[Q] 4G noise issues - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Aug 1st Time Warner cable was installed next door, my 4G blew and I got a new phone. Now my speed is only about 1Mb and looks as if the phone is not stable or the speed tests are having a difficult time getting data. I took my phone down the street a less than a block where I could achieve 6 to 10Mb possibly even more.
I think it is TWC but it could be an Edison smart meter or other.
Is there a noise app that could help me pinpoint the noise source?
Should I call Sprint?
Any good ideas on how to handle this issue?
Thanks

That's something I would like to know as well, I have a train yard next to my house and can't get 4g anywhere near it but it works a few blocks away.
Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium

I can say that there are 10 warehouse/offices which all have smart meters in the rear. To the best of my knowledge these meters are transmitting a whopping 5W @ 900MHZ 24x7
Is 13MB a realistic number or is noise making 4G look hotter than it really is? Any othe experiences or ideas.

conductive said:
This is getting really weird. On the roof I I get 1O-13Mb with speedtest.net. As soon as I start tethering to a laptop I only get a really crappy/unstable 1MB (starts high but does not hold) and get an abnormally high upload of 1.5+MB via DSLR flash speed test.
If I tether from inside on the front of the building near the roof I get 2.5-3Mb. This number is pretty consistent with the speedtest.net results on the phone.
I can say that there are 10 warehouse/offices which all have smart meters in the rear. To the best of my knowledge these meters are transmitting a whopping 5W @ 900MHZ 24x7
Do these meters mess up 4G a tether ing computer or? Is 13MB a realistic number or is noise making 4G look hotter than it really is? Any othe experiences or ideas. I have been trying to keep with usb tether in an attempt to lower noise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember reading just a few days ago that someone was having a similar issue when they started to tether. They fixed the speed issue buy setting up a proxy on the PC and they got their full 4G speeds while tethering. It was 4G over WIFI when they had the issue but maybe the same steps will help you out as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=966418
Also, I use to work for TWCable. If the tech did a crappy job of the install and did not put fittings on the cables properly and used wrong equipment those cable lines can leak quite a bit of signal. They have techs that drive around once a month with a special detector and GPS to pick up where they have leaks in the aera and then report them to their supervisors, then they end up heading out to fix them if they are bad enough. That stuff can interfere with the bands that emergency vehicles/planes/phones use and they have to legally keep that stuff under control. So you could call TWCable and let them know they need to come out and check for signal leaks.

Video is a nosy ***** but I can not be 100% sure if it is the video, smart meter or other. I can say that I started having proplems on Aug 1 the day that TWC was installed next door. The thing about TWC is it is somewhat shielded even when leaking and a smart meter is not. I am tempted to put a 75 ohm terminator on the cable to see if that helps.
I have been tethering for over a year w/o problems w/o proxy. I could be wrong, but feel that the proxy simply helps hold an internet connection when you have a weak single and changing IP addresses. I thought I solved any need for that by placing my phone way above the building. That is also a really old thread with people on sense roms and CM7 is typically quite solid.
Thanks for the good information. Do we know what frequency TWC operates on?

conductive said:
Video is a nosy ***** but I can not be 100% sure if it is the video, smart meter or other. I can say that I started having proplems on Aug 1 the day that TWC was installed next door. The thing about TWC is it is somewhat shielded even when leaking and a smart meter is not. I am tempted to put a 75 ohm terminator on the cable to see if that helps.
I have been tethering for over a year w/o problems w/o proxy. I could be wrong, but feel that the proxy simply helps hold an internet connection when you have a weak single and changing IP addresses. I thought I solved any need for that by placing my phone way above the building. That is also a really old thread with people on sense roms and CM7 is typically quite solid.
Thanks for the good information. Do we know what frequency TWC operates on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its alot. every channel is a 6MHz increase. So say channel 32 is 20MHz then channel 33 is at 26MHz. Its been a few years since I worked for them. I dont really remember what frequency they run on. I know some are in the 10's other in the 100's. I just tried Googling it, but couldn't find a current list.
Honestly I would just give them a call and let them know ever since they came out that you have been having issues. They'll send a tech out to take a look.

Related

Home Network Capabilities

So I just moved to a new apartment and haven't hooked up internet access yet. How realistic would it be for me to avoid getting the usual cable internet setup that people in my area normally get and just use an Evo as the network router for all my devices. My home network includes a few laptops, a desktop, a networked hard drive, and a few old cellphones that I use to connect via wifi to play music and browse internet. Does anyone have real world experience to share about how these types of setups have been working with the Evo's hotspot feature. And is it even possible for me to incorporate my networked hard drive into this kind of network as it is not wifi - only ethernet? How could I get it included? Sorry for such a noob question. I would love to stop giving my money to Time Warner and just have one phone/internet bill to pay.
Thanks,
cmus
Well that depends so much on the coverage of your area. If you don't get 4g coverage in your apartment you would be using 3g for all of your devices and that isn't going to cut it for most people. I mean it is fine for surfing the web but not for something like streaming or gaming. Plus your 3g signal could be week and you wouldn't get very good speeds period. You can check coverage maps but even then you won't know exactly until you test it out yourself....
Definitely doable if you're not a gamer and assuming your signal is strong. Its the latency that kills it for you if you are a gamer.
One of the bigger Qs I wonder about is how hot will the device get when trying to supply other devices with 3g/4g.
I know my current WiMo will over heat when doing wmTorrents and I have to take the back cover off and sit it in front of my fan on my desk at work.
currently im using Touch Pro, and when i do wifi teathering the phone gets so hot that it shuts off charging after about 60mins, and then runs on battery power for another 20 mins or so... hopefully evo will handle the wifi-teather load better that this.
frifox said:
currently im using Touch Pro, and when i do wifi teathering the phone gets so hot that it shuts off charging after about 60mins, and then runs on battery power for another 20 mins or so... hopefully evo will handle the wifi-teather load better that this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha I use to turn my touch pro face down and put a glass with ice water on top.
The cool condensation would keep it from overheating and thus ruining my fun.
Ah , the good ol' days. Can anyone tell me why the touch pro could do wifi tethering and not the Evo? Is it android fault or the fault of the phone????
hmm, so this does not sound good. Between possible overheating issues and latency this is not something that most people seem to be excited about doing?
How about the network itself. Does using the Evo as a hotspot allow my laptops to talk to each other via a LAN or does the Evo only share the internet connection with all the connected devices? For example, if I have a hard drive full of music on one computer, can I share that folder and stream it on a second computer if both computers are connected to the Evo?
howdyace said:
Haha I use to turn my touch pro face down and put a glass with ice water on top.
The cool condensation would keep it from overheating and thus ruining my fun.
Ah , the good ol' days. Can anyone tell me why the touch pro could do wifi tethering and not the Evo? Is it android fault or the fault of the phone????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the evo can do wifi tethering, it's just $30 a month until we get it rooted.
But can he use the phone too?
cmus said:
So I just moved to a new apartment and haven't hooked up internet access yet. How realistic would it be for me to avoid getting the usual cable internet setup that people in my area normally get and just use an Evo as the network router for all my devices. My home network includes a few laptops, a desktop, a networked hard drive, and a few old cellphones that I use to connect via wifi to play music and browse internet. Does anyone have real world experience to share about how these types of setups have been working with the Evo's hotspot feature. And is it even possible for me to incorporate my networked hard drive into this kind of network as it is not wifi - only ethernet? How could I get it included? Sorry for such a noob question. I would love to stop giving my money to Time Warner and just have one phone/internet bill to pay.
Thanks,
cmus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm considering the evo for this very purpose as well, but i am unclear as to whether I would be able to use the phone to make calls at the same time as i am using it as a hotspot. There seems to be a lot of varying opinions on this, does anyone know the real deal?
thanks!
With the over heating issues, again, that why I just pull the battery cover off and sit it on my desk in front of a small 4-5" fan and keep it cool. I have run it for hours that way before as I use wmTorrent.
SMUcane said:
I'm considering the evo for this very purpose as well, but i am unclear as to whether I would be able to use the phone to make calls at the same time as i am using it as a hotspot. There seems to be a lot of varying opinions on this, does anyone know the real deal?
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as long as you're on a 4G connection it'll work simultaneously. There's a completely separate antenna(e) for 4g, while 3g is on the same antenna as voice calls causing it to drop to 2.5g
KERKEDAGAIN said:
as long as you're on a 4G connection it'll work simultaneously. There's a completely separate antenna(e) for 4g, while 3g is on the same antenna as voice calls causing it to drop to 2.5g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that was/is my fear.
if i understand your note correctly; if i am on 3g, i will not be able to use voice and data at the same time, thus rendering the hotspot ability much less useful. I was hoping to use this in my car while driving and get rid of my 3g card that i currently use
Is the wifi radio in this phone wireless-N?
david279 said:
Is the wifi radio in this phone wireless-N?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it is not. At least without root it isn't.
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/HTC-Evo-4G-Teardown/2979/1
Go to step 13 to see what I'm talking about. The chip supposedly is capable of n. Just not right now. Hopefully someone can "unlock" it.

[Q] Can't an app technically boost signal?

I've noticed when I'm at work, where I get little to no service, when I pull up a web page, or anything else that pushes for data, I get a slight to moderate boost in signal while said tasks are being executed. My problem is that I also get very little service inside my house, but I always have it on the charger close to a window - which does help some. Now from what I've read and understand the battery can actually be pushed to increase signal up to a significant amount, as I've noticed at work, and even while using GPS in what are usually dead zones for me. Now I'm not too keen on how it all works, so I figured I would ask anyways... So finally here's my question - Since I always have my phone on the charger at home, I'm not worried about draining the battery. So shouldn't there be a way for an app to push the battery constantly to boost the signal while the phone is charging? Sorry if this is a clearly dumb idea, I'm sure there's a reason it won't work, but I thought I would throw it out there.
No idea what the duck u r thinking
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Just an idea based on observations I've made over the years. Figured I'd get a more elaborate response than that. Like I said, I don't know much about how the antenna works, but I was hoping to find a reason why this wouldn't work.
Technically it's not possible.
Let's keep in mind that FCC has regulations on the maximum output power for each class of devices such as a cellular phone.
Also sometimes a voice communication signal (1xRTT) is not always same level as data signal (EvDO) at the same physical location due to many factors. Also we are not sure when the signal indicator bars are displayed, which signal it's displaying at which moment. That could explain the boost you saw on your phone.
Just keep in mind, a software is not able to modify a phone's signal.
Much better, that makes sense. Thanks man!
Have you tried a signal booster antenna sticker?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elgx7lp7YMc
You can get them on ebay for about $3 for 6 pack. Many people have mixed feelings about these. As for me, I have one in my Evo. I just noticed a gain of one bar only. Still, one bar is better than none.
montecristo1 said:
Have you tried a signal booster antenna sticker?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elgx7lp7YMc
You can get them on ebay for about $3 for 6 pack. Many people have mixed feelings about these. As for me, I have one in my Evo. I just noticed a gain of one bar only. Still, one bar is better than none.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.andybrain.com/extras/cellphone-antenna-booster-sticker-review-and-test.htm#results
There is a reason people have mixed results. It's the placebo effect. There is no reason that covering your phone in metal would help.
Theres a thread on here somewhere about the air rave(sp?), I think it was in general. Guys with bad service at home were calling sprint, and getting one for free. It uses wifi to boost your cell signal.

[Q]WiFi calling, issues every night

OK so I've searched this a lot and really didn't want to make a thread but it's driving me crazy. My WiFi calling is rock solid all day and then from 6, 7, or 8pm till around midnight it constantly drops and comes back. I've gotten the red invalid certificate thing and reg99 (or 09). Whichever one IS NOT the 911 one, my address is up to date.
Is it network traffic at night or what?? My house has 0 cell coverage so WiFi calling is important. It's getting really frustrating having it drop and come back every few minutes.
I'm on frostyjb, but I think that's probably irrelevant. From the tmo forums it sounds like these issues have been around for a year or so. Does anyone have any advice, or tips or tricks?
Thanks.
Most likely its due to increased traffic on your isp. They probably don't have a very good uplink making it easier to run into these type problems.
That's my best guess seeing as it always happens at the times known for heaviest traffic.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I've been using Wi-Fi calling since it was first released on Blackberry, haven't noticed a specific time when it fails, seems to be random.
I will say each phone has had its own "quirks". the HTC Sensation wouldn't like to re-register to Wi-Fi Calling until it established a mobile network connection, pretty annoying
but I will say without a doubt this is the worst phone for Wi-Fi calling I've had to date. Samsung really needs to fix it. generally my issues include:
- One way audio (10% of the time, or more)
- "Digitized" voice calls
- Red certificate error
- WiFi calling just shuts down, in the menus it says "enabling calling", typically takes 3 - 4 minutes to come back up
- Dropped calls, typically due to above
- Wi-Fi signal drops, I have my router on my desk and I can watch the Wi-Fi connection bar randomly drop to 1 / 2 bars for a few mins then go back up, why? no idea. Doesn't happen on my Tab 10.1 or other devices
OVerall its an awesome phone if you have signal, but the wi-fi calling is trash
psykhotic said:
OK so I've searched this a lot and really didn't want to make a thread but it's driving me crazy. My WiFi calling is rock solid all day and then from 6, 7, or 8pm till around midnight it constantly drops and comes back. I've gotten the red invalid certificate thing and reg99 (or 09). Whichever one IS NOT the 911 one, my address is up to date.
Is it network traffic at night or what?? My house has 0 cell coverage so WiFi calling is important. It's getting really frustrating having it drop and come back every few minutes.
