Related
I posted this at PPCGeeks but thought id post here as well:
OK so i recently moved from WA St to Oregon and into a new place obviously. Well my new house is pretty much a dead zone, i had to fight to get 1 or 2 bars, standing outside. I was missing important calls and was constantly dropping network and trying to regain, therefor chewing my Evos battery right up.
Well i saw an article last week that Sprint will be starting to give out Airaves for free to qualified customers. Well i decided to give retentions a call, told them that I might have to switch to att or verizon because i dont get any reception in my new place. They suggested and airave and what it cost, i mentioned that i read that they would be given them for free, with no monthly cost to qualified customers. The guy told me to hold, came back to tell me he will send me one for free with no monthly charge. Id only be required to pay the activation fee. I was like OK.
So today i received a package and a new Sprint Airave was inside. I was a little shocked to see the size of the unit, larger than a regular router or modem, i thought it would be a lot smaller. Anyways i hooked it up to my modem, plugged it all in, waited for about 30min for all the lights to go solid green, therefor it would be fully connected and activated. Came downstairs, looked at my phone and I HAD FULL BARS!!!!!! I jumped for joy, tested a call, had full bars while testing a call. Did a speed test and was received data at 1933kbps and uploading at 822kbps, faster than i ever get on regular 3g.
Overall im impressed that this thing actually works, and works really great. So for those of you with bad reception in your house, inquire about one of these.
If you have any questions feel free to ask, ill answer the best i can, and if you guys have any tests you want me to perform let me know.
Airave
I call Sprint tonight and there going to send me an Airave. They told me 3 to 5 days. I wanted to know the Make and Model of the Airave that you have. How long did it take for you to get yours and what is the range that it covers. Do it cover your back can front yard? Please let me know who make the unit. I want to see if i can find some reviews on it. Thank you in Advance.
I just set mine up and its awesome! completely plug and play (although it took long enough to set itself up that I thought I had something wrong). I have good signal and fast 3g (no 4g version yet). if you can get sprint to give you one of these, totally go for it. even if you have to pay for it its probably worth it IMO.
Is this something you have to hook up to a computer because I'm in the same setuation but no computer lol
Sent from sprint hero cm6.1
Got mine from Sprint a week ago after I complained about bad signal. At first they offered me it for $100 along with a $5/mo fee. I told them I thought it was rather silly I should pay for their lack of service and I already pay $10/mo for 4G (and I have 2 Evos on my plan) which is a limited market. She transfered me to account services who was able to give me it for FREE and NO additional charges/fees! Came in 3 days via UPS.
What you get: The Airave Unit, Cat5 ethernet cable (yellow ), external GPS receiver (optional), power adapter, and various documentation/manuals.
Installation: Plug in the power adapter to the unit and an ethernet cable to the WAN port to your router/modem. Wait about 30-60 minutes for it to activate itself and go online. Once the lights are all solid (Internet/GPS/Wireless) you are set. No configuration or setup is required otherwise.
Use: Your phone should automatically use the Airave since it is the closest 'cell tower'. You should notice full signal strength or close to it depending on where you are in relation to it. The best way to test if you are connected to it is make a phone call, you should hear a double-beep before the call is made (or if you answer an incoming call), which means you are connected via Airave to Sprint's network.
The Airave requires a GPS lock to validate your location as being within the US. You can bring the Airave with you when you travel, though you will still need an ethernet connection in order for it to connect to Sprint's network. Obviously, if you try to bring it outside of the US, it will not connect due to GPS seeing you outside of the US. Sadly, it also does not work in Alaska. The unit itself has a GPS receiver inside, but if you place it in an area with poor reception (two story houses might have this issue), you can use the external GPS antenna that they give you and place it near a window.
The Airave is a seamless addition for most people. If you are not currently using a router, have no fear, as the Airave has two LAN ethernet ports which make it a mini router I believe (I have not tested it though I can't imagine what else they would be for). So you can connect your PC to the Airave and use your internet connection that way.
If you are using a router, I believe it has to support VPN passthrough. I am not entirely sure but most of them nowadays do support it. I am using an Apple Time Capsule (newest generation) and it works flawlessly.
If you are on a call using the Airave and leave the signal range of it, it can hand off the call to another tower seamlessly (Airave -> Tower). However, it cannot do it in the reverse manner (Tower -> Airave). So no worries if you somehow wander out of the Airave's coverage, which I have yet to test the effective range on.
I would recommend 40-80 KBps bandwidth per call, and 1-2MBps per 3G device. Me and my brother use the Airave simultaneously for both voice and data while streaming Netflix, online gaming, and torrenting. I have yet to notice a performance loss in either data or voice. However, if you have a Wifi router, it would be wise to use that instead of 3G.
Another nice benefit is battery life, and as an Evo user I can really appreciate that. Before, I would get 2 bars of 3G at best, usually 1, and sometimes none at all. So my phone was constantly searching for the tower or ramping up the antenna power to talk to it better. Now that the tower is literally within 3 meters usually, it can keep the radio down to minimal power usage. I have noticed a GREAT difference on leaving my phone on my desk overnight with 3G on. Before I would lose a considerable amount of battery (25% or more at times), and now I lose maybe 5% at best. Of course, using Wifi would be optimal since it could switch the 3G radio off in most cases, but for those without that option this is a great way to help battery life at home.
