wtsguy

Are you integrating with Google Voice by chance? Both my wife and I noticed things got better when we ditched that integration. I don't know if it was that or Sprint's network actually getting better, so it could be a coincidence.

 

Also, as you stated in your post, you know it's not a problem with your phone as you didn't have this issue a few months back. Upgrading to the S4 wouldn't fix the problem (outside maybe the LTE part) since it's not a hardware problem.

 

Since Sprint started the rollout in the West burbs and moved in towards the city, I'm guessing this issue will be solved in the same manner. You're a bit further East than me, so I would think it would start getting better for you shortly as it did for me. Not 100% yet, but it is better.

After reading your post, I deactivated Sprint / Google Voice integration. Since de-activating Google Voice, I have not had one instance where I answer the phone and the other person can't hear me. I think my problem is solved, thank you!!!

Now we just need to fix it so that my EVO 4G LTE switches to 4G when I'm near a 4G tower (it rarely does this). At least the 3G is getting better and better, because I'm pretty sure for as long as I keep the EVO, there is going to be an issue with it properly connecting to 4G.

A short update on the issues I was having before (people not being able to hear when I picked up, dropped calls all the time, etc) it does seem to be getting better. I don't take as many phone calls as my wife does, but I don't think I've had someone not hear me when I answer in probably a week or more, which is AWESOME. It's kinda sad when you're excited your phone service works as it should, but given the massive undertaking this is, I'm hoping just a few more weeks and it'll all be straightened out in the NW burbs.

I'm losing my mind and my patience over the callers not being able to hear me issue. It hasn't gotten much better for me, but I'm glad to hear that it is for others. I live in the Wheaton / Warrenville / Winfield area if this matters to anyone? Can anyone in this area confirm that almost the entirety of Winfield Road north of I-88 up to the railroad tracks is almost a dead zone? There is a 4G tower near I-88 but I lose the signal around Butterfield road and am either getting no data signal, or weak (dial-up speed or time-out) 3G until I reach the tracks where I pick up the 4G (sometimes) from the tower at Central Dupage hospital.

I'm afraid to call tech support or do anything because my phone is rooted with a custom ROM and when I had US Cellular they shut my phone off when they found this out and I had a pain in the ass of a time getting it back, so I'd rather avoid Sprint tech support. However, if this keeps up I might have to flash back to stock and do something because it's so bad that whenever someone calls me I let it roll to voicemail and then call them back because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. This happens all around the dupage area. I never had this problem 2 months ago so I know it has nothing to do with my phone.

On another note, did they ever do anything about the Evo 4G LTE signal problems? Half the time the phone is on 3G even though there are 4G towers around the area, and I still have to do the airplane mode flip to get the phone to switch to 4G. I tried setting the phone to LTE/CDMA only but being on 1X is painful and it still happens far too often for me to turn off 3G entirely. The other problem is that when the phone is in 3G mode (especially in the Winfield/Warrenville area and Winfield Road corridor), it's unusable and below dial-up speeds.

I'm wondering if I would solve so many problems if I just upgraded to a Galaxy S4? I am really unhappy with the Evo.

Hi everyone, I'm trying to see if there is a fix for an issue I'm having. For the past several weeks I am having a really FRUSTRATING issue where I answer the phone and people can't hear me. It has gotten so bad that I let calls roll to voicemail and then call back the caller because if I answer they won't be able to hear me. I have Sprint Wireless Advantage Club so I can't go into a store or call a normal tech support line (I don't think?), but I figured this was part of NV upgrades. My phone is rooted with a custom ROM but I never had this problem before, and my phone was working fine until several weeks ago. I don't think it's a phone issue either as I've tried updating it and restarting and I did flash a clean rom. Is there anything else I can do to get people to hear me?

I can deal with the awful, spotty LTE connections, I can deal with the dead spots and the dial-up 3G speeds that my phone connects to in the extremely rural towns of Winfield, Warrenville, and Wheaton, but I can't deal with my phone not working!

Answering a call to not having the other person be able to hear you is another thing completely. My wife is on her third phone. I have a hard time believing the same problem could happen on three separate devices.

Oh thank god I thought I was going crazy. Are a lot of people experiencing this?

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.

I spent a few hours in and around Woodfield mall yesterday. I was on 3G the entire time. I just checked the map and there are some 4G towers in that area. I'm really getting worried with my phone. The rollout continues to get better but I'm still on 3G the majority of the time.

Did S4GRU release their radio test article yet regarding the evo's poor LTE performance?

Wheaton remains a black hole for me, which is frustrating as I'm frequently there.

I think I'm getting a 4G signal off the tower at Central Dupage Hospital, but by and large the areas around there are still extremely poor. I know some people have claimed they were getting 4G from the Wheaton College campus but I was downtown Wheaton yesterday and I didn't see any 4G at all.

I put this together cause I was bored and bummed at everyone seeing LTE pop up everywhere and I can still barely stream Pandora.

Wheaton test at Geneva / Schmale

Winfield test on Winfield road / Butterfield

Naperville test downtown.

