Debate on whether you should offload smartphone data on WiFi, even though you pay for "unlimited"

[swintec]

I dont offload at home in the sense this thread is talking about. I have an Airave so i am offloading everything anyways to the microcell network. I rarely touch my device for anything but email being pulled when I am home either so I really just never bother. For an entire month, I use less than a gig usually..unless i am traveling which is rare.

[S4GRU]

I dont offload at home in the sense this thread is talking about. I have an Airave so i am offloading everything anyways to the microcell network. I rarely touch my device for anything but email being pulled when I am home either so I really just never bother. For an entire month' date=' I use less than a gig usually..unless i am traveling which is rare.[/quote']

 

Data through an Airave is definitely off loaded for most practical purposes. It still puts a little burden at the switch. But at least any additional burden and potential upgrades at the switch are cheaper (compared to adding tens of thousands carriers and addiitional spectrum) and easier to manage on the whole.

 

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

[centermedic]

As mentioned on this site, the spectrum isn't running out, its that the cell phone companies aren't building the cell towers close enough to each other. The more towers they have, the service area of each tower will be less. They point the radio antennas closer in. Look at Europe in the their large cities, they have cell towers in all manner of objects, people's house drain pipes, churches, lower power too.

Let me restate. The carriers mentioned will run out of spectrum that they presently hold. There is a bunch of spectrum still to be auctioned/sold off. The problem with that is the FCC has not decided when the next spectrum auction will be. Sure the companies can build denser networks but that costs more money and correct me if I am wrong you still have to consider tower spacing.

[jamesinclair]

Sorry for the delay in reply, I was away this weekend.

 

HA! You've obviously never had to call Verizon's customer service or go to one of their stores. Sprint whips Verizon customer service most of the time.

 

Verizon is arrogant and pretty much challenges you to leave if you have any kind of problem.

 

I'd take Sprint customer service over Verizon any day.

 

I actually used to work for Verizon phone customer care.

 

The script I wrote you was typical. If the battery wasnt holding a charge, after basic troubleshooting, a free replacement battery was sent out.

 

As for agents taking responsibility, if a problem was not resolved in one call, you were liable for a write up. Naturally, every company has bad agents (a product of the garbage pay) but I have had maybe 8/10 Sprint reps spend more time trying to avoid the problem than resolve it. At verizon, id say the ratio was reversed.

 

(Note, I never called Verizon, just my experience at my center, may have been different at other locations)

 

Jamesinclair.... when did you purchase the Epic 4G and how many years/months have you had it? Samsung offers a 1 year manufacturers warranty. .....

 

Sorry for the confusion, I have the epic 4g touch, purchased in December, so well under the one year warranty period. Thats the phone that got the android update a month or so ago.

 

The battery was fine until the update which essentially fried it.

 

That is, the battery was at 80% one day. The phone froze, reset itself, and when it turned on, was at 3% (ie, 20 seconds of rebooting). Since then, it no longer held a proper charge.

 

I understand batteries hold less and less of a charge over time. This was not the case, this was an event which I believe was directly linked to the very flawed sprint android update.

[dedub]

I find it extremely unlikely that whatever battery problems you experienced are related to the android update. Your battery failed and it was more likely simply a coincidence.

 

I have been flashing android devices since the original evo, and before that flashing windows mobile device. I can not recall ever hearing of a battery going bad due to an update or updated flash. Batteries on the other hand, fail in all kinds of different ways and after different amounts of time.

[S4GRU]

I used to have a problem with my E4GT where it would appear to suddenly discharge the battery. It was always below 40% when it happened. However, the device would freeze up, and I would pull the battery and reboot.

 

When the device would come back up, it would have virtually no battery left. It would come back online with between 3%-15% battery life remaining. So it appeared like it went from 30%-40%, instantly down to 3%-15%. It was weird. It would happen to me every 2-3 weeks.

 

I assumed that either I had a faulty battery or the battery remaining function was malfunctioning.

 

However, I went to the GNex, Viper, EVO LTE and GS3 in such rapid stages that I can hardly remember the days I had the E4GT.

 

Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[WiWavelength]

Let me restate. The carriers mentioned will run out of spectrum that they presently hold. There is a bunch of spectrum still to be auctioned/sold off. The problem with that is the FCC has not decided when the next spectrum auction will be.

 

The carriers hold too much spectrum that is too fragmented as it is. Do we really want to give the carriers control of hundreds of megahertz more spectrum just to satisfy demand for wireless data? If so, do we actually put faith in the carriers to act in the public interest? Or should we take some of the responsibility away from the carriers, hence take some of the market force away them by offloading data, at the very least, in our own homes?

 

AJ

[dedub]

Do we really want to give the carriers control of hundreds of megahertz more spectrum just to satisfy demand for wireless data?

 

I expect they will get it regardless of what we do or say.

 

If so, do we actually put faith in the carriers to act in the public interest?

 

Carriers will act in the interest of their business, to expect anything different is either naivety or self-delusion.

 

Or should we take some of the responsibility away from the carriers, hence take some of the market force away them by offloading data, at the very least, in our own homes?

 

You suggest that by offloading 'together we can prevent the inevitable!'.

 

It doesn't matter one iota how much we all offload or not, the carriers will still be scrambling for as much spectrum as they can beg, borrow or steal to get.

 

Even if it comes to the point where they may not even need it, because its better to have it (and prevent your competition from getting it) than not having it.

[pii100]

DELETED

Edited September 24, 2012 by S4GRU
Removed content for violation of S4GRU Posting Guidelines

[Deval]

For the first time in the 8 years that I've been a Sprint customer, I've started offloading all my data to WIFI whenever available. I realize the battery savings immediately, and the speeds over WIFI (Verizon FiOS fiber-to-home), are insane compared to 3G or even LTE.

 

It really comes in handy with my Dropbox doing all automatic picture backup, and such.

[Zman1369]

For the first time in the 8 years that I've been a Sprint customer, I've started offloading all my data to WIFI whenever available. I realize the battery savings immediately, and the speeds over WIFI (Verizon FiOS fiber-to-home), are insane compared to 3G or even LTE.

 

It really comes in handy with my Dropbox doing all automatic picture backup, and such.

I'm with you, I'm connected to my Fios when ever possible.

 

EVO-LUTION 4G LTE

[jefbal99]

I've been trying since this thread was started to get a reply/get into it, but I've been swamped at work/home...

 

On on both sides of the fence for Wifi Offloading. I've taught my wife and parents about it and they do it 100%, but its just for the speed/battery life gains. Also, I got my parents an Airrave due to the shotty coverage in DeWitt, MI. I had quite awhile that I was not wifi off loading on my GS2 due to a ROM issue. I'm a CM9 user and used to get horrible battery drain when WIFI was on. The newer builds and kernels have resolved this for the most part, but for my phone/alarm clock to make it through the night, it had to be on 3g.

 

In Theory, I agree with in home wifi offloading 100%, but it is not a black & white issue. There is a big grey area in the middle...

• Tiered ISP
  
• Home Wifi Impact
  
  • Does adding X mobile devices harm other services (PC/Console/Streaming Media)
    

As mentioned on this site, the spectrum isn't running out, its that the cell phone companies aren't building the cell towers close enough to each other. The more towers they have, the service area of each tower will be less. They point the radio antennas closer in. Look at Europe in the their large cities, they have cell towers in all manner of objects, people's house drain pipes, churches, lower power too.

 

This is truly the answer to the "spectrum crisis" Micro/Pico/Femto cells. More towers, more antenna, more diverse use of the existing spectrum.

 

Sprint needs to do more of this in the higher population areas as part of Network Vision 2: Electric Bugaloo

[jefbal99]

I've been trying since this thread was started to get a reply/get into it, but I've been swamped at work/home...

 

On on both sides of the fence for Wifi Offloading. I've taught my wife and parents about it and they do it 100%, but its just for the data speed/battery life gains. Also, I got my parents an Airrave due to the shotty coverage in DeWitt, MI. I had quite awhile that I was not wifi offloading on my GS2 due to a ROM issue. I'm a CM9 user and used to get horrible battery drain when WIFI was on. The newer builds and kernels have resolved this for the most part, but for my phone/alarm clock to make it through the night, it had to be on 3g. My 3g usage went up 10x in those few months

 

In Theory, I agree with in home wifi offloading 100%, but it is not a black & white issue. There is a big grey area in the middle...

• Tiered ISP
  
• Home Wifi Impact
  
  • Does adding X mobile devices harm other services (PC/Console/Streaming Media)
    
  • Does adding X mobile devices cause problems for the home network equipment
    

  [*]Actual Mobile device use (legit usage vs. rooted tethering/torrenting)

  [*]End user experience

  • A subscriber should be able to be satisfied with their experience. If a user wants to watch a netflix movie on their cell and their home ISP doesn't give them the experience they desire, then they should use 3G/LTE if it provides that experience. (However, I would also recommend to this user to upgrade their ISP if they can).
    
  • On the flip side, if a user has a cable connection with unlimited bandwidth and a quality network setup in-home, living on mobile data is just plain silly...
    

As mentioned on this site, the spectrum isn't running out, its that the cell phone companies aren't building the cell towers close enough to each other. The more towers they have, the service area of each tower will be less. They point the radio antennas closer in. Look at Europe in the their large cities, they have cell towers in all manner of objects, people's house drain pipes, churches, lower power too.

 

This is truly the answer to the "spectrum crisis" Micro/Pico/Femto cells. More towers, more antennas, more sectors, more diverse use of the existing spectrum.

 

Sprint needs to do more of this in the higher population areas as part of Network Vision 2: Electric Bugaloo

[drhenning]

My Galaxy S3 seems to be set to turn on WIFI after a while even when I turn it off.. One annoying thing here in Charlotte is WIFI bleed over.. Time Warner has Hot Spots around the town which get picked up by my phone when it sees them while stopped at a traffic light.. However, those sites require a login to use... so what seems to happen is my phone turns off the 3G when it picks up the WIFI signal and I lose data since those TWC Hot Spots require a login using your TWC name and password.... If I force the WIFI off, it reverts back to 3G that is currently running... The thing is, I want to keep the WIFI connection on at my office and home.. Especially at office where the Sprint Signal at my desk is not good...

