Considering switching to Sprint and looking for input

[mikejeep]

So I have been playing with signal check pro now and the addresses and locations even when I click show site on map are completely wrong if the sponsor maps are to be believed. It shows me connected to a tower at a location that the sponsor maps don't even show a site existing for there. I thought signal check used s4gru databases or worked with this site to get site IDs. 

 

The base station location (BSL) address you see for the 1X connection is based on the latitude and longitude that the site is broadcasting. There is no site database included with SignalCheck; that would be over 100,000 entries for Sprint alone. In some markets, the coordinates are offset a short distance from the site, representing the direction a sector is covering--that's likely what you are experiencing. See the FAQ entry here for more information, and check out the app thread here for tons of discussion about it.

 

Thanks for the support!

 

-Mike

[convict2324]

The base station location (BSL) address you see for the 1X connection is based on the latitude and longitude that the site is broadcasting. There is no site database included with SignalCheck; that would be over 100,000 entries for Sprint alone. In some markets, the coordinates are offset a short distance from the site, representing the direction a sector is covering--that's likely what you are experiencing. See the FAQ entry here for more information, and check out the app thread here for tons of discussion about it.

 

Thanks for the support!

 

-Mike

Wow great explanation thank you. And I love the app it's been something I've wanted forever.

[convict2324]

Hey guys, just quickly wanted to say thanks for answering all my questions, this community is by far the most helpful of any I've been in.

 

Now I have some more questions that I have now that I actually have a sprint tester phone. In my house I have about -95 to -105 dbm signal on eHRPD. Will this translate to a decent enough signal post NV to get reliable LTE/EVDO speeds and calls(im guessing this will be true since my signal will go up with 1x800)? I know my ATT phone when on HSPA at -100 dbm in my house my calls would drop with almost certainty eventually during a call and I would miss texts/calls all together at times. I understand the HTC EVO 4g LTE isn't the best when it comes to signal strength, so what could I expect if I had say a nexus 5 in terms of signal strength in here also?

 

My other question is, are post NV EVDO speeds noticeably different? I was sitting with about -75dbm with almost LOS to a tower and google loaded ok but I tried to load XDA developers and it just would not load. I didn't have enough time to sit there to see if it would but it definitely loaded fine on my Tmobile phone with a very weak LTE signal. I don't know the exact speeds because I don't really care about speed, it's all about the user experience ultimately(plus speed tests would really rack up the cost on Ting quickly), but the pre NV load times are unbearable on 3g it seems but if the post NV 3g speeds provide a zippy internet experience even without LTE then I would be willing to wait, unfortunately I don't know how long I'm going to have to wait since I haven't seen any work at all on the towers I'm connected to most of the time.

 

 

EDIT: Also it seems my signal is fluctuating wildly because it switches towers every few minutes and even when on the same tower my signal could be -110 or -90. I knew UMTS was subject to cell breathing but is this true for CDMA2000? The tower in particular is one on the local Universities campus and seems to be the only one to serve the whole campus and the population of the student body is around 30,000 so it seems like this tower could be easily over loaded.

[kojitsari]

Hey guys, just quickly wanted to say thanks for answering all my questions, this community is by far the most helpful of any I've been in.

 

Now I have some more questions that I have now that I actually have a sprint tester phone. In my house I have about -95 to -105 dbm signal on eHRPD. Will this translate to a decent enough signal post NV to get reliable LTE/EVDO speeds and calls(im guessing this will be true since my signal will go up with 1x800)? I know my ATT phone when on HSPA at -100 dbm in my house my calls would drop with almost certainty eventually during a call and I would miss texts/calls all together at times. I understand the HTC EVO 4g LTE isn't the best when it comes to signal strength, so what could I expect if I had say a nexus 5 in terms of signal strength in here also?

 

My other question is, are post NV EVDO speeds noticeably different? I was sitting with about -75dbm with almost LOS to a tower and google loaded ok but I tried to load XDA developers and it just would not load. I didn't have enough time to sit there to see if it would but it definitely loaded fine on my Tmobile phone with a very weak LTE signal. I don't know the exact speeds because I don't really care about speed, it's all about the user experience ultimately(plus speed tests would really rack up the cost on Ting quickly), but the pre NV load times are unbearable on 3g it seems but if the post NV 3g speeds provide a zippy internet experience even without LTE then I would be willing to wait, unfortunately I don't know how long I'm going to have to wait since I haven't seen any work at all on the towers I'm connected to most of the time.

From what I've discovered (through research, mainly on s4gru )being right next to a tower doesn't guarantee good speeds. This is do to the way antennas are positioned(downtilt etc).

