halcyoncmdr

Your phone would have to be pulling 1,000mah to pull that off. I don't think the hardware in the G2 is even capable of using that amount of power at a time. Even with the screen brightness at maximum, the camera open and actively recording, and the gPU being utilized to accelerate for a game. The only way I could see this happening is running something like a graphically intensive game that uses the camera in an augmented reality situation with a large amount of overlays that integrate with the environment, not even Ingress works like that.

Yes, the 51xxx series is the correct series for all tri-band LTE devices. The Nexus 5 was recently updated to tri-band LTE, so either series technically would have worked the same on it, the network may have been sending 55xxx series to N5 devices by default. Now however, it should be getting 51xxx series. The 51xxx series is intended for devices capable of SV-LTE, since the N5 is not capable of maintaining separate 3G and LTE connections it shouldn't be getting this series. It should instead be getting the 51xxx series. However, it is a fairly well-known fact that Sprint uses more PRL series than are really necessary. The differences between the 51xxx and 55xxx series are minimal, and likely wouldn't show any differences on most devices other than perhaps a slightly slower connection when switching between various technologies. I am not sure, but one series may prioritize the LTE band scanning differently, this may be the way they are utilizing them at the moment. Keep in mind that the LTE band scanning is only for initially making an LTE connection, once you are on LTE, the network controls what band you connect to, regardless of what the PRL states. It can force you to Band 26 even if you have a strong Band 41 or 25 connection. It's setup this way so the network can move users around as needed to load balance and attempt to put people where they'll get the best connection in the grand scheme of things. Digiblur can probably give a bit more definite information in this regard as he's the resident PRL expert.

The M8 should not be receiving 55019 at all, it is not the correct PRL for a tri-band LTE device. The network for some reason is sending you the incorrect PRL at some times. Do you switch back and forth between phones at all? If not, I'd suggest calling into care and having them file a ticket for an incorrect PRL being sent to your device. This is handled on a network scale, and the system may be getting confused by something, others may be having the same issues.

Send it back or try a local S&R store. We occasionally had parts on hand to replace the screen. When I was laid off the phone was still fairly new however and we didn't have them on hand regularly, not that it's been a while longer they may have some.

I didn't notice any issues with Play Music after the ZVC update on my end. Just issues related with non-backhaul updated towers and slow 3G performance causing issues.

Hmm, interesting.

I would assume they're talking about 850MHz just like most of the industry did before the Nextel shutdown.

If you're at -102, then you're already fairly close to losing the signal. When you do it will automatically run through the PRL and if a 1x800 signal is available it would connect to that. It would then likely stay connected until it lost that where it would scan for 1900 again before roaming onto another carrier.

Same here personally. Launch day G2 (I was the store's device advocate). I've never had GPS issues, and the few phones that I saw come into the store with GPS issues were fixed by slightly adjusting the contact points on the board inside the phone (like we've had to do with just about every phone released at one point or another since the Samsung Epic. It's not exclusive to the G2, and my store saw fewer G2's with the issue than most other devices at our store (A100 tier S&R corporate store). People simply just notice it more when that's the phone they have. I can tell you however that working with Android phones since their launch on Sprint, the G2 had fewer issues overall with hardware defects than most other phones we saw at our store. Considering we dealt with 2,000-3,000 tickets per month, we had a good sampling of devices on a daily basis.

This seems appropriate...

I think you underestimate the power of Instagram, Vine, Facebook, etc. for hogging upload bandwidth. Just kidding, but not. It's a horrible trend.

Probably because you can't set the phone to LTE Only with ZVC to get around eCSFB issues.

They should. I know phone CSRs and corporate (at least) retail reps do.

Yeah, one thing Sprint really needs to do is train the frontline CSRs better in regards to issues like this. Simply using the Network Pinpoint tool and marking a location as having issues making and receiving calls will flag it for the network engineers. It takes literally 30 seconds to do so. This does not "open a ticket" though, it just flags the location. If there are multiple flags in an area it gets tagged by a backend script for further investigation. My suggestion is to have the CSR pinpoint the location and flag it for all of your lines that are having issues. I specify only the ones having issues because if it gets flagged for a single band device in addition to tri-band devices the script may tag it for a potentially different issue than eCSFB for example. The system works if CSRs use it. And it works with faster results compared to the old "ticket" system in my experience before I was laid off.

I Was with you after using HTC Sense and TouchWiz for years (HTC Hero, Samsung Spic, Galaxy S2, HTC EVO LTE, Galaxy S3) and I find the LG interface doesn't get in the way as much as the others. You can always install a third-party launcher app, or use a custom ROM that utilizes the stock Android interface instead.

eCSFB is only used to drop you back to 3G from LTE when a call comes in. The only side effect it has is a refusal to connect to LTE on a tower without it installed, since you wouldn't be able to receive calls. If you're in an area with a mix of towers that have/have not been upgraded and that have/have not had eCSFB installed, then as you switch towers you would also gain/lose LTE connectivity. Otherwise it's more likely that there are simply more towers in LA (this is the most likely answer really). Some areas the towers are spaced about a mile apart, some areas they're only needed every two miles. New York City for example has towers nearly every block (and towers facing from lower rooftops upwards at tall buildings) due to the urban topology of the city itself, and the congestion on each site that the large number of people causes. Every city and site is unique in regards to how they need to be setup and aimed, even if the hardware being used is similar.

It's not so much that it is locking up, rather the phone is able to connect to a fringe signal, but it doesn't have enough power to actually use that connection at that signal level. It can happen to any of the devices really. The only real way to "fix" that would be to complete the network buildout, or to artificially limit the phone by having it drop LTE when it reaches a certain level even though it is still getting a signal (not sure if there is even a mechanism to do this since I've never heard of it before).

It's a decent article, and does have valid points, but one of his claims is simply not true. He claims: However, the Sprint broadband prices mentioned in the article are for mobile broadband devices like embedded laptops, wireless cards, etc. not for tablets and home routers. Instead, he should be looking at the Wireless Router Plans (also on that same page at Sprint.com if you scroll to the right from the mobile broadband plans, those plans can’t even be activated on the tablet or router devices) because those are the plans aimed at the home-use segment that would be the wireline competitive plans, not the road warriors who are using them in airports, on the road, etc. A 12GB router plan would be $80, with 1.5¢/MB overage cost. This comes out to about $15/MB overage. So instead of a $10,000 overage cost for 212GB it would be $3,000, which is more on-par with the AT&T and Verizon number of $2,805. To quote the plans: “Monthly usage in excess of plan allowance on network: 1.5¢/MB (tablets & routers), 5¢/MB (mobile broadband).” http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/shop/plan_details.jsp?tabId=pt_data_plans_tab&planCatId=pln821011cat&flow=AAL&planFamilyType=Individual&showDetailsTab=true

Which S4? The first launch was single-band only (L720 model). The device was refreshed as supply ran out though and was quietly replaced with a tri-band capable device (L720T). If your friend has one of the original designs then it would not be affected by an eCSFB issue. The model number is printer on the label under the battery, in About > Phone, and the Spark-capable model shows the Sprint Spark loading screen when it is turned on, and the Spark LTE icon instead of just LTE like the single-band model.

If the new equipment is there, it likely is being used. However, the legacy equipment may still be used if something was missing from the initial install. For example, the carrier card may have been defective, or some piece was not working properly so they installed what they could and left the legacy equipment on. They also may have simply left the legacy equipment there temporarily as they are working with the new equipment being active, waiting until they know the new equipment is working properly and is calibrated before removing the legacy equipment. It's easier to just reactivate the legacy equipment that was left there temporarily if an issue is found with the NV configuration at that site. They also may have a separate team that is going to upgraded sites to remove the legacy equipment later. Leaving it there as a sort of manual fallback in case something happens before that removal team goes through.

I've updated the spreadsheet, but since I no longer have access to the official wording for new updates, I'll either need a new internal source or the breakdown of the PRL analyzed.

Well, to be honest if you're replacing entire parts (i.e. Glass/Digitizer/LCD) it's not difficult at all. That's how the stores repair the devices with screen issues. Usually the parts are all together in a single package they receive (or harvest from other devices). You just need a good #00 Phillips screwdriver, a T4/T5/T6 torx and sometimes a tri-wing screwdriver. That's really all any of the phone use (apart from Apple devices). I also suggest getting a couple of the plastic opening tools as well (you can find all of these at www.ifixit.com) just to make sure you have the right tools to take it apart without damaging the casing. If you've never done it before, take your time. Pay attention to where each type of screw came from and what order you are removing things so you can do it in reverse. Also, make sure you get the part for your device. It's normal for the various carrier versions to be slightly different because of the way the molding works for various antennae pathways, etc. inside. Make sure it works with the Sprint version. The phones aren't really that complicated if you're dealing with pre-built parts like this. Now, separating out the digitizer and glass from the LCD on most modern devices is much more difficult, especially zero-gap screen devices.

Here's the info from Spotify directly. To be honest though, 320kbps streaming is pointless, there are so many other places along the line that the compression techniques are removing info that simply can't be restored. This is a good write-up about it that Deadmau5 put out back in 2009 (the link is a reddit.com repost someone put up yesterday simply for ease of linking), regardless of your thoughts on Deadmau5, his points are entirely valid. The quality of the files that Spotify (and other streaming places) gets are likely already heavily compressed from the original masters and lacking a TON of information that simply can't be put back. 160kbps is probably the highest any real quality increases would be seen on Spotify's scale, anything above 192kbps is likely a waste. The increased "quality" you get going from 160kbps to 320kbps is mostly just wasted bandwidth because of all that compression along the way to get to your device. What bitrate does Spotify use for streaming? Spotify uses 3 quality ratings for streaming, all in the Ogg Vorbis format. ~96 kbpsNormal quality on mobile. ~160 kbpsDesktop and web player standard quality. High quality on mobile. ~320 kbps (only available to Premium subscribers)Desktop high quality. Extreme quality on mobile. https://support.spotify.com/us/learn-more/faq/#!/article/What-bitrate-does-Spotify-use-for-streaming

It's not throttling the way AT&T or T-Mobile do by artificially limiting your speed. It is a network prioritization, so your packets will be delayed as they are a lower priority than other "standard" users that haven't hit the 5% mark. Also, it isn't in effect yet. If you were getting slow speeds at an off-peak time it was due to some other factor, like a network issue/overnight maintenance or something similar. Possibly just a bunch of users that had their stuff set to update at midnight, or something similar to that. Just because it isn't a classic "peak hour" that doesn't mean that it won't be peak for that particular site.

Just so everyone knows, now that I no longer work for the company, I don't have access to direct info about new phone releases and the compatible cards anymore. Unless another employee is willing to forward me this information going forward, the updates to the list will be more sparse, and I'm going to have to rely on user reported updates. So... if there's anyone that does work for Sprint that knows how to access CEBU and get me the info to update the PRL and UICC/SIM Compatibility charts, it would be much appreciated. The Compatibility matrix is already out of date, but I can't find any direct information publicly on the compatibility like I had access to before, to be able to update it properly.