Jump to content

hayzooos

S4GRU Member
  • Posts

    67
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by hayzooos

  1. I have noticed considerable speed improvements in the NW suburbs. I remember when I first achieved LTE access in Palatine and Barrington via the NW HWY corridor. Now, I consistently get a good LTE connection. In Schaumburg, the other night, I had 25 mbps down and 9 mbps up near Woodfield mall. Has the LTE connectivity and speed increased in these areas for anyone else?

     

    No doubt. It's getting better and better without question. I'm getting a more consistent and stronger LTE signal in more places seemingly every week. And over near Woodfield mall, there are a few sites right around that area, so you should get a good signal right around there. I work literally across the street from there, so I have a consistent LTE signal sitting at my desk. A few weeks ago, it would be kind of hit or miss, sometimes I would get it and other times I wouldn't.

  2. Is there a newer PRL than 24009 for the S3? I just tried a manual update and that's what it left me with.

     

    Does the PRL impact accessing 4G? Or is that something that is auto negotiated with the tower?

     

    PRL = Preferred Roaming List. The PRL doesn't exactly impact accessing LTE, but there are PRLs that are specific for LTE capable devices. A new PRL shouldn't give you faster 3G or LTE speeds as it's really just an up to date listing of the preferred roaming towers in your area.

     

    For example, you'd probably have a different PRL for an SGSIII vs the SGSII. One is LTE, one is WiMax, so there will probably be a difference there. However, an updated PRL won't give you "better" LTE either considering we cannot roam LTE signals.

     

    Some PRLs will enable 3G roaming on Verizon for example, while other PRLs will only give you 1x data while you're roaming. All depends on the type of account you have through Sprint. Corporate accounts will typically get the ones with 3G roaming enabled, while normal individual (or family) users will have the PRL which only gives you 1x data while roaming.

     

    Hopefully this makes sense...

  3. Am I crazy or has LTE deployment seriously slowed down? It seemed like it was lighting up all over the place a month ago. I know they're 70% complete in Chicagoland, but I should think the vast majority or remaining sites is in the city...between all the dead zones and having an EVO Lte, I'm on 4G pretty much never. Does anybody know what's going on? I'm hoping their plan wasn't to get to 70% in a given market and then send resources elsewhere only to fill in holes later...it's all holes!

     

    I made a comment like this earlier, I think in this same thread. I was hoping that when they got to a certain percentage, they would stick it out until it's done. Hopefully they don't have a "good enough" number and roll with it that way, and as you said, move resources along. I know they updated a lot of towers in Chicago proper to LTE as evidenced by the map in the sponsors section, but I'd like to see more upgrades than just LTE. NV, in it's initial intent, was about more than simply rolling out LTE and I think Sprint should stick with it.

     

    Part of your issue though is that EVO, it's horrid for LTE.

  4. I think that's the part that's NV-related. I couldn't keep the 4G connection to save my life while nearby towers were being upgraded. Thing is, I had the same behavior on the stock Touchwiz ROM, except it held the 3G connection fine. It just didn't stay connected to 4G. So, it was no different for me on TW or CM except that CM wouldn't hold the 3G connection.

     

    That is strange. I didn't have much of a problem holding an LTE connection on TW, but I can't get one at all on AOSP anymore. It's like the handoff is totally borked for some reason. Would it have anything to do with the 800mhz band Sprint's implementing as well? Maybe it was working fine for the towers that didn't have this piece, but as soon as they added it (which they have done to a few towers around my area) that's what's causing the issue?

  5. I have CM10 on my S3, and LTE works fine on my phone in Schaumburg. I haven't been to the northern part of Schaumburg in a while, though, since I live in the southern part and work in Addison.

     

    FWIW, AOSP ROMs on the S3 have trouble keeping a 3G connection, so if you're not getting LTE, the data drops kind of frequently. If I'm not mistaken, there are a couple towers in the northern Schaumburg/HE area that are awaiting upgrades, and my phone had the hardest time keeping a 4G connection while nearby towers were being upgraded. It kept falling back to 3G, which meant CM10 would disconnect constantly.

     

    So, your problems are partly ROM-related, but also partly NV-related. Once the towers in those areas are completed, you should have no trouble holding a 4G connection on an AOSP ROM.

     

    Yeah, I read quite a bit about it and it looks like it's both. Thing is, it seems to drop anytime there is an LTE signal available. If there isn't one, 3G seems to work fine. But if I'm in a known area for LTE, I get nothing. Very frustrating. The only way I solved it was to go into the Mobile Network Settings and go to the option that doesn't involve LTE. So now I have zero chance to get it.

     

    I'm waiting for my go-to TW ROM to update so I can head to that until the AOSP guys get this figured out. The other knock on AOSP ROMs right now is the bottom mic doesn't work when recording. And since you have to basically be speaking DIRECTLY into the top mic for it to pick you up, it's 100% useless for any type of recording.

     

    If the TW ROM doesn't get updated soon, I'm heading back to ICS.

  6. Is anyone having issues losing data connection around the Schaumburg/Hoffman Estates/Elgin area? Like, frequently? I put a new AOSP ROM on my phone, and I'm wondering if that could be the culprit or if it's just Sprint's network.

     

    I'm beginning to think it's the ROM, but I wanted to get some other feedback first.

  7. Don't torrent on mobile networks. Each cell is shared by almost 100 people or more. If you're torrenting it will slow everyone else down. Use your own connection to torrent. You're not going to be able to seed via Sprint's network anyways as NAT is in place. Speedtest.net is decently accurate, you're not going to get results that are that extremely far off.

     

    I don't know what NAT is off the top of my head, but thanks for the response. Again, this isn't something I would normally practice and it was at about 1:00-1:30 this morning. Not something I would do at any other point in time.

     

    I wasn't trying to seed right from my phone, all files were on my laptop.

  8. I have a question for you guys...I'm able to get LTE at my house in a few places. I wanted to use my LTE connection to help seed a torrent for a very popular ROM. I'm not one to abuse tethering by any stretch, I usually only use it when I'm in a bind, but wanted to help get this file out to the masses and my home internet isn't that great.

     

    I was able to run a speedtest with the speedtest.net app, and I was pushing 10.0-10.5 Mbps upload speeds. I thought that would be nice for a little while, but while running Wifi Tether 3.2-beta2 I was only pushing about 60kBps upload, which would come out to like 0.6Mbps. Anyone know why that would happen?

     

    I've read that speedtest.net isn't all that accurate, but I thought that was a pretty big discrepancy so I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts.

  9. I'm interested to see the updated Sponsor Map next Monday. If the market was 'officially' launched, I'm wondering if their deployment will go as quickly as it has lately. Based on the looks of things, their #1 focus was to get halfway decent LTE coverage in Chicago proper. Now that they have it, what is their "good enough" limit where they start taking resources off and sending them elsewhere?

     

    While some improvements have been great, this better not be winding down. I just hope they don't "deploy" and then leave right off the bat to go somewhere else and get another market ticked on their LTE list.

  10. S3's going for high 300's and low 400's on ebay, just be sure to avoid the "bad ESN" listings of which there are quite a bit of. You're absolutely crazy if you think you can get an EVO AND $450 to trade for an S3, haha.

     

    I'm going to hold out hope for awhile longer that they'll get to the bottom of this issue. As more LTE lights up, more and more people will pressure Sprint and HTC to fix this.

     

    Oh I know it. There's no real way it would happen, just making a point. If it's a software thing, it shouldn't be that big of a deal and hopefully a fix isn't too far off. If the problem lies in the physical radio they used...well...there's virtually zero chance it'll get fixed.

  11. I've heard Best Buy will be having SIII's on Black Friday for $49. Again, just heard this, so I cannot say it with 100% certainty.

     

    Obviously still 5 weeks away, but if you want to save some coin, you can go about it that way. With all the press the EVO LTE has gotten about their bad LTE connections, you might be hard pressed to find someone to trade you an SIII for an EVO LTE.

     

    I'd have someone give me their EVO and about $450 for my SIII.........so I could turn around and get another SIII right after.

