T-Mobile LTE speed test on Note II, iPhone HTC One

[kckid]

Technobuffalo had 3 articles testing different phones on T-Mobiles LTE network.

 

Here is a summary of the speed differences:

 

iPhone - Download: 32.32Mbps Upload: 13.57Mbps

Note II - Download: 57.99Mbps Upload: 20.16Mbps

HTC ONE - Download: 27Mbps Upload: 11.52MBps

 

 

Why is a big difference between the HTC ONE and the Note II.?

I don't know how many test were run, and if these are averages, but it doesn't look good for HTC to be the slowest.

[digiblur]

Speed is based on signal strength. Those numbers do not surprise me. The Note II has an amazing ability to snag and use distant LTE signals. The HTC One is very close to the EVO LTE and we all know the RF performance of that thing.

[bigzeto]

Speed is based on signal strength. Those numbers do not surprise me. The Note II has an amazing ability to snag and use distant LTE signals. The HTC One is very close to the EVO LTE and we all know the RF performance of that thing.

 

I thought the One had better RF numbers from the FCC docs?

[digiblur]

I thought the One had better RF numbers from the FCC docs?

 

And according to the FCC the Note2 had some poor LTE numbers as well when actually during a short trip across riding across town with the EVO LTE, S3, and Note2 in hand I found those to be incorrect. The Note2 actually edged out ahead of the S3 on LTE coverage. I will withhold my EVO LTE comments to save it the embarrassment.. My credibility level of those numbers is very low at this point.

[bigzeto]

I'm not doubting the performance of the EVO. After using the S3 for the past week, the difference is incredible. I expected a little gain in performance, but the actual real world results have far exceeded my expectations.

[digiblur]

I'm not doubting the performance of the EVO. After using the S3 for the past week, the difference is incredible. I expected a little gain in performance, but the actual real world results have far exceeded my expectations.

 

And that's why I believe those numbers are like that as it is very close to the EVO in design.

 

Sent from my little Note2

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Were all of the tests run at the same time in the same market? If not, they are meaningless, as T-Mobile is deploying a mix of 5 MHz FDD and 10 MHz FDD. Honestly, the iPhone 5 and One results look like the former, while the Note 2 results look like the latter.

 

AJ

[S4GRU]

The Note 2 performed nearly identically to the GS3 on Sprint LTE in my performance testing, despite differing RF testing numbers. Where the Note really differed in my testing is it would find the signal sooner without toggling than the GS3.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[S4GRU]

Were all of the tests run at the same time in the same market? If not, they are meaningless, as T-Mobile is deploying a mix of 5 MHz FDD and 10 MHz FDD. Honestly, the iPhone 5 and One results look like the former, while the Note 2 results look like the latter.

 

AJ

 

You stole my thunder! I was going to say the same thing. I guess great minds think alike. But I suppose warped minds would think alike too.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[WiWavelength]

Neal Gompa is a good guy, but he has published yet another T-Mobile love fest. One statement in particular is a head scratcher: "T-Mobile is launching the fastest LTE network seen to date."

 

http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/151758-t-mobile-usa-launches-lte-network-with-breathtaking-speeds

 

AJ

[Mondays In Flames]

If this information come from the phones being at the same place at the same time, then I'm a little disappointed with the HTC ONE. You'd think HTC would try and make sure their phone wouldn't have the same EVO LTE problems... But we don't know what the real world testing tells us yet.

[bigzeto]

The Note 2 performed nearly identically to the GS3 on Sprint LTE in my performance testing, despite differing RF testing numbers. Where the Note really differed in my testing is it would find the signal sooner without toggling than the GS3.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

Yes, I find the GS3 picks up an LTE signal much faster than the EVO did, and it's also much better with fringe signals. It will sometimes pick up an LTE signal while sitting at my desk at work, whereas the EVO couldn't get it even after cycling the radio. I did prefer the hardware and the screen of the EVO more, though. "IF" the HTC One can give similar RF performance to what I have been getting from the Samsung, I will likely get it.

[S4GRU]

If this information come from the phones being at the same place at the same time, then I'm a little disappointed with the HTC ONE. You'd think HTC would try and make sure their phone wouldn't have the same EVO LTE problems... But we don't know what the real world testing tells us yet.

 

If there is one thing we have proven with this site, it's that two devices sitting next to each other can perform wildly different without a device problem or defect.

 

It is very possible that the Note 2 was on a different channel/sector than the other devices. It could have been a wider channel or a less burdened channel. A lot more information is required to make any noteworthy observations.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[Fraydog]

Neal Gompa is a good guy, but he has published yet another T-Mobile love fest. One statement in particular is a head scratcher: "T-Mobile is launching the fastest LTE network seen to date."

 

http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/151758-t-mobile-usa-launches-lte-network-with-breathtaking-speeds

 

AJ

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's right but attach a very large caveat to it, which is that T-Mobile will have the fastest LTE network right now because it has the fewest LTE devices connecting to it. Now, if you look at it from that perspective, of course it makes sense.

 

Compare to Big Red (I know, I know, I'm not a fan of their business practices but they have a very solid LTE network). Big Red will be able to come out of the gates in NYC with 2x20 and similarly low numbers of devices connecting to it until the next iPhone comes out. Who's going to be the fastest in New York? Not T-Mobile.

[jefbal99]

My first thought in looking at those speeds was were they in the same area or is it a 5x5 vs. a 10x10 area. Also, as stated the Note 2 is an RF beast. My wife has a Photon Q and besides one oddity when visiting a tower, I've always connected to LTE much earlier than her and held it much longer.

