Network Vision/LTE - Milwaukee Market (including Madison)

[ColinJay]

Update instructions here:  Its the legit file from Google OTA servers, so have no fear! 

 

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/3664-Samsung-Galaxy-S4-User-Thread&do=findComment&comment=228211

 

How to update the S4 to 4.3: 

 

Get file from Google OTA servers: http://t.co/tC0XTZema9

Move file to External SD card storage. 

Turn phone off.

Hold vol up, home button, power button until Samsung logo appears, release buttons. 

Once in recovery, with the vol up/down button move to Update from External Storage, or whatever, hit power button to select

Find your file by moving with vol keys, press power button to select file. 

Sit back and relax. it takes about 10 minutes or so to install. 

 

Enjoy.

 

Thank you. Attempting now.

[mmark27]

Thank you. Attempting now.

 

Success?

[ColinJay]

Success?

 

Success

 

Thanks a ton. I haven't been this excited since I was a little boy getting an N64 for Christmas.

[napali]

There is further progress on the Muskego (south) tower, the guys are there today to finish the wiring of the antennas that were installed earlier this month. Usual story though, they are from down South and don't know towers by name or location. The guy in charge said very little and told me they bounce tower to tower wherever they are told to go. I asked him about my home tower in Big Bend/Vernon that is on top of high power lines and he said it would be a slow process as they get a very short window of time by the power company to do the work and it could still be months away. No one on the ground really knows anything except what they are supposed to be doing. I am quite sure we will be dragging well through the winter months before anything more (substantial) in 4g becomes of this market.

Follow up to this last post, the Muskego north Water tower site (Racine ave/ Industrial Park) is under full upgrade right now. Faith Technologies is there installing all the cabinets and the 4g antennas. He said they will be completing everything needed to be done minus Sprint coming in for the testing and activation. This probably has been going on a while as all the equipment is completely out of site in the bottom of the water tower and I would have not noticed it as I drove by in the past. He said the cabinets are all in and the 4g antenna is next. Within the next week or two, both Muskego towers should be ready to be turned on... not that they will, just that they CAN....

[mmark27]

 

Success

 

Thanks a ton. I haven't been this excited since I was a little boy getting an N64 for Christmas.

 

LOL, I was in college when that came out.

 

There are a lot of nice improvements with 4.3, most relevant to this forum is that the modem seems to be a bit better at holding signals and not bouncing in and out of roaming as much.  The WiFi is also improved on multi access point systems like at Universities and Businesses with enterprise securities. I think the hang up with the IPv6 addressing, but eitherway that's fixed.  Bluetooth's improved, heating is far less, battery consumption appears to be better as well (probably tied to new modem).

 

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Milwaukee Market updates........

[kb122]

Still waiting for the towers in Pewaukee and Sussex to light up (which sounds like it could be a bit now based on what I'm seeing in this thread).  I drove around Lisbon and Sussex last week by towers I knew of and didn't see anymore that had work done to them.. just the one in Sussex that had workers on it for a couple of days til the panels and RRUs were all up.  There's a water tower in Sussex that I saw village meeting notes from Feb-April about, but it's too hidden in the woods to tell if there are new panels on it.  Meant to check out towers in Menomonee Falls/Germantown too, but didn't get there.

 

Still getting LTE too almost daily in my house in one specific area on my couch.  -112 is the best signal I've seen.  Any easy way to find out what tower it is aside from driving around?  I got the ID from engineering mode, but does that really give enough info from one location?

[Silenze]

The free app LTE Discovery will give you the general area

Or signal check pro

[mmark27]

Madison folks, I checked out the tower on the near West of the Capitol. It's on a big building, very difficult to get an angle to see up there. Best shot would be from the Capitol observation desk onto that roof. If anyone was thinking of visiting the Capitol this weekend please let me know, let's try to get that shot! Otherwise, I can't tell from the ground. There's one fat newer looking antenna but it could be any carrier's antenna for all we know.

 

It's probably pointless at this stage, there are only 2-3 towers left without NV equipment and we're not going to get acceptances for a while most likely, but I like to complete projects! And it's sort of an obsession.....I'd like to think once were 100% on visible equipment, then we'll start to see acceptances.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[mangurt]

Madison folks, I checked out the tower on the near West of the Capitol. It's on a big building, very difficult to get an angle to see up there. Best shot would be from the Capitol observation desk onto that roof. If anyone was thinking of visiting the Capitol this weekend please let me know, let's try to get that shot! Otherwise, I can't tell from the ground. There's one fat newer looking antenna but it could be any carrier's antenna for all we know.