  12. I was downtown Chicago yesterday for work, but couldn't get much of anything around there. I was near Riverside Plaza and even though I saw some spots on Sensorly, I couldn't get LTE to pick up anything. I did map a few things on the way back home on the train though.

     

    And Robert, mad props for putting the total sites in the Sponsor Forum. Is there anyway you might be able to highlight what's changed since the last week? That's the first thing I look at when I come into the office Monday morning :/

  13. Just a coincidence. Whenever you install an update, your LTE scans for service and found some. If you had cycled through airplane mode right before the update install you would have seen 4G appear on your phone too.

     

    Robert via Samsung Galaxy S-III 32GB using Forum Runner

     

    I dunno...with a new update comes a new radio as well. I think with both radio and OS update, it could certainly have an effect on picking up LTE.

     

    How will the NV upgrade impact crowded areas? I'm thinking Wrigleyville during a game, downtown in the Loop during lunch, going to to a Bears game, going to a concert in Tinley Park, going to the Air and Water show, etc. I'm especially concerned about the Lakeview area since I tend to lose 100% of my phone service anytime something big happens on Clark.

     

    Speaking of that area, there must be work going on on the near north side. It's nearly a full deadzone from the Loop up to the south end of Lincoln Park.

     

     

    edit: Anyone know what "Sprint Extension" is on the Galaxy Nexus?

     

    NV will be huge for crowded areas. The way Sprint's network worked before is they had three towers installed, one for each frequency so to speak, to cover most areas. After NV, all towers will have the capability of all three frequencies. I'm not saying you'll get 3x the coverage or speeds, but it'll be a heck of a lot better than it is now, or was previously.

     

    At least, this is the general understanding I have of it. Robert, please correct me if I'm off here.

    • Like 1
  14. well, i returned the EVO LTE (initially due to the camera dying after 2 days) and with the LTE issues of the phone, i've gone ahead and gotten a galaxy s3 as replacement.

     

    did some sensorly tracking around the palatine area, as well as the trip down to my parents house in addison. am amused in that i've been the only one tracking sprint LTE to their area as it's the lone activity for a few square blocks.

     

    anyways, i took some time tonite to criss cross across palatine...just checked, and it's not up as of yet. will check it again tomorrow.

     

    I'm guessing a good chunk of the Sprint LTE Sensorly data is coming from users on this site. I had heard of it before knowing of this site, but never used it. With the new deployment of LTE instead of Wimax, and this site being the unquestioned go-to site for information, I think that explains most of it.

     

    As more and more of us travel around, we'll get more coverage area. I'm turning Sensorly on most of the time in my car, but that's pretty much about it.

     

    I can get LTE right outside my office, but no GPS in the building, so I can't map it at all. Guy is coming to fix my windshield today, so maybe I'll be able to pick it up outside my building and map it while he works his magic...

     

    EDIT: Mad respect for getting a GSIII over the Evo, you'll be happy.

  15. Also, is there anything else that needs to be done to be able to pick up the 4G LTE signal? I was actually walking by the 90/94 area which is highlighed on Sensorly as having 4G and it wouldn't pick it up, and my 3G was also very, very slow? I cycled through airplane mode, but nothing happened. Thoughts?

     

    I'm chalking it up to growing pains if you will. I don't think every site will be available 100% of the time right now. I'm sure as they need to make other changes to the towers, there might be some slight interruptions to LTE or even 3G service.

     

    I don't know this for a fact, it's purely speculation.

  16. Quick question on the samsung galaxy S 3, does having the phone option that otimizes wifi connection affect the phones ability to detect a 4G LTE signal?

     

    I don't think it affects it, no, but I turn that thing off as soon as I possibly can. The connections optimizer constantly turns wifi on looking for a signal it can connect to. IMO, that would waste battery when you can just turn wifi on when you're around networks you know.

     

    I don't believe it makes you more or less likely to connect to LTE, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

    • Like 1
  17. Good to hear. Although I still haven't received the GS3 OTA though!

     

    I actually hadn't received it either. My wife did, I didn't. I haven't updated her phone to the latest OTA yet either. We're both rooted and have ROMs on there, which IMO, is the best way to go. It usually only takes a few hours for the devs to get their hands on the OTA and make their changes and post them up.

