I go to theme parks frequently, like Disneyland. I know they're a haven for busy cell towers, but it seems the 4G LTE on Sprint is just plain DEAD there, which seems counter intuitive.
They haven't officially launched, but my phone connects to 4G quite often now there.
In other areas, the 4G is fine and fast. But around busy places like that, it's 100% dead. Not even slow. No ping. No DNS. No nothing. I switch to 3G and it's a little slow, but steady and reliable.
Is it because Anaheim hasn't launched 4G officially yet and they're just trolling people? Is something wrong with my phone in handling busy towers? Or is that how an overloaded 4G LTE tower behaves, in that it just has NO response?
It seems bizarre that 3G is working better since I expect 3G towers to be much more saturated than the VERY new 4G LTE....
M3wThr33 said:
I go to theme parks frequently, like Disneyland. I know they're a haven for busy cell towers, but it seems the 4G LTE on Sprint is just plain DEAD there, which seems counter intuitive.
They haven't officially launched, but my phone connects to 4G quite often now there.
In other areas, the 4G is fine and fast. But around busy places like that, it's 100% dead. Not even slow. No ping. No DNS. No nothing. I switch to 3G and it's a little slow, but steady and reliable.
Is it because Anaheim hasn't launched 4G officially yet and they're just trolling people? Is something wrong with my phone in handling busy towers? Or is that how an overloaded 4G LTE tower behaves, in that it just has NO response?
It seems bizarre that 3G is working better since I expect 3G towers to be much more saturated than the VERY new 4G LTE....
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Click to collapse
Go into networks and switch to CDMA only.
leaderbuilder said:
Go into networks and switch to CDMA only.
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Click to collapse
I do that, and it works. I'm asking less about how to get a signal and more about why the 4G LTE just completely dies, but stays connected, in busy environments, while the 3G just goes slower.
Sprint is ABSOLUTE CRAP at sporting events and theme parks throughout Southern California. I frequent Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, Staples Center, Rose Bowl, Honda Center, Hollywood Bowl, Disneyland, etc. A Sprint customer, including myself, can expect nothing NADA ZILCH from this crap network. I've used Samsung Galaxy S3, Note 2, Galaxy S4, EVO 4G LTE. It doesn't matter which phone I have used; usually the phone CANNOT send texts, receive marginal reception when it can connect to make a call, and good luck loading an app or webpage which requires data. I've contacted Sprint reps numerous times about their poor service at all these locations. The typical response from Sprint is that they say ALL NETWORKS experience poor service at these densely populated areas due to local towers reaching capacity. When I counter that comment (e.g. LIE) by telling them other friends/family who have phones on "other networks" (Verizon, ATT) do not experience these problems. Their phones can send/receive texts, make calls, surf the net with no problems. I do give Sprint credit. Their reps are trained well. They do not acknowledge their FALSE STATEMENT and quickly deflect the issue to the network being upgraded.
One time I spoke with a Sprint retention rep who said a line of service must receive below 92% connectivity success before they consider allowing a customer to be released from their contract (i.e. no ETF). Of course calls that DO NOT CONNECT are not considered unsuccessful since Sprint cannot collect this data. (Or so said the Sprint rep)
Four more months with SLOW CRAWL (i.e. Sprint) Network. Then, I'm free from this contract. What's the benefit of UNLIMITED DATA when the crappy network won't allow a phone to consume data.
M3wThr33 said:
I go to theme parks frequently, like Disneyland. I know they're a haven for busy cell towers, but it seems the 4G LTE on Sprint is just plain DEAD there, which seems counter intuitive.
They haven't officially launched, but my phone connects to 4G quite often now there.
In other areas, the 4G is fine and fast. But around busy places like that, it's 100% dead. Not even slow. No ping. No DNS. No nothing. I switch to 3G and it's a little slow, but steady and reliable.
Is it because Anaheim hasn't launched 4G officially yet and they're just trolling people? Is something wrong with my phone in handling busy towers? Or is that how an overloaded 4G LTE tower behaves, in that it just has NO response?
It seems bizarre that 3G is working better since I expect 3G towers to be much more saturated than the VERY new 4G LTE....
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Click to collapse
---------- Post added at 10:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:21 PM ----------
M3wThr33 said:
I do that, and it works. I'm asking less about how to get a signal and more about why the 4G LTE just completely dies, but stays connected, in busy environments, while the 3G just goes slower.
