T-Mobile LTE & Network Discussion

[WiWavelength]

The Sprint version of the One has an engineering screen.  I have no idea how to get to it on my T-Mo version.

 

You will not get the engineering screens on the other domestic variants.  Only the Sprint version is appropriate for wireless network watchers.

 

AJ

[kg4icg]

Believe it or not I got the Engineering screen to come up on a TMobile Nokia phone by punching in from the keypad ##3282# . It might work, it might not. No harm in trying.

[Jaggrey]

Yea I tried that; didn't work.  And there's no way to get the FieldTrial.apk file onto another device is there?

[Terrell352]

Somebody's post was promptly deleted lol.

[WiWavelength]

Several posts have been hidden. S4GRU does not host rants, nor does S4GRU serve as a promotional vehicle for T-Mobile "nifty shit."

 

Further violations will result in disciplinary action. Got it?

 

AJ

[mellimel2212]

Several posts have been hidden. S4GRU does not host rants, nor does S4GRU serve as a promotional vehicle for T-Mobile "nifty shit."

 

Further violations will result in disciplinary action. Got it?

 

AJ

That mean u too Aj MOES aren't exempt lol.

 

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape running 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2 (Central n ohio Austin IL)

 

 

[Fraydog]

That mean u too Aj MOES aren't exempt lol.

 

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape running 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2 (Central n ohio Austin IL)

I can't possibly understand what you're trying to achieve here. I'd hate to have to issue warnings on an otherwise pleasant Southern Illinois Sunday.

[mellimel2212]

That mean u too Aj mods aren't exempt lol.

 

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape running 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2 (Central n ohio Austin IL)

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape running 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2 (Central n ohio Austin IL)

 

 

[mellimel2212]

I can't possibly understand what you're trying to achieve here. I'd hate to have to issue warnings on an otherwise pleasant Southern Illinois Sunday.

I was joking bro lol chill.

 

Sent from my T-Mobile LG Escape running 4.1.2 using Tapatalk 2 (Central n ohio Austin IL)

 

 

[JosefTor]

I hope this doesn't get me banned because this site is like oxygen to my body right now.  I believe the below is pretty un-biased though and a fair look at the two networks so at least delete it if it is not appropriate.  

 

I had the pleasure of hijacking someone's T-Mobile iPhone 5C so I could perform a comparison to my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 experience.  Unfortunately, since they had an iPhone, I could not map my trip on Sensorly (booooo!).  Instead, I attempted a real life comparison where I only performed speed tests where I normally use my phone (e.g.; my chair at work) and I performed news streaming on Newsy.  To me, this gave a better experience then simply mapping the network or performing random speed tests.  

 

My one question to those knowledgable, why does Sprint have slower pings on 4G sites with upgraded backhaul?  That doesn't make sense so I'd appreciate a schooling.  Pings seem a lot more important than network speed which is why T-Mobile didn't hiccup at all at video (buffering only once for like a few seconds) and Sprint suffered.

[Fraydog]

From my view, a post like what you just did shouldn't have any issues. You documented what the issues were in your local area.

[bucdenny]

I hope this doesn't get me banned because this site is like oxygen to my body right now.  I believe the below is pretty un-biased though and a fair look at the two networks so at least delete it if it is not appropriate.  

 

I had the pleasure of hijacking someone's T-Mobile iPhone 5C so I could perform a comparison to my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 experience.  Unfortunately, since they had an iPhone, I could not map my trip on Sensorly (booooo!).  Instead, I attempted a real life comparison where I only performed speed tests where I normally use my phone (e.g.; my chair at work) and I performed news streaming on Newsy.  To me, this gave a better experience then simply mapping the network or performing random speed tests.  

 

My one question to those knowledgable, why does Sprint have slower pings on 4G sites with upgraded backhaul?  That doesn't make sense so I'd appreciate a schooling.  Pings seem a lot more important than network speed which is why T-Mobile didn't hiccup at all at video (buffering only once for like a few seconds) and Sprint suffered.

 

Most likely your connected to a 4G site that is farther away with a -115dBm LTE connection or worse and that site is providing coverage to a huge area.  It will improve once more 4G sites do go live nearby which will take the load off that particular site in question.

 

Here's a link regarding your 4G bars.  http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/

 

I would highly recommend documenting in dBm using SignalCheck app instead the bars on your phone.  Most phones bar quality is actually your voice quality.  If anything worse than -115dBm LTE, you will get slower pings along with slower speeds and failed speed test.

 

From the sponsors map I don't see many live 4G sites in Aliso Viejo, CA.  http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/517-nv-sites-complete/

 

All accepted 3G sites in your area most likely does not have fiber back haul in place so pings and speeds will suffer.