     

    I would assume the upgrade to JB will be a little bit more time, but only a few days, tops. Best thing about it is they always fix what Sprint/Samsung screw up in the first place...

  18. Got LTE signal in Huntley, Elgin and Crystal Lake. It was spotty, but 10 Meg Down, 4 Up.

     

    I got some LTE in Elgin as well. There have been some serious upgrades around the Elgin/Schaumburg area in the past week. I used Sensorly last night when I picked up LTE near the Jewell over on Summit and Waverly.

     

    I'm assuming you need to use the 'Map Trip' function to actually have the map update, correct? The only thing I don't like about that is the screen won't stay off, but not a huge deal.

     

    I'm also getting LTE sitting at my desk right near Woodfield Mall. Speeds weren't fantastic (3-4 down, 0.5-1 up) but I wasn't expecting much since I know I'm a ways away from the tower. However, I wasn't able to even get it last week.

     

    Of course, I did just update my ROM to Sprint's latest OTA for the GSIII and put the new modem on to match. That may certainly have something to do with it as well.

     

    I can't seem to get a GPS lock inside where I am, so I can't update the sensorly map right now.

  19. this is the screen. Its like it refuses to pick up the 4g signal unless you turn off the 3g. My buddy has a gs3 and we are standing in the same room and his phone finds the 4g with no problems. With my evo I have to fight with all day im just sick of it!

    You have to cycle airplane mode on the EVO LTE in order for it to get a 4G signal. If it has a 3G connection, it will not look for a 4G signal. I hope they fix this soon with an OTA or something, that can't possibly be how it's supposed to work right?

     

    EVOLTE is notoriously bad for LTE connections, as you have to be almost standing under a tower for it to pick up. I do believe I read they were going to release something that should help with it, via an OTA update. Of course, this is just hearsay as I don't know if it's a software problem (fixable via OTA) or hardware problem with the radio itself.

     

    I know the GSIII just released an OTA the other day to help with LTE connections and such. I'm rooted and the ROM I'm running hasn't updated yet, so don't have it, but should shortly.

     

    Any fellow S4G'ers in the Carol Stream/Glendale Heights area? My sister, brother-in-law, nephew and mother live in that general area and they are having a heck of a time making/receiving calls. It's been happening since June and that area seems to be bordered to the south by legacy towers which is causing their issues. They are ticked off and want me to call Sprint to cancel their lines and be released ETF free. I keep trying to reassure them it will get better, but that central section of Chicagoland seems to be late in the game to get NV :(

     

    Does anyone know how much longer before that area to gets some NV love?

     

    I don't think there is a set schedule for what clusters are getting upgraded and when. At least, not that I'm aware of. I'm hoping the one near 290/90 gets upgraded soon as I work near there. Good luck getting them out ETF free though, that won't happen. Sprint will remind you of that nice contract they/you signed and tell you they're working on a resolution.

     

    Robert said the whole Chicago network will be complete by year end. Even though I see that as a stretch, I believe him. He hasn't led any of us wrong yet, so why start now? Of course, this is barring any serious setbacks, which are always possible. However, if that rings true, Sprint will have the best network in Chicago when this is done, and that's supposedly only three months away.

     

    Since Carol Steam is outside the city proper, I would expect those to get upgraded quicker than inside the Loop for example. Don't quote me on a date, but I would guess that area would see upgraded towers in the least (to fix the handoff dropping call) in the next 2-3 weeks.

  20. Yes, just in the Chicago market. You can monitor it right here: http://s4gru.com/ind...t-running-list/

     

    If you go down to Chicago, look at the Current Production Rate completion date. Every two weeks or so I calculate how long it would take to complete the remaining sites at their current production rate.

     

    This is the best way to really track progress in a market, because it takes real data like production rates and carries that over the remaining number of sites. And when you consider the production rate, Chicago could possibly be the very first market to complete 100%.

     

    But if the production rate goes down, it could extend into the future.