Summary: This device is easy to set up, easy to "use", and does exactly what you'd ask from it. Most people can't justify the price for Sprint's shortcomings, which is understandable, so try to get it for free by complaining and being stubborn about it. If your contract is nearly up, this is PERFECT leverage for you to get one for free.
Did this a while ago as well and I confirm it works. You don't even have to call retentions. There are two ways to do this:
A) Just call them and say that you get no signal in your house and (and if you have an Evo/Epic), justify that you shouldn't pay extra for one by saying that you're already paying for 4G that you're not getting.
B) Tell them you were talking to a representative who was in the process of taking down your information so that he could send you one for free, but the call dropped.
Just make sure to tell them you want the newer model. It can handle more calls and puts out more signal (and supposedly does WiMax as well, but not yet. That's what a rep told me). It's called the "Airvana. NOT THE SAMSUNG MODEL (older one).
Proof it works (I used plan A):
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Too bad, not for new customers
Its a shame i really like there prices and have great service everywhere but inside my house.
But they said I am a new customer and thats with the 30 days is for. I guess I got 27 more days to decide what other cell company I want.
OR I can pay a $130 for one Not going to happen already get raped with the phones!
LAME!
I dont think thats a way there going to get more customers I guess they will always be in 3rd or who knows maybe moved done to 4th.
saw429 said:
Its a shame i really like there prices and have great service everywhere but inside my house.
But they said I am a new customer and thats with the 30 days is for. I guess I got 27 more days to decide what other cell company I want.
OR I can pay a $130 for one Not going to happen already get raped with the phones!
LAME!
I dont think thats a way there going to get more customers I guess they will always be in 3rd or who knows maybe moved done to 4th.
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Look at the post above yours. I got one for free with no monthly charges. Also, if you have an Evo or an Epic (or Evo Shift) and it's rooted, download an app called Roam Control. You can turn on roaming and roam on Verizon for free (it's included in your plan).
Oh and when I asked to be transfered to cancel my acount, I guess they hangged up on me. Whats up with that?
Yeah i know about Roam Control But I wanted to save $10 bucks a month right before they increased the rate on all smartphones to $10 more a month. So I got 3g phones instead.
I was thinking of switching and getting the EVO and pay the extra $10 but its lame that i have to do all this extra work for them. It seems pointless to do so if I cant get a signal. Oh and when roaming it uses you minutes no matter what so that sucks for Roam Control.
Maybe I should call sprint again and give it another try. It makes no sense at all that they wouldnt give me one to keep me as a customer. Strange! Whats the difference between me 2 day customer and a 10 year customer leaving it a lost no matter what.
saw429 said:
Oh and when I asked to be transfered to cancel my acount, I guess they hangged up on me. Whats up with that?
Yeah i know about Roam Control But I wanted to save $10 bucks a month right before they increased the rate on all smartphones to $10 more a month. So I got 3g phones instead.
I was thinking of switching and getting the EVO and pay the extra $10 but its lame that i have to do all this extra work for them. It seems pointless to do so if I cant get a signal. Oh and when roaming it uses you minutes no matter what so that sucks for Roam Control.
Maybe I should call sprint again and give it another try. It makes no sense at all that they wouldnt give me one to keep me as a customer. Strange! Whats the difference between me 2 day customer and a 10 year customer leaving it a lost no matter what.
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Cancel and make a new account or ask to have it converted to this. It comes with a lot of perks and also $10 less for each plan:
http://sprint.com/sero
[email protected]
Employee code 383
That's what I use.
My work gives me a bigger discount then that, it would actually cost me more, I believe. LOL
I didn't have to complain at all...I just played dumb...yesterday I fixed my EVO's 3G problem (change CDMA to Auto PRL instead of CDMA Only) and was trying to watch Sprint TV (not available over WiFi, but is a service included with unlimited data), and just told them I have WiFi but can't watch Sprint TV with it, and that I got terrible service inside my house (2 bars) but I go outside and immediately have full 3G signal and Sprint TV works fine (100% truthful, didn't have to lie)...she asked me to go by a window, where I did get way better signal, and to go outside, and if I had high speed internet, then sent me to customer relations, who then told me I qualify for the Airave 2 and that they'd send it to me 100% free, no contract extensions, and no monthly charges...should be here Monday or Tuesday...will post back with my experiences.
Got my Airvana today...this thing is AWESOME!! I live in an area with advertised awesome 3G but it flies now...I never could stream YouTube, or really do anything unless I was on WiFi, but now I have a choice...plus I can use Sprint TV finally, which is pretty neat...I'm looking forward to actually being able to use my phone now. Was plug and play just as described, but using the external GPS antenna made it ready to ride in about 10 minutes. I highly recommend if you have terrible coverage in your house and you're contemplating a new carrier, this thing works!
Matt262 said:
Got my Airvana today...this thing is AWESOME!! I live in an area with advertised awesome 3G but it flies now...I never could stream YouTube, or really do anything unless I was on WiFi, but now I have a choice...plus I can use Sprint TV finally, which is pretty neat...I'm looking forward to actually being able to use my phone now. Was plug and play just as described, but using the external GPS antenna made it ready to ride in about 10 minutes. I highly recommend if you have terrible coverage in your house and you're contemplating a new carrier, this thing works!
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This thing just uses your home internet connection to broadcast 3G in your home. If you want fast data, you might as well use Wifi since it uses less battery on your phone...
Product F(RED) said:
This thing just uses your home internet connection to broadcast 3G in your home. If you want fast data, you might as well use Wifi since it uses less battery on your phone...
