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Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market


thesickness069

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Just landed at O'hare and they had us all the way in the new NW corner. Turned on phone (as we left the runway, allowed by United) and picked up 4G coverage. Quickly started Sensorly so it should show up in awhile. Tower on the Hilton in the center of the airport still not upgraded, so dropped back to 3G as we came towards the terminal.

 

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@Endless...what modem/baseband are you using? With the latest update from Sprint, they released a new modem with it as well. I've been using LI3 lately, and have been having pretty good success with it as far as I'm concerned.

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So, for the last few weeks, my 3G speeds at my house have been pretty good - about 1-1.5 Mbps at 4 AM. Around September 25, LTE was turned on, and it was also pretty good. It was kind of a weak signal, around 3.5-5 Mbps, but I had a constant connection in my house, and it worked well.

 

However, this all changed in the middle of the night Saturday. My phone started dropping to 3G after being connected to LTE for only a few seconds, and now, the only time I can keep a connection for longer than a minute (real time, not hyperbole) is between 3:30 and 5 AM. Even then, the connection doesn't last more than 20 minutes. At the time, I hadn't made any changes to my phone for three days, during which I had a steady LTE connection. The ROM I'm using doesn't have all the LTE bugs worked out yet, so in order to eliminate that as the cause of my problems, I flashed back to the stock ROM and got the same results - dropping back to 3G after a few seconds of LTE. To top it off, not only am I unable to connect to LTE now, my 3G speeds have dropped to unusable levels - I just tested a little while ago, and out of 4 tests, not one reached 200 Kbps, and one was only 1 Kbps (not a typo).

 

The strangest thing, though, is that I'm now getting the same behavior at my job. When LTE was turned on by my house in Schaumburg, it was also turned on by my job in Addison, which is 10 miles away, so it can't be operating from the same tower (afaik). The only difference is that at my job, the 3G speeds are still usable. Other than that, I'm getting the same LTE connection issues.

 

Since the problem doesn't seem to be my phone, I have a few theories as to what may have happened Saturday night. Do any of these scenarios sound plausible to the gurus here, or am I just crazy?

 

1.) Some parameter of the towers were adjusted - maybe downtilt or something - that weakened the signal in each location.

 

2.) The towers I'm using are already over capacity after a week and a half.

 

3.) A tower closer to me is currently being upgraded for NV, but isn't complete, so my phone is trying to connect to a tower that still has neither LTE nor completed backhaul, and this will be over shortly, when the tower is completed. This scenario accounts for the terrible 3G speeds at my house and why my phone won't stay connected to the LTE tower anymore, but it doesn't account for the similar behavior at my job. Unless towers are being upgraded in both places at the same time, which would be a heck of a coincidence.

 

4.) Other; Maybe one of you knows better, and my first three ideas are way off.

 

 

Personally, I'm hoping it's #3. Also, sorry for the long, boring story. Thanks for reading.

 

#1 is possible. #2 is not possible. #3 is possible. #4, another theory...it is also possible that the cluster your work and home are in has been taken down (for some unknown reason). In Chicagoland, Lake County has been launched and appears on Sprint coverage maps. The rest of the area is in prelaunch mode. Coverage will be coming and going.

 

However, to help you verify that it is not associated with your ROM, radio or anything else with your device, do you know anyone else who has a LTE device that can replicate the issue in your area?

 

Robert

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I live DeKalb. They havent even installed backhaul yet.... :-(

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using JB 4.1.1

 

 

Well that just sucks! I would love to have these speeds out here in DeKalb. I wonder how long till work gets underway. For now since i have Wi-Fi at home, my main hope is that the west loop and the Wheaton area get hooked up soon so my train ride gets reasonably less crappy without needing to drink!

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Well that just sucks! I would love to have these speeds out here in DeKalb. I wonder how long till work gets underway. For now since i have Wi-Fi at home' date=' my main hope is that the west loop and the Wheaton area get hooked up soon so my train ride gets reasonably less crappy without needing to drink![/quote']

 

Yea. Tell me about it. I work at the corner of Geneva and Schmale.......I get 4G everywhere on 38 and 64 starting in Elburn.....but nothing at work.... :-(

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using JB 4.1.1

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I spent some time this afternoon with Sensorly on the North side. The map looks to be updated. Odd thing, I was not able to get the signal at street level, mainly when I was on the Red Line. I was seeing signal strength between -90 and -100 with the highest speeds around 12. Mostly I was getting about 4-5 but that was even at full speed on the train. Stark contrast to the 0.00 I saw at the Fullerton stop.

Edited by Bird_Chicago
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I bought a galaxy s3 today from a guy in norridge,il.We were at some mall on 4170 N harlem. While we were activating it 4g popped up I ran a few speedtests. Was getting decent speeds to. Sadly I didnt have sensorly installed yet. Loving the gs3 way better than the evo lte!!! I got a brand new otterbox case for the evo for cheap if anyone is in the joliet area!!

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I spent some time this afternoon with Sensorly on the North side. The map looks to be updated. Odd thing, I was not able to get the signal at street level, mainly when I was on the Red Line. I was seeing signal strength between -90 and -100 with the highest speeds around 12. Mostly I was getting about 4-5 but that was even at full speed on the train. Stark contrast to the 0.00 I saw at the Fullerton stop.

 

Why would that be that the signal doesn't reach ground level? I also noticed that in my building in the west loop. I am on the 5th floor and get intermitent 4G signal, but then I get outside and nothing. Thoughts?

