Arysyn

I sure hope so. I figured it would come back from last year. I really doubt anything is going to stop it this time around, except maybe the government. Things are really strange with the U.S. government lately, so we'll see.

T-Mobile has become better around here since the initial introduction of BingeOn and the all-unlimited plans. However still not excellent quite yet. I've had some issues at an outdoor mall I've gone to a few times recently, but I'm not sure its necessarily the network. I definitely need a new phone - waiting for the Sony XZ2 Premium, so it may be the limitations of the Microsoft Lumia 950xl I'm still using, grudgingly.

Robert, I understand what you're saying, and Sprint-bashing definitely is not a good thing here, and thats totally fine. The issue I think bigsnake is addressing is frustration not at Sprint itself, but rather at Softbank. We've seen Softbank neglecting Sprint several times these past few years of ownership while Sprint has tried to make due with what they've had, and I don't think anyone here, including me, is denying that they have done the best they can with that. Yet it isn't perfect (I'm not saying you're claiming that either), but the further problem are for customers in areas that were expecting improvement were there haven't been, from all the planned upgrades discussed the past few years which perhaps haven't been executed in areas that were suppose to go in. This isn't necessarily Sprint's fault though, as again I'm sure Sprint management wants to do this, but they need the funding support, especially that of their parent company Softbank, which just hasn't been there for Sprint, leaving Sprint to doing the best they can with what they have, which in reality isn't good enough for many areas where there still are complaints. It doesn't have to be this way if Sprint gets the proper support it needs. You all know I'm not a fan of John Legere and I definitely have issues with T-Mobile. However, I'm not going to deny that they haven't done exceptionally well on its network growth and from that I have complete confidence that if this merger goes through, a year after we'll be here looking at a network we've been wanting to see for many years with band 41 deployed on most, if not all towers, all the negative reputation Sprint had will be gone, and there will be premium level network service for all T-Mobile and Sprint customers which is the whole point to having wireless service - customers should expect an excellent network throughout the country.

Not me, I didn't doubt T-Mobile at all with these fast rollouts. Quite the opposite, as I've been saying here many times they'd be quick at it. Actually is one of the reasons I'm now strongly supporting the merger with Sprint, because after its all done, a year after the merger we'll all be here talking about it and I'd be willing to bet even the most anti-merger crowd here on S4GRU will be admitting the merger has been great for the network, even if they still wish Sprint had gone at it alone. Thing is, I understand and agree with this. If Sprint were truly alone - meaning no Softbank, I'd be more against this merger wanting Sprint to be strong and continue doing what they can to grow the network by getting funding and other deals that don't involve an outside company taking over Sprint in any way. However, nothing Sprint-related would make me more happy at this point to see Sprint get out of the grips of a Softbank majority.

Probably true. In case of emergencies people working there are more likely to be running around yelling on their headsets, "Get that GMO site back working, stat!"

Those chairs don't look all that comfortable.

Hey RedSpark, Reading your posts for a long time here, of course, and I know you genuinely want Sprint to succeed on its own with densification and deployment. I do too, but my faith in Softbank is completely gone. Since Softbank is in charge, I just cannot have any faith Sprint will do what we know it could do with the proper funding. Therefore try to see it from the perspective of what actually is going to get Sprint to do what we know will help it. T-Mobile will get band 41 on all of its towers, which even though its been revealed T-Mobile plans on scrapping alot of the Sprint sites, perhaps they are the older sites not as updated, Clear sites, GMO sites, etc. They'll certainly keep the necessary sites that add both new coverage and densified coverage. Along with that, there will be plenty of spectrum added to Sprint customers' access, same with adding spectrum to T-Mobile customers' access. Network-wise, its a big win, and we know T-Mobile will do it, versus what we are hoping Softbank will do after how long has it been we've been waiting on this for? We know the money exists for a major turnaround at Sprint, which Softbank continues to put into other non-Sprint related projects, while Masa seems more intent waiting for the big payout on a major merger deal. He doesn't seem to really care about Sprint itself. After all, when Softbank bought Sprint, back then they were all talk about this huge investment into Sprint to merge it into this big dream Softbank empire. Now its, "Lets try selling Sprint again for the third time around to T-Mobile since no one else wants to buy this company we couldn't give a crap about". I really hate to say that, but its the reality of the situation now. Before Softbank got involved, Sprint really was working on a multi-level growth strategy headed by Dan Hesse, which unfortunately wasn't completely supported by its then board of directors. Now that board basically is Softbank in its position doing relatively little. The Sprint management that answers to Softbank are trying the best they can, which is why I'm not faulting the actual Sprint company, but rather Softbank. However, if its between business as usual with Softbank, or massive growth with T-Mobile, then by all means Magenta!

I've been very supportive of either a Dish merger with Sprint or with T-Mobile, though as a TMo subscriber I prefer they merge with Dish, in which case they wouldn't necessarily need to merge with Sprint. If that were to happen, I think US Cellular would be a good buyout for Sprint. However since this Sprint/T-Mobile merger just isn't going away and I think third time is a charm here for them, I'd love for the combo to then pick up Dish. A combined T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish would be absolutely amazing for customers of Sprint and T-Mobile. It would bring up the minimum 600mhz from 10x10 to 15x15, while 20x20 would be in a bunch of areas. I'd really like to see a bunch of trade deals and other negotiations done where T-Mobile could try to get 20x20 at least near nationwide, even if it means swapping out other existing low-band. That is something I think would become more likely to happen (these trade deals), with fewer carriers working more towards improving networks, rather than pricing wars, etc. Imagining a solid low-band network combined with Sprint's excellent band 41 which T-Mobile surely will densify/deploy much faster than Softbank, is really an amazing thought. I know a bunch of us here on S4GRU would really like for Sprint to do well on its own with massive deployment and densification. I understand that and would like to see that too. However at this point with all the delays with Softbank seemingly more interested in a merger while investing billions of dollars in other companies rather than on Sprint, how much faith can be left for us in Softbank doing what many of us feel us the "right thing" by spending on Sprint. I'm not a fan of T-Mobile, nor of John Legere, but at least they get stuff done. The T-Mobile network is improving rapidly and with Sprint's spectrum, they will make an awesome network. The track record for T-Mobile already is there, and its pretty great. Not so much with Softbank. Again, Sprint itself has so much potential - no denying that, but Softbank is stalling it. Sprint's only viable option now in regards to having any hope in being run by a company that would actually care for it, is T-Mobile, and is unlikely we'd ever see Softbank divest in Sprint to be on its own. So really, at least in most ways, the T-Mobile/Sprint merger is quite a good thing. Sorry about the post length. Alot to say about this.

Well, I've decided I'm officially in support of this merger. This doesn't mean I don't still support the idea of Sprint building its network by means of densification and deployment strategies, but its been clear to me for a while now that Softbank doesn't really want to spend the Capex for Sprint to grow and would much rather have the combination with T-Mobile. My decision to fully support this has more to do with my subscription. I'd love to have Sprint's improved service here in Chicago, but T-Mobile is a bit cheaper and has the huge 600mhz spectrum coming up. I also wouldn't mind going back to AT&T because the phones I want from them happen to also support FirstNet, besides being the rugged kind of phone I prefer, but AT&T is much more expensive than what my mother is paying for T-Mobile. If the merger goes through, it'll end all thoughts of switching, as we'll have access to plenty of spectrum on a great pricing deal. I still have the Microsoft Lumia 950xl I really want to upgrade to iPhone or Android, but waiting on the carrier decision has been difficult. Other than the subscription reason though, I also don't see anything wrong with the merger happening, so might as well. Still, I don't at all doubt Sprint could be great on its own if it were properly funded and supported. Thing is though, it isn't, and the reality is that T-Mobile will do more good for Sprint customers than Softbank is doing.

I just saw the merger retalk article here : https://www.tmonews.com/2018/04/t-mobile-sprint-merger-talks-once-again/ I know the pros and cons we all have talked about here, though regardless I firmly believe this merger is going to happen now. I didn't think it would be long before the talks resumed since the "supposed" end of them a few months ago. Its too good of a deal for them both. As for me, I'm still with T-Mobile and am stuck with them based on the excellent pricing. Switching to AT&T or Verizon would be double the price. If T-Mobile and Sprint were to merge, considering my locked in deal, it would make switching no longer a consideration for any reason. Adding the excellent Chicago Sprint b41 network to T-Mobile here would make a network much better than AT&T and Verizon anyways.

Sorry about my late reply. My online reading S4GRU has been very limited the past few months. Sprint has been advertising using Schaumburg in their Chicago speed test examples. While I'm sure Sprint service in Schaumburg has improved throughout the past few years since I had Sprint, I was very impressed by it in Schaumburg back then, just not so much in some other areas. By now it looks like Sprint is doing really well around here, which is good.

I haven't heard much on the Tidal situation. What is Sprint TV? Is it similar to Go90? I remember back around 2005-2006-ish there were some tv packages Sprint had I didn't understand exactly what they were for, and if I'm recalling correctly Sprint's internet packages were a bit of a mess back then. I was in a few stores alot during that time talking with store staff who let me use their info helping people on HowardForums get into the SERO program. Yet, even the staff weren't aware fully of the differences between the internet plans back then, and as I was looking for service ahead of its time and needed to know exactly what was being offered to avoid the overage mess Verizon caused me back then, I didn't end up switching to Sprint. However, I still supported them by helping with the SERO referrals for awhile.

Considering the excellent Sprint reports here in Chicago, I'd really like to switch to Sprint, but the phone selection still is looking quite limited this year until VoLTE comes around with DMA going away, allowing customers to purchase any unlocked phone and switching to whichever carrier they choose. I'm set on getting the flagship Sony phone this year, so its looking like I'll either have to stay with T-Mobile, or else go back to AT&T. Anyways, S4GRU is helpful with the Sprint updates regarding the network, and if anything changes allowing me to use an unlocked phone on Sprint, I'll switch.

Sad.

I'll talk with my mother about this again later, see if there are any updates and if she still has the phone or not. I haven't seen her yet today, and the T-Mobile representative was going to allow her to send the phone in through one of their local stores, so I'll need to wait until later. If she hasn't sent the phone back in yet though, I'll try it and see. Also, I haven't received an email back yet from the Legere email, which usually is a great way at getting a response from them, but they may have called my mother instead, as I included her email. It would be nice if by later someone there helped figure out this issue in some way.

What is Voice Call Continuity? Is that calling while using data at the same time, such as talking while searching the internet, posting on S4GRU, etc.?

If Sprint densifies their band 41 where it can connect around 85% or more the way it was back when I tried it in Schaumburg, Sprint can easily charge $90 a month or so for the first line as the other national carriers do, and still have it be worth the money. My guess is that eventually these carriers when working to upgrade to 5G will charge $95 monthly for full service. Its possible they may offer cheaper plans that have speed caps, but if people expect to continue getting full resolution unlimited service, prices most likely will start around just under $100 monthly for it.

Its the button meant for powering off is what I was referring to. As I said, the executive response representative went through this with my mother. By the way, the case is the official Apple leather case, not one from a third party. So, I really doubt that would be an issue. Also, my mother was just here talking with me more in-depth about the phone conversation with the T-Mobile representative earlier. I asked her to tell me what exactly he told her to try, which was everything suggested in this thread so far. Not only did using the button system not work, but it didn't even process to a screen with an Apple logo as the representative asked her to try and see if it would after holding the button a certain way. If anything were different where it didn't sound as everything were tried and done correctly, I might try it myself. Although from the way it sounds, I might not even have the finger dexterity to do so.

