By Yesterday, we were notified of some issues with the Nexus S 4G’s data radios. Many users at Sprint’s support forums reported a lack of data connectivity and very weak or slow signals. Sprint acknowledged that an anomaly was indeed going on and that they’d be looking into the issue. But just how bad is this issue?
The folks at GizmoFusion decided to put two of Sprint’s 4G phones – the Nexus S 4G and the EVO 4G – side-by-side with 4G enabled. The test is simple – run the SpeedTest.net app. Their findings? The EVO 4G beat the Nexus S 4G by a long shot. In the video, the EVO 4G averaged a downstream speed of 8.4 megabits while the Nexus S 4G could only muster up a measly 2.4 megabits.
GizmoFusion says the 2x-6x difference in speed was consistent throughout several tests. To have two different phones in the same exact coverage area produce two hugely different results is undeniable evidence that something is definitely up with the Nexus S 4G.
It’s those god damn mongolians!
Samsung fail
ru fuggin 5… this has nothing to do with sammy
So, Sammy didn’t pick the hardware and put it together?
It probably is but Phonedog did two speedtest with the Nexus S 3G vs two of T-mobile’s “4G” phones and the Nexus S 3G beat both of them. This whole thing is so confusing.
Does the WiMax equipped Samsung Epic have similar problems?
You must be. Last time I checked, people older than five don’t say fuggin…
And also, Samsung manufactured the phone, including the hardware like the antenna that receives signal, which is obviously a piece of shit.
Sorry smc29! Didn’t mean to reply to you, but Draiko instead.
Samsung make the best phones on the market now.
So please shut up :)
No they don’t. Samsung phones may have some nice styling and a few killer features but they’re buggy as all hell and Samsung is terrible about updating software. I usually don’t recommend Samsung devices and I’ll keep doing that until they clean up their act. The Galaxy S 2 is almost worthless to non-enthusiasts if Samsung dishes out updates with a 6-12 month lag behind HTC and Moto.
Samsung is the worst but HTC and Moto have had their fair share of phones with really late updates also. Here are a few examples of phones yet to receive the 2.3 update from 5 months ago:
HTC: Evo 4G, G2, Incredible
Moto: Droid X, Droid 2, Atrix 4G
oh ok, so htc nexus one wasn’t buggy at all ah?
damn now i will not get the SGS2 because you don’t recommend it!! and who da hell are you?
My family and friends often ask me for advice. You’re not in my family nor
are you my friend. My opinion doesn’t matter to you. To those that ask me, I
wouldn’t recommend Samsung devices until they better their track record.
Simple as that.
Samsung Galaxy S II has alraedy received 2 firmware performance updates and it hasn’t even been a month.
Samsung Galaxy S I has officially now (in Europe) got Gingerbread update.Lag behind HTC and Moto?Where is HTC Desire gingerbread update?rofl Moto Droid X2 has just shipped with FROYO.Draiko you are a joke. Do some research before spitting it out on the keyboard.
The Samsung Moment (Introduced in Nov 2009) was cut off at Android 2.1
even with all of the bugs it had. The Non-US Galaxy S devices didn’t
get Froyo until mid-October 2010. The US Galaxy S devices didn’t get
Froyo until a month or two ago. All Galaxy S devices had a rather
terrible GPS bug among other things. The Nexus S variants have been
plagued with issues like screen coloring problems, 3G/WiFi
connectivity problems, calling problems, and GPS issues. Even Google
admitted to these issues and has been slowly fixing them. By
comparison, the HTC-made Nexus One had far fewer issues.
That’s Samsung’s current track record. Those are the facts. I honestly
don’t care if you think I’m a joke, the facts speak for themselves.
Here’s the 2010 Froyo update rating chart. HTC leads the pack with
Moto and Samsung lagging.
http://www.computerworld.com/common/images/blogs/AndroidUpgradesManufacturers.jpg
HTC has already started rolling out Gingerbread to the European Desire
Z, Desire HD, and Incredible S.
http://asia.cnet.com/crave/htc-gingerbread-updates-now-available-in-europe-62208502.htm
More HTC devices have already been confirmed for a Gingerbread update in Q2.
Motorola is already rolled out the Gingerbread update for the Droid X.
http://androinica.com/2011/04/droid-x-gingerbread-ota-update-rolling-out-kills-root/
I really hope Samsung cleans up their act this year. Their current
devices are gorgeous and pack a powerful punch. I’d love to recommend
them to friends and family, but they really need to prove themselves
first.
As for you calling me a joke… I could care less.
Seriously? Did you even watch the video? Not to mention to slow update rates. Though, that part at least should be fixed with this Alliance mentioned at I/O. I guess we’ll see.
For every Nexus S, there’s a Moment and an Intercept running outdated, buggy software the second they’re out the door and never get updated. Unless you’re buying whatever their flagship model is at the time, never buy Samsung (and even then, you better make sure it has CyanogenMod support).
Are you dumb? Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. You fall into that category.
