Network Vision/LTE - West Washington Market (Seattle/Puget Sound Region)

[Bob Newhart]

For some odd reason I can't send texts and my calls can't connect anymore without roaming. Is there anything going on with the towers in Burien?

 

Edit this link and add your cell number to the end.

 

http://zone.sprint.com/servicetrender/getstatus?mdn=8005551212

[tommy24]

Probably doing work on the towers in your area. Same thing happened in my area during the upgrades.

You might be right, I saw a flash of lte and lte stops about a block away from my house.

[aloha]

I'm curious if anyone knows. I live in Lake Forest Park, north end of Lake Washington and every month for the past 4-5 months the tower(s) have gone down for a number of days. Anyone have any idea what might be going on?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Cross streets would be most helpful.

[JThorson]

NE 186th street and 43rd Ave NE. I have noticed some improvements lately. Some spots of LTE, but 3G is still bad. 

 

I know they are doing a lot of work up here now, and I'm guessing that is the reason I've been having these issues.

[Bob Newhart]

In the area where I work near Federal Way, WA, the 3G data/voice signal level has got slightly better, now good enough to use it for conversations, where in the past year I could not use it.

 

1XRTT is -95 to -100 dBm and eHRPD -97 dBm.

Nexus5.

[isajym]

I was just in the renton area and my buddys phone note 2 picks up lte and my nexus 5 didn't....is this because of the circuit fallback issue?

 

I have 1800 band enabled and network type set to LTE mode.

[Bob Newhart]

I was just in the renton area and my buddys phone note 2 picks up lte and my nexus 5 didn't....is this because of the circuit fallback issue?

 

I have 1800 band enabled and network type set to LTE mode.

 

I would think so.

I have a Nexus5 and are starting to see LTE in the area now, where another person has an s3 and sees it almost everywhere.

[JThorson]

I am wondering if anyone has received the upgraded towers? Have you noticed a big boost in voice quality and data speed? I've been thinking of switching to Verizon because of the network issues with Sprint still. Sprint says the towers around me are scheduled to be upgraded within the next 3 months.

 

I would just like as much info as possible to help with my decision. I would like to stay with Sprint because of the plans.

 

Thanks for your help

[Bob Newhart]

Yep, where you can get a signal, its much faster.

 

Have you see the 4G LTE logo on your phone yet at all?

 

Where is Lake Forest Park, somewhere in Seattle?

[JThorson]

I have seen LTE around me in neighboring cities such as Kenmore and have done speed tests where I could get 26 down. It's right around where I live it's still pretty poor. Really bad 3G and spotty voice, getting dropped calls, not receiving or being able to send texts.

 

But I think it may be worth it to stick with Sprint at least for 3 months and see what happens. If I see an improvement like other cities, I'll be very happy. Here is hoping to a big improvement.

 

Thanks JoeJoeJoe

[Bob Newhart]

I just looked at the tower map and I don't see any towers in the city of Lake Forest Park.

 

Is that one of the cities up there that doesn't really like having cell towers around?

 

Looking at Sprint's owner tower improvement map here : https://network.sprint.com/search/Lake+Forest+Park%2C+WA/

You can see most of them around you, things are happening.

 

3G data/voice will get a little better, they did for me in Federal Way, and they are still working on them.

 

There are a lot of us just waiting to see what happens, just like you.

[oversight]

Is that one of the cities up there that doesn't really like having cell towers around?

 

That seems to describe the entire Seattle/Eastside area pretty well. All the red and yellow north and south, with nothing but purple around Lake Washington.

[drlovety]

I have seen LTE around me in neighboring cities such as Kenmore and have done speed tests where I could get 26 down. It's right around where I live it's still pretty poor. Really bad 3G and spotty voice, getting dropped calls, not receiving or being able to send texts.

 

But I think it may be worth it to stick with Sprint at least for 3 months and see what happens. If I see an improvement like other cities, I'll be very happy. Here is hoping to a big improvement.

 

Thanks JoeJoeJoe

 

If you have bad 3G now, you will have bad 3G and no 4G when the towers near you are upgraded.  Coverage may improve if say they add equipment to an old nextel tower or they re-position the new NV equipment (for example, moving from the middle of a tower to the top of the tower).  In other parts of the country people are getting better coverage due to 800 Mhz signal.  Sprint is not deploying (nor have I seen an 800 MHz RRH installed in the Seattle area) due to licensing agreements with Canada.  Until that is worked out, which I'm assuming will be at LEAST more than a year since they aren't even installing the equipment NV towers.  I live in a city that has all 3 towers upgraded and I have not seen any coverage difference.  However, speed is absolutely better, if you are connected.  Even 3G is above 1meg down, which in my opinion, is great.

 

To sum it up, I don't see coverage getting better with NV due to your current 3G coverage, "spotty voice, getting dropped calls, not receiving or being able to send texts."  You might just be in a bad spot.  If you want to stay with Sprint, look at an Airave.  I have one and it basically is a router that plugs into your internet router.  It routes the cell call to VOIP via your home internet.  You can normally get this device free from sprint, you might need to threaten to leave them.  It's not perfect, I do drop calls when I transfer to it or transfer off the Airave, but it does its job very well.

