mfield

It's the same in the south half of San Jose after the cluster launch down here.

For no good reason, I checked the coverage map at coverage.sprint.com, and it shows that pretty much ALL of San Jose should have LTE coverage right now.  I am still getting 3G in the south half of San Jose, for the most part.  Is it worth opening a ticket with Sprint support?  In the two months since the cluster launch of NV sites, and since the official LTE launch of San Jose, nothing has changed in terms of my experience on the network.

Marc

Has anyone driven from the Bay Area to LA lately? Just did the drive and was surprised and disappointed at both voice and data service most of the way on the 5. Call quality was generally terrible (garbled and dropped calls) and data throughput was literally zero almost the whole time except for patches 5 or so minutes at a time. Was something odd going on, or is this just the current state of service on that route? My phone was mostly not usable.

Looks like palo alto's cluster launched.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but how do you know?  When South San Jose launched, there was no difference in coverage, speed, quality, etc.

South San Jose not yet. It's still a nightmare for triband users.

 

On single band phones you should pick up lte better..

This is true even after the cluster launch.  On an iPhone 5s, south San Jose is still not good.  Hopefully the NV launch will lead quickly to an LTE launch and actually improve things for us.

Any carrier or modem firmware updates with 7.1.1?  Anyone notice better performance on Sprint network with this update?  I doubt it, but you never know...

LTE (or eCSFB) is out in bay area this morning.  My phone had no signal around 7-8:30am, and now it's got 3G but frequently starts roaming.  Normally, I'd be pissed, but after reading this board, outages usually mean good things are coming.

I have seen a lot of the same over the past week or so... lots of roaming where I normally would not, many times no LTE where I normally would have it, and having a terrible time making/keeping a call in certain spots where I would not normally have that problem (although the last item has been happening in an area where data is terrible so I have been thinking it's just intermittently part of the deal in that area).

As we rolled past ------- this afternoon (Bascom at 85, currently a brown turd on the map), I'm pretty sure I saw some guys on the ground working on panels.  I will try to get a better look next time we go by.  Maybe that one is starting the upgrade process.

There has been a noticeable improvement in the area N/NE of SJC (e.g., Orchard Parkway).

As for the south part of San Jose, does anyone else feel as if Sprint has forgotten us?  5 LTE updates in the last map update, and zero in the south part of San Jose (and zero in all the ones I can remember for the past several months).  I hope one day I leave home and find that a big cluster of LTE sites has been turned on.  Would they launch the South Bay market with such a large area still not updated?  Areas such as Hamilton Ave near Bascom (with a Sprint corporate store!) with near zero data speeds most of the time...

Marc

So I jumped on iOS 7.1 last night. I'll be glad if there are no soft crashes anymore, and I'm hoping that things will start working better overall, my phone really likes fringe LTE, but that's ok.

Definitely let us know whether the updates help with voice or data!  I'm wondering whether that radio update will get us better reception, the ability to use 800, etc.  (Regarding 800, I know we need an updated PRL to really take advantage of it, but I have NEVER seem my phone use it...it will roam or say no signal sometimes but I've never seen it actually grab an 800 signal...so I have this conspiracy theory type suspicion that 800 isn't even enabled in the radio though of course I have no real data to support it.)

Marc

iOS 7.0.4 Signal 2 works fine on it.

 

ok - maybe a dumb question - but how did you actually get a copy?  I don't see any way to have Cydia install it.  I looked for a way to force the install per kojitsari's suggestion but don't see that option...

Thanks,

Marc

Has anyone noticed better reception or 800 MHz connections with 7.1? I'm wondering whether the update modified the radio firmware or otherwise did something so we can use the 800 bandwidth (though maybe we won't know until there is also a prl update).

Marc

MacinJosh,

Are you on ios6? I want to put Signal2 on my device (7.0.4) but it says that it's not compatible with my is version.

Marc

(Based on what I've read, I think I will be able to load a different PRL even though it's an iPhone...that's not the question I'm asking.)

ok - maybe not...at least not without some detective work.  I don't see the PRL in the place it normally would be on pre-5s phones.  In the Sprint carrier bundle directory, there's a file called carrier.pri (note: last letter is "i"), which is a plist XML file that has a lot of data that a PRL would have (based on reading digiblur's awesome article).  However, I don't think it has even close to everything.  I'm happy to post a copy if anyone is interested.  In the Verizon carrier bundle directory (looking just for comparison - no interest in using their PRL), there is a carrier.prl file (last letter L), so it's not an across the board change to put the PRL file somewhere else.  I'll keep digging...