 

I personally live on a fringe signal area(for voice and 3g, supposedly supposed to get fair LTE but my towers are having issues with ecsfb I believe due to the symptoms) and I have yet to drop a call or miss a text. This is all on an average -100dbm to -110dbm 1x signal and usually a -95bm to -105dbm evdo/ehrpd signal. I see pre NV 3g speeds (usually around 20-45 kbs during the day) and I have zero issues loading web pages, streaming Pandora. Really the only PITA is streaming videos or downloading large files.

 

Oh and I regularly get a usable (2-7mbs download speed) LTE signal at -125dbm to -130dbm while at my girlfriends house. If you'd prefer better signal there's always the plethora of boosters (except for sprint LTE it seems, but LTE provides usable speeds at lower ranges than 3g can), my parents got one for their house and instead of a -115dbm 1x signal I usually have around a -85(occasionally as low as mid 70's, sometimes skirts up to 90's. It stays below -100dbm at all times though). It cost like 240 bucks total for an upgraded outdoor antenna, a omni directional indoor antenna, and the booster pack like its sold as.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[convict2324]

So I used my Ting HTC EVO mostly normally for 24 hours and I'm pretty happy. I had great signal almost everywhere and never terrible signal. In my house I'm at -95 dBm mostly but I got a .4 Mbps down/up speed test on a legacy site(was off peak however). There seems to be a sector of a tower that just doesn't work for data though. Twice now I've had perfect signal but still was unable to even refresh my twitter feed which I have no trouble with on the other sector from the same tower. Overall I'm happy so far but am going to try a bit longer. Is it possible to have worse service post NV? I figured if I'm ok with pre nv speeds then I'll be very happy post NV.

[jamisonshaw125]

So I used my Ting HTC EVO mostly normally for 24 hours and I'm pretty happy. I had great signal almost everywhere and never terrible signal. In my house I'm at -95 dBm mostly but I got a .4 Mbps down/up speed test on a legacy site(was off peak however). There seems to be a sector of a tower that just doesn't work for data though. Twice now I've had perfect signal but still was unable to even refresh my twitter feed which I have no trouble with on the other sector from the same tower. Overall I'm happy so far but am going to try a bit longer. Is it possible to have worse service post NV? I figured if I'm ok with pre nv speeds then I'll be very happy post NV.

Everything about NV is to increase speeds and improve customer experience. Having worst speeds post NV would be counterproductive, and wasteful of billions of dollars. .4 from a legacy site is pretty good. Once that site gets converted, you'll have LTE or a very decent 3g signal. 

 

Glad to hear its working well with your switch. Hopefully you can snatch up a triband phone in the future.

 

Edit: The only reason a site would perform worse would be if something was wrong. ie. overcrowding on the site because the other 2 serving sites in that area are still legacy and your phone is trying to get onto LTE. Here in Orlando, in areas where I have NV sites all around, my LTE and 3g experience is seamless and exceptional. Exactly what one would expect.

[convict2324]

Everything about NV is to increase speeds and improve customer experience. Having worst speeds post NV would be counterproductive, and wasteful of billions of dollars. .4 from a legacy site is pretty good. Once that site gets converted, you'll have LTE or a very decent 3g signal.

 

Glad to hear its working well with your switch. Hopefully you can snatch up a triband phone in the future.

 

Edit: The only reason a site would perform worse would be if something was wrong. ie. overcrowding on the site because the other 2 serving sites in that area are still legacy and your phone is trying to get onto LTE. Here in Orlando, in areas where I have NV sites all around, my LTE and 3g experience is seamless and exceptional. Exactly what one would expect.

That's good to hear. My whole area is still pre NV so it's definitely not LTE yet haha. The sector is most likely over crowded since there doesn't seem to be another one to serve a very densely populated area of my college town. It serves a large majority of my campus and almost the entire region where the Greek houses are as well as college kid houses which are ridiculously over crowded with 5+ people in each house originally built for a small family.

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk

 

 

[WiWavelength]

Now I have some more questions that I have now that I actually have a sprint tester phone. In my house I have about -95 to -105 dbm signal on eHRPD. Will this translate to a decent enough signal post NV to get reliable LTE/EVDO speeds and calls(im guessing this will be true since my signal will go up with 1x800)? I know my ATT phone when on HSPA at -100 dbm in my house my calls would drop with almost certainty eventually during a call and I would miss texts/calls all together at times. I understand the HTC EVO 4g LTE isn't the best when it comes to signal strength, so what could I expect if I had say a nexus 5 in terms of signal strength in here also?

