Blaze on Straight Talk (ATT) - Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G

I saw a couple of old threads about using the blaze on the AT&T network, so I just wanted to report my usage with my blaze while using Straight Talk.
I bought my Blaze about 2 months ago. Before, i had been with virgin mobile for almost 2 years. their 3g speeds were terrible. I would be lucky to get even 1Mb download speed. i decided to switch to T-Mobile prepaid service because of their advertised 4G plans. the download speeds on T-Mobile were great, on average i would get around 7Mb download speed with peaks around 11Mb.
the only problem i had with T-Mobile was there coverage. at home I only had 2g, so data was very slow. and if i would go to the next town over, my signal would be in and out. this is an issue that i had never had when i was with virgin mobile. I decided then to unlock my blaze and try out Straight Talk. I bought an AT&T sim card from straight talk and used that with their unlimited plan. With this sim card, my blaze always reports that i have 3G. my download speeds around town have averaged to be around 4 or 5Mb with a peak speed of 7.5Mb. so far i have not had any issues with coverage and i actually get the reported 3G speeds at my home.
Currently i am not sure if i will stay with straight talk next month or if i will switch to something else. straight talk also offers a T-Mobile sim card which is supposed to allow use with their faster data.

Related

Att 4G coverage map!!

anyone able to get download over 3mb with stock rom un-rooted?
i rooted my phone, my H+ icon is gone, i guess i'm not connecting to 4g network?
i never get speed over 2.5mb!
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1702731-AT-amp-T-4G-Coverage-Map?p=14276448#post14276448
You mean 4G like speeds?
The highest I'm getting in Houston is around 3.1 mbps, a rep told me that Houston went green on Sunday but that they're waiting on the new 4G sim cards. Supposedly this will give us the speed boast but I'm not about to hold my breath.
Those new 4G sim cars do not affect HSPA+, those are for LTE when that is deployed. Only the backhaul increases speed.
I live just south of Dallas. I rooted my phone and The most Ive gotten is 4.38 down and 1.31 up. On average I get about 3.1. I am also using a 3g sim card.
Yea I wasn't quite sure if that was true at all. I just kept nodding my head like "okay that's nice".
Yep that's exactly it. The 3G sim cards work just fine for hspa+ when att goes to lte then you will need a new sim card.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk
netnerd said:
anyone able to get download over 3mb with stock rom un-rooted?
i rooted my phone, my H+ icon is gone, i guess i'm not connecting to 4g network?
i never get speed over 2.5mb!
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1702731-AT-amp-T-4G-Coverage-Map?p=14276448#post14276448
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was getting over 4 mbps late in the evening. But average around 2.5-3
All the speeds that you guys are posting are 3g. The only exception might be the 4.38 klquicksall got. The phone will work perfect with a 3g sim but all ATT employees are instructed to use the new sim cards. I highly doubt ATT would make us use sim cards that do not have a purpose. If the sim cards are for the LTE network that would be really strange considering that is not even supposed to be released for another 6 months at least. I am not completely sure that they have even flipped the switch on the HSPA+ network yet.
roush611 said:
All the speeds that you guys are posting are 3g. The only exception might be the 4.38 klquicksall got. The phone will work perfect with a 3g sim but all ATT employees are instructed to use the new sim cards. I highly doubt ATT would make us use sim cards that do not have a purpose. If the sim cards are for the LTE network that would be really strange considering that is not even supposed to be released for another 6 months at least. I am not completely sure that they have even flipped the switch on the HSPA+ network yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i believe this is right. there hasnt been advertising for 4g yet. their commercials still say "now getting faster with 4g" and their website says the same thing. If they had it on, it would probably be different like "now with 4g". i think once they have their hspa+ network on, you will see advertisements about it. those who have the H+ shown on their phone probably means that you are in hspa+ coverage once it turns on. that is just my theory on the subject though.
Also, everything I have read says the Inspire is NOT even LTE compatible.
The new sim cards or for LTE use which wont have any effect on the phones we have now. The only reason for the push would be so when LTE phones are available int he future all you need is to replace the phone and not the sim.
And yes the Inspire is not an LTE phone but this information has been available since before launch as its simply a US version of the DHD. Its 4G through HSPA+.
PS: Have had the Inspire since launch and love it!
4g speed
I actually got 15.89 up and 3.66 down yesterday. That freaked me out!
rhart729 said:
I actually got 15.89 up and 3.66 down yesterday. That freaked me out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how is that possible? you mean the other way around? And were you on wifi?

