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Sprint and Average Customer Perception


derrph

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No carrier is perfect and anyone claiming thusly is an idiot. I left ATT years and years ago for horrid service and a lower price from Sprint. Sprint's CS has always been good for me, but the service has been abysmal where I live and work. I walk into our break room and my data drops completely, while the guy next to me with TMO has a solid LTE signal. I've been checking Sensorly maps and decided to give the TMO test drive a shot. I'm potentially giving up unlimited data...but unlimited really doesn't do much when you can't access it outside of wifi for the majority of the time.

 

I really wish it weren't the case and actually part of me hopes I don't get anything better at home with TMO to give me an excuse not to switch.

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I hope SoftBankification isn't off the table. If Sprint starts beating T-Mobile in speed, I think that will have to happen.

As in, name change/rebrand?

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Customer Service remains Sprint's biggest issue....

 

Well it's certainly a hell of a lot better than when I signed up back in 2007. I had the service for a week and had to call in for something, maybe to port my number, and I was on hold for about 30 minutes before I hung up. I called back later that day and was on hold for 65 minutes before someone got to me!! I was doing work at my desk and just had it on speaker. At one point I thought about hanging up again but I just had to see how long it could go on for. And when they answered there was no apology whatsoever. To be honest it's a miracle the company made it through that period. I only had to call once since then and they answered in a matter of seconds and took care of the issue. 

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So the initial results from the TMO comparison are in...Sprint M7 vs TMO M8

 

At my house, on my couch where I have to use an Airvana to get voice...

Sprint: couldn't even connect to get SpeedTest run

TMO: 41.76 down

 

At my daughter's high school...

Sprint: .19 down (yes that is a decimal before the 19)

TMO: 44 down

 

At a spot I know I have "solid" LTE on my M7...

Sprint: 6.17

TMO: 23.7

 

At my desk (next to 2 windows mind you)

Sprint: no LTE, eHRPD -86dBm, 1XRTT -96dBm

TMO: LTE -100dBM

 

I think the writing for me is on the wall....my perception is that Sprint is getting its butt kicked in real world service in my area.

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So the initial results from the TMO comparison are in...Sprint M7 vs TMO M8

 

At my house, on my couch where I have to use an Airvana to get voice...

Sprint: couldn't even connect to get SpeedTest run

TMO: 41.76 down

 

At my daughter's high school...

Sprint: .19 down (yes that is a decimal before the 19)

TMO: 44 down

 

At a spot I know I have "solid" LTE on my M7...

Sprint: 6.17

TMO: 23.7

 

At my desk (next to 2 windows mind you)

Sprint: no LTE, eHRPD -86dBm, 1XRTT -96dBm

TMO: LTE -100dBM

 

I think the writing for me is on the wall....my perception is that Sprint is getting its butt kicked in real world service in my area.

 

That's nice.  Go to Tmo.  We could run Sprint tests in some areas where the opposite is true.  Sounds like Tmo is perfect for you.  Everyone has to do what's best for them.  CYA!

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So the initial results from the TMO comparison are in...Sprint M7 vs TMO M8

 

 

You should at least have tested M8 vs M8. The tri-band M8 is superior to the single band M7. You may not have B26 in your area, but you do have B41. As a Premier Sponsor, you should know that.

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So the initial results from the TMO comparison are in...Sprint M7 vs TMO M8

 

At my house, on my couch where I have to use an Airvana to get voice...

Sprint: couldn't even connect to get SpeedTest run

TMO: 41.76 down

 

At my daughter's high school...

Sprint: .19 down (yes that is a decimal before the 19)

TMO: 44 down

 

At a spot I know I have "solid" LTE on my M7...

Sprint: 6.17

TMO: 23.7

 

At my desk (next to 2 windows mind you)

Sprint: no LTE, eHRPD -86dBm, 1XRTT -96dBm

TMO: LTE -100dBM

 

I think the writing for me is on the wall....my perception is that Sprint is getting its butt kicked in real world service in my area.

One thing to note though, Tmobile may be good in California (in the cities) , but when outside cities or in the rest of the US, TMO is Swiss cheese. A quick look at sensorly will show that.

