irev210

This may end up being the first htc device I don't get on release day, I may just wait it out a week or two to see how it goes.

Same here, the Samsung S6 just outguns the M9 in all aspects that really matter to me (camera, display, batterlife).  Stuff like loop pay seems like icing on the cake.

I prefer a stock nexus experience but the S6 will do just fine.  I'll be preordering the S6 tomorrow.

You could put your phone in LTE only mode, you would lose SMS and calls though. You can sort of work around that by using google voice integration and the hangouts dialer for data calls only but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

This is what I do.  I find it to be more reliable that Sprint's voice network.

Two main downsides of google voice:

no call waiting

no 3-way calling

Overall, it has been a great solution for me.  I couldn't be happier.

I guess the market is getting wind of Sprint's expansion plans.  Not sure what else would account for today's jump in the stock price. Granted the stock has taken a beating this week after those comments from BTIG. 

Sprint Gains Amid Speculation on Comcast Wireless Ambitions

(Bloomberg) -- Sprint rises as much as 6.9%, most intraday since Feb. 5, on ~51% 3-month daily avg. vol.

Is that any different from the old T-Mobile offer of a free SIM? I ordered one last year which is still sitting around somewhere.

Oh, yeah if you ordered the sim from t-mobile.com you have access to the 30/month plan

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

I use google hangouts voice dialer, so never had any issues with the 100 minute cap.  It's arguably the best value in the prepaid space.

Interesting, what would I need to do to sign up?

The glory of prepaid.

All you need is a sim

http://www.walmart.com/ip/T-Mobile-Complete-SIM-Kit/39081494

Just head down to your local WalMart, buy the t-mobile sim kit, follow the instructions on activation found inside.  Took me all of about 3 minutes.  Very easy to do.

I really am tempted to take T-Mobile's network for a spin, just to get a real world use case to compare with my own service. I do have a Nexus 5 sitting around, have to see what would be the cheapest way to do so, and not blow through my data cap

Cheapest way is the walmart $30 5GB of data/100 minutes plan.

It's a really great value.  I just stopped my auto-pay last week, actually.  Used it for about two years while sprint was rebuilding in Boston.  It was great to compare networks, swap sims at my leisure, etc.

This is amazing that this is happening. All these years with Sprint, and it took a law to shake them loose from their high pedestal of locked hell. Now it almost seems too easy to get my full-price iPhone unlocked, further increasing its value.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6+

Was it law or just threat of law to come with a industry protocol?

Canada Goose, Bean Boots, Vineyard Vines. The official uniform of Boston College.

I eat lunch at the pru often as I work in the area.

I try to avoid looking at the people that shop at Vineyard Vines but it is hard as it is right next to the food court.

Did you ever make it to the Super 88 Food Court?  PhoViet!

It's currently trending. Everyone in the Northeast is wearing Canada Goose from NYC to Boston.

Canada Goose + Bean Boot.

At least they are North American products made in Canada and Maine.

Better than the many trends of Made in China junk.

More recently, sprint has FINALLY added coverage on the MBTA subway system (prior, only option was roaming on Verizon).

With the other 3 majors having native coverage underground, switching to Sprint was a non-starter for many commuters.

Sprint still has a lot of work to do in Boston, but I think at this point, I am about ready to drop my T-Mobile prepaid account.

Try reading some of the TmoNews article comments.  Even many Magentans are not happy with the commercials and the state of the network.  The Legere honeymoon period is rapidly fading.

 

AJ

Really?  What's your basis to say the Legere honeymoon period is rapidly fading?  This is something you've said for well over a year but no data seems to support that (unless you go looking for angry Magentans, I suppose).

For the sake of discussion and learning, if you are going to bash T-Mobile, you should frame their current subscriber trends based on factual data that can not be emotionally distorted.

Postpaid stats:

T-Mobile Churn: 1.5-1.6% on postpaid, roughly flat over the past 2 years.

T-Mobile Net Adds: 4.886 million, beating Sprint and AT&T - only Verizon with 5.396 million net adds did better, and only because of tablets.

T-Mobile Net Voice Adds: estimated 4 million - more than Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint combined.

I personally want both Sprint and T-Mobile to both succeed and prosper and discuss things that can/should be done to help them do so.  Randomly throwing out negative comments about a competing carrier that lack factual basis doesn't seem to help s4gru members learn/thrive/grow.

I don't think it helps anyone to just talk junk on other carriers - it doesn't help anybody have an informed discussion or develop an informed opinion.