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You cannot do anything. Believe me. The network is crap, especially at Disneyland.
Actually, there is one thing. I have a friend who works in Anaheim and his job requires him to be at Disneyland Park. He actually went back to his Samsung Galaxy S2 (Epic 4G Touch) which uses WIMAX. He can actually connect on WIMAX in the area most times. He's sent me speed tests where the phone receives 2mb down, 1mb up. That's much better than NO LTE.
So just as the Sprint Network has regressed in providing cell service to its customers, he regressed to an older phone using Sprint's antiquated network and it actually works.
In summary, regression is progress (to Sprint and its customers).
Angry much?
I should say, yes, my previous device was an HTC Evo 3D, which was on WiMax, and 4G Wimax data worked, even in a crowded area. So this is definitely limited to 4G LTE.
Previously, at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Bundy Dr, there was a dead 4G LTE tower, too. I reported it and it is working now.
I'm not too upset knowing it's the network and not my device. It's much easier knowing the towers will improve, and I don't need to replace the device. (My first Evo 3D didn't connect to 4G at all. Had to replace it)
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Or discuss in the dedicated LTE thread
In Chicago at the cubs game and bears game my phone never have issues with lte. I get pretty much lte the entire town and it's quick. I think it's a area to area basis
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Related
At my home in Haverhill, MA it works like a charm outside....full boat signal and it flies speed wise.
Walk in the house and the signal drops to a fragile connection.
Assuming it was just a fluke at my house, I tried it this morning in Boston as well while going to a project meeting.
Same thing...wonderful signal outside with great up and down speeds....walk indoors and POOF...it's gone.
What good is it if it only works OUTDOORS?
Are others finding this issue as well?
I have started a thread on the SPRINT website about this as well since it seems that SPRINT actually does monitor those threads and gives them attention...
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/44204
That's because WiMax operates on a 2.5GHz band, which is terrible for penetrating structures and solid materials. This has to do with the wavelength being used -the waves are more likely to be blocked/absorbed by particles in the material than to diffract around them.
APOLAUF said:
That's because WiMax operates on a 2.5GHz band, which is terrible for penetrating structures and solid materials. This has to do with the wavelength being used -the waves are more likely to be blocked/absorbed by particles in the material than to diffract around them.
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QFT - they should have used a licensed band of radio spectrum. Oh well, I'll never see 4G at my house anyway.
Here in Las Vegas, the Clear 4G market has been active for over a year. I have full 4G bars at home, inside and out. I have 1-2 bars of 4G at work, inside and 3-4 bars, outside. I had the Clear service until Sprint came out with these Epic 4G phones.
Have you used the Sprint tool to monitor 4G coverage for your area? The green cloud is pretty accurate in showing exactly where you get only outside coverage and where you get inside building coverage as well. I can attest to it's accuracy. My home in Texas is barely in the outside green coverage and no inside coverage at all. My son verified that he cannot get the signal indoors, but can get it outdoors.
As the market matures in MA, you will see more towers "turned on" to provide better 4G coverage. That did happen here in Vegas!
Kcarpenter said:
QFT - they should have used a licensed band of radio spectrum. Oh well, I'll never see 4G at my house anyway.
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Click to collapse
2.5 Ghz is licensed spectrum. Perhaps you're thinking of 2.4 Ghz?
Ditto on Vegas being great on 4g coverage... I was out there for a week... stayed on the 12th floor and all the way down to the casino I had screamin fast internet... I just wish sprint would pick up the pace on LA - OC coverage... suppoedly wimax towers were going to be put on every walmart, wonder if that's still gonna happen
Awkwardly, the evo never had the issue.. I did notice one thing, the power of the signal is weak but that's cause it might not be an official band.
Sent From The Moon...
I live in a "4G" city, and I am disappointed. According to Sprint's coverage maps I'm supposed to have 4G inside my home, but I don't. Also, driving even on freeways has dead pockets.
That forces me back to 3G, which on the Epic has well-documented poor performance, especially on uploads.
I do get decent 4G indoors in a downtown office. When 4G is hot, it's hot -- about twice the 3G speeds I got with T-Mobile's HSPA+ on a Vibrant. But T-Mobile's 3G service is more consistent, with better infill coverage and indoor penetration. Overall, I think I got better real-life service with the #4 carrier. I may go back.
boomerbubba said:
I live in a "4G" city, and I am disappointed. According to Sprint's coverage maps I'm supposed to have 4G inside my home, but I don't. Also, driving even on freeways has dead pockets.
That forces me back to 3G, which on the Epic has well-documented poor performance, especially on uploads.
I do get decent 4G indoors in a downtown office. When 4G is hot, it's hot -- about twice the 3G speeds I got with T-Mobile's HSPA+ on a Vibrant. But T-Mobile's 3G service is more consistent, with better infill coverage and indoor penetration. Overall, I think I got better real-life service with the #4 carrier. I may go back.
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Im getting the Epic today in the mail, and ive already been missing tmob. The vibrant did get great speeds and in a wider coverage area. If im dissatisfied with the service in two weeks, ill just get another vibrant.
I live in Vegas and the WiMAX service sucks the big one. You can't maintain a connection while driving and because data doesn't smoothly transition, you get horrible data service. It's the outdoors network. Suburbs, no 4G, buildings without a 4G tower perched up next to it, no 4G.. driving down the street, no 4G. It's really poor. Sprint 3G coverage is ok, but the 4G is just plain horrible and there are no signs of it improving soon. They've colocated on all of the towers they can, so they will be building new ones if they want better coverage and as of right now cash is low at Clear.
lazytexan said:
Have you used the Sprint tool to monitor 4G coverage for your area? The green cloud is pretty accurate in showing exactly where you get only outside coverage and where you get inside building coverage as well. I can attest to it's accuracy. My home in Texas is barely in the outside green coverage and no inside coverage at all. My son verified that he cannot get the signal indoors, but can get it outdoors.
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I'm a little surprised the network is "launched" in DC, where it's so spotty I cannot get coverage at work (south of Dupont Circle) or at home (Waterfront) despite what the Clear map shows. Very frustrating.
even worse for me..im in an area that says "inside connection" and is dark blue..yet every time i turn on 4g.it will try to connect..then it may connect..and as soon as i pick up the damn phone..i get a "4g disconnected"..ish sucks man..very dissapointed
Here's a little one about how sprints gonna drum up a lil more money and help out good ol #4 in the process http://www.mobiledia.com/news/73500.html
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
T-Mobile isn't doing anything 4G until 2012. They've already stated it. To help out number #4 you'd actually have to be the one able to give the help. Sprint isn't building a 4G network for a reason. They can't afford to. Sprint is only #3 because of Nextel, a horrible purchase.
jlbiad said:
I'm a little surprised the network is "launched" in DC, where it's so spotty I cannot get coverage at work (south of Dupont Circle) or at home (Waterfront) despite what the Clear map shows. Very frustrating.
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DC isn't an official 4g market Sprintwise so don't blame them yet.. I know there's service and I am also from the area and felt comfortable paying extra because I knew there was some service, but no point in complaining if Sprint hasn't advertised your city.
Buyer beware! For some reason Richmond, VA is covered...
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
My samsung vibrant on t mobile
Vs
My wife's samsung fascinate on the nations largest 3G network.
Both pics were taken around the same time and right next to each other, I took the pc of mine from my wife's fascinate, and the pic of hers on my vibrant.
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only see one pic.
My wife's fascinate
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Cool Did you say where you live?
i was pulling down 6Mbps the other night
suck it, verizon
this is the reason i ditched verizon. most places i was hitting .6-.8 mbps and i almost hit 5mbps with tmo on my vibrant.
Verizon's service was a lot slower at times, but I REALLY miss having 3g literally EVERYWHERE
T-Mobile 3G isn't even in every major city here in Northwest Arkansas....let alone the rural areas
Tmobile has the fastest 3g around hands down. I have tried sprint and att. Both are slower, noticeably slower and the thing is t-mobile hasn't even started 4g or lte lol
Sent from my Samsung Vibrant
Tmo does have hspa+ though which can have an impact on data speeds depending on where you live
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Tmo will beat everyone on speed but man good luck on finding it. Sprint was slower but everywhere
T-Mobile is the fastest 3G carrier in the US right now IF you live in a HSPA+ area.
The real question is why does your wife have the outrageously high priced verizon while you sport the more economical t-mobile? Business issued?
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
There are two main reasons Tmo typcially tops in speed:
Tmo has the fastest hardware right now. This will change, of course, seeing as both ATT and Verizon are working on their 4G networks and Tmo has no plans to go to 4G for the next two years. It is worth noting ATT and Verizon will have LTE not WiMax.
Tmo has a lot less customers so there is less demand on their towers. Less demand means faster speeds for those that do have Tmo.
T-Mobile is increasing 3G coverage a bunch recently. They just gave Puerto Rico 3G coverage and I've been hearing of other places getting 3G recently.
Verizon 3G is much slower here, you can hit 1.9Mbps but you're usually under 1Mbps like T-Mobile 3G before HSPA+. 3G coverage isn't all that either, EV-DO drops out sometimes at my house but I can't complain.
3G is also slightly on JI2 now that the -dBm reading is more accurate within the Android system. The Vibrant grabs onto a 3G signal much better than ANY phone I've had on T-Mobile. (G1, CLIQ, myTouch, TM506, TouchPro2, Nuron).
This is what I typically see with T-Mobile. Data speed is much better than all 3 of the carriers combined here for me. Still needs work in some areas though! Not going to lie.. but overall, it's better.
You would be lucky to get 500Kbps with AT&T or Verizon during peak hours. The Sprint EV-DO network is taking a huge hit due to the new smartphones on their network. It went from being underutilized to being over used.
As a former verizon/sprint/att/and uk versions f#ckee, ive never been more happy with a carriers service/price.
Tmo Hpsa ftw ..see sig
98classic said:
Tmo will beat everyone on speed but man good luck on finding it. Sprint was slower but everywhere
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Click to collapse
Sad but true. I'm TM all the way, but F#$#, I hate how it's so limited still to a small area. Granted they are still expanding...Anyway, here's my pictures below...
I wouldn't quite knock Verizon...they'll kill TM on coverage on the mainland...but in some areas TM kicks @$$ over all....
Here's the true coverage ranking, hate it or love it, it's real:
1. Verizon
2. AT$T
3. Sprint
4. T-Mobile
Don't get me wrong, I get sick speeds...super fast...but only in certain areas...
My speed test pic is below...
Sprint coverage is way below T-Mobile coverage. 3G yes but I'd like to keep my calls.
heygrl said:
Sprint coverage is way below T-Mobile coverage. 3G yes but I'd like to keep my calls.
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As a trucker having gone through all 48 states with both carriers this is just not true
Well maybe in WU tmo might have slight better coverage
98classic said:
As a trucker having gone through all 48 states with both carriers this is just not true
Well maybe in WU tmo might have slight better coverage
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Click to collapse
Roaming on Verizon in most of those states no?
When you lose the signal in a big city you can't just roam the rest of the time because the phone will try to pick up the weakest bit of Sprint signal. Sprint drops out often here. Deadzones in stores where T-Mobile manages a good usable signal? Check. Signal drop outs when driving down the road? Check. Lesser amount of coverage overall? Check. Dropped calls when signal fades and roaming switches over? Check.
heygrl said:
Roaming on Verizon in most of those states no?
When you lose the signal in a big city you can't just roam the rest of the time because the phone will try to pick up the weakest bit of Sprint signal. Sprint drops out often here. Deadzones in stores where T-Mobile manages a good usable signal? Check. Signal drop outs when driving down the road? Check. Lesser amount of coverage overall? Check. Dropped calls when signal fades and roaming switches over? Check.
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Lol must be the vibrant that sucks then cuz in a 1000 mile stretch of road I might get 3g 3 times for a few minutes, and speed is the worse while moving,. Just last night in portland, stopped, in the driver seat I had 3g, if I moved back to the sleeper 3 feet away it dropped to edge. Might be the phone that only gets 3g in wide open spaces like a satellite
Though T-mobile boasts a significant 4g area, there are still many areas that do not even support 3g. Such as mine in the North Florida, Pensacola area. I knew before I signed up that the coverage said it was Mobile web, clearly the lower of the 3 options in my area but I wasn't prepared for that suckfest this is. Running speed tests I average about 0.05mbps down speeds and 0.11 up speeds via speedtest.net's app. The old 56K modems were 0.05mbps, so effectively I have a 56K connection speed. Why is this so bad when there are areas that are sporting upwards of 10mbps? And as far as the throttling over 5gbs, I don't seem to use more than 1gb, and that's pressing it, most of the time I use my home wireless but I couldn't imagine this speed being throttled if I cross that cap, what the hell would they dock me down to? A 14.4 connection?
Many people will claim T-Mobile's EDGE network sucks. Perhaps this is true, but I think it has more to do with the G2's radio.
I get similar edge speeds on my G2 as my old G1 or Dash (when i force the G2 to 2g only speeds) around 200-300kb/s......if you CONSISTANTLY get .05Mb/s or less, you can call t-mobile technical and report abnormal speeds at your address....have them create a work order.....I live in a 4G 'hole' that should be covered, and just had t-mobile create a work order (i have a work order number).....if my speeds don't improve in the next week, I will follow up.....I am only getting 1 Mb/sec when I should get many times that (and I do, except here at my home.....and the coverage map claims 4G speeds at this address)
Those speeds sound about right for Edge. That's what I get whenever I get stuck with that network.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
elreason4 said:
I get similar edge speeds on my G2 as my old G1 or Dash (when i force the G2 to 2g only speeds) around 200-300kb/s......if you CONSISTANTLY get .05Mb/s or less, you can call t-mobile technical and report abnormal speeds at your address....have them create a work order.....I live in a 4G 'hole' that should be covered, and just had t-mobile create a work order (i have a work order number).....if my speeds don't improve in the next week, I will follow up.....I am only getting 1 Mb/sec when I should get many times that (and I do, except here at my home.....and the coverage map claims 4G speeds at this address)
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I would say they are cosistently .05mbps, I'm a bit concerned about talking to anyone at tmobile about anything after my visit to get screen protectors and absently asked if they had been getting a lot of people returning g2s because of the hinges. The sales rep said "no not that I know of but you're supposed to be getting an ota to fix messaging problems" and clearly this guy was a robot with no basic conversation skills because I said "I don't see what a software fix has anything to do with a hardware issue" and his response was "of course but the ota also allows you to make wifi calls on any open wireless network". At this point I just said thanks and left. This was in person, not over the phone and I bet if I gave the guy that toy that teaches kids how to put a square block in a square hole he would fail miserably.
aeidian said:
Though T-mobile boasts a significant 4g area, there are still many areas that do not even support 3g. Such as mine in the North Florida, Pensacola area. I knew before I signed up that the coverage said it was Mobile web, clearly the lower of the 3 options in my area but I wasn't prepared for that suckfest this is. Running speed tests I average about 0.05mbps down speeds and 0.11 up speeds via speedtest.net's app. The old 56K modems were 0.05mbps, so effectively I have a 56K connection speed. Why is this so bad when there are areas that are sporting upwards of 10mbps? And as far as the throttling over 5gbs, I don't seem to use more than 1gb, and that's pressing it, most of the time I use my home wireless but I couldn't imagine this speed being throttled if I cross that cap, what the hell would they dock me down to? A 14.4 connection?
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Click to collapse
I feel you, I live about 2 hours away (PCB) and we're just now getting 3g. T-Mobile needs to worry about getting 3g everywhere before worrying about 4g
waffleman911 said:
I feel you, I live about 2 hours away (PCB) and we're just now getting 3g. T-Mobile needs to worry about getting 3g everywhere before worrying about 4g
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Click to collapse
You have 3g now? I've been reading over posts from the past 2 years that say my area is "coming soon", like the last 2 years its been "coming soon". I've also read that the naval and air force base frequencies in this area make anything above Edge impossible.
Yeah in certain areas they have 3g, but mostly it is just edge.
waffleman911 said:
Yeah in certain areas they have 3g, but mostly it is just edge.
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Click to collapse
What's your up and down with the speedtest.net app on 3g and edge?
aeidian said:
You have 3g now? I've been reading over posts from the past 2 years that say my area is "coming soon", like the last 2 years its been "coming soon". I've also read that the naval and air force base frequencies in this area make anything above Edge impossible.
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That's really true air force have priority channel among all consumer and industrial tech for frequency usage. Nothing can go against them. That is hard facts when u work for military communication unit.
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aeidian said:
What's your up and down with the speedtest.net app on 3g and edge?
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I cant test 3g right now because I dont get it at my house but I'll try and do it tomorrow. and I'll post edge and 3g hopefully tomorrow
I was in the mall today and stopped in to ask about the 3g/4g thing in this area and she straight up told me its military issues. She said 2014 before their contract is up, and there's nothing to say they won't just renew it. Looks like I'll just ebay this phone and go sign a contract with Verizon. G2 is my first smartphone, and I love it. I didn't know anything about all this 3g/4g stuff before hand, but its gotten to the point that it annoys me to have such ****ty data speeds, and now that I know it won't be changed until 3 years from now if even then, or I move I'm pretty done with it. 20 bucks more a month I could have an equally good phone and a decent network speed.
The chick told me they do have the edge network here, like that was some great accomplishment, and its "almost 3g". I don't know what 3g speeds are but I'm betting they're not less than 1mbps. In the heart of pensacola I hit 0.17mbps data speed, so that's like saying windows 3.11 is "almost" windows xp. Damn disappointing for such a kickass phone. If I lived in a 4g area I would be euphoric.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App
anyone know if tmobiles hspa is better than sprints wimax
By actual performance yes, but by technicality and service, that's not necessarily true.
What was nice about t-mobile hspa+ upgrade was they even sped up 3g service for regular 3g users. But their network is spotty unless you're in texas pretty much.
My friend with a t-mo TP2 never gets reliable speeds. Its always fluctuating. Idk about the G2 though with its hspa+
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I was under the impression that hspa+ requires certain hardware like wimax so the only phones that actually utalize the service are the g2 and mytouch 4g. Technically neither wimax nor hspa+ is really "4g" by the official definition, however, from what I've read, wimax is probably the closest we have right now. Hspa+ is an upgraded 3g network, like 3.5g. Both will run faster than 3g though so its more about what area you live in and the kind of coverage you get than which is faster. I know sprint doesn't have coverage in a lot of areas, but I'm not sure about tmobiles network.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Yes and no..the reason why wimax right now is that speed is because sprint is only running it in 10mhz of spectrum..if they run it in larger mhz it will be faster...
overall though while HSPA+ on t-mobile you might get faster speeds it will diminish greatly..HSPA+ is not as efficient as wimax, thus cannot support as many simultaneous users as wimax can.
And yes HSPA+ upgrade should offer some benefit to HSPDA devices as well even if they cannot utilize the HSPA+ speeds..
Wimax is also suppose to offer lower latencies...but I don't know if that can be seen or not..I do get around 100ms when I test which isn't too bad...but some got a lot higher...
The great thing about hspa+ and hsdpa is that the switch is made without affecting the user. There's no need to turn anything on or off and there's no message popping up in your taskbar. You can go from GPRS to EDGE to UMTS to HSDPA to HSPA+ or any combination of the 5 without doing anything. Your internet just gets faster or slower depending on where you are. Tmo has good building penetration and MUCH faster speeds than any other network today.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
Herd sprint is leasing the 4g curently for verizon and tmoible(gsm cdma) I don't care its what I was told. As far as speed? Id like to see 4g at all.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
i have the g2, on my epic in my area i would get 2.2-2.4 Mbps on tmo in same area i get a much larger coverage of the hsdpa speeds and i get about 3.5-5.0Mbps down. i have yet to see hspa+ in my about phone but i do get faster speeds with tmo.
the thing i like is its using the same radio so i get the increased speeds without loss of battery unlike wimax
Shadomastr said:
I was under the impression that hspa+ requires certain hardware like wimax so the only phones that actually utalize the service are the g2 and mytouch 4g. Technically neither wimax nor hspa+ is really "4g" by the official definition, however, from what I've read, wimax is probably the closest we have right now. Hspa+ is an upgraded 3g network, like 3.5g. Both will run faster than 3g though so its more about what area you live in and the kind of coverage you get than which is faster. I know sprint doesn't have coverage in a lot of areas, but I'm not sure about tmobiles network.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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Click to collapse
+1 for mentioning the truth of 4g!
I loved my G1 with its internet speeds and voice reception when I lived in New England and its speed kicked the **** out of Spring 4g service but when I moved out to the midwest I couldn't get 3g barely anywhere yet alone HSPA+ and Sprint is much better overall out here. So pretty much its better as long as you live in a highly populated area that they deem is worthy for their service.
I had the G2 but due to my house being in a t-mobile black hole I decided to switch to sprint.
I live/work in an area that has both HSPA+ and Wimax and in the areas that I had a strong signal, HSPA+ would d/l at 2-6Mbps and with Wimax I average 4-5Mbps.
For me, T-mobiles coverage was spotty. Sprints has been much better.
As for the ease of switching between networks, I had a really hard time with t-mobile staying on HSPA+ even when there was a decent signal. It was much more prone to staying on the slower 3G network unless I manually forced it to stay on HSPA+
IMO, Long term, since Wimax and LTE will be the prevailing technologies, T-mobile will most likely be changing their network over at some point. HSPA+ is just helping them to buy some time so they don't fall to far behind in the carrier data race.
It all depends on what market you are in. I live in the midwest and TMobile coverage sucks all around. ATT isn't much better. ATT still doesn't even have 3G in the city I live in, which is only 10 miles north of the biggest metro area in the state. (I laugh at my one buddy who has an iPhone) It's basically Sprint, Verizon or US Cellular if you want quality coverage here.
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shabbypenguin said:
i have the g2, on my epic in my area i would get 2.2-2.4 Mbps on tmo in same area i get a much larger coverage of the hsdpa speeds and i get about 3.5-5.0Mbps down. i have yet to see hspa+ in my about phone but i do get faster speeds with tmo.
the thing i like is its using the same radio so i get the increased speeds without loss of battery unlike wimax
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I'm not sure what your 4g signal is where you live, but even in Denver, where 4g isn't official yet, i get anywhere from 4-9 Mbps. Then again, it isn't Live yet, so it could go down as more people start using the 4g service.
bighuta said:
I'm not sure what your 4g signal is where you live, but even in Denver, where 4g isn't official yet, i get anywhere from 4-9 Mbps. Then again, it isn't Live yet, so it could go down as more people start using the 4g service.
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Thats about what I get here in Baltimore and we had WiMax first. I average about 6-7 Mbps inside my house
Funny, I live in philadephia, pa area. I have epic, 2 of my friends have tmobile {hd2 and tmobile gs phone}.
I get 2-4 mbps, they get 3-4, shockingly their upload is better as well. Seems their faster coverage is better on the outer areas of my 4g coverage and get it where I can not sometimes[suburbs and south nj]
Sent from my Epic 4g powered by EE Froyo, Emotionless Beast themed!
Sprint wimax seems pretty useless here in san francisco. It gets pretty good data rates when it works but you pretty much have to be outdoors in the open. The main problem though is that it's very spotty and every time it falls back to 3g or switches back up to 4g there's no connectivity AT ALL for at least 30 seconds or so, which makes it more or less unusable. I just leave it turned off. Also the battery doesn't even last half a day with it enabled.
One problem I've noticed w/Sprint 4G in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale -- your connection drops & IP address changes whenever you 1)get ip lease from a tower, then 2)move somewhere more than 1 tower-hop away into a new tower's area with 3 bars of signal strength.
The moment you hit 3 bars, the connection drops to release your ip address back to the first tower... but the phone will have no connectivity at all for a few seconds, and won't try to reconnect to 4g for a few minutes unless you manually toggle 4g off & on to force an immediate reconnect.
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I am just wondering what the fine people here at xda think about sprint. I am thinking about switching from tmobile and would like to know stuff like how good is the coverage, is 4g at all fast? What about Customer Service? Any info would greatly be appreciated
I'm in the LA area. The coverage is really not bad at all, and outside of urban LA in the rural/desert parts of SoCal it can be surprisingly good.
4g is faster than 3g, but the coverage is very very spotty and in-building penetration is lousy. I'd say it's on the cusp between usable and unusable, frankly.
Customer service is a lot better than it used to be.
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I'm in southeast Missouri, but I work on the inland waterways: Arkansas, Ohio, Mississippi Rivers. All I can say is on the river I've got service in three times the places I did with ATT.
When I do get wimax, its building penetration is indeed terrible. Customer support is the absolute best.
Sent from my MikShift.
Yeah, cust svc is really good so far. I've only been with Sprint for a little more than a month and called them three times, but they've been great. I'm in the Chicagoland area (on the border of Chicago) and service has been great. I definately agree with 4G being hard to get indoors but I don't need it enough to even want to use it. Plus I have wifi everywhere at my usual locations. My texts usually go through right away and I don't get calls not going through, unlike I did with T-Mobile.
The only problem I have is how damn slow the 3g is around here.
EVO Shift and XDA app
I live in the Washington DC area and I have great coverage for 3g. I usually can get a 4g signal outside but, like others, I have noticed that 4g doesn't penetrate buildings well. I like customer service for the most part.
Yeah im in the charlotte area so i have 4g and its pretty quick but the 3g speeds in this area arent that great. There are a ton of people with sprint in this area bc its cheaper than verizon and att blows, not sure if an area can be over saturated with so many people pulling from sprints data service but i wouldnt be surprised.
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It's nice to hear that customer service is good because all I have been reading is that sprint has terrible customer service. As far as 4g, My tmobile G2 hardly gets 4g inside my house but that is why I use wifi. How is call quality in buildings?