 

It's probably pointless at this stage, there are only 2-3 towers left without NV equipment and we're not going to get acceptances for a while most likely, but I like to complete projects! And it's sort of an obsession.....I'd like to think once were 100% on visible equipment, then we'll start to see acceptances.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

I am all for complete projects, but I would hope that Sprint would also look at the horrible coverage in Madison and start turning on the sites that are complete.  I know, it's a dream, but it would be nice to be able to use my phone outside of my house.....

[grumpwagon]

There are guys on the FH tower right now finishing up.

 

EDIT: Pictures attached.

 

 

 

EDIT 2: It's now almost 4 PM, and raining, and they're still up there. Crappy day to be on the tower.

[ThomasM]

There is further progress on the Muskego (south) tower, the guys are there today to finish the wiring of the antennas that were installed earlier this month. Usual story though, they are from down South and don't know towers by name or location. The guy in charge said very little and told me they bounce tower to tower wherever they are told to go. I asked him about my home tower in Big Bend/Vernon that is on top of high power lines and he said it would be a slow process as they get a very short window of time by the power company to do the work and it could still be months away. No one on the ground really knows anything except what they are supposed to be doing. I am quite sure we will be dragging well through the winter months before anything more (substantial) in 4g becomes of this market.

 

That "home" tower of yours sure has lousy coverage (Cheri Avenue just south of ES/164).  A good friend of mine lives in a subdivision just west of Morningstar Golf Club on XX and that is the tower that serves it.  You have to do a circus act to find a signal from it that's good enough to use.  I sure was hoping that tower would get the new Samsung equipment before winter but the info you got from the tower crew isn't very good.

 

Interestingly enough, the two towers just south of me that are on power lines have all the new Samsung equipment installed!  But they are in Kenosha County and I think Sprint is pushing LTE in Kenosha & Racine Counties for the benefit of their Chicago customers who trek north of the state line...

[mangurt]

Okay, I grabbed some screen shots from my commute tonight. Lte and 800 signal from East Washington and 1st Ave. Second lte screen surprised me. Whitney way and old Sauk rd

[Dkoellerwx]

Madison folks, I checked out the tower on the near West of the Capitol. It's on a big building, very difficult to get an angle to see up there. Best shot would be from the Capitol observation desk onto that roof. If anyone was thinking of visiting the Capitol this weekend please let me know, let's try to get that shot! Otherwise, I can't tell from the ground. There's one fat newer looking antenna but it could be any carrier's antenna for all we know.

 

It's probably pointless at this stage, there are only 2-3 towers left without NV equipment and we're not going to get acceptances for a while most likely, but I like to complete projects! And it's sort of an obsession.....I'd like to think once were 100% on visible equipment, then we'll start to see acceptances.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

Iowa has started to see mass acceptances... maybe it's not too far away now. Both areas being upgraded by Samsung.

[n13]

Can someone tell me if this is a sprint tower or not. I am not a sponsor yet I am just waiting on paypal to be fix. I thought i would sign up as a sponsor because it seems the more picture the madison market puts up the faster samsung works so i thought i would do it for some of Milwaukee well here are the pictures https://www.dropbox.com/s/teq2w4yp85p97sq/2013-11-01%2017.02.00.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/xuh4pwqpmv4h78o/2013-11-01%2017.01.53.jpg

[n13]

The location is 13th vliet

[lilotimz]

Can someone tell me if this is a sprint tower or not. I am not a sponsor yet I am just waiting on paypal to be fix. I thought i would sign up as a sponsor because it seems the more picture the madison market puts up the faster samsung works so i thought i would do it for some of Milwaukee well here are the pictures https://www.dropbox.com/s/teq2w4yp85p97sq/2013-11-01%2017.02.00.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/xuh4pwqpmv4h78o/2013-11-01%2017.01.53.jpg

Unfortunately those are not Sprints (they appear to be ATT). See this thread on how to identify the equipment used in your market. 

[mmark27]

Okay, I grabbed some screen shots from my commute tonight. Lte and 800 signal from East Washington and 1st Ave. Second lte screen surprised me. Whitney way and old Sauk rd{style_image_url}/attachicon.gif Screenshot_2013-11-01-16-42-48.png{style_image_url}/attachicon.gif Screenshot_2013-11-01-16-42-48.png

Same picture twice??

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[napali]

That "home" tower of yours sure has lousy coverage (Cheri Avenue just south of ES/164).  A good friend of mine lives in a subdivision just west of Morningstar Golf Club on XX and that is the tower that serves it.  You have to do a circus act to find a signal from it that's good enough to use.  I sure was hoping that tower would get the new Samsung equipment before winter but the info you got from the tower crew isn't very good.

 

Interestingly enough, the two towers just south of me that are on power lines have all the new Samsung equipment installed!  But they are in Kenosha County and I think Sprint is pushing LTE in Kenosha & Racine Counties for the benefit of their Chicago customers who trek north of the state line...

