Questions about returning to Sprint

[thatrandomguy]

I was a Sprint customer earlier this year but in March I was forced to switch to AT&T because of Sprint's network being unusable and me roaming like a crazy data freak. My parents keep saying I should switch back to Sprint but I've been spoiled with the sheer speed of AT&T's BLAZING FAST LTE. I just want to know if Sprint in the East Bay has improved to near AT&T coverage and speed because their network is crazy fast and has coverage everywhere I have been this whole year. I have recently started to look at Sprint's LTE coverage and was amazed that Alameda and the entire East Bay was fully orange. I know that their coverage maps aren't 100% but it's still an improvement over the Sprint I left. I just have some questions like:

1. Do you get relatively decent in building penetration with LTE?
2. Are the speeds comparable to AT&T's LTE and even HSPA+?
3. Has 3G improved from 0.21 mps?
4. Do voice calls drop as often?
5. Has Sprint started to deploy anything on the 800 band in this area?

I'm not trying to bash Sprint in anyway I just want to know if the overall experience has improved greatly or should I just wait until they finish NV in the Bay and the greater LA area? 

 

EDIT: Changed AT&T screenshot and added around the time I left Sprint screenshot for comparison.

Edited August 7, 2013 by thatrandomguy

[mrknowitall526]

If you REALLY need 55Mbps, then you should probably just stay with AT&T.  

 

There's no reason to NEED 55Mbps on a cell phone.

[Cubbiefan82]

 

 

I was a Sprint customer earlier this year but in March I was forced to switch to AT&T because of Sprint's network being unusable and me roaming like a crazy data freak. My parents keep saying I should switch back to Sprint but I've been spoiled with the sheer speed of AT&T's BLAZING FAST LTE. I just want to know if Sprint in the East Bay has improved to near AT&T coverage and speed because their network is crazy fast and has coverage everywhere I have been this whole year. I have recently started to look at Sprint's LTE coverage and was amazed that Alameda and the entire East Bay was fully orange. I know that their coverage maps aren't 100% but it's still an improvement over the Sprint I left. I just have some questions like:

1. Do you get relatively decent in building penetration with LTE?
2. Are the speeds comparable to AT&T's LTE and even HSPA+?
3. Has 3G improved from 0.21 mps?
4. Do voice calls drop as often?
5. Has Sprint started to deploy anything on the 800 band in this area?

I'm not trying to bash Sprint in anyway I just want to know if the overall experience has improved greatly or should I just wait until they finish NV in the Bay and the greater LA area? 

 

EDIT: Changed AT&T screenshot and added around the time I left Sprint screenshot for comparison.

1. U will not get the same buliding coverage with sprint lte until they start using 800 for lte. They are working on that right now, by the end of the year most of the sites should be 800 for voice and have lte on them also.

2. Att lte I believe has what they call a 10mhz by 10mhz in sfo, so u can see speeds up to 75 mbps per a second and until sprint starts using td lte from what use to be clearwire(now sprint lte) It wont be as fast, but honestly anything over 6 mbps u wont see a difference.

3. 3g is getting upgraded long with 4g on sprint, so that is getting better. Honestly sfo is just over 50 percent of lte sites turned on, so u dont have it everywhere yet.

4. With the new 800 voice, they are using voice technology that has 4x the use on it. So it helps with drop calls and has better signal then on the 1900. So yes less drop calls.

5. They have 800 voice in some areas not all yet, and it will be all over sfo soon. It is a samsung market loves turning on 800, I believe they and the contractor get paided if the 800 goes on lol.

 

My honest opinon would be to wait until christmas, by then sfo will be nearly done and it will have 2600 lte. Also the new tri-band phones will be out and u can take advantage of what we call network vision 2.0 :-). I hope this answers your questions, thanks for stopping by s4gru and if u want to see the progress donate some money, this website is right. It helps me understand what was going on with sprints upgrade and made me stay with them. I also got to have unlimited data, I am data hog when I travel.

 

If u donate suggestion 10 bucks or more (basically help cover costs and s4gru time) u can see all the cell sites and which ones have what on them already.

[scubajwd]

What could possibly motivate you to return to Sprint when it seems that you are

enjoying nirvana with AT&T? Cost of nirvana per chance or is it something else?

Just curious..don't be offended it's just that I watch to many detective pictures and

motives always seem to matter; someone that knows your area will attempt to answer

your questions but in the end a cellular experience (like real estate) is all local..where you

live and where you go!

[Mooeydj]

If AT&T works for you, then stay with it.

[jason0583]

http://imgur.com/0WsAAYT

[jason0583]

http://imgur.com/0WsAAYT

Indianapolis , In market. Definitely a improvement

[gameaddict8]

Other than price/tiered data, why switch if you're getting 50+ mb/s down

[mc_gusto]

East bay is pretty decent. But depends where you are talking about. Berkeley is awful. Wait a couple months until 800 gets going more. And more Triband phones are available.

 

Sent from my Android HP Touchpad using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[lynyrd65]

I would test it out on a trial with the LG Optimus G2 when it comes out. Know that even if all of the sites around you have LTE on them they are still a far cry from being fully upgraded. 2500 and 800 LTE will dramatically improve service

 

2500 LTE will give you those ridiculous 50+mbps speeds when it arrives (and it will as a full overlay over existing sites)

 

and

 

800 LTE will give you the in-building LTE coverage other carriers have

 

If you like Sprint's current 1900 LTE network in your area keep the Optimus G2 and enjoy while looking forward to being able to use the new 800 and 2500 networks in the future (the G2 is the only one that can support them for now)

 

If you don't like your experience, return the G2 and wait until 800 and 2500 LTE arrives in your area then give Sprint another try.

[IamMrFamous07]

I would wait until next year. Sprint has improved since than but next year Sprint will LTE on all 3 of their networks plus voice on the lower frequency as well. Also I recommend getting a TriBand device.

 

 

 

With all of those things your service and experience should be comparable with AT&T

[thatrandomguy]

East bay is pretty decent. But depends where you are talking about. Berkeley is awful. Wait a couple months until 800 gets going more. And more Triband phones are available.

 

Sent from my Android HP Touchpad using Tapatalk 4

I live and go to school in Alameda so that's where I am most of the time. Coverage at school is CRUCIAL to me I don't care if it's only voice because we have wifi around campus. Personally I don't want to switch but paying 2 phone bills(AT&T 1 line and Sprint 2 lines) is a bit much for a family. 

 

Other than price/tiered data, why switch if you're getting 50+ mb/s down

The only reason their considering switching me is just price because paying 2 phone bills isn't ideal.

 

What could possibly motivate you to return to Sprint when it seems that you are

enjoying nirvana with AT&T? Cost of nirvana per chance or is it something else?

Just curious..don't be offended it's just that I watch to many detective pictures and

motives always seem to matter; someone that knows your area will attempt to answer

your questions but in the end a cellular experience (like real estate) is all local..where you

live and where you go!

Only 'motive' is price essentially. 

 

1. U will not get the same buliding coverage with sprint lte until they start using 800 for lte. They are working on that right now, by the end of the year most of the sites should be 800 for voice and have lte on them also.

2. Att lte I believe has what they call a 10mhz by 10mhz in sfo, so u can see speeds up to 75 mbps per a second and until sprint starts using td lte from what use to be clearwire(now sprint lte) It wont be as fast, but honestly anything over 6 mbps u wont see a difference.

3. 3g is getting upgraded long with 4g on sprint, so that is getting better. Honestly sfo is just over 50 percent of lte sites turned on, so u dont have it everywhere yet.

4. With the new 800 voice, they are using voice technology that has 4x the use on it. So it helps with drop calls and has better signal then on the 1900. So yes less drop calls.

5. They have 800 voice in some areas not all yet, and it will be all over sfo soon. It is a samsung market loves turning on 800, I believe they and the contractor get paided if the 800 goes on lol.

 

My honest opinon would be to wait until christmas, by then sfo will be nearly done and it will have 2600 lte. Also the new tri-band phones will be out and u can take advantage of what we call network vision 2.0 :-). I hope this answers your questions, thanks for stopping by s4gru and if u want to see the progress donate some money, this website is right. It helps me understand what was going on with sprints upgrade and made me stay with them. I also got to have unlimited data, I am data hog when I travel.

 

If u donate suggestion 10 bucks or more (basically help cover costs and s4gru time) u can see all the cell sites and which ones have what on them already.