The HTC EVO LTE and Nexus 5 are two quite different handsets in several regards.

 

The EVO LTE supports SVDO/SVLTE, so it can simultaneously maintain CDMA1X and eHRPD/EV-DO or LTE connections.  As long as it has a CDMA1X connection, incoming calls and SMS should be unaffected.

 

The Nexus 5 is a single radio path e/CSFB handset.  It does not support SVDO nor SVLTE.  If camped on LTE, notifications for incoming calls and SMS are tunneled through LTE.  If the LTE signal is weak, that can cause missed notifications.

 

At your present signal levels, LTE will be borderline to unusable.  However, that is based on your EVO LTE testing.  The Nexus 5 would offer a considerable improvement, probably on the order of 10 dB.

 

EDIT: Also it seems my signal is fluctuating wildly because it switches towers every few minutes and even when on the same tower my signal could be -110 or -90. I knew UMTS was subject to cell breathing but is this true for CDMA2000?

Yes, CDMA2000 effectively predates W-CDMA, which is based on the former.  Both are subject to cell breathing.

 

AJ

[convict2324]

The HTC EVO LTE and Nexus 5 are two quite different handsets in several regards.

 

The EVO LTE supports SVDO/SVLTE, so it can simultaneously maintain CDMA1X and eHRPD/EV-DO or LTE connections. As long as it has a CDMA1X connection, incoming calls and SMS should be unaffected.

 

The Nexus 5 is a single radio path e/CSFB handset. It does not support SVDO nor SVLTE. If camped on LTE, notifications for incoming calls and SMS are tunneled through LTE. If the LTE signal is weak, that can cause missed notifications.

 

At your present signal levels, LTE will be borderline to unusable. However, that is based on your EVO LTE testing. The Nexus 5 would offer a considerable improvement, probably on the order of 10 dB.

 

 

Yes, CDMA2000 effectively predates W-CDMA, which is based on the former. Both are subject to cell breathing.

 

AJ

So I should be sitting around -85 to -95 dBm with a nexus 5 or something comparable which isn't bad it seems. Now it looks like I'm within a mile of 2 towers to my south and west( I live close to 30th st and Colorado ave in Boulder, CO if you look at the site maps ) but I don't seem to connect to the one to the south of me ever and instead fluctuate between one much farther south east and the one to the west of me. I know it has antennas pointed directly at my building since I go by it nearly every day. This is based off signal check so I could be wrong since my market has the BSLs offset for each sector but I'm pretty confident I'm connecting to the further tower and getting the lower signals from it.

 

 

 

[kojitsari]

So I should be sitting around -85 to -95 dBm with a nexus 5 or something comparable which isn't bad it seems. Now it looks like I'm within a mile of 2 towers to my south and west( I live close to 30th st and Colorado ave in Boulder, CO if you look at the site maps ) but I don't seem to connect to the one to the south of me ever and instead fluctuate between one much farther south east and the one to the west of me. I know it has antennas pointed directly at my building since I go by it nearly every day. This is based off signal check so I could be wrong since my market has the BSLs offset for each sector but I'm pretty confident I'm connecting to the further tower and getting the lower signals from it.

 

 

 

If you read the Colorado NV thread you'll see that things are a bit hectic in some areas right now due to the upgrades going on(that's how it is in basically every market for a period of time when upgrades are commencing. usually a few weeks).

With regard to RF performance there so far isn't really "something comparable." It beats out the G2 by ~6dbm sometimes more(depends on how you ask) and its the next best RF performer right now. That doesn't saying the s5, or the new HTC M8(or whatever its going to be) won't come close or beat it. Out of the current offerings though the n5 is in a class of its own by a decent margin in RF performance.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[convict2324]

If you read the Colorado NV thread you'll see that things are a bit hectic in some areas right now due to the upgrades going on(that's how it is in basically every market for a period of time when upgrades are commencing. usually a few weeks).

With regard to RF performance there so far isn't really "something comparable." It beats out the G2 by ~6dbm sometimes more(depends on how you ask) and its the next best RF performer right now. That doesn't saying the s5, or the new HTC M8(or whatever its going to be) won't come close or beat it. Out of the current offerings though the n5 is in a class of its own by a decent margin in RF performance.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I figured it wouldn't get weird until they actually start NV lol. I haven't seen any evidince that they have even touched a single tower in my area. It is a bit hard to tell, however, since the towers I would regularly use are roof top mounted ones since there are very strict height ordinances to prevent blocking the mountains and a lot of NIMBY types. No way to see the base stations really and the antennae are hard to see as well.

[mikejeep]

I figured it wouldn't get weird until they actually start NV lol. I haven't seen any evidince that they have even touched a single tower in my area. It is a bit hard to tell, however, since the towers I would regularly use are roof top mounted ones since there are very strict height ordinances to prevent blocking the mountains and a lot of NIMBY types. No way to see the base stations really and the antennae are hard to see as well.

 

I'm willing to bet that NV upgrades did start in your area; just because you don't see any acceptances on the map doesn't mean that nothing has been done. I recall reading a thread recently where someone who was actually with the crew working on-site for a day didn't see that site go live for several weeks. And preparations are required before they start any work that would be noticeable from afar (on top of the valid reasons you stated).

 

My closest site is a tower is on top of a hill that is basically straight out my dining room window.. I'm also on top of a hill, and it's a nice scenic view with a valley in between. I can see radomes and panels on the tower with the naked eye. I look out that window a lot because of the view.. but not once have I ever seen any indication of work at the site. But it's NV1.0-complete, and I'm sure other companies have worked on the same tower at some point.. you just don't always notice it.

 

-Mike

[convict2324]

I'm willing to bet that NV upgrades did start in your area; just because you don't see any acceptances on the map doesn't mean that nothing has been done. I recall reading a thread recently where someone who was actually with the crew working on-site for a day didn't see that site go live for several weeks. And preparations are required before they start any work that would be noticeable from afar (on top of the valid reasons you stated).

 

My closest site is a tower is on top of a hill that is basically straight out my dining room window.. I'm also on top of a hill, and it's a nice scenic view with a valley in between. I can see radomes and panels on the tower with the naked eye. I look out that window a lot because of the view.. but not once have I ever seen any indication of work at the site. But it's NV1.0-complete, and I'm sure other companies have worked on the same tower at some point.. you just don't always notice it.

 

-Mike

I hope so. I just had my first unfortunately bad data experience. It's in the downtown area of my town that I only go to on weekends really (it's where the bars are) and I had great signal on eHRPD, -44dBm to -75 dBm to be exact depending on the area, so I was excited. I went into a shop and had to wait a bit and I simply could not get anything to load in any reasonable time. My t mobile phone dropped LTE to weak HSPA signal but had no problems loading XDA and s4gru in a matter of seconds. It took ~2 minutes to load XDA developers. I ran a speed test when I was back outside and got .04 Mbps down and like .2 Mbps up. Do these kind of speeds still exist in a NV area while on 3g? Obviously LTE should be better but LTE drops easier, like on my tmobile phone, so 3g needs to be reliable still.

[kojitsari]

I hope so. I just had my first unfortunately bad data experience. It's in the downtown area of my town that I only go to on weekends really (it's where the bars are) and I had great signal, -44dBm to -75 dBm to be exact depending on the area, so I was excited. I went into a shop and had to wait a bit and I simply could not get anything to load in any reasonable time. My t mobile phone dropped LTE to weak HSPA signal but had no problems loading XDA and s4gru in a matter of seconds. It took ~2 minutes to load XDA developers. I ran a speed test when I was back outside and got .04 Mbps down and like .2 Mbps up. Do these kind of speeds still exist in a NV area while on 3g? Obviously LTE should be better but LTE drops easier, like on my tmobile phone, so 3g needs to be reliable still.

There shouldn't be speeds like that after NV. I'm assuming that site was way overburdened(maybe had old backhaul?) since you had those kinds of speeds with such good signal.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[convict2324]

There shouldn't be speeds like that after NV. I'm assuming that site was way overburdened(maybe had old backhaul?) since you had those kinds of speeds with such good signal.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yea I figured, I literally could see the panels less than a block over from me when I was outside of the store and thats when I had the -44 dBm signal, inside I had the -75dBM which is still very strong. It is the main shopping and restaurant area for my town so if anywhere is going to be overloaded its that tower and the tower on the University campus. It was honestly the first time I was starting to doubt my switch. Last night I was actually considering switching before the new HTC One and just using the EVO until then because I hadn't had any issues. The data was noticeably slow but not significantly worse than Tmobile and I had coverage in more places which is more important to me than the fastest speeds in a few locations. This experience gave me hold though and wanted to make sure that I can expect to not experience these kind of issues as soon as NV is underway.

