ingenium

Just got the UPS tracking info (via UPS My Choice) for a 12 pound package from Sprint. Arriving Monday. Guess I'm getting a magic box.

 

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As an FYI, using Magisk root with EARFCN logging causes a lockup and kernel panic on the Pixel XL the second time SCP is launched after a boot. Unsure why it only happens after the second time...

 

Really we just need an app update that uses the native earfcn method.

 

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Mine has this issue. I will have a 116-118 1st carrier and the other two will be over 130.

 

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The Pixel does the same thing. I think the radio is just more "tuned" to the PCC's frequency when CA is not actively engaged, which is a logical thing to do. When I'm on the middle carrier, the first and third both are about 10 dbm weaker. The adjacent carrier always shows 10 dbm weaker. It doesn't seem to really impact speed tests though (I don't remember if the rsrp equals out when CA engages, but my NSG screenshots show the SNR is about the same during a speed test, so I'm assuming the radio adjusts)

 

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basically same issue but every call and people have a hard time talking to me.....looks like a wide spread problem!!!!

 

 

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I think it's the CDMA network becoming congested. This has been happening to me for years in SF and now Pittsburgh, across 4 devices, and has been progressively getting worse. Used to be 1x800 was always like that (back when 800 was prioritized) and 1x1900 was fine, but now that they're shutting down CDMA carriers to make room for more B25 the problem is becoming more widespread and consistent. Only solution is VoLTE. My call quality on Sprint is shit. For good sounding calls I have to use an airave or use my Google Voice number via Hangouts VoIP (I'm not gvoice integrated and keep them as separate numbers).

 

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Wow, some of those have lots of antennas per sector. One of the sites looks like it has 4 of the same antenna per sector. Are those narrow beam / split sector high capacity sites?

 

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I was hotspotting kids tablet stayed on band 26 while on a 30 min ride and I'm in dense band 41 area that has all 8t8r. Somebody else try it like leave youtube streaming see if it changes bands.

My Pixel often will be shunted from B41 to B26 as soon as I turn on tethering and stays there. So it could be a network thing.

 

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Here are close ups of a 3 sector B13/B4 site. Couldn't really see the RRUs https://goo.gl/photos/4fs3HDHpuhkGqJMW6

 

It's right down the street from my house, on top of a Verizon corp office building. So when they rebuild the site I can get new pics.

 

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Ok maybe they removed it because it was on my android 6.1 but was blacked out and now it is gone.

BTW is your phone Rooted?

 

 

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Yup rooted.

 

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It's in Beta app

 

 

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It's not on the Pixel with the current beta.

 

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CellMapper on Android has a mode where it can tell you if your using CA... NEW FEATURE AS OF ANDROID 7.0 update.

 

 

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Doesn't work on Pixel either. It shows it LTE-A is available on a given site. But that doesn't mean CA.

 

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Open World is advertised as 3G speeds although I'm not really sure what that means. I think speeds were previously unthrottled because roaming was limited to 3G…it will be interesting to see what they do now that LTE roaming is active.

In my experience 3G means unthrottled HSPA.

 

My guess is they'll just leave it unthrottled on LTE. You only get 1GB for free (sometimes), otherwise it's $30/GB. There's no incentive for them to throttle it.

 

It's actually probably cheaper roaming costs to be on LTE. The LTE networks in some countries aren't being fully utilized yet. Maybe not enough of the population has LTE capable phones. The HSPA networks are often overloaded. Some countries in Southeast Asia actually have two data buckets, one for LTE only and another smaller one that can be used on LTE, HSPA, or GSM.

 

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I see it as their new last mile broadband solution, as a replacement for VDSL or fiber or coax. Then they don't have to wire each house, especially in neighborhoods with all underground utilities.

 

It's probably cheaper to put a radio every so many utility poles and put a receiver on the outside of each house (similar to how an ONT is installed for fiber). Then it'll likely give you an Ethernet port inside that you plug your router into.

 

It would also likely work well for apartment complexes. No need to rewire. Makes it easier to compete with Comcast/Spectrum/etc.

 

I don't see this as a replacement for mobile broadband or wifi really. But it's pure speculation on my part.

 

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a few times along this route https://goo.gl/maps/9qiSNoWdVDG2 . forgot to mention I'm using a LG V20. Im in South Africa at the moment with Global Roaming on my account and in both airports I connected to B3 LTE. Seems like LTE roaming for Sprint has gotten more widespread.

What carrier is it roaming on? Engineering screenshots would be perfect! I was there last year and it was HSPA only. This would be big news if Sprint added international LTE roaming

 

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be interesting to know who is dragging their feet...... google or sprint

According to an early post on Reddit, a user claimed 3xCA wasn't enabled for T-Mobile either (same situation as we are on Sprint, it was "supposed" to be enabled in this update). That's just one user and there may be newer reports of it working now. So who knows...

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

The pixel xl is definitely 3xCA capable on sprint?

