snowmobiler487

Something back on topic, I just drove past the tower by 894 an hour ago and it was broadcasting usable LTE!!

Just caught a blip of LTE on my Netgear Hotspot in the Ashwaubenon Industrial Park near Packerland and Partnership. Did the PRL update and LTE showed up.  Speeds were ok at 3.24 down and .24 up. RSRP was -127 

 

Is it possible this is coming from the tower in Oneida? That seems awfully far.

Using google maps, I estimated your distance to that tower at about 6.5 miles.  If it is anything like a tower in Milwauke, that you can get a reliable connection from about 5.5 miles away (granted the signal travels over Lake Michigan), that could be the Oneida tower.  Then again downtilt and all of those other factors for each tower are unknown to us.  How strong was the signal?

That spot on Highway 172 in Green Bay is lighting up again after a couple weeks off.

What part of 172 was that again?  And can you tell which direction it seems to be coming from?

When I first got my Evo, Sprint charged me a "4G data charge". We didn't have wimax yet and I did argue why I was forced to pay for a service they said wouldn't be available in a year. A few months later they did change the name to "premium data charge". The problem is, Sprint won't admit they did refer to it as a 4G charge, so people to this day get confused on this point.

 

I remember the "4G charge" as well.  I purposly avoided the 4G smartphones at the time because I didn't want to commit to paying an extra $240 for 2 years for the 4G that they told me the charge was for (which never officially came to Green Bay where I lived at the time)

Private property

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This has been the story of my life since I started working downtown back in late May. Service gets particularly bad in the office. It's otherwise OK at best on the lower east side but gets horrible again around North Ave. I'm not surprised that there's not a single Sprint store around here. The one on Brady St. closed recently too. Tough to sell phones/service in an area where the network isn't doing so hot.

 

 

It's still horrible downtown. I've been working downtown since late May and I don't know how long it's been bad before that. I can't rely on data for anything. Sometimes it's so bad I can't even "like" something on FB or grab an email. I really hope things start getting better. I've seen more flipping between the circle icon and 3G on my iPhone in the last couple weeks which I hope is a sign that work is going on.

 

Sad to say it, but I'd be satisfied with even just 30-40 KB/s download speeds if it could just be consistent and reliable. Even then, that's anywhere from 3-6 times slower than what I'd get on ATT's 3G/Faux G network.

I am very happy with service on the Lower East Side (near Humboldt and Odgen)  I am just out of reach of LTE but the 3G speeds are great there.  I have one 3G speed test from a week ago that was 1.91 Mbps down and 0.56 Mbps up.  Nothing to complain about for 3G in my book!

Just checked the map and you have the wrong tower. Mine is further north out by K and 94.

Yep you're right.  I misread the SID in either the picture you posted or on the map of completed sites. 

Hey guys I was wondering how the 4G service is in Wisconsin or if theres any known future upgrades in my area. Right now I'm currently stationed in Texas but I'm going to be moving back within a month and am considering switching to Sprint from Verizon. I'm going to mostly be around the Northside of Milwaukee and up to West Bend and Hartford. Thanks!

If you become a sponsor of this site, you can see where all of the currently accepted towers are in the area.  Sensorly is also something that would be good to reference since Sprint users typically map as much of the area as possible (it seems as though many of the people mapping are members of this site).

Sneaky bastards got a lot done since last time I looked at this tower just a couple weeks ago.

 

Looks like your tower was accepted either Friday or Saturday.

short run

Thanks for that and it says the iPhone 5 does display accurate numbers. I agree as when I go to a call my reading will go from -115 to -86. Then right back up to -115 or so.

 

My main question remains then.... Is Sprints LTE signal consistently weaker than its 3G?

No, it is not necessairally weaker, it is simply measured using a different standard.  I have read more in-depth details about it somewhere on this site but can't seem to find them right now...

Question about LTE signal strength. On my iPhone 5 I see -115dBm on LTE where I see around -95 on 3G. Is this 'normal'?

 

I don't miss calls when on LTE (and realize it's in voice mode only then) but the signal readout is disconcerting.

 

Is there an inherent difference in strength reported under LTE or is this an iOS device or readout issue?

 

Thanks!

Yes, there is a difference, this thread will probably help answer your questions better than I can...

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2040-bars-lie-for-lte-signal-strength-how-to-determine-your-actual-lte-signal-strength/?hl=rssi

Drive by that spot today and nothing. It's like they're flipping a switch to mess with us. Lol

 

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Have you driven by the tower just off Ridge that would probably be covering that area?  I saw a few weeks ago what appeared to be new antennas on the tower but it was raining and hard to see for sure at the time. 

Like I said. I only mentioned it cuz I'm feeling verbose and kind enough to explain the potential for "problematic perception." If you really used way too much, Sprint would shitcan your contract.Only 3 blocks, ouch, hope that gets sorted out, that's depressing!

Yeah it was disappointing when I first saw LTE on my phone and saw it disappear right before I got home. I still could see it as I drive through it every day but I try not to use my phone while driving : )

Also, my apartment is located on the lower east side of Milwaukee (unfortunately only about 3 blocks out of LTE range)

You'll find it's better to be careful to not imply you "abuse" (by the community subconsciously-agreed definition) Sprint's unlimited data. Most of us love the underdog (Sprint) and get a little testy about it.I'm sure you are using it for casual youtubing and email and browsing. Perfectly within Sprint planner's calculations for usage. It will always be some that use more than average and some less... Using exactly the average is just that. Average.I use quite a lot. I can excuse that as being a paid network consultant but it doesn't negate that I pull down 50GB+ and probably another full GB of Verizon roaming 3G.Anyway, glad to hear 3G is sufficient for your home uses. That is encouraging from a planning perspective. Where are you located?

I only use it for casual use and in no way abuse the network. I use around 4gb / month with general browsing and radio/ pandora streaming. My "home" usage is only needed when I am not working on week nights as I normally head to my fiancé's place on weekends (she lives in a different city) so I only have 3-4 hours to potentially use it each week night.

I still don't understand. Do you just use internet on your phone? Or are you paying for tethering? Either way, offloading on to WiFi tends to be better (both for you and the network) than using it, especially if it's available.

Sorry you beat my edited post, see above.

If you've got WiFi at home, what do you need 3G for?

I am just put of college so every penny I can save is like gold.

I don't have specefic numbers from old speed tests, but the data speeds have increased tremendously from unusable to around 2mbps which fast enough for me to not need wifi at home anymore.

Sprints network is getting worse not better.

In my opinion, Sprint's 3G has gotten much better since January.  I haven't spent much time using the LTE that has started showing up yet.

Well, looking at the sites complete map, its pretty clear why the signal at 94 and 18 is showing up on sensorly as so strong...

I'm sure the cell towers around state fair were overloaded. I was there yesterday and I could barely send a text, I kept losing my data connection, and went to roaming and back. It was barely usable. 

 

On a lighter note... I see on sensorly what appears to be much darker purple right around goerke's corners (i94 and Barker Rd). I drove right past there on 94 this morning but didn't pick up any LTE. But that purple is a little too dark for being as far away as it is from the other Waukesha tower that's live....

Looks like something similar happened by State St and Hawley Rd north west of the tower by Miller Park.

Lets remember that the tower closest to the Summerfest grounds is only marked 3G complete. Any 4G signals are probably coming from the Bay View tower and at a distance.

I am aware of that, but that doesn't change the night and day differences with connectivity that occurred during quiet periods and in evenings during the busiest time on the grounds.

Yeah... ditto. All day among the sheep and cows and stuff on a stick and no LTE.

 

Maybe it's because we're civil servants? lol

I wonder if its becasue there are so many people in one area. The same thing happened for me during summerfest where I could t pick up LTE when at a concert but as I drove right past the park on my morning drive to work, I would have excellent signal and speed. Sprint always seems to struggle with very crowded areas but I can't make a comparison to other carriers as I have only ever used Sprint.

If he wants to switch over to a phone that supports 1x800, he can go with "Ting". It's a provider that uses Sprint's network. A lot of people on S4GRU recommend it. They have new phones as well as the S3 if that's what he's looking for. www.ting.com Unfortunately, I don't think anyone of us knows what's the upcoming lineup for prepaid directly on Sprint/Virgin/Boost.

My mom has a "dumb phone" on Ting and my parents are very happy with it. The phone works great on Sprints network and Voice and text roaming is allowed (no data roaming which is not a problem for them and I would assume not a problem for a Virgin mobile subscriber who would otherwise have zero service)