Extremely slow 4G XLTE speeds in Grand Rapids (49546) - why??

[gentledave5608]

I got an HTC M8 and the speeds are great in other parts of the city (40Mbps Down - 15Mbps Up) - but at home its trouble.(1.5 Mbps Down - 0.78 Mbps Up). The phone is connected to 4GLTE not 3G and the signal bars are basically good 2  - 3 bars. I don;t understand - Are just not all of the towers working yet, and if not when ??  Thanks

[vzw_customer_support]

Hi gentledave5608 - We strive to offer you the best possible service where you need it most! Many factors can affect reception in and around the home that may be beyond control. Does the service improve as soon as you step outside or during different times of day?


Thank you,

YaleK_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWsupport

[gentledave5608]

Thanks for the reply. No it does not - the speed does increase by 10 fold about a 1 mile down the street in both directions. My guess is that the new 4G XLTE bands don;t have the same distance characteristics (don;t travel as far) as the 4G LTE bands do. Are there any improvements scheduled - more towers? I think you have a fair amount of "holes" in the 4G XLTE coverage than the 4G LTE coverage.

[vzw_customer_support]

We are always dedicated to improve and expand the network. At this time I do not have specific information regarding future build plans in your specific area. Are other Verizon Wireless users having a similar experience?


Thank you,

YaleK_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWsupport

[tylerw1285]

It sounds like a utilization issue probably because the plant hasn't fully been rolled out so they have say one tower with few customers your attached and other far distance away or many people on that band so it begins to get a lot of FDC and RDC errors. If you take your sim out reboot does it get better speeds for a limited amount of time? I live in KC and typically ive been getting 65/40 no problem but if i get out east a ways i drop to 15/10   This was on my GS3" thought was odd because of network card" but as Well as my GS5

[gentledave5608]

Thanks for the reply tylerw1285! I just tried the pulling of the sim card and rebooting - no help. 2.1 down / 0.85 up. I still think that I 'm in a bad spot with the 4G XLTE coverage. I think the frequency that the fast bands use does not go as far as the normal 4G LTE frequency goes. Thus giving me 4G LTE coverage but no 4G XLTE coverage.It's very disappointing. I have several towers around but I think none of them belong to VZW. I hope they are not done rolling the 4G XLTE out in my area   Anyway thanks for trying. - I'm always willing to try

[#7]

gentledave5608 wrote:

Thanks for the reply. No it does not - the speed does increase by 10 fold about a 1 mile down the street in both directions. My guess is that the new 4G XLTE bands don;t have the same distance characteristics (don;t travel as far) as the 4G LTE bands do. 

The original LTE band is about 750 MHz the AWS band they use for XLTE is about 2100 MHz for downlink. So no they don't travel as far and have a harder time going through objects like tress and buildings.

[tylerw1285]

That's why i can't believe they are using a highband to bond to the low. In settings, about , status signal strength. No look at dim signal strength number. -70-90 is any worse would let you know it's the problem.  -120 for ex. Also if phone doesn't have dual antennas "xlte. Ready than their software for bonding may be corrupt.

[tylerw1285]

Oops my phone ya has both u r good there

[gentledave5608]

The Phone (HTC M8) gets 40 Down and 15 up about 1 mile down the road. So I think the dual antennas and software corrupt are not the problem. I think the phone is good. On the signal strength I got -104 to -111 RSRP (dBm) . I don't know if that's good or not -  I think it is, but it might be the 4G LTE signal strength not the 4G XLTE signal strength.  Mobile network type is LTE, and roaming status is showing not roaming. Operator Name: Verizon Wireless.  Let me know what you think. I appreciate your help very much.