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Why are the 3G speeds lower than .1KBS for us at the moment?

I understand that the speeds of the internet that can be pumped out by the Jetpack are directly limited by the 3G/4G coverage in my area. I'm also aware that the speeds may or may not fluctuate as the days and weather change. What I DON'T understand is how the 3G speeds, advertised as at LEAST 1 MBPS has been less than a percent of that.

Before anything else is brought up, let me cover my bases:

Yes, we live in a rural community.
Yes, we have consistent 3G coverage at our location.
Yes, when we had our initial 10 Gigs before the throttle, speeds were quicker.
(That being said, even on 4G our speeds never topped 500 KBPS)

Yes, we have a consistent signal on the Jetpack, with 3 bars at most all times.
Yes, our phones can connect to the internet on their data independent of the Jetpack and load nearly any webpage quicker.

No, the .1 KBPS is not an overstatement as last night we actually got less than that.

No, the .1 KBPS is not the consistent speed, with it averaging around 20 KBPS when it's doing good, but that's still unacceptable.
Yes, I have looked into getting a 3G booster but I want to make sure that nothing else can be done first as that's a chunk of money

Now other than these things, if there are any bases I did not cover, please let me know. I would very much like to know why we're getting the speeds we're getting as it's essentially not having internet at all. As a matter of fact, I'd rather not have internet because then I wouldn't be paying for not being able to open my online classes.

Either way, please get back to me whenever possible

Thank you,

Comments

Verizon_Support

LT30428,

Let's take a closer look at this for you. We know having a reliable connection is important. Though it is normal for speeds to be in the 3G range on internet devices beyond 10GB of data consumption, there are a couple things that I definitely want to confirm based on the information you provided. You mentioned that even at the beginning of your billing period, you are only getting 500Kbps with three bars of 4G LTE service? Is that correct? What service are you using to test your connection speed?

EricW_VZW

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LT30428

Yes and no. Our speeds never topped 500 kbs download, but we could not expect 500 kbs download speed. The speeds tended to hover at lower averages than that, but 500 kbs was the highest we got on 4G. I used a few tests online to determine this, as well as timing myself through downloading a few songs and checking through Steam, just to make sure I wasn't being an internet hypochondriac and thinking something was wrong when it wasn't.

It is worth noting however that since making my post, speeds on the 3G has jumped from the .1 kbs average to about 20 or 30 kbs average instead. This speed is still considerably lower than what we were told to expect from Verizon.

Verizon_Support

Hey LT30428,

I appreciate all the details you provided in your response. I'd like to gather a little more information, just to make sure we are covering all of our bases. Are you having an issue with the Jetpack only? For example, if you are picking up 4G in a different location, do things change? To test your speeds, please go to www.speedtest.net when using the VZW network to perform the speed test. Keep us posted on the results, thanks so much

ChristinaB_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the �Correct Answer� button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

LT30428

It's not a problem. I understand how difficult a job like customer service

can be if you don't understand what I'm whining about.

But as far as I've experienced, even within a larger community (Dublin, GA;

big town, small city) the most bars we get on the Jetpack is 4, and even

then the speeds are low (40-50kbs). I haven't had the chance to test the 4G

speeds in Dublin however, as this is my very first month as a Verizon

customer. I also plan on trying in Vidalia as well once the billing period

refreshes, just for the sake of trying everything.

I will let you know once I know 100% what the speeds are in other locations.

On Wed, Jun 21, 2017 at 3:37 PM, vzw_customer_support <

LT30428

So a couple of quick updates even though the data period hasn't refreshed.

I found a location in my home where the Jetpack is showing 4 bars. This propels the speeds up from "completely unusable, good luck opening a webpage" to "hey it doesn't take but like a literal minute to load anything, that's not that bad".

For reference as far as the ACTUAL speeds go, using speedtest.net (which by the way took several minutes to do ANYTHING once I hit "GO!"), I received the grand total of .59mbps download and .6mbps upload. HOWEVER when attempting to download ANYTHING the speeds are much closer to complete crap.

I know this because based on the speed, a 7mb download should take 14 seconds at MOST but instead averages anywhere from 6 to 15 MINUTES. So either Speedtest.net is doing something that my basic downloads can't, or it's giving inaccurate results for the purposes of actually downloading, not just testing.

I understand that, as a customer service red, you have little-to-no power over this sort of thing and can't just flip a magic switch that provides us with precious internet. However, I've never been this frustrated and annoying with the speeds from an ISP within 1 month of getting their service, and this is coming from Satellite internet. I would very much like this resolved soon.

Verizon_Support

I appreciate all the information you have provided to us, LT30428. I want to clear up how speeds are measured versus file sizes. Speeds are measured in Megabits per second (Mbps) whereas a file is measures in Megabytes (MB). There are 8 bits to a byte so there is no easy conversion to how long a 7MB file would download at 0.59Mbps. Also, wherever the file is being hosted from may not be uploading the file at the same rate your downloading it. This would cause a discrepancy in how long it would take to download.

Service indoors may be variable as the walls of your home will block the connection from coming through. Have you been able to test speeds in other locations outside of your home?

ChristopherM_VZW

If my response answered your question please click the _Correct Answer_ button under my response. This ensures others can benefit from our conversation. Thanks in advance for your help with this!!

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