Official Tmobile-Sprint merger discussion thread

[jonathanm1978]

Well..I just received the Tmobile femtocell. I am not sure if this is the device referred to as "Pebble"..but here's the model number: ALU 9961v2 4GLTE CELLSPOT. I wasn't sure exactly what they would send...since they've gone from some sort of cooked-firmware Asus routers, to some type of femtocell as this. Has Nokia on the back of it.

I've had it for about 3 hours and it still hasn't finished activating. Since there is ZERO signal here..not even fringe signal... I have to go somewhere else to let it catch a couple bars  then bring it home and see if it's going to hold.

"somewhere else" where I go to get signal is 2 miles up the road. Literally speaking...

And it's B71 that I latch onto...if they would just bump the power a few mW...wouldn't take much to get signal to me.

[Dkoellerwx]

3 hours ago, jamesinclair said:

Anything else I need to double check to ensure it works globally without issue?

Nope, you should be good to go! What country(ies) if you don't mind sharing?

[RedSpark]

Now this is pretty cool:

More info: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/test-drive-eSIM-app

• Current T-Mobile, Sprint, and Metro by T-Mobile customers or customers of T-Mobile partners using the T-Mobile network are not eligible (former Test Drive customers must wait six (6) months for eligible to try another test drive).

Some more background: https://www.lightreading.com/ossbsscx/t-mobile-taps-esim-tech-for-free-network-test-drive/d/d-id/770535?

[jamesinclair]

2 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Nope, you should be good to go! What country(ies) if you don't mind sharing?

Ill be in Portugal. And while I realize Open World is not the ideal plan for Portugal, I tend to travel more in Latin America which is why I hang onto it.

As long as I have 2g to pull up basics in Google Maps or restaurant menus Im happy.

[jebr]

On 6/28/2021 at 4:55 PM, Dkoellerwx said:

All AT&T along I-80 in Nebraska now instead of USCC or Viaero. No idea why when it would make sense to go with one of the actual roaming partners. 

With a T-Mobile/TNX SIM, or with a Sprint SIM?

[jonathanm1978]

Well, the femtocell works as it should. Calls, texts and data all are OK ...even though I'm completely out of service coverage, with not even a spec of fringe to connect to...and the closest signal is 2 miles away...

B66 AWS is what is shown on SCP...

(Irony edit for a fun fact)

 

The irony in how this is connected....I have the Airvana/Airave on Sprint still hooked up...which gives my Sprint-SIM'd devices connections... but I am using the LAN port on the Airvana as the WAN connection to the Tmobile Cellspot...

So the Airvana is connected to the Cellspot. Seems to be working ok..but I need to log in to the Airvana and possibly DMZ the Cellspot so there's no weird double-nat issue on the Cellspot...or other weird things. So far calling, texts, etc all seems to work fine.

[jreuschl]

14 hours ago, jamesinclair said:

Ill be in Portugal. And while I realize Open World is not the ideal plan for Portugal, I tend to travel more in Latin America which is why I hang onto it.

As long as I have 2g to pull up basics in Google Maps or restaurant menus Im happy.

Are you TNXed?  I know at least TNX and Kickstarter break global service, it may affect other plans, too.

[RedSpark]

Good news!

Since I switched to TNX and started using the ScamShield App, the number of Spam/Scam calls I've gotten has dropped to almost zero. Totally worth doing.

[BlueAngel]

34 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

Good news!

Since I switched to TNX and started using the ScamShield App, the number of Spam/Scam calls I've gotten has dropped to almost zero. Totally worth doing.

Yeah I still get a few but it's not as bad.

[Dkoellerwx]

4 hours ago, jebr said:

With a T-Mobile/TNX SIM, or with a Sprint SIM?

Sprint SIM.

2 hours ago, jreuschl said:

Are you TNXed?  I know at least TNX and Kickstarter break global service, it may affect other plans, too.

Check our previous conversation. Not TNX.

[PedroDaGr8]

A month or so ago, T-Mobile cut down Sprints B25 from 10MHz to 5MHz leaving just the G Block, this was after they had already cut it from 15MHz to 10MHz to make a 20MHz B2. Today a second B2 carrier went live at 5MHz.

[DerekKY1980]

Hey guys I have another question  tho I guess this question would be for someone who has had b41 on Sprint then switched over to b41 on T-Mobile

Either in early May or early June  I started being able to connect to Sprints b41 and getting AMAZING download speeds. I'm talking 30-60Mbps down inside  60-110 outside  and  on Hwy 27 up to 170Mbps tho upload speeds were very bad  up to 2Mbps but as  low as 0.30  anyway  yesterday and today  suddenly I can't connect  and if it does connect it says Test PLMN 1-1 4G but has no data then disconnects 5 secs later.

