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AT&T slow LTE on iPhone 6
- Thread starter pk0
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Those of you having data speed issues with your 6, who still have your 5 or 5s, try moving your SIM card to the old phone and running a few speedtests to see if definitely the iPhone 6 or not.
I thought my 6 was giving me crappy performance compared to the 5, but then I pulled out my iPad Air (also on AT&T) and did a speedtest and the performance was crappy there too. So it may just be a general AT&T problem.
I thought my 6 was giving me crappy performance compared to the 5, but then I pulled out my iPad Air (also on AT&T) and did a speedtest and the performance was crappy there too. So it may just be a general AT&T problem.
Interesting, I didn't even think of doing this. Will try this when I get home tonight.
I will do some 6 vs 5 tests when I get home, as I still have my 5, and a 10GB data plan that has plenty of headroom.
Okay so I ran some tests. Same SIM card, same iOS version (8.1 beta 2), same location. Both phones had 5 bars. The speed results were fairly consistent. The iPhone 6 not only won, but completely annihilated the 5.
Interpret as you will; I think the cel radio in the 6 is fine.
Interpret as you will; I think the cel radio in the 6 is fine.
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Another note: Every time I put the SIM into the 6, I got another one of those stupid text messages about requiring a new SIM. I still wonder what amazing features I'm missing out on. 
I'm having the same problem with my new 6. Upgraded from a 5 and noticed the speed was really slow right away. I had a million apps updating and I just assumed it was since it was launch day and everyone was doing the same thing. Ran some speed tests and averaged about 4-5Mbps down. Upload speeds seemed ok, anywhere from 6-11Mbps. Decided I'd search and found this thread. Ran some speed tests yesterday and was getting .5Mbps. I called AT&T and was told I just went over my data limit. Seems that they throttle it back to REALLY SLOW. I've never went over my limit until now. She is going to call me back on Monday and see if it is still slow. Hoping this can be fixed. It is really annoying.
Thanks for all the info everyone, so it seems I'm not the only one having this issue. I don't think it's the cell towers, as other non-iPhone 6 users are able to achieve speeds 2x+ more than we can. I hope it has to deal with software/carrier issues. I was throttled about a few days ago and yes they throttle it at .5 Mbps so everything is super slow.
Ironically enough I was able to get pretty good signal with rarely any loss in service sitting at my desk at work! Before I was throttled I couldn't even load simple webpages and loose signal all the time. Now that I'm throttled, not only can I load webpages and e-mails but I can actually YouTube! WTH?
So judging by this, perhaps it has something to do with the iPhone 6 being indecisive on which band or network to be on either 4G or LTE. But this is just speculation. I am really hoping that the 8.1 update on Monday will solve this issue.
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Thanks for the info.! Did you notice any speed difference when you updated from 8.0 to 8.1?
Ironically enough I was able to get pretty good signal with rarely any loss in service sitting at my desk at work! Before I was throttled I couldn't even load simple webpages and loose signal all the time. Now that I'm throttled, not only can I load webpages and e-mails but I can actually YouTube! WTH?
So judging by this, perhaps it has something to do with the iPhone 6 being indecisive on which band or network to be on either 4G or LTE. But this is just speculation. I am really hoping that the 8.1 update on Monday will solve this issue.
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Thanks for the info.! Did you notice any speed difference when you updated from 8.0 to 8.1?
Anyone still having issues? I actually called AT&T last night and they claim that it's a "known issue" but not much that they can do until Apple relases a fix. But he asked me to shutdown my phone for a few minutes while he "does some things". It helped while I was on the phone... but after about 30 minutes, went back to crappy LTE. I get 5-20Mbs Down but often < 1Mbit up... or lose LTE connectivity altogether. I have to manually put it into airplane mode to get the speed back up to about 5-10Mbits Up. But within 10-15 minutes, returns to sub 1Mbit. Argh!