[kckid]

I believe that they were tested at the same location, the announcement of T-Mobile lte.

 

[WiWavelength]

My first thought in looking at those speeds was were they in the same area or is it a 5x5 vs. a 10x10 area. Also, as stated the Note 2 is an RF beast. My wife has a Photon Q and besides one oddity when visiting a tower, I've always connected to LTE much earlier than her and held it much longer.

I believe that they were tested at the same location, the announcement of T-Mobile lte.

 

As I recall, the first T-Mobile LTE tests for the tech press in NYC about a week or two ago utilized the Note 2 on an isolated, private 10 MHz FDD LTE cell. But T-Mobile's actual macro network in NYC will be 5 MHz FDD LTE for the time being.

 

Now, I will not put any stakes on it, but I bet that the Note 2 metrics come from those aforementioned tests, while the iPhone 5 and One metrics come from the announcement, which was in NYC, correct?

 

AJ

[Boosted20V]

As I recall, the first T-Mobile LTE tests for the tech press in NYC about a week or two ago utilized the Note 2 on an isolated, private 10 MHz FDD LTE cell. But T-Mobile's actual macro network in NYC will be 5 MHz FDD LTE for the time being.

 

Now, I will not put any stakes on it, but I bet that the Note 2 metrics come from those aforementioned tests, while the iPhone 5 and One metrics come from the announcement, which was in NYC, correct?

 

AJ

 

The announcement yesterday was in NY, yes.

[leerage]

 

From the time stamps it looks like on the morning of 3/25 it was hitting roughly 25 down. Then the timestamps of the 55+ down look to be on the afternoon of 3/26.

[Rukin1]

And according to the FCC the Note2 had some poor LTE numbers as well when actually during a short trip across riding across town with the EVO LTE, S3, and Note2 in hand I found those to be incorrect. The Note2 actually edged out ahead of the S3 on LTE coverage. I will withhold my EVO LTE comments to save it the embarrassment.. My credibility level of those numbers is very low at this point.

Yes. LOL. My mother had the note 2 and me the GS3. She always has more bars and where I have 0 bars of 4G, she has 3 lol. She usually test about 1mb faster on the download

[irev210]

The more I look at 10x10 vs. 5x5 - the advantages of deploying a 10x10 carrier seem substantial.

 

In areas where you have poor coverage, it seems like the 10x10 carrier can offer a far better user experience than 5x5.

[WiWavelength]

The more I look at 10x10 vs. 5x5 - the advantages of deploying a 10x10 carrier seem substantial.

 

In areas where you have poor coverage, it seems like the 10x10 carrier can offer a far better user experience than 5x5.

 

Eh, not really. In areas where a carrier has poor coverage, subs are going to be spending a lot of time off LTE and on whatever is the fallback to LTE. That is where T-Mobile's HSPA+ 21 or DC-HSPA+ 42 comes in as advantage -- even though the LTE/W-CDMA combo is a decidedly inefficient use of spectrum.

 

AJ

[irev210]

Eh, not really. In areas where a carrier has poor coverage, subs are going to be spending a lot of time off LTE and on whatever is the fallback to LTE. That is where T-Mobile's HSPA+ 21 or DC-HSPA+ 42 comes in as advantage -- even though the LTE/W-CDMA combo is a decidedly inefficient use of spectrum.

 

AJ

 

Probably has a lot to do with my crummy EVO 4G LTE handset but I spend a lot of time on 4G LTE with RSRP around -105dB to -115dB. While 3-5Mb isn't bad, I imagine it's only going to get worse once the network is loaded. Look at poor Verizon.

[milan03]

Technobuffalo had 3 articles testing different phones on T-Mobiles LTE network.

 

Here is a summary of the speed differences:

 

iPhone - Download: 32.32Mbps Upload: 13.57Mbps

Note II - Download: 57.99Mbps Upload: 20.16Mbps

HTC ONE - Download: 27Mbps Upload: 11.52MBps

 

 

Why is a big difference between the HTC ONE and the Note II.?

I don't know how many test were run, and if these are averages, but it doesn't look good for HTC to be the slowest.

 

It's really odd and I have no explanation but my guess is that, again T-Mobile had set up 2x10Mhz LTE in a controlled, indoor environment, and maybe that Note II was closer to the base station? Other than that, all three phones were tested in the same location in NYC which is BTW T-Mobile's 2x5Mhz market... And iPhone 5 btw is known for having pretty solid RF characteristics, so I'm puzzled.

 

Also, I'm kinda getting tired of all the tech writers that are getting paid to cover these events, and none of them ask these questions, or at least fire up FieldTest mode... I'm really fed up with the amount of irrelevant and false reports covered by mainstream sites like The Verge for example.

 

Gah... I'll just stop here

[Fraydog]

 

It's really odd and I have no explanation but my guess is that, again T-Mobile had set up 2x10Mhz LTE in a controlled, indoor environment, and maybe that Note II was closer to the base station? Other than that, all three phones were tested in the same location in NYC which is BTW T-Mobile's 2x5Mhz market... And iPhone 5 btw is known for having pretty solid RF characteristics, so I'm puzzled.

 

Also, I'm kinda getting tired of all the tech writers that are getting paid to cover these events, and none of them ask these questions, or at least fire up FieldTest mode... I'm really fed up with the amount of irrelevant and false reports covered by mainstream sites like The Verge for example.

 

Gah... I'll just stop here

 

I am going to get in touch with Chris Ziegler (the senior mobile editor at the Verge) about some of their articles. I think the people there need to go to wireless school. Learn the industry better. If I can do it, they can too.