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AT&T roaming prioritized over Sprint coverage after PRL update.


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Posted
On 7/28/2018 at 1:13 PM, lilotimz said:

The thing many of you all seem to be missing is that previously any Sprint signal would immediately override any roaming partner signal. 

I'm pretty sure many of you that experienced this also experienced in the past where a crappy Sprint CDMA 1x signal that's basically unusable would constantly kick you off a usable partner network. Sprint changing over to a setup where partner LTE networks would still be in use where Sprint still has a 1x/EVDO signal is in general a good thing for LTE on network time and for sanity checks as devices would not constantly hop between good roaming and terrible native connections .

I did notice that but was more concerned with why I'm on AT&T versus USCC. In my home of all places. I'm on WiFi for the most part but don't really want to accidently use up my roaming allotment just because Sprint decided to push me to roaming instead of remaining on the existing Sprint signal. It takes 10 minutes or more sometimes for the phone to realize there is a Sprint LTE signal available. 

Posted

ive been seeing the same lately but with USCC.

 

I got to thinking maybe this isnt that huge of a deal though in the grand scheme of things.  They have voice agreements with these networks already so maybe VoLTE falls into those agreements and we just didnt realize it?

Posted

Just to update, today I tried updating my PRL again. The number didn't change but I am back on 3G which is good. I'd rather have slow unlimited 3G than a 100mb roaming limit.

Posted

I keep looking for T-Mobile in all the Ohio logs I do. So far only a few snippets in unlikely roaming places.

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Posted

One issue I saw with aggressive LTE roaming was AT&T 700 LTE would not let go as I drove through a Sprint town with triband LTE.

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Posted

The aggressive roaming seems to have mostly stopped for me. I've been dropping to 3G (or just 1x) in Sprint dead spots where I know AT&T has a good LTE signal.

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Posted
That's disappointing.  With yesterday being the first of the month, I kinda wonder if they did that to get some more favorable numbers.
My issue was on August 1.

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Posted
On 7/28/2018 at 11:57 PM, fizzicsguy said:

However on a more exciting note, for the last few days I've been holding Appalachian B12 LTE while still connected to Sprint 800. I am one happy camper!

Alas, things have reverted back to the way they were. It was a great few days though. ?

Posted

Is it possible to configure devices to roam on T-Mobile or other extended LTE - but not at&t - for volte calls while still on Sprint 1x or is it such that if Sprint allows b12 roaming on 1x there isn't a way to discriminate the lte carrier?
I'm worried that VoLTE may have a very rocky start without roaming...

 

Posted
Is it possible to configure devices to roam on T-Mobile or other extended LTE - but not at&t - for volte calls while still on Sprint 1x or is it such that if Sprint allows b12 roaming on 1x there isn't a way to discriminate the lte carrier?
I'm worried that VoLTE may have a very rocky start without roaming...
 
I was wondering the same thing. I'm not sure how LTE roaming is actually done, if it's part of the PRL or not (I suspect not). I suspect that it's possible though, perhaps as a config pushed to the modem.

What was seen in DC is that T-Mobile may be broadcasting the Clearwire PLMN for Sprint roaming. This still shows as roaming on the device, wheras the Clearwire PLMN from Sprint equipment does not. Several markets (DC and NYC for example) still have Clear equipment, and thus the Clear PLMN, in use.

I suspect that the device will happily connect to the Clear PLMN when the signal gets low (likely via a manual scan only due to low signal, since it won't be broadcast as neighbors. ie, the network will not preemptively move a device there and the device won't know about it with a normal signal level). And only after connecting will it discover it's roaming and be configured as such.

However I'm not sure if it actually works that way, so hopefully someone with more knowledge of the technical aspects can chime in.

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Posted
On 8/6/2018 at 5:43 PM, ingenium said:

I was wondering the same thing. I'm not sure how LTE roaming is actually done, if it's part of the PRL or not (I suspect not). I suspect that it's possible though, perhaps as a config pushed to the modem.

What was seen in DC is that T-Mobile may be broadcasting the Clearwire PLMN for Sprint roaming. This still shows as roaming on the device, wheras the Clearwire PLMN from Sprint equipment does not. Several markets (DC and NYC for example) still have Clear equipment, and thus the Clear PLMN, in use.

I suspect that the device will happily connect to the Clear PLMN when the signal gets low (likely via a manual scan only due to low signal, since it won't be broadcast as neighbors. ie, the network will not preemptively move a device there and the device won't know about it with a normal signal level). And only after connecting will it discover it's roaming and be configured as such.

However I'm not sure if it actually works that way, so hopefully someone with more knowledge of the technical aspects can chime in.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk
 

LTE roaming is controlled by the SIM card, which can updated over-the-air. PRL is a CDMA legacy feature. 

Posted

Just want to share my experience from earlier.  My phone didn't connect to at&t LTE until I was roaming on Verizon.  Once it connected to at&t it stayed connected even after I went back on native Sprint coverage.
I also noticed that my phone seems more willing to roam onto Verizon voice while connected to Sprint LTE.  Is this actually possible or just my imagination?

 

Posted
Just want to share my experience from earlier.  My phone didn't connect to at&t LTE until I was roaming on Verizon.  Once it connected to at&t it stayed connected even after I went back on native Sprint coverage.
I also noticed that my phone seems more willing to roam onto Verizon voice while connected to Sprint LTE.  Is this actually possible or just my imagination?
 
Happens to me all the time.

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  • Like 1
Posted

Back at the cabin this weekend and not roaming on AT&T this time. Just Sprint 3G.
Something changed.

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Posted
1 hour ago, mnjeepmale said:

Back at the cabin this weekend and not roaming on AT&T this time. Just Sprint 3G.
Something changed.

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Good. Sprint needs to spend as little as possible on things like roaming. 

I wonder what happened that LTE roaming was liberally allowed?

Posted
9 hours ago, greenbastard said:

Good. Sprint needs to spend as little as possible on things like roaming. 

I wonder what happened that LTE roaming was liberally allowed?

Personally liked Ingenium's idea that liberal LTE roaming should only be used while on VoLTE to keep a call from dropping.

  • Like 1
Posted
9 hours ago, dkyeager said:

Personally liked Ingenium's idea that liberal LTE roaming should only be used while on VoLTE to keep a call from dropping.

I just don't know if VoLTE roaming will work with At&t anytime soon. At&t doesn't allow VoLTE on non-At&t branded Android phones. At&t users with phones such as the Pixel, OnePlus, and Essential don't get VoLTE.

Posted
On 8/12/2018 at 10:44 AM, greenbastard said:

I just don't know if VoLTE roaming will work with At&t anytime soon. At&t doesn't allow VoLTE on non-At&t branded Android phones. At&t users with phones such as the Pixel, OnePlus, and Essential don't get VoLTE.

That's such a ridiculous policy. On T-Mobile if the phone supports VoLTE it works - my phones I bought when living in China work on VoLTE on T-Mobile no problem. I don't get why they do that. AT&T's network is pretty subpar for such a large carrier anyway honestly, so I'm not surprised they have such backward policies.

Posted
That's such a ridiculous policy. On T-Mobile if the phone supports VoLTE it works - my phones I bought when living in China work on VoLTE on T-Mobile no problem. I don't get why they do that. AT&T's network is pretty subpar for such a large carrier anyway honestly, so I'm not surprised they have such backward policies.
Sprint might do the same. BYOD devices don't get wifi calling or Calling+. It remains to be seen if they'll push their VoLTE config to AOSP (public Android source code), or publish an app that configures VoLTE (part of the Android API since 6.0 I believe). Google makes it really easy for carriers to enable VoLTE on Android, and push it out to all capable phones instead of having to wait for an OS update.

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Posted
20 hours ago, ingenium said:

Sprint might do the same. BYOD devices don't get wifi calling or Calling+. It remains to be seen if they'll push their VoLTE config to AOSP (public Android source code), or publish an app that configures VoLTE (part of the Android API since 6.0 I believe). Google makes it really easy for carriers to enable VoLTE on Android, and push it out to all capable phones instead of having to wait for an OS update.

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The S9 has WiFi Calling and Calling Plus is in a hidden menu. Also the iPhone has Wi-Fi calling even when you do BYOD.

Posted
The S9 has WiFi Calling and Calling Plus is in a hidden menu. Also the iPhone has Wi-Fi calling even when you do BYOD.
Both are phones that Sprint sells themselves, even if it's not that particular "model" (ie S9 running unlocked vs Sprint firmware). iPhones are all the same firmware and is a device that Sprint sells.

I see BYOD as typically meaning Android phones that Sprint doesn't sell directly, but that are "supported" in that it's whitelisted for the network and that they often have support documentation for (and it shows with the correct device name on your account). Which I guess is a fairly small subset of phones...

Really, it comes down to when Sprint will quit trying to implement it their own way and use the API that every other carrier uses, so that it will work on all phones with capable hardware and FCC certification. It would make it so much easier on Sprint too, since they wouldn't have to make custom software for every phone and get the manufacturer to add it in.

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  • Like 1
Posted

Still look forward to the day I see T-Mobile roaming, was on 3G quite a bit at my 9-5, but then I think of it maybe T-Mobile has no LTE there too. That would make a lot of sense, I'm usually underground when this happens so not too unexpected I guess.

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