 

You mentioned verizon and the cost.  VZW is so costly, but you pay for great coverage here in the PNW.  They also use a lower 700 MHz signal (there have been overloading issues recently discussed).  I personally used T-mo (due to their less costly plans) this past month and was surprised.  Their speeds are crazy good, LTE almost everywhere in and around I5.  If I didn't have LTE, I had HSPA+ which is still amazing.  To me it appeared that T-mo had better coverage in the metro area, I also learned they use 1700 MHz, so it can penetrate better than 1900 MHz, I don't know if that made a difference since 1700 and 1900 are so close, but I did see a difference, which may also be due to more or better tower placement, I don't know.  I test drove their network with one of their prepaid providers.  I think that is really the best thing you can do than get stuck with a 2 years VZW contract, especially if you don't know they provide better signal at your house.  Also, T-mo has a feature on their phones where you can call over wifi, no need to get a Airave like Sprint, which is great since you can place and receive calls anywhere on a solid wifi connection.

 

Good luck!

[JThorson]

Thank you drlovety. I appreciate your input.

 

I've also considered T-Mobile since their plans are also cheap. It's a tough call for me on them. I have some friends who love them and some say they have had nothing but trouble with them. It's something I will look into, but as of right now I think I'll give Sprint the benefit of the doubt and wait 3 months to see if there is any difference when the towers are upgraded.

 

As for the Airave, we got one for my sister in California because she was having horrible reception as well. I'm not sure they will give 2 away for free, but that would be nice!

 

My contract isn't up until September, but I may be able to get out of my contract for terrible service. I'm just keeping my options open and trying to learn as much as I can so I can try and make the best possible decision.

 

Thank you all for your help.

[Bumbershoot]

I see that Western Washington has the first 3G/800/4G site on S 38th St in Tacoma.  It looks like the site is in the north end of the Costco parking lot.  I'm not sure where the IBEZ boundary is, but I'm glad to see that at least one of the big urban areas in Western Washington will get 800 CDMA.  Now, if we get 800 LTE, we'll be cooking...

[fuunkychicken]

I see that Western Washington has the first 3G/800/4G site on S 38th St in Tacoma. It looks like the site is in the north end of the Costco parking lot. I'm not sure where the IBEZ boundary is, but I'm glad to see that at least one of the big urban areas in Western Washington will get 800 CDMA. Now, if we get 800 LTE, we'll be cooking...

I just saw that too! I'm pretty stoked to see how much of West Washington will have 800.

[Bob Newhart]

I'm surprised that 800 site is there, that could mean we'll get others more in land.

[S4GRU]

The new Tacoma marker on the map is a LTE TOY at the Tacoma 4G Core. It is a Sprint DDC (Network Data Center). It is not a site.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Bumbershoot]

I see that some 4G sites in the Seattle market are being converted to 3G/4G. I understand that to mean that the CSFB problem is being resolved here, and that tri-band devices should begin to work as intended. I'm due for a phone refresh in February, and I work across the street from a band 41 site, so the timing is great for me.

[Bob Newhart]

The new Tacoma marker on the map is a LTE TOY at the Tacoma 4G Core. It is a Sprint DDC (Network Data Center). It is not a site. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

Can you explain what the LTE TOY is , or link to info?

If it isn't a site, why is listed on the map as a tower/site with 800 support? 

thanks

[S4GRU]

Can you explain what the LTE TOY is , or link to info?

If it isn't a site, why is listed on the map as a tower/site with 800 support? 

thanks

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2401-network-visionlte-hawaii-market-including-honolulu-oahu-and-all-hawaiian-islands/?p=265057

[howzat999]

There is now some more active LTE signals around Olympia/Tumwater.

 

My GS3 normally displays the WiFi icon at home rather than 3G/4G so I it has been a while since I checked my home signal. Last night my WiFi was off and I went to use the phone about 10:00 PM and was pleasantly surprised to see the 4G LTE icon for the first time inside. I've had fairly weak signals in my backyard for a long time but they were never available inside. I checked Sensorly this morning and it didn't show any new (to me) LTE coverage areas. I had to go out an hour this morning so I mapped the trip and the new coverage areas are now showing on Sensorly. Network.sprint.com shows new data speed upgrades on a couple of towers including one on Rainier road. I drove right past that one on my trip and the signal is showing deep purple. Also parked outside the QFC store at Rainier & Yelm Hwy - this was always a roaming spot but in now LTE. My trip also filled in some more spots further towards downtown - on the Yelm Hwy and on Boulevard. Next time I go somewhere that isn't already mapped, I'll look for new LTE signals. 

[S4GRU]

There is now some more active LTE signals around Olympia/Tumwater.

 

My GS3 normally displays the WiFi icon at home rather than 3G/4G so I it has been a while since I checked my home signal. Last night my WiFi was off and I went to use the phone about 10:00 PM and was pleasantly surprised to see the 4G LTE icon for the first time inside. I've had fairly weak signals in my backyard for a long time but they were never available inside. I checked Sensorly this morning and it didn't show any new (to me) LTE coverage areas. I had to go out an hour this morning so I mapped the trip and the new coverage areas are now showing on Sensorly. Network.sprint.com shows new data speed upgrades on a couple of towers including one on Rainier road. I drove right past that one on my trip and the signal is showing deep purple. Also parked outside the QFC store at Rainier & Yelm Hwy - this was always a roaming spot but in now LTE. My trip also filled in some more spots further towards downtown - on the Yelm Hwy and on Boulevard. Next time I go somewhere that isn't already mapped, I'll look for new LTE signals. 

 

There are 20 Sprint sites in the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater area.  As of yesterday, there were 12 having LTE accepted as complete.  Maps of these sites are available in the Sponsor area of the site.  http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/

 

Robert

[billvv]

Any updates for the Anacortes area?

[JThorson]

I'm curious about something I heard. I heard Sprint only uses 10MHZ total so only 5 MHz upstream and 5 MHz downstream, which he said would mean lower speeds. Can someone describe if this is true and/or what this exactly means? Thanks