Despite now competing against two other carriers for iPhone subscribers, AT&T seems to have an unlikely ace up its sleeve: speed. Some AT&T users are reporting a boost in 3G speed after upgrading to the iPhone 4S.
Although it’s unknown how widespread is the bump in AT&T speeds, but some users of the carrier are reporting anecdotal evidence that the 4S’ support for the 14.4Mbps HSDPA protocol used during GSM connections appears real. In one case, an AT&T user based in Iowa claims 3G speeds of 5.45Mbps, up from 4 Mbps previously registered on his iPhone 4. In another case, a Texas AT&T subscriber reports 3.17Mbps with his iPhone 4S.
AT&T has been referring to its HSDPA support as “4G.”
Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.
47 responses to “Some AT&T Users Find Faster 3G with iPhone 4S”
Here in Canada, Rogers, Telus and Bell have the same type of mobile network as AT&T. I’m with bell and I’ve got 15ms ping, 12.48 mbps down and 2 mbps up… So I would say Apple wasn’t lying about the speed, but AT&T can’t give that speed.
I typically get 5.25Mbps 3g on my iPhone 4..
at&t will prob never offer speeds like that…
I just tested my iPhone 4 (not the 4S) on AT&T and got 4.04 Mbps down and .95 Mbps up.
I am in Cincinnati, OH and I received 41ms, 5.2 mb down, and 1 mb up…
Well, I’m here in Tampa, Florida and travel between Orlando-Tampa: trust me, there is no speed-bump with the iPhone 4S from the iPhone ‘4’. I have both phones and tested them side by side. Acorrding to AT& T, that while I am in the HSPA+ map area, the 14.4 is only registered if I am the only one on the network. But with all of these AT& T users, 4-5 Mb/s is as good as it gets. Taking the 4S back – not pleased with any other features it has. Same as ‘4’ with an ‘S’ on it.
i get this speeds on my iPhone 4 AT&T 5.05 Mbps Down And 0.53 Up on Dallas yesterday 10/16/11 1:56 Pm
Montgomery Alabama 5 bars of 3G have 128ms 1.92mbps D and 1.18mbps U on 4S
Your picture shows wifi speed test, not GSM, and if I was a betting man, I bet that is what others are testing as well.
Where are you located in Cinci? I’m in longworth hall (queens gate) and am only getting 1Mbps down and 1Mbps up.
It’s because #ATTfail is raping all the unlimited data users with speed cutbacks.
3.17 MBPS ??? on 3g??? flip this is my ADSL in Luxembourg :((
You wanna sell it to me cause I can’t seem to find one in Tampa lol
I’ll find out next month when 4S is available again for DC, but doubt there’s any improvement. I typically get 2-3 MBPS on a good day.
1.9 meg here in San Diego on 4 … bf has a 4s and he hasn’t seen more then 1 meg down.
I got 7.37 in NYC
I tested it on 3G in Montreal…
I’m on ATT and got 5.06mbps at work, and I get 2-3 bars on my phone here and Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile users have to go out of the building to make calls. It’s the first time I’m happy to be on ATT.
I’m on ATT and got 5.06mbps at work, and I get 2-3 bars on my phone here and Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile users have to go out of the building to make calls. It’s the first time I’m happy to be on ATT.
/double post delete
I got 6.7 mbs from 2-3 i was getting with my iPhone 4
On my iPhone 4 on AT&T, I’ve seen download speeds of 3.08 MB/s and regularly see speeds of 2.5-3 MB/s.
I did a comparison with my buddy today who has an iPhone 4s on AT&T. We both ran the tests at the same time. His download speeds were in the 3-4 range, while mine were in the 1-2 range. Then, we went back to the same location a few hours later and my results were 2.45 and 2.75 but his two tests were all under 2. During both rounds of tests, my phone had 1 less bar of reception than his.
Not sure why his was faster the first time and mine was faster a couple hours later. Maybe it was the phone, maybe it was the network, who knows. I can never get consistent speed test results.
Maybe it was the network,
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YEP i am houston and yes i can say my voice and data are noticeably better
i have much clearer voice calls and data downloads quicker
very happy with my iphone4s
iPhone 4S (5 Bars)
107ms (Ping)
5.13 mbps (Download)
1.14 mbps (Upload)
Palm Beach, FL