saywhatman

Not really unfortunately. There's been some progress in the Richmond district, but the city proper is pretty stagnant still, with 3G clusters still not being accepted for e/CSFB usage.

Just putting the phone in LTE Only mode will not allow it to scan for B41 and B26 on the newer basebands. Only the older basebands will scan for these frequencies w/o a PRL update.

I have also found some elusive B41 in Chicago after repeated profile/prl upgrades! I'm afraid to reboot! As a side note, I didn't notice when it switched. I'm indoors in a building with quite good B25 penetration, and I was on WiFi. MikeJeep, I went back to B25, but I'll try and send you a diagnostic when I get back on to B41. Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

In terms of capacity, yes. In terms of speed, no.

More likely the air link is saturated or there are interference problems. Each sector of 5x5Mhz spectrum has a 37.5Mbps maximum throughput shared between all the users connected to that sector. 37.5Mbps * 3 Sectors + 3.1Mbps (EVDO) * 3 Sectors is only a bit more than 100Mbps.

Chicago area here. A network scan reveals CLEAR and 311-870 PLMN on my Nexus 5. I can see a confirmed B41 site from my window. I can't access B41 normally, but without a SIM, connecting to CLEAR both put me on B41 with an EARFCN of 40056. For some reason, sometimes on 311-870 I can connect to 41, but other times I get B4 with a T-Mobile PLMN. Not sure what's happening there

Ah, good to know. Thanks!

It's probably a eCSFB issue. 4G only towers (purple ones on the sponsor maps) are not hooked up correctly to communicate with the 3G side of the network in non-incumbent markets, so in order to preserve calls and texts going to the phone, tri-band phones (which don't have SVLTE), park on 1x/3G. Robert wrote an article on the wall about it that explains better than me.

I haven't been to SF recently, but there have been huge advances in Oakland. I'm back here for winter break and its like night and day compared to where it was when I left 3 months ago. There are still a lot of dead spots, but things seem much better.

You have to re-register your device with the 2-step service each time you do a rom reinstall to receive a new password to log in to Google. You can't use a verification code.

On 1x 800 CDMA, there will be only 1X data speeds, yes. Once 800 LTE is rolled out, you'll be getting LTE speeds with a compatible handset.

Really? I was under the impression that none of those phones did. Sprint Press Release

But it doesn't really matter, since no tri-band phones will have access to the network until an OTA update comes out in 2014. A good amount of downtown is covered in 2.6 Ghz.

Of course, YMMV. Currently indoors with a -95dbm LTE signal I get 2.17 down and 3.57 up on the South side of Chicago.

I think you're expecting a bit too much from 3G improvements. 4G LTE enhancements, especially with up and coming tri-band deployment will really be where the improvement is at. Also, judging by the sponsor maps, all of the improvements in Madison have been 4G only, meaning that the new 3G panels and RRUs have not been accepted for activation yet, probably for interference concerns with legacy Motorola equipment, so the 3G improvements might not be as large yet as they will be. The FCC documentation for the LGD820 (which is rumored to be the Nexus 5) has it listed as capable of using all three LTE bands on Sprint (B25 800, B26 1900 and B41 2600). The LG G2, as well will offer triband coverage on Sprint. If you can wait, the release date of the Nexus 5 should be in mid-October. I think I'm dropping my HTC One off on ebay and grabbing one of these guys to take advantage of the huge amounts of 2600 being deployed in Chicagoland right now

Holy bump batman!

Yes, signalcheck will show 1X800 in the 1X portion of the signal display. If you have the pro version, it will also notify you when it detects an 800SMR signal.