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Didn't see the part where I said I was unable to watch Sprint TV...? Sprint TV doesn't work on WiFi...this is a review thread, instead of flaming, contribute or don't say anything, or at least read AND comprehend ALL the posts before replying negatively...I do mostly use WiFi, but if I missed NCIS now I can watch it on my phone without having to go out to the driveway, or at the very least take advantage of it since it is a service that is included in my plan.
Matt262 said:
Didn't see the part where I said I was unable to watch Sprint TV...? Sprint TV doesn't work on WiFi...this is a review thread, instead of flaming, contribute or don't say anything, or at least read AND comprehend ALL the posts before replying negatively...I do mostly use WiFi, but if I missed NCIS now I can watch it on my phone without having to go out to the driveway, or at the very least take advantage of it since it is a service that is included in my plan.
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You don't know the definition of flaming. Where did I flame? I stated facts. Forgive me for missing the "Sprint TV" part, but you don't have to go ape-**** over it.
Product F(RED) said:
You don't know the definition of flaming. Where did I flame? I stated facts. Forgive me for missing the "Sprint TV" part, but you don't have to go ape-**** over it.
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Flaming, also known as bashing, is hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, and on video-sharing websites. It is frequently the result of the discussion of heated real-world issues such as politics, sports, religion, and philosophy, or of issues that polarise subpopulations, but can also be provoked by seemingly trivial differences. (straight from Wikipedia)
Why do I consider it flaming? Simply because this particular thread was about reviewing a device -- the Airave -- not about getting faster data speeds without using WiFi...but rather, does the device work or not, and if so, how well, which my whole point was that it DOES in fact work, not that I'm going to quit using WiFi in favor of the Airave. I don't need advice on getting faster data speeds because I'm well aware that my 20mb down/2mb up over WiFi is GOING to be faster than the fastest 3G, it's self serving, and thus pointless to even bring that up -- but especially in a device review thread. Counterproductive posts are a waste and a pain to read through to get to useful information, which is why no one searches. And on that note -- I'll be getting off my soapbox now.
Matt262 said:
Flaming, also known as bashing, is hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of an Internet forum, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, and on video-sharing websites. It is frequently the result of the discussion of heated real-world issues such as politics, sports, religion, and philosophy, or of issues that polarise subpopulations, but can also be provoked by seemingly trivial differences. (straight from Wikipedia)
Why do I consider it flaming? Simply because this particular thread was about reviewing a device -- the Airave -- not about getting faster data speeds without using WiFi...but rather, does the device work or not, and if so, how well, which my whole point was that it DOES in fact work, not that I'm going to quit using WiFi in favor of the Airave. I don't need advice on getting faster data speeds because I'm well aware that my 20mb down/2mb up over WiFi is GOING to be faster than the fastest 3G, it's self serving, and thus pointless to even bring that up -- but especially in a device review thread. Counterproductive posts are a waste and a pain to read through to get to useful information, which is why no one searches. And on that note -- I'll be getting off my soapbox now.
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I wasn't hostile towards you. I just told you that you might as well use Wifi. Did I curse you out? No. Did I insult you? No. Please, show me where I was hostile, because you seem to be overreacting. Maybe you're reading the 3 periods as "F U" or something, but believe me, they're not.
I agree with Product F(RED)
locoboi187 said:
I agree with Product F(RED)
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X2.............
I've been getting fed up with T-Mobile lately, the coverage at my house is limited, if not non-existent.
I was wondering if anyone would care to share their experiences with Sprint's network (4g speeds/coverage, reliability, etc). Also, experiences with the Evo itself (battery life, durabilty, accessory quality/quantity, etc)
I'm currently using a Nexus One, if that makes a difference.
Thanks!
Seems like your biggest issue is your coverage at your house. Best advice I can give you is go get an EVO, go home, check to see if you have good signal and 4G.
U can download map viewer from the market check the Sprint 4g coverage
And as for battery life it was not until I rooted that I felt I was getting the most out of it my battery life dramatically changed
And I've had nothing but a good experience I came from a moment so honestly tht was not the best Android experience so this phone have to say im really surprised by this device and what it can do if u have played around with one it really is not the same as owning it and since Sprint has the 3o day money back guarantee u should defin try itout and see if its for u
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
jesziicuh said:
U can download map viewer from the market check the Sprint 4g coverage
And as for battery life it was not until I rooted that I felt I was getting the most out of it my battery life dramatically changed
And I've had nothing but a good experience I came from a moment so honestly tht was not the best Android experience so this phone have to say im really surprised by this device and what it can do if u have played around with one it really is not the same as owning it and since Sprint has the 3o day money back guarantee u should defin try itout and see if its for u
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Punctuation is so overrated these days.
You will love an Evo, Sprint is a great company and the customer service has come a long way.
Try it for 30 days free, if not satisfied then return it, (yes you can root it and still return it)
wdfowty said:
I've been getting fed up with T-Mobile lately, the coverage at my house is limited, if not non-existent.
I was wondering if anyone would care to share their experiences with Sprint's network (4g speeds/coverage, reliability, etc). Also, experiences with the Evo itself (battery life, durabilty, accessory quality/quantity, etc)
I'm currently using a Nexus One, if that makes a difference.
Thanks!
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Sprint actually has pretty good coverage in the San Francisco area. It's really hard to build new towers there nowadays so younger networks (T-Mobile) or older networks that are now overloaded (AT&T) have a really tough time working well there.
