The_Chemist

7 hours ago, JonnygATL said:

Does ANYONE struggle with insufficient speeds? I give zero f-cks about the actual Mbps number. Does it hinder you at all , at any time? It doesn't me. It simply works. Is that so bad? And I'm on "just" 4G. Asking for a friend. 

Yes, in the Harrisburg PA area, I have trouble with outgoing voice on some phone calls because the upload speed is so bad. 

Web pages can take forever to load as well. 

Usually, I just give up and use my Verizon phone. 

Supposed to get the low frequencies on a Sprint tower near me in about a year. 

Currently said Sprint tower stomps on the very usable T-Mobile 5G stand alone NR  signal. They just don't have the system set up properly yet. 

2 hours ago, floorguy said:

My S-20 ultra had a bad radio... It took sometime to verify it... but it was jumping in & out of signal, and bands and all manner of crap.. Took a few months to figure it out, because it was intermittent.

So its a possibility, but doubtful across a large swath

My girlfriend's S21, does that, my S21 Ultra , does it and my Note 20 Ultra 5G does it. 

I'm thinking it's more of the T-Mobile system rether than all of these phones. 

Sure would be nice to hear from owners of Motorola and LG devices to see if they get the infamous "No Connection" and band jumping that so many of us with Samsung devices are experiencing. 

All the phones that I mentioned above are factory unlocked non-carrier versions. 

Actually, I just remembered, I have a T-Mobile LG V20, which of course is not 5G, but when I put my T-Mobile SIM in it, the V20 jumped bands and also got the "No Connection" message.

It's got to be growing pains of the T-Mobile system causing these sorts of issues. 

Hopefully in a year or so things will start to settle down as T-Mobile takes over the Sprint sites and converts them. 

T-Mobile tends to work rather rapidly on these sorts of things...

25 minutes ago, RedSpark said:

T-Mobile is doing a very heavy lift right now. It's essentially doing Network Vision 2.0 to integrate Sprint's network into T-Mobile's, but somehow keep both networks running at the same time. It's obviously causing problems along the way.

Given that Sprint's LTE network will be shutdown by June 30, 2022, we're likely going to see this kind of stuff continue until then (and perhaps for some time after) until everything is integrated and optimized.

 

Yes, this is to be expected. I was speaking to the engineer that runs all the T-Mobile cell towers in most of my State (PA).  He's got quite a big territory. 

The engineer tweaked the towers around my house, so I would have minimal problems in the meantime. 

I'm very please with the attention that I was given by T-Mobile. You definitely would not get that from AT&T or Verizon!

14 minutes ago, Member21 said:

So I had an even worse user experience today at my parents' townhouse style condo, where I haven't been since before I got my S21 with the T-Mobile SIM.  They both have 2020 2nd Gen. iPhone SE's w/ the T-Mobile SIM, which stay parked on B71 (600).  My S21 (with roaming turned off) has no service about 90% of the time, and then gets service from B71 or n71 about 10% of the time.  It's crazy how the S21 5G will not stay on B71 or n71 and yet the non-5G iPhone SE's have no issue staying on B71 and that the network decides that the 5G phones need to constantly hop from band to band, even if that means going to no service.  Hope they are actively fixing this on the back end.  

Yeah, it's all messed up. I came home from grocery shopping this morning. I was still in the car in my driveway and called the neighbor across the street. I picked up an item for them. The entire trip home I was streaming Spotify. No issues there. 

The phone call was all garbled to the point I had to hang up and call back on my Verizon phone. 

It turns out when I checked the band with Signal Check Pro afterwards, that I was on HSPA. 

After an airplane mode cycle, I latched onto 5G N71. What the heck wax the deal with connecting to HSPA?  I was using my Note 20 Ultra 5G phone. 

This same thing has happened to my girlfriend with her S21 5G.

Very frustrating. 

23 minutes ago, iansltx said:

Does seem that way. Maybe between now and then they'll figure out how not to throttle video to 1.5 Mbps on all TNX lines.

My guess is 6/30/22 is when the Sprint mobile core network will be decom'd, so Sprint SIMs will stop working. New iPhones coming with T-Mobile SIMs seems like a good guess.

One question I have is whether T-Mobile thinks they'll have all Keep Sites swapped over to T-Mobile equipment by then. If so, I should be able to switch my family back over to T-Mobile based service at that point, as I don't imaging they'll do those retrofits without at least n71. Or are they expecting to switch L-Sprint sites that remain to T-Mobile's core, and upgrade equipment when they get around to it?

I know the site near me in Harrisburg PA is supposed to get all the low frequency bands where the existing Sprint gear is now. I'm crossing my fingers!  

20 minutes ago, swintec said:

This infuriates me to no end, i dont necessarily have no signal but it jumps on bands that are absolutely useless and stays there.  why hold a -121 signal reading on band 2 with 5G when n71 is there? Also goes through fits of seemingly no data access despite the phone showing no problems (usually when on n71).

I'm hoping that they just don't have the logic programmed into the base stations yet. 

I have the same situation in the Harrisburg PA area. I can hold onto a -123 dBm signal on band 25 or band 2 when a nice -98 dBm signal is available on band 71 or n71. Makes absolutely no sense.

 I do have the momentary "No Signal" lapse between locking onto the next band though. That appears to be more widespread than I thought...

4 hours ago, Member21 said:

Just wanted to share my experience so far:

-I'm in Fairfield County, CT and my house is shown on be on the edge of T-Mobile's "5G Ultra Capacity".

-I upgraded my phone from an S7 to a Sprint S21 from Best Buy a few weeks ago.  When Best Buy shipped it, the S21 included a factory installed Sprint SIM card and for some odd reason, they included another Sprint SIM card - stuck to the factory box with my BB order sticker, rather than include a T-Mobile SIM card.

-When I activated the S21 online, the system told me it is highly recommended to install a T-Mobile SIM instead of a Sprint SIM (well, I would have if it was provided by your authorized retailer, lol).

-I finally got around to ordering a T-Mobile SIM, which I installed last night.

-When my S21 was on the Sprint SIM for a few weeks, on the 2nd floor of my house, it would stay on an unspecified 5G (I believe n41 (2500)).  On the 1st floor of my house, 5G would drop and it would bounce between b12 (700) and b2 (1900).  On the Sprint SIM, I never saw it connect to n71 or b71 (600).  I used it on both floors with no issues (just technically slower on the 1st floor with no 5G, but not noticeable).

-Now, with the T-Mobile SIM installed as of last night, I noticed a few things.  First, I am noticing it being able to connect to n71 / b71 (600).  But, with "more choices", it is bouncing around a LOT.  On the 2nd floor, it bounces between n71, b71 (600), n41, b12 (700), b2 (1900).  And on the 1st floor, it does a similar thing, but connects to n71 more so than on the 2nd floor, but it doesn't stay parked on n71.  With all the bouncing around that it does, I seem to loose data service for a brief period while it is transitioning between bands.  For instance, the NY Times and Twitter apps tell me "my device is not connected" and then after about 10 seconds, it works fine to load data.  I never noticed this issue with the Sprint SIM in my S21 for a few weeks.  So, although the T-Mobile SIM seems to make b71 / n71 (600) available (and of course SA 5G), the overall user experience in my case in my house is worse than that of the Sprint SIM.  

The network really aught to keep and leave my S21 on n71 while inside my house.  I'm not sure what to expect in the future as far as real world improvements to the user experience. 

Are they continuing to optimize the network for proper common sense band selection? 

Also, is there anyway to report this to the network team and get actual results? (how do we even contact them these days? the My Sprint app?  T-Mobile Twitter DM?)

That same behavior happens around the Harrisburg PA area as well. The phone (Note 20 Ultra 5G) bounces between bands with moments of "no connection).

I've noticed that other people's T-Mobile phones exhibit the same behavior. It's not only just my phone. 

The strange thing is that when Signal Check Pro shows "no connection" during a VoLTE phone call, the call is not interuped, nor does it drop. 

Hopefully in the next year or so as the Sprint sites are converted over to T-Mobile, the system will be tweaked to have the phone park on a band with a good signal and stay there  instead of the band hopping that currently persists. 

26 minutes ago, Dkoellerwx said:

Yes, with the exception of SMR. Although it's generally on a market basis, not a site by site basis. T-Mobile is already shifting Sprint PCS spectrum over to their B2 channels where they can. The G-Block (reason for B25) will likely not get used until T-Mobile starts to deploy n25. The B41 spectrum of course is already getting recycled into n41 and their 2 B41 channels. As more Sprint B41 gets shut down, the n41 channel will be widened, or more channels added. SMR will probably (though not confirmed) go to Dish at some point, as I don't think T-Mobile has any plans to keep it around.

Very interesting!  Thanks. 

1 hour ago, Dkoellerwx said:

But it's still there now, and in some areas better than T-Mobile. By the time they shut it down, many/most of those sties will be converted to T-Mobile, so it won't matter. But right now, it does matter. We're all aware of the timeline and what that means, especially RAvirani. 

