Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[JWMaloney]

I'm gonna go with it being a carrier related baseband thing as far as signal, and a server issue as far as speeds.

 

With Sprint users mostly, iPhone has a reputation for not holding onto signal very well and overall poor performance but using the same phone on a different carrier can yield much different results. When I took my iPhone 6 from Sprint to at&t it suddenly started performing much better in the radio department. I recently used a Note 5 and found it to not perform as well as the iPhone on the network.

 

It's starting to become a pet peeve of mine for a phone to get blamed for having a bad radio when the same exact model number may work excellently on a different provider. The Nexus 5 was a prime example, worked great on Sprint but was an abomination on GSM providers.

 

As someone who regularly uses a Nexus 5 on all 3 compatible major carriers, I'm going to have to disagree. I'm in Nokia/Ericsson land (Ericsson for Sprint and AT&T, and Nokia for Sprint and T-Mobile), and Sprint has absolutely been the worst performer when it comes to LTE on the Nexus 5.

[Dkoellerwx]

As someone who regularly uses a Nexus 5 on all 3 compatible major carriers, I'm going to have to disagree. I'm in Nokia/Ericsson land (Ericsson for Sprint and AT&T, and Nokia for Sprint and T-Mobile), and Sprint has absolutely been the worst performer when it comes to LTE on the Nexus 5.

I'm in a Nokia/Ericsson market and the N5 was one of the best Sprint device performers. At least at the time. I haven't had it active on the network since I got my G4. I have heard things went downhill a little with mater updates to Android 5 and eventually 6. However a lot of that is easily fixable NY flashing an older radio.

 

Although I may be misinterpreting your post... If you are comparing how the N5 works on other carriers, we would need more detail. What makes it so much better on AT&T vs Sprint, and how much of that can be attributed to the network/tower spacing in you market?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[lilotimz]

I'm in a Nokia/Ericsson market and the N5 was one of the best Sprint device performers. At least at the time. I haven't had it active on the network since I got my G4. I have heard things went downhill a little with mater updates to Android 5 and eventually 6. However a lot of that is easily fixable NY flashing an older radio.

 

Although I may be misinterpreting your post... If you are comparing how the N5 works on other carriers, we would need more detail. What makes it so much better on AT&T vs Sprint, and how much of that can be attributed to the network/tower spacing in you market?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

One of the best device performer at launch. Subsequent radio updates had it perform on par with the other LG devices which were among the weakest. The S4T of the same generation were approximately 5-6 dBm above the LG g2 while the nexus 5 was 2-4 dBm avg above the s4t but was about equal to LG g2 performance later on which has remarkably remained pretty consistent for sprint.

 

The LG g2/g3/g4 performs relatively equal to each other on all bands with my field testing while the nexus 5x is heads and shoulders above them and most sprint devices on b25/26 while b41 is about the same/average.

[JWMaloney]

I'm in a Nokia/Ericsson market and the N5 was one of the best Sprint device performers. At least at the time. I haven't had it active on the network since I got my G4. I have heard things went downhill a little with mater updates to Android 5 and eventually 6. However a lot of that is easily fixable NY flashing an older radio.

 

Although I may be misinterpreting your post... If you are comparing how the N5 works on other carriers, we would need more detail. What makes it so much better on AT&T vs Sprint, and how much of that can be attributed to the network/tower spacing in you market?

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Please understand that I am referring specifically to the device's ability to consistently maintain a usable LTE connection to a single cell site. Anything more than that would not be a fair comparison, as even though Sprint and AT&T are (were before the RRUS 11/31 swaps) using the same Ericsson equipment, there is clearly a disparity in coverage between the two:

 

 

That said, there are plenty of opportunities pictured for one to drive miles away from any cell site on either carrier; and as I have done so on many occasions, I can tell you, without a doubt, that it is on those occasions that the Nexus 5 will maintain a usable LTE connection much farther out and to much lower signal levels on other carriers.

 

Now, as I have said, this could easily be due to network-side configuration parameters which direct the device to switch to 3G. But if that is the case, then you would think Sprint would be able to correct such a thing after all this time.

 

One of the best device performer at launch. Subsequent radio updates had it perform on par with the other LG devices which were among the weakest. The S4T of the same generation were approximately 5-6 dBm above the LG g2 while the nexus 5 was 2-4 dBm avg above the s4t but was about equal to LG g2 performance later on which has remarkably remained pretty consistent for sprint.

 

The LG g2/g3/g4 performs relatively equal to each other on all bands with my field testing while the nexus 5x is heads and shoulders above them and most sprint devices on b25/26 while b41 is about the same/average.

 

The modem firmware shipped at launch would report much higher signal levels and would hold onto an LTE signal under circumstances where the later firmware would not. But under those circumstances, the device would easily miss incoming calls, so they corrected this in later firmware. That said, I have not seen a significant overall difference in throughput between earlier or later firmware  -- only time connected to LTE.

