Breaking Band: Tri-band LTE / eCSFB issues thread

[phynal]

Thanks, I really hope it does go rapidly.  Everything is in place in the Shentel area I'm in, including the fallback switches, they just aren't active yet. 

 

Let's just hope they are aware, which surely they are or will be.

[The_Chemist]

Let's just hope they are aware, which surely they are or will be.

As big as Shentel is, I can't imagine that they would drag their feet on this. 

[aerxx]

First, that was unwise of you to try it within "the first hour [you] had the phone even."

 

Second, my original advisement was not directed at you.  It was a general warning.  The band selection option is still available in many Android versions.  See below a screenshot (that I took today):

 

 

Third, your post takes an unnecessary tone with me.  Do you really want to go toe to toe again?

 

AJ

 

This screen force closes when I try to set band.

 

Tomorrow

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[dedub]

According to the screenshot, that band selection is for GSM/UMTS, not LTE or CDMA.

 

So it doesn't appear to apply for sprint, which is probably why its crashing.

[aerxx]

According to the screenshot, that band selection is for GSM/UMTS, not LTE or CDMA.

 

So it doesn't appear to apply for sprint, which is probably why its crashing.

 

Thats what I was thinking, just wanted confirmation. Thanks.

[Mike014]

Has anyone who has had LTE issues now getting LTE?  Anyone seeing progress on this issue yet?

[The_Chemist]

Has anyone who has had LTE issues now getting LTE?  Anyone seeing progress on this issue yet?

Not yet in the Harrisburg Shentel area.  I eagerly check each day!

[The Dave]

Still have issues on the highway in Jax with getting an LTE signal, but in St Augustine it stays connected much longer and seems to rescan and reconnect much faster when it switches from eHRPD.

[lilg740]

There is a major outage right now in all of the Plains Markets. Hopefully this is due to CSFB being upgraded.

 

A representative from Sprint tells FOX 2 a voice outage was “caused due to a minor maintenance issue. It started around 5:50 am CT and was resolved at 7:20am CT.”

Sprint says customers in Kansas City, KS & Mo, Oklahoma City and St. Louis were affected, but Sprint says full service should be active at this time.

However, reports continue to come in from viewers that their phones are still not working, and employees in the building who have Sprint phones also do not have service. Twitter continues to be full of people complaining about the lack of service in the St. Louis area.

Some customers have regained service by powering their phones down, then turning them back on.

 

 

[shifted]

Has anyone who has had LTE issues now getting LTE?  Anyone seeing progress on this issue yet?

 

Not in Minneapolis.

[WiWavelength]

This screen force closes when I try to set band.

According to the screenshot, that band selection is for GSM/UMTS, not LTE or CDMA.

 

So it doesn't appear to apply for sprint, which is probably why its crashing.

Thats what I was thinking, just wanted confirmation. Thanks.

 

No, guys, that is wrong.  Band selection is still available on older Android versions.  And it is not limited to GSM/W-CDMA.  I can pull up the band selection screen on my EVO and EVO LTE, both of which do not support GSM/W-CDMA.

 

Moreover, Secondary 800 MHz is Qualcomm or 3GPP2 terminology.  It is another name for SMR 800 MHz, but you will not find GSM/W-CDMA in SMR 800 MHz anywhere.

 

You ought to trust me on this.  But if you want a second opinion, ask digiblur.  He learned the hard way a few years ago by forcing a band selection, then being unable to roam automatically to other bands.  He had to do a factory reset to return automatic band selection.  This is why I warned the uninitiated to not get "cavalier."

 

AJ

[Jackietreehorn]

Not in Minneapolis.

 

This. 

 

I'd like to contact Sprint, see if I can get a timeframe, but I can't imagine it'll do any good.  As most people are aware of, front line reps will more than likely be clueless about a technical issue like this, much less a time frame on a fix, and it's just an exercise in futility to try to get to anyone that would know.  Then, of course, you wonder if the information is correct, given that I've gotten more bad information than good when asking questions to either CS or in store reps.

 

It sucks, I wish I at least knew an end is in sight.  It's good to hear that Samsung is making a lot of progress....elsewhere, but still good.  It'll get fixed when it gets fixed, I'd just like to know up front if that's a week or a year at this point.

[lilg740]

Anyone in Kansas, Oklahoma, or Missouri markets still having issues with LTE from 3G/4G sites?

[Kevster1321]

So if your in a roaming area with a tri band phone and your next to a clear site that if/has the spark upgrade you will not get LTE because you don't have a Sprint 3G csfb signal.

[dedub]

I'd just like to know up front if that's a week or a year at this point.

 

How about just count on it being a year then.

 

Then you can be impressed when it gets fixed sooner.

 

Really, I don't know why there is so much hand-wringing and angst going on.

 

We know they have been, and still are aware of the issue and they are correcting it as fast as it is feasible.

 

Do you really think they want to provide substandard service any longer than they have to? Do they want to cause any more reasons for customers to churn to tmo or the other carriers?

 

yes it is annoying and inconveniencing, no one is arguing that it isn't. 

 

As the saying goes, there is no point in crying over spilled milk.

 

You have 3 options, go back to your old single band lte1900 device, wait it out patiently, or find a new carrier.

[The_Chemist]

Today at lunch, I had Signal Check Pro up.  All of a sudden, I heard the jingle sound it makes when it detects a connection.  I looked down at my phone (LG G2) and I had LTE for about 10 seconds.  Either my phone completely dropped the 3G signal from the Shentel tower, which is highly unlikely since I am 0.25 miles from the tower, or they are starting to mess around with the fallback issue.  I'm in Harrisburg PA.