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

Yes, just waiting on the software/profile update. It's the same modem as the Galaxy S7, same capabilities.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

No 3xCA in 7.1.2

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Awesome. I tried the app, ran speedtest, then switched back to the app and it showed 2xCA briefly. Also it showed my DL speed at 56mps in LA County which is pretty incredible. For the longest time I'd only average 17mps down. Maybe Sprint has changed the area recently but I was very surprised to see that speed.

They may have added a small cell nearby to take some load, or maybe a Clearwire site was converted to a mini macro (adds another carrier, more capacity). So either network capacity increased, or perhaps you just did the test at a low usage time. My home site varies from 30 Mbps during the day with 2xCA to 80-100 at night. Averages in the 50-60 range. But at the same signal level but further away, I'm lucky to hit 10-15. Many variables, so when comparing tests it's important to do them in the exact same location.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Do you have a way to determine if the phone is just using Band 41 vs 2xCA ? I'm using signal check but it just shows the band connected. I rarely am ever connected to Band 26 here in Orange County, it's generally 25 or 41

Check the engineering screen, or use Network Signal Guru if you have root (my preferred method). Keep in mind the phone will only engage CA during an active downstream session (ie a speed test or other download). The instant it finishes (say to do the upload portion of a speed test), it drops the second carrier.

 

Screenshots from NSG showing 2xCA on Sprint and 3xCA on AT&T:

 

 

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

I would ask @ingenium he would know more about it

 

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The Pixel is 3xCA capable, but it has not been enabled yet for B41. I have seen 3xCA with it on AT&T though. There's a strong possibility 3xCA on Sprint will be enabled with the update that will be released on Monday.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Sooo..what would be the best way to measure the difference between HPUE and non HPUE devices.

Probably a speed test, or be familiar enough with a spot where it consistently hands off from B41 to B25 or 26 and compare. See if the HPUE device passes that handoff point, by how far (what is the other device's B25 RSRP at that location?), and what the speeds are.

 

Otherwise I don't know if there's really a good way to determine it. I know some spots where I can reliably drop from B41 with my Pixel, while another device hangs onto it until I use data (then it drops to B25 or 26). I'm sure others know of similar spots where they can test.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Does Sprint ever make announcements anymore regarding Sprint Global Roaming partners? It would be nice to get a heads up on newly added countries.

I haven't noticed them, but they might. I just check the above site leading up to any planned trips to see which countries have roaming and which carriers (you can manually select the carrier you're using depending on coverage and capacity at a given location. Pretty convenient).

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Looks like roaming in China and Egypt was recently added. Along with additional roaming partners in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia (and likely others).

 

https://www.sprint.com/popups/pop-gprsCarriers.html

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

 

 

I though that the "PRL" controlled everything related to the phone's roaming capabilities (well partly its true only for CDMA based networks), I didn't know that a phone could connect to a GSM network offshore totally independent to what the PRL within the device itself says where you can geographically have "service".

Nope, that's what the SIM card is for. PRLs are CDMA only, and control non-roaming connectivity as well (prioritizing some channels over others, some carriers over others, etc). The device will not connect to a network, or even channel on a network, via CDMA that isn't in the list.

 

The SIM controls what GSM (including LTE) networks your phone connects to. It may have some defaults to scan for (Sprint starts with B25 or B26 I believe) or other "smarts" on the SIM microcontroller, but if it doesn't find native service (and the phone doesn't "remember" a previously connected network), then it starts cycling through all the bands it supports looking for something. It'll attempt authentication on every network it finds, if it fails, then it moves on. Usually once on a roaming network that network takes over and can move the device to another band or technology (say GSM to UMTS/HSPA).

 

The modem does sort of keep a memory of connected sites and bands, and tends to scan for them first. So when entering a new country it will often take a bit (several minutes) for it to find roaming service. Once it does though it'll remember and quickly hop back on it if you reboot or airplane toggle or anything.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Thanks for the reply. I am aware that I am use wireless, but I am more interested technically wise, if a 25060 PRL, or in other words, a 25xxx PRL will connect to internationally CDMA partners, or will the PRL *HAS* to be a 55xxx (residential world phone) or 56xxx (corporate world phone), so if you have a sprint device and it has a 25xxx PRL, and you were to travel, will that on it self be a barrier to not being able to "roam" internationally?

Most of Sprint's international roaming partners aren't CDMA. If your phone supports the HSPA or GSM bands of the roaming partner, it *should* work. GSM and HSPA don't use a PRL.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL

Through various promos I managed to accumulate over 100GB with Dropbox. Using automatic backup for the last 5 or 6 years still have only used 14GB!

 

Sent from my LG G5

Wow you must not take many pictures or videos. I have 35GB just from my vacation in January. Thankfully Google gives free unlimited original backups for Pixel owners (I refuse to use the "high quality" option). I long ago maxed out my free Dropbox storage and had to stop using their auto backup feature.

 

On Android, all the meta data is preserved. I assume the same is true on iOS. The photos will also show up in Drive, which makes downloading the originals easy. It might be worth paying $2 for 100GB of drive storage for a month and using Google Photos to back them up in original quality. Then retrieve them with Drive or downloading them from Google Photos directly.

 

Sent from my Pixel XL