Sprint saying there is outage in my area?

[deziking]

Hello,

 

I called sprint at 888-876-8381 and talked to rep they stated that there is an outage in my area for lte till feb 20th. I told her that I don't even get 4g, they were like well 4g and lte is different band or something meaning the lg optimus is 4g lte signal where 4g alone has different signal???? In my house I only get 3g on my lg and on my s2.

[S4GRU]

Sprint uses the term 4G typically to mean WiMax and 4G LTE or just LTE to refer to their new network upgrades. However, it sounds like there was some confusion from your CSR in either comprehension or communication in this instance.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[WiWavelength]

In all likelihood, there is not outage. That rep is just trying to give you a reason to get you off the phone. I have said it a million times: do not call Sprint, talk to an entry level worker, and expect to get accurate information about the network or deployment.

 

Network Vision rollout is far along in Chicagoland, but it is not complete yet. So, your LTE coverage may still improve. However, LTE is a more fragile airlink than is CDMA1X or EV-DO. So, LTE coverage indoors will not likely be as good. But if you are at home, why do you need LTE? Why are your phones not on Wi-Fi?

 

AJ

[deziking]

Well thats why I went with lte more for speed but thats fine. I get good speed outside and that unlimited data.

 

[JonnygATL]

I have never used wifi @ home simply because my phone either refuses to connect (to any wifi signal, anywhere - both my gs2s have this issue) or, if it does, somehow all other connected devices in the house are booted off the network. So i have never in my life experienced wifi on a phone. True story! P.s. Wimax here in Atlanta is nearly just as fast as our home 15mbps connection so it doesn't affect me anyway but thought I'd share.

[JohnnyAwesome]

In all likelihood, there is not outage. That rep is just trying to give you a reason to get you off the phone. I have said it a million times: do not call Sprint, talk to an entry level worker, and expect to get accurate information about the network or deployment.

 

Network Vision rollout is far along in Chicagoland, but it is not complete yet. So, your LTE coverage may still improve. However, LTE is a more fragile airlink than is CDMA1X or EV-DO. So, LTE coverage indoors will not likely be as good. But if you are at home, why do you need LTE? Why are your phones not on Wi-Fi?

 

AJ

 

 

or When having iPhone5 Data Problems, Told me "The Towers Are Weird Like that" when several coworkers have Sprint devices no 3g issues, had my tri-fi in 3g only mode and my moms android running data and the only device not connecting to 3g was the iPhone. Needless to say I returned it for that. But don't dare ask an entry level rep ANYTHING about Network Vision.

[halcyoncmdr]

In all likelihood, there is not outage. That rep is just trying to give you a reason to get you off the phone. I have said it a million times: do not call Sprint, talk to an entry level worker, and expect to get accurate information about the network or deployment.

 

Network Vision rollout is far along in Chicagoland, but it is not complete yet. So, your LTE coverage may still improve. However, LTE is a more fragile airlink than is CDMA1X or EV-DO. So, LTE coverage indoors will not likely be as good. But if you are at home, why do you need LTE? Why are your phones not on Wi-Fi?

 

AJ

 

Having access to the internal outage board, an outage on the legacy network is actually pretty likely. Especially in Network Vision markets. The fact the rep even gave a date suggests it is an outage, not NV-related. All NV-related towers have outage notifications listed stating they are being upgraded to Network Vision and that any ETR listed is unreliable, not to give any ETR for the tower because of that as it could potentially be more than a month away if issues arise.

 

Granted, there NV-related notices are probably put up for the towers a week or so in advance, and left until the tower is accepted by Sprint, which as we know can take a while if things aren't exactly perfect and to Sprint's liking.

 

Since he got a real ETR, it's likely a standard outage on that tower. That being said, without more info to go on like a zipcode or cross streets to narrow it down, I can't look it up personally.

[halcyoncmdr]

or When having iPhone5 Data Problems, Told me "The Towers Are Weird Like that" when several coworkers have Sprint devices no 3g issues, had my tri-fi in 3g only mode and my moms android running data and the only device not connecting to 3g was the iPhone. Needless to say I returned it for that. But don't dare ask an entry level rep ANYTHING about Network Vision.

 

There actually is a known issue Apple and Sprint have verified about with some iPhone 5's losing data connectivity to the network. It is hardware, it is a small number of devices. Although with the number of iPhones sold, that number could be quite high while still being a small percentage. It is a hardware issue and cannot be repaired in the field, the phone has to go back to Apple. There is a specific set of steps for a tech to go through to identify the issue and it takes at least a half hour (it involves waiting for the device to de-authenticate with the network entirely via timeout (so it has to be off for 30 minutes at least). IF hte phone is affected, it is exchanged free of charge because it can't be repaired.

