Phone trouble

[Daniel]

My phone will bearly work on the internet when connected to WiFi or mobile data. My tablet will barely work when connected to WiFi.

My tablet doesn't have a phone. My phone and tablet have nothing to do with each other.

My data seems extremely throttled no matter what. It takes 4- 5 minutes for any page to load.

I'm concerned my data is being throttled in my first month of use.

I don't understand what's happening with my wifi or my tablet.

I am most concerned about my phone possibly needing to be replaced.

Help appreciated.

[Lisa]

I assume the wifi is your home wifi? Have you tried it on other networks (like gone to a coffee shop and tried their wifi? Have you rebooted both the tablet and the phone?

[Steve Miller]

Have you run an internet speed test on Speedtest.org ?

How does the result compare to the speed your providers are promising?

[wtg]

Might also be helpful to have some background info:

Who is your internet provider?

What kind of modem and router do you have - something from the internet provider, or something you own?

Who is your mobile service?

Make and model of your phone?

Make and model of your tablet?

[RealPlayer]

I am having the same trouble with my phone and home Wi-Fi. Sometimes so slow that pages never load. Good speeds on the desktop computer though.

We have an old router and old Wi-Fi extender. I strongly suspect those are the issues. And it’s a big house for the signal to carry. I used the Ookla app to test Wi-Fi speeds, but I think I want to delete it now because they Hoover up your data.

[Axtremus]

Wi-Fi at home ... some Internet service providers set "data cap" that limits how much data you can use every month, and may deliberately throttle down your speed after you have reached that "data cap" limit.

Wi-Fi elsewhere (coffee shops, public venues, etc.) ... no real rule that governs speed, and you will be competing with everyone else using that network; people typically do not expect very good speed in this case anyway.

Cellular (3G/4G/5G) ... the wireless data plans often come with data caps, and the usual enforcement mechanism is to deliberately slow you down after you have reached your data cap. Even with plans that advertise "unlimited data," there is often a limit on "premium/high-speed data," meaning after you reached that limit, your speed may be deliberately throttled down. You have to read the fine prints to see that limit on premium/high-speed data.

If you phone/tablet's software hasn't been updated for a long time, it should be; and generally it's a good idea to let it automatically update anyway, because sometimes things appear to have "slowed down" or "take a long time to load" because some newer protocols/services/components are introduced on the server side but the old/outdated software on your device doesn't know how to deal with the new stuff, so it waits for the new stuff to "time out" before getting on with the rest.

Good luck.

[Daniel]

Thanks, all.

I did nothing but a factory reset.

The Internet still didn't work. The Internet started working using mobile data only on my phone only after about six hours.

It's a mystery to me.

[Daniel]

I've decided my best phone solution is a Pixel 8a. It's $399 new and is guaranteed something like seven years of Android and security updates from year if manufacture. Now if I can only find $399 in spare change under my couch cushions.

Pixel 8a you will be mine.

The factory reset of my Motorola Edge 2022 dropped the copy cat Pixel interface in favor of one designed by Motorola. It's not big deal but I don't want another Motorola. I've learned about update windows being an important factor.

I hope I can keep my Motorola for about two years and then go back to Google.

The only phones I've owned better than my Pixel 4a were a Samsung 4 (?) with an earlier version of AMOLED (I find their new AMOLED screens glaring, mine was very subtle and had an almost three dimensional quality to it), and my favorite phone of all time-- an Apple 3GS. That phone was great and the reception was clear as a bell. I've never experienced anything else like it.

I'm hoping to get the porcelain color. I love white phones. I like black ones. Any other color stands out too much to me.

Oh, I might be buying a car but that is a long story for another day.

[Mik]

Turn off WiFi on your phone and try just using 5G. If you get better speed you’ve identified where the problem lies.

[Daniel]

I will.

[Lisa]

I've always had Samsung Galaxy S series phones, but I recently saw my coworker's new Samsung Galaxy A25. It's got 90% of what the S series phones have and it's like 1/3 the price. He paid $250 for his at Best Buy, unlocked so it can be used with any carrier. And it still has a headphone jack, which the S series no longer has and which I would sorely miss, which is why I haven't upgraded my phone in 5 years (still on the S10, which was the last one with the headphone jack.) Maybe $250 in spare change is a little easier to find in your sofa cushions than $399? If you haven't already looked into the A25, I'd check it out! Anyhow, good luck with your phone fixing and shopping!

[Daniel]

Thanks, Lisa!

[Daniel]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/386623249283?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wdky4ouqts6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=MORE

Everything that is old is new again... for a price.

Wow!

I like the disclaimer-- the battery is probably dead, the phone probably doesn't work.