[Q] Data Rates, signal, quality of service

Hellos,
Was wondering and wanted to know from others, their experiences with using a D2G with different carriers/services.
I have a D2G on simple mobile currently. Switched from Sprint using an EVO 4G, data in my calling areas just stunk and never got better, forget ever getting a 4G signal..
But, it seems I am in an area between towers, because I seem to get the same result using Simple Mobile connected to Tmobile Towers. Signal drops from nothing to 3 bars if I turn around. And I only get an Edge data connection (I understand it's a frequency issue).
I was told by a Walmart Rep, that they use Family Mobile powered by Tmobile and don't have the throttle issue as with Simple Mobile, but 250mb data cap at the same $45/month as Straight Talk (even thought I'd be stuck at Edge with the D2G anyways) is too low a cap, especially if I were to switch phones later on.
So I recently read into Straight Talk as an option, after reading how bad H2O data is and that Simple Mobile's 3G is throttled to 119kbs (tested on a SK4G, yeap confirmed 119kbs max).
So I wanted to know from others, what kind of data rates they are getting on various providers using a D2G.
-CC
clockcycle said:
Hellos,
I was told by a Walmart Rep, that they use Family Mobile powered by Tmobile and don't have the throttle issue as with Simple Mobile, but 250mb data cap at the same $45/month as Straight Talk (even thought I'd be stuck at Edge with the D2G anyways) is too low a cap, especially if I were to switch phones later on.
So I recently read into Straight Talk as an option, after reading how bad H2O data is and that Simple Mobile's 3G is throttled to 119kbs (tested on a SK4G, yeap confirmed 119kbs max).
So I wanted to know from others, what kind of data rates they are getting on various providers using a D2G.
-CC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would not know about Droid using 2G (on my old phones what I used as T-Mobile EDGE) or what I call "100K data" connection since I don't get it around here. I am sure that my data connection at times has degraded to 2G, but I have not noticed that as being the issue, so I have not been able to perform a speed test while in 2G mode.
Last June 2011 I used a Droid style phone on Virgin Mobile USA prepaid. That was the Motorola Triumph. I can't recall as a MVNO who was providing Virgin Mobile's signal, but I think it was Sprint by that point (Sprint bought Virgin Mobile USA prepaid). In any event, I was not pleased with the VM speeds (that is, if I was not using WiFi). My speeds were consistently about 300K to 700K.
Currently I use Straight Talk and I am VERY VERY pleased with the service. When I bought a phone and a Straight Talk SIM card I opted for GSM AT&T service since it had better GSM phones than T-Mobile did.
Since Straight Talk is an MVNO (buying its signal or "tower space" from other carriers and spectrum resellers) one's Straight Talk signal and data connection will only be as good as the provider you chose to use with your Straight Talk account. I assume the same principle applies to CDMA and Droid (Motorola) handsets.
Where I live in San Francisco I get a better signal from GSM-based AT&T than I did with T-Mobile GSM handsets, so on Straight Talk's SIM purchasing site I chose to buy an AT&T GSM SIM.
Whereas with T-Mobile 4G I would often get 2G in most parts of my residence, with AT&T 4G (again, this is with Straight Talk) using an Samsung Galaxy S II and ATT HTC Inspire, I consistently get a strong 4G signal (says "H+" on notification bar). And speed tests have been outstanding, (using speed test net 2286 kbps download, 1130kbps upload). Those speeds are in the "slower part of the house). This does not matter most of the time, however, since I use WiFi 90% of the time.
Bottom line: I suspect one's physical locale, handset model, and provider (CDMA, GSM, or specific carrier) all play an important part in the speed and quality of a data connection. In other words, everyone's experience may differ, even with someone who has the exact same setup as I, but who lives down the block.

Captivate now works with T-Mobile 3G (in selected area?)

I guess some people might already know this, but I want to mention it anyway in case .... someone wants to save money by switching T-Mobile.
I am in Miami area. I bought a Captivate for my brother a while back and unlocked it. He visited today so I tried on my T-Mobile Sim card and it works with AT&T HSPA with no problem. The device is running SlimBean 2.9 with no baseband changes. No data roaming enabled.
I guess this is due to the 1900mhz band that T-Mobile leased from AT&T after the failed buy out. I don't know specifically what other area 1900mhz are available. I remembered earlier this year I had an international Galaxy S3 and it only got EDGE on T-Mobile, so this has been a recent development.
It appears to be in limited areas: http://www.androidcentral.com/t-mobile-improving-coverage-lighting-1900mhz-10-metro-areas
They are re-farming their 1900Mhz spectrum to make it HSPA+. Right now it's just a few metros, but it is expanding and will continue to roll out for a while. Any AT&T smartphone that otherwise lacks T-Mobile's previous flavor of radios can take advantage of it, but T-Mobile is mostly aiming this at iPhone users who want to jump from AT&T and Verizon (the Verizon iPhone 5 is GSM unlocked).
Sent from my Nexus 4
just tested my unlocked cappy on t-mobile in seattle...
and got the fastest network speeds i've seen on this phone: 6.02 Mbps down / 3.43 Mbps up. This is on t-mobile's 1900 band refarmed to the HSPA network. I understand that the cappy will max out around 8 Mbps down/up, but I've never seen anything close to this on ATT's network.
I'll be moving over to the $30 t-mobile plan with 5 gb data next week when my contract expires. Ahhhh freedom.

[Q] Can I Use GPS on a 2G network?

I have an LG Nitro HD, and I'm loving it, but I'm still on my prepaid Go-Phone plan from AT&T that I got 4 years and 3 phones ago. I want to upgrade to the cheapest plan I can with mobile data (so I can use my fancy-pants GPS apps,) which turns out to be T-Mobile's $2/day plan, because you only pay on days you use the phone, and I'm being a chatterbox if I make more than a call per week.
The road bump that's keeping me from switching right now is that the 2/day plan only offers the 2G network, and even if I go with the $3/day plan that includes 4G unlimited data, my local area (and in fact most of my home state) is only covered by 2G or a service partner according to their coverage map. I don't know if that means 2G speeds, or if it's literally a 2G network, but either way, it makes me nervous to buy.
Anyway, my big question is if I can use GPS on this 2G network. My Nitro has all the bells and whistles, so it can deal with GPS and data up to 4G speeds, but can I actually use it with the network available to me?

cricket wireless- 60/month 10gig data plan, opinions?

Hey folks, well i'm with metropcs currently and thinking of switching to cricket - metropcs offers a 60/month unlimited data plan, cricket offers 60/month with 10 gigs high speed. i am wondering, after one has used their allotted 10 gigs high speed, how slow is the data throttled, can anyone report? Metropcs would be ok but the signals not too good where i live, among other factors.
thanks!
leopard_fist said:
Hey folks, well i'm with metropcs currently and thinking of switching to cricket - metropcs offers a 60/month unlimited data plan, cricket offers 60/month with 10 gigs high speed. i am wondering, after one has used their allotted 10 gigs high speed, how slow is the data throttled, can anyone report? Metropcs would be ok but the signals not too good where i live, among other factors.
thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2G speed
if you currently have unlimited connection even with "not that good" coverage, it's not a good idea to change to cricket
and please try finding a more relevant thread to post your question at
I live in Georgia and cricket is a good service. I can get signal almost everywhere that my Verizon gets and plus with the new Verizon teer plans this is prolly a better deal.
I have a friend who uses Cricket. He uses it because he's in a large city and gets decent reception, but as someone else mentioned, the data speeds are not that great. I don't know if they're 2G or what, but he is always complaining that his phone is taking forever to load. So it all depends on what you're using the phone for mostly. If you NEED fast data, might need to look elsewhere.
As far as I know, new Cricket plans use the AT&T network. I seem to recall reading they cap 3G at 4mps and LTE at 8mps within your data allowance, and drop you to 2G speeds when it's up. New MetroPCS activations use T-mobile, and I don't know anything about throttling practices. I know nothing about either the old Cricket or MetroPCS CDMA networks or plans. If you do have a CDMA device on Metro, it will stop working soon if it hasn't already as T-mobile decommissions the CDMA network.

Categories

Resources