I suggest you take advantage of Sprint's 30-day unconditional return policy and test drive the EVO 4G for a few weeks. If you don't like it, or it doesn't work well for you, you can return the device and pay nothing (no restock fee or prorated usage fee, or anything).
Reiterating what others have said, signal in your home/area is going to vary, and your best bet is to try it out.
Sometimes while you are in the 30 day window, if you try to cancel due to lack of signal in your home the store will offer the signal booster thingy (I can't remember the name) and wave the monthly fee. It connects to your router and essentially gives you a tower in your home over the internet.
As for the EVO, I've had a Hero and a T-Mobile G1, and I love the EVO. It does everything I want, and then some. Rooting is key though, and I think the best battery life comes from the custom roms on these forums.
Give it a go for 30 days without canceling your T-Mobile phone. At the worst, you'll pay for a month of service on both lines. Once you test it out though and determine Sprint is the way to go, you can transfer your number from T-Mobile.
Oh, and 4G sucks the battery from your phone, so it's really rather useless in my opinion, unless you're tethering and plugged in, otherwise it's as good as a cable connection.
jesziicuh said:
U can download map viewer from the market check the Sprint 4g coverage...
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This map is crap. The map indicates that I have excellent coverage at home and work and is not so. Do what tgruendler said. Get the phone, take it home and test it and see what you think.
When I first got my Evo a lot of people I knew were saying "it's a nice phone and all, but you had to go to SPRINT?"
Now the Evo also marks my maiden voyage with Sprint, so I don't know the history that may have gotten them this bad rep ... but I have to say I've been nothing but pleased. I bought my phone a mere 2 weeks before my road trip across 4 states in 3 weeks (started in Georgia and ended up in Washington DC). During the ENTIRE road trip I had signal. Now I didn't call people, but I did use google maps and Nav and I maintained data the entire time (some minor blackouts in Mentone Alabama looking for an old friend's wedding ... but if you saw where I was you'd completely understand too ... and GMaps still got me there fine).
So while during this trip I saw 4G go up and down ... I will say their data was consistent. I uploaded photos to facebook nightly, took pictures all day, and even occasionally handed the phone to the kids to stream you tube videos (OK I had to plug in for that ... phone can't handle 4-6 hours straight youtube).
My only complaint with this phone while on 2.1 an touring ... was that 4G would destroy my phone (only when connected ... 4G seemed to idle fine in areas with no coverage). By destroy i mean that doing the same heavy uploading of images would kill the phone in about 4 hours.
Now back in the home land of LA ... vacation is over and I'm making more calls than you tube videos. In this case it's more of a Sprint vs ATT conversation (my old provider) and I have to say: Sprints coverage blows away ATT in all areas here. I consult .... meaning i travel all corners of the southland. While Sprint may have bad signal reception occasionally ... it _never_ disconnects. In contrast my ATT signal was always clear .... when it bothered to connect and would disconnect _constantly_ even when driving down major highways. So I like the Sprint service much better.
My Phone has "evolved" with me which is huge. 4G is now here where I live ... but I've also learned to root and tweak my EVO ... and I leave 4G on all day now and can make it from wake up to home with the wife and kids on one charge without having to plug in (I do tend to car charge every so often if i know I'm going to be on a long conference call or can't resist flashing a new ROM during my lunch break ... but that's not suprising). Between 2.2 improvements and wonderful after market ROMs and tweaks, the EVO isn't nearly as bad of a battery vacuum as it was when I first got it so it's to the point that I just leave all the features enabled (except wifi ... i don't see a point when 4g is faster than _any_ free wifi spot that is always over congested).
The ONLY thing I really don't like about Sprint is that i don't get voice and data at the same time. 4G fixes that (another reason i leave it on all the time)... but it's coverage is honestly spotty ... unlike Sprint 3G this one really is location sensitive.
The phone itself ... is awesome. I just can't complain as it still feels cutting edge after 6 months of having it (or is it 7 now ... i forget).
Summary: the battery used to be BAD with 4g turned on. 2.2 improvements and a good community changed all of that... and the phone is flexible and powerful enough that I don't care what's been released sense. I would love a longer battery life (who wouldn't), but considering I basically have a PC in my Pocket I'm OK with that trade off.
EDIT: one other negative I should note: I noticed with the stock HTC ROM having 4G turned on would occasionally make the whole phone stutter and lag, even when doing trivial things like scrolling between home screens. It would actually made the phone feel slower with 4g turned on if i wasn't directly doing a data intesive task. Custom ROMs _completely_ solved that problem. For the record i currently use Myn's Warm 2.2 RLS4 on the HTC17 kernel with the battery tweak, and all sense ripped out I could get away with (rosie pulled out compeltely, gingerbread keyboard, etc), and those stutters are a thing of the past.
Fantastic phone! Great network. Sprint is working hard to improve the quality of their customer service and doing a good job. They have already rolled out WiMax, so if you are in a coverage area you should be getting some pretty snappy speeds there. I also like the fact that Sprint isn't afraid to look at other technologies. I read an article the other day indicating that Sprint will probably begin developing an LTE network to work alongside the WiMax. All things considered, I would definitely recommend the Evo and Sprint
Pierceye said:
Fantastic phone! Great network. Sprint is working hard to improve the quality of their customer service and doing a good job. They have already rolled out WiMax, so if you are in a coverage area you should be getting some pretty snappy speeds there. I also like the fact that Sprint isn't afraid to look at other technologies. I read an article the other day indicating that Sprint will probably begin developing an LTE network to work alongside the WiMax. All things considered, I would definitely recommend the Evo and Sprint
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Yeah - I couldnt have said it better my self...
