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How's your Signal strength?

I've had the s3 since it came out and I've always had crappy signal compared to my droid charge. At first I thought it was a crappy modem but the more I try to get better signal the more I get confused @[email protected] I live 4 miles away from a vzw tower. Outside my home I get 2-3 bars but if I just walk 100 ft towards the tower I get a solid 3-4 . Another problem I've been having is that I'll have 2 bars on 3g and it will switch to 1x until I turn data off and on. I thought as long as I had some signal it would stay at 3g; 2 bars is decent strength right?. I was just wondering if anyone else is having similar issues or has any idea what's wrong.
Sent from my SCH-I535

I've commented in a ton if these types of threads. There's a lot of these types of problems. Look through my comment history and you'll find most of them.
Also, please call and file a complaint with Verizon and Samsung. I know its time out of your day but they are refusing to admit this as an issue (at least to me) but for the sake of all those having problems, please make your voice heard.
/end stand on soapbox
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

I'm really irritated! I was out with my friend, in a great 4G area, and her crappy (2-year-old) LG whatever it is Virgin Mobile 3G was pulling up information about theaters and movie time MUCH faster than my S3!
---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 PM ----------
I just got off the phone with a CSR. She said that if I dialed *228 then I probably messed up my sim card. She told me to go into a Verizon store to get a free sim card.
I didn't know that pulling the battery updates roaming capabilities.

gentleart said:
I'm really irritated! I was out with my friend, in a great 4G area, and her crappy (2-year-old) LG whatever it is Virgin Mobile 3G was pulling up information about theaters and movie time MUCH faster than my S3!
---------- Post added at 07:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 PM ----------
I just got off the phone with a CSR. She said that if I dialed *228 then I probably messed up my sim card. She told me to go into a Verizon store to get a free sim card.
I didn't know that pulling the battery updates roaming capabilities.
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must be a network issue in certain areas...my signal and data is great! Never see LTE speeds less 10mb, normally runs 20-30mb in my area. I do agree tho the 3g radio on this device is mediocre.

Network Extender

This could help everyone who has weak signal at home. My SGS3 was constantly switching LTE 3G 1X and sometimes loses connection completely when sitting downstairs. Even when it had reception call quality was terrible. Upstairs I got solid -99dBm LTE so that's fine. In the same time and place my old Fascinate has solid 3G or 1X and never loses connection or has problems with call quality. So I've called vzw and they offered me network extender. The problem was they wanted me to pay $150 for it ($250MSRP - $100 discount) even that I'm their customer for almost 10 years and pay $200/month for 4 lines. So I filed a claim with FCC but actually I wasn't hoping for anything. 10 days later I got surprise call from vzw and got brand new network extender shipped 2nd fedex for free. It helped a lot but it's still not 100% perfect. My phone still connects to LTE even it's only at -120dBm and then jumps to 3G extender when LTE is lost completely. So it won't help battery drain when switching bands but I don't lose connection and don't have problems with call quality anymore so that's better than it was before. So my advice for everyone having the same issues: spend some time filing a claim.

Give us the complaint details. Might help me
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

More details would be great
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises

http://www.fcc.gov/complaints
Wireless Telephone - Billing, Service, Privacy, Number Portability and other issues
File form 2000B with your details. I basically put exactly what vzw customer service rep told me as comments. So that my home location has "marginal" coverage and I could get network extender for $150 even that I'm paying $200/month for service that I don't get. I've also included comment about well known reception problems with new S3. That was enough apparently.
btw. I think that you should call customer service first before filing any claim. Ask them to put some notes about your reception issues on your account. And ask about network extender also. Maybe you will be lucky and they will offer extender for free without any claim.

Have now 3 recorded signal complaints with Verizon, tried replacement devices etc. This is fantastic, I literally was going to invest in one of these myself (verizon didn't even mention it to me, found out from an at&t user).
Thanks man
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises

Last year I called cust. service and complained about the crappy signal at my parents house. They shipped out a free network extender no questions asked. I guess it just depends who you talk to, but they do have the authority to give you one.

I'm happy for you, but I would like to play devils advocate for a moment and make the argument they should have made.
Why do you complain about having marginal service in one place in your house now when you've been a customer for 10+ years? There are plenty of other carriers that may offer better service in your usual hangouts, but you have decided to stay with a company that cannot provide adequate coverage for a long time.
I may give this a try. I was looking at network extenders online and saw a lot of mixed reviews, so I haven't taken the plunge. My street in general is a 2 bar 1x deadzone. Thanks for the info!

While I am happy for you...it seems to me that this was not truly VZW's problem and is not something they should have had to fix unless we want everyone that works inside a building to get range extenders as well, for example. It appears as though you are a victim of great customer service to begin with (a $100 discount), and you simply got more oil because of being a squeaky wheel. There's nothing wrong with that, but VZW went out of their way to help you as far as I'm concerned.
Regardless, congratulations on your improved coverage! Does it work with Wi-Fi or 1X as well, or is it just 3G and 4G LTE? It'll last you a couple years at least as I don't see VZW upgrading radios for quite some time. How does it work? Does it just amplify the weak signal or do you have to have relays set up?

stargate125645 said:
While I am happy for you...it seems to me that this was not truly VZW's problem and is not something they should have had to fix unless we want everyone that works inside a building to get range extenders as well, for example. It appears as though you are a victim of great customer service to begin with (a $100 discount), and you simply got more oil because of being a squeaky wheel. There's nothing wrong with that, but VZW went out of their way to help you as far as I'm concerned.
Regardless, congratulations on your improved coverage! Does it work with Wi-Fi or 1X as well, or is it just 3G and 4G LTE? It'll last you a couple years at least as I don't see VZW upgrading radios for quite some time. How does it work? Does it just amplify the weak signal or do you have to have relays set up?
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Yeah this is what I forgot to put in my post, is it just for phone calls or does it have internet enhancing capabilities as well? Furthermore, I know companies share hardware to some extent, any clue if it would boost t-mobile as well?
I'm tired of paying for data when I feel forced to be on wifi all the time

Did last 2 posters actually read my first post? It's not that Verizon coverage was always that bad for me. My previous phone Samsung Fascinate that I'm still using on another line works just fine in the same place. I've also had numerous of other phones in the same place before (motorola razr 2 and motorola razr maxx was last 2) and none of them had problems with calls quality. So it's clearly S3's poor antenna what's causing reception problems for me. Verizon sold me not fully functional Samsung’s product and I've signed new 2 year agreement when got S3 and have to pay for service so they have to provide me what I'm paying for. They could try to replace my S3 with another one but everybody knows that it wouldn't help. They could send technicians to check signal in my area (that was first suggestion from rep) but that would probably not make any difference either or take another couple of months. They have network extender available for problems like that but why would I have pay to get it if I pay for service each month? That’s not my fault that they sold me product that cannot give me proper access to their service in the same place where other phones are working just fine.

SotYPL said:
Did last 2 posters actually read my first post? It's not that Verizon coverage was always that bad for me. My previous phone Samsung Fascinate that I'm still using on another line works just fine in the same place. I've also had numerous of other phones in the same place before (motorola razr 2 and motorola razr maxx was last 2) and none of them had problems with calls quality. So it's clearly S3's poor antenna what's causing reception problems for me. Verizon sold me not fully functional Samsung’s product and I've signed new 2 year agreement when got S3 and have to pay for service so they have to provide me what I'm paying for. They could try to replace my S3 with another one but everybody knows that it wouldn't help. They could send technicians to check signal in my area (that was first suggestion from rep) but that would probably not make any difference either or take another couple of months. They have network extender available for problems like that but why would I have pay to get it if I pay for service each month? That’s not my fault that they sold me product that cannot give me proper access to their service in the same place where other phones are working just fine.
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Did you read my post? I didn't say anything about your previous phone. I only pointed out that VZW did what they were not obligated to do. By virtue of the fact that you get service upstairs, your basement is the problem and not VZW.