Sprint's customer service has improved dramatically in the last year. They went from last to 1st or 2nd.
We just found out someone stole our phone information and started making calls out of the country. Sprint has been really good so far in handling this. I have to call them again tomorrow regarding our bill. I will report back to see how easy they take the charges off.
sorry to hear that buddy. Hope everything works out well
I have had sprint for a year and a half and so far no complaints.
Service is reliable virtually everywhere i have been (there are a few spotty areas but you find that with any carrier)
Customer service has been great, luckily i have only had to call once or twice and it's never been because of something major.
my only complaint is their 3G has not been the fastest thing in the world. it's functional and reliable, just not crazy fast.
On a good day at work i can hit between 800kb/s and 1mb/s and it's fairly consistent, when i go to Boston or even near by cities it's about the same and this is across 4 devices (blackberry tour, palm pre, HTC Evo, Evo Shift) on my CR-48 netbook with a verizon data card i average 2mb/s and on good days i get almost 3mb/s
on the flip side, data is reliable, i've never had an issue connecting to the data network.
At the end of the day, i'm a happy customer phone calls work, texts work, data works and i haven't had any issues with service, billing, etc.
I'm in the Seattle area. 3G coverage is great, 4G is spotty as others have said, but fast where you can get it.
I sometimes drop to 1 bar of 3G in my house, but it never drops. I average about 500kbps up and down at home. I've gotten pretty consistently 800k-1Mbps down, 500-700k up around my area.
Although Sprint's 4G map says I should have "in building" 4G coverage both at work and at home I get nothing in my house or my office. Step outside and I get a bar or two and maybe 3Mbps down, 500k up. In better coverage areas I've gotten 8Mbps down, and over 1Mbps up. What I'm getting at is 4G seems to be a lot more spotty than their coverage map indicates, but I understand it will likely expand and it doesn't bother me too much.
I made the switch from T-Mo to Sprint and there is no way I'm going back. Sprint's customer service is the best that I've ever experienced and totally pwns T-Mo's. The 3G speeds are average but consistent. The 4G speeds are fairly fast if you're in the right area; it won't work worth a dam in most buildings however.
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What's weird is I had Clear internet service for a week or so to try it out and I got great signal and pretty solid 6-8Mbps download speeds -- no hiccups whatsoever. I ended up opting for Fios because... well come on, do I have to explain. Anyway, I was under the impression that Clearwire and Sprint shared Wimax towers. Look at their coverage maps and they're almost identical. Maybe the Wimax radios in the phones are somehow less sensitive than the Clear modems?
goletaal said:
What's weird is I had Clear internet service for a week or so to try it out and I got great signal and pretty solid 6-8Mbps download speeds -- no hiccups whatsoever. I ended up opting for Fios because... well come on, do I have to explain. Anyway, I was under the impression that Clearwire and Sprint shared Wimax towers. Look at their coverage maps and they're almost identical. Maybe the Wimax radios in the phones are somehow less sensitive than the Clear modems?
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You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
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JKILO said:
You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
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I'm not sure sensitive is the word...the adjustment will make it accept and cling to a weaker signal than it would otherwise, but it doesn't actually increase the radio's sensitivity in such a way as to make the signal (relatively) stronger.
If you ever used to mess around with police scanners or ham radio or the like, think of it as opening up the squelch a little bit (i.e., turning the squelch knob counterclockwise)...it will make the radio stop scanning and try to receive weaker transmissions, but it doesn't necessarily prevent them from sounding all staticky and useless. Same principle here, if I'm not mistaken.
JKILO said:
You can adjust your wimax to be more "sensitive"
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Yeah, I've got it set at -110. It helped noticeably, but it's still not that great. The tower is less than a mile away from my house too.
I live in West Michigan, and the service here is actually not that good lately. Sprint says some towers are down in my area, and they have been issuing partial refunds for service interruptions. I guess that's the best case scenario if your going to have bad service...
My 4g connection is amazing!! Except when it disconnects ..My 3g connection is shady at times very very slow I can't even view streaming videos or music like pandora. I'm in tx
goletaal said:
Yeah, I've got it set at -110. It helped noticeably, but it's still not that great. The tower is less than a mile away from my house too.
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Just a quick question, how do you adjust the sensitivity? I'm currently running CM7 nightly 31 and can't seem to find the option for it.
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