I think the biggest point of discussion is that T-Mobile is adding a lot of subscribers and I suspect it will be hard to maintain the "data strong" network that they claim to have.  AJ, based on your visits on team magenta forums, maybe you've seen a few people complain about how speeds have declined as subscriber count has grown.

As we've discussed, if Sprint can execute, they are the best positioned to actually maintain, improve, and increase data speeds across their network.  This is in contrast to T-Mobile who just got completely outgunned/outspent during the latest AWS auction.

Both carriers have tools and a plant to maintain and develop their evolving networks.  It's interesting to watch.

I used to be one of the microwave poopooers but I am on board that when implemented correctly, it's just another tool in the tool box. 

8.5ms for microwave vs. 13ms for fiber 

http://www.cftc.gov/ucm/groups/public/@newsroom/documents/file/tac021014_budish.pdf

Faster than fiber (latency, not capacity).

Obviously fiber is still king for capacity, but we've seen huge improvements on that front.

Guys, until proven otherwise, this Google dual operator MVNO will be a data only service with IMS for VoIP, etc.  It is the only technical solution that makes sense -- especially as Wi-Fi is included in the mix.

 

The devices will be single RF path.  They will not be able to camp simultaneously on multiple networks.  And cross network e/CSFB from Sprint LTE to T-Mobile W-CDMA or T-Mobile LTE to Sprint CDMA1X is not gonna happen.

 

AJ

Very much agreed.  This is the only approach that makes sense.

Given the investment Google has made in the Hangout Dialer and google voice, it would make a lot of sense for them to do just this.  They've already started soaking/testing before wider release.  Given what Apple has done with the Apple SIM in the iPads, seems like a logical step for google.

Google VOIP is very good at this point - much better than it used to be.  I use hangouts VOIP for all dialouts at this point and it's a very good service.  I feel pretty good about it being ready for commercial launch.

As a person who frequently compares T-Mobile to Sprint in terms of coverage/data speeds, the networks in my area actually complement each other rather well and I see it as a good incentive for both carriers to improve the data side of their networks.

I think this is good for the industry and is a good way to again steal market share from AT&T and Verizon.  I can't wait to get a Google prepaid sim to try this service out.

In my experience with the two, NYC is much more windy than Boston. NYC's is surrounded by water and in certain parts the buildings just amplify it.

Actually, Boston is the windiest big city (12.4 mph average vs. NYC of 11.1 mph).

Buildings definitely do amplify it though.  If you want to feel some wind amplification, just hang out in the back bay by the john hancock tower.  Out by BC, you are likely getting a lot less wind.

Also, if you think about Boston, it's also surrounded by water.

Yeah, I am curious about the g4 as well.  Every time I have bought a samsung, I couldn't deal with touchwiz more than a few days then ended up returning the device.

 

Amen! I don't know why Samsung can't stick with a stockish skin.

I am on a sprint sim, I will give this a go and look around for the shortcut instructions.

Look forward to hearing how this goes - would be great to have engineering screens!

Has anyone tried swapping sims between iPhone 6 and Nexus 6 without having to manually activate?

edit (update):

Just as another update - I swapped Sprint SIM back into Nexus 6 and it got stuck on WCDMA again.  Switching to LTE/GSM/CDMA (auto PRL) instantly fixes the issue.

Under mobile networks, it is already set on global.

This is definitely a bug.

Anyone here jump from the nexus 5? If so how is data performance compared to the nexus 5? I'm constantly on 3g with my nexus 5 in a city where Sprint is really focused on and would switch in a heartbeat if the new nexus held onto a lte signal better.  Thanks.

While I have only had the phone for a short time, I haven't noticed a huge difference in signal between the nexus 5 and nexus 6 - still testing though, I'll report back.

Anyone with the order status of "Estimated Delivery Jan 6, 2015" who didn't already receive their Nexus 6 form the Motorola web store, the bad news (not surprising) is that Motorola is again out of inventory. No ETA at this time.

 

I had to chat/call them for more than an hour, only to finally get the gnarly status.

 

Ugh.

I recommend hounding ebay/swappa/craigslist - I've found a lot of people selling just because it is a big phone.  I was able to score mine for $500 off craigslist (it was purchased directly from the motorola store).

mine takes 30-40 mins to figure out the new settings on a sim switch ie. no instant recognition 

have you tried *#*#4636#*#* and force it to LTE only?  Maybe it will speed up the process.

