4G compression - is it just me? AWFUL browsing experience

[Anonymous]

Dear O2

I upgraded to a 5S on 4G (8 gb p/m) and, although recieving it loud and clear in my corner of SW London, the quality of the mobile web browsing service has been just terrible.

Audio and page throughput is quick as are app downloads etc, BUT the evident heavy compression artefacts on all youtube/ video content, and unusual image pixellation render the mobile browsing experience utterly awful. Worse than 3G, for sure. I've lived with it for 3 days, so I'm thinking this is not just a glitch due to heavy network load. I am, to say the least, not impressed.  It's the same with tethering to my laptop. It used to be this way, but I didn't expect it on 4G. 

I try HD videos on Youtube - they are unwatchable. Literally.

I browse my Flickr Pro account - hi-res images rendered with the life compressed out of them. Try zooming in any high quality image and then compare it to wifi - you'll be amazed.

General Google images/ Daily Motion/ Vimeo video - as above. Just nasty. 

In effect, all image and video content is as if I am browsing the web on a 56k modem. I wonder if TechRadar, The Registry and GSM Arena have picked up on this?

o2, this is my experience and opinion only, I am sure and hope others disagree. But if you are compressing images and video to make 4G faster, that's just not on and, despite havcing spend thousnads with you over many years, I will be requesting to cancel my contract and move elsewhere. I can understand throttling at peak times, and I can understand doing this for those who are perhaps inadventently near their data limit, but not as a default setting. 

As it stands, I enjoyed the mobile web far better on 3G. Please, please, tell me I am wrong...

Yours,

Mark

[Anonymous]

Hi Mark and Welcome to the Community Forum.

Just so you understand we are all customers here too.

To give this feedback directly to O2 then perhaps here may help.

E mail link ; https://www.o2.co.uk/apps/help/help

Ref your 4g please check your mast status first to ensure your service is stable.

Service Status Link.
http://status.o2.co.uk

Also remove your SIM card and clean it.

Perhaps run a speed test to see what your getting and post them here please.

I use the speed test app which can be downloaded from the App Store.

"02 will continue to use Optimisation on their 4G network. It makes sure they deliver the most consistent customer experience across all users."

I would also think this is not a reason that O2 would cancel any current mobile phone contract.

[MI5]

@Nightfly, clearly something is wrong somewhere. To understand 4G you need to know that the data is broken up into many small parts (unlike 3G which are large groups), this enables more data to travel through the same pipe but faster. This all comes back together when your phone processes the data (I'm sure you know this but it's worth explaining for others).....
It sounds to me like the phone is not compiling the data stream correctly.
I'm not familiar enough with the 5s and it's settings to advise if it's something that can be adjusted that way but if you are not happy I suggest you seek assistance from an Apple store Genius.

[jonsie]

This is the first complaint from anyone having this problem, certainly on this forum. It points to a problem with the phone to me. Have you been able to compare with anyone else within your circle of friends?

[turbotube]

Funny enough, something similar happened to me (iphone 5S on 4G) when i was in Liverpool city centre the other day and got similar results with video / images obviously looking like they were compressed.

I know 4G isn't 'offically' live there yet, so I just put it down to it still being tested.

On 4G I was getting 30.73MB download and 13.21MB upload.

[perksie]

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@Anonymous wrote:
But if you are compressing images and video to make 4G faster, that's just not on and, despite havcing spend thousnads with you over many years, I will be requesting to cancel my contract and move elsewhere.

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You can only revoke your contract within 7 working days of taking it out, but you could claim on the 90 day 4G happiness guarantee and have your contract moved back to 3G only.

[Anonymous]

Interesting.

Certainly sounds like they are toying with compression.

Do you have access to a VPN?  If so, try connecting to the VPN, close safari (and end the process) then open it again and try, it should show in full glory...

Nothing to do with your phone or sim card don't worry.

[Anonymous]

I doubt it's a problem with my phone, I have indeed cleaned the (3 week old) sim.

D/l speed is not the question. I am 99.5 sure that's not the issue.  The compression is. 

After an hour on the phone with O2 today, this is what I've found out:-

Network Services admitted to the front-line agent that yes compression was used, but didn't know how much (!)

The team manager took my call and confessed he wasn't aware any compression was used. He was surprised, and interested, when I said I'd just been told that it was. He's going to get back to me tomorrow. Impressed with the customer service, but it remains - the video and images are so heavily compressed as to be unwatchable. This is hardly "optimising" the experience.

I will accept that, if indeed there is a mast down in my area then I suppose some throttling could be used to maintain the service, but I would like to know from O2 or someone who knows conclusively

Is compression being used

How much?

Is this "optimization" going to render streaming media almost unwatchable and images heavily compressed as standard, always, everywhere? HD planet earth on Youtube is akin to watching on an old 56k modem.

Why is 3G actually a superior quality, if slightly slower?

Thanks again for your input.

[adamtemp64]

This sounds like the old complaint that all images are compressed on o2 mobile data apns

There was an old work around using the username bypass but that was stopped if I remember correctly .

I would bring this up with o2 directly

[Anonymous]

As far as i remember, O2 has always used compression on images and videos, both on 3g and 4g. There must be some settings to change in terms of O2's celular data settings to bypass the compression. have been trying to figure it out too.