S4GRU

There are no charges for Sprint SIMs. There are dozens of posts throughout our forums of people getting their SIM cards for free. Not for new service, not for lost cards. I hear that there are some 3rd party stores that charge. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

mind control Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

How much do you trust AT&T to bring high speed internet to your Pahrump home? I'd guess not very much. As far as "trust", I don't think I trust AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, nor Sprint. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

To answer your question...yes. Well written post. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

We don't allow sales from our forums without Administrator approval. Otherwise our moderators are directed to treat it as spam. Typically, if you want to use S4GRU to sell something, you need to offer a portion of the proceeds to the site. For instance, some of the app developers that frequently use S4GRU are some of the biggest financial supporters of our site. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I enjoy obscure geographically charged humor. AJ and I are not just wireless nerds, but geography nerds. It's always enjoyable to make a reference that only gets picked up by a few people. But Hy-Vee can't touch Publix sweet tea or just about anything at Raley's. Although, I wish we had Hy-Vee or any other competition here. We only have Safeway, Family Thrift Center and Walmart. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

AT&T just got rid of the penalty for unsubsidized devices. I'm now paying for ATT about the same as Tmo postpaid. Tmo prepaid has some cheap offerings, but also does ATT through an unnamed subsidiary that is not allowed to be mentioned at S4GRU. So cheaper really does not apply anymore. This is what could make a big problem for Tmo trying to take on AT&T directly. They should challenge AT&T without calling out their name. I think this could really backfire. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I only bought things on sale at Publix when I lived in Florida. That, and their sweet tea. Public has the best commercial sweet tea on earth. Other than produce, I am a cheap ass when it comes to groceries. I buy loss leaders and stock up. I have two fridges, three freezers and two pantries. I'm used to living in the country. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I'm still laughing at this several days later. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

No one does this. The resources it takes to do a fair and scientific test just make this not feasible. S4GRU tried to do this early on. And we came up with some very useful and meaningful data. But to be conclusive, scientific and helpful was just not possible. To be wrong or provide incomplete data on something like this would be journalism malpractice. And why we stopped short of doing it. I don't see anyone else doing this for the same reasons. The best you can do now is research FCC OET EIRP numbers to use as a general indicator and customer feedback. We have never seen a device have strong ERP numbers end up being a weak performer. And we've never seen a weak ERP device end up being a strong performer. Typically if the FCC tests are off, it's only by one rung. Sometimes a strong tester ends up being just good. Or a weak tester ends up being fair. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

First off, that's off topic. We aren't discussing Tmo versus Sprint in this thread. We are discussing Tmo versus AT&T. Your question doesn't help Tmo fight back against AT&T. Second, to address your off topic point, it is true that Sprint has some low frequency wideband deployment problems along the international border. Especially Canada. However, Sprint has committed to densifying their networks in Top 100 markets taking Band 41 LTE even denser than the already dense WiMax network. Tmo may some day densify their network, or even may me able to get some low frequency spectrum. So this is a fair comparison to what Sprint has already started to do versus what Tmo may some day do. I'm not a Tmo naysayer. However, I will keep their faults fairly portrayed, especially in a Sprint forum in a thread about ATT. Tmo does some things very well, but they still have some significant pitfalls. And they are not in a position to compete with AT&T head on yet. For as many Sprint customers that went to Tmo that may be happy, there are as many ATT customers who went to Tmo who are unhappy. Because urban coverage has spotty indoor coverage, and usable data ends at the city limit sign. Let's get back on topic. This is an AT&T versus Tmo thread. Trying to compare Tmo to Sprint here is just not related and makes an argument look weak. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

That's off topic. This is a Tmo versus AT&T thread. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Don't cheapen your arguments by being stupid. You know I just recently moved to South Dakota in the Fall. My Tmo usage has been in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Wyoming. In my travels, indoor coverage with Tmo has been awful. Rarely can I get WCDMA or LTE inside hotels, movie theaters, stores, shopping malls. I either fall back to EDGE or get Emergency Calls Only. I can be fair in my observations though. I will say Tmo has a pretty dense network in Denver. I would definitely lose LTE when I went indoors, but it almost always would fall back to WCDMA. Except at IKEA. And Dual Carrier HSPA+ works very well there. But in Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Lubbock, Wichita, Springfield, NW Arkansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Flagstaff, Pueblo, Cheyenne, Fort Collins, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, El Paso, Waco, I had really consistently unusable Tmo service indoors. Places where I would get service on other carriers. And then in between those cities I was on 2G. Did I go to places in the past 16 months that just happen to be bad for the Tmo network? Possibly. Are there other markets as good as Denver out there? I'm sure there are. But here is the kicker. This isn't a thread about Tmo competing with Sprint. This a thread about Tmo competing with AT&T. And in these places I'm discussing above, AT&T service was solid. Tmo really is at a significant disadvantage without lower frequency spectrum. It makes rural deployment difficult, expensive and infeasible. It also makes all these little urban gaps difficult to fill and indoor coverage almost impossible to handle at a fair cost with AWS spectrum. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

That is because Nextel iDEN used narrowband 25kHz channels. They worked out a deal with the Canadians to interleave the licenses. Where every other channel belonged to the US. It was shared. This is not easily done with wideband LTE channels. Giving up half your channel width will mean a significant loss of performance. And it's not easy to do. If there is a Canadian provider still using the 25kHz channels, then someone on the US side cannot start using wideband channels. It would stomp all over each others transmissions. Until the Canadian providers are nearing the end of narrowband usage along the border, they will not really have any incentive to want to negotiate. And the Canadian government gets nothing out of it by pushing their companies to do something. It will not get solved until Canadian license holders either stop using narrowband or have their own SMR wideband operations. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I wouldn't say it like that. I would say that the complete picture of total RF performance cannot be determined by FCC OET documents. If the EIRP matches both ways, then it does. If the device does not, then it could be worse or better. In my opinion the EIRP numbers from FCC docs are pretty good indicators. But not absolute. And in the case of the LG G2, the EIRP shown is good, and the G2 does perform well as shown for Band 25. It's just not as good as the best. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I'm not confused. That's the signal sent from the device, not the signal received. It's only part of the story. When you see really strong or really weak EIRP numbers, it can be indicative to a strong or weak radio performing device. But that data in itself is incomplete in making anything close to a final determination. We have seen devices that look average in EIRP being really strong performers in the real world. We have seen really high EIRP numbers not develop into a high performing device. But most often, they are pretty accurate. But it's not a for sure thing, Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I won't even give Tmo kudos for excellent urban coverage. Unless I'm within 1/2 mile of a WCDMA site, I get no indoor coverage. There are so many places going indoors where I grab my four devices, and only Tmo has no coverage. It's not just a rural thing. Tmo has the weakest coverage of all four carriers everywhere I go. The only thing Tmo does have going for it is if you do have a good Tmo signal, it will perform equal or better than its competitors. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Idiot Lantern Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

There is nothing like S4GRU anywhere. We are awesome because of our sources. As much as I like to think I'm wonderful, we really are all here because of them. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I would need to observe the findings myself. I've also heard the opposite occurring. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I disagree. Driving around and going in and out of buildings, you will frequently be near the edge of service. Tell this to my dear Verizon friends with the Note 3. They are finding all kinds of LTE 750 holes that didn't exist on their previous device. And also, since LTE airlink is fragile, a stronger signal can make a critical difference in performance. In the case of 10dB difference in LTE signal, it could be up to 15-20Mbps slower. Radio performance is always important in the LTE era. But your basic point stands that it is down right critical during deployment. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

That's what I do...now. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

My brother has been on it for three years. But then again, he doesn't pay his bill on time either. He doesn't see the connection. He's lucky he even can have a postpaid account. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Total Equipment Plus is not a money maker. The reason why they are raising insurance rates is because of the rate at which people make claims. Claim rate has gone up. It costs what it costs. And it's an add on service, completely optional. Buy it, or don't. TEP covers everything and anything. It's not just mere insurance. And it is easy to defraud. The TEP rate payers are paying all the risk associated with the plan, not just theirs. Unfortunately, it is not like car insurance where you pay a rate just on your risk factors. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Spending limit fee is a fee they charge to credit challenged individuals. This only affects people who Sprint considers high risk. Basically, if your credit score is not high enough, Sprint puts your account on a monthly limit and charges a monthly fee. That fee is going up slightly. It will not get you out of your contract. Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro