Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[Fraydog]

I've noticed a huge 3G speed difference between the suburbs and far west suburbs. For example, I work in Carol Stream, 3G speeds are fantastic, and the towers by me are NV completed according to the map. I live in DeKalb, 3G speeds are mediocre at best. The entire town is NV completed according to the map. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it possible they just haven't updated the fiber lines to the cabinets? I know its not over capacity, DeKalb is a college town, but its summer.... Just hoping out loud that it doesn't stay this way....

 

DeKalb is served by Frontier which is a major pain in the arse to deal with from a backhaul perspective.

[strung]

I would imagine a lot of Chicago land customers are dropping their service?

[Bek]

I would imagine a lot of Chicago land customers are dropping their service?

 

Quite frankly, I'm one of those who has been considering it.

 

Been lurking here for a number of months now, keeping an eye on what I can. (And thank you for this AWESOME website/resource!).

 

I've been with Sprint for YEARS, and remember when their 3G network was the BEST in the Chicagoland area. But it is a shadow of its former self. And I find myself torn between holding out for another however many months it takes for NV & LTE to go live here vs calling it quits (especially with the SGSIII release).

[MacinJosh]

 

Quite frankly' date=' I'm one of those who has been considering it.

 

Been lurking here for a number of months now, keeping an eye on what I can. (And thank you for this AWESOME website/resource!).

 

I've been with Sprint for YEARS, and remember when their 3G network was the BEST in the Chicagoland area. But it is a shadow of its former self. And I find myself torn between holding out for another however many months it takes for NV & LTE to go live here vs calling it quits (especially with the SGSIII release).[/quote']

 

I wouldn't leave Sprint. As hard as they are working in Chicago? I would love to have NV rolling out where I'm at. Data speeds lately have been bouncing between timeout errors and 500k in the day, so sometimes I can't even get forum runner to connect.

 

Sent from my LG Viper 4G LTE using Forum Runner

[S4GRU]

I too would be happy to suffer through Network Vision dropped calls and super slow data. But here I sit in New Mexico, likely one of the last to get NV in the country.

 

Robert

[bigzeto]

I too would be happy to suffer through Network Vision dropped calls and super slow data. But here I sit in New Mexico, likely one of the last to get NV in the country.

 

Robert

 

But not all of us have a Sprint tower in our backyards!

[S4GRU]

But not all of us have a Sprint tower in our backyards!

 

It's more like my side yard.

 

Robert

[NxtGenCowboy]

I am in the Joliet area and after reading your article on "The Windy City". It makes sense of why the dropped calls are happening.

But as a Sprint customer for the last 15 or so years, I am moving on. I have had 3 different occasions where I have had to call 911 and all 3 calls were dropped. I could list multiple issues but most I can deal with, but a dropped 911 call, I cannot.

 

Some areas in Joliet WiMax is amazing, 10-11Mbps down. 1 mile from that location, you cannot even connect to WiMax. "/

[S4GRU]

I am in the Joliet area and after reading your article on "The Windy City". It makes sense of why the dropped calls are happening.

But as a Sprint customer for the last 15 or so years, I am moving on. I have had 3 different occasions where I have had to call 911 and all 3 calls were dropped. I could list multiple issues but most I can deal with, but a dropped 911 call, I cannot.

 

Some areas in Joliet WiMax is amazing, 10-11Mbps down. 1 mile from that location, you cannot even connect to WiMax. "/

 

I understand. You have to do what is best in your circumstances. However, the issues with Sprint are temporary.

 

Robert

[NxtGenCowboy]

True, I do understand that they are temporary. But temporary could mean another few weeks or a year, ya never know. I love the Sprint plans just not the service as of lately (last year or so).

[irev210]

True, I do understand that they are temporary. But temporary could mean another few weeks or a year, ya never know. I love the Sprint plans just not the service as of lately (last year or so).

 

lol, of course Robert knows. He has the deployment schedules. It's actually pretty mind blowing how much info is on this site.

 

Dropped calls are not ok and pretty annoying, but after they finish... it will be better than any other network in Chicago.... and we are taking a few months (maybe less depending on where you live) - not a year.

[Wolvan]

Their was a local (Joliet area I think) newspaper article a few weeks back about the Sprint reception issue's. Several police/sheriff stations that had been using sprint for their cell service etc, are switching away from Sprint due to dropped calls etc.

 

Overall its much better now in this area, but still will get the occasional zero bar period in area's where I normally have full bars. I'm just really hoping that with NV things will be much improved by this fall with LTE etc. I'm just trying to decide if I should get a new phone now (S3) or wait till the new batch this fall. My Epic 4G is getting long in the tooth.

[S4GRU]

Their was a local (Joliet area I think) newspaper article a few weeks back about the Sprint reception issue's. Several police/sheriff stations that had been using sprint for their cell service etc' date=' are switching away from Sprint due to dropped calls etc.

 

Overall its much better now in this area, but still will get the occasional zero bar period in area's where I normally have full bars. I'm just really hoping that with NV things will be much improved by this fall with LTE etc. I'm just trying to decide if I should get a new phone now (S3) or wait till the new batch this fall. My Epic 4G is getting long in the tooth.[/quote']

 

Your zero bar issue may be related to your device and not the Sprint network. I have seen many complaints about this issue occurring with the Epic. There are a few vocal members around here who complain about Samsung radios because of this reason.

 

Robert - Posted from my E4GT with ICS using Forum Runner

[NxtGenCowboy]

Your zero bar issue may be related to your device and not the Sprint network. I have seen many complaints about this issue occurring with the Epic. There are a few vocal members around here who complain about Samsung radios because of this reason.

