Google Nexus 5 by LG Users Thread!

[Jackietreehorn]

No mention of anything specific to Sprint or Spark for that matter.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/547294/20140409/android-4-3-kitkat-os-update-roll.htm

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Maybe I didn't read it closely enough, but given that it's an Australian site, I'm not sure they would focus entirely on the US variant instead of just the OS as a whole.

 

That said, I don't know that I'll flip out, but I'll be very disappointed if the Spark update isn't included in 4.4.3.  After all of this (mostly) patient waiting, if this update comes and goes without it, I can't imagine there's a prayer that we see it before I/O, which is just flat out too long for a phone advertised as Spark capable at launch...in November.

[imex99]

Maybe I didn't read it closely enough, but given that it's an Australian site, I'm not sure they would focus entirely on the US variant instead of just the OS as a whole.

 

That said, I don't know that I'll flip out, but I'll be very disappointed if the Spark update isn't included in 4.4.3. After all of this (mostly) patient waiting, if this update comes and goes without it, I can't imagine there's a prayer that we see it before I/O, which is just flat out too long for a phone advertised as Spark capable at launch...in November.

Just sent the author/editor an email about Spark. Let's see if I get a reply or not.... Love the phone but I'll probably jump ship to the g3 or something equivalent of we have to wait until the fall.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[khammondnm]

Maybe I didn't read it closely enough, but given that it's an Australian site, I'm not sure they would focus entirely on the US variant instead of just the OS as a whole.

 

That said, I don't know that I'll flip out, but I'll be very disappointed if the Spark update isn't included in 4.4.3. After all of this (mostly) patient waiting, if this update comes and goes without it, I can't imagine there's a prayer that we see it before I/O, which is just flat out too long for a phone advertised as Spark capable at launch...in November.

Time to email Dan if this update doesn't produce.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

 

[rgcrockett]

No mention of anything specific to Sprint or Spark for that matter.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/547294/20140409/android-4-3-kitkat-os-update-roll.htm

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

IBT is notoriously wrong on their tech rumors. 

[tgrgrd00]

IBT is notoriously wrong on their tech rumors. 

 

yeah, I was going to say that site is a troll site looking for clicks. 

[j'vai]

this is what i don't like (being pensive)

 

 

but when i quietly connect the dots, after trying to figure out why the nexus 5 came with bands neutered from the gate (when they've could have been enabled) i read stuff like this from sprint -

 

dated March 24, 2014 

 

"...Saw explained that Sprint plans to use carrier aggregation to combine two 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE channels "towards the end of this year," though he said that launch could happen early next year. He said the rollout of two-channel LTE on Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum will result in peak download speeds of roughly 120 Mbps, though average speeds likely will be slower. He said Sprint will likely gradually roll out e two-channel LTE on 2.5 GHz spectrum across specific markets, though he didn't provide details.

Saw said Sprint will add an additional carrier to its 2.5 GHz LTE network at the end of next year, giving the system three full channels and supporting peak download speeds of roughly 180 Mbps..."

 

 

ooo.k , now -

 

"Those are incredibly fast speeds," Saw said, adding that Sprint may even be able to increase speeds beyond that through additional technologies. "With smart antenna capabilities that we are putting in our systems we are able to leverage even higher speeds than those. We're talking about multilayer MIMO, and all that is being developed in our labs."

 

However, Saw said that Sprint Spark users today will need to purchase new devices to be able to access those faster speeds. He confirmed that the Spark devices that Sprint sells today will not be able access two-channel and three-channel 2.5 GHz configurations, thus forcing Sprint customers to upgrade to new devices that can access those configurations in order to make use of the faster speeds..."

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-saw-spark-hit-120-mbps-peaks-end-2014-180-mbps-peaks-end-2015/2014-03-24

 

...why the need to upgrade, when the spark enabled consumer hardware which is capable ALREADY -

 

"..Gobi 4G LTE Advanced with Carrier Aggregation for speeds up to 150 Mbps.."

http://www.qualcomm.com/snapdragon/processors/800

 

as current as the date of March, most *spark enabled handsets* have no less than the snapdragon 800 chipset, correct?

 

then again, as i watch the market, & consumerism is being played on,

 

i wonder of whatever spark update will come to THIS nexus 5 line, in fear of it cannabalizing next releases -

 

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/07/qualcomm-snapdragon-810/?ncid=rss_truncated (quoted as capable to doing 300 mb in 3 carrier agregation)

i'm really wondering if in labs behind closed doors, the nexus 5 is seeing spark test speeds well above the quoted 150mb & doing it well, but the update  not being released until watered down..

 

 

i'm just pensive..

 

it'll die when i see max speeds of lte 150mb flowing thru this device, til then..

[lilotimz]

this is what i don't like (being pensive)

 

 

but when i quietly connect the dots, after trying to figure out why the nexus 5 came with bands neutered from the gate (when they've could have been enabled) i read stuff like this from sprint -

 

dated March 24, 2014

 

"...Saw explained that Sprint plans to use carrier aggregation to combine two 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE channels "towards the end of this year," though he said that launch could happen early next year. He said the rollout of two-channel LTE on Sprint's 2.5 GHz spectrum will result in peak download speeds of roughly 120 Mbps, though average speeds likely will be slower. He said Sprint will likely gradually roll out e two-channel LTE on 2.5 GHz spectrum across specific markets, though he didn't provide details.

Saw said Sprint will add an additional carrier to its 2.5 GHz LTE network at the end of next year, giving the system three full channels and supporting peak download speeds of roughly 180 Mbps..."

 

 

ooo.k , now -

 

"Those are incredibly fast speeds," Saw said, adding that Sprint may even be able to increase speeds beyond that through additional technologies. "With smart antenna capabilities that we are putting in our systems we are able to leverage even higher speeds than those. We're talking about multilayer MIMO, and all that is being developed in our labs."

 

However, Saw said that Sprint Spark users today will need to purchase new devices to be able to access those faster speeds. He confirmed that the Spark devices that Sprint sells today will not be able access two-channel and three-channel 2.5 GHz configurations, thus forcing Sprint customers to upgrade to new devices that can access those configurations in order to make use of the faster speeds..."

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-saw-spark-hit-120-mbps-peaks-end-2014-180-mbps-peaks-end-2015/2014-03-24

 

...why the need to upgrade, when the spark enabled consumer hardware which is capable ALREADY -

 

"..Gobi 4G LTE Advanced with Carrier Aggregation for speeds up to 150 Mbps.."

http://www.qualcomm.com/snapdragon/processors/800

 

as current as the date of March, most *spark enabled handsets* have no less than the snapdragon 800 chipset, correct?

 

then again, as i watch the market, & consumerism is being played on,

 

i wonder of whatever spark update will come to THIS nexus 5 line, in fear of it cannabalizing next releases -

 

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/07/qualcomm-snapdragon-810/?ncid=rss_truncated (quoted as capable to doing 300 mb in 3 carrier agregation)

 

i'm really wondering if in labs behind closed doors, the nexus 5 is seeing spark test speeds well above the quoted 150mb & doing it well, but the update not being released until watered down..

 

 

i'm just pensive..

 

it'll die when i see max speeds of lte 150mb flowing thru this device, til then..

Snapdragon 800s are capable of carrier aggregation for a total of 20mhz such as 10+10 5+15 configurations. 20+20 is not supported.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

 

[nexgencpu]

Snapdragon 800s are capable of carrier aggregation for a total of 20mhz such as 10+10 5+15 configurations. 20+20 is not supported.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

If I'm not mistaken the latest Qualcomm 808 and 810 have Cat 6 support with 20x3 CA support

[GiantJay]

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/04/09/rumor-google-starts-early-dogfooding-of-android-4-4-3-public-release-expected-in-coming-weeks/

[adamjamessimon]

Why not email dan@sprint anyways expressing our shared concerns over the lack of a spark update? I'm starting to wonder if they may have thought the hardware could handle spark technology but upon further development they have run into some big challenges in getting the radios working fully with spark. The G2 does not have the same number of bands as the nexus 5, if I am right. So maybe they are genuinely struggling to make the hardware specific to the nexus 5 do spark?

