iTweakiOS

UPDATE: The iTweakiOS blog accusing Apple of throttling data speeds has been removed, and Kevin Fitchard of GIGaom has debunked the rumor.

Joseph Brown from iTweakiOS, the developers behind the T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint carrier hacks, claims Apple is working with wireless carriers to slow down the data speeds of certain iOS devices. In a very detailed and long blog post, Brown explains why iPhones are being "out-performed by Android devices," and why he thinks his recent carrier hacks have been able to deliver increased data speeds. Brown says both "Apple and the carriers have implemented coding to purposely slow down or limit the data speeds" a device can achieve.

Brown posted several examples of "throttle coding" (pictured above) from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, while noting "T-Mobile is the exception" to the throttling accusation. Brown doesn't claim to know why Apple and the carriers are limiting data speeds, he just says they are.

iTweakiOS has launched an AT&T carrier hack, which promises to deliver increased data speeds just like the previously released T-Mobile hack. Joe Brown and Sky Zangas, the developer team behind iTweakiOS, claim the new AT&T hack improves data performance on both LTE and HSPA+.

“Just like with the T-Mobile hack, this hack does the same. Band preferences were set to limit you to a certain band rather than the band giving off the strongest signal, when available, both with LTE and HSPA+.”

“This hack enables Release 9 DC-HSPA+ on the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, 4, and mini as well as enhancing LTE data and signal. Though AT&T is limited to HSPA+ 21, the device itself becomes more open to an increased amount of bandwidth thus allowing for better throughput of data and data connection. This is very convinient [sic] for users in areas that don’t yet have LTE coverage.”

Before it officially rolled out the iPhone, T-Mobile enabled LTE for customers using unlocked iPhones on its network, but according to TmoNews, the update also "negatively affected the signal and speeds achieved on the company’s refarmed PCS 1900MHz" spectrum. Luckily for T-Mobile subscribers, two TmoNews users "hacked" the carrier update to boost the data speeds of the T-Mobile iPhone. The hack does not require a jailbroken device, and it works on both the iPhone 5 and the AT&T/unlocked model. This means most T-Mobile customers will see increased data speeds by following the instructions below.

As always, make sure you backup your device before doing anything to your phone. You can also get the original carrier update from TmoNews if anything goes wrong. Be sure to thank @joe012594 and @cooldayr2 via Twitter, or ask them any questions if you need help.