When the Sprint sites are shut down, will the frequencies be reused as T-Mobile frequencies?  1900 MHz, 850 MHz & 2500 MHz?

I've heard that the Sprint site near me will be broadcasting low frequencies and 5G next year.  

26 minutes ago, Trip said:

The Shentel sale closed on 7/1, so they own it now.

- Trip

 

According to the engineer that I was dealing with, Shentel is still running the site. He had to go through legal channels to get the Shentel personnel to make the changes that he wanted. 

He said it'll be about another year before T-Mobile will have control of the site. 

In the meantime any changes still have to go through Shentel. 

On 7/5/2021 at 11:23 AM, The_Chemist said:

I'm not in the best signal area. Since T-Mobile has built up the network, I do get a much better signal at my house though. 

I'm hoping to get a Femtocell.   That would solve most of my issues. 

The problem is they do not, at this point, have the newly lit up Sprint signals set up properly and they stomp on the perfectly good T-Mobile signals. 

 

I am very impressed with the T-Mobile engineering team. 

It was rough for them because Shetel still owns the tower that was causing all my signal problems, but they adjusted the band 41 cut off point so that when it reaches -113 dBm, the phone will search for T-Mobile band 71. 

I am so impressed with the attention they gave to me as a T-Mobile customer.  You definitely would not get this type of help and concern from AT&T or Verizon.

T-Mobile actually cared about my reception and customer experience!

I'll be a T-Mobile customer for life!

11 hours ago, comintel said:

Band 71 is highly contrained in capacity and therefore, according to other posts, is reserved to be a last resort for those at a distance who have no other alternative.

I'm not in the best signal area. Since T-Mobile has built up the network, I do get a much better signal at my house though. 

I'm hoping to get a Femtocell.   That would solve most of my issues. 

The problem is they do not, at this point, have the newly lit up Sprint signals set up properly and they stomp on the perfectly good T-Mobile signals. 

2 hours ago, DerekKY1980 said:

This is what mine said before Monday  that b41 with that little 2  and it said 310120   but if u turn on the alt PLMN thing like he said   it started reading at 310260   but i can't stay connected to it anymore and when I do connect it there's no data at all  and Cellmapper reads it as Test PLMN 1-1 b41  

As for b71  I had a guy named Travis in DM on Twitter @TMobileHelp said the strongest signal was going live on July 2nd (it didn't or I can't ever connect to it  like it doesn't exsist) all I can connect to and actually get data is b2 and b12 tho it sometimes has 2-3 bars with no data then lose signal.

I can actually get stand alone 5G NR inside my house now that I excluded the Sprint bands. 

The system is not set up properly. With the Sprint bands active they stomp on top of the native T-Mobile bands. 

I've been going round and round with them for weeks on this. 

I don't see a need for the Sprint bands, even as fill in, as there is excellent native T-Mobile coverage. 

With the Samsung Band Select app in the same exact location, this is what I can get in my house. 

Just now, The_Chemist said:

Latches on to Sprint and only sees Sprint as neighbor cells. Completely ignores all the available good signal from T-Mo. 

1 hour ago, DerekKY1980 said:

I turned this on the other night     I got connected to b41 again a few mins ago  SCP  read 310260  which i believe is T-Mo PLMN  but again it disconnected a few secs later.

17 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

This isn't an ideal solution, but download the Samsung Band Selector app. I posted instructions on how to use it earlier in this thread, not too long ago. You can set your phone to only look for B2, B4, B12, B66, and B71 which will lock out the Sprint signal. 

I did download that app last night. I saw mention of it earlier in this thread. It solved (...put a bandaid on...) the issue temporarily.  Found out that I had to reboot to make it stick. Thanks!

On 6/30/2021 at 9:05 PM, Dkoellerwx said:

Sprint B41 and T-Mobile B41 are still operating in tandem here. T-Mobile has 40Mhz of n41 on air, plus 2x20Mhz of B41. Sprint still has 2x20Mhz of B41 on air as well. However, anywhere there is Sprint B41, there is generally also a T-Mobile signal so I haven't seen Sprint B41 except in rare cases for a long time. 

Couple questions for you... which device are you using, and what SIM configuration? I'm guessing you're still using a "Sprint" SIM (TNA)? That's what it sounds like.

Was there no T-Mobile signal in the area you pick up Sprint B41? Usually if there is any T-Mobile signal, a TNA or TNX device will prefer that over Sprint. When you were connected to the Sprint B41, did you notice which PLMN was displayed, did it say Sprint Keep on SCP? 