     

    Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

     

    I will be extremely impressed if every tower in the Chicago market turns green (3G/800/4G) in your sponsor map by the end of the year. Hopefully they upgrade the whole cluster near Woodfield mall within a week timeframe. I work right around there (90/290 interchange) and would love to have 4G sitting at my desk.

     

    We live out in Carpentersville by Randall Road and have been getting frequent 4G connections in and around our home since we got our new GSIII phones a week and a half ago. However, we have noticed that often when the phones connect to 4G that the automatic time zone switches to Eastern time. It seems (from what I can tell) that the time zone corrects when the phone falls back to 3G. Is this an issue with something that the tower is broadcasting or are there problems with our phones? We are just trying to figure out if we need to talk to sprint before our return period is up.

     

    We experienced these problems on our old Epic 4Gs months ago when we went through the horrible service period as the towers by us were being upgraded, but I did not expect to have the same problems on new phones now that the network upgrades were complete by us. Makes for quite the panic when you wake up in the morning and look at your phone thinking you are an hour late for work.

     

    I've been seeing the same thing, as has my wife (also GSIII). I don't get 4G at my house (yet, out in Elgin) and I'm always on wifi there, so switching between 3/4G isn't the cause. I never had this issue with my Epic, and didn't start seeing it until maybe two weeks ago.

  21. I follow along most of your points, and I understand your frustrations. However, you are in an active NV/LTE deployment area and big changes are coming soon. You are just in one of the last clusters.

     

    This is not a surprise around S4GRU, as we have been reporting since last Winter that the Chicago market was going to be deployed in clusters starting on the outside working into the City. This has always been the plan, and we have watched over the past 8 months in our Sponsors maps the clusters deploy as planned.

     

    Although it has been frustrating for you, you can take heart in knowing that Chicago is farther along than any other Sprint market in the country, with the highest percentage of sites complete and the highest number of sites complete total. At their current rate of production, they should be complete by the end of the year with every site.

     

    Samsung and their subcontractors have recently started working within the city limits of Chicago. They already have completed some sites at the very south end of the City. So, they are still coming.

     

    As for your line about Sprint and S4GRU not caring, well...

     

    I certainly cannot speak about Sprint caring, but I was very perplexed that you would throw S4GRU into that line. I have no idea what you would have S4GRU do to show it cares. S4GRU is a forum made up of wireless enthusiasts who track Sprint's Network Vision/LTE deployment. I think we care very much about the current state of Sprint's network and the future. We are very passionate about Network Vision. However, I'm not sure I understand what you expect from us and why you think we have let you down. It's the first time I've seen someone say something like that.

     

    Robert via CM9 Kindle Fire using Forum Runner

     

    Do you really think so? I know that's three months, but to have every site complete by then seems to be a big undertaking. When you say 'complete' I'm assuming all upgrades as well...backhaul and 4G to go with it. I can't possibly see how that would be possible. I know Sprint is upgrading every single tower in their network with 4G (right?) but to have the whole city complete by year end would be amazing.

     

    Now, to have all Samsung towers by year end, that I can possibly see. But to have everything upgraded in the next three months seems like a bit of a stretch.

  22. Today Sprint announced 4G LTE live in Waukegan-Lake County. Does anyone know what cities they mean because Highland Parkb is in Lake County yet no 4G according to their coverage map

     

    No go for actual Highland Park, but if you take a trip over near the Lake County Forest Preserve, I'll bet you pick something up in that area...

  23. Fantastic news! :tu: This site has been a god send in keeping me a Sprint customer since I am always able to report news of upgrades to my wife who was wanting to jump ship.

     

    I'm with you 100%...now I just need Sprint to follow through!

     

    One of the iPhone fanatics (AT&T) at work was asking me how 4G service was now that it turned on. I explained to him how where we work (the black hole around 90/290 in Schaumburg) wasn't being upgraded at all at this point in time, so I can't get it at work. However, once I explained to him how Sprint was upgrading literally every single tower in their network and not just a select few like others, I think that got his attention a little more. I told him I thought by the end of the year, Sprint may very well have the best network in Chicago, and truly unlimited 4G to boot.

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...