No doubt. I am no further the 2 miles as the crow flies from that thing and my reception is average at best. My phone works ok, but it is always riding on the lowers bars in my home. It could be worse, the data speed (when necessary) is actually ok. If you pay any attention to the location (from I-43) its a lousy spot on the power line, substantially lower and further back then the towers sitting right up to 43 off the expressway. I often lose reception on a foggy day and go into roaming. The tower as it stands does not appear to be substantial enough to handle the larger antenna, so it will be interesting to see what has to be done to make that work. As I have stated in the past, my last contact regarding this tower was 2-3 months ago when the Town of Vernon confirmed with me that the final 4g tower upgrade plan was not even submitted to Waukesha County for approval yet. I will be checking back shortly with the town to see where Sprint is in that process and give an update. This may be one of those towers that will be handled when its handled.. To bad for me, but at least general southern Waukesha County is moving  at a much improved pace in the last 6 months.

[mangurt]

Blah, sorry about that...kinda hard to do on my phone:

[mmark27]

Oof, - 117dBm? Probably Middleton tower.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Ffryguy29]

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but I'm going to buy a new ipad, and I'm trying to figure out which carrier to buy it on. I live in Middleton. If I check out Sensorly, it shows LTE coverage where I live, but I don't have a 4G phone to verify it. Is there actually 4G service active in some places. I know Madison is not an official market, but I can't tell from these posts if there is functioning LTE anywhere in the area.

 

On another note. Which ipad should I get. Sprint has the best data price at 2GB for 15 bucks, but....

[Dkoellerwx]

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but I'm going to buy a new ipad, and I'm trying to figure out which carrier to buy it on. I live in Middleton. If I check out Sensorly, it shows LTE coverage where I live, but I don't have a 4G phone to verify it. Is there actually 4G service active in some places. I know Madison is not an official market, but I can't tell from these posts if there is functioning LTE anywhere in the area.

 

On another note. Which ipad should I get. Sprint has the best data price at 2GB for 15 bucks, but....

If Sensorly is showing LTE, than means someone received a Sprint LTE signal there. It's not widespread, but the places that do have LTE, it works just fine. Over the next three months or so, the amount of TLE coverage should increase dramatically.

 

Can't help you with the iPad question... you'll have to decide yourself

[apphysics]

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but I'm going to buy a new ipad, and I'm trying to figure out which carrier to buy it on. I live in Middleton. If I check out Sensorly, it shows LTE coverage where I live, but I don't have a 4G phone to verify it. Is there actually 4G service active in some places. I know Madison is not an official market, but I can't tell from these posts if there is functioning LTE anywhere in the area.

 

On another note. Which ipad should I get. Sprint has the best data price at 2GB for 15 bucks, but....

 

If you're talking capacity wise... I would stay away from the 16GB. Apps are just too big these days. I have a 64 and all but 10GBs are used. If you have a lot of music and/or videos I would go with the 64GB or 128GB. If you do mainly documents, mail, and web browsing I would say go with the 32GB. Like I said before, the 16GB is just too small. You're sure to download at least one or two games and most of them are 500MB+ with a lot being larger than 1GB. And I was in BB yesterday and I cannot believe how light the iPad Air is. It's just astounding.

[andyp]

If Sensorly is showing LTE, than means someone received a Sprint LTE signal there. It's not widespread, but the places that do have LTE, it works just fine. Over the next three months or so, the amount of TLE coverage should increase dramatically.

 

Can't help you with the iPad question... you'll have to decide yourself

 

 

not necessarily true. sensorly shows that along the lake front there should be LTE but there is not. the site also shows that downtown should be receiving wi-max signal, but there is no wi-max signal downtown. Milwaukee does not have LTE so we should not be telling people otherwise.

 

not complaining, just making sure that misinformation is not being spread.

[Dkoellerwx]

not necessarily true. sensorly shows that along the lake front there should be LTE but there is not. the site also shows that downtown should be receiving wi-max signal, but there is no wi-max signal downtown. Milwaukee does not have LTE so we should not be telling people otherwise.

 

not complaining, just making sure that misinformation is not being spread.

Unless you have upgraded from your 3D, you do not get to make these claims. There are at least 10 sites in and around Milwaukee that have LTE active. You are a sponsor. You have access to the maps, you should know this.

 

Is it widespread? No. But it is there. And if/when you get signal, it will work.

 

There are two WiMax sites in Milwaukee. WiMax is a much harder signal to catch and maintain. Unless you are in the right spot you won't see it. But it is there. Just like LTE is there.

 

Please yourself do not mis-inform people.