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More buildings and "stuff" in the way to block the signal. The platforms get you up to a better position (perhaps even line of sight) and you get a few more dBs of signal. Yesterday I was able to get 4G from the top of the O'hare parking structure (had to cycle airplane mode first since it was locked on 3G). But as soon as I drove down, back to 3G.

You can see that O'hare dot on Sensorly right on top :D. But it was a weak signal. Speedtest kept starting and stopping.

Edited by gof
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#1 is possible. #2 is not possible. #3 is possible. #4, another theory...it is also possible that the cluster your work and home are in has been taken down (for some unknown reason). In Chicagoland, Lake County has been launched and appears on Sprint coverage maps. The rest of the area is in prelaunch mode. Coverage will be coming and going.

 

However, to help you verify that it is not associated with your ROM, radio or anything else with your device, do you know anyone else who has a LTE device that can replicate the issue in your area?

 

Robert

 

Thanks for the reply. I don't think the cluster has been taken down, because I'm still connecting to 4G, just not for more than a minute at a time. Like I said, I'm hoping it's #3, because then this little fiasco will be over in a week or two (fingers crossed), and I'll have an even better connection.

 

The only other person I know with a Sprint LTE phone is my sister with an Evo, and we all know how finicky those are to start with. Not just that, but she just got a replacement yesterday for one she broke, so she hasn't had it long enough to know if there's a hardware problem with LTE (I think it's a refurb, too). FWIW, on her original Evo, when the LTE was first turned on she was barely able to get LTE in my bedroom, while I had a steady but weak connection in the same place. I asked if she's had any problems connecting to 4G in the last few days, and she said she hasn't connected to it at all.

 

So, yeah, nothing definitive from my sister's phone, but I'm optimistic that scenario 3 is causing the current situation.

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Why would that be that the signal doesn't reach ground level? I also noticed that in my building in the west loop. I am on the 5th floor and get intermitent 4G signal' date=' but then I get outside and nothing. Thoughts?[/quote']

 

It's early in deployment. If the signal is not nearby, but rather a good distance away, you will not be able to get the signal. Being up in the air gets you above the clutter and offers you a chance to connect to a distant site.

 

The signal will be much better in your area and reach the ground when the sites around you are converted.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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Hey All,

 

I could really use some advice. I'm getting horrible coverage at home right now (60622, Ukrainian Village). Missed calls, texts that show up hours late, etc. I'm ok waiting a month or so for some tower upgrades in my area, but I have a wife with health issues who needs to be able to reach me in emergencies. For instance, I can make calls from home, but my phone won't even ring if someone calls me.

 

While LTE speed would be great, I'm much more concerned about reception and coverage. Anyone know if the current work in the area will improve the issues I'm having? Otherwise, I'll need to switch to Verizon or At&t.

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

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I heard there were known issues between airave and iphone 5.

 

Hell, my GS3 will only connect to it for EVDO, and maybe once every month it will connect to it for voice. I'm lucky they've had 800 mhz live here for 3 months or so because I don't even really need the Airave anymore. Even my native EVDO signal is decent now.

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Why would that be that the signal doesn't reach ground level? I also noticed that in my building in the west loop. I am on the 5th floor and get intermitent 4G signal, but then I get outside and nothing. Thoughts?

 

It's early in deployment. If the signal is not nearby, but rather a good distance away, you will not be able to get the signal. Being up in the air gets you above the clutter and offers you a chance to connect to a distant site.

 

The signal will be much better in your area and reach the ground when the sites around you are converted.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

Check out this PDF:

 

http://www.iegmp.org...nts/iegmp_4.pdf

 

There’s a diagram on page 35 that sort of depicts the mechanics (so to speak) of near- and far-field regions. I don’t know what the near-field region is for a tower, but I seem to recall hearing somewhere that a cell phone won’t be able to use the near-field signal of a tower because it’s attuned to the far-field signal (which covers a much great amount than the near-field).

 

Possibly related to that is the figure on page 37, which shows where one can expect to start picking up the signal from an antenna.

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I heard there were known issues between airave and iphone 5.

 

I telecommute and spend my entire day on my iPhone 5 or Photon Q and both work on the Airave without any issues.

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Too all the Chicago ppl close to midway just received an LTE signal for a bit. They might be testing the tower or low signal since it came n went like nothing. Take it for what its worth and that is great news.

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Was on the 26th floor of 150 S. Wacker in the Loop today between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. - could not get a voice signal very well but picked up 4g for the first time in the city (live in Lincoln Park, have S3 and work in Loop.) Was in a meeting so did not check speed in any detailed way - but it seemed way faster than 3g. Now, back in my office about 1/2 mile to northeast and there is no signal.

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Was on the 26th floor of 150 S. Wacker in the Loop today between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. - could not get a voice signal very well but picked up 4g for the first time in the city (live in Lincoln Park, have S3 and work in Loop.) Was in a meeting so did not check speed in any detailed way - but it seemed way faster than 3g. Now, back in my office about 1/2 mile to northeast and there is no signal.

 

My office is in the Sears Tower...been telecommuting for a few months now, so no LTE reports from there, but on the old EVO Wimax, I got zero Wimax 4G signal on the east side of the building (about 30 floors up). We then got moved to the west side and with a desk facing the windows, I got a pinch of Wimax about 2/3rds of the time. Moving the phone a few inches to the left or right could make or break a 4G connect.

 

Will have to head back downtown one of these days when there's a bit more LTE action going.

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