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[modplan]

Why not email dan@sprint anyways expressing our shared concerns over the lack of a spark update? I'm starting to wonder if they may have thought the hardware could handle spark technology but upon further development they have run into some big challenges in getting the radios working fully with spark. The G2 does not have the same number of bands as the nexus 5, if I am right. So maybe they are genuinely struggling to make the hardware specific to the nexus 5 do spark? Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

What would make you think that? When the last N5 update (4.4.2) was released, Spark was virtually non-existent in all markets. 4.4.3 will be the first update that Spark support COULD be included in since Spark has become more widespread across the country.

 

Google would never release an update just for Spark, so it had to wait until the next update to be included. Now, if Spark support is not included in 4.4.3 then you have a case a could be right, but right now you have no reason to think that. It's not like Google has released update after update past Q1 2014 (the time frame given for when the N5 would probably get a Spark update) where Spark wasn't included, 4.4.3 will be the FIRST update since then.

[adamjamessimon]

What would make you think that? When the last N5 update (4.4.2) was released, Spark was virtually non-existent in all markets. 4.4.3 will be the first update that Spark support COULD be included in since Spark has become more widespread across the country.

 

Google would never release an update just for Spark, so it had to wait until the next update to be included. Now, if Spark support is not included in 4.4.3 then you have a case a could be right, but right now you have no reason to think that. It's not like Google has released update after update past Q1 2014 (the time frame given for when the N5 would probably get a Spark update) where Spark wasn't included, 4.4.3 will be the FIRST update since then.

Then time will tell. The little information available about 4.4.3 has not given me much hope for spark being included with it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[kojitsari]

Then time will tell. The little information available about 4.4.3 has not given me much hope for spark being included with it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I assume that they're not going to make a big deal about it(plus there hasn't been an official change log yet has there?) because it only affects a small portion of n5 users.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[nexgencpu]

Until the 4.4.3 update is available, we shouldn't have to take any action. If for whatever ungodly reason its not included (im confident it will be there) Then we can start making some noise.

[Adam G]

This is a good idea.  Just emailed him, I will report back what they say.

 

Why not email dan@sprint anyways expressing our shared concerns over the lack of a spark update? I'm starting to wonder if they may have thought the hardware could handle spark technology but upon further development they have run into some big challenges in getting the radios working fully with spark. The G2 does not have the same number of bands as the nexus 5, if I am right. So maybe they are genuinely struggling to make the hardware specific to the nexus 5 do spark? Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Jackietreehorn]

I assume that they're not going to make a big deal about it(plus there hasn't been an official change log yet has there?) because it only affects a small portion of n5 users.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

This is my hope.

[tgrgrd00]

This is a good idea.  Just emailed him, I will report back what they say.

 

I emailed them earlier. Here is the correspondence. Not very encouraging but who knows.

 

 

 

 

Dear xxxxx,

 

Thank you for contacting Dan@Sprint.com. We appreciate your email

regarding your request for Sprint to offer the software update to enable

the Sprint Spark feature on your Google Nexus 5. I sincerely apologize

for any inconvenience this has caused you.

 

At this time we do not have an estimated timeframe for the Spark

software update to be released for the Google Nexus 5. I recommend

visiting www.Sprint.com/support to check for any new software releases

that are available for your device.

 

You can also visit www.Sprint.com/spark to learn more about our new

Sprint Spark service.

 

We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to share your

feedback. I will forward your feedback regarding the Spark software

update for Google Nexus 5  to the appropriate group for review. Your

feedback will help us to continue to improve our products, services and

overall customer experience.

 

If you need any additional assistance, you may reply directly to this

email and include a contact number or your account information. Thank

you for contacting Dan@Sprint.com as your business is appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

Dan@Sprint.com Team

Sprint

 

 

Original Message Follows:

------------------------

From: xxxxx@gmail.com<br>To: dan@sprint.com<br>Subject:

Nexus 5 Spark Update<br>Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 10:00:05 -0500<br>

I am curious about the promised Spark update for the Nexus 5 device.

 

 

We have been waiting patiently for the update to enable the Spark bands

for the Nexus 5 and curious if there is any information you can provide

regarding when the update will be available to your customers.

 

 

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

 

 

Regards,

xxxxxxx

[adamjamessimon]

I emailed them earlier. Here is the correspondence. Not very encouraging but who knows.

 

 

 

 

Dear xxxxx,

 

Thank you for contacting Dan@Sprint.com. We appreciate your email

regarding your request for Sprint to offer the software update to enable

the Sprint Spark feature on your Google Nexus 5. I sincerely apologize

for any inconvenience this has caused you.

 

At this time we do not have an estimated timeframe for the Spark

software update to be released for the Google Nexus 5. I recommend

visiting www.Sprint.com/support to check for any new software releases

that are available for your device.

 

You can also visit www.Sprint.com/spark to learn more about our new

Sprint Spark service.

 

We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to share your

feedback. I will forward your feedback regarding the Spark software

update for Google Nexus 5 to the appropriate group for review. Your

feedback will help us to continue to improve our products, services and

overall customer experience.

 

If you need any additional assistance, you may reply directly to this

email and include a contact number or your account information. Thank

you for contacting Dan@Sprint.com as your business is appreciated.

 

Sincerely,

Dan@Sprint.com Team

Sprint

 

 

Original Message Follows:

------------------------

From: xxxxx@gmail.com

To: dan@sprint.com

Subject:

Nexus 5 Spark Update

Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 10:00:05 -0500

I am curious about the promised Spark update for the Nexus 5 device.

 

 

We have been waiting patiently for the update to enable the Spark bands

for the Nexus 5 and curious if there is any information you can provide

regarding when the update will be available to your customers.

 

 

Thanks for your attention to this matter.

 

 

Regards,

xxxxxxx

I emailed too and they called me. We spoke at length and I made sure to press the issue and they said they were going to forward my feedback.. I wasn't encouraged either. It seems they would want to share any info they had to keep their customers happy. Someone somewhere in sprint knows something but its all being kept very quiet. Not encouraging.

 

 

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Jackietreehorn]

Here's the thing though, CS is notoriously uninformed (as I'm sure everyone has experienced).  Why bother trying to inform all of your CS about a relatively niche update to a product before it's actually out there.  I'm guessing Sprint would rather have no information out there on it rather than the constant misinformation of years past.

 

I'm hopeful, but not by any means sure it'll be out with 4.4.3, and will be mildly upset if not.  That said, the two experiences in the previous posts don't really sway me either way.  It would have been nice if they had an answer, but not having one is utterly expected anymore.

[DaQue]

No Spark by the time the Note 4 ships and this goes up for sell.

 

Sent from Nexus 5

 

 

[modplan]

lol no one in customer service would know anything about this update. Most of them barely know what "spark" is. 

 

Their job is "thank you for your concern, I will do everything I can to get this to the right people so your voice is heard" (and then throws it in the trash) and move on to the next caller.

 

The update will probably be in 4.4.3, if not there is probably some problem holding it up and it may never come. If so, and if spark is that important to you in your area, just sell the N5 and grab a new phone that is spark enabled out of the box. That easy.

[though]

New Camera App

 

http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/01/google-new-android-camera-app/

 

http://www.gazelle.com/thehorn/2014/04/10/the-new-android-camera-app-is-almost-here/

[Adam G]

lol no one in customer service would know anything about this update. Most of them barely know what "spark" is. 

 

Their job is "thank you for your concern, I will do everything I can to get this to the right people so your voice is heard" (and then throws it in the trash) and move on to the next caller.

 

The update will probably be in 4.4.3, if not there is probably some problem holding it up and it may never come. If so, and if spark is that important to you in your area, just sell the N5 and grab a new phone that is spark enabled out of the box. That easy.

 

 

They've actually called me three times about my email, I just havent been around to pick up the phone.  A little more encouraging than a form email.

[Adam G]

I missed her again today but she told me today that a software update is coming 4/14 and could take up to a week to get to me. She assumed that it was Spark in addition to general bug fixes, but I guess we'll find out.

[mikejeep]

I missed her again today but she told me today that a software update is coming 4/14 and could take up to a week to get to me. She assumed that it was Spark in addition to general bug fixes, but I guess we'll find out.

 

I have some faith that a Dan@Sprint rep reaching out to you with a specific date is more reliable than "coming soon", and a software update on a Monday makes some sense. Fingers crossed!

 

-Mike