Network Vision/LTE - Chicago Market

[Joeynach]

Yeah, I think it'll take the rest of the year as well. However, once all is said and done, I honestly believe Sprint will have the best network in Chicago, and that's a big deal. Especially when they can get all their 800mhz working to get better building penetration as well. That's a big deal too.

 

I don't care too much about data speeds I just want the actual phone (voice) to work! I'm bathing in LTE almost everywhere I go. The only time I see a 3G icon is in the elevator at work, or maybe a conference center over near O'Hare.

 

Lucky you, I get 3G all the time in the loop. Even today when I was eating a JJ on Jackson and Wells im sitting there in 3G roam, which apparently means nothing b/c I get no working data connection when its on 3G roam, just time outs and notifications for "no data connection".

[WiWavelength]

What is DAS and what does it do.

 

DAS ist gut.

 

AJ

[Joeynach]

DAS ist gut.

 

AJ

 

Very funny. Your german is awful

[Fraydog]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_antenna_system

 

You're welcome.

[mellimel2212]

 

Lucky you, I get 3G all the time in the loop. Even today when I was eating a JJ on Jackson and Wells im sitting there in 3G roam, which apparently means nothing b/c I get no working data connection when its on 3G roam, just time outs and notifications for "no data connection".

 

Wow I have lte all throughout dt and the l my 4g lasts from central all the way through the green line. Only place I don't have it is in the tunnels in the red line. I even have it in Chinatown.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Joeynach]

Wow I have lte all throughout dt and the l my 4g lasts from central all the way through the green line. Only place I don't have it is in the tunnels in the red line. I even have it in Chinatown.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

Really, up and down Mich Ave, State St, Lasalle, Wells, Dearborn, Randolph, Madison, Adams, Jackson....all of em? Cuz I get nothing. Intermittent 3G at best.

[Vince]

You all got me nervous to go downtown now. Here I was thinking that the loop would at least have decent lte blanketed throughout, and would only be filling in the holes at this point. Sprints lte on sensorly looks denser than verizon in the city albeit darker purple (stronger).

[drock2750]

 

 

Really, up and down Mich Ave, State St, Lasalle, Wells, Dearborn, Randolph, Madison, Adams, Jackson....all of em? Cuz I get nothing. Intermittent 3G at best.

 

He claims to get LTE everywhere. If he gets LTE in the loop even though LTE isn't available, he should have no problem reporting it on sensorly. I sometimes wonder what he gets out of making this stuff up all the time, but I guess there's 1 in every forum.

[mellimel2212]

 

He claims to get LTE everywhere. If he gets LTE in the loop even though LTE isn't available, he should have no problem reporting it on sensorly. I sometimes wonder what he gets out of making this stuff up all the time, but I guess there's 1 in every forum.

 

Haha my screenshots explain themselves dude. And plus I play ingress so I get to test out the network firsthand lol why I gotta lie to anybody for???? :mellow:

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[mellimel2212]

And report what Chicago can't get no more purple in the loop out the loop in between the loop however u put it. It might not be perfect but who said they was done?

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Joeynach]

He claims to get LTE everywhere. If he gets LTE in the loop even though LTE isn't available, he should have no problem reporting it on sensorly. I sometimes wonder what he gets out of making this stuff up all the time, but I guess there's 1 in every forum.

 

I don't know how either Mellimel of Sensorly claim or show so much LTE in the loop. The NV sites complete map shows four, count em four complete LTE towers in the Loop (out of 25 earmarked) if you make a box from congress-wacker-LSD. And two of those four are right next to each other near Columbus & Wacker. So where is all this LTE covering the entire Loop area coming from? Even on Sensorly.

[Vince]

Tower XXXXXXXXX in DuPage county along I-55 marked: 3G/4G/800

What am I looking at here? NV with a legacy rack below it? Still kind of new to tower spotting. Took some time today on my day off to photograph 3 nearby fully-completed towers. Thanks, guys

Edit: sorry for the picture orientation, I'm on my phone and can't figure out why it's posting sideways.

