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Breaking Band: Tri-band LTE / eCSFB issues thread


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LG G2 (set to LTE/CDMA - everything else untouched)Many areas of solid LTE. Some switching between 3G and 4G in other areas, like my house.West suburban Chicago: 60137/60187Driving along I-294 from I-88 to Cicero Ave/127th st. also had LTE but once I was off the highway, it would switch between 4G(60%) and 3G(40%).------------------I'm still a little confused about several aspects of the issue including the types of tower sites we are discussing. My understanding is that there are:4G only towers (no 3g capability? Voice and data over 4g? New areas where there was no Sprint coverage? Bad for tri-band.)4G/3G towers (existing Sprint coverage with 4g hardware added? 4G/3G vendors the same=good for tri-band, 4G/3G vendors different=bad for tri-band.4G/3G upgarded towers (existing Sprint coverage (upgraded) with 4G hardware added? Good for tri-band even if vendors are different)Warning: Providing answers will probably leave me asking more questions. :)

Basically a 3G/4G site has both 3G and 4G NV upgrades. A site that is only 4G has all new equipment installed but still uses the legacy equipment for 3G/Voice. Which is why there is a problem. The old equipment and the new equipment in non-incumbent markets cannot communicate with each other.

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I have been fine where I am. Mine just takes a while to scan for LTE after its on 3G, but eventually does switch.

Only one place I did experience something odd, I could not stay connected to a site on the grand concourse and 183rd street.l. I had full bars and it refused to connect to LTE, luckily once I got near my home it switched back to LTE.

That sounds like a site by my house where it covers all of Broadway 231 section and doesn't connect but my mothers single band options g connects just fine... All other sites in the vicinity haven't exhibited that behavior. Just long cycle times to connect back to the tower as well. Which means hopefully something is being done to fix the hand-off issues...

 

EDIT: In forcing device to LTE solely no 1x or ev-do data  hand-offs are smooth and doesn't drop connection... I am in an Incumbent market with intermittent connection to towers... I did call sprint to open a ticket and she mentioned something about tower calibration in regards to software as the reason I may not be attaching to site and that it could be days before it comes back online for me normally. But it is only affecting my device N5 and NOT when in just LTE mode just simply the hand-off between 1x/3g DATA to LTE!

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Handset:  Stock Nexus 5 from Google Play Store


LTE connectivity:  None


Location:  Buffalo, NY 14225


 


Tried connecting to the one purple tower right on Route 33 by the airport Saturday, toggled airplane mode, and got no 4G at all. Now that I see what the potential problem is, I'll try to head out to a yellow tower in the coming days to see if 4G works.

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Called customer service about the connection issues.  Without being solicited he confirmed that customer service was on the bottom of the knowledge food chain.  I told him the name of my phone (G2) and he said I have no 4G. I then asked him to check the coverage on my Evo LTE.  He said I had 3G plus.  Well at least they know there is a difference in coverage. 

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Just wanted to bring this link back to everyone's attention -- awesome job lilg, this is a great outline of the situation across all Sprint markets. I recommend anyone curious about the situation in their area to take a look at this. Perhaps this link can get added to the OP?

 

-Mike

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Curious why this does not seem to affect iPhones? I have a friend with a Sprint iPhone, they do not support SVLTE and only have 1 radio, yet they can access LTE in purple markets just fine.

I don't have enough data to make a conclusion but this could be a big reason why Apple didn't release a TD-LTE iPhone 5s in the US for Sprint. Maybe Apple testing in Cupertino stumbled on this.

 

Just a guess.

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Just wanted to bring this link back to everyone's attention -- awesome job lilg, this is a great outline of the situation across all Sprint markets. I recommend anyone curious about the situation in their area to take a look at this. Perhaps this link can get added to the OP?

 

-Mike

Don't think it covers all though. Seen several reports of LTE issues in markets that shouldn't have any issues. There's a bit more to the issue than the internal document explains.

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I'm still a little confused about several aspects of the issue including the types of tower sites we are discussing. My understanding is that there are:

 

4G only towers (no 3g capability? Voice and data over 4g? New areas where there was no Sprint coverage? Bad for tri-band.)

 

4G/3G towers (existing Sprint coverage with 4g hardware added? 4G/3G vendors the same=good for tri-band, 4G/3G vendors different=bad for tri-band.

 

4G/3G upgarded towers (existing Sprint coverage (upgraded) with 4G hardware added? Good for tri-band even if vendors are different)

 

Warning: Providing answers will probably leave me asking more questions. :)

 

4G only: Tower has all NV equipment installed. Only the LTE portion of the new equipment is active. 3G/Voice still active but legacy.

 

3G/4G: Tower has all NV equipment installed. LTE portion is active. 3G portion has been signed off and may be active.

 

If the legacy vendor is different than the NV vendor (All Samsung markets, ie most of the northern half of the US) that is where the problem is occurring. 

 

If the tower is 4G only, and the legacy is a different vendor, tri-band devices cannot use LTE.

 

If the tower is 3G/4G, things should work properly. Key word: should.

 

We're seeing issues elsewhere that we can't account for yet.

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Curious why this does not seem to affect iPhones? I have a friend with a Sprint iPhone, they do not support SVLTE and only have 1 radio, yet they can access LTE in purple markets just fine.

I asked this earlier too. Maybe cause it's csfb and not ecsfb.

 

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

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Just wanted to bring this link back to everyone's attention -- awesome job lilg, this is a great outline of the situation across all Sprint markets. I recommend anyone curious about the situation in their area to take a look at this. Perhaps this link can get added to the OP?

 

-Mike

 

Links added to OP.

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I am updating incumbent/ non incumbent list to include exceptions and include if the market is 3G/4G as well as including an explanation of what it will mean in laymens terms.

 

I live in Central Pennsylvania, and can tell you that LTE is not working on my Nexus. All the towers in my area are 3G/800/4G.

 

Edit: Apparently my location is considered "Western Pennsylvania"

Edited by phynal
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For the masochists among us, you can inflict some pain upon yourself with this read:

 

https://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/138887?start=120&tstart=0

 

If S4GRU and Sprint Community were actual persons, S4GRU would be a well spoken intellectual, while Sprint Community would be a whiny moron.

 

AJ

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I live in Central Pennsylvania, and can tell you that LTE is not working on my Nexus. All the towers in my area are 3G/800/4G.

 

Edit: Apparently my location is considered "Western Pennsylvania"

 

 

Actually, you are Shentel. It appears no Tri-Band devices are playing nice with the entire Shentel network yet.

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Besides not being compatible with some LTE networks, what are the other advantages of eCSFB?

 

Actually, the problem is compatibility with certain CDMA2000 infrastructure, not LTE infrastructure.

 

AJ

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Just wanted to bring this link back to everyone's attention -- awesome job lilg, this is a great outline of the situation across all Sprint markets. I recommend anyone curious about the situation in their area to take a look at this. Perhaps this link can get added to the OP?

 

-Mike

I added this link to my signature by the way and Me and David spruced it up a bit.

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For the masochists among us, you can inflict some pain upon yourself with this read:

 

https://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/138887?start=120&tstart=0

 

If S4GRU and Sprint Community were actual persons, S4GRU would be a well spoken intellectual, while Sprint Community would be a whiny moron.

 

AJ

 

I paid $10 for premium data! I paid for this WiMax device for years but never got service!  Sprint sucks!

 

Sorry - just doing my impersonation of the Sprint forums.

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Better battery life and more cost effective for sprint.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Ahh.. you see the forum where I told the sprint rep Carlos he should be fired! lol

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