Is HD Voice now on? Mine appears to be working

[halcyoncmdr]

Just completed an EVRC-NW call in PCS on my Nexus 5 here in Austin. The other end of the connection was a landline, and I could definitely tell the quality difference from the get-go, mainly from the background noise while the call was ringing. Of course, the actual voice part of the call was nice and clear too, through my headset.

 

Not completely sure when this enhancement happened, partially because I don't call non-cell phones much and as such the receiving end of the call is generally the limiting factor, but I like the quality increase. Need to find someone with an HD voice enabled Sprint phone to test that part of the conversation against.

 

Do you happen to know what kind of landline was on the other end?

 

I only ask since now with the prevalence of the Phone Connect devices, calling a "landline" doesn't necessarily mean it's not another wireless customer. That "landline" could easily be a Sprint Phone Connect (which may support EVRC-NW).

[iansltx]

Do you happen to know what kind of landline was on the other end?

 

I only ask since now with the prevalence of the Phone Connect devices, calling a "landline" doesn't necessarily mean it's not another wireless customer. That "landline" could easily be a Sprint Phone Connect (which may support EVRC-NW).

 

This is an actual, Verizon wireline analog POTS line, served over 20,610 feet of toll-grade copper, with the last few feet of the connection being over the US flavor of DECT. No EVRC-NW on that side of the conneciton

[halcyoncmdr]

This is an actual, Verizon wireline analog POTS line, served over 20,610 feet of toll-grade copper, with the last few feet of the connection being over the US flavor of DECT. No EVRC-NW on that side of the conneciton

 

Well, that was a much better explanation than I thought I would get.

 

I wonder if perhaps the new technology required on the network for the HD Voice functionality is better at determining the best quality connection and codec mixing even if it isn't "HD Voice" the entire way end to end.

[xdfgf]

Just called two friends that were in town this weekend one on Sprint and the other on Virgin mobile. Both calls sounded much clearer than before. Neat.

[mdob07]

Just called two friends that were in town this weekend one on Sprint and the other on Virgin mobile. Both calls sounded much clearer than before. Neat.

I checked tonight and I have the EVRC_NW SO on my G2 in the West KY market now. Seems like its enabled here as well. East/West Ky are served from the same MSC so its likely enabled across both markets. 

[swintec]

Connected to 800 here in maine and figured I would check and see if i had HD Voice on my Nexus 5.  Called the sprint voice mail system and it showed EVRC-NW.  Cool.

 

I then tried a call between the house phone which is a VOIP line and the Nexus 5 and it still shows EVRC-NW.

 

Then tried a call with the credit unions automated system and it showed the same thing.

 

I am not sure what to think now.

 

I dont know anyone else with Sprint service up here so i cant test that way.

[NanoVirus]

Just had an HD voice call today. It was interesting considering that I only have 4g upgrades done here. The person calling me lives here but was in Nashville, I guess that made a difference.

[halcyoncmdr]

Connected to 800 here in maine and figured I would check and see if i had HD Voice on my Nexus 5.  Called the sprint voice mail system and it showed EVRC-NW.  Cool.

 

I then tried a call between the house phone which is a VOIP line and the Nexus 5 and it still shows EVRC-NW.

 

Then tried a call with the credit unions automated system and it showed the same thing.

 

I am not sure what to think now.

 

I dont know anyone else with Sprint service up here so i cant test that way.

 

My theory is that the phone will utilize EVRC-NW if it can on that tower to ensure the highest quality connection on your side, and any codec changes that need to occur are taken care of on the network side somewhere for transcoding to another system. I have no basis for this idea other than anecdotal evidence from users here that are getting higher-quality calls, even without a full HD Voice connection end-to-end Sprint-Sprint.

 

It seems the most logical to have the network do some transcoding and ensure the highest quality codecs along the connection route that Sprint can control so even if it isn't HD Voice, it is a higher quality connection than whatever compromise would happen with determining an identical codec between the two ends. That compromise could end up with a low quality or old codec pretty easily versus a transcoding system that doesn't rely on what either end has in common, but rather whatever either end is capable of on the high end.

[swintec]

My theory is that the phone will utilize EVRC-NW if it can on that tower to ensure the highest quality connection on your side, and any codec changes that need to occur are taken care of on the network side somewhere for transcoding to another system. I have no basis for this idea other than anecdotal evidence from users here that are getting higher-quality calls, even without a full HD Voice connection end-to-end Sprint-Sprint.

 

It is possible but also, in that type of set up you can introduce a lot of latency / delay due to having to transcode several times during the call in both directions.  There is already slight delay with cell phones to begin with.  I have to wonder in your example set up, how much additional delay there is.

[jordanlong20]

SIAP

 

http://www.lightreading.com/mobile/4g-lte/sprints-hesse-hd-voice-goes-nationwide-in-july-/d/d-id/708372?_mc=sm_lr

 

 

Oracle Industry Connect — BOSTON — Sprint CEO Dan Hesse revealed in his keynote here Tuesday that the operator is ready to launch its HD Voice service across the US in July.

HD Voice increases the clarity of a voice call across 7 octaves, as opposed to the 4 octaves that many current smartphones support. Sprint seen some delays to the service, which it first expected to have available in 2013, it is so far only deployed in a few markets like Kansas City. (See Sprint Commits to Tri-Band, HD Voice Phones, Sprint Bringing Spark to Kansas City, and Sprint Delays HD Voice Launch to Q2.)