I'm on frostyjb, but I think that's probably irrelevant. From the tmo forums it sounds like these issues have been around for a year or so. Does anyone have any advice, or tips or tricks?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in the same situation and I assumed it was just my phone losing wifi coverage at least now I know im not crazy. I would assume its just something to do with the date turnover because it seems to happen at around 9pm for me which is midnight on the east coast.
I had the same problem, So first i would try updating the firmware for your router. If that doesnt work, Check to see if your router is a single or dual band. I had a single band Linksys,which gave me terrible reception, so I upgraded to a dual band and the problem is much better now.
I have a dual band router but I don't use 5g because its range is pretty bad. It has drop outs when I go in the bathroom and that's a big time use for me lol.
When wifi calling drops I still have full wifi signal and the Internet works. It really sucks because I have 0 bars in my house. I've seen 2 bars but as soon as I touch the phone I get the do not enter circle.
I'll try updating the fw to see if it helps tonight. I've read something about the security used can mess with it? I just think it's weird that its usually at a specific time. Ie the security settings is a cop out.
Yeah, I read that having mac filtering enabled or a hidden ssid can cause issues too. Check that out while youre updating your firmware. Edit: I also tried a factory reset, which you might want to look into. Also, try testing other kernals/modems!. Thats all I got for ya though. Best of luck
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I blame tmo...
I ran a speedtest immediately to see if anything was suspicious. I still need to play with the router
psykhotic said:
I blame tmo...
I ran a speedtest immediately to see if anything was suspicious. I still need to play with the router
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I plan on flashing FrostyJB and Xquizit tomorrow. I'll let you know if I can replicate the issue on either rom.
Is it possible that having Comcast voice is somehow screwing up the internet? Like if tmo and Comcast are sending similar packets??
Not Only Me
Its nice to know I'm not the only one with this problem.
I updated the firmware on the phone, bought a new router; still have the problem... The little blue phone icon comes and goes, turns red. Seems to do what ever it feels like doing.
Will follow the thread for a solution.
Thanks to all for the effort.:good:
The last few nights have been a little better. With it usually coming back after leaving the phone on for a minute or so but it's still dropping every night. It really sucks for me because my house has 0 bars.
Im also having same problem where I live. I have no bars. I use Grove ip to make calls when wifi calling dosent work but I need wifi calling to send and receive mms thats the only down fall to grove ip
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I have been having the same issues too. Not necesarilly at specific times, pretty much all times of the day. Specifically random disconnects in the wifi calling (losing the symbol all together, then it comes back spontaniously whenever it wants). Probably the most irriating is the one way audio which has occured EVERY PHONE CALL RECIEVED OR PLACED for the 1st time after about 10 minutes of inactivity (meaning everytime I make or recieve a call the one way audio happens and I have to call back or the other party must blah blah blah). And digitized calling is almost a guarantee on every call. All is well with router and wifi settings, no data/cell service inside the building at all.
This is my second GSIII (this is a refurb POS they sent me after my new one had a screen crack). After 2 week back and fourth they are replacing it Ill have a new one tomorrow (prob another dumb refurb) and Ill let you all know if the issue is resolved. My first GSIII (the brand new one I purchased when they came out) had no issues like this at all. Hopefully they replacement will shed light.
No one can hear me when I use it (8 of 10 times). I also never hear a ring. People are just on the line all the sudden. Sooooo frustrating.
Does everyone have this problem? If not maybe it's a router setting? Would be interesting to know.
jjlean said:
No one can hear me when I use it (8 of 10 times). I also never hear a ring. People are just on the line all the sudden. Sooooo frustrating.
Does everyone have this problem? If not maybe it's a router setting? Would be interesting to know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had this. I was calling someone on Verizon and after some silence they picked up. Also if I call my phone from my Comcast landline there's no indication it's going through on the landline but my phone rings. I think these issues have been around awhile and tmo hasn't done anything. I wonder how we can get them to actually look into it...
Flood the support forums maybe?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
Yeah I think we need to bring this to t-mobile attention because most of all that i've read on here, i'm experiencing the same. I've tried different router settings as well but, nothing has worked.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
I tried dmz and opening ports that tmo has on their forums. Nothing worked.
Sent from my SGS3 Stock Rooted & Odexed
I love this thing!
I've been troubleshooting as well. Looking into my router settings, I had my channel set to 11. I changed it to 1 and so far so good. I'll update as I go.
I'm just sayin!

