Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[though]

TNA - Any drawbacks???

I noticed the last couple weeks that my Airave CDMA light was flashing Red. Tried power cycling a few times to no avail. I called the Airave team and they said that Sprint is phasing them out and there is no way to get it re-activated on my account.

He wants to move me to TNA which he says allows me to bounce more freely onto T-Mobile towers and will give me better service compared to my regular Sprint plan I am on now.

I currently have 6 devices on my account. My question is: is there any reason NOT to move all my devices to TNA? When I leave native Sprint service, will I roam the same (or better/worse) than I currently do onto other Roaming providers?

My devices are

(2) Pixel 4 XL

(2) Pixel 2  XL

(1) Pixel 4

(1) Samsung S8

I tried searching around this forum and others and couldn't really find a whole. TIA

[mmark27]

14 minutes ago, though said:

TNA - Any drawbacks???

I noticed the last couple weeks that my Airave CDMA light was flashing Red. Tried power cycling a few times to no avail. I called the Airave team and they said that Sprint is phasing them out and there is no way to get it re-activated on my account.

He wants to move me to TNA which he says allows me to bounce more freely onto T-Mobile towers and will give me better service compared to my regular Sprint plan I am on now.

I currently have 6 devices on my account. My question is: is there any reason NOT to move all my devices to TNA? When I leave native Sprint service, will I roam the same (or better/worse) than I currently do onto other Roaming providers?

My devices are

(2) Pixel 4 XL

(2) Pixel 2  XL

(1) Pixel 4

(1) Samsung S8

I tried searching around this forum and others and couldn't really find a whole. TIA

TNA just moves your tower priority to TMO first, then Sprint fallback (roaming, but native). Can't really go too wrong in that case, IMO. TNA vs TNX is another story based on your market. My market uses Sprint B41, 25, 26 just fine on TNX so it's been a glorious improvement of service and speeds, but TNA seems like a no brainer.

TNX is super nice though for many other reasons I've found -> I actually get phone calls and texts in a timely manner, the WiFi-calling actually works to send MMS messages, and the HD voice seems more stable. YMMV

[though]

Does TNA allow you on all Sprint towers or only the 312-250 "keep" towers?

[mmark27]

6 minutes ago, though said:

Does TNA allow you on all Sprint towers or only the 312-250 "keep" towers?

I believe all towers at least that was my experience with TNA here in my market (Madison, WI), but could be market by market? Of course, it'll use the TMO towers first and fallback on Sprint when TMO is the weaker or absent signal. I found in my usage on TNA I would pop on and off TMO and Sprint towers but had great "coverage" however, the speeds weren't always the best. (they are better on TNX on the same towers for my market)

[iansltx]

50 minutes ago, though said:

Does TNA allow you on all Sprint towers or only the 312-250 "keep" towers?

The phone is still provisioned as Sprint, so 100% of Sprint sites are available (you also keeep Sprint's roaming partners/enabled LACs). The only catch is that if you're in an area with good T-Mobile signal and no keep sites, you'll have to band-select 25/26/41 manually to force over to the Sprint network, and eventually you'll pop back over to the T-Mobile network if you don't lock bands. Sometimes you'll even have to skip 41 for the initial lock as if there's a T-Mobile B41 site near you your phone will prefer that instead. Once you get 25/26 though, you can turn on 41 and it should stay put on Sprint sites.

But if your concern is merely having every Sprint site available to you when T-Mobile signal is nonexistent, TNA 100% lets you do that by default (vs. TNX being more of a crapshoot; IIRC Sprint all-sites access is only available on certain phones, potentially with an IMEI whitelist).

[though]

Out of curiosity, why don't they just put everyone on TNA if it enhances the overall network experience?? T-Mobile network isn't quite ready for the influx?

[Cardsfan96]

22 minutes ago, though said:

Out of curiosity, why don't they just put everyone on TNA if it enhances the overall network experience?? T-Mobile network isn't quite ready for the influx?

They want to transition people slowly and they also are encouraging TNX because they want you off your sprint sim. 

[RAvirani]

1 minute ago, though said:

T-Mobile network isn't quite ready for the influx?

Correct. They need to bring more 312-250 online to handle the load. 

[though]

Since 3 of my devices use a physical sim (Pixel 2 XL's and S8), is it possible to get a Sim mailed to me? The closest Sprint store isn't very close or convenient to get to. My Pixel 4's use esim so those are a super easy easy switch over.

[Dkoellerwx]

2 hours ago, though said:

Does TNA allow you on all Sprint towers or only the 312-250 "keep" towers?

It puts priority on T-Mobile sites, then Sprint keep sites are just slightly lower priority. If you have a strong 'keep' signal and weak T-Mobile signal, it usually pushes you to the Sprint site. Non-keep sites are accessible, but only when you have little to no T-Mobile signal. They show as roaming, but it still counts as native data use. At least that has been my experience in Nebraska.

[Cardsfan96]

53 minutes ago, RAvirani said:

Correct. They need to bring more 312-250 online to handle the load. 

I don’t think the few keep sites are going to make that big of a difference. They are slowly transitioning spectrum from sprint to T-Mobile. That’s what is going to handle the extra traffic.

[RAvirani]

20 minutes ago, Cardsfan96 said:

I don’t think the few keep sites are going to make that big of a difference.

Increased density, especially in suburbs/exurbs will be a big deal. It's about capacity, not coverage.

For example, assume an existing T-Mobile site is at 70% capacity. Bringing Sprint users onto it will overload it because the demand for data in its coverage footprint will have greatly increased. Brining up a nearby 312-250 site will decrease the T-Mobile site's effective footprint, as certain areas will now be better served by the Sprint site. Now there is enough capacity meet the demand for data.

I've observed T-Mobile bringing up 312-250 sites in this fashion a lot. I'm not sure if they're permanent keep sites or just temporary until T-Mobile makes more progress on their n41 overlay project.

20 minutes ago, Cardsfan96 said:

They are slowly transitioning spectrum from sprint to T-Mobile. That’s what is going to handle the extra traffic.

PCS holdings (and maybe BRS/EBS although I'm not sure) should be consolidated between T-Mobile and 312-250 sites by year end (i.e. they will be broadcasting the same PCS carrier). That's the plan until they can get T-Mobile equipment up on those sites. 

[Dkoellerwx]

1 hour ago, Cardsfan96 said:

I don’t think the few keep sites are going to make that big of a difference. They are slowly transitioning spectrum from sprint to T-Mobile. That’s what is going to handle the extra traffic.

We have a number of poor coverage areas for T-Mobile where Sprint has much better density. Most of those Sprint sites have the keep PLMN, so it will make a difference here. Not only in coverage, but decreasing the load on the surrounding T-Mobile sites. Spectrum of course will be a major boost as well.

44 minutes ago, RAvirani said:

PCS holdings (and maybe BRS/EBS although I'm not sure) should be consolidated between T-Mobile and 312-250 sites by year end (i.e. they will be broadcasting the same PCS carrier). That's the plan until they can get T-Mobile equipment up on those sites. 

Consolidated PCS on the 'keep' sites would be wonderful. I never seem to connect to B41 on the closest keep site, only B25 and it's incredibly slow on the single 5x5 carrier. Do you know if they will be able to broadcast multiple PCS carriers? the 15x15 T-Mobile has is nice, but would be a waste to just toss the spectrum Sprint has since it's not contiguous with T-Mobile's.

[Cardsfan96]

1 hour ago, RAvirani said:

Increased density, especially in suburbs/exurbs will be a big deal. It's about capacity, not coverage.

For example, assume an existing T-Mobile site is at 70% capacity. Bringing Sprint users onto it will overload it because the demand for data in its coverage footprint will have greatly increased. Brining up a nearby 312-250 site will decrease the T-Mobile site's effective footprint, as certain areas will now be better served by the Sprint site. Now there is enough capacity meet the demand for data.

I've observed T-Mobile bringing up 312-250 sites in this fashion a lot. I'm not sure if they're permanent keep sites or just temporary until T-Mobile makes more progress on their n41 overlay project.

PCS holdings (and maybe BRS/EBS although I'm not sure) should be consolidated between T-Mobile and 312-250 sites by year end (i.e. they will be broadcasting the same PCS carrier). That's the plan until they can get T-Mobile equipment up on those sites. 

I guess I’m my market at least I’ve only found a few keep sites. Maybe there’s more than I think.

[Dkoellerwx]

46 minutes ago, Cardsfan96 said:

I guess I’m my market at least I’ve only found a few keep sites. Maybe there’s more than I think.

There are a ton here, and between here and Kansas City. It will of course vary by market. 

[Cardsfan96]

Just now, Dkoellerwx said:

There are a ton here, and between here and Kansas City. It will of course vary by market. 

I hope so. Density is crucial.

[Dkoellerwx]

Just now, Cardsfan96 said:

I hope so. Density is crucial.

@stlman314has documented quite a few around St. Louis. I don't recall where they all are at the moment.

[Cardsfan96]

4 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

@stlman314has documented quite a few around St. Louis. I don't recall where they all are at the moment.

We actually talk frequently. Surprised it hasn’t come up. I’ll check with him.

[swintec]

is TNA the same as ROAMAHOME then, or essentially the same just with a tmobile sim?  plan stays in the sprint system?  can i get 5G stand alone with TNA?

[though]

Anyone know if Sprint will mail me TNA sim cards for my devices that don't use eSim?

[Cardsfan96]

22 minutes ago, though said:

Anyone know if Sprint will mail me TNA sim cards for my devices that don't use eSim?

You need a TNX sim and I do believe they will mail you them if you ask.

[Cardsfan96]

1 hour ago, swintec said:

is TNA the same as ROAMAHOME then, or essentially the same just with a tmobile sim?  plan stays in the sprint system?  can i get 5G stand alone with TNA?

TNA and ROAMAHOME are essentially the same. TNX is the sim. Both have trade offs.

[though]

3 minutes ago, Cardsfan96 said:

You need a TNX sim and I do believe they will mail you them if you ask.

I moved my 3 Pixel 4's to TNA via eSim. Was a piece of cake.

Just figuring out the easiest way to get my 3 other devices that don't use sSim on to TNA. Don't want TNX in my market yet. Also, Pixel devices aren't compatible for TNX.

[Cardsfan96]

9 minutes ago, though said:

I moved my 3 Pixel 4's to TNA via eSim. Was a piece of cake.

Just figuring out the easiest way to get my 3 other devices that don't use sSim on to TNA. Don't want TNX in my market yet. Also, Pixel devices aren't compatible for TNX.

You don’t need esim to tna.

[BlueAngel]

53 minutes ago, Cardsfan96 said:

TNA and ROAMAHOME are essentially the same. TNX is the sim. Both have trade offs.

Not exactly, you get better speeds and overall better service with TNX.