Been with Sprint now for 9 years and have no complaints, they are like brandy - only getting better with age...
EVO is by far the best phone out there and Sprint is (IMO) by far the best carrier out there...
wdfowty said:
I've been getting fed up with T-Mobile lately, the coverage at my house is limited, if not non-existent.
I was wondering if anyone would care to share their experiences with Sprint's network (4g speeds/coverage, reliability, etc). Also, experiences with the Evo itself (battery life, durabilty, accessory quality/quantity, etc)
I'm currently using a Nexus One, if that makes a difference.
Thanks!
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Click to collapse
hey i had tmobile< i had the blackberry 9700 and an unlocked iphone i loved the phones but the coverage was horrible inside buildings, i went to best buy and got an evo on a temp number and carried both my phones around and sprint was gret in buildings or where ever i went u should go get the evo and test like i did
jesziicuh said:
U can download map viewer from the market check the Sprint 4g coverage
And as for battery life it was not until I rooted that I felt I was getting the most out of it my battery life dramatically changed
And I've had nothing but a good experience I came from a moment so honestly tht was not the best Android experience so this phone have to say im really surprised by this device and what it can do if u have played around with one it really is not the same as owning it and since Sprint has the 3o day money back guarantee u should defin try itout and see if its for u
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Oh wow. -.-
Not one period in all of the rambling and misspellings/retarded text speak. Please act like you have an education. kthnx.
thetakara said:
Oh wow. -.-
Not one period in all of the rambling and misspellings/retarded text speak. Please act like you have an education. kthnx.
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So, you came in here SOLELY to flame that kid? Hahaha
@everyone else: Thanks! All great info. Once I get the cash together I'll test it out for sure.
thetakara said:
Oh wow. -.-
Not one period in all of the rambling and misspellings/retarded text speak. Please act like you have an education. kthnx.
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Hey no reason to be grumpy
I type quick used to jus doing tht way
And I honestly think ignite have nothing nice to say Dnt say it
But hey I guess it take one to kno one
Have a nice night kthnks
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
wdfowty said:
So, you came in here SOLELY to flame that kid? Hahaha
@everyone else: Thanks! All great info. Once I get the cash together I'll test it out for sure.
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Yea a lot of grumpy people on here but also a lot of nice people who can actually offer help instead of nasty remarks blah but way r u gonna do any way good luck and happy holidays
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Not having a signal at home isn't an issue if you're with Sprint. When my wife and I moved into our new house back in May, we found out a little too late that our house was in a dead zone and there was absolutely no signal inside on any carrier. We had to step outside to make a call or send a text. After a couple months, I called Sprint and told them what was up. Without question, they offered me a free Airave. No equipment cost, no monthly charges. All they asked was that I send it back to them if I ever leave Sprint in the future. We both get full signal in every room of the house now.
iamthebigcheeze said:
Not having a signal at home isn't an issue if you're with Sprint. When my wife and I moved into our new house back in May, we found out a little too late that our house was in a dead zone and there was absolutely no signal inside on any carrier. We had to step outside to make a call or send a text. After a couple months, I called Sprint and told them what was up. Without question, they offered me a free Airave. No equipment cost, no monthly charges. All they asked was that I send it back to them if I ever leave Sprint in the future. We both get full signal in every room of the house now.
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O wow really I'm kinda in a similar situation jus moved to a new area like 3 months ago and I get zero reception unless I'm near a window and hanging out of it lol guess ill have to call sprint
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jesziicuh said:
O wow really I'm kinda in a similar situation jus moved to a new area like 3 months ago and I get zero reception unless I'm near a window and hanging out of it lol guess ill have to call sprint
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I was pretty surprised. I didn't have to beg, argue, or demand anything. As soon as I told them what was up, the dude just asked if it would be okay if they sent me one for free. Uh... yeah, that's okay with me! lol
I'm in an area far from 4G coverage (Southern Illinois) but after 10 years with Sprint I've been nothing but pleased. I've gotten free upgrades, free features, and all sorts of perks from some very helpful customer service people. On top of that I've never had a billing issue (unlike nearly everyone else I know on a certain other network). The only issue I have is I don't particularly care for their website, but that's just me.
As for the EVO, I upgrade from the Hero two weeks ago and I LOVE it. I definitely don't regret getting it.
Oh, another thing I like about Sprint: When I call customer service, 9 times out of 10 I'm connected to somebody in CONUS and not someone with English as a 3rd language. lol
I got my Vibrant right at launch and I've never had a stable 3g signal. It always seems to go back and forth between 3g and Edge. I always just assumed we didn't have good signal in my area but I now know that isn't true.
I picked up a used G1 to take the camera out of to use at work and loaded it up with updated Radio, SPL, and Rom and it gets a steady 3g signal all the time and also got my wife a Mytouch 4G for Christmas and her phone basically stays on 3g all the time too.
Like right now my phone is sitting next to me on my desk at work and it's on 3g but when I pick it up and click on an app or two it goes back to Edge. Could this be a hardware issue and something I could fix like the hardware GPS fix?
Just to add I currently have Axura 2.2.7 and KA6 modem. I've used every modem that's come out and same issue with all. Thanks for the help.
bump for some help lol.
