drlovety

Good to hear! I'm on a non-triband phone, so I have not seen an improvement. Unfortunately, I have seen Sprint's network deteriorate since they've rolled out NV. I have a 15-30 min commute and I'm dropping calls at least once a day. My commute time is before 6am, when network traffic is low. Also, my dropped calls are happening at random places, not just a dead zone. Also, their speeds have suffered. While I don't need anything over 5mbps, I have seen 4G speeds not reach 1mbps. Has anyone seen any 800mhz signals? I know we talked about that a few months back. Sprint needs to work on coverage, I think their tower spacing was done poorly. There is no way that VoLTE will ever work effectively the way their towers are spaced here in Seattle. Has anyone started hearing Sprint's new radio commercials? They are saying they've got this awesome new network. I don't think their network (at least in Seattle) is ad blitz ready.

I'm thinking it's a tower problem. Try being stationary around another tower and see if that occurs. If it's only happening near you it could be that tower. Strange. Please report back if you find a solution. I saw this over at reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/2b49dt/phone_regularly_drops_3g_connection/

Ok, hmmm. How long has this been going on? I ask that because, it also could be another professional microcell. I have one at work, every time I leave, it drops a call, as it switches from legacy gear to NV. Are you near a large business that would have a microcell? I don't think microcells have been upgraded to NV. You might want to try LTE Discovery, there is a map tab that will show you the location of which (voice) tower you are connected to. See if it's skipping around. You have access to the maps, start investigating. Has the tower that your connected to not been upgraded? Last time I had access, pretty much all counties but King was upgraded. Finally, try another phone and see if the same thing happens.

Ask your neighbor if they have Sprint, and if they do, ask if they have an Airave. It sounds like your signal is connecting to an Airave rather than a actual sprint tower. Try this, make a call on EVDO Rev A. If you hear beeps when the call connects, then you are on an Airave. I have seen what you described because I have an Airave. I got an Airave because I can't get a Sprint signal in my home. The only issues I've been having lately are dropped calls (not the legacy to new NV equip dropped calls as towers around me have been upgraded).

There is a tower off of 116th that does not have upgraded backhaul. Once there is fiber to the tower, it will buzzin with LTE.

Nah, this was an area wide outage. It appears that things have returned to normal! http://downdetector.com/status/sprint

There seems to be an outage in Everett/bothell/mill creek area. 1x only service.

To your first comment, different bars on 1x/EVDO vs LTE. LTE is more fragile than 1x/EVDO, which may be a reason for the different bars. Or, your phone is connecting to a not yet upgraded cell site broadcasting only 3G. Therefore, your data antenna maybe connecting to an upgraded LTE site further away. This second scenario would be the best for you, as it would give you HOPE that the tower closest to you would soon be upgraded and giving you great coverage from two towers. Again, if you were a paid member (not a premier) you'd be able to access this map. Also, bars aren't everything. Is your LTE working well with just 1 bar? If so, you are good! People would die to have one bar inside their house. You do not live in a deadzone. You have 4-5 bars of 3G. I have no bars of anything and use a Airave to get my cell phone to work. Sprint will not send a survey truck, heck they won't even send a COW to a Seahawks game like verizon does. I think 800 is the quickest plan of attack, and while there have been sightings of 800 signals (giving us hope) there isn't anything official. I believe we are a year to years away from 800, which is just based on the fact that Sprint did not choose to install 800 equipment in the Seattle market. There has always been talk about Softbank increasing coverage, such as building the network out, but that has been interpretations of what the Softbank CEO said in his speech, nothing official. Sprint does not own 600, in fact I believe the auction for 600 will be held next year. From the auction rules that the FCC are considering, it appears the real winner could be T-mo. It's not clear if the FCC will consider Sprint lower 800 Mhz spectrum comparable. T-mo just recently acquired a small batch of low freq spectrum. While the big three have nationwide lower freq. If I had people looking at Sprint, I would ask them what they expected from Sprint before recommending them. Not looking at the cost of plans and unlimited data, what else is needed? For example, coverage at home and at work. Those are the two places I need my phone and the places I spend the most time. Not having coverage at those two places, would drive me NUTS! If it were a year ago, I would never had recommended Sprint. Now that NV build-out is coming to an end, I would recommend them. Good Luck!

The simple answer is, you are unfortunately correct! 2.5Ghz will not propagate as well as 1900Mhz. So don't bank on it. However, there are somethings to consider. First, Sprint and Clear towers are mostly co-located, I think like 60%, therefore 40 % are located separately, which may work in your favor. Check this site out to see if there is a clear tower near you: http://www.clear.com/coverage You also need a phone that can access band 41. The primary objective with Band 41 is to give a bigger pipe, not to increase coverage. But again, there are some areas where you'll have a clear tower and not a sprint. This occurred on my old WiMax phone where I'd have no 1x coverage, so call calls went to VM, but I had fast data access as I was near a Clear tower. Also, sprint is upgrading (most) clear towers, so the tower near you may only be broadcasting in WiMax. Access to the premier section of this website will help tremulously with roll-out answers. If coverage stinks now, NV will probably not help you in the Seattle area. The only hope is Band 26 or 800Mhz, the old Nextel spectrum. Over the last week, it appears that people have been seeing some 800 signals, but as of now the official status is that Sprint cannot deploy until our FCC comes to an agreement with Canada's version of the FCC. Since the towers near me do not have 800 mhz gear, I presume it will be years. Good luck!

Any update? Have you gone to a tower and checked it out? Like, look at the RRUs? I've been driving around and have not spotted a 800 Mhz site.

I highly doubt it as well, but hopeful! I know there was a site in Tacoma that showed 800 accepted but Robert said it was a testing site of some short. The towers around me do not have 800 MHz RRU (but I haven’t checked for 3 mos). Heck, I don't even know how to force a phone to use 800Mhz, anyone know? Just luck? If anyone spots it, please take a screen shot and tell us where the tower is located! Not to trump the possible 800 news, but I have been getting A LOT of dropped calls. Everyday actually. I'm in a fully upgraded NV area. Has anyone else been experiencing this? I know there is a lot of work in King County going on, but I'm not in King County and I’m getting dropped call in random places. Places I've never had dropped calls before. It's not my phone either, as others have had similar problems. It's almost WORSE than during the legacy to NV tower transition. Any ideas?

Keep us updated! Please confirm, this would be great news!

What is "Sprints Internal System?" You said Everett, which tower? Has anyone seen their phones connect to 800 MHz? Great find!

Yes, very common to have full bars, but have spotty LTE coverage. This is normally due to being very close to a tower not supporting 4G, but the 4G radio is still obtaining some signal from a tower further away. Always check SignalCheck to obtain the correct LTE "bars." Good to hear a tower was turned on! Your problems should reduce as more towers are lit up.

I'm not sure with the tri-phone. With my EVO LTE, one radio can be connected to a 1XRTT signal (even a different tower), while the LTE radio is also connected. Check out the SignalCheck app, the app will show you signal information. You have a tri band phone, so I don't know. It might fall under the eCSFB Check this article for more info: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-357-nexus-5-and-lg-g2-experience-temporary-sprint-lte-connectivity-issues-due-to-circuit-switched-fallback-technology/