I have the Nexus S on Tmobile which is 3G. I average 4.5mbps… There is something wrong here… Maybe Tmobile is just that much better
well u are still getting HSPA+ signal but technically have a limit of 7.2 mbps so it is lik u r getting “4G” but not taking full advantage. G2 – 12 mbps
And that is exactly why I don’t see the point of LTE/WiMax because you add an extra radio to a phone that uses more battery. Where every HSPA phone can take advantage of HSPA+. Everyone calls out TMo for making a “shitty” move while people bitch and whine about battery life on their precious thunderbolts. Seriously people stop being dense.
Since the Nexus S doesn’t have a HSPA+ that means that HSPA+ does start until you pass 7.2mbps. So that easily confirms that T-mobile’s old 3G network at times is faster than Sprint’s 4G battery hogging network. Of course it isn’t just WiMax that kills battery it is also bad software optimizations like HTC Sense. Two of my friends installed CM7 and noticed they had way better battery life.
3G in Latvia is about 3.6 megabits/s.
How does this have nothing to do with Samsung?
One phone was built by HTC and the other by Samsung. Same coverage area…same 4G. Are you blaming Google, Sprint? Or is the Samsung made phone simply inferior?
#Grin
I don’t think so, a speedtest on Phonedog.com showed the Nexus S 3G getting faster speeds than the Evo 4G.
***OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE***
RECENTLY WE HAVE BECOME AWARE OF SLOWER THAN EXPECTED DOWNSTREAM SPEEDS CURRENTLY BEING EXPERIENCED ON OUR NEXUS S DEVICE OFFERED THROUGH SPRINT.
WE MIGHT ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AND WE MIGHT NOT. IT IS NONE OF YOUR EFFIN BUSINESS ANYWAY. THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS YOU TOOLS WILL CONTINUE TO DRINK OUR KOOL-AID AND BY OUR CRAP ANYWAY. SO STFU, BEND OVER AND TAKE IT.
HAVE A NICE DAY AND EFF OFF.
why don’t you go a get a life and get out of your mother baseman.
You have to admit that was funny tho…lol
19 likes, u r on the wrong site, bro
How did you know that SAMSUNG HQ was a baseball player, and what is he doing in his mother?
Learn how to spell. LOL! Douche.
hahaha, why don’t you teach me, ass wipe.
I WISH I had those Nexus S speeds on my Nexus S. 2961kbps? Yes please…
I just ran my own test, in downtown Portland, OR, and came away with 679kbps. I’m pretty sure my old 3G Nexus One on T-Mobile gets better speeds than that.
Oh and my 3G speeds? 111kbps. Edge is that you coming back to haunt me from your watery grave? You bet it is…
I just got 6.3mbps with my Nexus S 3G on T-mobile.
Just got a thousand on my EVO
Ouch I would complain to Sprint, maybe they will give you a discount or something. That is the average 3G speed on most networks.
htc 4 life!
Quietly sucks
Most definitely not.
No, T-Mo isn’t that good, sprint just sucks that bad. Nice day richard
Uhhhhh riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. I was getting average 2.5, top 5 Mpbs on my N1 on T-Mobile. Now I’m getting average 5, top 9 Mbps on my G2x. Go troll somewhere else
total crap! for the results to be accurate you have to run half of the speed tests with the EVO on the left side of the table
Speedtest doesn’t even work on my phone.
I would be curious to see more side by side videos. Notice how choppy the NexusS data speeds are and how smooth the EVO graph is. My NexusS shows my signal fade in and out, in and out. For me I see it in 3G, 4G, and WiFi. I’m sitting still and can see my signal jump up a few bars then back down a few…
Been having speed issues since day 1.
Strong reception, can’t even break 10 KB/ps, and being able to h old a 4G connection? Forget about.
looking at the the test’s recording, the Nexus S has a lot choppier signal… Seems to peak as high as the Evo but breaks… so a radio issue… Interference?
Believe it or not the Nexus phones are not the best. Just because their pure Google and get updates before everyone else, doesn’t make them the best. The Nexus S has lame specs and I wouldn’t waste my money on Vanilla Google goodness when I get a quality phone and root it. duh!
With your snaggle tooth
I hope that a firmware update can resolve this one, otherwise I’ll be forced to return it. Its not sprint, I can sit about 5′ from my wifi and have a single bar? Definite radio issue…
Nexus S is a great phone, obviously there is a problem with the 4G radio. I’m sure they will figure it out, that does not mean anything is wrong with the Nexus S, still one of the best devices out there today. Being a Nexus One owner since the day it was put on the market I can tell you the Nexus One still holds it own with the best of them. Still my phone of choice and I have had them all. I am going to buy the AT&T version of the Nexus S just to have all the straight up Google phones. I will be looking for the next made Google phone as well.
Nexus S 4G radio comes in the Nexus S in both hardware and software. Hence, there is a problem with the Nexus S 4G. No tiptoeing around this one. Another mistake by Samsung… surprise surprise.
This doesn’t look valid to me. The “hosted by” at the top of each phone is different. One is a single word, the other is two. There could be other network factors to blame. It doesn’t matter if they’re sitting side by side if they’re routing to different destinations.
Both servers were in New York, NY, but they were hosted by different servers. The radios may be screwed in the Nexus S, but the test is completely flawed.