It's a tough decision because I like this phone so much but not having a reliable 3g signal makes it tough. If worse comes to worse I guess I will have to sell the phone and might go back to the G1 until something else comes out. Still debating on getting a G2 or mytouch but don't want buyers remorse when something better comes out next month.
Call t-mobile and see about a replacement phone. might just be your radio is bad? Or defective phone all together.
That's what I would do.
glfpunk said:
bump for some help lol.
It's a tough decision because I like this phone so much but not having a reliable 3g signal makes it tough. If worse comes to worse I guess I will have to sell the phone and might go back to the G1 until something else comes out. Still debating on getting a G2 or mytouch but don't want buyers remorse when something better comes out next month.
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Click to collapse
I had issues like this kinda I live in a hspa area and was having great 3g service 4bars all the time and one day it just would go to edge I called tmo talk to technical support and told them about it they had someone go out and look at the towers by me and they fixed it in 2 days im running 2.2.5.7 with KA6 and have great service still.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
I really don't think there's a tower problem because I get great signal on my G1 and on my wifes mytouch 4g.
I'd love to contact Tmobile about this but I can't see it going anywhere because I've opened my phone and removed the camera. We can't have camera phones at work but we are allowed to remove the camera and replace it with permanent epoxy so that a camera can't be re-installed. Plus I've had the phone since launch.
glfpunk said:
I really don't think there's a tower problem because I get great signal on my G1 and on my wifes mytouch 4g.
I'd love to contact Tmobile about this but I can't see it going anywhere because I've opened my phone and removed the camera. We can't have camera phones at work but we are allowed to remove the camera and replace it with permanent epoxy so that a camera can't be re-installed. Plus I've had the phone since launch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where do you work? A secret government lab or something?
Who makes you remove the camera and the epoxy of it? Why don't you just leave your phone at home or in your car then?
Anyways, that sucks. If it's a defective modem/radio you're kind of SOL unless there is a way to mod it?
presence06 said:
Where do you work? A secret government lab or something?
Who makes you remove the camera and the epoxy of it? Why don't you just leave your phone at home or in your car then?
Anyways, that sucks. If it's a defective modem/radio you're kind of SOL unless there is a way to mod it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My workplace is the same way. Perhaps the OP and I work for the same company. We of course can't confirm that though... or you know... silent black helicopters and all that will show up...
The men in black suits and dark sunglasses. >.>
Yeah, for your own safety I will not answer that question lol.
Leaving it in a car or at home isn't an option. I get up at 445 and get home from work about 1600, I sleep about 7hrs a night. I didn't pay that much for my high end "mobile" phone to only access it for about six hours out of the day lol. I don't mind not having a camera anyway, I never used it when I did have it.
Looks like I'm screwed on the signal issue. Sucks. So you guys think the Mytouch 4g or G2 would be better? Or is there another phone coming soon to Tmobile I should wait for?
glfpunk said:
Yeah, for your own safety I will not answer that question lol.
Leaving it in a car or at home isn't an option. I get up at 445 and get home from work about 1600, I sleep about 7hrs a night. I didn't pay that much for my high end "mobile" phone to only access it for about six hours out of the day lol. I don't mind not having a camera anyway, I never used it when I did have it.
Looks like I'm screwed on the signal issue. Sucks. So you guys think the Mytouch 4g or G2 would be better? Or is there another phone coming soon to Tmobile I should wait for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see..
Welp, if you want to give samsung another go. The Vibrant 4G is rumored to come next month, the 23rd? So if want to wait that long then do it. Otherwise there's always W7 Phones? Or the G2
glfpunk said:
Yeah, for your own safety I will not answer that question lol.
Leaving it in a car or at home isn't an option. I get up at 445 and get home from work about 1600, I sleep about 7hrs a night. I didn't pay that much for my high end "mobile" phone to only access it for about six hours out of the day lol. I don't mind not having a camera anyway, I never used it when I did have it.
Looks like I'm screwed on the signal issue. Sucks. So you guys think the Mytouch 4g or G2 would be better? Or is there another phone coming soon to Tmobile I should wait for?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many new phones coming in the next year - I would hold out a couple of months. (and I'm not talking Vibrant 4G+ )
I might wait a bit then. I can't see myself getting another Samsung. I'd have hung onto the Vibrant for quite a while if it weren't for the signal issues because it's a great piece of hardware. I just don't trust Samsung to keep us updated. Not saying I'll never buy a Samsung phone again but they will have to turn their track record around as far as updating software before I jump back in. HTC seems like a much safer bet although I won't have that pretty screen
For anyone who doesn't stray too far from the G2 section of XDA I found this thread in the my old stomping ground Vibrant section.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=815637
Basically, T-Mo is doing a pilot of a home 3G booster for select customers. It is a physical unit they ship to you, and it's basically just a cell repeater. You need to have at least a small amount of 3G reception somewhere in your house, according to the thread.
I sent my email about an hour ago to tmo and they responded within about 30 min saying that I might qualify and gave me a number to call. I called and the loyalty rep asked me a couple questions to verify eligibility. You need to live in a single family home and have a landline (though they did not verify this, just asked and continued on when I responded in the affirmative).
The rep said it would be mailed out Tuesday morning 100% free, the only thing I need to do is fill out the surveys they send periodically to see how the service is working.
Basically, if you get crappy 3G coverage in your house, give this a shot. Several people in the thread have already received the device and said it works great, and I can report back once I receive mine.
So all we do is shoot them an email saying our 3G service is sort of low and that we want to be a tester? Can you post the number?