I couldn't even make a voice call at Schmale and Geneva in Wheaton today. 3G speeds were about 60kbits. I hope they're still going to be filling in towers because my coverage in the west burbs isn't great. Anyone else in this area with problems? I had to put my phone in "roam only" mode just to make a call and use some data.

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.

So I am not shocked to hear the new HTC EVO has a systematic problem (unfortunately LTE connectivity) that is not being addressed by the manufacturer or carrier. IMO, it never will, ditch the Evo now while it has value, and get something doesnt come out of the box with an Achilles heel.

I'm really considering doing this. Grab an S3 and sell the EVO. What a pain in the ass... It was spectacularly awful today when I was near an NV tower all morning but was on 3G until some hours later when the phone decided "hey, guess I'll grab that LTE signal" and then it was on 4G. There is seemingly no rhyme or reason for why, how, or when it decides to connect to LTE.

Might be easier to just go to the Sprint store and hound them to replace your phone.

Well, there's the issue that I'm on SWAC and I've had the phone since July. I can't imagine they'll let the phone linger in the state it's in for much longer but I wouldn't be surprised either way.

I'm wondering if I can set up a tasker profile on my phone that cycles airplane mode every few minutes while the screen is off. Does anyone have a better idea? It's the only way I can connect to 4G half the time on my Evo.

I did some testing near a LTE tower by me and although the phone will hit on the tower for 3g/voice from quite a distance aways, it won't grab LTE until I'm literally 1,000 feet from the tower.

Finally 4G in Wheaton. Maybe I will actually have it at work now!

Where at? Still not seeing anything in Wheaton and I just spent most of the weekend there.

I live in Winfield near the hospital and I haven't seen any LTE in the area at all, and I still can barely hold a call. 3G speeds are decent though.

Why would you play an online game through a tethered cell connection? That sounds horrible and you should feel bad.

According to the sprint coverage map of 4G LTE I'm supposed to have coverage at my house. However this morning no 4G. Why is that. In deerfield some area i have it but my house nothing.

Answered this earlier...

a lot of the sensorly data is incorrect because 4G gets turned on and off.

Was your city officially launched? I thought Waukegan was the only official launch city. I checked the Sprint maps and they show a lot more coverage than I think they really have. I was up near the Chain of Lakes this past weekend and didn't see any LTE anywhere around any of the lakes, including Fox Lake which according to Sprint has LTE.

This looks like an AT&T LTE tower.

Could be. Usually the NV towers only have 3 panels, each one covering 120 degrees but I'm only familiar with the towers by me and I'm sure it's different in different markets?

Here's a tower near me.

The Sprint panel is circled in red, and you can see the old supporting frame that used to hold legacy panels which have now been removed (on each side of the middle panel). The NV panel is just a single dark gray panel with the control box attached to the left, and the single panel covers a 120 degree arc, so only 3 are needed on the tower when previously there were 6 or more.

The bottom two towers you posted look like they're NV updated. I can't tell on the first one, too blurry.

You want to look for that little control box attached to the panel, that indicates an NV upgrade.

Its awful. There is a HUUUGE square of dead 4G space in Sensorly....lol awful!

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forum Runner

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not... But yeah, a lot of the sensorly data is incorrect because 4G gets turned on and off.

Very jealous of you guys in the burbs

Really now?

West burbs'.

But yes, I'm jealous of the other burbs too! Waiting for the Winfield / Wheaton cluster to fill in is extremely frustrating.

Hello, I'm new here and thinking of switching to sprint from Verizon for the fact of getting unlimited data. The progress and speeds are looking very promising. One question. Is there a physical difference in the appearance of a NV tower? Do they look different? Or are the upgrades only on the internals? Thanks everyone.

The NV upgrades are entirely different. There are pictures in various threads around here. Generally, the NV antennas look like a 5-6 foot long dark gray rectangle with a small 2 foot square box attached on its side. I'll try to post some pics of the tower by my house that has them. Once you know what they look like they're really easy to spot on any random tower.

LTE active and 28 mbps down this morning in Glen Ellyn (Roosevelt and 355). I'll be happy to eat crow on my earlier words about the western suburbs if Sprint can serve this up across the burbs.

I was just there today driving on Roosevelt and I didn't see a lick of LTE anywhere I went. I also was in the Bartlett area where Sensorly showed LTE coverage near 59/64 but got nothing there either. I was cycling airplane mode and also switching back and forth from LTE only mode in the *#4636#* menu. I did briefly get LTE in Lisle yesterday but it was gone within 5 minutes. I also picked up LTE in Batavia on Kirk road briefly. The speeds are nothing like what you guys are seeing though.

Looks like they're testing heavily in the area since the LTE connections don't last long.

Here was my speedtest from Lisle.

I've been mapping the joliet area as well. its like an obsession now lol

If I ever get a 4G signal here in the west burbs I'll be out mapping all day. That would be an addiction for sure.

Evo LTE basically doesn't look for or connect to LTE without having to cycle the radio, or unless the signal is extremely strong.

Has anyone tried changing both LTE options in ##3282# to 1?

I tried this on my phone but it asks for a password to access the edit menu. What is the password?

this is the screen. Its like it refuses to pick up the 4g signal unless you turn off the 3g.

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?