To be fair about the speed test I was sitting about 200ft from the tower when I did that test but I was still shocked at the speed because I have never attempted to speed test mainly to stay under 3GB which isn't that hard. I only posted asked because Sprint has a deal that if you buy an S4 or S3 you get another one free and my parents want me to switch because of price but as you can see AT&T and my S3 have spoiled me from day 1. Also I had no idea AT&T LTE could reach those speeds in this area. Now I want to stay up until 3am and try to reach it! 

Oh wait one question: Do/all Sprint LTE phones minus the iPhone 5 do voLTE? Because my S3 only does "4G" (HSPA+ or UMTS) and voice.

[gameaddict8]

Best bet, grab the OG2 since it is triband. Use the trial period if you are unsure

[mc_gusto]

If the other 2 lines are still sprint take them with you to school. Alot of phones are already 800 voice capable. I don't think any towers in Alameda are 800 yet but they are some in east bay already.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

 

 

[IamMrFamous07]

Best bet, grab the OG2 since it is triband. Use the trial period if you are unsure

 

But LTE is not not on 800/ or 2500 so it's best to wait until those networks are somewhat deployed

[lilotimz]

But LTE is not not on 800/ or 2500 so it's best to wait until those networks are somewhat deployed

 

The TD-LTE network has been deployed over a good portion of Clearwire Sites in the San Francisco bay area market. To what extent, no one knows for sure except Robert and premier sponsors in the coming weeks. 

[thatrandomguy]

If you REALLY need 55Mbps, then you should probably just stay with AT&T.  

 

There's no reason to NEED 55Mbps on a cell phone.

I don't NEED the speed but it is nice to have! 

 

If the other 2 lines are still sprint take them with you to school. Alot of phones are already 800 voice capable. I don't think any towers in Alameda are 800 yet but they are some in east bay already.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 4

I doubt the other lines are 800 capable because one's a Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G and the others a Motorola XPRT or something but it's basically the Driod Pro but for Sprint. 

[IamMrFamous07]

I don't NEED the speed but it is nice to have!

 

I doubt the other lines are 800 capable because one's a Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G and the others a Motorola XPRT or something but it's basically the Driod Pro but for Sprint.

 

Neither are not CDMA 800 but you can buy a cheap one on eBay (htc Evo 3d, or the gs2) and test it out

[IamMrFamous07]

The TD-LTE network has been deployed over a good portion of Clearwire Sites in the San Francisco bay area market. To what extent, no one knows for sure except Robert and premier sponsors in the coming weeks.

 

Hmm I might become a premier sponsor lol

[Dkoellerwx]

But LTE is not not on 800/ or 2500 so it's best to wait until those networks are somewhat deployed

 

There are 8 markets where 2500 is live as addressed in a memo Robert posted on July 19. In addition, many more markets are getting upgraded pretty quickly, as we've already had a 2500 sighting in St. Louis of all places. 

 

 

1. Do you get relatively decent in building penetration with LTE?
2. Are the speeds comparable to AT&T's LTE and even HSPA+?
3. Has 3G improved from 0.21 mps?
4. Do voice calls drop as often?
5. Has Sprint started to deploy anything on the 800 band in this area?

 

Most of your questions have been answered, hopefully satisfactorily. Just wanted to add a couple of things.

 

Sprint's current main LTE band (1900) has a maximum of 37.5Mbps. So the speeds do not compare to AT&T's, at least at this time. However, with the low pings that come with LTE, anything over ~5Mbps and you won't notice the difference.

 

3G speeds have improved in some places, but in many the legacy 3G network is still operating, which means slow speeds. However, if you have an LTE phone, that's not an issue.

 

Sprint is deploying 1xRTT on the 800 band right now, it should be live in many places around your market. Calls are more stable, and coverage has been enhanced quite a bit with this new band.

 

Sprint is trying to have their current LTE footprint lit up with 800 LTE by the end of the year, so LTE coverage will be improving here shortly if you have a compatible phone (there are none currently).

 

So, if you can, I would wait a couple months for the Tri-Band phones to be available. If you want to switch now, I'd say go ahead and take that S4 deal. Even without 800 LTE, you still get decent data coverage, and great voice coverage. And speeds should be acceptable as well. 