 

I agree that OC for Sprint is not quite there yet (but I have noticed better results than you) but I have traveled to NC, TX, and San Francisco over the past week and my experience was significantly improved. B41 will help over the coming months, but B26 late next year will be a Godsend. I did note that your desk has a good signal strength so I would expect that once LTE is launched, you will easily achieve usable 4g. Unfortunately for me, I work at the nuclear plant near OC so I only ever expect roaming. Had I had T-Mobile though, I would have no service because their roaming deals suck.

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There have been many times on Sprint that I've been unable to even stream a Spotify song, and being we are almost in 2015, it's pretty lame to still see "3G" on my phone 75%+ of the time in the nations 7th largest city. I've often saying screw it and switching to Tmobile, in fact I pay for their $30 prepaid plan on my Nexus 5 as kind of an extended "test drive."

 

But I haven't switched, for the following reasons:

 

1. I see improvements in Sprint's service weekly, both actual experience, and what is posted to this site.

2. I like to travel and my T-Mobile prepaid phone often has zero bars when I'm out of populated areas. Not even 2G, just notta, nothing.

3. My co-workers have zero bars in at my work on the 1st floor, this is somewhat offset by wifi calling but it still sucks.

4. I don't want to give up unlimited data. Kind of useless now with speeds below 1mbps, but I believe as Spark comes online, unlimited data will be awesome.

5. I never drop calls on Sprint. I mean never. My brother is on Tmobile and says he drops calls all the time on the freeway. Sprint calling has been solid for me.

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That's nice.  Go to Tmo.  We could run Sprint tests in some areas where the opposite is true.  Sounds like Tmo is perfect for you.  Everyone has to do what's best for them.  CYA!

  

You should at least have tested M8 vs M8. The tri-band M8 is superior to the single band M7. You may not have B26 in your area, but you do have B41. As a Premier Sponsor, you should know that.

You should at least have tested M8 vs M8. The tri-band M8 is superior to the single band M7. You may not have B26 in your area, but you do have B41. As a Premier Sponsor, you should know that.

No need to get snarky...if I had access to a Sprint M8 I would have. But that still leaves me 3 other devices that bite for the rest of the family.

 

I'm just giving a real world comparison that is on topic. I have been with Sprint through thick and thin and right now it's thin. I'm not ready to give up unlimited data which is why I don't just do a new family plan deal and buy new phones. I don't necessarily trust TMO anywhere outside my little bubble so....

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No need to get snarky. I'm just giving a real world comparison.

 

Your not giving a real world comparison. Your giving a "fake" world comparison.

 

Sprint's network depends on Band 41 for speed, and Band 26 for coverage. It's extremely unlikely you'll ever get a good service or experience while missing those bands (just as you'll almost never get a good experience with a EDGE-only device on T-Mobile).

 

That's not to say that the extra bands would fix service in your particular area (B26 certainly doesn't here). But you really should include them, if you want to be remotely fair in comparing the two providers in your area.

 

.if I had access to a Sprint M8 I would have. But that still leaves me 3 other devices that bite for the rest of the family.

If you have decent credit, you could buy a device for a week, and "test drive" it and return it. I think you'd only get charged with a restocking fee and a few days service usage.

 

Alternatively, tri-band devices (some new, some used) can be purchased for about $200, which is pretty reasonable.

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Sprint's network depends on Band 41 for speed, and Band 26 for coverage. It's extremely unlikely you'll ever get a good service or experience while missing those bands (just as you'll almost never get a good experience with a EDGE-only device on T-Mobile).

 

It's also important to note that due to the ease and frequency to which tri-band devices will move from band to band based on how the network gauges demand on each at any given time for the purposes of load balancing (particularly between B25 and 26, which are both FDD), B26 has served as a de-facto capacity band. There are still a huge number of single-band devices out there (likely still a majority of Sprint's smartphone base), so B26 usually has fewer devices connected to it.

 

Due to the lower demand, and the fact that at any given location, signal strength (and thus SNR) is likely to be stronger than B25 due to the superior propagation characteristics of the lower frequency, you'll often find that tri-band devices idle on B25 but jump to B26 during an active data session, yielding greater performance than a B25-only device like the M7, regardless of location. 

 

I believe an 800 MHz band plan with Mexico has already been worked out, and hopefully it will be implemented by 2016 at the latest for Sprint's benefit.

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Grass isn't always greener.  This was yesterday, downtown Phoenix, girlfriends iPhone 5S on AT&T LTE.

 

 

As an AT&T customer, I know every square mile where this occurs on their network in my area.  It's more prevalent than Sprint customers realize.  And on VZW in B13 only areas.  :(

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Your not giving a real world comparison. Your giving a "fake" world comparison.

 

Sprint's network depends on Band 41 for speed, and Band 26 for coverage. It's extremely unlikely you'll ever get a good service or experience while missing those bands (just as you'll almost never get a good experience with a EDGE-only device on T-Mobile).

 

That's not to say that the extra bands would fix service in your particular area (B26 certainly doesn't here). But you really should include them, if you want to be remotely fair in comparing the two providers in your area.

 

 

If you have decent credit, you could buy a device for a week, and "test drive" it and return it. I think you'd only get charged with a restocking fee and a few days service usage.

 

Alternatively, tri-band devices (some new, some used) can be purchased for about $200, which is pretty reasonable.

 

 

We are talking about customer perception and some people only have Sprint's signle band LTE service available. Would it been nicer to have everybody on Tri-band devices? Yes but we don't.

People see that TMo can deliver higher speeds with their LTE device while Sprints can't (single band). Most people forget that the average consumer is not very well educated and sees LTE as a speedy service. People hear the advertising from TMo and see what Sprint offers. Sure, TMo is not telling them that their coverage sucks outside the cities and many find out when it is too late.

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We are talking about customer perception and some people only have Sprint's signle band LTE service available. Would it been nicer to have everybody on Tri-band devices? Yes but we don't.

People see that TMo can deliver higher speeds with their LTE device while Sprints can't (single band). Most people forget that the average consumer is not very well educated and sees LTE as a speedy service. People hear the advertising from TMo and see what Sprint offers. Sure, TMo is not telling them that their coverage sucks outside the cities and many find out when it is too late.

I think even the average customer can tell the difference between an M7 and an M8. He/she would would likely conclude the difference in speed comes from the fact that the M8 is a newer/better phone (not realizing that the important part is that a Sprint M7 lacks tri-band capabilities).

 

Regardless, comparing a Sprint M7 to a T-Mobile M8 would not be an appropriate real world comparison.

HTC-One-M8-vs-HTC-One-M7-001.jpg

Edited by always_learner
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We are talking about customer perception and some people only have Sprint's signle band LTE service available. Would it been nicer to have everybody on Tri-band devices? Yes but we don't.

People see that TMo can deliver higher speeds with their LTE device while Sprints can't (single band). Most people forget that the average consumer is not very well educated and sees LTE as a speedy service. People hear the advertising from TMo and see what Sprint offers. Sure, TMo is not telling them that their coverage sucks outside the cities and many find out when it is too late.

 

In theory, speeds should improve even for single band devices, because band 25 will be less congested with tri-band phones connecting on band 41 and 26, freeing up space on 25. 

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There have been many times on Sprint that I've been unable to even stream a Spotify song, and being we are almost in 2015, it's pretty lame to still see "3G" on my phone 75%+ of the time in the nations 7th largest city. I've often saying screw it and switching to Tmobile, in fact I pay for their $30 prepaid plan on my Nexus 5 as kind of an extended "test drive."

 

Seventh largest city? Where are you?

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No need to get snarky...if I had access to a Sprint M8 I would have. But that still leaves me 3 other devices that bite for the rest of the family.

 

I'm just giving a real world comparison that is on topic. I have been with Sprint through thick and thin and right now it's thin. I'm not ready to give up unlimited data which is why I don't just do a new family plan deal and buy new phones. I don't necessarily trust TMO anywhere outside my little bubble so....

He is not being snarky at all. I have an M8 and my wife has an M7 and my phone runs circles around hers in terms of signal and data speed. It is not a fair comparison.

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Arizona certainly has the space. Many other cities simply have developed to the point that they can't really "expand" further. NYC for example could only grow by incorporating another county into it like Westchester, Nassau, or Suffolk. Cities like NYC can only grow upwards whereas some other cities can still grow out.

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