"Voice is still the killer app," Hesse told the crowd.

"Some of you may have experienced [HD Voice], we've launched in a few markets," he said. "We'll launch the entire country around the first of July."

 

 

Deep Dish

Having spectrum band options allows Sprint to offer a 4G pizza, "with extra toppings," Hesse explains.

 

 

Hesse also took the time to try and explain Sprint's "Spark" 4G update plans. "I'm told this is a technical crowd," he said.

As the image above shows, Sprint is using its Clearwire-derived 2.5 GHz spectrum for LTE speed and capacity. The 1900 MHz 4G portion gets more coverage and capacity, while the 800 MHz LTE signals go a long way for better coverage. (See Stephen Bye: Sprint's Network Visionary and Igniting the Future: Sprint Spark.)

Hesse says that Sprint can also eek more range out of 2.5 GHZ LTE TDD spectrum with "8 transmitters and 8 receivers in one box" (8T8R) at the cellsite and MIMO (multiple antenna arrays) on the device.

Combining this with carrier aggregation -- bonding unrelated radio channels for a fatter pipe -- could give Sprint 120 MHZ of spectrum to play with in the second half of 2015, Hesse said.

"That's two big channels of 60 MHz," he adds. "We're talking 18 months away."

The company expects that this update could lead to device download speeds of 150 Mbit/s to 180 Mbit/s.

Hesse told them that this is what justified the company's buyout of long-time partner Clearwire, access to 90 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum across the US. "You need these super big highways and that's why we spent all the money for Clearwire," he said. John Saw, former CTO of Clearwire, and the man behind the company's LTE strategy, has just taken over as chief networks officer at Sprint. (See John Saw to Become Sprint Network Boss.)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading

 

[JThorson]

I got hd voice up in Seattle   It was fairly clear. Makes me happy. Does anyone know what the neighbor set is though? During the call it kept switching between 0 and 477.

 

 

[jefbal99]

West Michigan/Lansing has been HD voice since the NV integration back in December.  It was night and day calling other Sprint customers.

[sexpanther]

Did some searching on the web and some people are reporting this as well. I was unaware the 5s was hd voice capable. Do you have a credible source?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

Posted at sprint.com now too.

http://support.sprint.com/support/article/FAQs_about_HD_Voice_from_Sprint/3b348589-81a4-452d-8758-cd47d7ddb952

[Vince]

Posted at sprint.com now too.

http://support.sprint.com/support/article/FAQs_about_HD_Voice_from_Sprint/3b348589-81a4-452d-8758-cd47d7ddb952

Yes. HD voice on the iPhone 5s/c were enabled with ios 7.1.

 

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

 

 

[leozno1]

Hmm, I wonder what they are planning on announcing here. VoLTE perhaps?

 

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/sprint-april-29/

[burnout8488]

It says "Hear it for yourself," probably just an HD voice announcement/presentation.

[afazel]

I called my wife last night in north Fort Worth and it was obviously HD voice. Very clear call, to the point where we both commented on it. Also, our noise-canceling software on our phones (Nexus 5 and HTC One) was in full play, because I was driving with the windows open in my Mustang and she had screaming kids, and neither of us could hear all the background noise.

[mikejeep]

Had my first HD Voice experience tonight.. wife called my N5 from her iPhone 5s, we both immediately noticed the incredible clarity. It was by far the clearest telephone call I have ever heard, landline or mobile. She put it on speakerphone while driving and it didn't sound any different.

 

Very impressed. The fact that she noticed means anyone will notice.. she pays virtually no attention to stuff like this!

 

FWIW, we were both physically in the Boston market (no, not the chicken place unfortunately).. I have a MA number and she has a MI number.

 

-Mike

[mrknowitall526]

I think I've experienced two HD voice calls now in New Tripoli PA (near Allentown)...both of us have EVO LTEs and it sounded amazing!

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

 

[prophead]

Anyone know if Sprint has plans to push firmware updates to older devices that would include support for the HD Voice Codecs?

[S4GRU]

Anyone know if Sprint has plans to push firmware updates to older devices that would include support for the HD Voice Codecs?

Probably not. It takes more than just a codec for HD voice. There are some hardware requirements too. Like two microphones.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[prophead]

Two Microphones? Interesting...My past experience with VOIP, enabling HD Voice was as simple as installing an HD Voice Codec. I believe all the phones we were using only had one mic.

 

Would you have a link for the hardware requirements? Wouldn't mind doing a little learning

[chamb]

Two Microphones? Interesting...My past experience with VOIP, enabling HD Voice was as simple as installing an HD Voice Codec. I believe all the phones we were using only had one mic.

 

Would you have a link for the hardware requirements? Wouldn't mind doing a little learning

Not sure this list it totally complete or accurate, but it is worth looking at.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Smartphones_using_HD_Voice

[jamisonshaw125]

This question has probably been answered before. But say I call someone who has an iPhone 5, and I have a 5s. Will I be able to hear them better than they can hear me because of HD voice? I'm not sure if it requires both devices to be HD voice capable. Sorry if that's a dumb question, even though there are no dumb questions.

[Vince]

This question has probably been answered before. But say I call someone who has an iPhone 5, and I have a 5s. Will I be able to hear them better than they can hear me because of HD voice? I'm not sure if it requires both devices to be HD voice capable. Sorry if that's a dumb question, even though there are no dumb questions.

You both need to have it, or nothing. It will just sound regular until both phones are on the hd codec.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk