Network Vision/LTE - Missouri Market (includes St. Louis)

[JayDG81]

Anyone else get an email like this?

Not yet.

[EvanA]

Sprint's new coverage map shows much expanded spark coverage in the Metro East.  Can anyone confirm this is the case?

[pacmanfan]

Back in early July I posted about coverage getting worse this summer, in spite of 1x800... Well, for the first time ever I'm now getting 1x800 at home. It started about a week ago. Not sure if foliage dropping is allowing 1x800 from a different tower now, or if they re-tuned its coverage in my area... I am psyched to see 1x800 at -100dbm indoors!!

[Cardsfan96]

Has anyone confirmed any CA in the St Louis area?

[sbolen]

Has anyone confirmed any CA in the St Louis area?

It's around...

 

 

 

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[Cardsfan96]

It's around...

 

 

 

 

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It would be interesting to see how sprint fairs at the game today.

[cornelious2]

It would be interesting to see how sprint fairs at the game today.

Probably better than the cardinals

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

Has anyone confirmed any CA in the St Louis area?

 

Tons.

[Cardsfan96]

Tons.

Wish I had a CA enabled device...

[EvanA]

Probably better than the cardinals

 

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Thems fightin' words

[cornelious2]

Thems fightin' words

Only if you have no faith in Sprint.

 

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[ovation1]

Sprint coverage maps updated 10/16/2015, lots more yellow in Columbia, hope it's a sign of things to come

 

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[Dkoellerwx]

Sprint coverage maps updated 10/16/2015, lots more yellow in Columbia, hope it's a sign of things to come

 

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That change actually happened in September. The "update" date always shows the current date, even though it is not actually being updated every day.

[hoofbeats95]

Hi guys, 

 

I'm new here.  I might have this in the wrong place.  I found this forum reading a reddit thread. . . 

 

I'm about to decide whether to upgrade three lines with Sprint, or leave for another provider. 

 

My mom is my third line on my account. I've had sprint for 17+ years, including growing up in my parents home.  We didn't really have service issues - maybe some as we are rural, but it worked. Earlier this year she had major service issues - both cell signal and data.  She only has 3G in most areas of her house.  That frustrates me as she is within the 4G coverage map.  All three of my lines hare Galaxy S4 phones - prior to the updated Spark version.  I see that we have Spark coverage at her house (and mine as I'm 2 miles away), but of course we don't have capable devices to know for sure.  And I'm not sure *how* I would actually know.  If we stay with Sprint, we'd all probably upgrade to the Galaxy S6 and I see that is Spark capable.  But I read that Spark only works in CLOSE range of towers.  I was wondering if you all could help me out here with some information.  I'd like her to have better service.  Verizon would probably be our answer, but I'd prefer to take advantage of one more 2 year contract upgrade and get a subsidized phone and keep my unlimited data.  Thanks in advance for your help!

 

 

[markjcc]

Spark (2.5) is pretty much the same footprint/power of Clearwire or comparable to Verizon 'X-LTE' or T-Mobile's Band 4 (wideband lte)

 

What Zip code are you in?

 

Thew new 8T8R Antennas do help quite alot, Also 3 more months till we see vendors in your market drop the Clearwire antennas and replace them with Sprint gear increasing coverage and footprint in Spark

 

I also have 3G in my home using a Galaxy S5 and a LG G2, Try upgrading to a newer phone

My iPhone 6s will pickup two/5 circles of LTE where as the Galaxy S5 or LG G2 would camp on 3G

 

It depends on your phone also. Did also someone mention to you that you can change band priority?

[hoofbeats95]

My zip code is 62258.

 

I'm not sure I understand everything about your reply.  I'm just learning about bands.    I just know that I want good fast service.  A decrease in my monthly bill would be a benefit too but that doesn't seem to be an option. 

 

The Galaxy S6 would be our new phone upgrade.  

[hoofbeats95]

How do I follow that? 

[WiWavelength]

How do I follow that? 

 

The View New Content button is your friend.  Threads with new posts rise to the top.

 

AJ

[EvanA]

My zip code is 62258.

 

I'm not sure I understand everything about your reply. I'm just learning about bands. I just know that I want good fast service. A decrease in my monthly bill would be a benefit too but that doesn't seem to be an option.

 

The Galaxy S6 would be our new phone upgrade.

Going from a non-triband S4 to a tri-band S6 would make a huge difference. The main reason the S4 isn't getting LTE is because it's missing Sprint's low frequency band (800MHz). In simplest terms, lower frequency means the signal is useable over a wider area. The S4 only supports a single band on the 1900MHz spectrum, which is not useable over as large of an area compared to 800MHz. Spark (2500MHz) has slightly worse range than 1900MHz, but it also has much more capacity and higher speeds.

 

There's no guarantee that 800MHz will make a difference in your particular area, but it will definitely make a difference market-wide. Sprint has mature 800MHz deployment in the St. Louis market.

[hoofbeats95]

Going from a non-triband S4 to a tri-band S6 would make a huge difference. The main reason the S4 isn't getting LTE is because it's missing Sprint's low frequency band (800MHz). In simplest terms, lower frequency means the signal is useable over a wider area. The S4 only supports a single band on the 1900MHz spectrum, which is not useable over as large of an area compared to 800MHz. Spark (2500MHz) has slightly worse range than 1900MHz, but it also has much more capacity and higher speeds.

 

There's no guarantee that 800MHz will make a difference in your particular area, but it will definitely make a difference market-wide. Sprint has mature 800MHz deployment in the St. Louis market.

 

Thanks for your reply.  You're saying my S4 is one band?  The 1900?  And with the S6 I'd get three bands?  That sound promising!   I tend to assume a new phone is always better, but my mom has had so many issues with the S4 that it wasn't the case with that upgrade.   I assume *all* S6 phones are tri-band?   Is there any other phone that might be an even better options?  Thanks so much!

[bucdenny]

There are rumors of S7 around the corner. S6 gets better Signal in my opinion better than S4 or iPhone 6s. I am in B25/41 market with no low band 800mhz yet.

[hoofbeats95]

Also - quick question - is the Note 5 tri-band (or whatever includes Spark?)  Spark isn't listed on the details of the Note 5 on sprint's site. 

[lilotimz]

Also - quick question - is the Note 5 tri-band (or whatever includes Spark?) Spark isn't listed on the details of the Note 5 on sprint's site.

Yes.. Read the front page article on it.

 

Spark as a branding is going the way of the doo doo.

[hoofbeats95]

Front page of?

 

Sorry I'm new here. How do I find the info on sprints site? This stuff should be easier to find. What will it be called if not spark? Even the coverage map refers to it that way.

[kojitsari]

Front page of?

 

Sorry I'm new here. How do I find the info on sprints site? This stuff should be easier to find. What will it be called if not spark? Even the coverage map refers to it that way.

He meant front page of S4GRU, there's an article essentially breaking down the phone and the most importantly, the signal strength.

 

A lot of the information here isn't readily available from Sprint, that's one of the main purposes behind S4GRU's existence. You can donate to achieve a sponsor level status to gain access to more information (this is how the site stays alive ) such as tower maps. Here's a link to the note 5 article, the general consensus is that this batch of Samsung phones are not the greatest RF performers. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-393-even-more-guardians-of-the-samsung-galaxy/