HTC One M9 User Thread

[mrrogers1]

AJ

 

Sprint worldwide support (via chat) claims the M9 is a worldwide phone and is absolutely able to roam in Canada for both voice and data. Any ideas how they can make this claim if your findings say otherwise??

 

 

CSR's still ask you to pull the battery on a device line that hasn't had a removable battery for 5yr... 

[WiWavelength]

AJ

 

Sprint worldwide support (via chat) claims the M9 is a worldwide phone and is absolutely able to roam in Canada for both voice and data. Any ideas how they can make this claim if your findings say otherwise??

 

Well, "worldwide" generally means GSM 900/1800 and/or band 1 W-CDMA 1900+2100 -- none of which apply to Canada.  CSRs are not apt to know this.

 

And my findings were only regarding "domestic" GSM/W-CDMA bands, which do apply to Canada.

 

AJ

[tsume]

So what you are saying is that Sprint released a 2015 flagship phone that does not work in what is one of the most popular international roaming destinations for Americans, and the CSRs don't even know that it doesn't work there.  If that's the case... nice going, Sprint.  Way to shaft your customers.

 

I wonder how many times devices are going to get replaced because Sprint techs just can't figure out why the phone won't work in Canada and conclude that it "must be a defective device".  I am sure that even the Sprint techs could not imagine the possibility of Sprint being dumb enough to release a "worldwide" phone that doesn't work in Canada, one of the only two international roaming destinations that has a land border with the US.

Edited May 18, 2015 by tsume

[kojitsari]

 

 

snipped

Calling it a world wide phone is the only stupid thing here. There's a different model for every domestic carrier, and international variants. The only phones close to being a truly worldwide phone are the Nexus devices, and those still require different radios for different continents....

 

Plus all you really need is Wi-Fi access to utilize your M9 in Canada. Wi-Fi calling and the numerous apps that send texts over data allow you to use phone anywhere that there is internet access.

[mrrogers1]

I don't know what the hellz is going on... but I did look at Sprints Intl travel tool http://support.sprint.com/support/international/roaming/Toronto%2C%20Canada#!/ and looks like some (multiple) steps need to be taken and I don't even know what services would be available.  

 

Just thought I'd throw this out there....

 

*My statement about CSR's and battery pulls still stands! 

[WiWavelength]

So what you are saying is that Sprint released a 2015 flagship phone that does not work in what is one of the most popular international roaming destinations for Americans, and the CSRs don't even know that it doesn't work there.  If that's the case... nice going, Sprint.  Way to shaft your customers.

 

I wonder how many times devices are going to get replaced because Sprint techs just can't figure out why the phone won't work in Canada and conclude that it "must be a defective device".  I am sure that even the Sprint techs could not imagine the possibility of Sprint being dumb enough to release a "worldwide" phone that doesn't work in Canada, one of the only two international roaming destinations that has a land border with the US.

 

Settle down, Beavis.

 

No one publicly knows why the Sprint variant HTC One M9 does not support domestic GSM/W-CDMA bands.  But this is what we do know.  VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile are not reciprocating by fully supporting Sprint's bands/band classes in their devices.  They are more than happy, though, to poach Sprint subs and any compatible devices.

 

So, maybe this is an experiment.  Let us see if lack of domestic GSM/W-CDMA bands has any negative effect.  In my opinion, the other operators can f@#k off -- until they are willing to create a level sub and device porting playing field.

 

And not that many Americans travel outside of the US.  Heck, I have relatives in Canada, yet I travel there on average maybe once every three years.  Now, this may be a deal breaker for those who live in Detroit, Buffalo, etc.  For the rest of us inside the massive continental US, meh.

 

AJ

[tsume]

People can talk about Wi-Fi all they want, but Wi-Fi is not everywhere.  I don't care what Sprint's excuse is, purposely hamstringing a flagship device just because other carriers are jerks is not acceptable.  If the Sprint M10 can't roam in Canada, I might have to switch to T-Maybe.  Good thing I only have a 1 year lease.

 

mrrogers1: If you select an old device (like the EVO 4G LTE) it will give you a message saying that some services are not available internationally.  It shows you can only roam on Telus' CDMA network:  http://i.imgur.com/mcN7fWc.png  If you select the M9, you get no warning message and the site implies you can roam on Rogers, Bell, and Telus' GSM networks:  http://i.imgur.com/HFsR5sJ.png

Edited May 18, 2015 by tsume

[jeffcarp]

I am having a heck of a time with this phone, not in establishing a connection to a tower but actually having data throughput once I make the connection. This issue has generated quite the discussion thread on the Sprint users forum but I haven't seen any mention of it here.

 

This always occurs when switching towers. It is never an issue when I am stable on a tower. It happens for example when leaving wifi at my house and also when switching from tower to tower while driving. From what I can tell it is not specific to a specific LTE frequency as I have seen it occur on 2500 and 800. It is not even specific to LTE because it happens on 3G as well.

 

Here is a screenshot and as you can see I have the white triangle that tells me I have no data connection and that warning is real because I indeed do not. The only thing that fixes this is to toggle airplane mode when it occurs or if you wait it out eventually after many minutes it usually goes away on its own.

 

[kojitsari]

 

 

-downsized-

I occasionally have that happen when I'm forcing my phone to hop into the fringe LTE in my area. Also had it happen when dealing with clear b41 in KC, but not on 8tr8tr..

[Jeff68005]

Have you tried to disable the Sprint Connections Optimiser?  That swaps towers too often and IMO may contribute to the problem.

My problem with the Sprint Connections Optimiser is after I disable it, it self starts again by itself.

[kojitsari]

Have you tried to disable the Sprint Connections Optimiser? That swaps towers too often and IMO may contribute to the problem.

My problem with the Sprint Connections Optimiser is after I disable it, it self starts again by itself.

Mine is removed, I'm S-off and rooted so I debloated right away.

[mrrogers1]

I am having a heck of a time with this phone, not in establishing a connection to a tower but actually having data throughput once I make the connection. This issue has generated quite the discussion thread on the Sprint users forum but I haven't seen any mention of it here.

 

This always occurs when switching towers. It is never an issue when I am stable on a tower. It happens for example when leaving wifi at my house and also when switching from tower to tower while driving. From what I can tell it is not specific to a specific LTE frequency as I have seen it occur on 2500 and 800. It is not even specific to LTE because it happens on 3G as well.

 

Here is a screenshot and as you can see I have the white triangle that tells me I have no data connection and that warning is real because I indeed do not. The only thing that fixes this is to toggle airplane mode when it occurs or if you wait it out eventually after many minutes it usually goes away on its own.

 

 

It's very safe to say, any connectivity issues are related to the "Apps over LTE" *bug that will be fixed with the MR they are working. The issues is surely deeper than just certain apps not working over LTE but we may never know just what the problem is.

 

I have a hunch that it's both device radio and network related conflicts that have us seeing the strange behavior from our M9's. I can say that I do see that no data transmission that you talked about, you aren't alone my friend.

[themuffinman]

Been experiencing this no data issue as well and its very annoying. From what I can tell though it seems like it happens when I am in a week lte area and its like the m9 can't decide to say on 3g or go back to 4g so it drops data all together. Now I didn't experience this at all in Atlanta but right now I am in a band 25 only market so I don't know if that has something to do with it.

[ITK79]

I have had this issue with the m8 and the m9 in southern California over the last 8 months. I have had it happen few times in Seattle but nothing like what happens in southern California. It has been be very annoying to not be able to use my phones when I need to. I have had it with a strong signal and with a weak signal, but every time it happens it seems that the phone is having trouble picking a band to stay on. I don't remember having this issue in the San Jose area when I have been up there for work.