Apparently if you call a standard CSR they will not know what you are talking about. There is a special email. Here is the email exchange. They gave me their number to call in their response, but I am not 100% certain whether you need to email them first or not. Their email is [email protected].
Here's my exchange:
from MORESIGNAL <[email protected]>
to T***** Bunch <[email protected]*******.com>
date Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 3:02 PM
subject RE: Weak Home Signal
hide details 3:02 PM (1 hour ago)
Dear T-Mobile Customer,
We have reviewed your recent coverage concern, and you may qualify to be part of a free, in-home device trial! The device is designed to boost 3G signal inside your home. We look forward to speaking with you regarding your eligibility. Please call us at 1-877-724-4659 for details!
T-Mobile Customer Loyalty Team
Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you have questions, please call us at 1-877-724-4659.
From: T***** Bunch [mailto:[email protected]********.com]
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 2:13 PM
To: MORESIGNAL
Subject: Weak Home Signal
- Hide quoted text -
I'm a long-time T-Mobile customer (509-***-****) who's on the verge of cancellation due to difficulty in getting a signal at my house. I read some internet forum posts about a T-Mobile trial of a Nextivity signal booster that sounds like it might allow my phone to work at home and enable T-Mobile to salvage a customer account.
I have a G2 and my wife has a MyTouch3G Slide and only in a couple areas of our house we can get 3G coverage. Unfortunately this is very frustrating for us as we pay almost $150 per month for our service and have very low-speed data while we are in all the common areas of our house.
I live in WA and am willing to fill out surveys on my experiences with the booster. Please let me know if I can be included in your trial.
T***** Bunch
[email protected]********.com
509-***-****
I'm sending an email, just because of my interest in the technology Thx for this.
Thanks for the info! I just sent them a letter
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Sent one as well.. My phone has two bars of 3G sitting beside me but when I pick it up it will go to Edge or even GPRS in certain areas of my house. However I go a few blocks down the street and I am full tilt "4G"
I've seen this happening a bit with AT&T customers with bad reception, getting phemtocells to boost 3G performance inside their house.
Although I don't really get why you would do this with T-mobile? especially if you have a G2, why not just use WiFi calling and call it a day?
I am really excited to see if we qualify for this. In my room I get 3G alright, but most of our house is on edge, and our living room gets little to no cell reception at all. If someone who still has 3G coverage in their house can get this, than we should definitely be able to as long-time (10 years +) T-Mobile Customers.
Our housing association turned down building a cell tower near my house not too long ago to address the concerns of everyone in this area and I was really ticked at them for not doing it.
martonikaj said:
I've seen this happening a bit with AT&T customers with bad reception, getting phemtocells to boost 3G performance inside their house.
Although I don't really get why you would do this with T-mobile? especially if you have a G2, why not just use WiFi calling and call it a day?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is of course assuming one has wifi in their house to begin with.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
TJBunch1228 said:
This is of course assuming one has wifi in their house to begin with.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
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ya its nuts that some people still dont have wifi, it costs like 20-30 bucks at walmart for a router lol.
i wonder if those same people are still paying for 56k speed on AOL.
TJBunch1228 said:
This is of course assuming one has wifi in their house to begin with.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I find it hard to believe that someone reading XDA doesn't have WiFi in their house.
And even lighter, I'd be surprised if someone who has an android phone with a $70+ phone plan including data doesn't have WiFi lol.
Just sayin it would be easier to just turn on WiFi calling then order a microcell.
martonikaj said:
I find it hard to believe that someone reading XDA doesn't have WiFi in their house.
And even lighter, I'd be surprised if someone who has an android phone with a $70+ phone plan including data doesn't have WiFi lol.
Just sayin it would be easier to just turn on WiFi calling then order a microcell.
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This is for people who don't have home internet or only have slow DSL obviously. Of course if you have a great ISP and a wireless router this thread is moot for you.
Don't sign up for the free equipment if you are happy with your wifi calling and wifi data. Simple as that.
martonikaj said:
I find it hard to believe that someone reading XDA doesn't have WiFi in their house.
And even lighter, I'd be surprised if someone who has an android phone with a $70+ phone plan including data doesn't have WiFi lol.
Just sayin it would be easier to just turn on WiFi calling then order a microcell.
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Click to collapse
Agreed lol
I've got a really beasty Net gear router with 8 internal antennas and almost 800mhz processor in it.... and I STILL get barely enough wifi to do wifi calling in my bedroom
So this thing would be perfect for me. I get great data outside, and other parts of my house, but I swear my room has lead walls *it's an addon to the old house*
i ordered mine today hopefully i will no longer have dead spots in my bathroom and back bedroom. and they waived the shgipping cost. tmo is really trying to keep their customers happy.
Thanks for sharing. I ordered one today. I didn't bother with the email and just called the number. The rep asked if anyone else needed one. My folks got two more, one for home and another for office. No shipping, no strings, lifetime use. They may ask you to answer some questions by email about the product. No big deal there.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
tsalate said:
i ordered mine today hopefully i will no longer have dead spots in my bathroom and back bedroom. and they waived the shgipping cost. tmo is really trying to keep their customers happy.
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Click to collapse
Service in the bathroom? sounds like a 1 way ticket to water damage.
But yea it seems like T-mo is really trying to keep their customers. I'm on a non-contract plan and they treat me amazingly lol.
You're gonna sit there with a straight face and tell me you throw birds at pigs while you are deucing?!