[Proxcee]

My Galaxy S3 seems to be set to turn on WIFI after a while even when I turn it off.. One annoying thing here in Charlotte is WIFI bleed over.. Time Warner has Hot Spots around the town which get picked up by my phone when it sees them while stopped at a traffic light.. However, those sites require a login to use... so what seems to happen is my phone turns off the 3G when it picks up the WIFI signal and I lose data since those TWC Hot Spots require a login using your TWC name and password.... If I force the WIFI off, it reverts back to 3G that is currently running... The thing is, I want to keep the WIFI connection on at my office and home.. Especially at office where the Sprint Signal at my desk is not good...

 

Your Wi-Fi probably keeps coming on because you have automatic connections check under settings. If you uncheck it then you'll have to turn on Wi-Fi manually when you want to connect to a hot spot.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

[dedub]

some more interesting reading @ http://www.fiercewireless.com/special-reports/treating-wi-fi-enemy-worst-wireless-blunders

[dedub]

Here is some food for thought;

 

Like others I obviously prefer unlimited data and hate tiered data caps.

 

However I think (and hope) the future of unlimited data may come, not by the black and white of being simply all you can eat unlimited or vz/att shared data buckets, but by tiered quality of service with no caps on a specific amount of data or particular speed.

 

By (hopefully) a more subtle graduated reduction in QOS where usable peak/sustained bandwidth available to any particular subscriber is de-prioritized for heavy users, but not necessarily a hard reduction in speed or cap on total gig's downloaded. So if an area of heavy congestion and high usage, QOS profiles can applied as necessary towards heavy/light users. As a measure of monetization, more expensive plans can be made available with higher QOS for heavy users that need a more consistent network performance.

 

This is akin to 'bulk transport' priorities assigned to internet traffic like email, vs realtime priorities accorded to voip and video traffic.

Edited September 26, 2012 by dedub

[Pcguru2000]

 

Not everyone has access to $55-per-month 10Mbit cable.

 

I pay $35 for 30mbit LOL. It's a trade off, I get high speed in my big city, you get to still see the milky way without light pollution and not have to travel 120 miles to do it.

[Proxcee]

some more interesting reading @ http://www.fiercewireless.com/special-reports/treating-wi-fi-enemy-worst-wireless-blunders

Wi-Fi may be seen by wireless carriers as essential right now but I think eventually network capacity and associated technologies will improve to the point where whether you offload or not will be moot point....eventually.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Proxcee]

 

I pay $35 for 30mbit LOL. It's a trade off, I get high speed in my big city, you get to still see the milky way without light pollution and not have to travel 120 miles to do it.

I'm gonna have to go with the high speed for now. When I'm ready to retire I'll opt for the Milky Way.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Pcguru2000]

A couple suggestions....let's get rid of fm and use that frequency for voice calls to relieve the 800 band for data. Radio is dead. I only here it for about 20 seconds every morning as an alarm clock feature. Plus penetration would be outstanding.

[Steven800]

Lol that would be nice but the FCC would never allow it

[WiWavelength]

A couple suggestions....let's get rid of fm and use that frequency for voice calls to relieve the 800 band for data. Radio is dead. I only here it for about 20 seconds every morning as an alarm clock feature. Plus penetration would be outstanding.

 

Nope. FM band (87.7-108.0 MHz) is nearly a full decade lower than the Cellular 850 MHz band. FM band is only about 20 MHz bandwidth, wavelengths are too long, cellular reuse would be terrible, and noise at lower frequencies is a problem.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

Not to mention, get rid of the FM band and every Joe Schmoe would have to stream wirelessly his fave former FM "station." The added network traffic for all of that streaming would likely more than offset any additional RF bandwidth.

 

AJ

[kct1975]

Ok...so I have read almost every post on this thread and have learned some technical knowledge, and a lot about human nature.

 

So just to add my two cents...

 

I, myself use WiFi at home on both my Android smartphone and my Blackberry. My primary reason is the the WiFi is faster than my Sprint service where I live. I only get a crappy amount of 3G speed where I live. I am, however, conscious of my Mobile Data usage too.

 

As for speeds, I have to agree with the posts that question why someone would need blazing data speed when only doing e-mail or something like this forum. I mean, why does someone need a really fast speed to do something text based?

 

As for WiFi at work, I don't use it. It is not because I am trying to use or abuse the Sprint network. The WiFi an the company I work for, tends to block personal e-mail (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc), so it is not really useful. Also the work WiFi is password protected, so if I did want to connect to it, I would have to give my phone to the IT Specialist to load it, and its not something I would prefer to do.

 

Ok...so what is my point? My point is that I agree with others here that say, use WiFi, when it works for your purposes. I mean, if you are doing activities that do not require fast data speeds (like e-mail), or if you are downloading an app, then use WiFi.

 

I do not believe, however, WiFi usage should be forced by your device. Because, like at the office I work at, it does not work for your usage, you should not be forced to connect to it.

 

KCT - "No Matter Where You Go, There You Are!"