Question 5g speedtest what does it mean and why is fast.com download so slow compared to ookla download ?

[pcslookout]

I am on AT&T Unlimited Elite with steam saver turned off.

Both tests are done in the same spot.

Is it because 5g or cellular data is never stable 99% ?

 

[Tech Junky]

AT&T

This is more likely the reason. With T-Mobile I get 600+/100 even with an mvno. ATT tends to be slow no matter trh tech.

 

[Tech Junky]

Not to mention ATT likes to lie to you which network tech you're using. There was quite a bit of a dust up when they were just putting the 5G icon on phones when they were connected to 3/4G signals.

5G UW, 5G UC, 5G Plus: What's the difference?

The confusing terminology explained

www.androidpolice.com

Since your phone is only showing 5G and not 5G+ I suspect you're actually on the legacy LTE when it comes to speed..

https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/5g-speed-test-att-vs-t-mobile-vs-verizon#:~:text=AT%26T%205G%20speeds,download%20and%2027Mbps%20upload%20speeds

.

Some of these speeds listed are just not the best but, they do show the differences between the 3 networks to an extent. One thing that does help if you're getting marginal results if to put the phone into airplane mode for ~30 seconds and then back to normal an it will force the phone to reregister with the cell site and possibly pick different channels if they're available. Most cell sites have multiple channels setup depending on the direction of the antennas.

Coverage Maps

We produce independent coverage maps based on data crowdsourced from our global community of app users.These detailed coverage maps are available for free in the Opensignal app — download it now.

www.opensignal.com

If you want to test TMO in comparison a cheap option is a SIM from USMobile https://www.usmobile.com/plans

Just make sure you get the right sim as one is TMO and the other is VZW. Tello is another option but, more of a long term setup with their plans / pricing. They both have a 5GB for $15 option though and that's sufficient for running a few tests. When you're dealing with 5G a speeditst will consumer ~500MB per test easily due to the higher bandwidth and no throttling on the apps.

Netflix / fast.com is alright but, ookla is the gold standard though some of the partner servers lack capacity and provide slow results sometimes. If you find one that's quick on your laptop / PC try to pick the same one on the phone.

 

[pcslookout]

Not to mention ATT likes to lie to you which network tech you're using. There was quite a bit of a dust up when they were just putting the 5G icon on phones when they were connected to 3/4G signals.

5G UW, 5G UC, 5G Plus: What's the difference?

The confusing terminology explained

www.androidpolice.com

Since your phone is only showing 5G and not 5G+ I suspect you're actually on the legacy LTE when it comes to speed..

https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/5g-speed-test-att-vs-t-mobile-vs-verizon#:~:text=AT%26T%205G%20speeds,download%20and%2027Mbps%20upload%20speeds

.

Some of these speeds listed are just not the best but, they do show the differences between the 3 networks to an extent. One thing that does help if you're getting marginal results if to put the phone into airplane mode for ~30 seconds and then back to normal an it will force the phone to reregister with the cell site and possibly pick different channels if they're available. Most cell sites have multiple channels setup depending on the direction of the antennas.

Coverage Maps

We produce independent coverage maps based on data crowdsourced from our global community of app users.These detailed coverage maps are available for free in the Opensignal app — download it now.

www.opensignal.com

If you want to test TMO in comparison a cheap option is a SIM from USMobile https://www.usmobile.com/plans

Just make sure you get the right sim as one is TMO and the other is VZW. Tello is another option but, more of a long term setup with their plans / pricing. They both have a 5GB for $15 option though and that's sufficient for running a few tests. When you're dealing with 5G a speeditst will consumer ~500MB per test easily due to the higher bandwidth and no throttling on the apps.

Netflix / fast.com is alright but, ookla is the gold standard though some of the partner servers lack capacity and provide slow results sometimes. If you find one that's quick on your laptop / PC try to pick the same one on the phone.

Thanks.

 

[Tech Junky]

Thanks.

Of course!


Not to mention besides the network it depends on the phone as well. BTW we're int he same area as well for testing. (VPN says I'm elsewhere)

Here's my TMO FWA speed comparison....



So, you can see here ookla will use multiple servers when testing using the desktop app. Looking at my phone it shows the same. So, there's additional settings in the app to specify single / multi thread for testing as well or there used to be. If you're set to single thread it might make a difference to switch it over to multi but, probably not with ATT as it seems you're in a slow spot of town or just in general. When I tested Visible / VZW around town they sucked as well. Sometimes I might get 20mbps and other times it just crawled around 1mbps. The only perk was unlimited use for $30 and they had a promo for $100 back so it paid for 2.5 months. Looks like they're now running a promo for $15/mo for 12 months. Might be a good backup for data depending on how much you're paying ATT. Drop the data plan on ATT and pick up Visible for data.

I ported my # over to google to be able to switch carriers easier than dealing with their porting hurdles and issues. One time fee of $20 and it just works like another app on the phone or you can even use it in your browser.

 

[pcslookout]

I have a iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Though yeah AT&T cellular speeds suck sometimes.

Thankfully I have AT&T Fiber hardwire line at home!

 

[Tech Junky]

I have a iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Though yeah AT&T cellular speeds suck sometimes.

Thankfully I have AT&T Fiber hardwire line at home!

I'm 2 blocks from fiber in any direction and it pisses me off. I tried some smaller known companies that run close to see if they would extend their lines and couldn't get any of them to consider it. I had Comcast gig though which was reliable but as you know it's pricy and uploads capped at 35mbps. Not to mention the data cap.

So I switched to T-Mobile and haven't looked back. Unlimited data and twice the upload speed for half the price.

 

[DaaQ]

There is also cell tower breathing, which depends on the amount of devices connected to that particular tower. Just FYI.

 

[Tech Junky]

There is also cell tower breathing, which depends on the amount of devices connected to that particular tower. Just FYI.

It's all about capacity. ATT though tends to just be slower than other carriers.

Breathing = Prioritization

Depending on which form of subscription you have determines how your traffic is handled as well.

Native - full price = best priority
prepaid - next
MVNO - next
FWA - depends on the carrier and might slide in between any of the above

Active "calls" vs just standby pings from the handsets

Speed also depends on the backhaul the provider has for the particular site. Some use aggregate of multiple lines, some just use a huge pipe, some send things back via microwave.

I'd have to look at my site and double check but it's fiber to the cabinet just not sure if it's speed w/o looking at the labels on the cables. I know on the opposite end there's several different antenna arrays that feed back to the cabinet.

 

[Genx87]

I have centurylink ADSL as primary(130Mpbs) and TMO 5G as a backup. A couple weeks ago had to grab the 5G router and direct connect to a new computer build. Long story. Anyways this thing consistently gets around 600Mpbs down and around 50Mbps up for 50 bucks a month. Are the days or copper or fiber to the house for internet\cable numbered? Yes latency is a bit higher but it is still sub 60ms.

 

[WaCableTech]

For one ookla tells you where its testing to and it even tells you more before you click the little go button. FAST justs says it ran a test.. If you are in houston area and it decided to test to NY City that would explain the speed IMMEDIATELY. If you click the SHOW more info icon under the number FAST gives you it will provide that server info to you. I live and work for an ISP in the seattle area, one week many moons ago the seattle area server for ookla was toast, not sure what the deal was but I had to tell every customer to test to beaverton, oregon instead and suddenly they all had thier speed, which meant I had to charge them for calling in and not doing something as simple as testing multiple servers. At the time there were not any where near as many servers as there are today [maybe a decade ago or more] and beaverton was the next closest server plus our fiber runs to that area anyway so it was actually closer [at the time] to the main point for us. I'd at least check out the fast more info and make sure something is not screwy [out Geo IP ID says your in Canada, eh].

 

[Tech Junky]

A great testing option on T-Mobile right now is mint mobile offering a 1 month free /10gb sim for free. Or if you have esim as an option there's a free test period with all major carriers as well.

As @WaCableTech pointed out trying different servers is an option but, op is getting a local server response based on ip from att.

 

[aigomorla]

AT&T will throttle Netflix on cellular.
That could also be a reason.
Have you tried speedtest or some other speed network?

 

[q52]

AT&T will throttle Netflix on cellular.
That could also be a reason.
Have you tried speedtest or some other speed network?

This. This is actually why I prefer to use fast.com so much; since its hosted by Netflix, its meant to reflect the speeds you would see if you were trying to access Netflix, which is a prime target by ISP's for throttling.

Call me paranoid, but if they are gonna throttle Netflix, then I would not put it past them to throttle other online services, so if fast.com says its "slow", IMO it does not really matter what e.g. Ookla and SpeedTest say. Because afaik, the reverse can also be true, and ISP's can prioritize Ookla and SpeedTest traffic to try and inflate the apparent internet service speeds they are providing.

Ultimately the real-world speeds you experience when accessing a variety of internet platforms and content can be all over the place, so I don't consider things like fast.com or Ookla and SpeedTest as much more than "ballpark" values. If internet is "fast", it should be reflected in fast.com, if internet is "slow", that should also be reflected there too, but in the end your mileage may vary.

 

[Tech Junky]

throttle

If you want to bypass this then use a VPN where they can't see the packets. Using a wireguard based VPN can run at line speed. I've been using Nord for years now and when I had cable speeds were hitting up to 1.4gbps over Nord.

Also, not every speed test server has the bandwidth to give accurate results.

 

[Genx87]

My experience with their business class 5G routers. AT&T is bad, typically under 5Mbps download. T-Mobile typically 130-200mbps downloads. The difference in speed could be AT&Ts donkey ass 5G network or it could be a matter of peering between AT&T and whatever network they speed test sites sit on.

 

[shortylickens]

Yeah AT&T lies about what towers are actually available in your area and what you are actually connected to.
I remember a while ago I had a Nokia that let me see all available networks and let me pick one.
Interestingly Samsung will NOT let you do that. And we all know they're in cahoots with providers to BS customers and maximize profits.

Alright so I have the little 4G LTE icon in my corner and it says I'm getting 143.52 down.
So thats alright.
Keep in mind I despise AT&T but theres not many options in my area. And now that I think about it, my next phone should probably be something besides a Samsung.

 

[Tech Junky]

something besides a Samsung.

Just picked up the op11 and it's doing well. 16/256 at launch for $700 and has WiFi 7 built in and esim. Samsung is a racket like Apple though when it comes to minor upgrades like moving an app or adding something minute. I got away from SS awhile back after not liking all of the bloatware and UI.