[jamisonshaw125]

Remember. Colorado is going through a huge amount of upgrades. Most of the issues you are experiencing are pre NV issues, or issues caused by implementing NV. It'll get better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

[mikejeep]

I hope so. I just had my first unfortunately bad data experience. It's in the downtown area of my town that I only go to on weekends really (it's where the bars are) and I had great signal on eHRPD, -44dBm to -75 dBm to be exact depending on the area, so I was excited. I went into a shop and had to wait a bit and I simply could not get anything to load in any reasonable time. My t mobile phone dropped LTE to weak HSPA signal but had no problems loading XDA and s4gru in a matter of seconds. It took ~2 minutes to load XDA developers. I ran a speed test when I was back outside and got .04 Mbps down and like .2 Mbps up. Do these kind of speeds still exist in a NV area while on 3g? Obviously LTE should be better but LTE drops easier, like on my tmobile phone, so 3g needs to be reliable still.

 

Since your area is lacking NV acceptances, the best metric for you to be judging right now is signal strength. -44 to -75 dB is excellent. NV upgrades don't typically change your PCS signal strength significantly; they might tweak some downtilt or add a new site, but in general, those are not the main focuses of the project. The poor speeds are indicative of either pre-NV backhaul still in place, or other nearby site(s) being offline (hopefully due to NV work), therefore overloading the sector you were on.

 

Don't consider pre-NV speeds when you're trying to predict future performance. Apples and oranges.

 

-Mike

[convict2324]

Since your area is lacking NV acceptances, the best metric for you to be judging right now is signal strength. -44 to -75 dB is excellent. NV upgrades don't typically change your PCS signal strength significantly; they might tweak some downtilt or add a new site, but in general, those are not the main focuses of the project. The poor speeds are indicative of either pre-NV backhaul still in place, or other nearby site(s) being offline (hopefully due to NV work), therefore overloading the sector you were on.

 

Don't consider pre-NV speeds when you're trying to predict future performance. Apples and oranges.

 

-Mike

So basically I can assume if I have good or decent signal before NV, I can reasonably expect solid performance and reliability after NV is done? That isn't even factoring in 800 mhz LTE/1xA obviously which will definitely increase my coverage.

[jamisonshaw125]

So basically I can assume if I have good or decent signal before NV, I can reasonably expect solid performance and reliability after NV is done? That isn't even factoring in 800 mhz LTE/1xA obviously which will definitely increase my coverage.

Yes. To quote Robert from a post from a thousand years ago, everywhere you have 3g now you will most likely have LTE when NV is completed. This also applies to 3g, which will most likely have an increase in coverage, and of course increase in speeds. But do not forget that LTE drops out sooner than 3g. That is where b26 comes in. IF you end up getting a dual band or triband phone, your experience will be seamless.

[joshnys8913]

Around here I have not really noticed a big difference between a NV complete only and one with the back haul LTE live, the 3G performance has been basically the same.... Maybe its just where I live... 

[convict2324]

Around here I have not really noticed a big difference between a NV complete only and one with the back haul LTE live, the 3G performance has been basically the same.... Maybe its just where I live... 

Are your speeds at least decent before and after? Or are they unusable even after upgrades?

 

Yes. To quote Robert from a post from a thousand years ago, everywhere you have 3g now you will most likely have LTE when NV is completed. This also applies to 3g, which will most likely have an increase in coverage, and of course increase in speeds. But do not forget that LTE drops out sooner than 3g. That is where b26 comes in. IF you end up getting a dual band or triband phone, your experience will be seamless.

I know I need access to the premier sponsor forums to get all the B26 info but is there any rough estimates of when my market would be receiving the B26 upgrades? Unfortunately I can't swing the 100 bucks as a college kid just to see the B26 deployments as much as I would like to.

[joshnys8913]

I get usually 2.45 down and .90 up and its been that way since NV complete....

[kojitsari]

Are your speeds at least decent before and after? Or are they unusable even after upgrades?

 

I know I need access to the premier sponsor forums to get all the B26 info but is there any rough estimates of when my market would be receiving the B26 upgrades? Unfortunately I can't swing the 100 bucks as a college kid just to see the B26 deployments as much as I would like to.

Any donation (large enough to cover PayPal fees, aka 5 bucks) gets you access for 6 months!

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[S4GRU]

Any donation (large enough to cover PayPal fees, aka 5 bucks) gets you access for 6 months!

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Yes, but we need on average about $20-$25 per new sponsor to cover our monthly fees. But we will accept less for those who cannot afford it. That being said, I think he is saying he cannot afford to upgrade to Premier Sponsor.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

[kojitsari]

Yes, but we need on average about $20-$25 per new sponsor to cover our monthly fees. But we will accept less for those who cannot afford it. That being said, I think he is saying he cannot afford to upgrade to Premier Sponsor.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

The way he phrased that he needed to be a "premier sponsor" instead of just a sponsor(when really they're the same thing, except one expires) made me question if he knew that you can get temporary sponsorship.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk