greenbastard

I thought I should contribute some. Here is a Houston tower with B26, B25, and B41 all fired up. I'm using a GS5 to access all bands. So far from what I can tell, B26 is only better than B25 by about -3 to -4 dBms. Also, B41 is worse than I remember wimax being from the same tower. Right next to the tower, I never saw anything better than -87 dBms from B41. Obviously still a lot of work to go before this tower is fully optimized. This brings me to my next question. When all is said and done from NV, about how many dBms should B26 be better than B25?

 

Nice to see one of the oldest form of wireless communications making a comeback to Sprint. Smoke Signals.

 

Let's just hope for the sake of our own health that data hoggers dont heavily congest that slice of spectrum.

Anyone have issues with the youtube app. Eventually the video freezes but audio continues. I tried removing the updates/clear the app and nothing.

Just noticed this about 2 days ago as well.

Thanks guys for the help. Sadly I'm still a Band 41 LTE virgin.

Popped my cherry. Yay...BUT, I had no Internet access through B41 and had to go to LTE only mode to even access it.

 

Thanks guys for the help. Sadly I'm still a Band 41 LTE virgin.

Thanks for the responses guys. The camera still seems a tad slow with image stabilization off

 

As far as B41, I use Signal Check Pro to see which band I'm on. So far no B41 in Houston for me. How do i get to the engineering screen? Through ##DATA#?

So I've had the GS5 for about 24 hours now and here are some things I've noticed (keeping in mind I came from a GS3)

 

1. Immediately after activating the phone, I was on 800 LTE. Which is very odd since my GS3 had Band 25 LTE all over my house. After turning off Band 26 (which you have to reset the phone in order to take effect), I noticed that the GS5 is about -2 dbm better than my GS3 on Band 25. That's not great, but it's also not bad. I'm assuming the network is pushing me to B26 to alleviate traffic on B25?

 

2. eCSFB issues may still linger in areas that already have eCSFB. I've noticed that after each time I restart my phone, I will automatically have LTE, but phone calls and texts won't come through. I noticed that in order to fix this, I have to establish a phone call at least once in order to fix this (I usually dial my voice mail and then hang up). After that, texts and calls would come in just fine. It's an issue that's present every time I reboot. Hopefully this is something Sprint can fix.

 

3. I'm in Houston and so far 7 of the closest Sprint towers and 1 Stand alone Clear site I've visited have not yielded Band 41. Is there some sort of setting I have to mess with because I find it weird that Houston was one of the first Spark cities and I can't find Band 41. Band 26 is everywhere Band 25 is, but I find it odd that Band 41 is MIA

 

4. Is it just me, or does the camera seem slow out of the gate? Even the first picture takes a while to focus and snap.

 

And those are my first observations from the very short time I've had to mess with this phone and its triband capabilities.

To me, just using the phone not looking at specific numbers. Seems to preform the same (I.e. signal and speed wise.) As my One M8, I can't remember back when I had my G2 but my area also just started getting B26, after I swapped to the S5 so there is that. Hope someone else chimes in. Apples to apples I get signal so I'm not complaining, unlike my coworkers (: *evil laugh*

Yeah, I used to be like your coworkers. I used to work in a huge high school built out of concrete cinder blocks. I had no signal and the preferred roaming partner in Houston was Cricket (which also uses PCS band). My EVO's battery would drain extremely fast and the phone would keep switching between a useless weak Sprint signal and an even worse Cricket signal. But ever since then, I've done my due diligence when picking a phone. I'm sure things have changed now since 1x and LTE are available on the SMR band, but you can never be too careful when it comes to picking phones.

I've read many mixed posts about this device's signal performance (maybe due to people using signal bars as a measurement) Whats the bottom line on rf performance? 

I think that the difference is, by default tri-band devices don't have CDMA data roaming activated in settings. I know that I had to go into my mobile network settings on my M8 to check it on. On my EVO LTE, once I went into a roaming area, my device would start using roaming data, this is no longer the case. I think that Sprint is trying to reduce roaming data costs on their end.

 

It's nothing serious though. Just go to Mobile Networks in the Settings menu, and check Domestic Roaming Data on.

But that's always been the case with my old EVO 3D, Galaxy S2 and S3. I have always had to manually turn on roaming and then check the options for roaming (intl/data/voice).

 

Even if this were to be the case, it still doesn't explain why some areas still have roaming (like East Texas) on the maps, yet other parts (like west Texas) lost their entire data roaming for the M8 and GS5. I get that a lot of you say that Sprint maps are innacurate, but nobody has been able to confirm an established data session while roaming on an area that has gone missing from the maps.

 

Alltel EV-DO roaming is still in the stock PRL in some areas. I am on the 55019 PRL and I roam on Alltel every time I cross the state border.

 

I can attest to EVDO roaming as well (verified with SignalCheck Pro). I recently went to San Diego, CA and when I got within 1000 feet of the border (the I-5 & I-805 interchange), I roamed on EVDO with Cricket. What was most interesting about the entire experience was that once I was in Tijuana, Sprint and Verizon were non existent (my buddy's Verizon phone went into Intl roaming right after crossing). It was all Cricket EVDO in Avenida Revolucion. I guess Sprint uses a directional pattern in the Cali/MX border because in Texas, I've been able to cross into Mexico and still have a usable sprint signal.

 

But back on topic, the HTC One Max also shows to be severely handicapped on data roaming. The towns of Ishpeming and Marquette have data roaming, but outside of that there is no data roaming according to Sprint. I'll try to post the difference in coverage when I get on my computer later. This thing is still a mystery, but hopefully someone can confirm if data works or not soon.

Well I have a tri band device and I know in the up I get evdo in ishberming mi.

If you don't mind me asking, which device do you have?

If you put the Nexus as the device on the map it shows roaming is available. If you put mine the Samsung 4 Refresh it doesn't. I have been unable to roam on Evdo on my S4T, but can on my EVO LTE. So this makes the maps partially true...

Unless you have a business account or are in one of the few areas that offer EVDO roaming, then you should roam on 1x only.

 

But as far as the Nexus 5 roaming, Sprint shows its maps as having full roaming. So far, I see the SG5 (which I'm eyeing), LG Flex, and M8 as being heavily restricted on data roaming.

Guys, this is much ado about nothing. Individual device coverage maps have oft been inaccurate. Do not worry about it. All Sprint roaming to this point is either Cellular 850 MHz or PCS 1900 MHz. And all modern devices support both bands for CDMA2000. Until Sprint adds Lower 700 MHz, Upper 700 MHz, and/or AWS 2100+1700 MHz LTE roaming, the need for individual device coverage maps is basically nil.

 

AJ

I know devices support both CDMA bands, but my concern is being able to access data while I'm roaming on another network. According to the maps, I can still use voice, but 1x data sessions will no longer be established. My main concern about this is being able to check email and receive IMs while driving through the many non-interstate highways in West Texas and New Mexico.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but I had a question about Sprint's data roaming on newer triband devices. I am currently in the market for a new triband cellphone but I noticed that the latest phones don't have data roaming in places older phones have data roaming. 

 

For example, this coverage map is for the newer Samsung Galaxy S5. Notice how data roaming is non existent between Denver and Wichita, KS

 

 

Now notice the massive difference in data roaming on a single band Galaxy S4

 

Is this a correct depiction of data roaming on newer devices (like the Galaxy S5, G Flex, One M8)? And if it is, is it a compatibility issue or is it a move away from data roaming? I ask this because voice roaming seems to be the same on the voice coverage maps on all devices. This would definitely be a deal breaker for me since I do roam and use data(I use up about 60-80 MB a month). Any information on this would be great since my contract has been up for over a year and my phone is in dire need of retirement. I'd like to keep Sprint, but if roaming is out of the picture then I would need to consider my options. Thanks.

International Wi-Fi calling. Awesome!