I'm having an issue with the iPhone X I got, and as my only option at this point is going to Android, I was looking at the new HTC U11+ which doesn't look like it'll be sold in the US. As Sprint has had a good relationship history with HTC in the past, it would be nice if they could have an exclusive for the device. I would switch to Sprint if they did.

I'm thinking how nice it would be if the problem actually was freezing, like what often happens on my Lumia. Although right now I imagine the iPhone X battery likely is empty by now not having turned off. The problem definitely is with the power button. Another thing that might even be welcomed is if the case were interfering with the proximity sensor. I had that happen With the Nexus 6 I had from Sprint that otherwise was a good phone (had some software issues though) Thank you for the links though, RedSpark. I'm considering if I had got this directly from Apple, getting a new one wouldn't be so difficult from what I've been reading. T-Mobile however with their generous discounts, doesn't seem to take into consideration these problems and the ability to get a replacement, despite being a popular phone. I am hoping to get a helpful response from the email I sent to the Legere account. Possibly something can be done from there.

That would turn it off, but I really don't want to have to do that every time I want it to turn off, especially if for some reason the phone does freeze, its nice relying on the power button to get it restarted. It seems like I have to use the Lumia power button at least once or twice every day to get the phone to unfreeze, but at least the power button functions. I've searched around Google the past hour or so to read anyone else having issues, which while I'm not finding anything about the power button, there are quite a few complaints about the screen responsiveness and screen freezing, similar to issues I've had from the Lumia. There were alot from T-Mobile customers, who didn't seem to respond with resolution updates. Though it seemed those who bought from Apple were able to go to Apple stores for replacement. I ended up writing an email to the John Legere email account, because the executive response person my mother spoke to had no resolution for this. Its really disappointing, especially since most of the representatives from there have been very helpful lately and they actually got the preorder right this time.

Thank you for the advice. Although this was tried by the conversation/tech support on the phone she tried earlier to no avail. Again, I really like the added accidental shut off features, which hopefully will even help to make the power button more resilient over time - something that my badly aging Microsoft Lumia 950xl could have used, as well as whatever features to prevent the frequent "freezing" the device encounters, but thats a separate issue of the 950xl. The real problem is the high demand of the x causing an issue for situations where there is a technical glitch beyond repair like this, then its a matter of either waiting for several weeks for a replacement, or getting a refund for something else. Thing is, there isn't getting something else with a device as premium as the iPhone X, especially when there are vast differences between iOS and Android, with iOS being so much better for those who do not want to deal with a complex mobile OS as Android. I don't want to spend several hours having to go through hundreds of settings to get the phone doing or not doing certain things. Android is nice for those wanting customizations, but for those who want a nice, simple functionality, iOS is it - but sadly the only other option There really needs to be more competition in OS software.

I was reading about that earlier today with how the side button setup is varied differently and how some people who can't get use to it are returning the device, but to me it actually seemed like a nice feature to avoid having mistaken power shutoffs with sensitivity on these phones becoming more of an issue lately. However, my mother still is on the phone with T-Mobile (I called out to her from upstairs to talk about the power button issue, which apparently they already went through trying to do it, to no success). I really don't want to settle for an iPhone 8 just to have iOS now, and going back to Android is something I really don't want to do either.

Really bad situation... My mother got the case on the phone, the X, and it turned on automatically, but she can't get the phone to turn off. The executive response guy can't do anything to help us, because there isn't anything in stock now probably for several weeks. I can't understand why Apple would make a nearly $1200 phone that turns on by itself and won't turn off.

There was a merger discussion thread, but it was closed, probably because of the ending of the Sprint deal with T-Mobile. Although no official reason was given for the thread closure, I figure that was the purpose of it being closed.