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Developer Claims Three Major Carriers Throttle iPhone and iPad Data Speeds

Wednesday June 5, 2013 1:40 pm PDT by Juli Clover
speedtestAccording to Joseph Brown, one of the developers behind the iTweakiOS site that provides hacked carrier updates for iOS users, Apple is purposely throttling iPhone data speeds to "even out" the network as Apple's phones consume more data than other smartphones.

Brown states that AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint limit the iPhone's data speeds and provides evidence in the form of snapshots of network settings. For example, AT&T limits the iPhone 5 to Category 10 (14.4Mbps) HSDPA despite the fact that the network is able to support up to Category 14 (21.1Mbps) HSDPA+ and the iPhone supports Category 24 (42.2Mbps) DC-HSDPA+.

Brown goes on to point out similar throttling code present in the LTE and 3G network settings of both Verizon and Sprint, for the iPhone and the iPad. His theory is that Apple (or the carriers themselves) are throttling data speeds in order to cut down on the iPhone's data usage.
- AT&T limits HSPA+ and permanently throttles LTE (unless hack is applied)
- Verizon permanently throttles LTE (unless hack is applied)
- Verizon and Sprint throttle down 3G (unless hack is applied)
- Apple has band preferences set for T-Mobile and AT&T causing signal issues (very much fixable by Apple and the carrier and is currently being looked into, from I've been told)
T-Mobile, the last network to receive the iPhone, is the only carrier that does not appear to throttle iPhone data usage. Though Brown places the blame for the network settings on Apple, it is unclear whether it is Apple or the carriers themselves at fault, and the reasoning behind the alleged throttling is equally unclear. Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon have all historically throttled the data speeds of high volume users.

To thwart the apparent throttling, iTweakiOS offers a number of carrier hacks that are designed to increase data speeds.

Update: AnandTech has debunked this claim and says that neither Apple nor the carriers are throttling data speeds.

[ 280 comments ]


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k1121j
79 months ago
Lol

They do?

Image (http://i.imgur.com/HFxQqZN.png?1)


Looks like you are testing your WIFI to me
Rating: 23 Votes
Avatar
jpmcnown
79 months ago

This is really a good idea because the iPhone does use more and that's not fair to us Android or Windows users.

T-Mobile will catch on soon, once more people hop on their network.


That was a really pathetic effort to light a fanboy fire.
Rating: 22 Votes
Avatar
lcmazza
79 months ago
Why throttle if there's a quota limit anyway?

Seems dumb.
Rating: 20 Votes
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e-coli
79 months ago
And here come the lawsuits.
Rating: 15 Votes
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charlieegan3
79 months ago
"...it is unclear whether it is Apple or the carriers themselves at fault"

Not both?
Rating: 15 Votes
Avatar
mbushnell
79 months ago

Looks like you are testing your WIFI to me


I'm on wifi right now, this why you see it in the screenshot. Those results were from three days ago via cell connection in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Rating: 10 Votes
Avatar
mbushnell
79 months ago

Verizon permanently throttles LTE (unless hack is applied)


They do?

Rating: 9 Votes
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bushido
79 months ago

They do?

Image (http://i.imgur.com/HFxQqZN.png?1)


it may help to turn off the wifi first ... duh!
Rating: 8 Votes
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street.cory
79 months ago

your testing your wifi connection


No he's not. You're looking in the wrong place for what connection was used to test. He could be on Airplane Mode and still show you results of a previous test. If you look at the icon by the date of the test you'll see the test was indeed done on a cellular data connection.

Cheers
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
BornAgainApple
79 months ago

Stuff like this makes me wonder what the major carriers will look like in 20 years.


Back to dial-up :rolleyes:
Rating: 6 Votes

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