techwrench

Besides relying on speedtests for your actual speed, are you seeing any real decline in data speed service as in youtube, netflix or internet browsing. If you ask robert or AJ on this forum, those speedtests are not reliable at all and should not be used to judge your true LTE speed. Those speedtests do nothing but give us a reason to show off to people what speeds you think you are receiving but are not the true practical speeds it actually is using. Even if you get 20 Mbps on a speedtest, there is no way to confirm that you are actually getting 20 Mbps unless you are downloading some huge file and confirm the download speed is actually 20 Mbps.

 

My point is unless you are seeing some major decline in data service, does it really matter???? I wouldn't worry so much about what the speedtest value says because in reality you are never using that full speed amount anyways. In terms of your voice, I don't know what to say other than to call Sprint to file a ticket to see if its truly a tower issue. Have you consulted any other Sprint customers in your building to confirm they are having dropped call issues as well. It could possibly be your handset. It seems like you are relying on a tri-band hotspot for your LTE service which is not the same as having a pure LTE phone.

Thanks for the reply and sorry for the delayed response. Wound up getting ill during the conversation. The reason I posted is because it is creating problems constantly. I use Sprint wireless to download files and deal with some networked applications all day long. File downloads in a good spot may average 1.6 mb/sec. but in some areas it will be 12kb/sec. We constantly run data quality tests for certain applications before executing them. These tests measure ping times, jitter, a reasonable 150 kb/sec minimum speed and packet loss to determine the reliability for our networked applications. The connections are rated on a point system from 0 (best) to 500 (worst). A 275 minimum is required to have a reasonable chance of success. As a reference 3G 80% is about a 250 to 260 score. Wimax scores out at 210 - 230 60% or above. To give you a reference to hard wire the local ISPs typically score 80 to 100 with the new comcast business class coming in at 24 (best I have ever seen) and certified gold T-1 coming in at 38.

When 4GLTE started here the score was an amazing 98 with 100 percent signal!! I expected some degradation as more people started using the service but I never thought I would see a 398!! To make matters worse the tech support people are now unable to help as most towers are under construction which means when you call with an issue they don't check into it. I run into routers that need resetting and that sort of stuff about once a month which Sprint normally fixes with a phone call. They won't even take a look now!! This includes 3G and Wimax!! I would be happy to live on 3G and Wimax until the construction is finished but the construction is causing issues on these as well. On Friday I heard that in an area meeting (sometime prior) on Network vision Ericsson has agreed to 120 more teams in our to get the problems resolved which gives me great hope. I can't wait for them to get it ironed out. When they do I will definitely let you know!! Quite frankly until recently Sprint was the best carrier for our needs and we hope they work it out soon!! I have even offered to help them several times as our vehicles travel live so we sell all the issues wherever we travel but no takers!!

Thanks for pointing out that my membership had expired. I didn't relaize it!! I'll get that resolved now. As for knowing what is going on. If you check back you will see I did a review on the Tri-band modem almost a year ago. I office right by one of the first towers on that was done on the North side of Houston in the Woodlands. I also cover 750 miles a week using the tri-band and my phones inside of Houston. It was fantastic at first as you will see in my initial reports made on here but it has steadily dropped to where in most areas a speed test with 100% signal will only get about 1.8 down 3.2 up. I can get 5.4 down with Wimax most of the time. The tower by my office has continously had problems and 75% of the phones in Houston had service issues three times in the last month!! I am still a customer but unless something happens fast it won't be for long. I just did a speed test test for you in Bellaire, Texas which is in downtown Houston. 2.54MB down 5.4MB up with 100% signal (-71dBm)and if you look at the test trace you can see speeds all over the map from 0.2mb to 14mb. I am praying it gets better soon!

Here in Houston, Texas the wait has not been worth it. We still don't have any consistent high speeds because the sytem is being oversold faster than they can build it and it crashes constantly. In addition we are now having constant voice issues as they scramble to deal with the data issues. I spend over 40% of my time on Wimax as it is faster than the the 4GLTE in most areas. I think network vision needs a seeing eye dog!! For the first time in 14 years I am having to move my business phones from Sprint to be able to do business!!

Sprint has started allowing reviews but they have to be approved before posting. Minw made it through with no issues!

While the insurance is only $8.00 they are charging all the the taxes and so forth on the total bill. Removing insurance from 1 phone reduced the monthlybill by around $9.50 if I remember correctly.If you have multiple lines that are insured it may make more sense to self insure. I put around $57.00 a month in my pocket now cutting the insurance off 6 phone lines which means I have the money to buy outright a phone about every 6 months ($100.00 deductible plus $342 in savings). The added advantage to that is you get your phone immediately. Just wait to the time you break your phone in the middle of nowhere and they want you to FAX an affidavit before they will even start the replacement on the phone, They don't accept e-mail!!!! Then they always seem to lose the affidavit so you have to do it again!! After waiting 2 weeks for a phone I decided they aren't worth it. I put the deductible in the bank with the insurance savings and just buy a phone when I need or want a different one. This also has the added benefit of allowing you service with no contract!!! If you buy a phone outright you can go month to month which will alow you to change your services at will with no buyout!!

I can tell you from using data all around the Houston area that the service is already starting to improve. I can see in former problem areas where both speeds and stability have increased. I would wait a bit longer to see if the improvements fix your issues. One of the areas where I work a lot the 4G WiMax has come up this week from 2MB down to 6.5 MB down from the upgrades with a more even flow of data. And I can see the guys still on the tower working!!

Stay tuned for my review which should be in Roberts hand by the end of day. He should have it up shortly. It will answer your questions in detail I hope. I'l also continue sending updates as I learn more about it. It is getting put through the wringer here so the results should be interesting.

Being one of the first Tri-Band Modem users in the Area, I attempted to post a review on Sprint's Website. There is 1 review up already so I figured it should be possible. When I attempt to write a review it says I am not logged in even though I am. The funny thing is I can post a review for any of my 5 other devices with no problem. I know that with the original Hotspot Sprint was making sure the rating was good even though the device had tons of issues. Is Sprint trying to do the same thing again?

HO03XC328, Reported by Latinoboi30, allowing connections

 

 

 

THis tower was being blocked yesterday at3:00 PM when I went through the area. I have not found a single active 4GLTE signal in North Houston recently.

All 3 towers that were up came down yesterday afternoon. Bah Humbug!!!!

It must be very frustrating that for whatever reason you were getting pushed into a contract.

 

I wonder if it has to do with the commission structure. If an individual buys a device off contract, I know there is no commission... so I am assuming that if they do month-to-month there is no commission there either.

 

Sometimes sprint really fails at training employees... or employees just have zero incentive to sell you off-contract (that's happened to me).

You know I had wondered that as well when I was talking to sales. Of course a salesman's job is to sell you so I kind of expect that. I have a lot of respect for the salesman that can sell you and do it honestly.

On the other hand technical support should not try and push you into something just because they can't make a plan work with the equipment it is advertised to work with. I think this happened because Sprint does not field test the equipment to iron out the bugs.

Part of my job is field testing equipment to find the bugs in both the equipment and support. This helps build the support database and find the problems that need to be ironed out or modified before release. It is a lot easier for companies to start with a small tester group and work out the problems with people that are trying to work with them than springing it on the public with a "engineering on the fly" mentality.

On looking back at the entire event, now that my brain is starting to recover, I realize that the from the way my call was being handled that this plan I listed (not the equipment) is being handled by a new division because even sales transferred me to talk to the people handling this plan. It seems to me it may be running on a separate (or different) computer system than the regular sprint plans.

My apologies. I should learn not to type before my first cup of coffee. The last two posts have had numerous words and sentences left out.