Guys you should read what Network Extender is.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/device/network-extender
It's not cellular amplifier. It uses your internet connection to make and receive calls. So basically it's VoIP device with built in 3G signal antenna.

stargate125645 said:
Did you read my post? I didn't say anything about your previous phone. I only pointed out that VZW did what they were not obligated to do. By virtue of the fact that you get service upstairs, your basement is the problem and not VZW.
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First of all it's not a basement, it's ground level (2 level townhouse). Second, my other phones are working fine in the same spot and never lose connection or get poor call quality. So it's not fully functional device that they sold me.
btw. I love my S3 and would not replace it for any other vzw current phone

SotYPL said:
Did last 2 posters actually read my first post? It's not that Verizon coverage was always that bad for me. My previous phone Samsung Fascinate that I'm still using on another line works just fine in the same place. I've also had numerous of other phones in the same place before (motorola razr 2 and motorola razr maxx was last 2) and none of them had problems with calls quality. So it's clearly S3's poor antenna what's causing reception problems for me. Verizon sold me not fully functional Samsung’s product and I've signed new 2 year agreement when got S3 and have to pay for service so they have to provide me what I'm paying for. They could try to replace my S3 with another one but everybody knows that it wouldn't help. They could send technicians to check signal in my area (that was first suggestion from rep) but that would probably not make any difference either or take another couple of months. They have network extender available for problems like that but why would I have pay to get it if I pay for service each month? That’s not my fault that they sold me product that cannot give me proper access to their service in the same place where other phones are working just fine.
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You never mentioned your quality over time, only your reception discrepancy between phones. You also left your internet situation somewhat ambiguous, only mentioning that it switches between radios even with the extender. I understand your argument is that its a less desirable antenna in the GS3 than your previous phone, was just trying to get you to say more about your extender while taking a friendly poke at Verizon's usual lack of customer service.
I tend to use google voice when I'm at home through my computer, its just nice to know my phone actually HAS service in case of an emergency or if somebody important calls, or Jesus comes back etc.

The verizon variant of the S3 has considerably less radio power than other verizon devices. It's a known issue with Verizon, and it's up to them to remedy it, as the same device from Sprint gets better reception. I proved that with a coworkers sprint s3 + mine at work. His made calls, mine didn't.
Until they fix the radio issue, things like this may need to be implemented. Awesome original post, thanks again for the info.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises

Still, if you can get reception elsewhere, it is not necessarily VZW's responsibility. Otherwise, they'd need to supply everyone who works in a building that limits signal, etc. I'm just saying VZW went out of their way. If your house is within the 4G LTE map coverage boundary, and you couldn't get coverage even on your highest floor, I could see what Verizon did as required. Verizon cannot control the configuration and construction of your house, after all. It is of no consequence regardless and Verizon doesn't lose money on the deal if it is assumed you would switch service providers had they not helped out so you've nothing to defend. I'm simply saying I, personally, don't think you were entitled to the signal booster to the point that an FCC complaint was warranted. A $100 discount would have been more than enough - in my opinion.
annoyingduck said:
The verizon variant of the S3 has considerably less radio power than other verizon devices. It's a known issue with Verizon, and it's up to them to remedy it, as the same device from Sprint gets better reception. I proved that with a coworkers sprint s3 + mine at work. His made calls, mine didn't.
Until they fix the radio issue, things like this may need to be implemented. Awesome original post, thanks again for the info.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises
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What? How does that prove anything? The towers would have to be in the exact same spot, have the exact same output, hardware, design, etc., for that to even come close to proving anything. I'm not saying there isn't a problem, but simply that you didn't prove anything.

Boston area dude, no issues network wise here. The vzw s3 doesn't hold a card to vzw droids or HTC devices signal wise. There is little or no difference in this area between the carriers.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises
---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:07 PM ----------
Plus both s3 devices registering an approximate -100 to 110db signal, vzw has 2 bars, sprint full bars.
Sent from my VZW GS3 running Synergy/Trinity/Dark Horse Rises

stargate125645 said:
Still, if you can get reception elsewhere, it is not necessarily VZW's responsibility. Otherwise, they'd need to supply everyone who works in a building that limits signal, etc. I'm just saying VZW went out of their way. If your house is within the 4G LTE map coverage boundary, and you couldn't get coverage even on your highest floor, I could see what Verizon did as required.
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Actually looking at vzw's website coverage maps my house is in the middle of full LTE coverage. Marginal coverage was rep's word. Maybe they have more detailed maps for internal use. But LTE was not a issue for me. I don't need data at home cause I always use wifi. Problem with making and receiving calls was the problem. It is fundamental future of the phone and S3 is still a phone right?
stargate125645 said:
Verizon cannot control the configuration and construction of your house, after all.
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Correct but they can control what they sell. So if they sell not fully functional phone they have to back it up and do whatever it's needed to make it work right. My other phones were always working fine in the same spot and even in the worst spot of the house where Fascinate would switch to 1X it never lost reception completely and never had problems with call quality. It is clear for me that Galaxy S3 hardware/software is the problem not my house and probably vzw is fully aware of that.
stargate125645 said:
It is of no consequence regardless and Verizon doesn't lose money on the deal if it is assumed you would switch service providers had they not helped out so you've nothing to defend. I'm simply saying I, personally, don't think you were entitled to the signal booster to the point that an FCC complaint was warranted. A $100 discount would have been more than enough - in my opinion.
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As my original post said, I was not hoping for anything filing fcc claim. I was prepare to fight more directly with vzw if nothing would change till the end of September. Probably I would demand technician visit or phone replacement. They chose to make me happy in the easiest way and that's fine for me. My post was strictly for informational purposes for people like me struggling with poor S3's reception who had no luck dealing with vzw directly.

Geeze people, why are you attcking the OP. He had bad signal at is house and Verizon sent him a booster. I think the issue here is with Verizon. They pick and choose who to send them to for free and who needs to pay. Maybe if they were consistant it would not be a big deal.
But why should one person have to pay $150 for the device and others get it for free with no other reason then they got lucky with the rep they spoke to. If people's main home billong address is in a known frigne area they should offer these for free. Verizon customers pay the highest monthly fee's then any other carriers. I had no problem getting a free booster from Sprint as many others received them as well free of charge.

[email protected] said:
Geeze people, why are you attcking the OP. He had bad signal at is house and Verizon sent him a booster. I think the issue here is with Verizon. They pick and choose who to send them to for free and who needs to pay. Maybe if they were consistant it would not be a big deal.
But why should one person have to pay $150 for the device and others get it for free with no other reason then they got lucky with the rep they spoke to. If people's main home billong address is in a known frigne area they should offer these for free. Verizon customers pay the highest monthly fee's then any other carriers. I had no problem getting a free booster from Sprint as many others received them as well free of charge.
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Agreed completely! Also why is everyone trying to stick up for Verizon so much?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

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.
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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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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.
Sent from my GT-P6210 using Tapatalk

Thinking of leaving sprint, would like some opinions.

I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.

Varekai said:
I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.
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Where are you located?

Spring hill, FL

download open signal or sensorly from the market it should give you a idea of the coverage Verizon or hell even sprint offers in your area before you decide

I was in your exact position a week ago. I had been with Sprint for 12 years and it almost felt like cheating on my wife going into a Verizon store. I am in Austin, TX which has been one of the first markets to get network upgrades. When I first got the EVO LTE it was about 6 months before I saw my first LTE signal and it was at work. The speeds were GREAT....for a few months. Once everyone got an LTE capable phone it was all downhill and speeds went to crap. Anytime I traveled I had the same problem with getting maps to work, like you described. I had to pull into a Starbucks or McDonald's to get WiFi to figure out where I was going. I finally had it last weekend when both my wife (iPhone) and I couldn't get any data to find the nearest oil change place while sitting at an intersection of two major highways on a Sunday morning. We could have hoped for better service with the Spark network but it just seemed liked deja vu all over again.
I went into Verizon store that had the phone I wanted (M8) and they would give my wife $210 on her iPhone 4s trade in along with $100 per line activation. I switched over and even though its only been a week I am amazed. I am getting LTE on Verizon where I couldn't even get 3g on sprint. And the LTE speeds are about 3-5 times better than I got on Sprint. I don't have unlimited data anymore but having an unlimited amount of something that never works is worthless. I'm paying the same amount for a 4 GB plan now BUT IT WORKS! Based in the performance I've seen the past week I just feel stupid for not doing this sooner. All my favorite apps that require data just start working immediately (e.g. steaming music or video). I mistakenly thought there was only a subtle difference between carriers but I was wrong. Just check out rootmetrics.com (HUGE help). You won't be sorry you changed.
TLDR: Sprint sucks. Change carriers. Don't look back. M8 rocks.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using xda premium

I think we all know by now what carriers can deliver. If anyone is traveling in mostly rural areas Verizon or AT&T is your best option. For overall coverage Verizon wins hands down, but you pay more for it. I live in the city of Atlanta and every carriers has great coverage in the heart of the city. Which makes me want to switch T-Mobile because I would save about $40, but whenever I take a road trip I'm reminded why I pay for Verizon and deal with locked bootloaders, and of course my unlimited data. While I love Verizon, I also love flashing ROMS. Verizon doesn't help us at all in that regard and it's something to consider IMO. Most people don't know you get university discounts on carriers and it's usually 15%, which has me looking at AT&T also knowing I'd be giving up unlimited. [emoji30]
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

I was in the same boat you are. I am in Western NY and had Sprint for almost 12 years and was relatively happy with the service *for the price* until 4G/LTE was being rolled out by all of the carriers and they left Sprint in the dust (in my area). I've had THREE 4G capable phones in the last 5 years (Evo, Evo 3D, Evo 4G LTE) and didn't see any 4G service in my area until late last year. Just last week I started getting a 4G signal at my house - one bar and DL speeds were around 1 Mbps. Furthermore, I was paying the monthly $10 fee for the 'smartphone experience' and never saw any real ROI.
I went to Verizon yesterday and picked up an M8 on the $60/1GB plan. For me, 1GB is just fine as i'm on WiFi 80% of the time and i'm good at monitoring my data usage. Service-wise I get a full signal at my house and 30Mbps DL speeds. I'm not looking back.

Thanks for the replies. I downloaded the apps and will check them out. Bootloader being locked down was mentioned, does this mean you can't unlock it with HTC Dec unlock to s-off and root? I don't know if I can live without rooting. Also does Verizon give a hard time about exchanging a rooted device? I know people at sprint store have always given me a hard time with it.

Well according to those two apps, sprint actually has better 4g from where I live to where I work.

I was with Sprint for 10 years. I live in Naples Florida. About 2 years ago the big news was all the 4G LTE towers that were going up. When they lit ours up, it was spotty at best. My service was always terrible with Sprint. I had the EVO 4G lte when the service went live, but it wouldn't hold a 4g signal. I was due for an upgrade when the M7 came out, so I got one. Same crap. When Verizon came out with the M7, I decided to give Verizon a try. I think I had the phone for about 10 minutes when I decided to cancel my contract with Sprint and go with Verizon. To this day I still cant get over how much better the service, especially the data is. What good is unlimited data if it hardly works?

