Verizon throttling
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,198
I am reminded that the iPhone 6 released September 2014 is a year and a half older than the iPhone SE released March 2016.
When iOS 12.4.1 was released in August, I soon thought that was the end of my iPhone 6 being supported, and here we are, being given 12.4.4 yesterday.
This is the same iPhone 6 on 12.4.3 at a comfortable speed on VPN-boosted Verizon the other day. It looks like my upgrade can wait until September 2020.
When iOS 12.4.1 was released in August, I soon thought that was the end of my iPhone 6 being supported, and here we are, being given 12.4.4 yesterday.
This is the same iPhone 6 on 12.4.3 at a comfortable speed on VPN-boosted Verizon the other day. It looks like my upgrade can wait until September 2020.
My example of the iPhone SE (which supports LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29) is that T-mobile has recently deployed 600 MHz coverage (in the old UHF TV frequencies, actually). This is referred to as LTE Band 71 - so my friend would get minimal T-mobile coverage here in Maine, for example, where Tmo has deployed Band 71 extensively.
#17
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Somewhere in Florida
Posts: 2,577
@gfunkdave: Overall, I've been very happy since switching to T-Mobile. T-Mobile also has a nice edge over Verizon in that their "3G" network is still pretty speedy (~10Mbps-25Mbps) compared to Verizon's decrepit CDMA2000 3G network (0.5Mbps).
My problems with poor coverage and speeds were with Verizon, who was actually TURNING OFF towers around Florida. I had just bought the latest & greatest Samsung Note phone about 4 months before they started doing this. At my office, cell coverage went from 3-4 bars of LTE to No Signal-0. Similar story for my homes in two other cities. After some back-and-forth with the Verizon techs, they sent an engineer out to two of the locations I was having trouble with and he confirmed my suspicions -- Verizon had intentionally dropped leased towers and hoped to make up the difference with their Verizon-owned facilities, which obviously didn't work. They told me they were building new facilities and hoped to have LTE coverage restored to some of the locations in 12-18 months. I said no way and they let me out of the contract on the phone after just 6 months and no back-charges.
My problems with poor coverage and speeds were with Verizon, who was actually TURNING OFF towers around Florida. I had just bought the latest & greatest Samsung Note phone about 4 months before they started doing this. At my office, cell coverage went from 3-4 bars of LTE to No Signal-0. Similar story for my homes in two other cities. After some back-and-forth with the Verizon techs, they sent an engineer out to two of the locations I was having trouble with and he confirmed my suspicions -- Verizon had intentionally dropped leased towers and hoped to make up the difference with their Verizon-owned facilities, which obviously didn't work. They told me they were building new facilities and hoped to have LTE coverage restored to some of the locations in 12-18 months. I said no way and they let me out of the contract on the phone after just 6 months and no back-charges.
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,198
Yeah, it can be a slow process. Verizon is the big carrier that most insists on using all their own infrastructure. They don't even like to lease dark fiber from others (which the other three carriers do all the time). Instead, Verizon is embarking on a multi year multi billion dollar investment push to build fiber everywhere to serve business customers and Verizon cell sites.
#19
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Programs: UA-GS 1MM), Hertz Pres Circle, Starriott Titanium)
Posts: 1,966
What’s your take on Verizon throttling these days? My iPhone never gets past 5 mpbs anywhere in the U.S. With VPN turned on yesterday, it was up to 80 mbps. Have users been better off in the two years since the Federal Communications Commission voted in favor of repealing the net neutrality policies?
Most verizon plans throttle "video" sites like netflix. If you are using Fast.com (netflix's speed test service), you'll be throttled as Verizon thinks you are streaming video. Turning on a VPN would bypass this throttle as you have noticed.
In my testing the Fast.com app tops out at 4mbps while on verizon LTE, fire up ExpressVPN on at the same location (weak signal) and I'm getting over 16mbps download speed
The ookla app shows me around 25mpbs in this same weak signal location while NOT on vpn.
download the Ookla speed test app, I find this more reliably shows the real speed as it isn't categorized by the providers in their data deprioritization schemes.
#20
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
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Posts: 3,286
#21
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Cleveland, OH
Programs: UA-GS 1MM), Hertz Pres Circle, Starriott Titanium)
Posts: 1,966
Needless to say, this means you aren't really being throttled except for streaming video. Something that can be easily bypassed by a VPN. That said, my eyes aren't good enough to distinguish between a 720p stream or a 1080p stream on my phone, so I never bother.
#22
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
I have the same issue in burbs on the outskirts of Vegas. I'm no fan of VZ but the T-Mobile coverage was just nonexistent even in some populated areas where AT&T and VZ worked just fine.