I can't think of any reason for the network behavior that you described, particularly the weird PLMN. If they were converting the cell site to T-Mobile, the signal would go away completely. Sprint B41 won't magically become T-Mobile, they have to swap out the equipment. 

I'm receiving band 41 in the Harrisburg PA (Swatara Township) area as a T-Mobile customer. 

The Sprint bands are still run by a third party here (I'm thinking Shentel).

Band 41, 25 & 26 just lit up a few weeks ago in this area for T-Mobile. 

This totally messed my signal up at my residence. I used to get great T-Mobile reception, now my phone (a factory unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra) locks onto band 41 and won't switch back over to the better T-Mobile bands available at my residence (71, 66, 12, 4, n71 etc...).

The download on B41 is good, but the upload can be as slow as 0.01 Mbps which totally messes up VoLTE phone calls. 

The only way to regain T-Mobile frequency bands is to either put the phone in the microwave (not on of course) to act as a Faraday Cage, or move out of the area, then back in. Usually, I end up back on B41 within 5 minutes again anyway. 

I think the control channel programming logic is all screwed up. I should be on the best usable band for phone calls. 

Before Sprint bands lit up, if my phone were idling on a poor signal band, it would switch to B12, N71 or N71 when a phone call came in. 

This nemesis B41 stays locked onto my phone at even -129 dBm. The only way to get rid of it is to put the phone in the microwave, at which point it will switch to a T-MOBILE band and remain there for the rest of the phone call. 

I really wish they'd get this fixed or give me a femtocell so I can at least make reliable phone calls. My WiFi is spotty. 

Customer service is actually worse than Verizon and that's saying something. I know more than the level 2 "experts". It's so frustrating!!!

On 6/30/2021 at 9:29 PM, Dkoellerwx said:

It's odd then that you were connecting to Sprint B41. It must be a keep site, and your signal must be weak enough on T-Mobile that your phone was finding the B41 preferable even though it was Sprint. Did you ever see any of the other Sprint bands or just B41? Hopefully it will be converted sooner rather than later so your experience can improve.

Same happens to me. T-Mobile SIM connecting to a Sprint B41. Never switches back to T-Mo even at -129 dBm. All screwed up. 

So the international version could be used on Sprint? Probably no WiFi calling though

Sent from my SM-N910P using Tapatalk

The international version (H815) will only work on GSM networks. Sprint is CDMA.

It appears the international G4 H815 really tops all the carrier branded G4's. I'm getting 6 plus hours screen on time and 2 days between recharges. This thing is a beast. I like my screen on torch mode as well. I use YAAB auto brightness app and have the minimum brightness set to 60%

Those darn covers aren't cheap either, I'm better off paying the 35.00 restocking fee for another phone lol

Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

I feel for you. Those backs ARE very expensive. I got a spare brown leather back for my G4 on ebay from Korea. It cost me over $70 when they first came out.

I'm sure if you contacted LG about this phenomenon, they'd flatly deny all charges. "You're the only person experiencing this, we never heard this before etc, etc, ... "

Very frustrating when you pay good money for your device.

My G4 continues to best my G3 by 3-5dBm, at least on B26. I got the blue best buy version.

 

Since I have a G3 and G4 on AT&T, I can also say that my international H815 leather backed G4 gets much better LTE reception than my G3 (the blue version from Best Buy)

My Sprint G3 works very well.

I might find a way to get the regular cover and see what happens, so far at home it's making a big difference

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

There's something just not quite right about some LG phones. My Sprint LG G3 works well. My AT&T LG G3 is awful. I can attenuate The signal by as much as 6 dBm just by putting a clear silicone case on it. At first I thought that possibly the case had some sort of metal in it that was acting like a Faraday cage. I tried multiple brands of cases and they all attenuate the signal. Never did figure that out.

I have the international LG G4 H815 with a brown leather back which I am using on AT&T. I do not see any signal attenuation with the leather back in place. I also tried some silicone cases on the H815 with no signal attenuation either.

This is a very strange phenomenon. I know exactly what you are talking about as I too have witnessed this.

http://www.spigen.com/brands/apple/iphone/iphone-6-and-6-plus/iphone-6-plus/iphone-6-plus-case-ultra-hybrid.html are my favorite cases.  Good protection, clear and not bulky.  I use the 5S one on my phone.

 

-edit corrected the link

That's a nice case!

Applecare+!

I want to try and find a clear protective case.  The phone is so awesome looking.  It would be a shame to cover it up.  I am normally not a person who likes gold.  I prefer silver and pewter, but when I saw the white and gold version of the 6+ it was a must have...  The gold is not gaudy or obnoxious at all.