[travismheim]

I am having a heck of a time with this phone, not in establishing a connection to a tower but actually having data throughput once I make the connection. This issue has generated quite the discussion thread on the Sprint users forum but I haven't seen any mention of it here.

 

This always occurs when switching towers. It is never an issue when I am stable on a tower. It happens for example when leaving wifi at my house and also when switching from tower to tower while driving. From what I can tell it is not specific to a specific LTE frequency as I have seen it occur on 2500 and 800. It is not even specific to LTE because it happens on 3G as well.

 

Here is a screenshot and as you can see I have the white triangle that tells me I have no data connection and that warning is real because I indeed do not. The only thing that fixes this is to toggle airplane mode when it occurs or if you wait it out eventually after many minutes it usually goes away on its own.

 

 

It has been happening to my sister's new M8 as well, I haven't been able to figure out what the issue is.

[trojanman05]

People can talk about Wi-Fi all they want, but Wi-Fi is not everywhere.  I don't care what Sprint's excuse is, purposely hamstringing a flagship device just because other carriers are jerks is not acceptable.  If the Sprint M10 can't roam in Canada, I might have to switch to T-Maybe.  Good thing I only have a 1 year lease.

 

mrrogers1: If you select an old device (like the EVO 4G LTE) it will give you a message saying that some services are not available internationally.  It shows you can only roam on Telus' CDMA network:  http://i.imgur.com/mcN7fWc.png  If you select the M9, you get no warning message and the site implies you can roam on Rogers, Bell, and Telus' GSM networks:  http://i.imgur.com/HFsR5sJ.png

 

Thought I'd chime in...there can be WiFi everywhere. I just traveled to Italy and Nice/Monaco for 10 days and had WiFi the entire time by purchasing a data only SIM card for a MiFi device we brought with us. Had WiFi via Vodafone Italy's 3G/4G data network the entire time, and therefore my phone was connected to WiFi calling/texting the entire time, in addition to data for maps, social media, email etc. It was like bringing Sprint with me overseas to stay connected, and it even indicated in my drop down menu I was on the Sprint network.

 

30 euros for 10 gigs that me and my friend's shared, I'm guessing it came out cheaper than roaming. See more of my experience here: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/5358-sprint-wifi-calling/?p=421065

[P_M_G]

Still no resolution and now the Sprint Community forums are conveniently "down" so no one can post or follow up on threads. I was wondering why there were no comments in the M9 problem thread until I saw the "problem with community" post.

 

Just ridiculous that this phone is currently gimped and so little communication coming from sprint about a fix.

[WiWavelength]

People can talk about Wi-Fi all they want, but Wi-Fi is not everywhere.  I don't care what Sprint's excuse is, purposely hamstringing a flagship device just because other carriers are jerks is not acceptable.  If the Sprint M10 can't roam in Canada, I might have to switch to T-Maybe.  Good thing I only have a 1 year lease.

tsume, you are an odd duck.  You say that you cannot spend a couple of bucks for SignalCheck Pro...

 

It doesn't say anything about frequencies in the debug screen (and I don't have the $ for Signal Check Pro).  It says UL channel 26763 DL channel 8763.

 

…yet you apparently have the money to travel hundreds of miles from your home to a mall in Nashville…

 

I was just in Nashville this weekend and the Sprint service was useless.  At Cool Springs mall...

…and now you have your panties in a bunch over the Sprint variant HTC One M9 GSM/W-CDMA band support in Canada.  For Pete's sake, you live in Tennessee.  Have you ever been to Canada?  Are you ever going to Canada?  Based on previous statements, can you afford to go to Canada?

 

If you want to churn to T-Mobile, please do.  The grass is always greener on the other side -- or not.  But go find out.  Do what makes you happy.  On Sprint and at S4GRU, you honestly come across as a malcontent.

