registering too slow even now for me to use voice to text programs. I had to go back to 3G. That's ludicrous!

Other suggestions?

[nyhunter77 · Accepted solution]

Eureka!!! I think I found the answer, at least for me. Like a good troubleshooter, I took the time and made single router changes to my router over the last hour.

Usually, I don't think people have to change the broadcast channel of their router but when i made the change from 11 to 7, I found my speeds shot up to where they should be!

It worked for all my i-devices and I hope it stays that way.  I'll confirm that in a few hours and if all is well, I'll let u guys know.

For those who have time and know how to get to the channel settings, change that and see if it works.

I'm guessing someone in my building got a new router and has recently started interfering with mine.

Make some single changes one by one and keep testing ... hopefully you'll find the answer too (it might just be your network and maybe something strange u might never have considered)

In any case, I hope it stays this way.  So for me, my cellular speeds have been somewhat resolved and getting a little better daily it seemes, and my wifi issues are tentatively resolved as well pending a few checks throughout the next few days.

Edit: that reminds me, I'll have to check wifi speeds in my other haunts and at work.

[Wild Banchi ACE - Professor]

I am glad you found the answer. It doesn't appear to be an issue with either iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1 after all...

Thank you for making me feel more confident in updating my own iPhone to iOS 5, should the need ever come. I am glad to hear that it was just the router's problem.

[nyhunter77]

No problem.  It's weird, must have just been coincidence because when I had my iphone 4, speeds were great. Now, had to make this change for everything to work right.

So just an update, a day later and my home wifi is still going strong!

Looks like this solved my home issues, life is much better now.

Strange thing though, now my ipad is getting faster speeds than my iphone4s, you'd think it'd be the other way around.

I actually would say I love the features in ios5 though. I couldn't see going back. I love the (android) ripped off reminder screen and i love finally being able to change most of the system sounds.  As an aside, I hated the email sound, i use the quieter windows vista email sound now on the iphone, to those who know when they hear it, they look at me surprised

Anyways, looks like problem solved for now

[fuqueezy]

You are definitely not alone on that boat. I do not know what the problem is but I am experiencing the same problem. I reach a max of 2.3 mbps and an upload of 1.5 mbps. I dont even think those are 3g speeds. I am in SF so I am capable of reaching the HSPA+ data speeds but I am not. Although when I am on WIFI everything seems to work ok.

[dwill05]

2.3 mbps down / 1.5 up seem like normal 3G speeds to me. That's similar to what I was getting on my 4.

Remember, there are theoretical speeds and actual speeds. No one will get the maximum speed that either 3G or HSPA+ are capable of.

[nyhunter77]

Actually got to really test my 3g outside today, the max i could reach on hspa+ is 1.67 down but i've gotten as high as 4.5 down in the loop in chicago underground in the subway (strange huh?).  My average is .8 or .9 down though, really sad compared to what I got on the 3G iphone4.

I'm still trying to figure out if the towers are still down (they always seem to be degraded) or if HSPA+ works on different towers which would explain why tech support says that new towers are going up everywhere (right).

So I'm still kind of sad as far as the speeds outside.

Oh, Just to add, 5.0.1 doesn't seem to work. I went from 85% to 50% in 3 hours today while i was at church! I usually get it down to 65% so it seems that the power is still fading a lot faster than normal.