[Q] Edge handoff with Nexus S? - Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi I am new here. i have been lurking for a bit but didn't find an answer to the question I have so I decided to sign up. First a little background... first time android user coming from an iphone. I really like the NS, couldn't be happier. I am also pleasantly surprised by T-Mobile's data speeds. I live in Manhattan and as everyone knows ATT is the pits for reliable service and fast data speeds there. I have gotten 5.11mbps down using the speed test app on T-Mo in my apt. With ATT I could only get .78mbps down as the highest. Videos, websites, music downloads are all really quick on the NS. It is actually faster then my cable provider's internet service...probably because time warner sucks and my cable is split about 45 ways. I happen to work in Jersey City, right on the Hudson river overlooking Manhattan. When I am in the World financial center in lower Manhattan commuting to work I get the same high data speeds as I do in my apt. The WFC is right across from where I work. When I check T-Mo's coverage map there are 2 cell towers a stones throw from my building on the river front. That being said I only get Edge coverage. Does anyone else have an issue with bad 3G to Edge handoff with the NS or with T-Mo in general? I feel like I should have solid 3G service there! Is there a way to force 3G?....I would assume that 2 bars on 3G is better then 5 on Edge, at least as far as data speeds are concerned. T-Mo's site list my job site as having excellent coverage. Also, I have eliminated the possibility that the building I work in is causing the issue. When I am outside the issue persists. I have about a .25 mile walk to my building in Jersey and all along the way I am sitting on Edge.

Greg Tolan said:
Hi I am new here. i have been lurking for a bit but didn't find an answer to the question I have so I decided to sign up. First a little background... first time android user coming from an iphone. I really like the NS, couldn't be happier. I am also pleasantly surprised by T-Mobile's data speeds. I live in Manhattan and as everyone knows ATT is the pits for reliable service and fast data speeds there. I have gotten 5.11mbps down using the speed test app on T-Mo in my apt. With ATT I could only get .78mbps down as the highest. Videos, websites, music downloads are all really quick on the NS. It is actually faster then my cable provider's internet service...probably because time warner sucks and my cable is split about 45 ways. I happen to work in Jersey City, right on the Hudson river overlooking Manhattan. When I am in the World financial center in lower Manhattan commuting to work I get the same high data speeds as I do in my apt. The WFC is right across from where I work. When I check T-Mo's coverage map there are 2 cell towers a stones throw from my building on the river front. That being said I only get Edge coverage. Does anyone else have an issue with bad 3G to Edge handoff with the NS or with T-Mo in general? I feel like I should have solid 3G service there! Is there a way to force 3G?....I would assume that 2 bars on 3G is better then 5 on Edge, at least as far as data speeds are concerned. T-Mo's site list my job site as having excellent coverage. Also, I have eliminated the possibility that the building I work in is causing the issue. When I am outside the issue persists. I have about a .25 mile walk to my building in Jersey and all along the way I am sitting on Edge.
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kinda confused, are you using the phone on ATT or Tmo?
if its on ATT you will only be getting EDGE

Sorry for the confusion...this is on on T-Mo.

To help diagnose the problem ... do you have any friends who can verify that there is in fact T-Mobile 3G coverage at your work? (where you say you only have EDGE)
This could be a service issue that T-Mobile is unaware of; you could also call customer service and request that they test those towers.

may also be a matter of a Tech re associating your device with the tower

@Ravidavi: unfortunately I am the only t-mobile user in my group! everyone else is on vzw or att.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I've seen this too. This is my first t mobile phone too but it switches to edge and stays there in solid 3g areas. I want to like t mobile more but this is making it hard for me.

I'll call customer service. Complaining a bit might put it on their radar....
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

I called customer service. There is a known issue in the area.... Must be related to the blizzard we had.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Welcome to Android!
For the future, you can force 3G by going to your dialer and inputting:
*#*#4636#*#*
Phone Information
Flick down to where you see Preferred Network Type
Select 'Wcdma Only"
You will see your signal reset and should 3G be available in that area, you'll pick it up. I'm also a fellow Manhattanite and am too loving the T-Mobile speeds since I came from iPhone in January 2010 with Nexus One

Sweet thanks for that. It indeed showed no service at all on wcdma. That will definitely be a handy trick in the future!
allen099 said:
Welcome to Android!
For the future, you can force 3G by going to your dialer and inputting:
*#*#4636#*#*
Phone Information
Flick down to where you see Preferred Network Type
Select 'Wcdma Only"
You will see your signal reset and should 3G be available in that area, you'll pick it up. I'm also a fellow Manhattanite and am too loving the T-Mobile speeds since I came from iPhone in January 2010 with Nexus One
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Related

WHY does my INFUSE work 10x better on TMobile network than ATT?

Need to vent here. Have ATT / Infuse unlimited data plan, etc.
My signal sucks and i live in city center los angeles
i have to use a hacked up microcell in order to get that to give me ok boost but still not what it should. In my house, without microcell I get ZERO bars..
Unlocked my device a few days ago (easy thank you forums for one click)
picked up a $10 PAY AS YOU GO sim card at TMOBILE.
Reset Factory / WITH Tmobile number SIM card inside and lord or lord...
FACTS:
--- FIVE BARS EVERYWHERE AND ANYWHERE! NOT ONE SIMPLE HICCUP OF SERVICE.
--- DATA speeds on TM registered as EDGE though I am going tell all truly, its not. IT IS 4G + more. I have been testing and getting D/L speeds (w/WiFi off) of 15-18MBPS
Mind you, this is consistently when phone is on TM
--- More FUN....market instantly downloaded TM stock apps (obviously thinking its their phone) though there is a problem here. TMOBILE grants my phone FULL TELENET GPS SOFTWARE 24/7. --- ATT charges $10.00 a month for their crappy version.
---- More FUN x2 - TM grants me a full FREE unlimited use of QIK video chatting. No software restrictions. AT&T charges you I believe $5.00 a month to have the extras, on a network that it really doesn't work half the time.
How good is the VIDEO chatting & Mess? ITS AWESOME, ITS FAST & ITS QUICK no waiting no hiccups, etc. etc.
When I transfer ATT SIM back in the video chatting software remains full unlocked though its nearly useable.
I now have to come to believe that ATT is truly the problem. the phone explosed with power + fun on a network that can handle the infuse + or allow it to be run as a killer phone.
As long as ATT remains on delivery its wireless customers the worst mobile service ever, sadly most infuse users will never get to see the push & power that really is inside the INFUSE.
while att makes more money than ever, continues with the mega-mergers back and forth over and over - passing the billl 9 rate increases on to its customers.
THIS HONESTLY IS INEXCUSABLE. ---
though on a good note...the phone rocks on TM just for reference.
No issues here.
Running off MIUI Rom
Uhhh correct me if im wrong here, but AT&T does not charge for the use of QIK does it?
Sorry, this is bull. I worked for Tmobile for a long time and i'm familiar with an HSPA+ network, and in order to even get near those speeds on an HSPA+ 21 device you'd have to have the utmost prefect network conditions on their
AWS band.
AT&T has no AWS band. Also, you'd be hard pressed to find even an HSPA+ 42 device on Tmobile that would get those speeds. A device seldom gets near the theoretical max unless you're in a testing zone with no congestion from other users and no issues with interference, signal propagation, etc...
You'd only see those speeds on WiFi with the Infuse, unlocked on Tmobile's network, else EDGE speeds would be around 50kbps or less.
If you want to prove it, take a speed test with the Ookla app and post the screen shot here.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
att doesnt pass bill rate increases unless the customer upgrades plans. you are entitled to the contract you siged with the old provider and in many cases you can renew it seemingly indefinately. i know people with basic phones that still pay cell one bills.
also you must live in a very good city for t-mobile. att rules in my area though mos people are brainwashed into having verizon plans. we got h+ here and i get 10-11 mbps down. verizon is lucky to get 1mbps and often falls back to a 1g symbol on some phones.
as for t-mobile, in my area it is very spotty. sounds like you found happyness with them and so do many others, more power to you guys, if t-mo was viable for me i'd switch but it's not. though the h+ on t-mo with the infuse sounds sketchy and the speeds are the only posible utmost perfect scenario.
i believe .15-.18 MBPS but 15-18 naw.
just look at the screen name. tells the whole story.
TheMan42; said:
If you want to prove it, take a speed test with the Ookla app and post the screen shot here.
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^^^what this guy said.^^^ picks or it didn't happen
Its possible but I doubt it
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Do this. Load a custom ROM and change wireless settings to 2G networks. You will have 5 bars wherever you are, even on AT&T.
Curious about this myself, I pulled out my old T-mo prepaid sim I keep as a backup for when my contract is up, fired it up, and tried using some data. I got EDGE speeds in a H+ area with T-Mo. T-Mo has faster EDGE than AT&T but certainly not the speeds you're claiming. Not saying what you said was BS but it is either location dependent or my Infuse just sucks. Then again, I get about 8mbps down 2 up on AT&T where I live...
TheMan42 said:
Sorry, this is bull. I worked for Tmobile for a long time and i'm familiar with an HSPA+ network, and in order to even get near those speeds on an HSPA+ 21 device you'd have to have the utmost prefect network conditions on their
AWS band.
AT&T has no AWS band. Also, you'd be hard pressed to find even an HSPA+ 42 device on Tmobile that would get those speeds. A device seldom gets near the theoretical max unless you're in a testing zone with no congestion from other users and no issues with interference, signal propagation, etc...
You'd only see those speeds on WiFi with the Infuse, unlocked on Tmobile's network, else EDGE speeds would be around 50kbps or less.
If you want to prove it, take a speed test with the Ookla app and post the screen shot here.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using XDA App
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\also a previous tmobile slave
everything he said is correct
(at the time i had regular 3g (samsung captivate) and my speed test would often beat the top speeds of the tmboile devices instore.
The OP's name is bogustbaxter, obviously just someone trying to get attention. Good job. I don't think tmo allows unlimited video chatting, they have data limits like anyone else, it's not possible to get those speeds, etc. This is dumb. It should be closed
U want unlimited go to sprint...only true unlimited data around...was with them 5 years til this year when I swithced to att cause I fell in love with infuse....came from evo 4g(awesome phone btw)...but their plans for data are the best I ever used...speeds are compettitive in my area...they don't cover as well as att tho...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
dman3285 said:
U want unlimited go to sprint...only true unlimited data around...was with them 5 years til this year when I swithced to att cause I fell in love with infuse....came from evo 4g(awesome phone btw)...but their plans for data are the best I ever used...speeds are compettitive in my area...they don't cover as well as att tho...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
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Sprint is also going to be ending their unlimited plans. Its also a shame Sprint's data speeds are awful in comparison to Verizon and att.
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I beg to differ...with sprint 5 years...data speeds were faster and more reliable than att all day in my area...regret leaving..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
Dont get me wrong...i love my infuse..but att service and customer service needs alot of work...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
dman3285 said:
Dont get me wrong...i love my infuse..but att service and customer service needs alot of work...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
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Amen to that!! I have been with ATT since 2004..i am testing different modems as we speak. I wonder does anyone know is there a way to know what modem is best for a certain area?? I searched and searched ATT and NEVER get anywhere. I don't even know and can't seem to find out what typical speeds should be for me. I live in Northern CA. about 8 miles from town...there is actually an ATT store here that offers NO help. If the weather is right, wind, clouds, and if i stand on one foot and spin MAYBE i get like on average 1.60mbps down. the highest i have ever gotten is 4.00 ...thought it was a fluke. I am on my 4th modem to test. UCKj1 seems to be better FOR me than KK1 (aweful), Ki3 (ok), and Ki4 (not so much).
dman3285 said:
Dont get me wrong...i love my infuse..but att service and customer service needs alot of work...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using xda premium
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The real problem is, what carrier has good service and support? Have friends on all major carriers and they all stink. The best one of the bunch is Sprint who has crap coverage and 3g only around my area. Best thing about then is the 10 bucks a month they tack on for having a 4g phone that does not get 4g, what a joke! I see lots of ATT slamage but I don't see what make the others any better. Ok they have the slowest feauxG of all but that is LOTS better than charging more for nothing.

AT&T Service Quality in NYC - Yea or Nay?

I'm a long time T-Mobile subscriber, residing in Brooklyn, NY. The data speeds in my neighborhood have become absolutely attrocious (0.3 - 0.5 Mbps down), and T-Mobile shows no signs of doing anything about it, although they've acknowledged that it's a cell site issue. This has been going on since August 2011. Although T-Mobile's coverage map shows that my neighborhood has the best possible "4G" service, it's certainly not the case. Prior to the manifestation of the "cell site issue", the best downstream speeds I could get were under 2 Mbps.
After trying everything possible to rectify the issue, I've come to the conclusion that it's time to look into another wireless carrier. I prefer GSM, so AT&T is really my only option (I'm not interested in MVNOs). I've already tested out AT&T's coverage in my neighborhood, and it's worlds better than T-Mobile's. How's their coverage in the rest of NYC? I've heard horror stories, but I really can't imagine it being worse than T-Mobile has been for me.
I've heard that at t has worse coverage, but higher speed. T mobile coverage is ok but they don't always have true 4g in the area. You shouldn't expect true 4g speeds (30mbps+) from any carrier.
T-Mobile has always been the best out west.always great coverage and spped.10+ down with 5+ up awesome
Sent from my HTC Sensation using XDA
Well I live in central NY and don't seem to have any problems with ATT. I even get reception in the basement at my work where as verizon never did. I get about 2d and 1up right now which isn't that great but I'm inside and in a rural area
Thanks for the replies. I'd be thrilled if I could get 5 Mbps down, but I don't get anywhere near that with TMo. I think I'll definitely make the move to ATT.
Are you sure its not your phone that's slowing you down. I recently changed from a vibrant to a galaxy nexus and even though I didn't change my contract with T-Mobile, I'm getting 10mbps instead of the 3-5 before. I'm in chelsea in Manhattan. I agree though that tmobiles coverage is terrible compared to the big two but when I do have coverage I seem to get awesome speeds. I can't complain for the price though. Also beware, att service in Manhattan is terrible.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA
What phone is it? Maybe you could flash a better radio too?
Sent from my XT862 using XDA
It's definitely not the phone nor the SIM card. My wife is using a G2 and is experiencing the same slow speeds. Besides, TMO has already acknowledged that there is a data issue in my neighborhood, but it's approaching a year since the problems started and they have done nothing to fix them.

verizon vs tmobile

I've been with verizon since 2000 and never really had an choice to change since they always had the best service in my area. I've never liked at&t and the rep for tmobile has been its known for prepaid and shotty service. Thing is now, I see more and more people moving over to tmobile and are loving it. Its cheaper per month than verizon and service in my area in NJ is pretty much the same as verizons. Plus there are some features like the wifi calling, the hspa+ coverage, lte. that make it pretty attractive. But the kicker on whats making me consider the change is the phone selection. Verizon seems to always be lagging behind and I'm tired of having to wait for new phones to hit verizon and for updates to be released. Has anyone else thought about a move?
topaz330 said:
I've been with verizon since 2000 and never really had an choice to change since they always had the best service in my area. I've never liked at&t and the rep for tmobile has been its known for prepaid and shotty service. Thing is now, I see more and more people moving over to tmobile and are loving it. Its cheaper per month than verizon and service in my area in NJ is pretty much the same as verizons. Plus there are some features like the wifi calling, the hspa+ coverage, lte. that make it pretty attractive. But the kicker on whats making me consider the change is the phone selection. Verizon seems to always be lagging behind and I'm tired of having to wait for new phones to hit verizon and for updates to be released. Has anyone else thought about a move?
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I'm probably going to switch to their pre-paid service when my contract is up. I want a Nexus.... Verizon doesn't seem to be getting another any time soon.
I would definitely go with Tmobile for better phone selection & price, but the service in my area is below average. Hopefully LTE rolls out to my area then I'll jump ships.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I have to jump ship Verizon breaking my bank bad got to pay a fortune to keep service . I gotta switch back to my iPhone I know -_- and go to T-Mobile prepaid because they have the 1900 MHz support in my area
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
If you go to a T-Mobile store they might be able to help you pay for your ETF fee, at least that's what they did for me. I would have to pay Verizon 150, but the rep just credited my T-Mobile account 100$ when I switched. He told me that this is something every store has a budget for. It's definitely worth a shot just asking the rep. It's saved me quite a bit of money so far (even if coverage isn't perfect)
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I had T-Mobile and really liked 'em. They were NOT cheaper, I'm able to get on VZW's Old Fart Plan and it was just $5/mo more than the T-Mo plan I had.
CS is about equal with both except for T-Mo's prepaid which gets you people who speak no intelligible English, with postpaid you get good CS.
Coverage, very close to zero with T-Mo, everywhere I went. Only spotty coverage in the largest cities, VZW has 3g or better everywhere I travelled.
A phone that can't make a call until you find a Starbucks with free WiFi isn't useful to me.
Have your car break down on California 371 in the middle of the Cahuilla Indian Reservation? You're 50 miles from ANY T-Mo signal and you've got 2 - 3 bars with Verizon.
I really liked T-Mo but it wasn't usable for me.
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
I don't like Verizon's pricing, phone selection, and the hassle required to unlock their phones for international use.
That being said, I switched from t mobile to Verizon in 07 for one reason: coverage. I use to live in Philadelphia in an 5 floor apartment with a T-Mobile store like three blocks away. No coverage in my apartment unless I kept the phone by the window.
Now I live and work in north nj and Verizon is the only reliable wireless carrier (by word of mouth). Not sure how much has changed in six years but I would leave Verizon if anyone had coverage close to the theirs
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
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I tried 2 weeks ago, just to test their service and see how it was since I haven't been with them for 1 year and a half and its still sucky. They do have 4G (HSPA+) in my area now but I get 1 bar of it and when it dont get a strong signal it'll go to Edge. I hear a nearby area "might" get LTE in late June so that means my area "might" get it late 2013. I'm just waiting to see what happens...my contract is up in November for Verizon
My buddy has tmo and hates the service. He doesn't get service with his phone and winds up using his Verizon work phone 90 percent of the time to make calls.
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I had Verizon before I switched to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is cheaper, has just as good of support and a good selection of phones. However, Verizon does have better service so if you travel frequently expect some dead zones.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I used to have T-mo and I loved it! The reception in my area was incredible. I moved to verizon and it's still in the same category in satisfaction. T-mo is a lot cheaper than verizon, so I would give it a try. You're not going to regret it. Sim cards are the best.
I recently jumped from Verizon to T-Mobile and pretty much all comments thus far are justified.
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
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Click to collapse
They've added -some- sites in recent times, but the "re-farm" you seem to have heard about is primarily a massive equipment refresh for about 85% of the existing WCDMA sites. Unlike Sprint's Network Vision or AT&T's "add an LTE panel to an 8 year old WCDMA site" rollout, T-Mobile is doing a -complete- equipment refresh on said sites using either Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi Base Station solutions or Ericsson's Antenna Integrated Radio setups. For the sites that get the new equipment, coverage could see a 10-15% improvement in coverage and in-building penetration due to each of the NSN/Ericsson setups having the radio at tower-top.
T-Mobile will do you well if you are a city-rat. The lack of rural expansion pre-AT&T failed merger was due to the cost of infrastructure and backhaul when the only spectrum you have is high-frequency (PCS/AWS). Even in areas of excellent coverage, there's still a few limitations: Deep inside buildings, attenuation -will- eat the signal. Terrain is another big one that affects all carriers... if you happen to be in a place where terrain blocks your line of sight, you're not gonna get a good signal. Now, the equipment refresh is to facilitate LTE, as both setups are capable of LTE-A out of the box. T-Mobile had to sit on their hands for 18mo and not do any proactive system/coverage upgrades due to the AT&T merger debacle, but it was a good thing as now that they have the money and spectrum from both the merger fallout and MetroPCS plus new equipment, they're good to go. So, depending on where you live, work, and play, T-Mobile could potentially be great...
but...
bbqsfire said:
My buddy has tmo and hates the service. He doesn't get service with his phone and winds up using his Verizon work phone 90 percent of the time to make calls.
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MiG8GT said:
I had Verizon before I switched to T-Mobile. T-Mobile is cheaper, has just as good of support and a good selection of phones. However, Verizon does have better service so if you travel frequently expect some dead zones.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
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Unfortunately, when all you have is high-frequency spectrum to use and a network that hasn't seen significant expansion since 2009, this is going to happen. As with all carriers, one man's perfect signal might have a crap signal from another carrier in the exact same spot. Happened to me: with Verizon, could pull 30mbit LTE from bed, but at work I could kill an entire charge with light use because the phone had crap signal on all 3 services (1x EVDO and LTE(whose average speedtest at the desk was 2-3mbit down)). Meanwhile, terrain eats T-Mobile's WCDMA signal at my house(edge only), but I pull 3x the speeds on T-Mobile because of a near perfect signal than I could with Verizon at work.
If you have a friend with T-Mobile, treat'em to lunch and ask them to take a ride around town with ya to see how the service is where you go. Another option is to borrow someone's unused, unlocked T-Mobile phone and grab a sim, sign up for the $30 100min/unlim data&text online and carry that around with you for a bit.
For someone like me who -rarely- leaves metro areas when I travel, T-Mobile is great. For you, it could be different, just take the "ZOMG SPOTTY COVERAGE TMO SUCKS" with a grain of salt, and understand that no carrier is perfect everywhere, even if those comments for that individual are justified.
Forgot to add: T-Mobile won't see any WCDMA expansion for the foreseeable future since their current focus is on the equipment refresh on existing sites. The next round of expansion will come after the 600MHz auction next year.
Shoot me an IM/PM if you have any more questions.
Opposite for me, since Tmo coverage is awful for even making calls in a lot of areas where I live. I agree that they are easier to deal with, but lack of coverage in a lot of areas in Kentucky and Ohio nix them for me.
rushless said:
Opposite for me, since Tmo coverage is awful for even making calls in a lot of areas where I live. I agree that they are easier to deal with, but lack of coverage in a lot of areas in Kentucky and Ohio nix them for me.
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yes, I have Vzw, for two reasons, one they have good coverage nearly everywhere in the us and two data speeds are good. important if you need t use Google Navigator.
topaz330 said:
for those that had coverage issues how long ago did you have tmobile? I heard coverage recently got better and that they are aggressively expanding to more towers across the country.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a T-Mobile S3 and Verizon Z10 for work, Verizon Bionic and TB for personal.
I get better coverage and internet speed on my Verizon devices than my T-Mobile.
I'm in Chester County, PA.
coverage
You could always do a bit of research for your expected area to see what the coverage is like across the various carriers.
www dot opensignal dot com
As if the captchas and relogins aren't enough, I can't friggin post links either.
I've started to take a hard look at T-Mobile and seriously thinking of switching when my contract end on Verizon. I live in southern NH and work in MA. There are T-Mobile 4G towers close to my house and work, but my commute would be mostly 2G.
Comparably, Verizon is mostly 4G in the area, a strong 4G signal at work, but at home I rarely get a 4G signal and half the time the phone will drop because of poor signal strength. There are 3G spots and some bare areas on my commute.
My step-son has T-Mobile and he get a strong 4G signal at our house. He also says he mostly has phone service in the area(drop spots) and data is mostly 2G. When you get closer to the highways or bigger tows / cities there is better service.
Verizon
T-Mobile is awesome, if you live in a coverage area, work in a coverage area, and/or go to school in a coverage area. Also, if you DO NOT EVER plan on traveling, or, at least, taking your phone with you when you go.... Their coverage is horrible compared to Verizon, but their prices are nicer, the packages are more appealing, and prepaid is way better. Really, it's just all up to you, and what you want.
I never had any problems while traveling with t mobile service I have gone from one end of the country to another with mine when I had them before and I'm looking to switch back only switched because I wanted to give Verizon a try not liking them way to pricey and crappy phone selection
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Opinions Sought - Stay With Sprint SERO, or Jump to AT&T MVNO

I've had Sprint SERO for years. I live in the SF Bay Area, and even though the coverage is bad (it ALWAYS drops calls on the Bay Bridge), and the data is slow in most place, it's only $59 per month (with taxes, etc.). Of course, I've always had the hope that it will get better. Those hopes have now been bolstered by the Softbank deal.
Now that I have a Nexus 5 that can be used on multiple carriers, as a test, I got an AT&T Straight Talk SIM ($45 per month) and have been using that for a few days. It's night and day - calls go through and don't drop, data is fast - it's RELIABLE! Although Straight Talk has gotten (deservedly) bad rap for throttling, recently they changed their policy and published a 2.5 GB limit at which point you get throttled. That's enough for me, and, in the rare case that I go over before the end of the month, I can pay the next month's $45 early and get a new 2.5 GB. And, if ST goes bad, there's always AIO or other AT&T MVNOs.
But, I'm reluctant to switch. If Sprint really does get a good LTE network going and I can use unlimited data to watch Netflix without worry, that would be a nice thing. And, once I cancel the SERO plan, there's no going back.
Of course I've hung on for years because I thought Sprint would get better, and it never has. But, with my luck, the month after I cancel my SERO plan Sprint will improve 1000%.
Any thoughts? I can't be the only person going through this.
(I use Google Voice so the (perhaps) temporary change of carrier is not notice by people that call me, except there is no MMS.)
I just dumped Sprint and paid a $140 ETF. It was worth it friend. I did not have the SERO deal, but I now know what it's like to have real phone service. I switched to a Go Phone plan and could not be happier. Living in NYC and being with sprint was BEYOND painful. Each morning, I would try to listen to NPR on my way to work. It would take forever for the stream to get going on LTE and when we would reach a spot in my commute where it had to hand off to 3g, the stream would just die. I would then have to toggle airplane mode until I finally found a usable signal. So yeah, now that I have Go Phone as my provider, even on 3G I can stream my liberal news to my hearts content. Not to mention, that I have LTE almost everywhere I go with actual LTE speeds. Dump those suckers.
AliLaPointe said:
I just dumped Sprint and paid a $140 ETF. It was worth it friend. I did not have the SERO deal, but I now know what it's like to have real phone service. I switched to a Go Phone plan and could not be happier. Living in NYC and being with sprint was BEYOND painful. Each morning, I would try to listen to NPR on my way to work. It would take forever for the stream to get going on LTE and when we would reach a spot in my commute where it had to hand off to 3g, the stream would just die. I would then have to toggle airplane mode until I finally found a usable signal. So yeah, now that I have Go Phone as my provider, even on 3G I can stream my liberal news to my hearts content. Not to mention, that I have LTE almost everywhere I go with actual LTE speeds. Dump those suckers.
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No car radio?
More seriously, how many GB do you have from Gophone - and can you listen to NPR and not burn up all your GB?
Go to s4gru, donate a couple bucks and look at the map for your area.
Maybe read a little and educate yourself on how sprint is improving their network.
After you do that you can make an informed decision based on facts rather then asking for opinions here.
---------- Post added at 09:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:39 PM ----------
AliLaPointe said:
I just dumped Sprint and paid a $140 ETF. It was worth it friend. I did not have the SERO deal, but I now know what it's like to have real phone service. I switched to a Go Phone plan and could not be happier. Living in NYC and being with sprint was BEYOND painful. Each morning, I would try to listen to NPR on my way to work. It would take forever for the stream to get going on LTE and when we would reach a spot in my commute where it had to hand off to 3g, the stream would just die. I would then have to toggle airplane mode until I finally found a usable signal. So yeah, now that I have Go Phone as my provider, even on 3G I can stream my liberal news to my hearts content. Not to mention, that I have LTE almost everywhere I go with actual LTE speeds. Dump those suckers.
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no you can only stream 2.5gb worth assuming you do not use data for anything else.
lafester said:
Go to s4gru, donate a couple bucks and look at the map for your area.
Maybe read a little and educate yourself on how sprint is improving their network.
After you do that you can make an informed decision based on facts rather then asking for opinions here.
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Click to collapse
This may sound stupid, but what exactly is the different between s4gru map and the one from Sprint? That said, I look at the Sprint LTE map before and the current Sprint LTE signal is weak. There are many area in LA county(not city) that even though it show LTE on the map but I only have 3G. And yes Sprint 3G is suck. That said, I'm looking forward to try the Spark(tri-band LTE), which as far as I'm concern, most of the place I'll be around had good WiMax. So if things goes smoothly(meaning I'll have LTE signal like I used to have when I got WiMax), I will be happy to stay w/ Sprint SERO-P. Then again, this is my experience. My term w/ Sprint isn't up yet anyway. So, I will use it and try Spark when I have Nexus 5 until the term is over then decide.
I am in the same boat, no LTE in my town but I am supposed to have LTE at work in Midtown Manhattan. I get an LTE signal on my N5 with Sprint at work but when I do a speedtest I am getting .25Mbps down and like .01 up. I hear Verizon is no better in Midtown and now that they have publicly admitted it, they are not even a consideration. So that leaves ATT or Tmobile, I will not go with Tmo so that leaves ATT. Went to an ATT store on Park Ave close to my office and ran a speedtest on one of their display LG G2s and only got between 1-2mbps down.
So none of the carriers are good for me now in Midtown, but ATT and Verizon would be good at my house, but I am on wifi at my house so coverage at work is more important. I have been waiting and waiting for Sprint and I know their LTE network is going to be great when it finally gets here, but when will that be? How long can you wait and keep paying them for crap service, it is very frustrating.
I agree that you should do some research on S4gru, but that will only take you so far. Sprint was promising a great network back in the Wimax days and that stuff fell apart. They then promised LTE and I have been having spotty coverage for more than a year. I'm really happy after my switch to Go Phone. No issues here. Also, nowhere near to close on my data allotment. I dont use a car radio because, well, I live in NYC and take public transit.
AliLaPointe said:
I agree that you should do some research on S4gru, but that will only take you so far. Sprint was promising a great network back in the Wimax days and that stuff fell apart. They then promised LTE and I have been having spotty coverage for more than a year. I'm really happy after my switch to Go Phone. No issues here. Also, nowhere near to close on my data allotment. I dont use a car radio because, well, I live in NYC and take public transit.
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Maps can only take you so far. For example, the maps show a strong signal (Sprint calls it "Best" voice signal at my house, and calls constantly drop. There are other places on the maps where a strong signal is shown and the calls always drop. The fact that in the entire course of its existence Sprint has not been able to figure out (or hasn't bothered to figure out) how to not drop calls consistently for people driving across the Bay Bridge is amazing. There are places on the map where strong data coverage is shown and the data is so slow as to be unusable.
So, the real thrust of my question was whether Sprint is going to change its spots and have consistent and reliable service, not whether it can show a map which covers a large area but in reality is full of holes.
I'm sure there are a lot of us in this position.
I have this n5 with two SIMs two, AT&T works great just about everywhere I go, Sprint , junk. And now that LTE won't work at all until the 3G/4G towers have been fully completed, more bad news, from bad planning by Sprint.
I like the Google voice integration with Sprint, and my number is not eligible to be ported to Google voice.
It seems that Sprint is always promising a better service is just around the corner. They're doing this again with this 'spark' talk, which really won't do much.
They should their time implementing LTE 1900 Mhz, before they get ahead of themselves and offering LTE 2500 Mhz too, they need to walk before they can run.
I was thinking about using net10's 2 line family plan, over Straight talk, not sure of the different between the two, the same company.
If t-moble had coverage, i'd consider them too.
The S4GRU site will show you the Sprint tower locations, not the coverage.
Edit: One blog post here: http://seth.killey.me/?p=1049
I had sero on sprint and just ditched them for tmobile and could not be happier. I have been hanging on to sero for years waiting for coverage to improve and it has only gotten worse. I finally gave up and have not looked back since.
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[Q] LTE signal strength

I'm in Chicago, and have noticed that I am barely averaging a single bar on LTE with my S6 edge, whereas my Nexus 5 was fine. I've read a couple of posts elsewhere complaining of similar issues on the Sprint site. Anyone else? Could this just be a firmware/radio problem? My PRL and profile are up to date.
I too am having troubles with my LTE signal on my edge. I also live in Chicago. I recently upgraded from an HTC one M8.
Same here switched from non spark s4 and notice slower speeds loading google maps and other apps
Sent from my SM-G925P using XDA Free mobile app
I had the same issue. I was missing notifications called Sprint and did the ##72786# and things seem to be working better.
skinneejay said:
I had the same issue. I was missing notifications called Sprint and did the ##72786# and things seem to be working better.
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I'll try that on my phone, I am experiencing the same thing in Milwaukee
Im having issues as well this is really pissing me off its an $850 phone for God's sake.
I guess it depends a lot on area. I live in SoCal, north Orange County to be more specific, and my LTE performance is way better than my Sprint GS4 in terms of speed, coverage, and stability.
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Each manufacturer uses the signal bars differently in terms of interpreting strength of signal. I would suggest downloading signal check pro and comparing.
That being said, the s6 is generally worse RF wise than the n5 and s5, which was known before hand. Not alot worse, but slightly. Typically about -5db
lilbilly said:
Each manufacturer uses the signal bars differently in terms of interpreting strength of signal. I would suggest downloading signal check pro and comparing.
That being said, the s6 is generally worse RF wise than the n5 and s5, which was known before hand. Not alot worse, but slightly. Typically about -5db
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I upgraded from an m7 to the edge. In my zone my speeds increased from 6 to 22. Listen.. Hitting 4.0 or more on a torrent is worth it all. Also all the ladies love me now
Sent from my SM-G925P using XDA Free mobile app
With my Sprint Galaxy S4 and Nexus 5 on AT&T, I never reached such speeds.
First run. Band 41 (Clearwire 2500 MHz).
I'm also getting 4G LTE in more places than before compared to the S4. For instance, I would always fall down to 3G inside a Costco in Garden Grove I go to. But yesterday, I was on Band 41 and the speed was good. Same for my front porch and inside my home - from 3G to 4G LTE on Band 41.
​
I don't know i try everything, reset the phone, clean cache, switch to lte/CDMA, updated prl and firmware, new provisioning, still lag in opening any data dependent app
Chicago area
No problems before on s3 s4 and s5 witch is also spark
Sent from my SM-G925P using XDA Free mobile app
Same issue here in Miami, well similar. Some apps on Sprints Network take forever to load data, keep in mind it's only Apps. Like Google Music, Facebook, Instagram and a couple more. If I connect to WiFi it all works fast and information loads immediately. Once again on Sprints Network it loads and loads and loads you get the point....
The only thing that solves this issue is connecting through a VPN. When i'm on sprints network and on VPN it all works as it should. WTF Sprint.
I am constantly moving between 1 bar with spark, and 3G. I ran the speed test and don't even get near 1mbps. Last week my Galaxy s4 was at least 10 times faster than my s6 edge. hoping for updates that fix this.
Maverick745 said:
I am constantly moving between 1 bar with spark, and 3G. I ran the speed test and don't even get near 1mbps. Last week my Galaxy s4 was at least 10 times faster than my s6 edge. hoping for updates that fix this.
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Click to collapse
Same here in Austin. My wife and I were sitting in the waiting room at the vet so our dog could get his checkup. I was trying to download a book on the Kindle app and had only 1 bar. I ran the speedtest app and was lucky to get a download speed of 100k. My wife has Sprint's GS5 and was showing 4 bars with Spark and getting 10Mbps on the Speedtest app. I had her turn her hotspot on and I connected via wifi. Then I thought, why doesn't the vet's office offer wifi since there always seems to be people waiting. Of course, it really wouldn't be an issue if my expensive new GS6 Edge worked just as well as the GS5. I really hope an update comes out soon that fixes it. Also sad that it suffers from the same 'you can't do data and voice at the same time' issue that the GS5 had.
Returned mine two phones, couldn't stand it .Called sprint they waived restocking fee .
I think you guys should start calling them the guy from tech support said they not aware of the issue.
Sent from my SM-G900P using XDA Free mobile app
oh god I thought it was just me.
We finally got 4G LTE in Springfield, Illinois
my samsung galaxy s4 was working amazingly.
But now with this galaxy s6 edge I wait around longer than usual to load.
****ing sucks..
any ideas?
I usually check sensorly.com
My speeds are like a third of what they were with my s5
Frequently even less than that
Heck even texts take a long time to send
Sent from my SM-G925P

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