OGP any known issues?

Now that the phone has been out for about half a year (1 month in the US), have any annoying/troubling issues been found?
For example, I was told by a manager at AT&T that some people who have the HTC One are complaining that the phone literally gets too hot to hold after "extended" video recording. They've only seen it with a few phones (owned by their salespeople), but it's been reported...
I've read both great and horrible reviews about the camera on the OGP, and I'm wondering if maybe LG is sourcing components from various vendors [something akin to TV manufacturers using display panels made by various manufacturers in models with the identical model number (AKA "the panel lottery")]. If that's correct, then maybe you get a good one and maybe you don't...but that's what I'm trying to find out.
I've read a few reviews/postings that some people had issues with battery life which turned out to be bad batteries. Anyone have that?
So, with that said, is there anything that seems to be out of sorts with the OGP?
The only issue I can find is the Wifi is junk.
raduque said:
The only issue I can find is the Wifi is junk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to elaborate? I've not noticed any issues with mine.
It connects fine to both my routers, but will not sustain a stable data stream. It also seems far slower than it should be. Speedtest.net app runs about 2-3Mbps.
Sometimes, the test won't even complete, the Wifi will disconnect and reconnect.
It transfers fine for about 5 seconds or so. I just tried watching a free video on Google Play, and every 5 seconds the stream stalled. Web pages take forever to load, and forget about downloading a big app.
I guess I'll have to call AT&T, or visit a store. I paid full retail for this thing.
Edit: My routers are both a little bit older, a Belkin F5D7230-4 WirelessG and a Netgear WGR614V9, but I've never had this type of issue with any other device.
Edit2: I rebooted everything in sight, including (but not limited to) my routers, my cable modem, my switches, my WHS and the OG Pro. Seems to be more stable now, but still a little slow, around 2Mbps downstream.
There's only two issues with the thing, it's too good, and it's only on AT&T.
Seriously, there are a few niggling things.
1. The QSlide bar takes up too much space in the notification shade. Luckily, once you root, there's a fix around here somewhere for it.
2. The side buttons are very VERY shallow, to the point where even if you put on a SKIN the buttons are hard to feel and even get to. Still figuring out what to do about that one.
3. Not enough accessories. This is a very real consequence of it only being available on AT&T here, it's just not going to be as popular with the accessory makers as the Galaxy S4 and HTC One, which are pretty much available on every carrier.
raduque said:
It connects fine to both my routers, but will not sustain a stable data stream. It also seems far slower than it should be. Speedtest.net app runs about 2-3Mbps.
Sometimes, the test won't even complete, the Wifi will disconnect and reconnect.
It transfers fine for about 5 seconds or so. I just tried watching a free video on Google Play, and every 5 seconds the stream stalled. Web pages take forever to load, and forget about downloading a big app.
I guess I'll have to call AT&T, or visit a store. I paid full retail for this thing.
Edit: My routers are both a little bit older, a Belkin F5D7230-4 WirelessG and a Netgear WGR614V9, but I've never had this type of issue with any other device.
Edit2: I rebooted everything in sight, including (but not limited to) my routers, my cable modem, my switches, my WHS and the OG Pro. Seems to be more stable now, but still a little slow, around 2Mbps downstream.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my WiFi works great and I get a good range. I would look into getting a new router,I had this issue last year with all my Samsung phones once I got a we router things worked out great, Remember tech has a short life span you have to upgrade at times to keep everything on par.
Sent from my LG-E980 using xda premium
the frevia
nthknd said:
my WiFi works great and I get a good range. I would look into getting a new router,I had this issue last year with all my Samsung phones once I got a we router things worked out great, Remember tech has a short life span you have to upgrade at times to keep everything on par.
Sent from my LG-E980 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sound seems low on mine, even at full volume.
Shadowjack1965 said:
Sound seems low on mine, even at full volume.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It blasts my ears off with headphones, but I can easily crank my head unit to max and it's not anywhere near as loud of my NoteII was. I should be able to compensate by adjusting my gains, though.
Clipped voice commands in navigation
I read in another thread that at least 2 users were having issues with the voice commands during navigation. Their issue is that when the OGP speaks a navigation command, the audio stops in mid sentence. The last few words (or parts of the words) are clipped off. Example: instead of "turn left in 4 miles", they are getting, "turn left in 4 m", or instead of "proceed through the roundabout", they get "proceed through the roun".
Is anyone else having this issue? I'd be curious also if your phone is not having the issue.
My email client crashes every time I try to open an email. Used to work. Tried clearing data still crashes. Only problem so far.
Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk 2
raduque said:
It blasts my ears off with headphones, but I can easily crank my head unit to max and it's not anywhere near as loud of my NoteII was. I should be able to compensate by adjusting my gains, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wonder if it's just my particular unit somehow. Now I'll have to research adjustments that could make a difference.
Thanks.
Shadowjack1965 said:
Wonder if it's just my particular unit somehow. Now I'll have to research adjustments that could make a difference.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could also be your headphones. I'm using a pair of Samsung OEM S3/NoteII headphones (all the controls work correctly).
When I mentioned adjustments, I meant to the amps in my truck, where 90% of my listening takes place.
I posted above about some users getting clipped voice instructions with navigation. I have not tried that yet but i found another voice issue. I don't know if it is due to an app or the phone. Using an NFC app (NFC Task Launcher), i have it set to read the time aloud when i tap an NFC tag to set my alarm. When it reads the time, it clips off the minutes and only reads the hours. For example, if i set the time for 11:30, all it says is "eleven", and cuts off the "thirty". Anyone else having voice issues?
Only actual issue I have is with the search feature in the contacts. When typing a name, it seems to reset or clear out the search field when you type more than 3 characters.
Anyone else seeing this?
Other than that, I love this phone. (I don't consider the slow progress on unlocking the bootloader to be an issue. The DEVs will crack this thing shortly. (They do have lives.)
Sent from my LG-E980 using xda premium
This phone is so far so good. The only thing I find uncomfortable is that when you exit your favorites tab from your phone app either by back or home button, and then when you hit phone again, it always brings you to the dial tab. It's kinda annoying since I never had that happen to me before on other phones.

[Q] Internet Speed Discrepancies

In order to get the most out of my FireTV/Kodi setup, last week I switched to Comcast cable for their 105mbps service. The first few days, Speedtest.net showed a download speed of around 50mbps on both my computer and my FireTV. Last night, I was experiencing some buffering issues, which had totally disappeared the first few days with Comcast, so I did some more speed tests. I was excited to see speeds of 125mbps on my computer, but totally bummed to see that my FireTV was only reporting around 7 or 8mbps.
Why would there be such drastic performance differences between my computer and my FireTV? I would think some kind of issue arising over the long ethernet cable, but they were reporting consistent speeds between the two when I first got Comcast last weekend.
Raymondo17 said:
In order to get the most out of my FireTV/Kodi setup, last week I switched to Comcast cable for their 105mbps service. The first few days, Speedtest.net showed a download speed of around 50mbps on both my computer and my FireTV. Last night, I was experiencing some buffering issues, which had totally disappeared the first few days with Comcast, so I did some more speed tests. I was excited to see speeds of 125mbps on my computer, but totally bummed to see that my FireTV was only reporting around 7 or 8mbps.
Why would there be such drastic performance differences between my computer and my FireTV? I would think some kind of issue arising over the long ethernet cable, but they were reporting consistent speeds between the two when I first got Comcast last weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's kind of a drastic drop. I'd suspect the Ethernet cable. Longer cords will slow it down a*bit but more than likely it's a problem with the cable. How is it run? Is it possible it got squeezed?
Hardwired is always better but not always feasible. I bought my own modem and router. I actually get the speeds Comcast promises over WiFi with better range. Saving the monthly fee for Comcast equipment doesn't quite even out--it'll take years but my network is much better after switching.
Btw--have you tried the speedtests over WiFi? Sometimes my WiFi speeds beat hardwired but with WiFi you need to deal with interference.
As for cables and buffering, if there's something wrong with the cable it'll cause issues. It's like a race car going over 200 mph and hitting even a small bump. I use to drive my wife nuts with cables running through the house (I'm not much of a craftsman) But even though buffering is a part of xbmc I really don't experience much. And when I do it's usually fixed through power cycling the router. Of course if we're streaming it doesn't always matter how fast our internet is. If the server it comes from is slow, there's nothing you can do to speed it up.
***when I asked you to test WiFi speeds I assume you have dual band. 2.4ghz is craps imo. Another reason to buy your own router. In my area you only get 5ghz if you rent more equipment from Comcast.
Thanks for the response.
KLit75 said:
That's kind of a drastic drop. I'd suspect the Ethernet cable. Longer cords will slow it down a*bit but more than likely it's a problem with the cable. How is it run? Is it possible it got squeezed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that it sounds like a cable issue, but would that explain why we were getting mediocre but consistent speeds between the computer and Fire TV, and now the computer speeds are blazing and the Fire TV is limping along? I did the measurements when no activity was going on, so I don't think the initial 50mbps tests were because the computer and Fire TV were evenly splitting the signal. And I haven't touched the cable since it was installed, so I don't know how it could have gotten squeezed between last weekend and now.
KLit75 said:
Btw--have you tried the speedtests over WiFi? Sometimes my WiFi speeds beat hardwired but with WiFi you need to deal with interference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't yet. One thing I did try was using different speed test websites. I wound up getting totally different figures (shown in mbps):
• Speedtest.net: 125
• att.com/speedtest: 27.16
• speedof.me: 40.62
• cnet.com/internet-speed-test: 31.39
• bandwidthplace.com: 37.52
• myverizon.com: 20.79
• timewarnercable.com: 122.58
Plus many more that totally fluctuated. Oddly, all of the upload speeds were consistent at around 12mbps.
Good suggestion to power cycle the router. I'll try that this evening and report back.
Raymondo17 said:
In order to get the most out of my FireTV/Kodi setup, last week I switched to Comcast cable for their 105mbps service. The first few days, Speedtest.net showed a download speed of around 50mbps on both my computer and my FireTV. Last night, I was experiencing some buffering issues, which had totally disappeared the first few days with Comcast, so I did some more speed tests. I was excited to see speeds of 125mbps on my computer, but totally bummed to see that my FireTV was only reporting around 7 or 8mbps.
Why would there be such drastic performance differences between my computer and my FireTV? I would think some kind of issue arising over the long ethernet cable, but they were reporting consistent speeds between the two when I first got Comcast last weekend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Raymondo17 said:
Thanks for the response.
I wish I could speak more confidently about it but what I've learned is networking is pretty complicated. I was happy to buy a router that was open source ready but what I learned was it's a lot different than having superuser privs on a rooted device. I've learned a lot but
I agree that it sounds like a cable issue, but would that explain why we were getting mediocre but consistent speeds between the computer and Fire TV, and now the computer speeds are blazing and the Fire TV is limping along? I did the measurements when no activity was going on, so I don't think the initial 50mbps tests were because the computer and Fire TV were evenly splitting the signal. And I haven't touched the cable since it was installed, so I don't know how it could have gotten squeezed between last weekend and now.
I haven't yet. One thing I did try was using different speed test websites. I wound up getting totally different figures (shown in mbps):
• Speedtest.net: 125
• att.com/speedtest: 27.16
• speedof.me: 40.62
• cnet.com/internet-speed-test: 31.39
• bandwidthplace.com: 37.52
• myverizon.com: 20.79
• timewarnercable.com: 122.58
Plus many more that totally fluctuated. Oddly, all of the upload speeds were consistent at around 12mbps.
Good suggestion to power cycle the router. I'll try that this evening and report back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed tests can be effected by many factors. I find speed test.net to be most accurate. When it comes to networks, it can be a lot more complicated than it seems but most of the*issues I've spent hours or days agonizing over could've been solved by something as simple as a new cable. One time my speed test were fast but video kept buffering. I spent weeks troubleshooting. 2 techs came to my house. The 2nd was smart enough to check the cable outside my house. I live near the ocean and it got corroded. So it would register as fast but it was prone to frequent issues. That's why I always look for the simplest solution.
Also, I don't get too hung up on speedtests anymore. To this day my living room aftv still tests faster on 5ghz than wired but I keep it wired.
One wall away my other aftv is WiFi testing at around 100 mbps while the wired one tests at around 80 to 85. Oh and forgot to mention WiFi antennas aren't all the same either. My Mac is about 30 feet farther away from the router than WiFi aftv and Mac Always tests over 130 mbps.
I could go on but just so you don't get too hung up on figuring this out--keep the troubleshooting basic to start. Then if it's still giving you problems look deeper into it. Good luck!
After another frustrating night of aftv buffering, I sent my wife to bed and started yanking on cables and running speed tests. The simple act of turning off my PS3 and unplugging and plugging ethernet cables seemed to get me up from 8mbps to 25mbps. Swapping out a brand new Monoprice Cat6 cable for a Cat5e cable that Comcast had left behind bumped me up to around 30mbps. Still not the 50mbps I was experiencing when I first switched to Comcast, but better.
Then something KLit75 mentioned about testing my WiFi speed popped into my head, so I gave that a whirl. Speedtest reported 80mbps! I tripled my speed by going to WiFi! :good:
KLit75 said:
To this day my living room aftv still tests faster on 5ghz than wired but I keep it wired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So why don't you go WiFi? I'm kinda old school, and I learned to always go hardwired whenever possible. But I think in this instance, if the speedtest numbers tell the real story here, I'd be way better off going with the WiFi, no?
I replayed the show we were watching that kept buffering on us earlier in the evening (an episode of Town of the Living Dead), and this time it played smooth as silk. Even the gray progress bar scooted happily along, picking up more and more space ahead of the playhead as the show progressed. I'm psyched!
I do recall during the rooting process that being on WiFi held some danger of Amazon updating my software on me, but since I completed the rooting process successfully and, if I remember correctly, in the process turned off the ability for Amazon to do auto updates in the process, I'm not in any danger of losing my root via an auto-update from Amazon, am I?
You mean "root"? You're good. I believe you're thinking of the root guide. It's easier to get to the registration page with ethernet. But once you're rooted there is absolutely no danger of losing root via WiFi (at last no more so than with Ethernet.)
As for why I don't go WiFi when speed tests are faster...
1. 80mbps, for what I stream is more than fast enough.
2. It's like I mentioned earlier, no interference, provided your cable is in good health.
3. Speed tests aren't always the best way to measure quality.
***I hardwire when I can. That no longer extends to running a long cable through my house. I certainly could but why would I ? I stream fine over WiFi.
But like I said, just because it registers as faster on a speed testdoesn't meaner it's stronger in terms of not getting weakened by external factors.
Before I landed on hardwiring, I made sure I tested 3 different cables. The results actually were different and I just went with the cable that had the fastest speed test result. My rule of thumb--if it's within a few feet of my router I hardwired. And there is one weak spot in my house (my son's room) so I bought him a plugin power line adapter. He only needs it for gaming.
KLit75 said:
You mean "root"? You're good. I believe you're thinking of the root guide. It's easier to get to the registration page with ethernet. But once you're rooted there is absolutely no danger of losing root via WiFi (at last no more so than with Ethernet.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol. Yes, I meant "root," not "boot." I realized my doof, I mean, goof, and edited the post moments before I got your reply. Hey, it was pretty late when I posted, I'm surprised it wasn't more skewed than that.
Right after I posted, I went and checked my speed one more time before hitting the hay. For whatever reason, it was down from 80 to 30mbps, so I went to bed in a bad mood. But this morning I was getting 70mbps, so... I'll try not to let the speed tests drive me crazy. As long as I can get away from the frequent buffering of streaming content, I'll be happy.
Many thanks, KLit75, for your input on this. I really appreciate you takin' the time.
Raymondo17 said:
After another frustrating night of aftv buffering, I sent my wife to bed and started yanking on cables and running speed tests. The simple act of turning off my PS3 and unplugging and plugging ethernet cables seemed to get me up from 8mbps to 25mbps. Swapping out a brand new Monoprice Cat6 cable for a Cat5e cable that Comcast had left behind bumped me up to around 30mbps. Still not the 50mbps I was experiencing when I first switched to Comcast, but better.
Then something KLit75 mentioned about testing my WiFi speed popped into my head, so I gave that a whirl. Speedtest reported 80mbps! I tripled my speed by going to WiFi! :good:
So why don't you go WiFi? I'm kinda old school, and I learned to always go hardwired whenever possible. But I think in this instance, if the speedtest numbers tell the real story here, I'd be way better off going with the WiFi, no?
I replayed the show we were watching that kept buffering on us earlier in the evening (an episode of Town of the Living Dead), and this time it played smooth as silk. Even the gray progress bar scooted happily along, picking up more and more space ahead of the playhead as the show progressed. I'm psyched!
I do recall during the rooting process that being on WiFi held some danger of Amazon updating my software on me, but since I completed the rooting process successfully and, if I remember correctly, in the process turned off the ability for Amazon to do auto updates in the process, I'm not in any danger of losing my root via an auto-update from Amazon, am I?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Raymondo17 said:
