S4GRU

Preliminary backhaul work is underway in the Milwaukee market. However, other than backhaul work has started we have nothing more to offer at this time that we posted in this article: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-153-are-milwaukee-and-cleveland-making-a-run-on-the-sprint-network-visionlte-deployment-schedule/ Robert

Mine has change to the same verbiage as yours now. Thanks for the update. Robert

I had to do the same thing because my bill goes to my PO Box, but I used my physical address for shipping. Robert

We have an article up about the EVO release now, including some source documents: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-169-evo-lte-pre-order-under-way-with-ship-dates-as-soon-as-may-15th/ Robert

cover blown

My May 15th shipping message has also been changed to a backordered message. And I started my order the very first minute the site was up this morning. As for the LTE problems, they have been known for weeks. Robert

Mine has also changed to the same quote. I ordered mine right in the first minute the site accepted pre-ordering. So if I was too late, how many did they have??? I have to think it is an automation issue with their system. I cannot imagine I was too late. Robert

I ordered one myself with a ship date of May 15th. We wrote an article about it: http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-169-evo-lte-pre-order-under-way-with-ship-dates-as-soon-as-may-15th/ Robert

When looking at the same report, it says that lab start was delayed due not receiving firmware profiles from OEM in time. Also, there are delays in being able to test Static IP profiles, which would be critical for the customers Sprint will be targeting for this type of device. So the May 18th launch date of the Tri-Network Hot Spot may be delayed. Robert

No, the same exact page for the Galaxy Nexus makes no references to provisioning issues. And the few confirmed reports we have from members that have used the GNex on Sprint LTE have not had issues either. Robert

It could be the GS3. It could be the new Photon LTE. Some even think it could be a Windows Phone Apollo device. This screen shot is a freebie. I almost edited out that device. But just wanted to throw it out there in good faith to our loyal fans. Robert

I have written a detailed response after talking with the source, who has agreed to for me to release some documents. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-169-evo-lte-pre-order-under-way-with-ship-dates-as-soon-as-may-15th/ Robert

by Robert Herron Sprint 4G Rollout Updates Monday, May 7, 2012 - 10:14 AM MDT Good news, everyone! As most of you already know, the HTC EVO 4G LTE pre-order is under way. And you can reserve yours by following this link to the Sprint Pre-Order page. I ordered one for my wife. This is a quality phone, no doubt. And the legions of fans are lining up for their shot at one of the first units. The iconic EVO name will be living on with a superior device worthy of its heritage. Screenshot of my order showing shipping starts May 15th. S4GRU is ecstatic that the device is coming out so soon, even after our recent report that the device was scheduled to launch as late as June 10th, according to documents we were shown from a source in Sprint's Product Development divison. This morning, the same source contacted me and asked for S4GRU to release screen shots of the actual documents where our reporting came from. This is an unprecedented move, as we have only one other time received a request from a source to show documents. We typically do not release source documents to protect our sources. The source does not believe the documents that we are disclosing here represent a security risk to him. Screenshot of a Sprint lab document showing the EVO LTE with a launch date of June 10th. In this screenshot you can see the LTE Connectivity issue that was suspected to cause delay of the EVO LTE. It is in the upper right hand corner section. In these documents you can see the foundation from our reporting about the June 10th launch date and the information about LTE Connectivity issues in the lab, which could have been a source of delay. These are just two pages in a 100+ page Lab Report. S4GRU has seen several of these lab reports since February, each one building more and more on the last one. To me it seems when you marry the May 15th shipping dates of pre-orders with the source documents listed above, they may not be in conflict. Just differences in snap shots in time. It seems to be that Sprint has decided to proceed with distributing the EVO LTE before the LTE connectivity issues are solved. They probably will be correcting the issue via an OTA (Over-the-Air) Update. Notice that the EVO LTE timeline is marked in yellow, meaning "Risk with Mitigation." Could the mitigation employed be a future OTA? If this is the case, this seems to be a smarter solution than to delay the shipment of the EVO LTE. After all, if the only issue with the device is maintaining a connection to LTE signals. And if that can be corrected with a software update, why not push them out now? 99% of their customers are not located within coverage of On-Air LTE sites at the moment. And Sprint is blocking access to LTE now at any rate, as we have reported. In fact, it may be the very reason why Sprint is blocking access to the LTE network. I asked all of this speculation with the source, and he said he only knows what he sees in reports (which is all we know, too). And the last report he has seen says the LTE connectivity issue will be resolved with a software fix. But he is unsure how and when it will be implemented. But he is skeptical that the fix is already in the devices scheduled to be shipped next week based how he just learned that a fix was discovered the end of last week. When you consider the importance of the new generation EVO and how it is supposed to help retain millions of old generation EVO customers that will start coming off contract June 4th, it seems like a Sprint decision to roll with the new EVO LTE immediately with possible LTE connectivity issues is a no brainer. It will be interesting to see if there is a EVO LTE OTA that comes out around the same time as the LTE network goes live. You may even be prompted with an OTA at activation. That would be very timely.

We are all waiting for Sprint to stop blocking access to live LTE sites. We have no more information at this time. Robert

It's not a verbal report from a source. It's from official Sprint documents. To me, it appears that Sprint pulled the trigger on the device even though there is LTE Connectivity issues occurring. They probably decided it was better to get the device out there and fix the problem via OTA. And since 99.5% of their customers will not be in a LTE coverage area anyway, there is no real loss to distribute with the LTE connectivity issue. Heck, it may even be the reason why they are blocking access to the LTE network. It will be interesting to see if a EVO LTE OTA comes out and then all of a sudden they start lighting up the LTE network. Robert

It looks to me like they pulled the trigger on the 18th with the LTE Connectivity issue still out there. Probably an OTA will be coming out soon. It may even prompt us to do the OTA at activation. Robert - Posted from my E4GT with ICS using Forum Runner

Texas Rangers Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

I'm starting to get a little concerned. I hope they aren't shipping the device with the LTE Connectivity bug and just hoping to resolve it with an OTA after the fact. That would be a major bummer. Or would it? Most of you would probably rather have the device with the bug, since very few of us have usable LTE at the moment. And unless you had another LTE device next to the EVOLTE, you would probably assume it was just a blocked LTE site if you couldn't connect. Interesting to ponder. Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

I don't believe Scott was referring to your comment at all in regards to bashing, but just the general vibe of the thread has degraded. Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

Just ordered my wife her EVO LTE from the official Sprint page. It says it will ship on or before national launch. But it doesn't disclose the national launch date. Robert via Kindle Fire using Forum Runner