Yesterday, Digital Daily ran an article about low iPad download speeds when connected to a 4G hotspot. Since PadGadget recently acquired a 4G access point, we were immediately intrigued by the findings, and decided to run our own tests to see if we could reproduce the same issue.
First of all, our test conditions slightly differ from Digital Daily’s, as we used MacBook Pros and iPads to perform speed comparisons, while Digital Daily used Windows laptops and iPads – nevertheless, the move from PCs to Macs should not significantly impact the results. Also, the tests were performed in Dallas, while Digital Daily’s tests were likely ran in New York City. Finally, Digital Daily used a Sprint Overdrive access point, while we used a W801 access point from Time Warner Cable, but these access points are in fact the exact same device, and they both ride on the same network (Clearwire).
Digital Daily’s speed tests
Padgadget’s testbed:
iPad: iPad 3G+WiFi (3G disabled), 32GB, iOS 4.2MacBook Pro: 15” unibody model (mid 2009, MacBookPro5,3), OS X 10.6.4Access Point: Sierra Wireless W801 Mobile Hotspot (firmware 02.12.01)Test servers: Ookla / speedtest.net, Dallas servers (Partnership Broadband)4G network: Clear WiMAX (via Time Warner)Cable network: Time Warner CableFindings
For some reason, the average download speed of our iPad connected to the 4G access point is pretty much the same as the speed obtained by Digital Daily, about 2.5Mbps, which seems to imply that the iPad simply cannot go beyond 2.5Mbps when connected to an Overdrive/W801 4G access point.
Meanwhile, our results on the MacBook Pro connected to the same access point were better, but the difference between the laptop and the iPad wasn’t as dramatic as what Digital Daily noticed: the average speed of our Mac on the same access point was about 3Mbps, while Digital Daily managed to reach an average of 5Mbps on their Windows laptops.
Typical test results over 4G: iPad (left) and MacBook Pro (right)
Like Digital Daily, we decided to run the same tests over a WiFi access point connected to a cable modem, to see if the issue was WiFi related, or isolated to 4G access points. Surprisingly, the issue simply disappeared.
Typical test results over cable: iPad (left) and MacBook Pro (right)
Long story short, the issue seems to be access point specific, and most 4G access points appear to be affected. The download speed decrease isn’t all that bad, and isn’t really noticeable while browsing, but still, the iPad doesn’t seem to be able to use all the resources offered by the access point.
According to John Paczkowski, the writer of the article published in Digital Daily, both Apple and Clearwire have been notified, but so far neither side commented on the issue.