Lol. Yes, I meant "root," not "boot." I realized my doof, I mean, goof, and edited the post moments before I got your reply. Hey, it was pretty late when I posted, I'm surprised it wasn't more skewed than that.
Right after I posted, I went and checked my speed one more time before hitting the hay. For whatever reason, it was down from 80 to 30mbps, so I went to bed in a bad mood. But this morning I was getting 70mbps, so... I'll try not to let the speed tests drive me crazy. As long as I can get away from the frequent buffering of streaming content, I'll be happy.
Many thanks, KLit75, for your input on this. I really appreciate you takin' the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a problem. If you're experiencing buffering it might be time to consider some advanced settings and unfortunately I'm not the one to talk to. I don't typically have buffering issues but it appears I'm more of the exception there.
There was actually a good thread very recently (last few days) I think it was title adjusting zero cache? Anyway it turns out lots of people set it to zero and that's not good for aftv. Read the entire thread then you might want to go to the org for more specifics.
I think I don't have buffering because I typically don't stream hd movie sources, especially over WiFi. Most of my online sources are tv shows from genesis. The others I almost alwaysuse local files.
KLit75 said:
There was actually a good thread very recently (last few days) I think it was title adjusting zero cache? Anyway it turns out lots of people set it to zero and that's not good for aftv. Read the entire thread then you might want to go to the org for more specifics..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd very much like to read that thread, as I did the Zero Cache routine and it seemed to help for a little while, but then not so much. Was it in this forum, cuz I don't see anything pertaining to zero cache in the title since the start of the new year?
Raymondo17 said:
I'd very much like to read that thread, as I did the Zero Cache routine and it seemed to help for a little while, but then not so much. Was it in this forum, cuz I don't see anything pertaining to zero cache in the title since the start of the new year?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's this one. But like I said you might want to read then check related topics at the org. I don't pretend to know much about it but it seems there's not one catch all number to set. It's specific to your network.
In maybe a related topic, adbFire 1.16 was just released and I'm not certain but think the dev*made it simpler to change this/modify cache. If it's what I think it is it MIGHT make it a whole lot easier to play around/test different settings. But as always, do your research. I'm trying to help but it's not something I have experience with. I've been around long enough to understand this MAY be something that'd benefit you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/help/adjusting-zero-cache-t3016416
KLit75 said:
It's this one. But like I said you might want to read then check related topics at the org.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/help/adjusting-zero-cache-t3016416
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that thread is exactly what I needed. And double-wow, somehow I was oblivious to this site's AFTV Help & Troubleshooting area, which is where most of my posts should have been placed in the first place, and definitely where a lot of my future reading will take place. Thanks for shoving me in the right direction, and my apologies to all for not posting in a more appropriate location.
KLit75 said:
In maybe a related topic, adbFire 1.16 was just released and I'm not certain but think the dev*made it simpler to change this/modify cache. If it's what I think it is it MIGHT make it a whole lot easier to play around/test different settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I checked out adbFire 1.16 last night. I was having trouble getting the main window on 1.15 to display at all, so I was using 1.14, which was a little sketchy as well. (I chalk it up to an aging Mac.) But 1.16 seems to be much improved.
Raymondo17 said:
Wow, that thread is exactly what I needed. And double-wow, somehow I was oblivious to this site's AFTV Help & Troubleshooting area, which is where most of my posts should have been placed in the first place, and definitely where a lot of my future reading will take place. Thanks for shoving me in the right direction, and my apologies to all for not posting in a more appropriate location.
Yes, I checked out adbFire 1.16 last night. I was having trouble getting the main window on 1.15 to display at all, so I was using 1.14, which was a little sketchy as well. (I chalk it up to an aging Mac.) But 1.16 seems to be much improved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a Mac user myself. Is Mac on WiFi? If so I found toggling from 2ghz to 5 helps with your adbfire problem. Btw--my Mac is white unibody 2010. But I quadrupled the ram from 2 to 8gb and this machine runs Yosemite better than some newer macs I've seen (faster anyway) About an 80 dollar investment paid off big time! Otherwise I would've been looking at at least a grand to buy a new one. Just something to consider and don't go by what apple says! According to them my Mac only supports 4 GB but testers have run 16 GB with great results. Mine has been running 8 for the better part of a year. If you go that route I'd reccomend a clean install from USB to really see the results.
KLit75 said:
I'm a Mac user myself. Is Mac on WiFi? If so I found toggling from 2ghz to 5 helps with your adbfire problem. Btw--my Mac is white unibody 2010. But I quadrupled the ram from 2 to 8gb and this machine runs Yosemite better than some newer macs I've seen (faster anyway) .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My mac is actually hardwired to the router. I'm realizing this beast is probably about a decade old now! I never used to get more than three years out of a computer. I pretty much maxed out the RAM when I bought it, so I think it's actually time for a new computer. But I will also say that I've got one of the brand new, black trashcan-looking Power Macs at work, and it's a dog. Crashes all the freakin' time. I wish I was still using my silver tower, so new isn't always better.

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