I also left Sprint for similar reason. It has all been hope and not much to show in the end. I live is the greater Los Angeles area. When I first switch to Sprint was because their family plans were actually priced well and the discount I was getting made my 2-line family plan with unlimited everything for $110 a month, compare to other carriers.
As to.e went by and policies have changed, being that their data plans are $30, I now only get discount on the data (Verizon does the same). I was barely getting a $3 discount.
Their 4G WiMax was good but spotty. Their 4G LTE now was also ok but spotty. And I really didn't want to hope that their spark will be any better in terms of coverage.
My company gives me a Verizon Android base phone. In which it has work so damn great and that's what it made me switch to Verizon now on my personal line.
Sprint 2 lines - employee discount = $155 a month
Verizon 2 lines - employee discount = $147
I do get 22% discount because of my employer.
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

I've had Sprint for the past 10 years & finally gave them the boot. Well almost, I'm still stuck with them for another week or so since I'm waiting for my M8 to come in. I went thru best buy and they had to order the phone. My wife & kids are on Verizon now and absolutely love it. On Sprint, we have to use an airave just to make calls in the house. On Verizon, they have full bars on 4g lte. Without the airave, I'm lucky to to have 1 bar. It's the same at my work. In fact, I'm better off setting my phone to roam. I get Verizon 3g because of the PRL I use. On Sprints network, maybe a bar. I've complained numerous times to Sprint, and they don't really care. All they kept saying was that lte is right around the corner. They've been saying that for a few years now. If I'm going to spend this kind of money for 4 smartphones I'd like to be able to use them to their fullest.

I loved Sprint when I first had my original EVO. But the WiMax was virtually nonexistent, and when I bought my first LTE phone it was nonexistent for a year but I still had to pay for it. That was the first major strike, and as of the last year with them the LTE coverage was terrible, and due to that and their crappy 3G I couldn't even stream music the whole way home from work, it would drop out. Sooo, me and the wife decided it was time to go. Contracts up this year, and when the M8 was announced we got new phones that day. I'll never look back. LTE all the time with like two exceptions, and I get about 25 Mbs in downtown St Louis. Plus, we paid about $200-210 per month on Sprint and now we pay about $160-170 on Verizon. Well worth it.

Maps rarely tell the store. Why don't you purchase a new verizon line and try it. Don't port your number just yet. All carriers have a 14 day return policy and a 3 day zero cost guarantee. If you cancel within 3 days you pay nothing, between 3 and 14 you only pay for the partial month service and activation fee. If you go through a 3rd party like Best Buy Mobile, there are no restocking fees either.
This way you can see for yourself how it works. If you decided to keep the carrier, call them up and have them port your old number over the top of the new temporary number.

I'm at Ocala Fl, had Sprint for ten yrs no matter how much I tried to ignore the network,it's just too slow. Any emergency I need like us I g Google maps quick, it just took for ever. I've been in Verizon 3 yrs and love it, I hate that they are more strict with rooting and unlocking but their 4g???? Solid every where I go. I have the Dish Network app that I can watch cable anywhere I go and because of 4G, the quality it's awesome
Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

I left sprint also, their LTE speeds where great at first, now the suck.
From West palm beach, Florida

