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Sprint and Apple Working On "Issue" With iPhone Data Speeds

Monday October 24, 2011 3:49 pm PDT by Jordan Golson

In the days after the iPhone launched on Sprint, a number of customers complained about extremely slow data speeds on Sprint's network. Sprint initially denied that there were any problems, but now a report from TheNextWeb suggests that is a problem with Sprint's iPhone data speeds:
Now it seems that an internal email has been sent to Sprint representatives, informing them that Apple and Sprint are working together on a “confirmed nationwide issue” dealing with the slow data rates many users are experiencing. There was no information about what the cause of the issues are or what the expected resolution date might be.

The email did contain a reference to a ‘Service Settings’ update, which sounds like it could be referring to the carrier settings file that contains access point info for the carriers.
The iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S broke Sprint's "device family" one-day sales record on October 14, the first day the phones were available on the network.

[ 121 comments ]


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DblHelix
95 months ago

GSM ftw


Only if you are in the right part of the country. In SF on AT&T the fastest I have ever seen is 175 ms ping and 1.5 down. Fastest I have seen anywhere in the bay area is 110 ping and 3.2 down.
Rating: 5 Votes
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TheRealHershey
95 months ago
I've averaged 150k 3G data speeds on my EVO 4G on Sprint for over a year, and now on my iPhone 4S. I've spent countless hours talking on the phone to their horrible CSRs, and have concluded, I know more about their network and how a network works than they do. Their network is over capacity in a lot of areas, and this problem isn't limited to just the iPhone - they're just trying to pad everyone past the 14 day return policy.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Tiger8
95 months ago

Even after it's fixed you'll still have sub-par speeds compared to AT&T. :/


I used to have MEDIOCORE speeds, coverage, and even PHONE on AT&T on an iPhone 3Gs.

My iPhone 4s on Sprint is working very well. Yes, it is slightly slower, but 1.3 Mbps is nothing to frown upon. I was very worried last week reading the reviews but I am glad I activated my phone anyway.

So at least for me, 4s is a faster phone on a faster network on Sprint. I am sure 4s works well for those on AT&T as well, if they are lucky to have decent coverage.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Bawstun
95 months ago



Sprint has very slow 3G. That problem won't be fixed anytime soon.


That isn't the issue that I and thousands others are having. (at least I don't think it is)

For me...slow is 0.50 mbps. And that's FINE. I can watch Netflix on that, I can YouTube on that, I can play Pandora on that. Things at least...WORK.

What I and others are getting right now is 0.00-0.04

Sometimes when I run a speed test it stays flatlined at 0.00-0.01.

That's an issue, not just "slow 3G" IMO.

----------

Even after it's fixed you'll still have sub-par speeds compared to AT&T. :/


Yeah, well, I wasn't grandfathered in for unlimited data. And with no other option other than paying for TETHERING that I wasn't going to use, I couldn't get more data than 2GB.

What's the point of having an iPhone if I can go over my monthly allotment in 4 or 5 days playing Pandora or streaming YouTube videos? An iPhone with 2GB of data (or an extra $10 per GB) is sort of senseless.
Rating: 4 Votes
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daneoni
95 months ago
GSM ftw
Rating: 4 Votes
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swester
95 months ago
Meh. I get wi-fi just about everywhere I need it, and the Sprint speeds are fine for website browsing and basic multimedia use. Reception and call quality are excellent, and I get to utilize the Verizon network when outside of Sprint territory. Oh - and I have unlimited texts, data, and 1600 shared minutes in addition to unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling on any network.

I'm saving about $750 over the course of my contract. So any boost in speed Sprint provides will be a nice treat, but either way Sprint is the route I'd prefer. Speed tests are a fun way to impress your friends, but I don't see much real world benefit for my purposes.
Rating: 4 Votes
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gigadigit
95 months ago
It's not just the iPhone, my Epic Touch data speeds are very slow compared to before.

Might want to change the title of the article from "Sprint and AT&T" to "Sprint and Apple".

Rating: 3 Votes
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mds
95 months ago
GSM sucks here in LA. Too many hills, too many buildings. I used to get lots of dropped calls and my ATT friends complain of this all the time. I never get dropped calls on Sprint and my data is fine here. Seem to be regional issues, but I have no complaints with Sprint or the 4S.
Rating: 3 Votes
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briankwest77
95 months ago

It's Sprint. Apple doesn't control internet speed on their devices. It is sprint plain and simple. Sprint is a control monger. They are suffering losses and they are trying to control how much data is being transferred to stop brown outs of their data network witch would force them to build more towers to handle the load. Verizon should buy Sprint and desolve it into their company. Plain and simple.



So you're saying without a shadow of a doubt that you know its Sprint and couldn't in any way be a firmware issue or incompatibility with some base station gear? I suspect its a little of both because I get perfectly fine speeds that top out at times at 2.3mbit and usually hover around 1mbit. But others aren't so lucky. If their is a bug in the iPhone 4S CDMA firmware it could cause all phones on the cell or in the area to degrade too. So don't rule that out either.
Rating: 3 Votes
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rocknblogger
95 months ago



Sprint has very slow 3G. That problem won't be fixed anytime soon.


I think it will. They just invested 20 billion to get the iPhone. They know bad word of mouth and bad press can effectively kill it for them. They need the iPhone to be successful and I'm pretty sure they know it. Now that it's in the open and Apple is involved I have confidence they will get it resolved.
Rating: 3 Votes

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