Edited May 8, 2013 by S4GRU
Removed Site ID from post in non-sponsor area

[S4GRU]

Tower XXXXXXXXX in DuPage county along I-55 marked: 3G/4G/800 What am I looking at here? NV with a legacy rack below it? Still kind of new to tower spotting. Took some time today on my day off to photograph 3 nearby fully-completed towers. Thanks, guys Edit: sorry for the picture orientation, I'm on my phone and can't figure out why it's posting sideways.

 

The legacy and Network Vision panels are almost always on the same rack. Sprint is the top rack and the bottom rack is another carrier. The large panel in the center of the rack is the new Network Vision panel, with its RRU's behind it. The outer panels at the corner are the legacy panels.

 

Robert

 

NOTE: I removed the Site ID from your post. Information from the Sponsor section (including Site ID's) are to be kept in the Sponsor section of the site. Thanks!

[Vince]

So each panel, 1 per side has approx 120 degrees of coverage?

[lilotimz]

So each panel, 1 per side has approx 120 degrees of coverage?

 

Depends. Some are 120, others are 90, some 65, and narrow band ones are either 30 or 45 degrees.

[mellimel2212]

 

I don't know how either Mellimel of Sensorly claim or show so much LTE in the loop. The NV sites complete map shows four, count em four complete LTE towers in the Loop (out of 25 earmarked) if you make a box from congress-wacker-LSD. And two of those four are right next to each other near Columbus & Wacker. So where is all this LTE covering the entire Loop area coming from? Even on Sensorly.

 

Well idk what to say bro lol.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[wtsguy]

A short update on the issues I was having before (people not being able to hear when I picked up, dropped calls all the time, etc) it does seem to be getting better. I don't take as many phone calls as my wife does, but I don't think I've had someone not hear me when I answer in probably a week or more, which is AWESOME. It's kinda sad when you're excited your phone service works as it should, but given the massive undertaking this is, I'm hoping just a few more weeks and it'll all be straightened out in the NW burbs.

 

I'm losing my mind and my patience over the callers not being able to hear me issue. It hasn't gotten much better for me, but I'm glad to hear that it is for others. I live in the Wheaton / Warrenville / Winfield area if this matters to anyone? Can anyone in this area confirm that almost the entirety of Winfield Road north of I-88 up to the railroad tracks is almost a dead zone? There is a 4G tower near I-88 but I lose the signal around Butterfield road and am either getting no data signal, or weak (dial-up speed or time-out) 3G until I reach the tracks where I pick up the 4G (sometimes) from the tower at Central Dupage hospital.

 

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support. However, if this keeps up I might have to flash back to stock and do something because it's so bad that whenever someone calls me I let it roll to voicemail and then call them back because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. This happens all around the dupage area. I never had this problem 2 months ago so I know it has nothing to do with my phone.

 

On another note, did they ever do anything about the Evo 4G LTE signal problems? Half the time the phone is on 3G even though there are 4G towers around the area, and I still have to do the airplane mode flip to get the phone to switch to 4G. I tried setting the phone to LTE/CDMA only but being on 1X is painful and it still happens far too often for me to turn off 3G entirely. The other problem is that when the phone is in 3G mode (especially in the Winfield/Warrenville area and Winfield Road corridor), it's unusable and below dial-up speeds.

 

I'm wondering if I would solve so many problems if I just upgraded to a Galaxy S4? I am really unhappy with the Evo.

Edited May 8, 2013 by wtsguy

[Joeynach]

I'm losing my mind and my patience over the callers not being able to hear me issue. It hasn't gotten much better for me, but I'm glad to hear that it is for others. I live in the Wheaton / Warrenville / Winfield area if this matters to anyone? Can anyone in this area confirm that almost the entirety of Winfield Road north of I-88 up to the railroad tracks is almost a dead zone? There is a 4G tower near I-88 but I lose the signal around Butterfield road and am either getting no data signal, or weak (dial-up speed or time-out) 3G until I reach the tracks where I pick up the 4G (sometimes) from the tower at Central Dupage hospital.

 

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support. However, if this keeps up I might have to flash back to stock and do something because it's so bad that whenever someone calls me I let it roll to voicemail and then call them back because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. This happens all around the dupage area. I never had this problem 2 months ago so I know it has nothing to do with my phone.

 

On another note, did they ever do anything about the Evo 4G LTE signal problems? Half the time the phone is on 3G even though there are 4G towers around the area, and I still have to do the airplane mode flip to get the phone to switch to 4G. I tried setting the phone to LTE/CDMA only but being on 1X is painful and it still happens far too often for me to turn off 3G entirely. The other problem is that when the phone is in 3G mode (especially in the Winfield/Warrenville area and Winfield Road corridor), it's unusable and below dial-up speeds.

 

I'm wondering if I would solve so many problems if I just upgraded to a Galaxy S4? I am really unhappy with the Evo.

 

I would drop a few donation bucks to become a sponsor and than browse your area in the NV Sites Complete Map. That will show you each tower location on the map and its service (3G, 4G, 800 Mhz, etc etc). If there is just not a physical tower in your area I would just dump Sprint, NV won't save you, but you can compare the NV sites complete map to the Chicago Market NV Sites marked for upgrades map and see if there are still some towers (or holes) in the upgraded towers process. Again, if everything is fully upgraded and its as good as its gonna get just dump them man, not every service is perfect for everyone.

 

I learned this the hard way too, I remember going to college (Purdue in W. Lafayette) years ago. When I got to campus took me months to figure out why I always got no service indoors, no bars anywhere I go, dropped calls, straight to voicemails, etc etc. But everyone else's phone service worked fine. Come to find out Verizon, my provider at the time, was the only provider without a Tower to serve the campus and West Lafayette community. The only tower they had was 7-8 miles away off I-65 so I dumped them knowing I could see ATT and Sprint towers all over campus in different places and all their users phones worked fine. I suggest you find out the same.

[EndlessDissent]

 

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support.

 

You will probably be glad to hear that Sprint doesn't really care if your device is rooted. Sprint policy is to repair rooted phones just like non-rooted phones. Check out this article: http://www.acsyndicate.net/dear-sprint-thanks-for-the-memo/

 

They are not obligated to service a device with a custom ROM, though I have heard of people getting phones serviced with CyanogenMod installed and of Sprint reps who themselves used custom ROMs. YMMV, of course. Not all stores or reps are equal.

[wobbypetty]

I'm losing my mind and my patience over the callers not being able to hear me issue. It hasn't gotten much better for me, but I'm glad to hear that it is for others. I live in the Wheaton / Warrenville / Winfield area if this matters to anyone? Can anyone in this area confirm that almost the entirety of Winfield Road north of I-88 up to the railroad tracks is almost a dead zone? There is a 4G tower near I-88 but I lose the signal around Butterfield road and am either getting no data signal, or weak (dial-up speed or time-out) 3G until I reach the tracks where I pick up the 4G (sometimes) from the tower at Central Dupage hospital.

 

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support. However, if this keeps up I might have to flash back to stock and do something because it's so bad that whenever someone calls me I let it roll to voicemail and then call them back because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. This happens all around the dupage area. I never had this problem 2 months ago so I know it has nothing to do with my phone.

 

On another note, did they ever do anything about the Evo 4G LTE signal problems? Half the time the phone is on 3G even though there are 4G towers around the area, and I still have to do the airplane mode flip to get the phone to switch to 4G. I tried setting the phone to LTE/CDMA only but being on 1X is painful and it still happens far too often for me to turn off 3G entirely. The other problem is that when the phone is in 3G mode (especially in the Winfield/Warrenville area and Winfield Road corridor), it's unusable and below dial-up speeds.

 

I'm wondering if I would solve so many problems if I just upgraded to a Galaxy S4? I am really unhappy with the Evo.

 

Yeah Winfield road is bad until you get near CDH. That road is right at the edge of a pair of towers to the east and west. I am sure it has something to do with that entire area being either forest preserve or catigny golf. Sprint must not be able to build towers on certain zoning or perhaps it is not cost effective to do so.

 

Also I have noticed that kicking off a PRL update will trigger a rescan for 4g and in my experience is the equivalent of toggling airplane mode. May be a moot point but thought I would toss out an alternative.

 

Rob

[mellimel2212]

 

You will probably be glad to hear that Sprint doesn't really care if your device is rooted. Sprint policy is to repair rooted phones just like non-rooted phones. Check out this article: http://www.acsyndicate.net/dear-sprint-thanks-for-the-memo/

 

They are not obligated to service a device with a custom ROM, though I have heard of people getting phones serviced with CyanogenMod installed and of Sprint reps who themselves used custom ROMs. YMMV, of course. Not all stores or reps are equal.

 

My sprint store on Cicero knows about both my ROMs on my phone and even gives me tips on different roms and kernels.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Vince]

Just out of curiosity: will there be some adjustments to a tower signal, in regards to power levels? The reason I ask is because driving near known nv towers marked as 3G/4G/800, the difference of a few hundred feet is differentiating between full, 5 lte bars, 20mbps, the next second, 2-3 lte bars and 3-6mbps. You almost have to be on top of a tower to get full lte signal.

[hayzooos]

I'm losing my mind and my patience over the callers not being able to hear me issue. It hasn't gotten much better for me, but I'm glad to hear that it is for others. I live in the Wheaton / Warrenville / Winfield area if this matters to anyone? Can anyone in this area confirm that almost the entirety of Winfield Road north of I-88 up to the railroad tracks is almost a dead zone? There is a 4G tower near I-88 but I lose the signal around Butterfield road and am either getting no data signal, or weak (dial-up speed or time-out) 3G until I reach the tracks where I pick up the 4G (sometimes) from the tower at Central Dupage hospital.

 

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support. However, if this keeps up I might have to flash back to stock and do something because it's so bad that whenever someone calls me I let it roll to voicemail and then call them back because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. This happens all around the dupage area. I never had this problem 2 months ago so I know it has nothing to do with my phone.

 

On another note, did they ever do anything about the Evo 4G LTE signal problems? Half the time the phone is on 3G even though there are 4G towers around the area, and I still have to do the airplane mode flip to get the phone to switch to 4G. I tried setting the phone to LTE/CDMA only but being on 1X is painful and it still happens far too often for me to turn off 3G entirely. The other problem is that when the phone is in 3G mode (especially in the Winfield/Warrenville area and Winfield Road corridor), it's unusable and below dial-up speeds.

 

I'm wondering if I would solve so many problems if I just upgraded to a Galaxy S4? I am really unhappy with the Evo.

 

Are you integrating with Google Voice by chance? Both my wife and I noticed things got better when we ditched that integration. I don't know if it was that or Sprint's network actually getting better, so it could be a coincidence.

 

Also, as you stated in your post, you know it's not a problem with your phone as you didn't have this issue a few months back. Upgrading to the S4 wouldn't fix the problem (outside maybe the LTE part) since it's not a hardware problem.

 

Since Sprint started the rollout in the West burbs and moved in towards the city, I'm guessing this issue will be solved in the same manner. You're a bit further East than me, so I would think it would start getting better for you shortly as it did for me. Not 100% yet, but it is better.

[S4GRU]

Just out of curiosity: will there be some adjustments to a tower signal, in regards to power levels? The reason I ask is because driving near known nv towers marked as 3G/4G/800, the difference of a few hundred feet is differentiating between full, 5 lte bars, 20mbps, the next second, 2-3 lte bars and 3-6mbps. You almost have to be on top of a tower to get full lte signal.

 

You may be going between sectors. Every site deployment is different. Some have severe downtilt, some have narrow beam panels, some have reduced transmission power. You may have driven into an area where you now are in an RF shadow from the site because of a building between you and the site. There is no way to answer your question, really.

 

But that being said, a full LTE 1900 signal is not going to travel very far. Sprint isn't designing their network to make sure there is a full LTE 1900 signal everywhere you go. They'd have to double their number of sites. But they are trying to give you a useable LTE signal within the 3G footprint. LTE 800 will help quite a bit to get a stronger LTE signal out there and improve that.

 

However, I'm happy with 3-6Mbps speeds when I have a mediocre signal. And most people will be too.

[drock2750]

It would appear that some sites in the loop are in different locations than they used to be. Does anybody know if rather than simply upgrading existing equipment, Sprint is completely re-configuring their deployment in the loop, including location? If sites were being moved, and new leases were being negotiated etc. in the loop, that would more than explain the delays down there.