Madness
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
What number are you calling? I called the one in the thread, and I get some real estate company. I have yet to get an email response.
brfield said:
What number are you calling? I called the one in the thread, and I get some real estate company. I have yet to get an email response.
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Click to collapse
The number in the 3rd post of this thread, my email from them, is the one I called..worked fine yesterday.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
TJBunch1228 said:
Dear T-Mobile Customer,
We have reviewed your recent coverage concern, and you may qualify to be part of a free, in-home device trial! The device is designed to boost 3G signal inside your home. We look forward to speaking with you regarding your eligibility. Please call us at 1-877-724-4659 for details!
T-Mobile Customer Loyalty Team
Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you have questions, please call us at 1-877-724-4659.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for this post. It gave me an idea of what we needed to do to get into this program. Here's my experience: We called into the program (at the number listed above) and told them that we had a weak signal in our house and heard about this pilot program to provide cell boosters to customers. The representative was extremely friendly through the whole call, and asked us some of the questions above or listed in the other post (landline, home, 911, etc). Good thing we were prepared with this. After going through all that they told us they'd be sending it free with the stipulation that we return it if they end the program and that we answer 3 surveys. Fully worth it from our perspective.
Our reception problems are bad here...
I didn't tell them this, but I think the problems got way worse with our new roof. In most of our house we either get edge or no reception (in two particular places incl our home office) but in my room we get 3G (Lucky!). I'm really excited about this program and that I found this post my first day on the "Normal" G2 forums (I'm normally reading the Dev section).
Aloha
http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/...e-to-customers-with-indoor-coverage-problems/
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
ive had one of these for almost 2 years. works fine intermitently. some times i just have to unplug it. also does not work if you torrent alot as it uses your broadband internet. if your running vuze or utorrent, you get terrible latency on the phone i.e. 15 second delay on voice.
thankyou very much for that information. its good to know.
I have had one for 2 years now and honestly it has been flawless. The only thing I had to do was change the settings so that only certain phones could connect to it. My internet connection blows so if the neighbors hook up to it then I can't watch Netflix.
Thanks for the new details. I've had one for a few months now and it rocks as long as my Internet connection is up. I put it behind my router/firewall and have the router doing QoS priority on anything from it.
That's fine if the issue is at home, but unfortunately this doesn't help people with signal issues in their work environment. :/
Yea, had one of these for a while. Its . . . ok. It does what its supposed to most of the time, but then sometimes you will just not receive calls and your cell will only be able to call landlines. And then sometimes when landlines call you it goes straight to voicemail. And then you call customer service and they walk through 80 steps with you accomplishing nothing. But most of the time it works. If you start having issues with calls or data though, before commenting on a rom or kernel you flashed, turn off the airrave and make sure its not that damn thing causing it.
Didn't really work for me. I just have it sitting disconnected at the moment.
Worked OK for me. I too suffered from missed calls occasionally, but more often from text messages not sending/receiving. This happens a lot at my dad's house where he has one.
Interesting responses. I must really be in the minority this. Only time I have calls go straighght to voicemail is when I am at school and that's because the engineering building might as well be a bomb shelter. No missed calls ever that I am aware of either.
I have had one for a long while. Mine causes more trouble than it's worth to me. I just leave it unplugged now. These units are EXTREMELY sensitive when it comes to the internet connection. Anything less than prefect QOS score causes big problems with this unit. Which is funny because my Vonage phone has no problems at all & plugged into the same router & parked right next to the Airave. Just for reference I have a 10MB/s download internet service with a transceiver on my roof as there is no dsl or cable in my area (I live in the sticks), but I am very close to the tower in town (within 2 miles I think). Speeds are good & VOIP Qos scores are good most of the time as reflected by the Vonage working fine, but for some reason the Airave refuses to work right 85% of the time (so it stays unplugged).
Whoops, wrong thread.
I just called and was declined due to having DSL. The documentation specifies it works with DSL. She said I could call back if I get cable internet.
virgillette said:
I just called and was declined due to having DSL. The documentation specifies it works with DSL. She said I could call back if I get cable internet.
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Click to collapse
call back and show her proof what dumb a$$ B*tch lol
I've had mine for about a year. Make sure you ***** and moan and talk to supervisors about the fact that they want to charge you for the device and $5 a month for usage. Mine is completely free. Anything like, "Well, my friend with [some other carrier] gets great reception in my house," seems to do wonders.
Just got mine. We'll see how it goes. My only charge is for the tax on the line that it adds, about $2.50/mo. If it works, i'll gladly pay that.
virgillette said:
I just called and was declined due to having DSL. The documentation specifies it works with DSL. She said I could call back if I get cable internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine worked flawless on DSL
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium
I was going to call back and tell them I switched to cable, but some of the reviews said it wasn't that great (they keep theirs turned off).
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA
virgillette said:
I was going to call back and tell them I switched to cable, but some of the reviews said it wasn't that great (they keep theirs turned off).
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA
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Click to collapse
I dont know what others situations are but before I had mine I couldn't make calls or use data in my house . Now always have full signal bars and data is faster at my home than anywhere else. Mine is tucked away with the router and a never have to touch it. I have cable now but previously worked perfectly on dsl . Big difference on my laptop between cable and dsl, phone performer the same. In a nutshell my phone works a+ in my airwave environment .
I called and told them i wanted to cancel after 2 mins i got off the phone with free airave no monthly fees or anything also the line is eligible for an upgrade already on the sprint website xD and it hasn't even gotten here yet