Does it feel like your iPhone 5 data throughput is unreasonably slow? Seriously, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint all advertise high data throughput rates, but you’re not getting anything close to that. An iOS hacker has just earned his 15 minutes of fame by uncovering the cause.
Joseph Brown is known for creating hacks that unlock the network performance of iPhones on America’s big four carriers, limiting his potential audience to the geeks.
Now, he’s gone viral. Brown has written a lengthy blog post detailing Apple’s absolute complicity in limiting iPhone 5 data network performance:
– Apple limits the iPhone 5 data to Category 10 (14.4Mbps) HSDPA despite the device’s support for category 24 (42.2Mbps) DC-HSDPA+ and the AT&T network supporting up to Category 14 (21.1Mbps) HSDPA+.
— AT&T limits HSPA+ and permanently throttles LTE
— Verizon permanently throttles LTE
— Verizon and Sprint throttle down 3G
— Apple has band preferences set for T-Mobile and AT&T causing signal issues
To that end, he cites specific code within iOS that limits iPhone 5 network performance.
“Here we can see what is quite obvious to, really, anyone at this point from being jerked around so much by carriers,” writes Brown. “Yes folks, this is throttling coding.”
The one good bit news from Brown? The iPhone 5 isn’t arbitrarily limited when used on T-Mobile’s network. However, the way Apple sets band preferences causes issues between the AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
And, the hilarious bit of irony? Even with Apple’s network speed caps, and one assumes carrier complicity, is the fact that iPhone users use their devices and data more than any other individual smartphone or platform.
Crippled before it leaves the store and the iPhone’s still superior in the only terms that matter, usage…
What’s your take?
via 9 to 5 Mac