 

In full disclosure, though, if roaming support is your worry, you had better be more concerned about international roaming than domestic roaming -- because Sprint greatly trumps T-Mobile in domestic roaming.  For someone who lives in Tennessee, domestic roaming would seem far more important than international roaming.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

Now, with that diatribe out of the way, if anyone wants to provide me with the Industry Canada ID off of the Sprint variant HTC One M9 (check the back of the handset and/or the Settings menu), I will query the Canuck database and put this GSM/W-CDMA roaming band issue to rest for good.

 

AJ

[tsume]

What a difference a year makes, right?  Yes, I do travel to Canada.  I appreciate you keeping your opinions on how I spend my money to yourself, as they were not solicited nor are they relevant.  Stereotyping people from Tennessee and assuming they do not travel internationally is telling of your prejudices.

 

Let's keep this on topic, please.  If the M9 can't roam in Canada, it is a clear regression - your opinion does not change that.

 

I have not been to Canada with my M9.  I have been there with my M8 and with my M7, both of which did roam in the Vancouver area.

Edited May 28, 2015 by tsume

[jeffcarp]

This XDA thread purports to show proof of a Sprint M9 roaming on W-CDMA in the Caribbean.

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3105627

[Benvino]

This XDA thread purports to show proof of a Sprint M9 roaming on W-CDMA in the Caribbean.

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3105627

Wow. 

[WiWavelength]

What a difference a year makes, right?  Yes, I do travel to Canada.  I appreciate you keeping your opinions on how I spend my money to yourself, as they were not solicited nor are they relevant.  Stereotyping people from Tennessee and assuming they do not travel internationally is telling of your prejudices.

 

Let's keep this on topic, please.  If the M9 can't roam in Canada, it is a clear regression - your opinion does not change that.

 

Sorry, no, I am not going to keep my opinions to myself.  My opinions are well informed with research, they are relevant to the topic, and my affinity for rational argument is superb.  That is in part why I am the technical editor and top writer at S4GRU.

 

So, if you want to complain about something, you can.  It may get shut down -- because S4GRU does not host Sprint complaints.  But if staff deems your complaint unwarranted, trivial, or malicious, you may get an aggressive counterargument.

 

Now, if you are so concerned with roaming in Canada, you can help yourself.  I made an offer of free research on that topic.  Do you want an answer?  My suggestion is that you take up my offer.

 

...if anyone wants to provide me with the Industry Canada ID off of the Sprint variant HTC One M9 (check the back of the handset and/or the Settings menu), I will query the Canuck database and put this GSM/W-CDMA roaming band issue to rest for good.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

This XDA thread purports to show proof of a Sprint M9 roaming on W-CDMA in the Caribbean.

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3105627

 

I love this comment from a former S4GRU sponsor:

 

 

I would have to assume that no one on the planet aside from him and two other nerds read their article on the HTC M9. How many people read the dry ass articles of s4Gru? I used to be a member back when I was tracking LTE implementation for Sprint in Sacramento but I haven't looked back since. I don't like paying just to read a forum site about back hauls, transponders and flux capacitors. Sh!t I could barely suffer through the GSM/M-CDMA#4636#* in this thread. 

 

Bummer the phone don't work in Canada though.

 

Here is the rub.  If you do not like donating in support of a good non profit cause and do not like reading technical info, then you get what you deserve -- and you might be intellectually incapable.

 

(For the record, over 13,000 readers have viewed our article on the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9.)

 

AJ

[tsume]

If you call drudging through my posts from a year ago with the aim of publicly harassing me "well informed with research" then so be it.  I am not going to argue with you on that, as that is your closely-held opinion.  Attacking me directly and personally does not benefit me nor does it benefit you.  There's no rational reason for it.  Discussion closed on that matter, as I've nothing else to say to you regarding that.

 

The FCC ID of the phone is NM80PJA200.  There does not appear to be any Industry Canada information on the phone or in the settings menu of the phone, unfortunately.  I looked over the box and the included manual and did not see anything there either except the FCC ID.