Also thanks for the clarification on frequencies. I am still a newbie at this as my electronics experience lies in another field. In my field the bands are typically an entire 100Mhz spectrum. For example the 100Mhz band includes everything from 100 to 199 Mhz when we talk about it.

I like this forum because there is a lot of information and people here who help me get up to speed!!!

EDIT: You are correct in their offering of no contract plans, I verified in our system however that if we try to activate one of these devices directly on one of the offered rate plans, it only gives us the contract options, however there should be a way that we could get you on it without contract. On a seperate side note I discovered this device does not support any 800MHz not even the typical 800 cellular bands.

Not true. The device specifications list that it will work on 800 MHz. I think at this time the software doesn't support it.

Receive

Sorry I wasn't clear about the plan. This is the one I was talking about below.

Get mobile broadband with no long-term contracts

• Overview
  
• Pricing
  
• Get it on tablets
  
• Get it on laptops, data cards & Wi-Fi hotspots
  

3G/4G without the commitment

Pay for service only when you need it, without any annual commitment. And since your service automatically ends when your time or data limit is reached, you won't have to worry about any surprising overage charges.

It's currently available on select devices, but others will be compatible in the future. To get started, or to check out your data pass and pricing options,click the appropriate tab and we'll walk you through.

Try it for free

Just enter the promo code of Free Day, when you get to the appropriate step, and you'll get a free day of service.*

*Free Day: Promo code is valid for 1 time use per device. Limited time offer, ends 12/31/2012 or while supplies last. Day, Week or Month Data Pass: Once either your on network, off network or time allowance has been reached your session will end. Customer required to purchase additional service at the end of the period or when data is reached.

**Other Terms: Coverage not available everywhere. Sprint 4G network reaches over 70 markets and counting, on select devices. Sprint 3G network reaches over 274 million people. Add'l terms and restrictions apply. Offers not available in all markets/retail locations or for all phones/networks. Pricing, offer terms, fees & features may vary for existing customers not eligible for upgrade. Other restrictions apply. The HTC logo, and HTC EVO are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Now, let's talk about your data pass and pricing options:

Tablets

Type* Price** Month $19.99 Allowance3G/4G On Network 1GB Allowance3G Off Network Roaming 100MB

Laptops, data cards & Wi-Fi hotspots

Type* Price** Day $14.99 Week $29.99 Month $49.99 Allowance3G/4G On Network 150MB 500MB 1.5GB Allowance3G Off Network Roaming 50MB 100MB 150MB

*Day, Week or Month Data Pass: Once either your on network, off network or time allowance has been reached your session will end. Customer required to purchase additional service at the end of the period or when data is reached.

**Charges exclude taxes and fees.

***Other Terms: Coverage not available everywhere. Sprint 4G network reaches over 70 markets and counting, on select devices. Sprint 3G network reaches over 274 million people. Add'l terms and restrictions apply. Offers not available in all markets/retail locations or for all phones/networks. Pricing, offer terms, fees & features may vary for existing customers not eligible for upgrade. Other restrictions apply. The HTC logo, and HTC EVO are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

Now available on select tablets

Get it on these devices (will be available on others in the future):

• HTC EVO View 4G™
  
• ZTE Optik™
  

How to get it

Ready to try it out? As long as your tablet hasn't been activated with a monthly plan, you can follow the steps below to start surfing on your terms:

• Turn on your tablet. When it tries to activate, via the Hands Free Activation screen, press the Activate button that appears.
  
• This will launch Sprint Zone, Once there, look under the Activate My Device section and press the Click here to activate link.
  
• Select the New Customer radio button under Activate My Device.
  
• Select the No commitment radio button under Activate My Device.
  
• For a day pass on us, select the Enter promo code radio button, instead, and then enter Free Day in the field you see.
  
• On the next screen, select the pass type you want, enter your payment info and agree to the purchasing Terms & Conditions.
  

Please note:

• If you cancel this process at any time on the initial setup of your device, no worries. Simply launch your Sprint Zone app and start back at step 2 above.
  
• If you made a previous day/week/month purchase, that's fine too. Just launch your browser and start back at step 3 above to make another purchase.
  

Don't have a compatible tablet (yet)?

Just call us at 1-800-SPRINT1 (1-800-777-4681) to get one, at the regular price and without a plan, and then follow the same steps.

Now available on select laptops, data cards & Wi-Fi hotspots

Get it on these devices (will be available on others in the future):

• Merlin CC208 3G/4G 2-in-1 Card by Novatel Wireless
  
• Sprint 3G/4G Plug-in-Connect USB
  
• Lenovo IdeaPad™ S205s
  
• Sierra Wireless 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot
  

How to get it

Ready to try it out? As long as your device hasn't been activated with a monthly plan, you can follow the steps below to start surfing on your terms:

• Plug in or connect your device to your computer, and launch Sprint SmartView to connect to the Sprint network.
  
• Once on the welcome screen, select the New Customer checkbox and then the No Commitment radio button.
  
• For a day pass on us, select the Enter promo code radio button, instead, and then enter Free Day in the field you see.
  
• On the next screen, select the pass type you want, enter your payment info and agree to the purchasing Terms & Conditions.
  

Please note:

• If you cancel this process at any time on the initial setup of your device, no worries. Simply launch your Sprint SmartView and start back at step 2 above.
  
• If you made a previous day/week/month purchase, that's fine too. Just launch Sprint SmartView again and start back at step 2 above to make another purchase.
  

Don't have a compatible device (yet)?

Just call us at 1-800-SPRINT1 (1-800-777-4681) to get one, at the regular price and without a plan, and then follow the same steps.

American Flag

I just received the new Tri-Band Hotpsot and have been dying to try it out and see if the 4G LTE service is up and running in my area yet. I thought it would be a good time to try the new "No Contract" data card plan plan that is available on 4 devices including the Tri-Band Hotpsot to see if it was a viable option for my business which intermittently needs a second data modem. If had to describe the experience with one word it would be "FRUSTRATING!!!!!". I thought that it would be good to describe my experience for other potential users of this service to try and help them avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered. I also leaned a few interesting things about Sprint's data plans that I will pass along as well. Hopefully this will keep someone from losing the 4 1/2 hours I lost trying to get the plan to work on the Tri-Band Hotpsot.

1. No one at Sprint support seems to know know or understand this plan as it relates to the Tri-Band Hotpsot. I don't think this would be an issue with the other 3 devices on the plan as they are data modems. I would describe this service as not ready for prime time as it relates to the tri-Band Hotspot. The biggest issue is that the "No Contract" service is designed to work through Sprint Smart View which is not used with Hotspots. Hotspots load a set of drivers to interface with the computer where the data modems rely on the Sprint Smat View to provide this interface. I don't know how many times I was told by multiple different support personnel to open my Hotspot through Sprint Smart view. I had to show them it wouldn't work before they would even attempt troubleshooting. How can you support a device when you don't even understand how it works?

2. The store service center can't help with this issue. This is a ploy used by support to get you off their backs when they can't solve an issue. This was the answer I was given most by the support personnel in every department. The service center won't even look at a device for this issue. It has to be handled on the phone with Sprint.

3. The rates and data allowances for this service are not that good. Sprint would really rather have you on a contract or with a competitor than on this service. The standard monthly 3GB data plan gives you twice the data for roughly two thirds the cost of the "No Contract" monthly service. The competition offers the same data allowances on both plans with about a 15% price difference.

4. If you own a device (no contract or bought outright with no discount) you don't have to sign a two year contact to use it. That is a sales tactic to lock you into a monthly plan. You can get service on a "month to month" basis at the regular rates without having to sign a contract. I found this out in the cancellation department, of all places, because I got transferred there when they decided to get rid of me in support. They are very good at finding a resolution to keep you from leaving Sprint in cancellation. The lady I talked to was amazed that NO ONE offered to put me on the no contract month to month plan as it is a documented plan to serve people who own their own equipment.

