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Network Vision/LTE - DFW Market (Dallas/Ft. Worth/Wichita Falls)


purpleunicorn

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I've been very patient. What's troubling me is the posted 4G coverage map on Sprint's website that's posted above. (Didn't show up in my quote of the original post containing it' date=' sorry.) If it's accurate, then there's a problem with both my and my wife's phone, which i find hard to believe. If it's not accurate, then Sprint needs to post one that is isn't deceiving.[/quote']

 

It's not accurate. This is well documented all over the site. This is not another wimax rollout... every cell site is being updated, it takes time.

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C'mon everybody. Please download the Sensorly app to your phone to help map DFW LTE coverage. I live in Allen and I still pick up "virgin" territory on almost every outing. The resulting coverage maps are a 100 times more accurate than the official Sprint maps.

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I have a hard time having sympathy for people in places who are in active deployment areas where progress is occurring and more sites are going live. Yes, it may not be available in your home this very moment. But more and more coverage is happening every week.

 

Yes, Sprint's coverage maps suck. They suck bad. However, that doesn't mean that LTE deployment is not progressing. The suggestion of using Sensorly is a good idea. You can see where actual users have connected. If you use Sensorly, make sure that you select the LTE map from Sprint and not the WiMax map.

 

I am headed to Waco from New Mexico this evening. I plan to run Sensorly everywhere I go to log LTE coverage in the DFW and Waco areas.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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So I went to play with that Sensorly app. It doesn't log like it should... Missed a lot. :td:

Disclosure: Not looking for sympathy, this is Info I got while playing. You know... ;)

 

But here is some good info that I found while playing around. I drove well over an hour +, logged about 50+ miles around the DFW area. I'll do more tomorrow too. There are 6 S3s in my family, and its all about the same. I use to just think that the others didn't know what they where saying, but now I totally understand. :(

 

I haven't been out playing lately sooo... after tonight, I can officially say there are some issue going on with the LTE and/or our phones. On my little trip, I had my S3 (stock rooted) and my Wife's (stock not rooted). Turned on the app and we drove around. I drove right where I knew there was LTE. Mine or my Wife's would not pickup the 4G. WTF? lol After 8 min. I finely went and switched it to LTE ONLY from the hidden menu, and it kicked on. The whole trip, my Wife never got 4G. Leaving it on LTE only, I drove around with the phone on my dash. On the way home I returned it to the normal mode and it worked as I remembered again.

 

What I learned:

I can 100% say without a doubt that the Sprint LTE 4G Coverage Map is Correct. But, only in LTE only mode. If you have it in the normal mode, one word... WEAK! In some areas, I get an extra mile before it drops while in LTE only mode. Ive played with the Hidden Menu before, and always worked well, tonight... I had issues. Wouldn't set at first for one, and once in a while, voice would kick on. ??? Something happened and that sucks. Only thing I ever done was the OTA updates. You wanna know why no one is happy, most don't even get the new LTE. I'm guessing that our phones will work better once more towers are finished because they must be switching to save power or something. Also, You know for a fact that Sprint used a Laptop to map the LTE. More power.

 

Wasn't impressed with the app tho. And everywhere there was orange, I had 4G.

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Did you say you did or did not have all the latest OTA's installed on the non rooted GS3? I was confused.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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I've found that when I use the "map trip" function on Sensorly, my GS3 is more likely to get stuck on 3G and not return to 4G, even in places where I know I have a good 4G signal (i.e. places where I've done fast speed tests.) It seems that when I'm actively using data on 3G, the phone (or network?) doesn't switch back until the data usage is complete.

 

That said, when I've had a constant 4G signal, the Sensorly app has plotted out miles of 4G trails on their coverage maps. Example: all along 121 between downtown Fort Worth and 820, and in my neighborhood of the Near Southside and the hospital district.

 

Regardless of Sensorly's capabilities, I've noticed a marked improvement of 4G coverage over the past few weeks in Funkytown.

 

Sent from my GS3 on Tapatalk 2

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Did you say you did or did not have all the latest OTA's installed on the non rooted GS3? I was confused.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

I do. LG8. As do all the other S3 in my family. They really have a hard time getting 4G. I'm so lucky because I know how to play around and get it on. What's going to be fun is they are installing LTE on my tower today so we'll probably see it here soon and fill that last gap by me. I am so close to it. Always a full perfect signal, so I should have 4G all the time now. We'll see.

 

How's your trip?

 

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

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I've found that when I use the "map trip" function on Sensorly, my GS3 is more likely to get stuck on 3G and not return to 4G, even in places where I know I have a good 4G signal (i.e. places where I've done fast speed tests.) It seems that when I'm actively using data on 3G, the phone (or network?) doesn't switch back until the data usage is complete.

 

That said, when I've had a constant 4G signal, the Sensorly app has plotted out miles of 4G trails on their coverage maps. Example: all along 121 between downtown Fort Worth and 820, and in my neighborhood of the Near Southside and the hospital district.

 

Regardless of Sensorly's capabilities, I've noticed a marked improvement of 4G coverage over the past few weeks in Funkytown.

 

Sent from my GS3 on Tapatalk 2

 

That would make sense, if it didn't switch while data was moving... Ill try again tonight.