 

Robert - Posted from my E4GT with ICS using Forum Runner

 

the los bug - loss of service - Samsung/Sprint issued a fix but it was not a 100% fix

[Wolvan]

My wife has had similar issue's on her Epic 4G Touch (GS2), though not as bad as my old Epic.

 

I'm considering upgrading to the S3, but the fears of poor reception and non-functioning GPS (I have to restart phone to even have a chance of my GPS working, while the wife's Epic Touch takes forever to get lock ons, sometimes requires phone restarts) has me hesitating.

[S4GRU]

My wife has had similar issue's on her Epic 4G Touch (GS2), though not as bad as my old Epic.

 

I'm considering upgrading to the S3, but the fears of poor reception and non-functioning GPS (I have to restart phone to even have a chance of my GPS working, while the wife's Epic Touch takes forever to get lock ons, sometimes requires phone restarts) has me hesitating.

 

i will do a full review of mine when I get it, including taking it to areas where I have had marginal reception issues where the OG EVO did better. This can perhaps help you decide.

 

Robert

[pyroscott]

My wife has had similar issue's on her Epic 4G Touch (GS2), though not as bad as my old Epic.

 

I'm considering upgrading to the S3, but the fears of poor reception and non-functioning GPS (I have to restart phone to even have a chance of my GPS working, while the wife's Epic Touch takes forever to get lock ons, sometimes requires phone restarts) has me hesitating.

 

GNex GPS works great (on my phone.) If that helps...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[ralphkaz]

My wife has had similar issue's on her Epic 4G Touch (GS2), though not as bad as my old Epic.

 

I'm considering upgrading to the S3, but the fears of poor reception and non-functioning GPS (I have to restart phone to even have a chance of my GPS working, while the wife's Epic Touch takes forever to get lock ons, sometimes requires phone restarts) has me hesitating.

 

I think I'm going to wait till the LTE network is fully turned on in the Chicago area (and hear reports of how it works) and then perhaps get the new iPhone 5 which is supposed to have LTE and be released sometime around Sept/Oct.

[mellimel2212]

 

I think I'm going to wait till the LTE network is fully turned on in the Chicago area (and hear reports of how it works) and then perhaps get the new iPhone 5 which is supposed to have LTE and be released sometime around Sept/Oct.

 

 

Of all the new hot androids coming out u gonna get a fruit phone lol that's the best part of America freedom of choice

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4g using Tapatalk 2

[ralphkaz]

Of all the new hot androids coming out u gonna get a fruit phone lol that's the best part of America freedom of choice

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4g using Tapatalk 2

 

Not for sure yet, obviously have to wait and see the specs on the new JesusPhone... I'm no apple fanboy but I've had both iOS and Android and its clear to me that everything just WORKS on the iPhone... all the apps are smoother, the integration with other devices/services is better... all around a better expericence (for me anyways). they just need to up the damn screen size!

[mellimel2212]

Well I used android ios and bb and I never had the power, flexibility, and ease of use than my android my Nexus runs smooth

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4g using Tapatalk 2

[Hiro11]

Just thought I'd comment on my experiences. I commute in the western suburbs and have had ridiculously bad data and voice experiences in the past few weeks. Data often slows to a trickle or completely stops. Calls drop constantly (although they sound much better than my OG Evo, not sure if it's the phone or the new network). I've noticed it's particularly bad in the Schaumburg area. I stream Rdio while driving and it's become almost unusable while driving in certain areas out here if you're moving between cells.

 

This site has now explained the problem to me. Seems like we're basically stuck here until the network refresh is done which is kind of unacceptable for something as expensive as cellphone service. I like a lot of things about the Evo 4G LTE, but the Sprint network has really hurt enjoyment of my first week. Looking forward to a much better experience shortly. And I hope it is shortly because this is a bit annoying.

[Fraydog]

When NV is being deployed in the north side of Chicago proper, is it going to cause lots of issues for Sprint? I only ask because I have lots of friends on Sprint there.

[BenChase7]

Just thought I'd comment on my experiences. I commute in the western suburbs and have had ridiculously bad data and voice experiences in the past few weeks. Data often slows to a trickle or completely stops. Calls drop constantly (although they sound much better than my OG Evo, not sure if it's the phone or the new network). I've noticed it's particularly bad in the Schaumburg area. I stream Rdio while driving and it's become almost unusable while driving in certain areas out here if you're moving between cells.

 

This site has now explained the problem to me. Seems like we're basically stuck here until the network refresh is done which is kind of unacceptable for something as expensive as cellphone service. I like a lot of things about the Evo 4G LTE, but the Sprint network has really hurt enjoyment of my first week. Looking forward to a much better experience shortly. And I hope it is shortly because this is a bit annoying.

 

I would gladly trade you spots. lol In other words, I could deal with some dropped calls for a bit in order to get what is heading your way. Guess everyone has different views on it though.

[irev210]

GNex GPS works great (on my phone.) If that helps...

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

the GNEX has a dedicated GPS - it's a very good SiRF SiRFstarIV GTD4T-9600B chip

 

I think a lot of the problems with the Epic related to the GPS built-in to the qualcomm CDMA chip.

 

I haven't spent a ton of time comparing the GNEX GPS to the EVO 4G LTE's 28nm qualcomm built-in GPS, but I think the GNEX is better. While the EVO has GLONASS support and the GNEX doesn't, the GNEX seems to lock faster (instantly!) and provide more consistent info.

 

It's strange though because if you just go based off GPS test, the EVO is more accurate and has more satellites in view (double because of GLONASS, but it doesn't use them if USA sats are in view)... but in real world use, the GNEX seems to be better.

 

Bottom line, at least both work well. If I had to guess, it seems like the dedicated GPS chip has better algorithms to deal with near by buildings and what not - giving it better real-world performance.