[bobpendleton]

I recently noticed that the quality of streaming videos (e.g., m.youtube.com) and audio (e.g, via Nobex Radio Companion) is much, much worse on my phone when I'm connected to my home Wifi versus when I turn my Wifi off and watch/listen to the same content via 3G. The video plays smoother with far less pixelation and audio content has many less drops (and starts faster) on 3G!

I think I also see the underlying problem when I look at Xtreme Labs speed test results:
On 3G:
avg. down = 364kbps
max down = 420kbps
avg. up = 36kbps
max up = 50kbps

On Wifi:
avg. down = 317kbps -- NOTE: Lower than 3G
max down = 885kbps
avg. up = 342kbps
max up = 356kbps

FYI, my home Wifi is really, really fast (FiOS 35/15) and my wifi encryption is WPA2.

Perhaps this is a function of the .841 hybrid that I've been running? I was hoping someone could try the following test to see if it's happening on their phone as well:

With Wifi off and 3G on, browse to m.youtube.com and play a video (preferably a video that should be high quality).

Next, turn Wifi on and 3G off and watch the same video.

I'd love to figure out if what I'm seeing is a function of the hybrid I'm running or something else.

Thanks in advance!

[bobpendleton]

Just for fun I tried changing my wireless encryption from WPA2 to WEP. I saw slightly faster speeds (via Speedtest), but still much slower than the 3G speeds. Youtube videos also looked much worse than when I viewed them via 3G.

I then tried turning my wireless encryption OFF -- believe it or not I saw the slowest speed yet!

Has anyone else been able to try this experiment? Just wondering if all this is simply a function of the .841 hybrid I'm running.

Thanks again.

[i7guy]

Just for fun I tried changing my wireless encryption from WPA2 to WEP. I saw slightly faster speeds (via Speedtest), but still much slower than the 3G speeds. Youtube videos also looked much worse than when I viewed them via 3G.

I then tried turning my wireless encryption OFF -- believe it or not I saw the slowest speed yet!

Has anyone else been able to try this experiment? Just wondering if all this is simply a function of the .841 hybrid I'm running.

Thanks again.

I have a netgear wndr3700, the fastest wireless speed for the router is wpa2. I don't know if that translates to the fastest phone speed though.

[bobpendleton]

I have a netgear wndr3700, the fastest wireless speed for the router is wpa2. I don't know if that translates to the fastest phone speed though.

Thanks for the reply!

Regardless of the equipment, I was hoping that someone could try the following "test" that would help me to determine if there's something strange going on with this .841 hybrid that I'm running:

Try viewing any streaming video (youtube, nfl mobile , etc.) with Mobile Network (3G) turned on and Wifi OFF.

View the same video with with Mobile Network (3G) turned off and Wifi ON.


Which looks best? Is the Wifi video all pixelated and choppy?

Obviously if you've got Speedtest installed I'd love to know those results as well.

Either way, I'd really appreciate it if someone could try the above 2 step test.

Thanks again.

[bobpendleton]

Has anyone had a chance to try the above?

[crazy canuck]

Bob:

I have witnessed the same, although I haven't done any official speed tests.

RIM's wifi stack (tcp/ip) is still pretty new and I don't believe they have all the kinks worked out yet.
Don't forget it is a different stack (tcp/mdp/udp) on the BB over 3G versus Wi-fi.

I am sure this will get ironed out...

[CurtJ]

I have not performed the specific test that you want. But, I have observed the same behavior when I'm connected to my home Wi-Fi network and dowloading Apps from the App Store. When you would expect the download to be faster and smoother with Wi-Fi versus 3G, it usually is not.

So it appears that the previous post that suggests the problem could be in the Wi-Fi TCP/IP stack may be correct.

[bobpendleton]

CurtJ/Crazy Canuk: Thanks for the replies. Given your verification of the issue it doesn't sound like what I'm experiencing is a function of the hybrid I'm running. FWIW, I noticed the issue with the start of the NFL season -- I started running "NFL Mobile" on my phone, viewing the "Red Zone" video, while at the same time watching my local game on TV. The stream is unwatchable when I'm connected to my home WiFi. It's actually pretty good when I turn WiFi off and watch over 3G. I then confirmed it with a couple of Youtube videos, and then finally saw the real details via SpeedTest.

I'm sure VZW would greatly prefer to get this type of data traffic off of their network. Maybe RIM has the TCP stack issue resolved in O/S 6 (one would hope), but I doubt we'll ever see the fix on our old devices. What's the point of having WiFi if it works that poorly?

Just curious: Are you guys running an official O/S, a leak, or a hybrid?

[CurtJ]

I'm running the official .713 of the V5 OS.

[i7guy]

Youtube looks better running on wifi than 3G most of the time.