 

Nothing has happened again all afternoon, still 3G. 

[shifted]

This. 

 

I'd like to contact Sprint, see if I can get a timeframe, but I can't imagine it'll do any good.  As most people are aware of, front line reps will more than likely be clueless about a technical issue like this, much less a time frame on a fix, and it's just an exercise in futility to try to get to anyone that would know.  Then, of course, you wonder if the information is correct, given that I've gotten more bad information than good when asking questions to either CS or in store reps.

 

It sucks, I wish I at least knew an end is in sight.  It's good to hear that Samsung is making a lot of progress....elsewhere, but still good.  It'll get fixed when it gets fixed, I'd just like to know up front if that's a week or a year at this point.

 

As the weather gets colder I am leaning more and more toward 5 months or more.  I don't think they do much in the winter.  Probably a bunch of southerners on the crews and anything below 32 means no working outside.

 

Honestly, I have been having a better time stuck on 3G during my commute than I was flip-flopping back and forth between really weak LTE that was about 0.5 Mbps and 3G when I had my Galaxy S3.  The time needed to hand off was really annoying.  I am hoping when it does go live the LTE will at least be more reliable once it does switch from 3G.

[JohnHovah]

As the weather gets colder I am leaning more and more toward 5 months or more.  I don't think they do much in the winter.  Probably a bunch of southerners on the crews and anything below 32 means no working outside.

 

Honestly, I have been having a better time stuck on 3G during my commute than I was flip-flopping back and forth between really weak LTE that was about 0.5 Mbps and 3G when I had my Galaxy S3.  The time needed to hand off was really annoying.  I am hoping when it does go live the LTE will at least be more reliable once it does switch from 3G.

Perhaps the weather delay/loss will free up some crews for us non-four season areas.One man's loss is another's gain.  Either way, that means the crews can concentrate on areas where work is feasible and come back once it clears up with a beefier crew from the extra assists down south. hmmm

[zilai817]

Any body k ow if they will upgrade the sprint towers so that triband phones can receive LTE not just 3g. My nexus 5 is stuck in 3g and I can put the phone in LTE only mode but can't make calles nor text.

[lil_jimmy_norton]

Any body k ow if they will upgrade the sprint towers so that triband phones can receive LTE not just 3g. My nexus 5 is stuck in 3g and I can put the phone in LTE only mode but can't make calles nor text.

 

Not to sound condescending, but have you read any of this thread?

[The_Chemist]

Any body k ow if they will upgrade the sprint towers so that triband phones can receive LTE not just 3g. My nexus 5 is stuck in 3g and I can put the phone in LTE only mode but can't make calles nor text.

I saw that your location is "Scranton".  Is that Scranton, PA?  If so, I don't think that 4G is deployed there yet.  If I am correct, it is still a 3G only area.  I also saw that your device was listed as a GS4.  Is that a Sprint GS4?  Did you receive LTE before?

[lilg740]

I saw that your location is "Scranton".  Is that Scranton, PA?  If so, I don't think that 4G is deployed there yet.  If I am correct, it is still a 3G only area.  I also saw that your device was listed as a GS4.  Is that a Sprint GS4?  Did you receive LTE before?

[Jackietreehorn]

We know they have been, and still are aware of the issue and they are correcting it as fast as it is feasible.

 

Do you really think they want to provide substandard service any longer than they have to? Do they want to cause any more reasons for customers to churn to tmo or the other carriers?

 

yes it is annoying and inconveniencing, no one is arguing that it isn't. 

 

 

 

 

I guess what I'm wondering, and perhaps there is actually a good answer for this, why the 3G upgrades weren't done at the same time as the 4G ones.  Being in a Samsung market, I get that they can't retrofit the old stuff, but obviously they're replacing it.  For example, since you can go see them, if you zoom into the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, you'll notice a very distinct difference between where it's just 4G, and where there is a TON of 3G/4G/800 even done.  That's where my consternation comes from.

 

I agree, there's nothing that can be done, or nothing that I can do, other than hope that maybe they get something done before Winter, otherwise I'm looking at 5+ months of being stuck back on a 3G device.  I assume that you wouldn't be entirely pleased if this happened to you as well, on something that appears as though it was entirely preventable.

[lilg740]

I guess what I'm wondering, and perhaps there is actually a good answer for this, why the 3G upgrades weren't done at the same time as the 4G ones.  Being in a Samsung market, I get that they can't retrofit the old stuff, but obviously they're replacing it.  For example, since you can go see them, if you zoom into the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, you'll notice a very distinct difference between where it's just 4G, and where there is a TON of 3G/4G/800 even done.  That's where my consternation comes from.

 

I agree, there's nothing that can be done, or nothing that I can do, other than hope that maybe they get something done before Winter, otherwise I'm looking at 5+ months of being stuck back on a 3G device.  I assume that you wouldn't be entirely pleased if this happened to you as well, on something that appears as though it was entirely preventable.

The main reason is that 3G acceptance requires more testing than 4G.

[Jackietreehorn]

The main reason is that 3G acceptance requires more testing than 4G.

 

Good to know.  I just would have thought that if you already were sending a crew there, why not do all the work instead of having to come back later.  I *assume* they didn't, as there's obviously still legacy 3G equipment working from those sites.