 

That also being said, the iPhone historically has performed the worst on Sprint's network of most of our devices from my experience. Even devices that aren't affected by this defect have weird habits staying connected and the retail stores, thanks to Apple's draconian ways, have virtually no way to work on or diagnose issues with iDevices. Androdi on the other hand, we have quite a few options officially, and the entire Play Store for other unofficial solutions.

 

I'm sure there's a joke about Antennagate in here somewhere.

[koiulpoi]

or When having iPhone5 Data Problems, Told me "The Towers Are Weird Like that" when several coworkers have Sprint devices no 3g issues, had my tri-fi in 3g only mode and my moms android running data and the only device not connecting to 3g was the iPhone. Needless to say I returned it for that. But don't dare ask an entry level rep ANYTHING about Network Vision.

Actually, there was an issue with the iPhone 5 and data services, which has since been resolved with a carrier settings update.

 

Edit: gah, beaten to a different issue description. That's what I get for leaving a tab open in the background.

[WiWavelength]

Since he got a real ETR, it's likely a standard outage on that tower. That being said, without more info to go on like a zipcode or cross streets to narrow it down, I can't look it up personally.

 

An outage for at least 10 days? Absent a natural disaster or other calamity, that would be pretty rich.

 

AJ

[WiWavelength]

"The Towers Are Weird Like that"

 

I vote this to be the standard answer whenever anyone is experiencing any connectivity problems.

 

 

AJ

[mellimel2212]

In all likelihood, there is not outage. That rep is just trying to give you a reason to get you off the phone. I have said it a million times: do not call Sprint, talk to an entry level worker, and expect to get accurate information about the network or deployment.

 

Network Vision rollout is far along in Chicagoland, but it is not complete yet. So, your LTE coverage may still improve. However, LTE is a more fragile airlink than is CDMA1X or EV-DO. So, LTE coverage indoors will not likely be as good. But if you are at home, why do you need LTE? Why are your phones not on Wi-Fi?

 

AJ

 

Because I don't have extra money to throw Comcast greedy as for home internet lol.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.1 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Because I don't have extra money to throw Comcast greedy as for home internet lol.

 

Okay, all I have to say to that is, "No tethering." If you do, shame on you. You do not get to cheat Sprint and your fellow users just because you are cheap.

 

AJ

[mellimel2212]

Lol. I pay for days when I tether first off bro haha second I'm not cheap just using common sense.

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.1 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[halcyoncmdr]

Actually, there was an issue with the iPhone 5 and data services, which has since been resolved with a carrier settings update.

 

Edit: gah, beaten to a different issue description. That's what I get for leaving a tab open in the background.

 

Actually there was a carrier update that fixed some data connectivity issues as well. The iPhone has sort of plagued Sprint in regards to weird issues not found on other devices. Combine that with the initial rollout of LTE and an entirely different account authentication system and I'm sure the iPhone 5 has a ton of weird little bugs unique to itself that other devices and operating systems don't have.

 

People seem to assume that because it's an iPhone that it is perfect 100% of the time. More often than not, the iPhones are the ones we see most often in S&R because the users don't understand they have to do at least a little maintenance like turning it off/on once in a while. Try explaining to someone that the issue they've been getting progressively more annoyed at for 3 months would have been fixed if they power cycled their phone. More often than not they don't take kindly to that even though it's a simple fact.

[koiulpoi]

Actually there was a carrier update that fixed some data connectivity issues as well.

Oh, I certainly know that. Our market here was severely affected by that issue. One of those good "restart the phone, it'll work again. they know about it, they're fixing it" kind of issues.

 

People seem to assume that because it's an iPhone that it is perfect 100% of the time. More often than not, the iPhones are the ones we see most often in S&R because the users don't understand they have to do at least a little maintenance like turning it off/on once in a while. Try explaining to someone that the issue they've been getting progressively more annoyed at for 3 months would have been fixed if they power cycled their phone. More often than not they don't take kindly to that even though it's a simple fact.

I don't know if you've experienced this, but I've seen that most iPhone customers don't even know that turning the phone off is something you do. Or can do. To be fair, I've seen the same thing with other phones like the OG EVO, with people coming in with a host of weird things, and the phone hasn't had a good battery pull in 6+ months.

 

Speaking of that, is GSX one of the tools you have access to, by chance?

