HTC EVO 4G LTE WiMAX Phone Switching?

[Fifth313ment]

I preordered the HTC EVO 4G LTE (what a mouthful and why not call it the EVO LTE?). In my area, South Florida, WiMAX is so horrible and in-an-out I haven't turned it on my OG EVO in over a year! I don't get a signal at my house and when I get a signal out somewhere it comes and goes even if I'm sitting in the same spot? It is very odd as I'll get 2 bars and great strength and then the wind will blow and I'll be disconnected, SUCKS! I'm happy to be rid of WiMAX. I wish they would shutdown the whole WiMAX network (i know they can't ClearWire) and just skip to LTE and EVDO B. WiMAX is like trying to get a WiFi signal a mile from your house and even if you look on ClearWire's site (Sprints 4G locator makes all colors reddish so you can't tell which is 4G and which isn't) it is like Patches McGee! There are just circles everywhere. You couldn't go up the biggest road in South Florida and expect to stay connected even if you were going 5MPH though town!

 

OK /RANT and back to topic. I do sometimes travel to Orlando or Tampa where WiMAX is much better. I don't know if anyone of you have ever used Sprints online phone switcher which allows you to easily swap/activate one Sprint phone to another in like ten seconds. Well my idea is to take my WiMAX OG EVO with me on trips and/or keep it in my car at all times. When and if I need WiMAX, again I haven't used it in a year, I can enable it via my phones internet and use the hotspot as needed until LTE is fully deployed. EG: Last year we went to Orlando and used 4G tethering to watch Netflix movies and play Xbox 360 in our hotel room at night and it worked great. So for many of those who aren't frequent WiMAX users you should think about checking out Sprints' own online phone switcher/activator? It only takes a few seconds to switch between the OG EVO and the new EVO LTE when you need it, of course until LTE is fully adopted.

 

This is what I am going to do and when I first get my phone I'll update this thread with info on whether if having a phone with a SIM (EVO LTE) requires anymore work/time to activate vs a switch from say OG EVO to another non-WiMAX Sprint phone? I'll also post the time and any issues.

 

5th

[themuffinman]

Based on the title of the thread I thought you were gonna ask the magical question of whether the evo lte will work on wimax, because damn, I have heard that question so much that its driving me insane.

 

But since I took the time to actually read what you posted I can now reply like a normal person should. Seems to me like you got it all figured out and honestly I think its a fantastic idea. I was gonna sell both my evo 3d's but after reading what you posted I think I will actually keep one just in case of situations like this since I do travel quite often myself and most places that I personally go all have wimax already set up.

[S4GRU]

Excellent idea. Does Sprint charge the $36 activation fee each time?

 

Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[themuffinman]

Excellent idea. Does Sprint charge the $36 activation fee each time?

 

Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

I don't think so, I had some issues with my nexus the other day and I switched phones for a few days then switched back with out any issues.

[BenChase7]

Excellent idea. Does Sprint charge the $36 activation fee each time?

 

Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

 

I've swapped phones 4 times in the last year, never charged a dime.

[Abyss19707]

The only reason I switched from a HTC Eco to a iPhone and later on a Galaxy Nexus was due to bad hardware and horrible WiMax connection

[sparky222b]

Excellent idea. Does Sprint charge the $36 activation fee each time?

 

Robert, can you confirm whether they do or don't assess that fee? It would be the deciding factor as to whether I sell my Nexus S after my EVO LTE arrives.

[pyroscott]

The activation fee is only for brand new phones being activated on the network. You could switch 3 times a day or more to previously activated phones and not be charged.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire running CM9.

[newboyx]

The activation fee is only for brand new phones being activated on the network. You could switch 3 times a day or more to previously activated phones and not be charged.

 

Sent from my Kindle Fire running CM9.

Correct, I do it all all the time testing ROMs on my phones.

 

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[S4GRU]

 

Robert' date=' can you confirm whether they do or don't assess that fee? It would be the deciding factor as to whether I sell my Nexus S after my EVO LTE arrives.[/quote']

 

Sounds like others have confirmed for me.

 

Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

[gmtom1]

One other suggestion that would be easier I think than switching activations every time - have you considered a Clearwire hotspot? Clear sells them direct, no contract for $100, and the monthly is $35, no commitment. Another alternative to consider, since it may be easier to call Clear and turn on/off your plan for the month (and less chance for Sprint to screw up the activations when you switch back and forth).

 

I'm planning to do this for the occasional times/places where I already know there's good Wimax reception. I usually only use Wimax on my E4GT when I'm going to tether to my laptop.