Mine picks up signal in about 15-30 seconds - a little slower than the Nexus 5 but not horrible by any means.

So I picked up a used Nexus 6 this weekend - it's been working great.

Went to the Sprint and T-Mobile stores to get new nanosims (I was lucky, as I met the guy at a location where there was a sprint and T-Mobile corporate store right next to each other).

I popped in the T-Mobile SIM, was up and running, went over to the Sprint store, after a few minutes of minor activation fumbles (getting a manager to give me a nanosim, getting the associate to take the last digit off the IMEI off, etc) I was up and running.  MUCH smoother than my Nexus 5 experience.

The one thing that was sort of odd (and I am curious if this has happened to anyone else) - when I switched back to T-Mobile, then back to Sprint, for some reason the phone decided to only scan for WCMDA despite the option of "global" or "LTE (recommended)" being selected.  Obviously only scanning for WCDMA with a Sprint-only SIM yielded no signal.

I had to *#*#4636#*#* and manually select LTE/GSM/CDMA auto (PRL)

Right now it is on "unknown" but seems to be working just fine with on-the-fly hot swapping SIMS at this point.

That is not entirely accurate. The Tmobile/AT&T/Verizon model DOES have bands 25 and 26. These two bands are stubs of the existing cellular and PCS bands and therefore are relatively simple to implement in devices which already support the celluar and PCS bands. Band 41 however is a different animal - spectrum-wise it's located nowhere near any of the commonly used cellular bands in the US and it also uses a different LTE broadcast scheme (TDD instead of FDD). Both are unique only to Sprint in the US.

 

Ah great catch - I thought that they didn't.

Thanks for letting me know.

What liquidity? Sprint has been negative FCF every quarter for some time now. And the operating cash reserves dipped into the red late last year.

Their liquidity is Softbank.

This is an interesting discussion - obviously two very different perspectives.

No, my comments were not "off base." However, your comments are.

Who said that there was an "obligation"? Bar none, though, operators do develop handsets in collaboration with OEMs. There is even an acronym for the list of requests/requirements that operators put forth to OEMs. I cannot recall the acronym -- Neal Gompa knows. Regardless, this is how Sprint gets WiMAX capable, EVO branded handsets; how VZW gets SVLTE and band 13 capable, Droid branded handsets; and how AT&T gets band 17 capable handsets -- that specifically exclude band 12.
 

Sure, there is always going to be pull from the wireless provider to get products that would specifically benefit the said wireless provider directly.  I got no qualms with a wireless provider paying a manufacturer to make a device specifically for them.  There is no doubt that a carrier would want to pay manufacturers to “seed” their networks with devices with new bands that are currently not fully deployed, etc.

An exception does not make a rule. And you should know that. The above is just poor argumentation. Using the One PlusOne as your counterexample is like the guy on HowardForums using the Nexus 5 as his counterexample to my point about the inequity that unlocked Sprint handsets generally include T-Mobile compatible band support -- but that T-Mobile unlocked handsets generally do not include Sprint compatible band class/band support.

If the One PlusOne or the Nexus 5 were the only handset out there, or if they even constituted large portions of the installed user base, then you and the HowardForums guy would have solid arguments. Instead, they are little but niche handsets in the US market, rendering the support for your contentions weak, at best.
 

In the rest of the world, they are substantial parts of the installed userbase.  There are scores of unlocked devices sold internationally – Sony, Motorola, Samsung, Blu, ZTE, HTC, Nokia, Blackberry, the list goes on.

The reason why they are niche handsets in the US market is due to historically strict carrier limitations on what would be supported and the US wireless carrier’s unique method of selling devices via subsidy (which is fading away).

This isn’t even bringing up the fact that the development of handsets that support many more bands allowing manufactures to accommodate Sprint’s boutique spectrum portfolio (though I dunno if Band 25 and Band 41 are all that boutique).

Without Sprint procurement, how many CDMA2000/WiMAX handsets do you think OEMs would have developed of their own accord? Moreover, how many CDMA2000/LTE handsets that support 3x carrier aggregation in band 41 would be forthcoming?

Face it, Sprint has a bunch of boutique band classes/bands. Some think that Sprint is stupid or even doomed -- because it has followed such a different path from VZW, AT&T, and T-Mobile, not to mention, the rest of the world. But if Sprint did not have band class 10 CDMA1X, band 26 LTE, and band 41 TD-LTE, Sprint already would be dead in the water. Sprint has no choice but to go forward with this path, and that generally means getting OEMs to build handsets specialized for Sprint.