Marc

One more question and then I promise to find something better to think about      Would it make sense to try loading the PRL used for Andriod devices (which gives 1900 and 800 even priority) and see if that performs better?  Would there be any harm in doing so?  (Based on what I've read, I think I will be able to load a different PRL even though it's an iPhone...that's not the question I'm asking.)

A handoff between 800 and 1900 is technically possible if both networks are tied together at the same MSC cohesively.  But even in an ideal network set up, it is still a hard handoff and will have a much higher call drop rate than handing off between cells in the same CDMA band class.

 

Up until the 3G network is complete on all sites, both 1900 and 800, I don't think we will see a satisfactory handoff scenario between bands.  And this could be a driving factor with Apple.  Apple certainly doesn't want the perception that it is their device that is the problem.  And it's conceivable if someone moved from a Sprint 1900 only device and purchased a Sprint iPhone and then started dropping all over the place that they may conclude the problem is the iPhone since their previous device worked fine.

 

I don't know for fact, but I really feel Apple is the one that has pushed for iPhone PRL's to push CDMA 800 only as a last resort.  If I am right, then a new PRL will come out likely by Mid 2014 that will change the priority for CMDA 800 for iOS devices.

 

Robert

Thanks for the response.  Given the handoff issue, that makes sense.  And in this area, I go from the part of town where I live, where Sprint hasn't done much upgrading (many brown dots on the map and several white ones), to the part where I work (95% NV and 800 capable)...that would result in dropped calls (though I already get TONS in the first place).  Your suspicion would make sense for the South Bay market, which is where many of the Apple decision makers must live.

I don't think it's really just a choice by Sprint.  In my mind, it is either a device problem and they are working on a software solution for it.  Or Apple has requested that 800 be a low priority until 800 is more prevalent.  So the user experience is not hindered.  It is actually better to be on a cohesive 1900 network than a patchy 800 network.  It may change in the future.

 

Robert

When you say it's better to be on a cohesive 1900 network than a patchy 800 network, does that mean that the phone can't easily hand off between 1900 and 800 so it's not the same as any tower hand off?  In that case, I see the point.  If not (i.e., if the phone can hand off between 1900 and 800 interchangeably), then why not just make them the same priority?  Anyway, it will be interesting to see what happens with this.  Given Sprint's investment, and given how many subscribers use iPhones, I would think they will also invest in the software solution (if it's a device issue) or push Apple (if that's the issue) or come to their senses (if they're the ones programming the PRL in this manner).

Marc

Anyone else having a complete outage in North San Jose? I toggled airplane mode on and off, and my phone is getting no service.  This isn't looking good either:

http://downdetector.com/status/sprint/map/

I've been fine all day - Tasman/First area and Rivermark area.

Yes, this pretty much sums it up.  An iPhone user will get the benefit of 800 when they go outside of 1900 coverage.  However, once an iPhone gets on CDMA 800, it would likely stay there until it loses an 800 signal, the device is rebooted, airplane mode is cycled or the PRL is updated.

 

Robert

Got it.  Thank you for the info.  It's a bummer that they program the iPhone this way...

On an iPhone, it will not begin to scan 1900 until you completely lose a 1900 signal and then rescans all the 1900 channels to make sure there is no 1900 available.  After a 1900 rescan, it will then scan 800.  It is pretty hard to get CDMA 800 on an iPhone.

 

Robert

Robert,

Thanks for the response.  Does this mean that iPhone users will benefit from 800 only when in areas with truly no 1900 coverage such as more rural areas or very deep inside a building (so basically we will roam less)?  It sounds as if 800 won't even help iPhone users with dropped calls, if the phone won't look for 800 until 1900 is completely lost.  Is there some other benefit for iPhone users that I'm missing?

Marc

Try going deep in a building.  Might help 

Doesn't help for me...though I do get a weak 1900 signal so it must take zero (or close) 1900 signal to have the phone switch to 800.  I don't care which I'm using but with all the talk about 800 making things better indoors, it's a bummer that I'm not seeing it.

No 800 on my drive to work or at work.  I've been on band 25 the whole time.  I'm on an iPhone 5s and am in an area where 99% of the towers are now 800 CMDA accepted.  Based on info in the map updates thread, it seems I'll get 800 only when there's no 1900 available...

Will let you know later today, when I'm in the north part of San Jose.  What device are you using, and where are you trying to catch the signal?  I'm curious as to what practical effect the new 800 CDMA signal will have on my day to day use.

Marc