Before yesterday when it connected to Sprints b41  it said Sprint b41²  in Signal Check Pro and when it showed LTE+  Signal Check Pro said 15+20Mhz (or 20+15 I can't remember which) usually said 15Mhz. Anyway i'm thinking that maybe they are converting this tower to T-Mobile b41.   IF this is the case  how long does this usually take to do so?  As far as I know it ONLY had b41 on this tower or atleast according to Cellmapper it did

 

 

[PedroDaGr8]

1 hour ago, DerekKY1980 said:

Hey guys I have another question  tho I guess this question would be for someone who has had b41 on Sprint then switched over to b41 on T-Mobile

Either in early May or early June  I started being able to connect to Sprints b41 and getting AMAZING download speeds. I'm talking 30-60Mbps down inside  60-110 outside  and  on Hwy 27 up to 170Mbps tho upload speeds were very bad  up to 2Mbps but as  low as 0.30  anyway  yesterday and today  suddenly I can't connect  and if it does connect it says Test PLMN 1-1 4G but has no data then disconnects 5 secs later.

Before yesterday when it connected to Sprints b41  it said Sprint b41²  in Signal Check Pro and when it showed LTE+  Signal Check Pro said 15+20Mhz (or 20+15 I can't remember which) usually said 15Mhz. Anyway i'm thinking that maybe they are converting this tower to T-Mobile b41.   IF this is the case  how long does this usually take to do so?  As far as I know it ONLY had b41 on this tower or atleast according to Cellmapper it did

 

 

Tmobile reduced Sprint B41 to a single carrier in thr PNW a few weeks ago. It is possible they did the same in your area or have even reduced it to no Sprint B41.

20+15 could mean both are B41 or some sort of carrier aggregation.

[DerekKY1980]

33 minutes ago, PedroDaGr8 said:

Tmobile reduced Sprint B41 to a single carrier in thr PNW a few weeks ago. It is possible they did the same in your area or have even reduced it to no Sprint B41.

20+15 could mean both are B41 or some sort of carrier aggregation.

Ya i get that with the CA   but the point is  I was able to connect to it and got better speeds than on T-Mobiles b2 and 12 (both 2 and 12 were only a 5x5 network)    If they just turned it off tho  how would it connect to Test PLMN 1-1?   And btw i wanted to edit that post but it wouldn't let me lol it didn't say Test PLMN 1-1 4G   it said Test PLMN 1-1 b41     in the settings menu under Operaters  it said Test PLMN 1-1 4G   but on cellmapper it said b41 after the 1-1 it just didn't have any data and would disconnect after only 5 secs   so I was just wondering IF  they are converting it to a T-Mobile b41  how long would it take them to do it?  I was told by a rep on Twitter about a week ago that the 600Mhz was going live on July 2nd  but they don't have access to Sprints towers till after they are converted.

Edited July 1, 2021 by DerekKY1980
added the bit about not having access to Sprints towers.

[Dkoellerwx]

1 hour ago, DerekKY1980 said:

Hey guys I have another question  tho I guess this question would be for someone who has had b41 on Sprint then switched over to b41 on T-Mobile

Sprint B41 and T-Mobile B41 are still operating in tandem here. T-Mobile has 40Mhz of n41 on air, plus 2x20Mhz of B41. Sprint still has 2x20Mhz of B41 on air as well. However, anywhere there is Sprint B41, there is generally also a T-Mobile signal so I haven't seen Sprint B41 except in rare cases for a long time. 

Couple questions for you... which device are you using, and what SIM configuration? I'm guessing you're still using a "Sprint" SIM (TNA)? That's what it sounds like.

Was there no T-Mobile signal in the area you pick up Sprint B41? Usually if there is any T-Mobile signal, a TNA or TNX device will prefer that over Sprint. When you were connected to the Sprint B41, did you notice which PLMN was displayed, did it say Sprint Keep on SCP? 

I can't think of any reason for the network behavior that you described, particularly the weird PLMN. If they were converting the cell site to T-Mobile, the signal would go away completely. Sprint B41 won't magically become T-Mobile, they have to swap out the equipment. 

[DerekKY1980]

6 minutes ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Sprint B41 and T-Mobile B41 are still operating in tandem here. T-Mobile has 40Mhz of n41 on air, plus 2x20Mhz of B41. Sprint still has 2x20Mhz of B41 on air as well. However, anywhere there is Sprint B41, there is generally also a T-Mobile signal so I haven't seen Sprint B41 except in rare cases for a long time. 

Couple questions for you... which device are you using, and what SIM configuration? I'm guessing you're still using a "Sprint" SIM (TNA)? That's what it sounds like.

Was there no T-Mobile signal in the area you pick up Sprint B41? Usually if there is any T-Mobile signal, a TNA or TNX device will prefer that over Sprint. When you were connected to the Sprint B41, did you notice which PLMN was displayed, did it say Sprint Keep on SCP? 

I can't think of any reason for the network behavior that you described, particularly the weird PLMN. If they were converting the cell site to T-Mobile, the signal would go away completely. Sprint B41 won't magically become T-Mobile, they have to swap out the equipment. 

I'm not on Sprint  I'm on T-Mobile  but either early May or early June i started connecting to b41  so that was short lived LOL     but  I'm on OnePlus 8T (unlocked version not T-Mobile version) and my house is very problematic with b2/12. 

I was using a signal booster which gave me a signal anywhere from -70 to -95  but i recently found out it limits my speeds  I get no more 9Mbps with it  and with it unplugged I get 9-25Mbps depending on the time of day but with it unpluged I get anywhere from -110 to -130    tho the Sprint b41 signal was weak 2 avging about the same but MUCH faster speeds

[cooltech6597]

I have marked over a cellmapper screenshot of the T-Mobile network in the Toledo area. I have marked with blue existing n41 sites and circled with red are towers/locations that have permits for upgrades from what I can find on the Toledo permit portal. Yellow dots are towers that I've been able to connect to that have the 312250 PLMN. None of these are completely accurate and I probably am missing the majority of sprint keeps throughout this area.

https://imgur.com/a/F20rFBv

[Dkoellerwx]

6 minutes ago, cooltech6597 said:

Yellow dots are towers that I've been able to connect to that have the 312250 PLMN. None of these are completely accurate and I probably am missing the majority of sprint keeps throughout this area.

Cellmapper has a layer for the 312250 PLMN. Evidently it's been around for a while although I just realized it last week.

[Dkoellerwx]

7 minutes ago, DerekKY1980 said:

I'm not on Sprint  I'm on T-Mobile  but either early May or early June i started connecting to b41  so that was short lived LOL     but  I'm on OnePlus 8T (unlocked version not T-Mobile version) and my house is very problematic with b2/12. 

It's odd then that you were connecting to Sprint B41. It must be a keep site, and your signal must be weak enough on T-Mobile that your phone was finding the B41 preferable even though it was Sprint. Did you ever see any of the other Sprint bands or just B41? Hopefully it will be converted sooner rather than later so your experience can improve.

[DerekKY1980]

btw the PLMN  was 310-120

Just now, Dkoellerwx said:

It's odd then that you were connecting to Sprint B41. It must be a keep site, and your signal must be weak enough on T-Mobile that your phone was finding the B41 preferable even though it was Sprint. Did you ever see any of the other Sprint bands or just B41? Hopefully it will be converted sooner rather than later so your experience can improve.

Nope just b41 and I realized in the last post I forgot to mention the b41 PLMN was 310-120

[Dkoellerwx]

1 minute ago, DerekKY1980 said:

btw the PLMN  was 310-120

Nope just b41 and I realized in the last post I forgot to mention the b41 PLMN was 310-120

Sorry... more questions. Was that via SCP or the engineering screen? Some phones don't report the keep PLMN without turning on the alternate PLMN setting inside of SCP or checking the engineering screen.

[DerekKY1980]

It was in SCP   OnePlus doesn't really give you an engineering screen for some odd reason.

[Dkoellerwx]

4 minutes ago, DerekKY1980 said:

It was in SCP   OnePlus doesn't really give you an engineering screen for some odd reason.

Ah, didn't know that. It's possible the site was broadcasting the keep PLMN, but it didn't show in SCP without the alternate ID setting turned on (under preferences and general).

[cooltech6597]

14 minutes ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Cellmapper has a layer for the 312250 PLMN. Evidently it's been around for a while although I just realized it last week.

I haven't been able to map to the 312250 plmn. Every time I connect to sprint the towers and trails all map to 310120.

[Dkoellerwx]

2 minutes ago, cooltech6597 said:

I haven't been able to map to the 312250 plmn. Every time I connect to sprint the towers and trails all map to 310120.

Ah. Same issue that SCP runs into when reporting the PLMN. That's unfortunate. Thanks for sharing the data you have though.