[MacinJosh]

I don't know if you've experienced this, but I've seen that most iPhone customers don't even know that turning the phone off is something you do. Or can do. To be fair, I've seen the same thing with other phones like the OG EVO, with people coming in with a host of weird things, and the phone hasn't had a good battery pull in 6+ months.

 

People don't think they have to turn their phones off? There are some really stupid people out there!

[koiulpoi]

People don't think they have to turn their phones off? There are some really stupid people out there!

It's quite simple: they don't realize what they have. Many of these folks grew up on flip phones for a decade, and then moved in to the world of "smart". They have expectations of phones being tiny talk-only machines, except these ones can do internetty stuff sometimes.

 

I tell people, "You've got a laptop at home, right? You give that thing a good reboot once a week at least, right? Well, what you've got in your pocket is a miniature computer." The analogy sticks. Usually.

[halcyoncmdr]

Speaking of that, is GSX one of the tools you have access to, by chance?

 

Sprint corporate stores got GSX access yesterday. Authorized repair stores are delayed. I'm surprised Apple did it at all knowing the history behind the GSX trial program my store was a part of and Apple's tendencies.

[koiulpoi]

Sprint corporate stores got GSX access yesterday. Authorized repair stores are delayed. I'm surprised Apple did it at all knowing the history behind the GSX trial program my store was a part of and Apple's tendencies.

Oh come now, that sounds very much like a story. You simply must tell it!

 

(and the reason I asked was, yes, ASCs are delayed at getting GSX rolled out; we were "trained" on it about a month ago)

[halcyoncmdr]

Oh come now, that sounds very much like a story. You simply must tell it!

 

(and the reason I asked was, yes, ASCs are delayed at getting GSX rolled out; we were "trained" on it about a month ago)

 

It's nothing special really. Apple doesn't like to share anything they use. They are extremely secretive. GSX allows a ton of diagnostic info, remotely. GSX operates using an Apple ID configured for it normally. None excerpt Apple have access for that reason.

 

To allow Sprint employees access while still keeping track of which users were doing what was a big hurdle, both for Sprint and Apple.

 

The trial occurred in October and then disappeared. And portions of the GSX instructions at first told techs to open the phone to diagnose issues more effectively, something Sprint couldn't do.

 

I think Apple is starting to realize that Apple stores can't be the only authorized locations to open iPhones, they simply don't have enough locations and Geniuses. I would put money on Sprint tech's being able to open iPhones in the next few months because of it.

[koiulpoi]

It's nothing special really. Apple doesn't like to share anything they use. They are extremely secretive. GSX allows a ton of diagnostic info, remotely. GSX operates using an Apple ID configured for it normally. None excerpt Apple have access for that reason.

 

To allow Sprint employees access while still keeping track of which users were doing what was a big hurdle, both for Sprint and Apple.

I worked closely with a few Mac OS and iOS app developers a couple years past, and I know exactly what you mean. While it's gotten better, at the time there were several APIs that were completely undocumented, and many function calls that, officially, didn't exist.

 

What all does GSX expose that's not available to the end user, or to similar diagnostic programs on Android? My limited experience with it shows it reveals app crashes, battery health, etc. Nothing too dangerous.

 

The trial occurred in October and then disappeared. And portions of the GSX instructions at first told techs to open the phone to diagnose issues more effectively, something Sprint couldn't do.

 

I think Apple is starting to realize that Apple stores can't be the only authorized locations to open iPhones, they simply don't have enough locations and Geniuses. I would put money on Sprint tech's being able to open iPhones in the next few months because of it.

Truly? That should be interesting. The iPhone was never one I found particularly fun to take apart on my spare time...

[halcyoncmdr]

I worked closely with a few Mac OS and iOS app developers a couple years past, and I know exactly what you mean. While it's gotten better, at the time there were several APIs that were completely undocumented, and many function calls that, officially, didn't exist.

 

What all does GSX expose that's not available to the end user, or to similar diagnostic programs on Android? My limited experience with it shows it reveals app crashes, battery health, etc. Nothing too dangerous.

 

Truly? That should be interesting. The iPhone was never one I found particularly fun to take apart on my spare time...

 

It's not that it exposes anything dangerous, just that Apple I think didn't want the exact means more publicly available. There are still many API calls that are undocumented. Apple is secretive about everything.

 

Yeah the iPhone is not fun to take apart. I think Apple is starting to see a ton of fixable phones be exchanged instead though because stores can't open them up. I can't even imagine the number of phones exchanged for a button not working that could be fixed if a store could open it up. Repairing a device costs a lot less than refurbishing one.