 

What I find happens much too often with the Nexus 5 on Sprint is that it will fall directly from band 25 to 3G even under circumstances where a usable band 26 signal is present. This is again related to the changes made to to the modem: Earlier firmware had a much longer timeout period for handover, while the shorter timeout in later firmware causes a much greater number of handover failures. This is done on purpose to limit the amount of time the user is without a data connection during the transition.

 

This is 100% reproducible in areas with low site density. Flash the factory modem firmware, and drive between two cell sites spaced decently apart. If you begin a speed test shortly before handover begins, you can see the test pause visibly for several seconds while the phone is transitioning. If you do the same test with the latest firmware, the phone will quickly switch to 3G instead, and the speed test will fail.

 

The bottom line is that Sprint took serious action to reduce the number of dropped/blocked calls on their network; and when your modem is tied up constantly waiting for handovers to complete (or even just holding on to a weak signal), you miss more calls. The modem firmware has preset configurations for voice-centric and data-centric usage, and Sprint chose to go with the former (and no, this is not something that the end user can change easily short of disassembling the firmware).

[DanielB]

Interestingly, my experience with all four models of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s has been outstanding on Sprint in and around the Richmond, VA market. In fact, in my tests the device on Sprint has outperformed its peers on Verizon in this market, particularly in regards to LTE data (I have not completed AT&T testing yet).

[greenbastard]

Sorry but your rational doesn't fly.

 

Don't think you understand what 'rational' means.

First, you argue that regulation is good because antitrust broke up ma bell. When I pointed out that ma bell was created by regulation and that arguing regulation is good because of this example of regulation fixing a mistake cause by regulation is circular and can be shown by simply saying we probably would have been better off if regulators just didn't create ma bell in the first place, you just restate your original assertion.

 

Again, why are you so fixated on this idea of crucifying the government for a mistake they did a long time ago? They addressed the issue, but for whatever political or ideological reasons, too little, too late. If you don't like government, that's fine. But you can't be so naive as to not understand why government regulation is needed in an industry that is so crucial for the advancement of the human race.

Second, why counterfactuals are always hard to prove, the fact that standard oil would have lost market share (outside regulators stepping in) is a safe bet. For no other reason than the vast oil reserves that would be discovered in the Mideast.

 

You missed the point again. At 64% share of the oil market, Standard Oil still had the resources to take over the market if they wanted to through the railroad rebates and product marketing they commanded. Before the government sued them, they were pruposely fixing prices in markets in which they had competitors in order to bleed them out of existance. Had the government never butted in, they would have continued the practice of undercutting new competitors. They only stopped doing so once they knew the government was on their tail (which was way before the lawsuit was filed)

 

And if it weren't for them being under a microscope by both the government and public, they could have easily bullied the newly discovered reserves in the southwest (not the 'Mideast') that led to their market share decline. But again, even with these emerging oil reserves in Texas and California, Standard still had the ability to take over the market. And with their history of undercutting, they would have done so had they won the anti-trust suit.

 

Third, you miss the point here as well. My claim is that anti-trust doesn't do any good. Because there is no example prior to that legislation of any monopoly, in the history of human kind, existing for any extended period of time (60 years or so) with of the support of government force. It has never been demonstrated that any industry faces a declining marginal cost curve and if it did a monopoly would be good for society.

 

You'll be hard-pressed to find more scholars who agree that anti-trust laws aren't needed than ones who think they are.

 

 

If you wish to discuss this matter any further, PM me. There is no need to derail this thread any further from general wireless discussion. I'm sure the mods would agree.

[greenbastard]

Yeah. Some areas of South Austin are TERRIBLE for T-Mobile. On the other hand the core downtown area has blazing speeds.

West part of Austin is terrible too for T-Mobile. Those hills and growing sprawl make T-Mobile absolute trash in the edges.

 

At the UT campus, both Sprint and Verizon could use some help.

[Camcroz]

Don't think you understand what 'rational' means.

[/i]

I believe he meant to say "rationale". Different word and different meaning than rational.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

I'm gonna go with it being a carrier related baseband thing as far as signal, and a server issue as far as speeds.

With Sprint users mostly, iPhone has a reputation for not holding onto signal very well and overall poor performance but using the same phone on a different carrier can yield much different results. When I took my iPhone 6 from Sprint to at&t it suddenly started performing much better in the radio department. I recently used a Note 5 and found it to not perform as well as the iPhone on the network.

It's starting to become a pet peeve of mine for a phone to get blamed for having a bad radio when the same exact model number may work excellently on a different provider. The Nexus 5 was a prime example, worked great on Sprint but was an abomination on GSM providers.

The modem in the 6s does a much better job of LTE holding, handoffs and acquisition on Sprint. The carrier settings bundle finally works well. I previously had a 6 and it held onto 3G for quite a long time. I'm guessing it was the LTE Scan Timer which needed adjustment.

[derrph]

The modem in the 6s does a much better job of LTE holding, handoffs and acquisition on Sprint. The carrier settings bundle finally works well. I previously had a 6 and it held onto 3G for quite a long time. I'm guessing it was the LTE Scan Timer which needed adjustment.

Did you update your 6s to 9.2 which I'm going to assume came with a better carrier settings bundle?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

Did you update your 6s to 9.2 which I'm going to assume came with a better carrier settings bundle?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup. I'm running the latest iOS and Carrier Settings on my 6s. Works really well.

 

I'm sure part of it is due to Sprint's network improvements over the last year too.

 

It was frustrating to see the 6 just sit there on 3G in an LTE area for extended periods of time. That doesn't happen anymore with the 6s.

[derrph]

Yup. I'm running the latest iOS and Carrier Settings on my 6s. Works really well.

 

I'm sure part of it is due to Sprint's network improvements over the last year too.

That might be my issue then. I'm still running 9.1.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

Could be.

 

Update iOS: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204

Update your carrier settings: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201270

[derrph]

Could be.

 

Update iOS: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204204

Update your carrier settings: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201270

Thanks for that. I've had the update on my phone but I just kept rejecting it installing when the message would pop up on my phone. Welp I might as well just give in and let it install

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

Thanks for that. I've had the update on my phone but I just kept rejecting it installing when the message would pop up on my phone. Welp I might as well just give in and let it install

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

Hope it makes a difference!

[RedSpark]

Sprint's CFO is speaking on Thursday at 5 PM ET at the Citi 2016 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas.

 

Livestream Link: www.sprint.com/investors.

 

We'll get more context during his address, but I thought this was an especially revealing sentence in the article for Sprint's funding plans going forward:

 

Robbiati, in his few months at Sprint, helped boost the company’s cash holdings by $1.1 billion through an innovative sale and lease back of cellphones its customers lease from Sprint. He expects to repeat the transaction on a regular basis this year as a source of funding for Sprint’s transformation plan.

[sbolen]

Sprint's CFO is speaking on Thursday at 5 PM ET at the Citi 2016 Internet, Media & Telecommunications Conference in Las Vegas.

 

Livestream Link: www.sprint.com/investors.

 

We'll get more context during his address, but I thought this was an especially revealing sentence in the article for Sprint's funding plans going forward:

Hm. I'll be in Vegas for CES. Wonder how hard it would be to get in...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

Hm. I'll be in Vegas for CES. Wonder how hard it would be to get in...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Let us know! 

 

Hope you get good speeds/coverage on that DAS too!

[Johnner1999]

Just a quick question does the current iPhone 6s model have as good reception as the galaxy s6?

 

Lte and cdma

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

[RedSpark]

Just a quick question does the current iPhone 6s model have as good reception as the galaxy s6?

 

Lte and cdma

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

See these S4GRU articles:

 

iPhone 6s

 

vs.

 

Galaxy S6

[BlueAngel]

See these S4GRU articles:

 

iPhone 6s

 

vs.

 

Galaxy S6

Those fcc RF performance figures are flawed, especially for the Note 5. On paper it looks average at best but in the real world it's outstanding. Take it all with a grain of salt.

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

[greenbastard]

Just a quick question does the current iPhone 6s model have as good reception as the galaxy s6?

 

Lte and cdma

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

I can tell you this much, with the iPhone 6s, it's been a hit and miss with the carrier updates. Overall a good phone rf wise. I can only compare it to the Galaxy S5 and I can tell you that LTE B26 seems about the same, slightly better, B25 maybe a little weaker (but for whatever reason, better speed test results). B41 is where the iPhone really shines. It makes the S5 look like the Evo LTE.

 

Its been a while since I've pushed both phones to the edge of cell. B26 has made it harder to see a weak LTE signal and I haven't compared CDMA rf since triband phones came out. Only way to really tell which phone works out for you best would be to borrow both phones for the day and do your daily routine.

[bucdenny]

Just a quick question does the current iPhone 6s model have as good reception as the galaxy s6?

 

Lte and cdma

 

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

From my personal experience in San Diego market, Samsung holds on LTE much stronger than the iPhone. I tend to drop to 3G more often where in the same area the S6 is on LTE. This is based on only B41 and B25. We do not have B26 in our market. Same results in Los Angeles which I work up there once a week.

 

Hope this helps from a not so strong Sprint market.

[WiWavelength]

Those fcc RF performance figures are flawed, especially for the Note 5. On paper it looks average at best but in the real world it's outstanding. Take it all with a grain of salt.

 

No, the uplink ERP/EIRP figures are not "flawed."  They are what they are.  A weaker uplink will cause both uplink and downlink to drop sooner.  However, that may not play out in the real world.  Other handset or network factors may overshadow any strength/weakness in uplink ERP/EIRP.  But, bar none, some recent Samsung handsets have had relatively weak uplink.

 

AJ

[RedSpark]

No, the uplink ERP/EIRP figures are not "flawed."  They are what they are.  A weaker uplink will cause both uplink and downlink to drop sooner.  However, that may not play out in the real world.  Other handset or network factors may overshadow any strength/weakness in uplink ERP/EIRP.  But, bar none, some recent Samsung handsets have had relatively weak uplink.

 

AJ

 

And Samsung is fully aware of this RF performance when the device ships?

 

I guess Sprint is as well per its device certification process?