Jetpack speed became very slow
harrisde
Enthusiast - Level 2

I've been using a Jetpack 5510L for several months. While it only gets about a 35% signal it's been very adequate for me with between anywhere beteeen 5 and 20 Mbps download speeds. A few days ago it dropped to around .25Mbps or less even though the signal strength is the same.  Could there be a problem with the tower(s) I get the signal from?  There was some lightning storms for a few days.  Could the device itself have become faulty (how would I tell)?  I've tried resetting, removing the sim card for a bit and many power off/on cycles but the speed hasn't improved.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

A typical performance problem like the one you mentioned is normally resolved by the resets.  Considering the resets have not improved your situation the Jetpack itself could be defective or the towers in your area may require repair.

Best thing to do here is to contact VZW.  Report the performance problem and have them give you your service options under your remaining warranty.  The speeds that you posted are a clear sign of a defect and VZW normally will provide replacement hardware to solve that problem if they can.

Otherwise if there is a tower issue you will not be the only one to notice it.  VZW should be able to take a quick peek at the area and let you know if there are any serious issues.  Normally a tower issue will get a high priority and will be repaired within a few days.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

A typical performance problem like the one you mentioned is normally resolved by the resets.  Considering the resets have not improved your situation the Jetpack itself could be defective or the towers in your area may require repair.

Best thing to do here is to contact VZW.  Report the performance problem and have them give you your service options under your remaining warranty.  The speeds that you posted are a clear sign of a defect and VZW normally will provide replacement hardware to solve that problem if they can.

Otherwise if there is a tower issue you will not be the only one to notice it.  VZW should be able to take a quick peek at the area and let you know if there are any serious issues.  Normally a tower issue will get a high priority and will be repaired within a few days.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
harrisde
Enthusiast - Level 2

It would appear that even though my account is unlimited and on the manage my device page it is still listed as unlimited that Verizon is now throttling after reaching 5GB of downloads in a month.  Though with speeds of mostly .10 and less I would call it disabling, not throttling.  And this done with no advance warning in the middle of a billing cycle and no explanation whatsoever.  This seems like a breach of contract to me but I would guess there is special legalize in the contracts that allow them to change said contracts anytime they want.  This is why people absolutely hate mobile communications companies.  At this point I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to alleviate the issue other than dump Verizon.  Nice first 2 month experience with them.

Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

Wait, first 2 month experience and unlimited data?  How did you pull that one off?!?!  Unlimited data plans went the way of the Dodo many years ago when VZW migrated to 4G LTE.  You shouldn't have been able to get a new unlimited data plan.

Regarding throttling, VZW does not Throttle although that is the most popular term for the behavior. See VZWs policy on the subject for more info:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/support/information/data_disclosure.html

No, VZW does not throttle anyone, they optimize during peak hours and then return you to normal as the towers are freed up.  Only unlimited 3G contracts are subject to VZW data optimization policy.  4G LTE is not a part of the program so if your device is connected as 4G LTE and providing poor performance then something else is going on.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
harrisde
Enthusiast - Level 2

It's actually through my employer (a university), so it's some kind of group account deal.  I don't really know how that works.  I assumed the device went faulty and asked them about it.  They said "We have just found out this week that they are starting to throttle heavy users on the Government accounts.".  Maybe these accounts are treated different than individuals.  All I really know is the device has basically been useless for a week or so.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

I'm skeptical and would love to see a statement confirming what your IT dept. has informed you about VZW.  If they have one could you please shoot us a link so we can share with others?

Don't get me wrong, it could be true, but I have not seen VZW target individuals or groups like that before.  Doesn't make much sense given VZWs history to do that.  It would be a direct contradiction to the posted data disclosure.

Since you do not own your VZW device you will have to work with the University's IT department to get the device serviced and swapped.  Ask them to send you a different one as they troubleshoot with VZW for you.

Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
harrisde
Enthusiast - Level 2

Not sure this is the exact GSA contract format we have, but it shares some of the exact same text that our folks have shared with me.  So for your amusement: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CC0QFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tr...

Some of the interesting bits are the prohibited stuff on page 8:

"

Unlimited Data Plans and Features (such as NationalAccess, BroadbandAccess, Push to Talk, and certain VZEmail services) may ONLY be used with wireless devices for the following purposes: Intemet browsing; (ii) email; and (iii) intranet access (including access to corporate intranets, email, and individual productivity applications like customer relationship management, sales force, and field service automation). The Unlimited Data Plans and Features MAY NOT be used for any other purpose. Examples of prohibited uses include, without limitation, the following:

continuous uploading, downloading or streaming of audio or videc programming or games; (ii) server devices or host computer applications, including, but not limited to, Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections or peer- to-peer (P2P) file sharing; or (iii) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections. This means, by way of example only, that checking email, surfing the Internet, downloading legally acquired songs, and/or visiting corporate intranets is permitted, but downloading movies using P2P file sharing services and/or redirecting television signals for viewing on laptops is prohibited.

"

I don't see any language specific to throttling speeds, but I'm told it is in ours (buried in the contract language) and they are just now enforcing it.  Guess I'll dump the device and plan.

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Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
lookinforanswer
Contributor - Level 2

John,

I am sorry, but they are throttling. The disclosure is crap. Especially, the devices that support AWS it seems.  Optimizing data isn't trickling data in 24 hrs a day so that it's unusable highest yet .21M↓ and not throughput speeds.  Download as you know is burstable. 

The truth here is that users that consume over 5GB of data are throttled and they call it RTR-Network Optimization.

Re: Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
7e18n1
Specialist - Level 3

On the last day of my 10 GB data plan, I had over 600 MB to burn, and I burned it.  I did the same thing last night, although I didn’t take pictures of it. It was still doing ~2 MB/s. Are you sure you’re not doing something wrong?

ThroughPut.JPG

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Re: Re: Jetpack speed became very slow
lookinforanswer
Contributor - Level 2

Is your service on a personal account?  That most likely makes the difference. Also, if you are on a 4G connection, that's still slow, though much faster than our users.

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