Sprint Airave

[owensri2]

Installed an Airave this weekend at a friends house where cell services is awful. You can use your phone outside ok, but inside, zero to no bars and switching back and forth from roaming. Verizon also has spotty service inside as well. I got the Airave off of eBay and hooked it up. Now there is full coverage throughout the house and even just outside the house! Data speeds are about 1.00 to 2.00 Mbps download, and about 0.80 Mbps upload. Sure beats a dead battery in a few hours, and you can actually talk on the phone without random drops and choppy connections.

[digiblur]

Many of the reps especially retentions gives those things out like a child predator gives out candy on Halloween. You are supposed to give them back when you cancel your line though, hope your purchased one doesn't end up like that. Did you have to activate this one on your friends account?

 

I have had an Airave since they came out about 4 years ago and I definitely wouldn't have it any other way. Awesome little devices.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

 

 

[owensri2]

Many of the reps especially retentions gives those things out like a child predator gives out candy on Halloween. You are supposed to give them back when you cancel your line though, hope your purchased one doesn't end up like that. Did you have to activate this one on your friends account?

 

I have had an Airave since they came out about 4 years ago and I definitely wouldn't have it any other way. Awesome little devices.

 

Sent from my C64 w/Epyx FastLoad cartridge

 

Sprint didn't have a problem with me activating it, and I did tell them I got it on eBay. I did activate it on their account.

[koiulpoi]

Many of the reps especially retentions gives those things out like a child predator gives out candy on Halloween.

Oh yes, I know. I've actually sent people to call Care, because I know that they can get an Airave. My sister, who just got her first Sprint bill recently, had a bill insert that offered her a free Airave if she had bad service at home (she doesn't).

 

Sadly, they cannot solve all problems. I've actually had customers get sent an Airave from care for bad in-home coverage, then refuse to hook it up and keep complaining about the service.

 

That, and in many places around here, where cell service does not quite reach (from any carrier), there's also no access to broadband internet, so no Airave. My folks are in that situation, so they just don't have cell phones. And God knows that it would be a nightmare to use over Satellite...

[mirlyn]

My dad's got a Sanyo Vero and is fed up with Sprint. I always had problems when I lived at home. He's ready to find other solutions, but I'm seriously considering setting him up with one of these. Doesn't fix his problems when he's out and about, but the price is right to satisfy his home use.

 

Did you guys just call in and ask for one, or whats the best way of trying one out? Not sure if I can justify it under my account, so I'd probably have to use his info to request one on the basis of proximity to towers (or lack thereof).

[jefbal99]

My only issue with the Airrave I got for my parents is the signal outside their house is quite weak and the airrave doesn't handoff to the cell network very well in that situation.

[digiblur]

I willl say the new Airvana's will not hand off. I could get hand offs on the old Samsung 1X only box, but not this new one. Coverage area is about the same. Covers my house and yard, typical neighborhood home.

[WiWavelength]

My only issue with the Airrave I got for my parents is the signal outside their house is quite weak and the airrave doesn't handoff to the cell network very well in that situation.

 

And that is not going to change. While the Airave likely knows the PN offsets of the neighboring sectors in the macro network, the Airave typically operates on an unused carrier channel assignment. So, the Airave has to initiate an inter frequency hard handoff to the macro network, and those are always hit or miss.

 

AJ

[jonathanm1978]

And they may have disabled it since it served no purpose, but increasing/decreasing the coverage area of the Airave on sprint.com does NOTHING to the actual airave. It does not work as it says on the sprint.com site, but if you put in a call to Airave tech support (not Sprint tech support), they can start a ticket on your Airave to provision it for larger area coverage. They intentionally lock it down where it is to keep it from bleeding over on neighbors.

 

And from what I've known talking to tech support, the area you live in has to be provisioned for Airave use..They don't always just work in every dead-spot with broadband connections..it has to be in Sprint's provisioned access area.

[irev210]

I willl say the new Airvana's will not hand off. I could get hand offs on the old Samsung 1X only box, but not this new one. Coverage area is about the same. Covers my house and yard, typical neighborhood home.

And that is not going to change. While the Airave likely knows the PN offsets of the neighboring sectors in the macro network, the Airave typically operates on an unused carrier channel assignment. So, the Airave has to initiate an inter frequency hard handoff to the macro network, and those are always hit or miss.

 

AJ

 

So what's new with the new airave 2.5? Under the new airave 2.5 specs, it says it can hand-off. Old 2.0 and old samsung airave, no mention of handoffs.

 

Calls automatically transfer to the Nationwide Sprint® Network once you leave your home or office.

http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/shop/phone_details.jsp?prodId=dvc6480002prd&deviceSKUId=64800068&ensembleId=AIR25ACQNG&flow=AAL&firstSelection=PHONES&id16=airave&question_box=airave

[jamesinclair]

Can Sprint still increase the range of these things by calling them?

 

We live in a decently sized house, and in my bedroom signal is around 96, which isnt bad but I had two dropped calls today.

 

Would trying to raise the unit higher increase range? The location is pretty much fixed though, but it can move up/down and left/right a couple feet.

[WiWavelength]

Would trying to raise the unit higher increase range?

 

Likely, yes. On the Earth, this is generally true: the higher the antenna, the lower the path loss.

 

AJ

[Bob Newhart]

Does anyone know the directions of the antennas within the airave?

So I know which way to point it in the house.

[Boosted20V]

Does anyone know the directions of the antennas within the airave?

So I know which way to point it in the house.

 

It should radiate in all directions equally?

[digiblur]

Which model? I know the Airvana (non-2.5) has one circuit printed antenna at the top towards the front facing up. I couldn't find any docs on the antenna to figure out the radiated pattern but it seems odd it would shoot out of the sides. But then again I don't know since it is painted black and you can't see it.

 

The 2.5 has quite a few of these antennas including ones shooting out the sides but there are more chains on this thing even including a 800SMR chain. What!? you say. Yep. It's only a beacon though not an actual voice or data channel. It's supposed to tell the phone to bump up to PCS and connect to it. I'm sure this is to deal with the issue of a 2.0 Airvana and 800SMR in an area like we've already seen in Chicago.

[jamesinclair]

Do airaves send out 800mhz signals? If not, will future ones?

[S4GRU]

Do airaves send out 800mhz signals? If not, will future ones?

 

No. It is unknown whether they will in the future, but it is unlikely. They do not want an Airave to have much more coverage than they already do, because it will just cause more interference issues.

 

Robert

[digiblur]

No. It is unknown whether they will in the future, but it is unlikely. They do not want an Airave to have much more coverage than they already do, because it will just cause more interference issues.

 

Robert

 

They have the ability to send out 800smr beacons. Go look at the FCC docs. "This test report supports an application for certification of a transmitter operating pursuant to 47

CFR 90. The product is the Femto Cell 750701. It is a transmitter that operates in the range

862-869MHz."

 

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?mode=Exhibits&RequestTimeout=500&calledFromFrame=N&application_id=244095&fcc_id=%27QHYHUBBUBC4000-RT%27

[jamesinclair]

No. It is unknown whether they will in the future, but it is unlikely. They do not want an Airave to have much more coverage than they already do, because it will just cause more interference issues.

 

Robert

 

Id wager many people with the device live in rural or thickly forested suburban areas....hence the need for the device.

 

Shouldn't be an interference issue in those cases.

[S4GRU]

 

Id wager many people with the device live in rural or thickly forested suburban areas....hence the need for the device.

 

Shouldn't be an interference issue in those cases.

 

The Airave is designed for use in a single family home. 1900MHz works fine on an Airave in a single family home in the city or country. It makes no sense to add 800MHz capability to an Airave. They cannot broadcast the signal around a city block. It will cause interference.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

[jamesinclair]

The Airave is designed for use in a single family home. 1900MHz works fine on an Airave in a single family home in the city or country. It makes no sense to add 800MHz capability to an Airave. They cannot broadcast the signal around a city block. It will cause interference.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

The reason I ask is because we have an airave and it doesnt reach the bedrooms 25 feet away, much less around the block.

 

Signal is 65 immediately adjacent, degrading to less than 100 in the bedrooms, which allows for dropped calls.

 

House is typical 1970s suburban wood-frame construction.

[pyroscott]

House is typical 1970s suburban wood-frame construction.

 

With plaster walls? Or sheetrock?

[S4GRU]

 

The reason I ask is because we have an airave and it doesnt reach the bedrooms 25 feet away, much less around the block.

 

Signal is 65 immediately adjacent, degrading to less than 100 in the bedrooms, which allows for dropped calls.

 

House is typical 1970s suburban wood-frame construction.

 

Hmmm. What generation Airave do you have? My friend has a 3,000SF house and his seems to work well throughout. He has the newest model though, and it is centrally located.

 

800MHz will not likely travel further from an Airave than 1900MHz with the amount of power those things broadcast at. But Airaves are notorious for causing interference problems, especially in apartment complexes. 800MHz would just be seen as more potential for interference. I don't see any 800MHz units coming any time soon. They can get much further range out of 1900 if they wanted to. But they limit the power intentionally to reduce interference.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

 

 

[jamesinclair]

Not sure the model but we got it around July, so Id say the newer one?

 

I was just hoping for something that could better get through the paper-thin walls.

 

Im sure sprint could do a screening process, ie, no 800mhz one for apartment dwellers, yes if youre on a 1/2 acre lot etc.

[digiblur]

Not sure the model but we got it around July, so Id say the newer one?

 

I was just hoping for something that could better get through the paper-thin walls.

 

Im sure sprint could do a screening process, ie, no 800mhz one for apartment dwellers, yes if youre on a 1/2 acre lot etc.

 

I have the non 2.5 airvana and never called them to turn it up either. It covers my entire house with no issues. Typical 2200+ Sq ft house on a neighborhood lot. It even works in my neighbors house too.

 

Sent from a little old Note 2