[thatrandomguy]

Neither are not CDMA 800 but you can buy a cheap one on eBay (htc Evo 3d, or the gs2) and test it out

I think if I do switch it will be either the end of this year of the beginning of next year like others have suggested so the change isn't that dramatic from blazing fast AT&T LTE. Also my current ETF is $265 and there aren't or not that many tri band phones which would give me similar speeds and coverage.

[cletus]

I think if I do switch it will be either the end of this year of the beginning of next year like others have suggested so the change isn't that dramatic from blazing fast AT&T LTE. Also my current ETF is $265 and there aren't or not that many tri band phones which would give me similar speeds and coverage.

I would wait. We all like Sprint here but the network is not quite up to par with the duopoly in terms of speed. I'd place Sprint firmly in 4th place for network speed. Over the next 6-12 months that will most likely change but that is the current reality. If you are happy with AT&T I would wait out the contract and then reevaluate. 

[thatrandomguy]

There are 8 markets where 2500 is live as addressed in a memo Robert posted on July 19. In addition, many more markets are getting upgraded pretty quickly, as we've already had a 2500 sighting in St. Louis of all places.

 

 

 

Most of your questions have been answered, hopefully satisfactorily. Just wanted to add a couple of things.

 

Sprint's current main LTE band (1900) has a maximum of 37.5Mbps. So the speeds do not compare to AT&T's, at least at this time. However, with the low pings that come with LTE, anything over ~5Mbps and you won't notice the difference.

 

3G speeds have improved in some places, but in many the legacy 3G network is still operating, which means slow speeds. However, if you have an LTE phone, that's not an issue.

 

Sprint is deploying 1xRTT on the 800 band right now, it should be live in many places around your market. Calls are more stable, and coverage has been enhanced quite a bit with this new band.

 

Sprint is trying to have their current LTE footprint lit up with 800 LTE by the end of the year, so LTE coverage will be improving here shortly if you have a compatible phone (there are none currently).

 

So, if you can, I would wait a couple months for the Tri-Band phones to be available. If you want to switch now, I'd say go ahead and take that S4 deal. Even without 800 LTE, you still get decent data coverage, and great voice coverage. And speeds should be acceptable as well.

I really don't care that much about the speeds because I only recently decided to start speed testing again because constantly speed testing goes through A LOT of data. I only care that it's comparable to AT&T but with Sprint it's less of a problem because their network is not as crowed like AT&T where you need to be ahead of the load like being on LTE vs crowded HSPA+ or UMTS. The only problem with me having AT&T is paying 2 separate phone bills and if I do switch back I will definitely grab a tri band phone hopefully when most of NV is done in this area. A part of me wants to switch back when everything is done so I can have unlimited data again!!

[Thomas L.]

 

 

I was a Sprint customer earlier this year but in March I was forced to switch to AT&T because of Sprint's network being unusable and me roaming like a crazy data freak. My parents keep saying I should switch back to Sprint but I've been spoiled with the sheer speed of AT&T's BLAZING FAST LTE. I just want to know if Sprint in the East Bay has improved to near AT&T coverage and speed because their network is crazy fast and has coverage everywhere I have been this whole year. I have recently started to look at Sprint's LTE coverage and was amazed that Alameda and the entire East Bay was fully orange. I know that their coverage maps aren't 100% but it's still an improvement over the Sprint I left. I just have some questions like:

1. Do you get relatively decent in building penetration with LTE?
2. Are the speeds comparable to AT&T's LTE and even HSPA+?
3. Has 3G improved from 0.21 mps?
4. Do voice calls drop as often?
5. Has Sprint started to deploy anything on the 800 band in this area?

I'm not trying to bash Sprint in anyway I just want to know if the overall experience has improved greatly or should I just wait until they finish NV in the Bay and the greater LA area? 

 

EDIT: Changed AT&T screenshot and added around the time I left Sprint screenshot for comparison.

 

 

As most other people have said - wait until at least Christmas. It will make absolutely nuts to go between having LTE and good speeds, and then dropping back to the legacy network and having it almost unusable. There are plenty of areas that will still give you the same speeds you showed in your old Sprint speed test. You will also want to make sure you get a tri-band phone, and that will be much easier even in just a few months. 

[sbolen]

Am I the only one who's noticed the phrase "AT&T's Blazing Fast LTE" popping up a lot in this thread? It smells fishy.