I hope you find this helpful!

Back from lunch and I found three towers currently up in the Spring/Woodlands area. As close as I can figure from the coverage i found the towers are H023XC275, H033XC479 and H003XC425.

I wonder if netmonitor has a PC app? The 4G LTE just came back up so I"m sticking the hotspot in my pocket to check signals while I go to lunch with the family.

I'll keep you posted!!

Wimax is typically about 2.5 down and 1.2 up. A good day Wimax might get 6 down and 2.3 up. I would love to post pictures but 10 minutes after I reported this they took the area down plus left us with no Wimax either. I wish I had done it last night but in a rental van in bad weather...too dangerous.

I was coming in last night in bad weather after getting my Tri-Band Hotspot up and working when I heard it change modes in a Wimax area. Praise the Lord!!! 4G LTE is on!!!

I ran some quick speed test that I thought would be interesting to the Forum members. 100% Signal - 35.8M down and 15.6 up. 60% signal - 18.5M down and 11.2M up. 10% signal 8.52M down and 2.53M up. 0% signal - 5.35M down and 1.32M up. Pretty amazing!!

Im Still trying to figure out the new Hotspot so if anyone can tell me how to figure out which tower I'm on I would appreciate it. The area that is on right now is in The Woodlands, TX (77380) between South Panther Creek and Sawdust Rd. I'll try and drive more area today to see what else is on. I beleive this is coming out of the Sawdust Rd. tower on the edge of the Golf cousre but am not sure.

I want to try and figue it out because whoever set the downtilt on the panel screwed up. The signal on my street drops from 100% to 10% in 5 houses. If it is the Sawdust antenna (approx 2 miles from my house as the crow flies) raising the panel an sixteenth of a degree would give me 80% or better without hurting anyone elses service.

It is missing about 100 homes to the west of the tower as close as I can figure due to the fact that the top of the 100% signal is htting about 10 feet below the top of a ridge that runs through the subdivision.The slight shift would allow every one on the other side of the ridge to have decent signal. Any ideas how to figure out which tower it is?

It's not just the network that's at fault. The firmware on the device can detect a disconnect and can then switch to the backup. My router has that logic on it and works pretty well.

The cradle point allows me to switch to a different internet connection as well.....failover/fallback as you will. It works, but is not nearly as reliable as a seamless handover on the same network would be.

I notice that there are forums for a lot of Different 4G LTE equipemnt. How about one for data modem devices such as the new tri-band modem and the upcoming data cards?

I use the 4G in motion in Houston constantly with a data card through a cradle point which allows me to track signal strenth. The biggest problem is that there are gaps between tower coverages that cause disruption......especially the beltway on the NW side and on I-45 North. If 4G goes offline in motion it takes about15 seconds minimum (sometimes longer) to reacquire the next tower. It's sad that Sprint won't accept any outside help for equipment testing or coverage testing. I drive 1,000 miles a week in the Houston area and I am constantly using the data network 10 to 14 hours a day. Seems they could use the information that is readily available to them to help trim out the services.

As far as the 3G to Wimax handoff is concerned all of the equipment that I have seen so far will not allow simultaneous connection on Wimax and 3G so one service has to shut down before the other can start. I though maybe it was a power usage issue but from talking to the cradlepoint tech support people they told me that they are using the same beacham chipset in their custom sprint modem and it will allow simultaneous service on both 3G and Wimax with one band in standby to allow seamless network switching but Sprint will not allow it on their network.

I am getting ready to put the new Tri-band modem through the rigors. It is due here next week and they managed to have the cradle/dock in stock which is supposed to boost signal strength so they are sending that as well. It was a tough decision to pruchase based on all the problems I have had with sierra wireless hotspots in the past.

Stay tuned for more updates on network and the tri-band modem.