Varekai said:
I have been with sprint for 8 years now. Just got the M8 for the new spark network that according to sprints coverage map, I was fully covered in. We'll, that's not the case. Been having a lot of problems, mainly if I drop to 3g, I actually have no data and no phone calls and can't send texts. Apparently this is a mass problem that could be a while to fix. I still have ten days to return it and reverse my contract. I would like to know from those of you on Verizon, how the service and speeds generally are. Sprint is so bad that if I'm somewhere I don't know where I'm at and try to pull up a route on maps, it will fail to pull anything up, or search for a route until it says no connection, even with 4 bars. It's hard for me to leave since I've been with them for 8 years, but I'm really getting tired of it. Also I would like some opinions on if I should get the phone through Verizon itself or best buy. Reason I ask is when I bought my original HTC one I went through 3 of them, all for different hardware issues. Each time it was a hassle. Had to go to different stores, call sprint, one store even said I was lying about my LTE not working on the phone and that I don't have LTE in my area, even tho the previous one got LTE.
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I had the exact same problems as you with my Sprint HTC One M7 and switched to Verizon late last year. It's been a WORLD of difference. I too was sick and tired of hearing Sprint talking about launching 14 different 4G networks and getting charged for them only to never receive the service. Verizon's coverage is so much better, I don't drop any calls anymore and my connection is actually usable. Even when I only have a bar or two of service I can still access the data network which I sometimes couldn't do when I had 4 bars on Sprint. It was also a bit cheaper for me to switch as I had two unlimited my way plans on Sprint costing around $180 a month whereas with Verizon I can have two lines with 4G of data (more than enough considering I was used to always connecting to WiFi because Sprint's network was so bad) for $150/mo.
Seriously, make the switch. Sprint is awful.
P.S. I paid TWO large ETFs to get away from Sprint. That's how bad I wanted to get away from them.

The 3 different times I tried Sprint, in 3 different parts of the country, it was so slow I couldn't stand it.
Both AT&T and Verizon are light years ahead of Sprint, based on my experiences.

LPChris said:
I had the exact same problems as you with my Sprint HTC One M7 and switched to Verizon late last year. It's been a WORLD of difference. I too was sick and tired of hearing Sprint talking about launching 14 different 4G networks and getting charged for them only to never receive the service. Verizon's coverage is so much better, I don't drop any calls anymore and my connection is actually usable. Even when I only have a bar or two of service I can still access the data network which I sometimes couldn't do when I had 4 bars on Sprint. It was also a bit cheaper for me to switch as I had two unlimited my way plans on Sprint costing around $180 a month whereas with Verizon I can have two lines with 4G of data (more than enough considering I was used to always connecting to WiFi because Sprint's network was so bad) for $150/mo.
Seriously, make the switch. Sprint is awful.
P.S. I paid TWO large ETFs to get away from Sprint. That's how bad I wanted to get away from them.
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I did this morning. Went from .03mb to 223mb on speed test at work. Unfortunately I'm having a problem with the phone locking up. Twice I hit the power button abd screen wouldn't turn on I had to hold power ablnd vol buttons to reboot

Oops, double post

Sprint Nexus 5 to T-mobile

Hey guys, just picked up a new Nexus 5 about a week ago after a couple years with an iPhone 4. Loving the phone but have quickly realized how terrible Sprint's LTE is. I was looking forward to getting a LTE device and though my slow data woes were due to having a 3G phone, but now I realize that Sprint just has poor coverage where I live.
When I got the Nexus, Sprint switched me off my contract to the new "Framily" plan crap, and set up the Easy Pay for the Nexus. So if I am not mistaken I can take my number somewhere else whenever I want without any ETF, just have to pay off the remaining balance of the phone. T-mobile has excellent service in my area...
So my question is; I know the Nexus 5 is an unlocked phone, and in theory my device I bought from Sprint should switch right over to T-Mo with no problem. I have searched around and found a lot of people asking the opposite question- wanting to go from T-mobile to Sprint with their Nexus 5 and Sprint has given them problems not wanting to add the IMEI to their system since it wasn't bought from them or the Google Play store.
Does anyone know if it will be possible for me to just pay off my phone balance/bill with Sprint, walk next door to T-mobile and get up and running with them using the same exact device?
Thanks!