Unless the FCC steps in and and mandates handsets be universally unlocked and fully compatible with all domestic operators -- and pigs fly -- anybody who wants that unlocked, open, independently developed handset ecosystem should go on over to T-Mobile.

Without Sprint procurement, zero CDMA2000/WiMAX handsets would have been developed since it required Sprint to procure them to be sold.  The bigger question is – if Sprint supported unlocked devices, how many devices would manufacturers made for Sprint customers?  T-Mobile faced this problem with DC-HSPA+.

What makes this particularly interesting is the global popularity of Model A1586/A1524 yet the US being introduced with two iPhone 6 SKUs.

I think it is fair to speculate that Apple did this because of Sprint.  I don't think Sprint wanted customers the ability to take their iPhones to other network operators and definitely didn't want customers with other iPhones on Sprint's network.  It's an outdated way to think nowdays - at least in my opinion.

Bottom line - I am just a big fan of a manufacturer like Apple to build one device for all networks in the USA.  If they want to build one device for Sprint, one device for Verizon, one device for T-Mobile, etc - that's their choice... but I would rather have them be given the choice then have no choice at all.

As we've seen, with the Nexus 6 and iPhone 6, the barriers setup by sprint are starting to fall and that is nothing but positive for customers.

Question, the unlocked iPhone 6's Apple is now selling directly CAN in fact be activated by Sprint? The delay for unlocked devices is only those from another provider, correct?

Phones from another provider won't work on sprint - unlocked or otherwise.

It's confusing as all heck.

Sim Free model A1586/A1524 is the sprint model - it works on AT&T/Verizon/Sprint/T-Mobile.  It is unlocked and is available to work on all four major carriers (has been whitelisted by Sprint).

Model A1549/A1522 is the AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon model as it is lacking Band 25/26/41 support that sprint needs.  If you buy it "unlocked" or "full price" from the apple store, it will be unlocked.  It will work on all three carriers (if you buy the AT&T/T-Mobile version, Verizon support is "limited").

If you buy any phone directly from the provider (not at the Apple store) it is carrier locked (except for Verizon).  AT&T you need to pay it off/wait 60 days or whatever, T-Mobile will  unlock after 40 days, Verizon is just factory unlocked.  Sprint refuses to unlock.

Confused?  I sure was - took me a bit to get all that straight.

Just because their Sprint porting ratio was high doesn't mean they didn't do well. T-Mobile seemed to be targeting sprint for nearly the whole year whereas Sprint has been targeting Verizon and AT&T mostly since Marcelo Claure became CEO. Then if we look at Verizon's foreshadowing that Q4 wasn't as good as usual for them and AT&T's silence, it can be suspected that Sprint put a bit of a dent in Verizon and AT&T's results. To me, T-Mobile's preliminary Q4 results aren't really different from what they usually do each quarter. It doesn't stand out from their usual trend as being particularly better.

 

But as I said, good on them for having such a great year of customer additions.

Yes, ideally, I would like to see Sprint stay #3 and watch AT&T/VZN bleed!!!

That would definitely make some dreams come true.

Tell AT&T and T-Mobile to develop all of their handsets to be compatible with VZW and Sprint.  That is two way, fair play.  But they would use a similar excuse -- "no technological process."  Oh, it would be "extremely easy."  But "they refuse to implement one."

 

AJ

So I did a little more digging and it appears you are pretty off base with this comment.

AT&T and T-Mobile don't develop handsets, manufacturers do.  While manufacturers can collaborate with AT&T to help make their handsets run better on AT&T's network, there is no obligation to do so.  For example, Apple works very closely with carriers to develop handsets as it is mutually beneficial.

But a great example of the freedom afforded to AT&T and T-Mobile customers (and even Verizon) - look no further than the One Plus One cellphone.

GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), UMTS (Bands 1/2/4/5/8), and LTE (Bands 1/3/4/7/17/38/40)

The One Plus One phone was developed without any support from AT&T or T-Mobile, yet works on both networks just fine.  It even works on Verizon where Verizon has LTE on Band 4.

All without ANY support from AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon.

Unfortunately, Sprint does not take such a customer friendly stance.  This is fact.

While carriers can work with manufacturers to make devices specifically for their network, handset manufacturers are also free to make devices without carrier support.  This is not the case with Sprint.

Sort of a surprising post from you, AJ - you tend to be very sharp on this sorts of subjects.