nobius Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Sprint really loves Texas. For good reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Wouldn't enabling the two LTE bands have the same effect? (well, minus the "spark" icon) Or is there more to it? In Dallas, is there a way to see what areas in Dallas can expect to get benefit from this now? Sprint.com/coverage doesn't really say much about spark coverage Not that simple, a buddy of mine has an HTC One max, and he can connect without any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I don't know if this will work for you but when I tried connecting to B41, I'd set my N5 to Global or LTE, update PRL and it would connect to B41. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk No go.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UndeadNexus Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 No go.. Huh...did you change the band priorities to scan for B41 first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiWavelength Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Wouldn't enabling the two LTE bands have the same effect? (well, minus the "spark" icon) Or is there more to it? Manually enabling bands 26 and 41, then adjusting band priority has produced mixed results. We expect there is more to the Spark update than just the hidden settings and the icon. AJ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Huh...did you change the band priorities to scan for B41 first?I thought I had it figured out at one point, noticed almost all reports of band 41 access on the G2 and Nexus 5 came from the west coast. So I assumed it was something that ALU markets did differently to block access to this device. But as theforce167 has pointed out, he was successful connecting from this side of the fence. So its inconsistency has made it difficult to pinpoint exactly what allows it to connect and not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj14x Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) Manually enabling bands 26 and 41, then adjusting band priority has produced mixed results. We expect there is more to the Spark update than just the hidden settings and the icon. AJ Thank you - I guess I'll wait for the spark update to get pushed out to my Nexus 5 then. Things are kinda messed up as it is. My house and surroundings (Dallas) are in full LTE coverage area (per Sprint maps) - sensorly confirms that as well. But when I enable LTE on my phone, the signal strength is horrible (RSRP of -110dBm or worse usually). At home, I really don't care about data speed because I'm on WiFi, but with LTE enabled (regardless of whether I have WiFi enabled or not), I end up missing calls often. Over on the Nexus5 thread, somebody had suggested switching to 3g only, and with that, I don't miss calls - but of course data speeds suck when I'm out and about (unless I go and switch to LTE each time - and then, keep an eye on LTE signal strength every so often to make sure it is not too low to cause missed calls. Was hoping that with the Spark being enabled in the Dallas area, maybe the problem would have gone away, but nope. Still the same. (even tried to enable the other bands and set 41 to priority 1 - no difference). Oh well... it has been a long 14 years with Sprint. I'll try to hang on for another year or so to see if they can get things to work (hopefully the T-mo deal will happen, and improve things - friends with T-mo get >20Mbps when they come over, while I get 0.8-1.2 Mbps at best (if the wind isn't blowing and it is not raining). Edited January 8, 2014 by jj14x 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Thank you - I guess I'll wait for the spark update to get pushed out to my Nexus 5 then. Things are kinda messed up as it is. My house and surroundings (Dallas) are in full LTE coverage area (per Sprint maps) - sensorly confirms that as well. But when I enable LTE on my phone, the signal strength is horrible (RSRP of -110dBm or worse usually). At home, I really don't care about data speed because I'm on WiFi, but with LTE enabled (regardless of whether I have WiFi enabled or not), I end up missing calls often. Over on the Nexus5 thread, somebody had suggested switching to 3g only, and with that, I don't miss calls - but of course data speeds suck when I'm out and about (unless I go and switch to LTE each time - and then, keep an eye on LTE signal strength every so often to make sure it is not too low to cause missed calls. Was hoping that with the Spark being enabled in the Dallas area, maybe the problem would have gone away, but nope. Still the same. (even tried to enable the other bands and set 41 to priority 1 - no difference). Oh well... it has been a long 14 years with Sprint. I'll try to hang on for another year or so to see if they can get things to work (hopefully the T-mo deal will happen, and improve things - friends with T-mo get >20Mbps when they come over, while I get 0.8-1.2 Mbps at best (if the wind isn't blowing and it is not raining). Alot of exciting stuff happening now in Texas for Sprint, I would not even consider switching to any other carrier, now about your issues, it could be a switching issue so obviously software can remedy this. One other thing, if you have google voice integration enabled, that can cause delays in the incoming (due to the fact that its being re-routed through them) so if you do have that enabled you might want to try temporary disabling it and do some testing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj14x Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Alot of exciting stuff happening now in Texas for Sprint, I would not even consider switching to any other carrier, now about your issues, it could be a switching issue so obviously software can remedy this. One other thing, if you have google voice integration enabled, that can cause delays in the incoming (due to the fact that its being re-routed through them) so if you do have that enabled you might want to try temporary disabling it and do some testing. Thanks for that 'pep talk'. I think I needed that I do not have GV integration, so that's not it. I agree that it looks like a software issue (already replaced the phone to rule out antenna issues). For now, Sprint tech support doesn't have any suggestions, and insists that all towers in my neighborhood are working fine Sorry - didn't mean to derail this "Spark" related thread. I'll just stand by in envy of folks getting better data speeds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiWavelength Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Thank you - I guess I'll wait for the spark update to get pushed out to my Nexus 5 then. Things are kinda messed up as it is. My house and surroundings (Dallas) are in full LTE coverage area (per Sprint maps) - sensorly confirms that as well. But when I enable LTE on my phone, the signal strength is horrible (RSRP of -110dBm or worse usually). At home, I really don't care about data speed because I'm on WiFi, but with LTE enabled (regardless of whether I have WiFi enabled or not), I end up missing calls often. Over on the Nexus5 thread, somebody had suggested switching to 3g only, and with that, I don't miss calls - but of course data speeds suck when I'm out and about (unless I go and switch to LTE each time - and then, keep an eye on LTE signal strength every so often to make sure it is not too low to cause missed calls. Was hoping that with the Spark being enabled in the Dallas area, maybe the problem would have gone away, but nope. Still the same. (even tried to enable the other bands and set 41 to priority 1 - no difference). Oh well... it has been a long 14 years with Sprint. I'll try to hang on for another year or so to see if they can get things to work (hopefully the T-mo deal will happen, and improve things - friends with T-mo get >20Mbps when they come over, while I get 0.8-1.2 Mbps at best (if the wind isn't blowing and it is not raining). What you describe is e/CSFB working as intended, tunneling incoming notifications via LTE. But if that is not working for you, well, you have several options. Become an S4GRU sponsor so that you can view our maps and confirm that your home serving site is LTE accepted. As suggested previously, disable LTE while at home. Notifications will then come in via CDMA1X. Enable LTE when you leave home. Hope that LTE 800 solves your signal strength issues. Hope that Sprint offers an LTE capable Airave (or similar) femtocell for e/CSFB purposes. Use Google Voice integration and a VoIP app, such as GrooVe IP, for voice calls over Wi-Fi while at home. As for T-Mobile, it almost certainly has a site closer to your house than Sprint does. Such is luck of the draw. The shoe is often on the other foot with Sprint having a site closer than T-Mobile does. Additionally, you are in Dallas, where T-Mobile is throwing everything including the kitchen sink, spectrum wise, at LTE because it is also a major MetroPCS market. Nothing will solve either one of those "problems." AJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj14x Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 What you describe is e/CSFB working as intended, tunneling incoming notifications via LTE. But if that is not working for you, well, you have several options. Become an S4GRU sponsor so that you can view our maps and confirm that your home serving site is LTE accepted. As suggested previously, disable LTE while at home. Notifications will then come in via CDMA1X. Enable LTE when you leave home. Hope that LTE 800 solves your signal strength issues. Hope that Sprint offers an LTE capable Airave (or similar) femtocell for e/CSFB purposes. Use Google Voice integration and a VoIP app, such as GrooVe IP, for voice calls over Wi-Fi while at home. As for T-Mobile, it almost certainly has a site closer to your house than Sprint does. Such is luck of the draw. The shoe is often on the other foot with Sprint having a site closer than T-Mobile does. Additionally, you are in Dallas, where T-Mobile is throwing everything including the kitchen sink, spectrum wise, at LTE because it is also a major MetroPCS market. Nothing will solve either one of those "problems." AJ Thanks AJ. Done now - thanks That's what I was doing (kinda annoying) - but the problem is that unless i carry my phone in my hand all the time, I don't know if the area I'm in has decent LTE coverage or not - so I may be missing calls without knowing it. I (sadly) now have to keep my phone on 3g mode the whole time to get coverage most of the time. Even with that, there are places (which supposedly have good LTE coverage), where I get zero signal - no 3g, no LTE, no voice - doesn't even roam! While, my friends with other providers are getting great connectivity. I took my friend's T-mo SIM at one of these places and voila - everything works. Waiting patiently See #2 above. Issue occurs outside home too. See #2 above. Issue occurs outside home too. Again, thank you for your feedback, and apologies (again) for derailing this thread. I'll wait for my access to the maps to get approved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 What you describe is e/CSFB working as intended, tunneling incoming notifications via LTE. But if that is not working for you, well, you have several options. Become an S4GRU sponsor so that you can view our maps and confirm that your home serving site is LTE accepted. As suggested previously, disable LTE while at home. Notifications will then come in via CDMA1X. Enable LTE when you leave home. Hope that LTE 800 solves your signal strength issues. Hope that Sprint offers an LTE capable Airave (or similar) femtocell for e/CSFB purposes. Use Google Voice integration and a VoIP app, such as GrooVe IP, for voice calls over Wi-Fi while at home. AJ These are all good points, I would like to add that a Band 41 site might also help alleviate the situation with a stronger signal, another stop gad solution you can try is a location aware app that can switch modes depending on location (like Tasker). As hacky as it sounds, it might work until a proper fix is available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S4GRU Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 Some of these issues may be solved by the Nexus 5 Spark update that's coming soon too. Getting on some Band 41 around DFW could help a lot. Also, DFW is going to be an earlier Band 26 market. Texans are more likely to be inside all three Sprint LTE bands than many other areas of the country. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afazel Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'll just go ahead and start looking forward to that, then. I'm about as far north as you can get and still be technically inside of the Fort Worth city limits, so hopefully it'll make it up this way. I know Clear was big around here, and I used to get an "okay" WiMax signal on my Evo 3D at home, so I have hope! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamLeonard Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Some of these issues may be solved by the Nexus 5 Spark update that's coming soon too. Getting on some Band 41 around DFW could help a lot. Also, DFW is going to be an earlier Band 26 market. Texans are more likely to be inside all three Sprint LTE bands than many other areas of the country. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro I'm in Austin which supposedly just launched Spark (read it yesterday). I work downtown 2 blocks from the main interstate and 2 blocks from the Capitol. I enabled Bands 26 and 41 on my Nexus 5 and it has made no difference at all. My signal strength and speeds on LTE are still garbage (.75Mbps/down .27Mbps/up on LTE). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S4GRU Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'm in Austin which supposedly just launched Spark (read it yesterday). I work downtown 2 blocks from the main interstate and 2 blocks from the Capitol. I enabled Bands 26 and 41 on my Nexus 5 and it has made no difference at all. My signal strength and speeds on LTE are still garbage (.75Mbps/down .27Mbps/up on LTE). Nexus 5 has not received the Spark update yet. Also, there is not much live yet in Austin. But there are some Band 41 sites live now. Band 26 will start going live soon. Robert 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamLeonard Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Nexus 5 has not received the Spark update yet. Also, there is not much live yet in Austin. But there are some Band 41 sites live now. Band 26 will start going live soon. Robert It's easy to manually enable the bands 26 and 41 and reset the band preferences on the Nexus 5 if you have the MSL (which I got from Sprint). What else is the Spark Update supposed to do besides that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilotimz Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's easy to manually enable the bands 26 and 41 and reset the band preferences on the Nexus 5 if you have the MSL (which I got from Sprint). What else is the Spark Update supposed to do besides that? Obviously something in the firmware that is much more than just enabling the bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's easy to manually enable the bands 26 and 41 and reset the band preferences on the Nexus 5 if you have the MSL (which I got from Sprint). What else is the Spark Update supposed to do besides that? Don't want to sound like an ass, but you should probably read through the thread, its been repeated over and over again. You need the update in order for it to work properly, it entails more than just enabling bands. This threads MO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamLeonard Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Obviously something in the firmware that is much more than just enabling the bands. Then I'm screwed because I bought 32GB unlocked phone from Google. It does not have Sprint-specific provisioning on it (like the Sprint Zone App) and conversations with Sprint Tech Support have suggested that they are not really supporting the phones. On the Spark question, the settings I changed are those that people in Chicago did and they saw an immediate improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Then I'm screwed because I bought 32GB unlocked phone from Google. It does not have Sprint-specific provisioning on it (like the Sprint Zone App) and conversations with Sprint Tech Support have suggested that they are not really supporting the phones. On the Spark question, the settings I changed are those that people in Chicago did and they saw an immediate improvement. There is no difference between the Nexus 5 sold through Sprint or Google, most of us here purchased off the Play Store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamLeonard Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 There is no difference between the Nexus 5 sold through Sprint or Google, most of us here purchased off the Play Store. Well there are clearly some difference since you can't get Sprint-specific provisioning like Sprint Zone. When I called to have them give me a link to install it, they told me that it was in the firmware and couldn't be loaded otherwise. Hopefully I'm wrong since I want to see what Spark really does. I have little to no signal at work and that's just not acceptable for a work device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transitwatch889 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Well there are clearly some difference since you can't get Sprint-specific provisioning like Sprint Zone. When I called to have them give me a link to install it, they told me that it was in the firmware and couldn't be loaded otherwise. Hopefully I'm wrong since I want to see what Spark really does. I have little to no signal at work and that's just not acceptable for a work device. the Google Play 32 and 16 gigabyte version and the Sprint 16 gigabyte version are all the same they all get direct updates from Google not from Sprint it's like having a Google Experience phone from Samsung or HTC you're not going to get carrier apps on those devices everything gets updated from Google itself even the spark update will come from Google itself not from sprint most likely... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nexgencpu Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Well there are clearly some difference since you can't get Sprint-specific provisioning like Sprint Zone. When I called to have them give me a link to install it, they told me that it was in the firmware and couldn't be loaded otherwise. Hopefully I'm wrong since I want to see what Spark really does. I have little to no signal at work and that's just not acceptable for a work device. Nexus 5 has no carrier related apps, not even a voicemail app. That is one of the allures of having a Nexus 5, no carrier bloatware, but if you want more information or discuss N5 specifics, here is the thread, so as to not derail this one. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4989-lg-google-nexus-5-users-thread/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S4GRU Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Well there are clearly some difference since you can't get Sprint-specific provisioning like Sprint Zone. When I called to have them give me a link to install it, they told me that it was in the firmware and couldn't be loaded otherwise. Hopefully I'm wrong since I want to see what Spark really does. I have little to no signal at work and that's just not acceptable for a work device. You're not screwed. You will get the update like everyone else...from Google. There are no Sprint apps on the Nexus 5, whether you buy it from Sprint or Google. The Google and Sprint models are exactly the same. I know this will blow your mind, but when Google rolls out the Spark update for Sprint customers, it is going to go to every American Nexus 5. Even the ones on Tmo, AT&T and other carriers. POW! Robert 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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