I have AT&T here in the St. Pete/Clearwater area of Tampa Bay and had slow LTE on my 6+. On my i5 I was getting 13-15Mbps down, but with the 6+ I got half that if not less.
I called AT&T and asked the rep to reprovision my data plan. I have one phone line period, so I shut my phone off for 2-3 minutes and the rep called me back. After the reprovision data speeds on my 6+ are back to 15+ Mbps down.
AT&T LTE here in Tampa Bay just kinda sucks, but the rep did inform me that he saw my phone was using a hybrid of 4G/LTE, which he modified to LTE-only. Whatever he did, it helped some. LTE is bearable if it's the only data connection I can get, but not what I hope for or expect from AT&T especially compared to other areas of the country. Thankfully I get 40+ Mpbs on wifi, so I only use LTE when I'm outta the house.
I called AT&T and asked the rep to reprovision my data plan. I have one phone line period, so I shut my phone off for 2-3 minutes and the rep called me back. After the reprovision data speeds on my 6+ are back to 15+ Mbps down.
AT&T LTE here in Tampa Bay just kinda sucks, but the rep did inform me that he saw my phone was using a hybrid of 4G/LTE, which he modified to LTE-only. Whatever he did, it helped some. LTE is bearable if it's the only data connection I can get, but not what I hope for or expect from AT&T especially compared to other areas of the country. Thankfully I get 40+ Mpbs on wifi, so I only use LTE when I'm outta the house.
Hello from a fellow Tampanian!
I asked AT&t to re-provision mine as well, but still getting slow speeds. Sometime's I can get it to spike around 20Mbps but it is a rareity. I didn't know they can switch it to just LTE?
Ahoy matey, nice to finally have some Fall weather huh?!Hello from a fellow Tampanian!
I too have a spike close to 20 Mbps, but it's as rare as a Buccaneers victory
What the rep explained is that the phone will switch from LTE to 4G when LTE is not available. It "should" handoff or transition completely from one to the other, but some times it gets hung up from 4G to LTE, and on the carrier end they'll see a hybrid 4G/LTE data combo.
I was in St. Louis this summer for a few days and was shocked at how fast the AT&T LTE was there. For one of the largest metro areas in FL, I figured we'd get better speeds, but I figured wrong
Ahoy matey, nice to finally have some Fall weather huh?!
I too have a spike close to 20 Mbps, but it's as rare as a Buccaneers victory
What the rep explained is that the phone will switch from LTE to 4G when LTE is not available. It "should" handoff or transition completely from one to the other, but some times it gets hung up from 4G to LTE, and on the carrier end they'll see a hybrid 4G/LTE data combo.
I was in St. Louis this summer for a few days and was shocked at how fast the AT&T LTE was there. For one of the largest metro areas in FL, I figured we'd get better speeds, but I figured wrong
I think that's why I'm having such issues with the signal, the handoff is not smooth and it gets stuck most of the time. I actually live in DC now, and unfortunately this happens often. After 5 years in DC, wanting to move back to FL badly. It seems like a hit or miss with the LTE here.
I think it also has to do with how many people are on the bands. I remember it was great when LTE was released here in DC. Lasted 2 months and went downhill fast. Just too many users.
Sounds like your speeds down there in Tampa/St. Pete are seems pretty good. Just more the reason to move back home.
Using identical phones, side by side testing eliminates the phones.
Done at the beginning of my billing cycle, no throttling due to consumption.
I'm paying for the 30 GB plan since I travel extensively.
AT&T averages
4.2 Mbps download / 3.6 Mbps upload
T-Mobile averages
12.2 Mbps down / 15.0 Mbps up
Done at the beginning of my billing cycle, no throttling due to consumption.
I'm paying for the 30 GB plan since I travel extensively.
AT&T averages
4.2 Mbps download / 3.6 Mbps upload
T-Mobile averages
12.2 Mbps down / 15.0 Mbps up
Same AT&T plan and same issues. How are your speeds in other locations? Something is definitely wrong.