Link to live blog: http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=14236

Thanks

Can we stay on topic please? Thanks.

Insensitive much?

Its probably because you're blocking the antenna with your hand. My S3 LTE signal drops dramatically if I block the back of the top-left area. I am somewhat close to a sprint tower so for me its not an issue, but I have seen the phone go from -100 to -110 RSRP if my fingers go anywhere near the external speaker. Next time you hold your phone sideway, try to hold the phone from the bottom and see if your signal degrades.

Yes, the best way to do this would be have Philz custom recovery do a custom backup of the modem then flash the modem. You will need to flash KT747 kernel for TouchWiz if you want wifi to work also.

 

Here are the links you need:

 

NDC Modem Thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2774899

 

KT747 Kernel Thread (make sure you flash the touchwiz version for 4.4.2): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1800576

 

Philz Recovery if you need it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2446393

 

If you end up having issues then just restore the old modem back through recovery. If that doesn't work then either flash a full recovery (that you should do before trying this) or get the stock ND8 tar file and odin it.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Thanks. I'm going to try this sometime this week. Hopefully its a step up over ND8

The modem was what i was talking about. Someone on XDA said that someone that was on the ND8 bootloader flashed the modem and it broke wi-fi unless you used a custom kernel like KT747....

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

At this point I'm willing to try the modem even if it breaks WiFi. Knox has become more of a hassle for me and the fact that I'm a noob at using custom Roms doesn't help. The new modem really ruined this phone. I no longer connect to EVDO or 1x data if I'm fringe whereas before it had no issues. Even my old Evo3D didn't have a problem establishing data connections and that phone had terrible rf performance.

 

Any idea if I could revert back to the ND8 modem and fix WiFi if I install the NDC modem?

Ok so to everyone else. I would advise against flashing or using Odin to flash NDC build or modem if you are on sprint. From what I read it breaks Wi-Fi without a custom kernel and may break other things like APN etc...

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

What about the modem? I've looked everywhere and haven't seen anyone attempt to use the modem that comes on NDC being used on ND8.

I am enjoying the new 4.4.2 KitKat update that was ready to be installed this morning, seems like the LTE is more stable now in the 4.4 build than in 4.3. I didn't get the ND8 update, I got the OTA NDC update, I don't know if there is anything different between the two.

 

Screenshot_2014-06-05-13-39-59.png

Give it a while. I thought the same thing but as soon as I moved around I saw what everyone was complaining about.

 

I recently took my phone on a road trip from Texas to California and along the way, I kept getting so many dropped data connections. I knew LTE was butchered with the update, but I had no idea that the new update would make the S3 struggle to establish data connections with both EVDO and 1X. It was really irritating while streaming Spotify or tunein on a long road trip and having data services disappear on me. I know this isn't a network issue because it happened with sprint and every roaming partner along the way.

 

I really hope they fix this issue. I dont want to upgrade since that would mean giving up SVLTE and SVDO in exchange for the tri-band feature.

I'd also like to add that I pick up LTE back up just as quick as MK3 did but ONLY if I am in an area with good reception (-99 to -105). If I'm in an area with bad reception, forget about it.

After further use of this new ND8 modem, I have now came to the conclusion that the new modem is as bad as advertised. There are location I have visited where I would lose LTE, but once I left them I would pick up a weak LTE signal fairly quickly again with MK3.

 

With ND8, (based on my observations) it seems to ignore a weak LTE signal (even if its usable) and only go back to LTE if it comes in at -112 dBm or better. That was not the case with MK3 since I used to see it switch back to LTE at a weaker signal. This is so far what I observed and of course you can always manually scan and latch onto LTE (even if worse than -112) by toggling airplane mode.

 

As far as losing LTE, I haven't seen much difference in that threshold. Both MK3 and ND8 lose LTE at the same places as before.

 

Overall, I'd say that this new update worked wonders on the ROM and WiFi connectivity, but ruined LTE connectivity. I hope sprint pushes out a small update for the modem and leave the rest as is.