 

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

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How's your trip?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

In Decatur now. Makin' good time.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

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In Decatur now. Makin' good time.

 

Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

 

Crap! Your driving?

 

 

 

I haven't seen too many late speed tests on a full 4g signal. On the one I did see online the guy got 38mbos down and 11mbps up. Can anyone do speed tests while near the tower at all?

 

I'll grab a few for you.

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Crap! Your driving?

 

 

 

 

 

I'll grab a few for you.

 

Thanks because I live in NYC which means all bars everywhere except indoors. However it also means I live in a high capacity area and might not see the fast speeds that others receive.

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Sensorly is actively using data and won't step up to LTE.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

 

Having an active Sensorly session going seemed to prevent my GS3 from auto connecting to 4G. If Sensorly was off, it auto connected to LTE on its own just fine.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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Having an active Sensorly session going seemed to prevent my GS3 from auto connecting to 4G. If Sensorly was off, it auto connected to LTE on its own just fine.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

Watch when it plots what you did on the map... only like 15% of it posts.

 

 

They are installing LTE on my Water Tower "For Real" this time. I want to go talk to the guys there but from my experience last time... Nothing I want to deal with.

 

 

PICTURES HERE

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Having an active Sensorly session going seemed to prevent my GS3 from auto connecting to 4G. If Sensorly was off, it auto connected to LTE on its own just fine.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

Not in Dallas - but I'd thought I'd mention that since the update, my EVO will jump back and forth between 4G and 3G even when Sensorly is running. I don't know if it would make the switch faster without it running or not, but it's fast enough that I don't even have to think about trying to force it, so I'm not too worried about it.

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ya know, I find this kinda odd, I am in the Dallas market(I think), in Longview TX, and I have yet to see anything about 4g here from sprint. All the other providers, ATT, Verizon Wireless, T-mo, and even Metropcs has 4g, but not Sprint. could someone explain what the deal is with this? I have a Mifi, and want to upgrade to 4g, but no sense in buying something I cannot use.

 

thx

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ya know' date=' I find this kinda odd, I am in the Dallas market(I think), in Longview TX, and I have yet to see anything about 4g here from sprint. All the other providers, ATT, Verizon Wireless, T-mo, and even Metropcs has 4g, but not Sprint. could someone explain what the deal is with this? I have a Mifi, and want to upgrade to 4g, but no sense in buying something I cannot use.

 

thx[/quote']

 

Longview is not in the Sprint DFW market, but rather the East Texas market. Network Vision/LTE deployment will not begin until some time in 2013 in East Texas.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

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Watch when it plots what you did on the map... only like 15% of it posts.

 

 

They are installing LTE on my Water Tower "For Real" this time. I want to go talk to the guys there but from my experience last time... Nothing I want to deal with.

 

 

PICTURES HERE

 

Yeah, my success rate with Sensorly was approximately 50% around Waco and Ft. Worth. I was disappointed when I got back to the hotel and saw that about half of all my driving/testing didn't appear.

 

I saw that water tower when I was in Roanoke on Friday. Hard Eight BBQ was most excellent.

 

Robert

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Thanks because I live in NYC which means all bars everywhere except indoors. However it also means I live in a high capacity area and might not see the fast speeds that others receive.

 

Here's that test for you...

 

 

14260 Old Denton Rd, Roanoke, TX 76262, USA

SITE ID: DA54XC320

 

AT SITE UNDER (Like 20ft from Tower) (mbps)

D: 11.28 U:12.65 P: 47ms

D: 9.54 U: 8.60 P: 38ms

D: 8.54 U: 13.27 P: 46ms

 

- Had a hard time getting a good fast speed under the tower. But, I was under the tower.... lol

 

 

AT SITE NOT UNDER (Down the road about 500ft from tower) (mbps)

D: 27.95 U: 12.97 50ms

D: 26.65 U: 12.57 47ms

D: 29.35 U: 12.87 48ms

 

- Buried the needle each time. ;)

 

 

Question for the smart ones... Why does the antenna on this tower only have a couple cables plugged in, when on the new ones install on the tower next to me has 6+ and 3 RRU per?

Pics of my close tower

 

Images of SITE ID: DA54XC320

 

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/1.JPG

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/2.JPG

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/3.JPG

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/4.JPG

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/5.JPG

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/6.JPG

 

Screen shot of Speedtest

http://4g.a454nova.com/2/Screenshot_2012-09-07-15-36-22.png

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I'm in Plano, TX, , around 33.0492,-96.759. No LTE in my part of town. I am surprised a bit, as the LTE map in my part of DFW is full on 'red'.

 

I did some LTE hunting down at UTD, near Coit and Frankfort and got some great speeds:

 

 

crossed PGB Hwy (190) and saw it drop significantly:

 

then .5 miles more almost at 3g-like speeds (Central Market):

 

then .5 miles more and was at 3g:

 

 

Sorry for the geographic 'descriptions' I lost my Speedtest Lat/Long data, but at least I had already uploaded the screen shots.

 

[Edit] In looking at the NV Sites complete post, I am thinking the sprint heat map of 4g lte is a bit optimistic for my area, but I have to say that I really appreciate the resources of this site and the s4gru sponsorship was the best money I have spent on my edu-ma-cation in a long time!

Edited by eSchreibman
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  • 2 weeks later...

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