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Best way to check mobile connection speed


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Old 22-04-2015, 11:06
swb1964
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(before someone suggests googling, I want to hear peoples actual experiences/recommedation)

What is the best way to check mobile connection speed over 3G. Do have have to download an app (something I'm reluctant to do in case it is filled with adware/spyware) or is there a mobile page where I can do this quickly and simply?

Or should I just find a large-ish PDF and get a stopwatch?
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Old 22-04-2015, 11:19
Mancunian01
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The speedtest.net app is reliable and accurate.
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Old 22-04-2015, 15:51
sdduk
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I Agree with Mancunian01 download the The speedtest.net app.
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Old 22-04-2015, 16:00
swb1964
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Has anyone had spyware or adware problems after installing this?

At the end of the day this is just geeky curiosity so not worth screwing my phone up over.
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Old 22-04-2015, 16:43
Lyceum
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Why would you think any app testing speed, or any app available in an app store would be full of spyware?

You'd never download anything with that line of thinking.

I have the above app on my phone and have zero issues.
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Old 22-04-2015, 16:45
lightspeed2398
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Speedtest.net is the most widely used one. It's got a quite a few different servers and it has a good interface. It's got small apps within the apps with the option to remove for a small IAP but there're not other problem with ad or spyware within either the iOS or Android version.

If you are on EE however I would recommend that you take a look at the Rootmetrics app, because it doesn't count towards the data allowance on EE.
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Old 22-04-2015, 17:10
swb1964
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Why would you think any app testing speed, or any app available in an app store would be full of spyware?

You'd never download anything with that line of thinking.
Ha ha, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get me.

My thinking was simply this. Why would anyone offer a free app, unless there was a way to make money out of it somehow?
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Old 22-04-2015, 17:51
Lyceum
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Ha ha, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get me.

My thinking was simply this. Why would anyone offer a free app, unless there was a way to make money out of it somehow?
Plenty of apps are free. They use adds to make money. People click the adds (accidentally usually for me). Or they have an in app purchase to get rid of the ads.

Charging for an app doesn't mean they won't have issues and not charging doesn't mean it will.
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Old 22-04-2015, 18:44
Denco1
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There is speedof.me and bandwidthplace.com but an app is much more accurate.

You say why would anyone offer a free app unless you could make money, isn't it the same theory why would anyone offer a free website unless they could make money?

The answer in both cases is that the revenue stream is usually advertising.
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Old 22-04-2015, 18:54
jchamier
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An app doesn't have to be more accurate. Speedtest.net and the others generally report your *peak* speed, not the average sustained.

Thinkbroadband now have a speed tester that works on mobile:
http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/

Worth comparing - on my WiFi connection I get similar speeds to Speedtest.net.
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Old 22-04-2015, 19:43
swb1964
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An app doesn't have to be more accurate. Speedtest.net and the others generally report your *peak* speed, not the average sustained.

Thinkbroadband now have a speed tester that works on mobile:
http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest/

Worth comparing - on my WiFi connection I get similar speeds to Speedtest.net.
Many thanks for that

A whopping 0.1meg/sec on GiffGaff HSDPA+, compared with 11 meg on the home broadband.

Ouch indeed.
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Old 22-04-2015, 20:39
jchamier
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Yes, GiffGaff is not for those who want speed (nor is their owner O2's 3G network much faster in many locations).

Vodafone 4G on an iPhone 6:
http://i.imgur.com/xQBYqO1.png

EE 4G on an iPhone 6:
http://i.imgur.com/G72t4Ng.png
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Old 22-04-2015, 20:42
lightspeed2398
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EE's is pretty much always gonna be faster on 20mhz double speed unless there's severe congestion although Vodafone's upload wasn't great to be honest. The latency on EE was better as well which is equally important in my opinion.
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Old 22-04-2015, 20:57
jchamier
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EE's is pretty much always gonna be faster on 20mhz double speed unless there's severe congestion although Vodafone's upload wasn't great to be honest. The latency on EE was better as well which is equally important in my opinion.
Yes that was a lot slower on Voda than I was expecting. The latency doesn't feel that different. EE was very slow after activating this area (early rush of users) and had a big boost last summer. EE's activated significantly more masts too around here.
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Old 22-04-2015, 20:59
lightspeed2398
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I have actually heard good things about Vodafone 4g, where you can get it of course. I mean at the moment it's not EE but it can only get better.
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Old 22-04-2015, 21:04
jchamier
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I have actually heard good things about Vodafone 4g, where you can get it of course. I mean at the moment it's not EE but it can only get better.
Yes rollout here has transformed Voda from a network you wouldn't touch, to one that is turning into a good competitor, even 3G managing 10mbps from last year managing only 1mbps at midnight. Three 3G in the same area has collapsed, going from 6mbps average to about 0.2mbps. EE still fastest but Voda is definitely now second.

You can see why O2 went up for sale.
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Old 23-04-2015, 13:39
swb1964
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Giffgaff much faster today so maybe yesterday was a bad day for them.
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Old 23-04-2015, 20:05
jchamier
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Giffgaff much faster today so maybe yesterday was a bad day for them.
I've seen similar on O2 where they can get congested in areas quite quickly.
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