11

I recently switched from a Motorola Milestone to a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and it seems the quality of my mobile data connections drops considerably between the devices without any apparent reason. The Motorola device can get up to 2mbps, while the Nexus struggles at ~150kbps.

Galaxy Nexus Milestone

The *#*#4636#*#* menu on both devices shows no noticeable differences. Galaxy Nexus MenuMilestone Menu

The tests were made 20 minutes apart using the same SIM card.

In summary: Is there any configuration that can interfere so heavily on the way the data connection operates? If not, can it be a Radio/Baseband problem?

I'm using the 'stock' Google Rom (yakju) on the Galaxy Nexus, while the Milestone is using a custom Rom (ShadowMod 2.3), although it's behavior was the same on stock Froyo 2.2.

4
  • That ping is massive. I would suspect network issues, even though they were just 20 minutes apart. You should test multiple times to confirm and perhaps run some ping or trace tests. Mar 6, 2012 at 2:59
  • 1
    Just did more tests on both devices. The ping went down on the Galaxy Nexus, varying between 100~300, although the speed kept the same. No changes on the Milestone, also.
    – ememorais
    Mar 6, 2012 at 3:18
  • Have you unlocked the Nexus? If so I would recommend trying a new radio image. You can find a nice list here . It's a fairly safe procedure, you can flash US radios to EU devices and vice versa without any issues
    – benwh
    Mar 7, 2012 at 1:41
  • Yes, if you would share the information on your Bootloader, it would likely confirm what benwh is saying.
    – rm-vanda
    Aug 3, 2012 at 12:53

2 Answers 2

4

While this might not be the complete answer to your issue, it appears that the Galaxy Nexus is connected to an HSDPA:9 radio (10.1mb/s theoretical speed) while the Milestone is connected to an HSPA radio (14mb/s theoretical speed, not HSPA+ which can have a theoretical speed of between 21 and 42 depending on the network). While the theoretical capacities of the networks are similar, it does seem that they are using different radio tower connections, which could explain the difference in bandwidth that is being experienced.

4
  • HSPA most commonly refers to HSDPA+HSUPA. Are you meaning HSPA+ by it? Oct 31, 2012 at 19:38
  • No, I was referring to early HSPA networks which were 3.6-7.2-9mb/s theoretical. HSDPA+HSUPA I think of as a newer revision.
    – znewman
    Oct 31, 2012 at 20:59
  • 1
    But you said HSPA was 14 mb/s. Oct 31, 2012 at 21:16
  • Sorry I meant HSDPA early networks. HSPA commonly is held as having a 14mb/s speed. After doing some further looking HSDPA:9's theoretical speed is 10.1mb/s.
    – znewman
    Nov 1, 2012 at 16:35
-1

The screenshot one is using a different radio band - one that is more popular than the camera one.

This means that is is more congested, and therefore has slower speeds.

This is the most likely explanation.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .