[drake3]

Hi All,

I tethered a couple of times with my new 8830, but this is the first time I have done a speed test. The connection does not seem that slow, but the tests don't report very good speeds. The VZAccess Manager reports max speeds way higher than the speed test. This was done using my notebook (vista), VZAccess Mgr reporting 4 bars (full) strength connected via USB to my 8830. The Verizon guy at the store said I would get Rev. A speeds, but I think I am seeing Rev 0 speeds. They actually seem lower. Compared to the speed tests on DSLReports.com run from the USB and wireless cards that run full Rev. A speeds my tethering is dragging!

Is this the norm? Just checking - Thanks!

[AndrewAZ]

No BB or phone for that matter has Rev A yet... (spring mogul will but its a software upgrade). Your speed seem normal for Rev 0...

[camattin]

I'm on sprint, but rev. 0 is rev. 0 right? My speeds varied between 200 and 450 down, and always around 100 up.

[drake3]

Thanks for the replies. Glad to know the speed is in-line even though it is slow.

[camattin]

And still much faster than what we'd see on AT&T/TMobile right?

[MikesTooLz]

I used to have an 8830 with Verizon and would tether to my laptop. My speed tests from speedtest.net would normaly be in the 750kb/s to 800kb/s.


I have since switched over to t-mobile because I am paying around half of the price I paid while with verizon and tethering is FREE. They dont charge for tethering.

Yes t-mobile is using EDGE and is slower than verizon. I get around 200kb/s compaired to the 800kb/s with verizon. I figure I can deal with the slower speeds for now and t-mobile will have there 3G network up pretty soon (they plan on having an announcement this week about it).

[camattin]

Originally Posted by MikesTooLz

Yes t-mobile is using EDGE and is slower than verizon. I get around 200kb/s compaired to the 800kb/s with verizon. I figure I can deal with the slower speeds for now and t-mobile will have there 3G network up pretty soon (they plan on having an announcement this week about it).

But your BB won't be able to use 3G. Are you planning to switch devices to be able to advantage of the 3G?

[jsntrenkler]

There is a lot of things I don't like about Verizons practices with its customers, however they were very smart in investing their money in creating a superior network. To me it would be worth the extra money to have a speedier and more reliable connection.

[Demon]

I usually get around 450 kb/s download speeds on mine. Not as fast as my aircard, but still does the job.

If anyone on Verizon wants I can add a month free tethering to their account to check it out.

[drake3]

Well, I just came from an EDGE network. My older 8700G was using Cincinnati Bell's (AT&T) network, but they didn't let people tether. You have to buy an air-card to use on the EDGE network which is what - 144K down?

Speedtest.net as you saw in my original post is saying <300kbps, but if I look in the VZAccess Manager it says around 400. Not sure which one to believe, but I would put my money on the the speedtest.net rather than the Verizon software for obvious reasons.

The test was done with 4 full bars on the strength meter in VZA Mgr. Tethered to my Vista Ultimate laptop using USB. Anyone had any luck getting more bandwidth with tweaks to the IP stack?

[Dubdub]

Speed on a handheld is a factor of many variables. It is dependent on several factors such as the connection, the device processor, device memory, distance to the tower, tower congestion, etc.

Average EVDO speeds should be between 400-800 kbps with a max of 1.2 mbps for Rev 0 and 2.4 mbps for Rev A.

Average EDGE speeds should be between 50 kbps and 125 kbps with the max being around 300 kbps and the absolute max at 384 kbps.

What one person gets is not even a remote comparison as to what you should get, unless you are side by side, running the exact same test to the same site at the same time on the same device.

[floz23]

I tether a bit on my 8830. I generally get speeds around 500-700kbit with it...

[AndrewAZ]

Make sure we arnt getting out kbps mised up with Kb/sec they are not the same. One is kilobits per second the other is kilobytes.

Best way to test your EVDO speed is to go to google. Search "2 wire" second result should be 2 wire speed test. Click it let it run it will reload the pages a few times.. I have never tested below 1mbps on it and usually test at 1.2-1.5ish. I think its one of the best for mobil browsers since it starts with a small file then slowly goes to larger files.

[Dubdub]

Originally Posted by AndrewAZ

Make sure we arnt getting out kbps mised up with Kb/sec they are not the same. One is kilobits per second the other is kilobytes.

Best way to test your EVDO speed is to go to google. Search "2 wire" second result should be 2 wire speed test. Click it let it run it will reload the pages a few times.. I have never tested below 1mbps on it and usually test at 1.2-1.5ish. I think its one of the best for mobil browsers since it starts with a small file then slowly goes to larger files.

Not sure if you are getting a good number with that. Are you sure it doesn't use proxy servers and the result you are seeing is the speed between the proxies, not the true device speed?

[camattin]

Not sure how much I trust the 2 wire test. It just reported my speed (using opera mini on the phone itself.... so this wasn't tethered) as 2.74 Mbps. That's a non-feasible speed with Rev. 0. I reckon every bandwidth test is flawed in one way or another.

[Dubdub]

Originally Posted by camattin

Not sure how much I trust the 2 wire test. It just reported my speed (using opera mini on the phone itself.... so this wasn't tethered) as 2.74 Mbps. That's a non-feasible speed with Rev. 0. I reckon every bandwidth test is flawed in one way or another.

I agree that it can't be that speed with Rev 0. There are so many variables with cell data that any speed test can't be that accurate.

[*&))]

Speeds are going to vary even on the same carrier, i use Verizon and have never seen speeds over 300 down, but i live in the Mid-West in a smaller city. I would think the bigger the city the better higher you speeds will be, in conjunction to your provider. I travel different place throughout the US and it seems like i get the best service in the NY/NJ areas, But even then it depends on where I am.

[SpectreBlofeld]

I tether with my 8830 as my primary home Internet connection and generally see speeds between 250k and 600k.

[AndrewAZ]

Originally Posted by camattin

Not sure how much I trust the 2 wire test. It just reported my speed (using opera mini on the phone itself.... so this wasn't tethered) as 2.74 Mbps. That's a non-feasible speed with Rev. 0. I reckon every bandwidth test is flawed in one way or another.

Rev 0 can go up to 3.1 mbps.. The only difference between Rev 0 and Rev A is the Rev A has about 2-3 time the upload speed along with a lower latency.

[mfaubert]

Originally Posted by camattin

And still much faster than what we'd see on AT&T/TMobile right?

Originally Posted by drake3

Well, I just came from an EDGE network. My older 8700G was using Cincinnati Bell's (AT&T) network, but they didn't let people tether. You have to buy an air-card to use on the EDGE network which is what - 144K down?

Au contraire - see above. And I do not pay for any additional services other than my unlimited BB plan.