[bucdenny]

I hope this doesn't get me banned because this site is like oxygen to my body right now.  I believe the below is pretty un-biased though and a fair look at the two networks so at least delete it if it is not appropriate.  

 

I had the pleasure of hijacking someone's T-Mobile iPhone 5C so I could perform a comparison to my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S3 experience.  Unfortunately, since they had an iPhone, I could not map my trip on Sensorly (booooo!).  Instead, I attempted a real life comparison where I only performed speed tests where I normally use my phone (e.g.; my chair at work) and I performed news streaming on Newsy.  To me, this gave a better experience then simply mapping the network or performing random speed tests.  

 

My one question to those knowledgable, why does Sprint have slower pings on 4G sites with upgraded backhaul?  That doesn't make sense so I'd appreciate a schooling.  Pings seem a lot more important than network speed which is why T-Mobile didn't hiccup at all at video (buffering only once for like a few seconds) and Sprint suffered.

 

Here is an example of good quality speeds, ping and very great dBm.  This particular site is surrounded by several other live 4G sites so it does not suffer from being overloaded. 

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Most likely your connected to a 4G site that is far away with over -115dBm LTE connection and that site is providing coverage to a huge area.

 

. . .

 

If anything above -115dBm LTE, you will get slower pings along with slower speeds and failed speed test.

Here is an example of good quality speeds, ping and very low dBm.

 

No, you are confusing high and low, above and below.

 

AJ

[bucdenny]

No, you are confusing high and low, above and below.

 

AJ

 

thanks for pointing it out. i did confuse others.  its fixed.

[jamesinclair]

Im seeing a lot of tmobile ads everywhere, hyping the international changes.

 

I hope Sprint pays attention.

 

Free texting in all of north america, please, at the very least.

[reedacus25]

I may be confused, but that looks like a 10MHz wide channel, judging by the >37Mbps download speed. Where has Sprint launched with 10 MHz wide channels?

[lilotimz]

I may be confused, but that looks like a 10MHz wide channel, judging by the >37Mbps download speed. Where has Sprint launched with 10 MHz wide channels?

 

~38 mbps is within the margin of error for a speed test. Sometimes people get up to ~39 ~40 mbps on the DL side which is impossible but is still shown due to the speed test server shenanigans. 

[maxsilver]

I may be confused, but that looks like a 10MHz wide channel, judging by the >37Mbps download speed. Where has Sprint launched with 10 MHz wide channels?

It looks like regular 5x5 LTE. It's just an empty tower.

 

That's the speeds Sprint subscribers should see when there are zero-ish other active LTE data users on a site/sector.

[Jaggrey]

Also must be practically next to the tower, with a -57 dbm reading.

[bucdenny]

It looks like regular 5x5 LTE. It's just an empty tower.

 

That's the speeds Sprint subscribers should see when there are zero-ish other active LTE data users on a site/sector.

 

It is in my neighborhood and might be empty during the test.  Look at the time when the speed test was done, not in the middle of sleeping. We have 3 different 4G sites within 1 mile radius maybe the major reason why speeds are great.

[Fraydog]

Speedtest.net is kind of a bad guide.

 

I use it all the time still but I have come to trust it less and less. It seems the more people have used it, the more issues that pop up.

[Ascertion]

Speedtest.net is kind of a bad guide.

 

I use it all the time still but I have come to trust it less and less. It seems the more people have used it, the more issues that pop up.

Agreed.  I get wildly different results changing from one server to the next and typically the default server is slow for me.  I feel like the readings aren't all that accurate, aside from maybe the ping.  I've become more fond of Sensorly's built in Speedtest as of late.

 

SignalCheck Pro would be awesome if it had a built in speedtest server.

[S4GRU]

Agreed. I get wildly different results changing from one server to the next and typically the default server is slow for me. I feel like the readings aren't all that accurate, aside from maybe the ping. I've become more fond of Sensorly's built in Speedtest as of late.

 

SignalCheck Pro would be awesome if it had a built in speedtest server.

I find that Sensorly's Speedtests are horribly slow and inaccurate. In my use, they select servers very far away or even in Europe some times. My 100Mbps home internet will come back as 3-11Mbps with a 300ms ping on Sensorly. But it will run 90-102Mbps on most other servers with a less than 10ms ping.

 

[GinaDee]

What is Legere up to this time around?

 

According to this guy:  http://www.tmonews.com/2013/12/john-legere-teases-uncarrier-4-0-on-twitter/#disqus_thread

 

"TMO is readying a program code-named "Houdini" which will give ATT and VZ customers up to $350 to offset early termination fees. There will be an instant trade-in and a follow-up credit when the cuts submits their final bill from ATT or VZ. Program launches around 1/8. It's a major effort within TMO right now -- as big as JUMP was last spring."