look at your Coverage area for T-Mobile if not go to an Att mvno called puretalkusa if coverage is good T-Mobile will pay your etf but it is an absolute pain in the a$$ in the process of getting it setup so they will pay the etf you may have to stick with sprint for a month or so call sprint and ask what the contract payment would be or you can keep your nexus 5 and get the cheapest plan on sprint and find an old sprint phone and activate and take your nexus 5 to T-Mobile thing is I don't know if sprint carrier locks there nexus 5s
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

spinninbsod said:
look at your Coverage area for T-Mobile if not go to an Att mvno called puretalkusa if coverage is good T-Mobile will pay your etf but it is an absolute pain in the a$$ in the process of getting it setup so they will pay the etf you may have to stick with sprint for a month or so call sprint and ask what the contract payment would be or you can keep your nexus 5 and get the cheapest plan on sprint and find an old sprint phone and activate and take your nexus 5 to T-Mobile thing is I don't know if sprint carrier locks there nexus 5s
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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T-mobile coverage is excellent in my area according to their map on the website, not sure how accurate/true that is...but I have a coworker who has a S4 on T-mobile and gets excellent speeds all around the office while I can only get LTE in certain areas of the building and even then I am lucky to crack 5mbps
As for the ETF thing, if I am understanding correct I should have none because I am no longer on a contract plan since switching to the Framily plan. So for me to get away from Sprint all I would have to do is pay the balance on my Nexus, plus of course my latest bill I am sure, and then I am free...no need to get T-mobile to pay my ETFs.
Really just wondering if Sprint "carrier locks" their devices like you said above...which again, if I am understanding correctly, isn't really possible with a Nexus phone because it is, well, an unlocked phone.

It is accurate I get okay signal in my area but a around not that great but its a lot better than Verizon I always got terrible signal with Verizon you are very lucky I hope you never have to deal with T-Mobile technical support because it is very terrible
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 AM ----------
I try to stay out of contracts T-Mobile has no contracts lucky you don't have to deal with etfs
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

The phone isn't locked to sprint. I just switched a couple months back. Went to T-Mobile put in there sim and went about the rest of my day.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

GituSum said:
The phone isn't locked to sprint. I just switched a couple months back. Went to T-Mobile put in there sim and went about the rest of my day.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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Ok awesome, exactly what I was wondering. So I can still get their 80$ fully unlimited plan with bringing my own device?
Also I see you are located in Houston like me, how much better is T-mobile's data for you compared to Sprint...

matts290 said:
Ok awesome, exactly what I was wondering. So I can still get their 80$ fully unlimited plan with bringing my own device?
Also I see you are located in Houston like me, how much better is T-mobile's data for you compared to Sprint...
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Click to collapse
It's been good so far. I get lte in a few places I would get 1x with sprint. The couple things I've seen with T-Mobile is once you leave the city its no good. I would be on edge a good amount of the time while my wife (with an N5 on sprint) still would have lte. This was going to college station and San Antonio. The other thing is building penetration. T-Mobile signal gets worse when I go inside buildings. To be honest I'm having my wife wait until they roll out the spark update to see if I pick up better signal at the few places I was getting 1x. If I do and T-Mobile hasn't upgraded there edge speeds to lte outside of the city then I'll go back to sprint.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

GituSum said:
The other thing is building penetration. T-Mobile signal gets worse when I go inside buildings.
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Dang - and I thought Sprint's signal's building penetration was horrible... didn't realize T-mo was bad as well.

jj14 said:
Dang - and I thought Sprint's signal's building penetration was horrible... didn't realize T-mo was bad as well.
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Dont get me wrong sprint wasnt that great either. Its just tmobile is a little worse. Not that i dont have signal but it will drop to edge or a slow 3g/hspa. At least where i go. My big thing is the signal out of the city. I travel outside of houston often and i would hold lte alot longer on sprint then i do with tmobile. Tmobile is supposed to be upgrading there edge towers with lte by 2015 so it might be better. But thats the great thing about the nexus
5, if the service sucks you can just switch.
Overall though when I'm in the city I've been a lot happier with T-Mobile. The LTE speeds have been double those of sprint. That might change if the nexus gets the spark update though. So if you stay in the city more you'll be a lot happier with T-Mobile.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

If your area has band 26, you'll get better building penetration.